Totaled 2010 TRD - Insurance question

I got rear ended at a stoplight a couple of weeks ago. The damage resulted in the truck being totaled. I'm still negotiating the payout from the insurance company (thankfully no one was hurt badly and the other driver had insurance). I'm pretty bummed, because this Tacoma was exactly what I was looking for when I bought it 9 months ago. There is no way I can replace it for what they want to pay me. Any advice would be welcome... but specifically, I have a question about lift kit valuation. The truck is equipped with a SDT leveling kit which seems to be priced at about $575. In the details of what they are offering me for the truck, the lift kit is only valued at $75. Anyone successfully negotiate more than that for a mall crawler lift like this?

 

In my experience, if you send them examples of other equal (close to) vehicles for sale, you can usually argue the value of yours higher. I imagine the same can be said for your lift kit. Remember a couple things here. 1) insurance companies aren't in the business of paying out as much money as they can... they want to pay out as little as they can. 2) YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT THEIR OFFER. Not the initial offer, not the next one, or the one after that. Do NOT accept an offer until it's an offer you're 1) happy with, and 2) is sufficient to adequately replace the vehicle that their insured party totaled. You can play hardball if need be. Hell, I hung up on the insurance adjuster after telling them to come back with a realistic offer before. You just have to be insistent and hold out for what you know your vehicle is worth.

Good luck!

 

Following up on my insurance claim. I settled after about 6 weeks. During that time, my homework was helpful in reaching an agreement. It came down to two things. The first is that I was able to find a vehicle for sale in my area that more closely matched the equipment and options on my truck than the ones they used (also the price was much higher). The second is that I went through each and every option and accessory on my truck and had them update the equipment list so it was all inclusive.

It was helpful to call a friend at a Toyota dealer and give him my VIN number. He was able to send me a copy of the window sticker for my truck. With that I had an accurate list of all the options that originally came with the truck. In addition to factory options, my truck came with a lift and slightly oversized tires (3" lift and 265/75/16 tires). They only valued the lift at $75 (it retailed for about $600) and no additional value for the tires (they only cost about $75 over the standard size, so I wasn't too heartbroken). Amazingly to me, the TRD Offroad package didn't give me much value either, over the SR5 truck they used as a comparable vehicle.

In the end, I was able to get about $2500 more than they originally offered. Just remember to stay professional. It's work for them and having you scream and yell really doesn't accomplish much. As in all walks of life, some people I spoke with were better than others. Some were complete idiots. When I got the idiots, I would get off the phone (not hang up, just end the call politely) and call back until I got someone who was reasonable. It may be your baby that you are trying to assign a number to, but to them it's a pile of parts that add up to a number. Some of those parts have no value on the resale market.

After the dust settled (actually, a week or so before it did), finding a replacement for an Access Cab TRD Offroad with manual trans was really the tough part. One finally popped up for sale in my area. It was 5 years newer (2015), had 60,000 fewer miles, and was advertised for a price about $6000 more than the 2010 cost. I was able to get slightly better financing because of the newer vehicle, so my payment only went up about $50 a month. Not too bad.

 

No pic?

 

Of the old one or the new one?

 

The new, I would love a manual ext cab in a 4cl but they are really hard to come by. I found an 02 4x4 Tacoma with the rare step side with 250k that was a local one owner truck no wrecks but dealer wanted too much.

 

Here are both of them. Can you tell the Magnetic Grey truck is totaled?

 

Buy it back, but remove the lift first and toss them 75$

 

They totaled it because the frame was bent. According to the insurance company, they wouldn't allow a buy back with a busted frame. They claimed it was against Oregon law. I couldn't find any support for that, and I would have been okay with a frame replacement (especially since Toyota is doing them all the time), but they didn't allow it. In the end, I'm happy with the new truck. I get a backup camera view that I can actually see, bluetooth phone connection and 60,000 fewer miles. I preferred the Magnetic Gray, but black is growing on me. I'm kinda old to drive a completely murdered out Taco, but I'm thinking those wheels are way too bright.

 

I thought about keeping the lift and tires, but the lift was just blocks and pucks & the tires were nothing special. I did, however, swap out the brand new battery, floor mats and strangely enough, the rear headrests. I also took the factory bed mat since they only valued it at $25. I called them to let them know & have them deduct the $25. The girl on the phone couldn't find the bed mat in the paperwork for the valuation, so she told me to keep it and made a note to that effect. I miss the factory subwoofer that was in the other truck, but I got about $400 for the stereo and speaker upgrade, so I decided they could keep it.