Tacomas can really take a hit.

All Tacomas have a rev limiter if I'm not mistaken, which makes blowing up the motor in this fashion next to impossible.

 

an upside down engine can hydro lock pretty easily if not shut off

 

You sunk her battleship!

Now her insurance owes you and for that you should shoot for a completely new truck or at worst, a hefty check for diminished value alongside fully warranted repairs

 

good to hear your ok.
was the truck drivable after that? or fire up? hahah

 

I bought this 05 as a totaled vehicle. Granted this one is 4 years older. I would say make sure you have a 3rd party look over your truck after you get it back but I am not surprised it is not totaled. Worst case with the airbag is they will buy one off ebay or some place from a wrecking yard (which is what I did) the price difference is something like $1,200 from dealer to $350 from salvage yard. But even that is not that big of a deal it will still be a like new airbag that was never deployed.

The nice part about the body panels is they are all bolt on including the bed. Just make sure you insist on OEM panels and not the cheap OE kind from China. I used all OEM panels except on my hood and I regret that. It is a much thinner metal and more susceptible to denting. But as long as the place doesn't cut any corners your truck will be fine. I absolutely love mine, the only thing wrong with it is my less than perfect paint job and my OE hood. Everything mechanical is with in spec and there are not error codes, not even for the airbag system (once I flashed my airbag control computer)

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

I agree 100% and that's why it's crucial when deciding where to take your truck for repairs. The best equipment won't do any good if the technician doesn't know how to use it.

 

It sounds like you are off to a good start, but I would suggest pressing for deminished value payment. Even if they fix the truck perfectly, you will always know that it was in an accident and having some type of compensation for this will make it easier to live with.

 

so how will this end up on carfax? the collision center said theat its voluntary to report it and they dont do it since they didnt total the truck. Maybe the insurance company? i know that the dealerships do it for maintenance cause it looks good when a buyer asks for the carfax and it show this nice periodic maintenance.

 

Insurance reports it.

 

Insurance companies generally don't report accidents to Carfax, as that works against them. Police reports will get reported to Carfax, I assume your accident involved a police report?

 

I also have USAA, and they are amazing to deal with.

They should have told you this, but one thing to keep in mind if it does get repaired: You can choose any repair shop you want, but if it isn't a USAA preferred shop, USAA will not warranty the repair work for you. If you choose your own shop, any issues you have, will have to be dealt with directly between you and the shop. If you use a USAA preferred shop, USAA will continue to handle any issues you have after the repair.

 

talked to the other party's insurance awhile ago. Theyre hooking me up with a rental car. Enterprise asked if i wanted a truck car or suv. So i told them truck of course. But all they had was a full size dodge, but its covered so i'll deal with it. The insurance company also asked if i was okay and if there were any medical bills they needed to cover. told i was okay, i went to my urgent care center on base and said just some bumps, bruises and soreness. So they agent said bumps and bruises huh? how about a thousand bucks? so after i get checked out by my primary care doctor, sure i guess. even though the agent work for state farm he admitted he had the same insurance as i did.

 

One of the main reasons why in March of 2005 I went with a second generation Tacoma over the 04' was the improved front crash rating, the other was the small price difference between low miles on an 04' and new 05'.

When I see people putting on 130+ pound steel plate bumpers on these trucks, I just cringe because of what it could possibly do to you or worse, the other driver. That is why I am having Aluminess build me pretty much a custom aluminum front bumper with this in consideration. All I need or want is an improved approach angle, not some redneck plate steel crap endangering other drivers, my self or hosing the crumple zone on the truck.

The new bumper is still going to change the crumple zone dynamics a fair amount, but not nearly as much as some steel junk..

Glad you are OK...it's a dangerous world out on the roads, no doubt.

 

@ kodachrome
glad you said that cause at one point i was considering an aftermarket bumper. Glad i didnt now

 

It's a tough call in some cases. Obviously the steel one will protect you and the truck in some cases like hitting deer or larger game if it does not come over the hood, but in the case of your collision, you could have had a neck injury or killed the driver if it hit in a different location on their car.

Lawyers look for things like aftermarket bumpers that change the vehicle's crash profile when going into manslaughter cases. My sister fell asleep at the wheel of her Volvo in 2003 and was t-boned by a suburban with an ARB. She almost died, her face went through 6 re-contruction surgeries and she is still not the same. The investigating officer said that it would have been very different if the truck had a stock bumper and crumpled the way GM had designed it.

 

well from what the accident report and the state trooper said the people in the other car are lucky to be alive now. So if i had the bigger bumper it could have been worse. Here is the article about the accident and a picture of the other vehicle.
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/whidbey/wnt/news/130659263.html

 

I know that area, I have a friend just outside Coupeville. Subaru took a good hit. Good to hear nobody seriously hurt.

 

Offered that up awful quick, didn't they? There's a reason for that. Once you accept that thousand bucks, you will be required to sign a document stating that you release them from any further liability later on down the road. Pretty smart on their part, figuring that a handful full of folks may be tempted by friends/family to sue them for pain and suffering.

 

I wouldn't say smart...but I would say shady.

 

I had my 2007 TRD written off in a rear end collsion. The key was that I had replacement value insurance which required the use of factory parts for repair. The repair estimate skyrockets quickly when using Toyota parts. I am guessing the 13K estimate is for aftermarket parts. In my case, the estimator stopped calculating when he hit 25K.

Glad you are OK- don't sign off on your health until you have made sure you don't have late onset injuries. In my case, my mid back froze up like a brick about a week after the accident. I did not notice it was sore at the time because I had much sharper pain in my gearshift hand and clutch foot. Now, a year and a half later, I still get numbness in my hands from pinched nerves in my mid back.