89-4run

This past Weds I was rear-ended, bad enough that my truck will be a total loss (not determined yet). I've had my 89 4Runner for 11 years and it has 225k miles on it. I've always said to my friends, I will never ever ever never get rid of it. Very very sad day.

I was going to work and this lady in front of me decided to stop very quickly, almost caught me off guard. As I waited for her to make her left hand turn, without warning I was hit directly in the rear by a car doing 30 mph. I bounced around violently. I didn't even hit my head on the steering wheel. All my pennies went flying from the ashtray lol. When I got hit, I tapped the car in front of me which freaked me out because she had 2 kids in her car. Thank god she was alright and her kids. The lady that hit me, I couldn't tell it was a mercedes wagon anymore. The whole front end was chewed up, coolant everywhere and plastic. She wasn't wearing her seatbelt and gave herself a pretty bad headache.

Thank god everyone was ok. The lady that hit me, we were both sent to the hospital in the same ambulance. As she was pulled out of the ambulance, she apologized to me, and the lady I "tapped", apologized to me (at the scene) for making a sudden stop. I told the firefighters in the ambulance that I'm thinking more about my 4runner than myself and they said "That's typical, we understand completely since we drive "Tacomas" lol.

After going to see my truck at the auto body (still waiting for claims adjuster to look at it), I could still start it, but it wouldn't drive. Then I noticed that the Badland Bumper and spare tire underneath were pushed so far forward that the ebrake cable is pulled tight. That bumper and tire absorbed all of the impact, as I'm sure the wagon went underneath me. The auto body said the frame is most likely bent too. I was surprised that the LineX was still perfectly molded to the bent metal! My front bumper was pushed in about 2 inches but did not take any damage except some paint - Badland bumpers did their job

I have the police report, which is accurate. I've filed the claim with their insurance company. I know I will be screwed because an 89 4Runner with 225k miles on it. I have the receipts for all my mods and recent work within the past 6 months.

Anyone have advice? I've never been in an accident before. I am so freakin' bummed right now. I took such good care of that truck. That 4Runner was one of a kind.

Here is what my truck looks like:


Damage to rear - pics don't do it justice (large pics ahead):
http://home.comcast.net/~robert.ponti/cw003.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~robert.ponti/cw002.jpg

slosurfer

Bummer, glad you and everyone was okay though.

bballchrism

oo that stinks and it was such a beautifull 1st gen

misterzee

Whitey and I got nailed in the butt last fall, lucky for me there was no body damage...just bumper destruction.... but yours looks like $2k plus bumper there to get fixed... worth it... they should just write you a check to repair it. I'm sure you have a SORE neck too...

20005spd

sorry to hear this. after reading the post i would say 80% chance the frame is bent.
it is a real shame that you try to keep a nice 1st gen kickn with 200k+ miles and someone hasta go ruin it. this is my advice. if the frame is bent, total it. have the insurance company give you what they will, i dont think theyll screw you to bad, you will be surprised. then buy back the 4runner from the insurance company. i know ppl who have done this, the insurance will sell it for dirt cheap back to you cuz its more money in their pocket. then buy another runner and swap parts etc. keep us posted.

91_4x4runner

I got rear-ended by a guy in a 04 Dodge ram last December. Luckily, he got down to about 15mph before hitting me. My rear tire took his hood and crammed it into his radiator. No damage on my part. Good luck with the insurance company.

89-4run

Glad you guys were ok in your situations.

The auto body place guessed on site $3k plus. He said most ins. companies come in and ask the year. If before 95', its a loss cut a check. And yes, my neck is sore - thank god I had my head rest all the way up because my head hit that.

89-4run

Thanks! Just looking for options of what to do. I guess if I don't go the route of a 1st gen again, I could sell those parts privately? Heck, the GeoLander tires are a year old and were rotated every 3k miles. Rims are in near perfect shape. I put in a new dashboard - only 2 left in the country left at the time. Expensive custom stereo system in it... blah, the list goes on.

You know, you hit it on the head. I'm sooo bummed because someone else took my 4runner from me. But she apologized and meant it and I can accept that.

gohawks

I got rear ended a few years ago. Didn't total my F150 but messed it up pretty good.

Their insurance paid to fix it, and then out of the blue I got a call from an adjuster offering $2000 for I"m assuming my pain and suffering IF i agreed to be recorded saying I would never come back to sue. I was fine, but I wasn't going to turn down the cash.

You may not get exactly what you want out of your 4Runner, BUT you have them over a barrel with potential injury/pain and suffering issue.

20005spd

ya its tough to find a nice 1st gen, at least in my area with out tons of rot. but i would deff part that thing out at least. your tires and rims did look real new.

Elton

that sucks also you posted it in the wrong section

Tofer

wow thats amazing.. that bumper just crumpled.

89-4run

Doh. I've had this forum (this section) bookmarked since I joined in 02. I don't come here to often and never paid attention to the link I bookmarked, but now I see 4x the amt of sections than there used to be!

Sorry fellas - I'm sure an admin will see this and move it.

881stGenRunner

man im sorry to hear that. I really hope you get your 4runner back and everything turns out okay.

AxleIke

That really doesn't look as bad as i thought. you'd need a new tailgate, a new rear bumper, but your leaf mounts look okay, and it doesn't look like it petetrated far enough hit any frame. The auto body guys will tell you stuff is bent, but i'd check that out for sure before you decide to write it off. Not saying it isn't, but i've had nothing but extremely bad advice from autobody "experts".

If it turns out there isn't frame damage, or minimal damage, id say, get a new gate, new rear bumper, and paint it.

keithguts

I agree. They all tell you that it is worse then it is.

89-4run

Ok good to know. Although, the spare tire is jammed so far forward its actually hitting the rear-right shock and pushing it outward. I would assume that means more damage than just the tailgate. Keyword being "assume".

Next time I go to visit, and when my neck is feeling better I'm going to climb inside and look at the bed of the 4runner... curious now if its crumpled.

Thanks again for the advice, I will get a couple of estimates before I throw in the towel.

89-4run

Hey, i see you're located in Baily/Boulder, do you have any recommendations for good body shops? The place its at now is the place the police dropped it off at so I have no idea if they are any good.

amgraham

Dang man.. That car must have been going pretty fast. Here's my bumper after taking a 40 mph ish hit from a Camry:



They wanted to total my truck because book is only $2K and the adjuster put it at $1641 in damage (the front was crunched too, rear of frame was slightly bent, etc.). They are supposed to total when damage exceeds 75% of value. It really depends on what company it is and what kind of mood the adjuster is in. My guy was super nice and said that even though it was over the total line he would push it through since he could tell I had put a lot of effort into the truck. Just make sure to fight until you're happy. Also, if you plan to keep it from now on it's not the end of the world to have to get a salvage title. It looks fixable to me from the pics.

Good luck man!

AxleIke

Sorry man, don't know of any...I've been doing my own body work for a number of years now, got sick of dealing with the crooks.

As for the spare tire, its on a chain, so it could easily have been pulled out, though, even if the spare mount is bustedup, its not that hard to cut out and move along. The bed is probably bent up, but looking at your pictures, it doesn't look like you seperated the topper at all, meaning it would be pretty easy to flatten the bed out again.

As for repairs, inspect it yourself, but you may be able to do many of the repairs yourself, and save money.

Another option, and this is only speculative, never done it myself, but heard that it is possible. But the other option is to take and total the truck, pick up a check from the ins company, and then go a head and buy the truck back as salvage, and then either pay or do the repairs yourself. Usually, salvage is cheaper than what you get for totalling the car, so you actually see some of the money the ins company pays out. Again, not sure on that, just heard about it being done.