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I KNEW he should have stayed home!

smigon

smigon

Old enough to know better
My husband refused to get out of bed today, he finally got up a half hour after he usually does and I just had this feeling of dread.

Now I know why.

He is fine, just a little shook up. They towed the truck and dropped him off at work, but we just put $4000 in it for new tires, brakes, struts, and other stuff I don't know about. It has been the greatest truck, it's a 2004 with 250,000 miles on it but it will go another 250k if it isn't damaged too badly.

He came over a hill, traffic was at a dead stop, but Jim wasn't. He couldn't stop in time and rear-ended a BMW. At least he knows how to pick 'em!

The snowbirds are all in town for the winter and I want to pull my hair out driving near them sometimes. They like to do less than the speed limit in the left lane, slam on their brakes, and think the blinker is just for funsies. Okay, total generalization, not picking on the elderly, but still. It is amazing the difference between Phoenix drivers and visit-Phoenix-for-the-winter drivers.

Okay, I feel better, I know he is okay and things happen. :sobstory:
 

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Sadly, I'll bet insurance totals it based on age, mileage, and damage costs. But probably on age and mileage alone. The visible front damage, plus underlying (like header panel...which retains the front grill and headlights) will probably be easily at $3k+.

I had a 1993 ranger that had similar damage thanks to a 16 y.o. kid with no learner's permit, license, insurance that pulled out in front of me in a '72 chevy. Insurance totaled it based on mileage (172k) and age. I hated it as the only issues I ever had were the original clutch going at 152k, 5th gear synchro going at 155k, and a slight tick when going up hills. I loved that 4.0 ranger.

Back to the first part...I say $3k+ as in 2005, in my brand new 2004 ranger (replacement to my '93) I caused an accident while avoiding one. I did less damage, denting my passenger front fender, braking my corner marker, and cracking my header panel, which cost a little over $2300.

Hope he feels better. It took about 2-3 days for me to feel the affects of my '93 ranger accident.
 
Thanks!

Even if it is totaled we can get a decent amount for it, and I have had my eye on a '98 Celica convertible that is $4k and accepting offers! As long as he is okay all is good. He is a little sore but I think he will really feel it tomorrow at work.
 
So sorry about your Hubby's accident, but at least he is okay! I understand how you feel about the truck, especially after making a lot of repairs. I'm still driving my 13-year-old truck, and it's weird, but I'm really attached to it! I've had a lot of ups and downs in those years, and it was always dependable, and never left me stranded.

Have you decided if you're going to try to repair it?

Kathy
 
If they total it, can you take whatever they give you and fix it? Dumb question- I'm sick and can't think. I'm sorry that happened.

I'm so attached to my SUV. It is a 2000, and has 296k on it, and runs great. Plus I have the BEST mechanic, who isn't a rip-off, who can keep it going, who takes payments. I'd die if anything happened to it, and I had a car payment again...I can't really think of any vehicle I'd rather have.
 
The insurance adjuster will go check it out (I actually have no idea where it is, and forgot to ask Jim tonight when he got home what the status is) and either total it or give us an estimate.

This is from Edmunds.com:

"When a vehicle has been in an accident and the total damage exceeds a certain percentage of the value of the car (ranging from 75-90 percent), the insurance company will decide that it is not economically feasible to repair it and declares it a "total loss." What happens next varies by state, but in general, the motor vehicle agency will then issue a "salvage certificate" to the car. This means that the car cannot be driven, sold or registered in its current condition.

Usually, the insurance company sells the car to either a repair facility or parts dismantler. If the car is repaired, most states require that it pass a basic safety inspection before the motor vehicle agency will issue a new title. When the state does issue the title, it's "branded," and notes that the car has been salvaged or rebuilt so future owners are aware of its past."

Nanci, we love this truck, I totally know where you are coming from, and would definitely want to fix it if possible. That is why we dumped money into it, it has 250k miles on it and Jim keeps in in pristine condition, Toyotas are known for lasting a long time so we were hoping to not have another payment either! If not, we want the rims off of it if we can have them, and anything else of value if they are going to trash it.

Oh, the other big thing we had done was a brand new radiator. I don't know how they would do it, but I would want all new parts to replace the new parts we just got, I don't want a 10 year old radiator when the one we put in a few weeks ago was brand new.

Yes, Jim was feeling it when he got home today, he said his whole body was achy and thought he might be getting the flu. I said "mmm, maybe it is because your entire body was traumatized from a little car accident yesterday?". I got an "oooohhhh, yeeeaaahhh..."
 
Oh happy news! The estimate came in at about double what we expected, and Jim called the Toyota shop guy who said if we bought it from the insurance company (they want $X per ton for us to buy it back, I don't know the exact dollar amount) he would pay us double for what they want from us to get it back. The Toyota guy went and looked at it and said because most of the new parts (sans the radiator) were still salvageable as is most of the interior it was definitely worth buying at least for parting out.

I found a better solution, but I think if I wrecked this car I personally would have used duct tape to match the silver paint.

Otherwise it just looks tacky.
 

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So sorry to hear this happened! Glad that hubby seems ok - hopefully he will be fully healed of all aches and pains shortly.

Sounds like the insurance might not work out TOO badly for you. Good luck!
 
kathylove said:
So sorry to hear this happened! Glad that hubby seems ok - hopefully he will be fully healed of all aches and pains shortly.

Sounds like the insurance might not work out TOO badly for you. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Yes, the money is allowing us to look at the Maseratis and Bentleys, while last week we were just looking at 1973 Pacers. HA! I wish!

I really miss my convertibles, I am a ragtop girl, and Jim loved the BMW we used to have, so I think we may compromise on a nice used one with low miles. No truck anymore, but we haven't really needed it much anyway, and we have friends and neighbors who we can borrow them from if need be.
 
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