So this happened a couple weeks ago :(

I wonder if our trucks are more susceptible to frame damage because of the carbon-fiber bed. Are other trucks likely to be totaled from a hit at the back?

 

Sounds like USAA is a good outfit, unlike some I've had to deal with. Had an adjuster offer me $300 for my totaled motorcycle - dude ran
a yield sign crashed into me ( right in front of a cop ).... anyway the bike was worth about $2400 and I wanted to milk them for the anguish...
wasn't hurt but I had to take a day off to get all checked out. Showed them my salary and how long it took to work to make those 8 hours blah
blah and they eventually wrote the check but I had to sign away all rights to future claims, rights to potential future injury etc etc.

If an accident happens I suppose I'll hope they have USAA - but in this world I'd be happy if they even had an insurance.

 

This is going to go over poorly so I'll apologize in advance. No ill intent intended towards any person, these are over generalizations...

Insurance Companies figured out long ago that your CREDIT SCORE (which is completely unrelated to your driving ability and skill) is a reasonably good indicator of what your insurance risk and premiums should be. Lower credit score = higher risk of an accident = higher premiums and lower coverage.

I would imagine that since Kia is a more budget friendly car that people with lower credit scores tend to drive Kia/Hundai.
Yes this includes people that are irresponsible with their personal lives and finance an have low credit due to bad decisions - that's the insurance mantra.
It also includes young drivers starting out who my just be low because they are establishing credit - Also quasi valid.
But it includes retirees who are living frugal and have low scores because they minimize credit use.
It includes recently divorced people that are trying to maintain reliable transportation while they recover financially.

I have a friend that had a reasonable inheritance. Not life changing but a handsome sum of cash.
She paid off her debts, credit cards, student loans, car payment, sold her car and paid cash for a new Kia. She was looking to live debt free and start saving.
Initially insurance quoted her a pretty low rate but three months later when all of the credit reporting data was in her insurance skyrocketed. Paying off all of her debts had a NEGATIVE impact on her credit and insurance leveraged that against her. Insurance told her well your credit score dropped so you must be a reckless person.

So I get it... Credit Score (Kia ownership) can be a leading indicator of responsibility but they seem to make the machine around that and then good people get caught up in it.

 

I drove a 2015 Kia Soul for 5 years (got it for my daughter's first car and timed the payoff to coincide with her 16th birthday) and had zero problems. The perception of Kia doesn't match the reality.

 

What does this have to do with the reply you quoted or anything else in this convo?
The person had a Kia and great car insurance.
Also, if you think that poor people drive Kia/Hyundai then you really need to re-evaluate your views on them lol.

 

I put 200K abusive miles on my 04 Elantra. I LOVED that car.

 

So... The more I looked at the truck the more I didn't feel right taking the check and going my own route.
I am dropping it off at the shop and they are going to do whatever they need to do with it.
USAA has told me that the shop has full reign on doing whatever is needed, and they are paying for a rental for as long as the car is in the shop.

 

Time for a steel bumper, on their dime....

 

Best idea especially if you're not mechanically inclined

 

I think you missed the point. By a margin so wide you could build an Amish barn in it.
Lets just agree that we agree on this one. Keeps me from digging out the crayons to explain it.

 

Glad you are okay. Not sure this would’ve helped in this situation but I just got a bed step to help mitigate hits from behind. Went with the plastic in hope of it breaking apart to minimize damage to the frame.

 

This is unfortunately true. Leaned a long long time ago in a Risk Management Class that insurance rates were partially calculated due to credit scores.
It is also becoming more common in hiring decisions, especially for mid and upper management type roles.
Mine is like 865 and has been for quite some time and I'm retired so I don't give a ratz azz anymore, although when I bought the Tacoma and they
ran my credit score the sales dude said yea man pick out anything you want you're good to go.

I don't like the idea that your credit score should affect your insurance rates.... but I do find that people with low credit scores tend to have more
difficulty managing decisions that are in their best interest. I also don't like the idea that paying off debt in one fell swoop can wreck havoc on it either.
I almost didn't qualify for my first house because I paid off credit cards. Pretty stupid if you ask me. You'd think a bank would want you to have as little
debt as possible when taking on a house.

 

they always find more damage. I was hit by a girl who ran a stop sign. Initially they quoted $1200. In the end it was $6900 plus $1100 for three weeks of rental car.

 

I wish it was carbon fiber.

 

That's exactly what your bumper is designed to do.

 

I don’t think Amish are allowed to use crayons? Far to much joy involved with coloring.

anyone else wonder where that Kia/Hyundai car got that red crayon colored smear on the bumper from?

 

Not sure when that started roughly, but that's ridiculous. I could "maybe" see it if you did payments for the year on insurance versus paying it all up front in terms of interest but otherwise that's asinine.

Much like the old saying "you have to get credit to get credit" it seems if you need good credit to get a good job that would fix your credit most likely, WTF.

Like you I have always had excellent credit. I recall when buying my Tacoma the salesman ran me (without my knowledge) and commented how good it was, I replied "my parents always taught me to guard my credit with my life because in many ways it really is".

You are correct that there's sometimes a correlation between the score and the decisions. My sister would be a great example of that (not in a good manner either). But it's dumb to think that clearing off unnecessary debt like credit cards would be a bad thing.

 

^^ When you realize that Warren Buffet has a horrible credit score because he pays cash for everything, then you understand that the game is rigged and not in our favor. They point to the few examples when it is accurate / correct and use that to extrapolate over everyone. But correlation is not causation and it is an invalid straw-man model.

Good luck to the OP on getting his truck fixed.

 

Whether you have bad credit or good credit, the system is rigged against you, and in general, the ideal thing to do is pay cash for the truck if you can.