kcrunner

So last week while at a friends house the neighbor across the street was leaving in a hurry when he backed into my 4Runner while it was parked on the street. He came to the door, told us he hit the truck. The driver's side door was completely caved in and would only open from the inside.

He admitted fault, obviously, and gave me his insurance info. I filed the claim and took my truck one of the Toyota dealers here in KC. The adjustor, who also works for the Collision Center, said they would replace the door SKIN, which I suppose is ok as long as the door and its internals work properly.

The truck had been custom painted long before the accident, and while speaking to AAA Insurance, I told the agent that the paint on my truck would be difficult to match. He said he would call the Collision Center and make sure they felt comfortable performing the work. They said they could match it exact. What I was worried about, and told them this, was that the paint would not match, and that they would have to paint the whole truck if it didn't match. The problem is that there are minor areas of rust on the truck that would have to be repaired before you could paint it.

Bear with me here.

Toyota made the repairs, went to pick it up yesterday after work, the truck looks like it has a donor door from a darker truck. There is almost no metal flake in the paint. The manager at Toyota gave me a song and dance about how it was cloudy out when they matched the paint and that was as good as they could get. I told him specifically "not my f&*kin problem." He said my truck is old and that trying to blend the paint with the rest of the truck would require removing the moldings and they may break. He said the insurance company didn't want to have to do that. My answer? See above.

I went to open the door, lock did not function. As a matter of fact, the door does not open. I told him to fix the truck, while I took one of there Tundra's. I told him to order a new door because all the internals are screwed.

I figured if I took it to a Toyota dealer, they would have a little pride while working on this classic (IMO) Toyota. They obviously didn't

I know this is a really long damn post, but I'm peeved and could use the therapy one finds on this board.

What would you guys do/ What can I legally do?

Thanks.

Here's some before pics

Yotaboy

I feel ya. When I got rearended I took it to a very good body shop and they let it set on the lot for 3 days and then said they were not going to fix it. Then I took it to a hole in the wall body shop and they fix it. It came out looking good and the said it had a life time warranty. About a year later I had rust in the quarters so took it back. They said the warranty doesnt cover rust. WTF!

I work at a Chevy dealership and I see it everyday. The body guys dont take the time with what they think are pieces of junk. If its old they dont want to take time. The newer it is the easier to work on it. The work ethic in this nation sucks!

From the pics your truck looks awesome. I also have a crappy screen and I might be able to see what you are talking about. Good luck!

kcrunner

Those pics are from before the crunch. I wish I'd taken some pics of the truck after repairs, but no camera. The new paint is slightly darker than the rest of the truck, but the main thing is that I can tell a difference.

Like you said, I'm sure the techs gave two poops about my truck.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Do not settle for inferior, incomplete and incorrect work to your truck. If it is NOT to your satisfaction as your truck was before exactly or better then do not accept it and complain to the insurance company and go higher up the Toyota managerial food chain. "This is the best we can do" would have made me just a bit perturbed.

FYI: Inferring of *&*&*%$ F bombs is a bannable offense.

kcrunner

Yeah, I do apologize for that. Next time I'll use other words to convey my disappoinment.

I won't accept the truck, I didn't accept it yesterday. Even the mirror was pointed down towards the ground when I got there. They were ready to hand me the keys and send me on my way. The manager said that my paint job isn't very good so it's hard to match. IDK, you guys have seen the pics form before, looks good to me.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

The accident was not your fault and the repair bill is not yours to pay. The vehicle should be repaired to the equivalent of the condition it was in before the accident or better.

Just remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Good luck.

kcrunner

I agree fully. I just have to remember to not squeak too loud. Gotta stay fairly calm.

Thanks for the input!

misterzee

yeah, its hard to stay calm, but if you are persistent and firm, you should get what you want. take it up to the top if you dont get satisfaction.
A couple years ago, I got rear-ended in my 97 4Runner. I took it to the body shop (chain) that 'her' insurance recommended. They made a couple of ridiculous screw ups, and when the shop manager gave me a pile of excuses and a load of crap, I simply got the national headquarters on the horn. by the next day, there was a regional rep in the shop to deal with the matter, and the shop manager was out there himself with a clay bar rubbing that dang 4Runner for a whole day.
So, know what you want, be reasonable, and don't accept any crap or excuses. And, just work your way up the food chain, AFTER giving the first line guys the opportunity to do their job correctly, if they fail... to the top.
good luck
BTW, sweet lookin runner you got!!!! Be proud of it!

kcrunner

Thanks for that!! I'll stay persistent, and I am extremely proud of it. I drove a long way to get this truck and now it's my only vehicle. I agree to let the first line guys do what they can. I know it's not completely their fault regarding the paint not matching, but they did want me to accept that it couldn't be matched completely. To their credit, the door looks awesome, it would just look better on another truck. And if it opened it would be good too, being 6'5", it's a major pain to have to crawl through the passenger door.

312necro213

Yea, I got rearended in my 2001 4runner and there was major damage to the hatch, the toyota dealership gave it back to me with a silver hatch on it... and my truck is gold... tell me how that works... so I simply said this is unnacceptable and it needs to be fixed, the next week he gave it back but the rear window would not roll down, he tried to tell me that it was like that when i brought it in. And i told him "of course it didn't roll down when I brought it in, it was smashed from a car hitting it!" he said that was the best they could do on they dime the insurance company gave them, I simple asked for his managers card and things got fixed pretty quick actually...