Wrecked Third Gen Tacoma - Diminished Value check?

Live in Seattle, was down in SoCal for work and had to get something in Las Vegas before beginning month long camping/off roading vacation.

Got off the freeway and less than 10 minutes later dude runs a stop sign and I smash into him probably going 35-40. He admits fault. Dash cam footage is pretty good too and clearly shows his fault too.

Dogs fine, I’m fine, truck *drives*

Pretty good amount of cosmetic damage to the front of it, but I don’t think it damaged anything important. But I’m not a mechanic.

Anyone know what I can expect as far as a diminished value check? Or what the best way to press this with his insurance. Truck is less than 3 months old...

 

Ouch! Glad you are ok, that really sucks to have happen to your new ride.

 

Whatever you do, DO NOT have a shop do the estimate. They'll underestimate the damage have the insurance company give then the check for repair. Have your insurance claims agent cone out and do a estimate.

If it has frame damage, it'll never be the same. Especially front end.

 

That does suck but that shit should buff out.

Glad your ok.

 

Sucks! But everyone's okay!!

 

My insurance agents are an 18 hour drive away :/

 

Body shop will have to check the frame with a hit like that, hard to tell from the picture.

 

My 06 Xterra 4x4 was hit by a drunk driver head on parked, he was driving a tundra and plowed into it going 30 mph. Had it fixed with frame damage, never drove the same. They did a ok job fixing the crushed cross members in the engine bay. But left a old fogged up head light. They typically only replace parts that are damaged without regard to appearance.

I would just see what damage you have OP and go from there. Some people just ask for a check, others have it fixed. But shop around body shops and read reviews.

 

Also, you get to choose where you get the work done. Do your research and find one you want. I've always been under the impression that the insurance company would rather short change you to save money rather than the shop doing the work. Let the shop know you are shopping around and they'll compete for your business. Last shop I used gave me an extra $600 cash after hail damage work which my insurance has underestimated at a body shop they had partnered with by a few thousand. Good luck.

 

That's a pretty good hit. It's good in that most of the damage stayed in front of the radiator core support, but you might be surprised at the $$ amount of the damage. Looks like the door is pushed back a bit. Did the bed smack into the back of the cab corners? Any airbags pop?

 

I think the door is fine, but it won’t open cause the front right panel got smashed

 

Find a shop that either is part of a Toyota dealer or only uses oem parts. That way you’ll get Toyota parts instead of whatever cheap parts the insurance company tries to stick you with.

 

Diminished value is a challenging negotiation. You have a hard time establishing what that number is, as it hasn't been repaired and you haven't attempted to sell it post-repair. The Insurance Co position is that it will be repaired to your satisfaction, ergo, no diminished value.

 

Toyota collision center is where I'd go.. After my shaddy dealings with Caliber Collision. They were doing a rush job on my Xterra.

 

2018's out very soon.

 

Call and file the claim

 

Yup, my car was hit a couple years ago, Toyota collision center used all oem parts, was warrantied even paint is warrantied, and the other persons insurance wasn’t happy they had to fork out for Toyota parts, they tried to get me to take it elsewhere. I said nope, your client hit me, I’m getting the exact same parts that I paid for to begin with. Guess what? They bought oem parts.

 

So much carnage.
You may want to have your frame checked out though

 

People tend to have a knee jerk reaction to go to dealership when dealing with collision damage but that's seldom the best body shop in town. Find out who the preferred shops are from your insurance carrier. They're generally the best and will provide lifetime warranty on repairs if it's through the insurance company. Go interview a few of them and check out their shops. You can tell a LOT by walking through the shop. Don't pay much attention to the front of the house. Look at the spray booths and talk to some blue collar guys if you can. Sorry you're dealing with this. Sucks.