Does my truck look totaled?

LovinChevy · September 10, 2021

So the insurance estimator finally came to look at my truck today. And it turns out not to be as bad as I thought. The total estimation was $12k in damage, but the body shop will do their own inspection that will be more detailed as they start pulling it apart. They are also going to do a frame check when they get it on the lift, but they didn't think there would be any frame damage. They did add in a new axle since it was obviously messed up. I do expect more things to be discovered once they start working on it, but I doubt it would add up to anything major. The estimator said that it would take nearly twice that much to total the truck. Because of the current market for used trucks, he valued my truck at $31k, which is nearly $5k over book value. It is going to be a lengthy repair, but hopefully it will seem like it never happened when it is finished! I purposely took it to a certified body shop at a Chevrolet dealership, so I know it will be fixed right.

MikeBMW · September 10, 2021

18 minutes ago, LovinChevy said:

So the insurance estimator finally came to look at my truck today. And it turns out not to be as bad as I thought. The total estimation was $12k in damage, but the body shop will do their own inspection that will be more detailed as they start pulling it apart. They are also going to do a frame check when they get it on the lift, but they didn't think there would be any frame damage. They did add in a new axle since it was obviously messed up. I do expect more things to be discovered once they start working on it, but I doubt it would add up to anything major. The estimator said that it would take nearly twice that much to total the truck. Because of the current market for used trucks, he valued my truck at $31k, which is nearly $5k over book value. It is going to be a lengthy repair, but hopefully it will seem like it never happened when it is finished! I purposely took it to a certified body shop at a Chevrolet dealership, so I know it will be fixed right.

Good news, so far, relatively speaking, I hope you get more of it! (more good news on getting your truck back)

Edited September 10, 2021 by MikeBMW

Donstar · September 13, 2021

On 9/9/2021 at 6:18 PM, LovinChevy said:

So the insurance estimator finally came to look at my truck today. And it turns out not to be as bad as I thought. The total estimation was $12k in damage, but the body shop will do their own inspection that will be more detailed as they start pulling it apart. They are also going to do a frame check when they get it on the lift, but they didn't think there would be any frame damage. They did add in a new axle since it was obviously messed up. I do expect more things to be discovered once they start working on it, but I doubt it would add up to anything major. The estimator said that it would take nearly twice that much to total the truck. Because of the current market for used trucks, he valued my truck at $31k, which is nearly $5k over book value. It is going to be a lengthy repair, but hopefully it will seem like it never happened when it is finished! I purposely took it to a certified body shop at a Chevrolet dealership, so I know it will be fixed right.

Sorry about your truck but glad you weren't injured! I'm sure your truck will be brought back to original condition. The issue that hasn't been mentioned is depreciated re-sale value. I don't know if this part of your discussion with the insurance company but now is a good time to find out if there is any compensation available.

20Denali22 · September 13, 2021

If they do fix it, get a diminished value check for the crash depreciation. I got a $3500 check when my wife's 19 Tahoe was rear ended.

Edited September 14, 2021 by 20Denali21

LovinChevy · September 13, 2021

1 hour ago, 20Denali21 said:

RIP. She's a goner. If they do fix it, get a diminished value check for the crash depreciation. I got a $3500 check when my wife's 19 Tahoe was rear ended.

How did you go about filing the diminished value claim? Did you have to go through your insurance, or go directly to the other parties insurance company? I've been looking into that, but it seems like it can be a complicated process.

M1ck3y · September 14, 2021

On 9/9/2021 at 7:18 PM, LovinChevy said:

So the insurance estimator finally came to look at my truck today. And it turns out not to be as bad as I thought. The total estimation was $12k in damage, but the body shop will do their own inspection that will be more detailed as they start pulling it apart. They are also going to do a frame check when they get it on the lift, but they didn't think there would be any frame damage. They did add in a new axle since it was obviously messed up. I do expect more things to be discovered once they start working on it, but I doubt it would add up to anything major. The estimator said that it would take nearly twice that much to total the truck. Because of the current market for used trucks, he valued my truck at $31k, which is nearly $5k over book value. It is going to be a lengthy repair, but hopefully it will seem like it never happened when it is finished! I purposely took it to a certified body shop at a Chevrolet dealership, so I know it will be fixed right.

12k includes labor!? Oem parts or aftermarket?

Getting ripped off up in Canada even after the exchange rate......

LovinChevy · September 14, 2021

12k includes labor!? Oem parts or aftermarket?

Getting ripped off up in Canada even after the exchange rate......

That was including labor and aftermarket parts. I pushed to get OEM parts, but they said I would have to cover the difference in price since the insurance policy would not cover that. But talking to the body shop, they said they would be able to price match OEM parts for most of it.

CrawlSlow · September 14, 2021

Some policy are tricky, the shop can't use new OEM parts but they can use new aftermarket parts or used OEM parts. I say time for a new insurance provider...

Edit: since you are not at fault. Have the other insurance pay for OEM parts.

Edited September 14, 2021 by CrawlSlow

20Denali22 · September 14, 2021

On 9/13/2021 at 2:07 PM, LovinChevy said:

How did you go about filing the diminished value claim? Did you have to go through your insurance, or go directly to the other parties insurance company? I've been looking into that, but it seems like it can be a complicated process.

It was a lengthy process but I had my insurance company help me.

First I had to get a certified vehicle appraisal from someone who specialized in diminished value. After that, my insurance company (USAA) submitted my REQUEST for a diminished value claim to State Farm. These claims are time sensitive and have to be addressed pretty quickly is what I was told. After you sign off on your vehicle repairs, you can't submit this diminish value claim because the claim will be closed on their end. Supplemental claims rarely go anywhere nor get approved after the fact.