dlee275

**Sorry long post but see last paragraph for ?'s please***

I had been stopped waiting for a newer Mustang to make a left turn on a two-lane road for about 10 or 15 seconds (waiting for traffic to get by so she could turn) when I look in my rear-view mirror and see a car flying up to me at probably more than the speed limit. She ended up not hitting the brakes until about 10 feet before she hit me so she hit me going at least the speed limit. She was in a 20-25 year old Oldsmobile. She hit me REALLY hard and knocked me forward about 20 feet into the Mustang and about 8 or 10 feet past the road the Mustang was attempting to turn left into and the Mustang traveled about another 15 feet past me.

She kind of went up under me (my uhaul tow hitch got bent down into her engine and the front of her car was almost gone. The front of mine doesn't look good either and neither does the back of the Mustang but not too extremely bad. I had a passenger and our seats both were forced to recline all the back into the back of the cab (X-cab, seat are broken), my rear sliding glass broke throwing glass everywhere and cutting us up a bit, my back end is very bad considering she kinda went under it, with both fenders bowing a little, and my hood is bent some, and I think both fenders up there too. My knees smashed into the dash, and his elbow was hanging out the window and the impact forced my lock to bend to like a 45 degree angle but we are okay right now compared to the four in the Oldsmobile that went off in an ambulance (not too bad it didn't seem, I hope), and the lady in the Mustang convertible also went off in the ambulance (maybe trying for an early retirement, it seemed, I hope it wasn't too serious). Interesting note, after all this abuse the truck still managed to crank up and pull itself and the car hung up under it off the road with two flat rear tires.

***Anyway, it'll likely be totaled. I am worried, however, for a couple reasons. The highway patrol didn't get there until like 45 mins after the accident and the other drivers were being carried off in ambulances when he finally arrived but he stopped them and got their licenses luckily. Hopefully the girl has insurance but her address might be wrong, not her car, etc. Also, I havent had this truck 6 or 7 months and, as you know, they are worth more than their book value would indicate. I paid $5K for the 89 Pickup w/140k miles, 4wd w/auto hubs, 5sp, new 31-10.5 A/Ts, XCab, V6...basically a very desirable yota. I bought this knowing it would need about a thousand dollars labor/parts for various engine repair so I have about 6 or 6.5 in it recently. What should I do to get what it was worth if I sold it outright b/c I am worried I am going to get screwed and they offer me like 3k or something. Can I show them receipts or what? Thanks a lot guys for any advice.

jimbo74

that sucks..... you would be surprised.... they didn't book mine when they totalled it.. they actually priced similar vehicles in my area and settled on a price... i got $2200 for my 85 4x2......

JEDI87

They go off of blue book but they also go by what other trucks like yours are selling for and have sold for in the last 30 days.I just had my mustang totalled,book on it was 1,600 but they gave me 5,000.

leebee

that really sucks, you pay so much for insurance on your vehicle for just this reason, then they stick it to you when you have something like this happen. i wont start on my insurance rant. sorry to hear about your rig, i hope the others that were transported to the hospital are ok. glad to hear you and your friend are doing ok also. you will definately want to talk more with the trooper, your insurance co. and a lawyer. you will want accurate collision site measurements to solidify your case should you need to pursue legal action. good luck and keep us posted.

lee

dlee275

Thanks guys.

What do you think a truck like mine in good condition would be worth approximately?

I just woke up this morning and I am not as sore as I feared I would be thankfully.

CynicX

Call your insurance company and get the ball rolling. Explained what happened. There insurance company will call you and probably send you a check, once you cash this check you can no longer sue her if you back hurts or whatever. So be certain you are ok. Then the insurance will take care of getting you your money, unfortunately you will probably only get blue book, thats why I'll never buy a used car for higher then blue book.

If she doesnt have insurance your uninsured motorist coverage will take care of it. Since you are ok and you werent driving a porsche I believe even the basic coverage will cover everything.

I would however find out if she has insurance and try to get a rental car asap.

Athansinis

Sorry to hear about your rig but glad to hear you and your passenger weren't hurt too badly.

Yoda

When my DD got totaled, they offered me a price from their own value guide (Farmers insurance). Since my car was impounded for evidence against the girl that hit me, no adjuster could see it. So it was 10 months before the investigation was over and the police released it, and I got paid. Their ins only paid for 1 month of rental (I didn't have rental coverage).
I was paid 1300 fo my car, KBB was about 1900. 10 cars like it in the paper, only 2 were less than 1900. I had just that morning put put in a $130 premium lifetime starter, the day before had put in new rotors and pads. Had the reciepts, didn't matter. The only thing that helped was the "rental allowance", $15 a day X 30 days= $450. I hadn't rented, as I had another car.
Do you have full coverage? (I did not have colision to fix my own car) If so, your insurance may pay you for your truck and go after her insurance.

The settlement on the truck (property damage) will be separate from the settlement on your body (liability). You can settle one before the other. It was 10 months to get paid for the car, another 4 to get paid for me. Me and her 3 passengers had to divide up the max liability for our injuries (3 of them ejected from car during rollover). They had 100/300 liability...max 100K per person, 300K max per accident. 2 girls got max, one of them it didn't even cover her current medical expenses.

Get youself checked out ASAP by a DR. Don't sign a liability settlement until you are SURE you are OK (might wait at least a month). Your passenger also.
Sad thing is, you may not break even unless you do get a liability settlement.

msw0085

From what I learned from my wreck, they (Farmers) do NOT look at blue book, rather they price comp similar trucks in your area. Book was in the sixes..market said 9's...i got 9400.. Make sure you mention your aftermarket stuff, and have receipts available if you need to furnish them. I got value for my brush guard, window tint, and stereo system..Good Luck!

dlee275

I talked to the agent, Nationwide, and she said they determine value from their own computer program but will take into consideration market values. The only problem is I cannot find an 89 V6, 5sp, 4x4, Ext. cab, with anywhere near my miles and condition. How could I prove to them what it is worth to people. I mean the truck was in very good condition. You can visit this link to look at more pictures before and there is some fairly poor quality pics of the accident too. Thanks a lot guys.

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~delee2/89ToyotaPU.htm

Check out the before


And the after (note the bent steering wheel and lock, and on the link you can see a little more but it is hard to see the flattened rear diff and wrecked suspension)

shiftless89

Get a good lawyer. And I said I would never be one of "those people" but screw it find a money hungry slimey hardfisted lawyer and let him tell you what its worth. I have now been screwed by insurance companies twice by trying to do the "right" thing. no more! I hope you get a descent settlement. Good luck!
Mike

CynicX

Insurance companies really bother me when it comes to business ethics. But I guess they get screwed over so much buy slime balls, that they have to have to screw over the honest people out there.

Reminds me of a story of a bus accident I read about in the paper. Apparently there was a bus accident in Baltimore city. The bus max capacity was 50 people or so. By the time the cops got there, there were 70 people on the curb holding there necks. Turns out 90% of the people that were actually on the bus got a ride home from friends and family. Everyone holding there necks were just "passer byers". Sad.

Yoda

On my deal, the atty made all the diff. I figured my injuries were worth $5K. They wouldn't even talk about it. When I hired an atty to help me, his 33% was more than $5K.

dlee275

I am going to the doctor today but I am just very sore thankfully so I don't think I will be getting any money for that besides paying for that visit. I am concerned mainly about the compensation for my truck. Do you think I should just wait and see what they offer and if I am dissatisfied then get a lawyer involved?

bryanr

For reference, I've got a very similar 89 4x4 Xtra cab in similar condition with that I bought with 160k miles for 5k this past March. Your truck looks like it was very clean and in great condition, which is something they have to take into consideration. Good luck!