Well, CRAP!

I have a friend who is a retired adjuster who tells me that this time frame is not all that unusual. I hope they remember they are paying for my rental car, and that total goes up every day...
He also says that by law the insurance has to pay replacement value of the truck plus sales tax in whatever state it's titled. Since getting a replacement truck of roughly the same year and equipment around here averages around $20,000+ retail, I have the feeling they are gonna try to fix her.

 

Finally!!
I found out that the Tacoma WILL be fixed, the parts are on order, including a new steering wheel/air bag assembly, control arms, and assorted parts, and that the frame was NOT damaged. I will of course be sure to check that it drives and handles correctly before accepting the truck back, but I hope to have her back in 2-3 weeks.

 

Best of luck. Be anal about the truck, if it isn't right, don't accept "we will fix that later".

 

Oh, TRUST ME, I have "Being Anal Retentive" down to an art form! Especially when it comes down to things like the suspension and steering!

 

Wow. Just got an e-mail with the estimate, and supplemental costs. it's now at $11,051.45. BUMMER. Thank goodness I only have a $250 Deductible... still not sure how long it will be until it's fixed. Soon, I hope. The body shop has been working on it, but found more stuff..
Apparently I'm getting new wheel hub, calipers, outer seals, bearing with ABS rotor, left steering knuckle, and lower control arm, along with new wheel, tire, and BUNCHES of other stuff like the bumper cover, hood touch-up, door frame straightening and adjustment, and a bunch of stuff I would have never thought about, like replacing the entire left front seat belt assembly.

 

How worn are your tires?
Yeah, seat belt is getting replaced because it has a squib in it.

 

Well, the tires are at 6/32 last time they were checked. The left front might have broken cords from the impact...?? I guess the wheel got bent, as well.
I kind of suspected that if a vehicle goes through an accident hard enough to blow the air bag, the belt would be replaced as well in case of excessive strain. Safety feature, I guess...

 

When it pops, the squib tightens the belt to prevent additional injuries from wearing a loose belt. They have to replace the entire assembly to replace the squib.

 

The seat belt has a pretensioner built into it to take up slack in the event of an accident. These tensioners are a one use product. There are companies that will repair them or you can buy a new one from Toyota or a salvage yard. The repair shop is replacing the whole seat belt assembly as the pretensioner is part of the whole assembly, not sold separately.

 

Finally got some repair pics...
Door hinge Pillar
Bumper brace
Radiator support
Left Front Suspension
Beginning teardown
Left Headlight.

 

This is getting ridiculous. A week ago Monday, (5/2), I was told that "Well, we will try to get it out by the end of the week".
On Friday, (5/7), I called and was then told, "Well, maybe by sometime next week".
This is going to get expensive, since the rental coverage expired on Monday (5/9), which is 30 DAYS after the accident!
I STILL don't know anything about when they might have the truck done. All I know is that apparently, it's off the frame rack, and is in the main body shop, and the new tires are either installed, or will be soon.
I just sent a rather terse e-mail to the body shop, asking for ANY info about it.
Who else here has ever had to deal with a slow repair shop?

 

Most repair shops are slow.

Most repair shops speed up when you're there in person, though.

 

Just got a call that my truck is supposed to be finished this afternoon, 1 month and 10 days after the accident!
We shall see how it looks and drives when I get there to pick it up.

 

We need pics.

 

I may have missed it, but I'd really like to know who your carrier is. So I can avoid them.

Hope it's fixed right for you, and glad you are ok! Had an acquaintance die in a Beetle convertible when a oil drum fell off a truck and bounced through his windshield.

 

Coworker of mine was driving down the 110 freeway here in LA by Highland Park (for those that don't know, the 110 is LA's first freeway and is a deathtrap these days, very winding and no emergency lanes at all. Very short on/offramps. Basically it was built for cars that didn't go over 40 mph decades ago and has never been renovated).

Anyway, she was driving along at night and some idiot kids were rolling giant rocks (little boulders) onto the freeway. She hit one in her Scion xB and it totaled her car. According to her, there were a few other cars stopped on the freeway too from hitting the rocks. Again, this freeway has no emergency lane. Stupid ass kids.

 

Actually, the Insurance Company has been really supportive. it's been the Body Shop that I was getting mixed and contradictory messages from! First they had all the parts, then the lower control arm was on back-order, and so forth...
King Collision in Knoxville, Tn.
I'll get some pics in the morning. The weather sucks here right now!

 

O.K. Some Pics. She tracks dead straight, NO pull to either side when accelerating or braking, steering wheel is dead level when going down the road, so I think the suspension is dead on spec!
Final cost was somewhere around $11,050 and change! Lucked out in that the insurance covered MOST of the cost of 4 new BFG A/T KO2s!
Of course, I think that if it's ever run through CarFax, it will show that there was an airbag deploy and repairs, so the re-sale value might have been compromised, I'm not too sure about how that works. I guess I'll just keep her until the engine falls out...;-)

 

You engage 4wd and flex it a little to see if it still works well?

 

Yup. Had to run through a flooded section of the gravel road on the way home. Went into 4WD just to be sure, and ran like clockwork. No grinding, groaning, whatever...I think I got a good repair job, even though it seemed to take forever.
Of course, when the loaner was a Suzuki SX4, ANYTIME would seem to be forever...