Today I got into an accident in my truck. Busy two-lane road by my office. Delivery truck in front stops to make a left turn into a driveway. I stop behind him to wait it out. Screeching tires behind me and then I am rear-ended with such force that I hit the delivery truck in front of me.

The pictures I do have are on my phone and I need to get them off of there when I get home from work so spare we the "this thread is useless..." gif.

The front body mounts are bent on the frame passenger and driver side because the Demello bumper doesn't crumple. The bed was pushed into the cab on the passenger side where he hit. The passenger side of the bed looks to be twisted up. However the bed and cab line up horizontally by using the body lines in the back of the cab as a measurement. So I'm not sure if the bed is twisted or the frame is. There are over 20' of skid marks on the road before I was hit to give you an idea of the force.

My question is this, are the body mounts considered part of the frame? They are welded onto the frame and look like they could be removed and new ones put on. In California I believe if there is any frame damage the vehicle is considered totalled. If it is considered totalled then can I at least take my Demello bumpers off to sell or reuse on another truck? What about other parts like sliders or my wheels and tires?

Thanks for any input.

 

Bummer man sorry to hear that. I am assuming that the guy that piled into you was found at fault? Everytime I have to hit the brakes hard my second action is to look in my mirror to see who is about to hit me. I hate tailgaters.. seems 80% of the accidents you see are people rear ending others. Anyways it it is found to be totalled you should be able to get your bumpers off when you get your personal stuff from the vehicle.. I mean it is yours. Just be sure and be ready with tools and way to haul them so they can't really argue with you.

 

By the sounds of how hard you were hit, i would more than dare to guess that your truck will be totaled.

I think you would have to talk to your insurance company about taking the parts off you want. They might make you pay for them, or not let you take them at all. I wouldn't touch anything until the car is inspected

 

Thanks for some info. This just happened today and no one is at fault yet although myself and the guy in front of me looked at each other knowingly without saying anything. The police wouldn't come out to the scene as I tried calling twice to get a police report. I was at a complete stop when I was hit. My truck definately won the battle on both ends. There's no body damage on the front and the rear has tailgate damage and the passenger side corner is pushed in where the bed was pushed into the cab. I have no clue how they fix that without a lot of time because it's on the rounded corner just below the glass. If it's not considered a total there's going to be a new bed, tailgate and paint job at the least. If there's a new bed that means new Line-X etc.

 

That sucks Matt!! I am no expert on these matters, but I hope you have reciepts for all the mods you have done. Have them ready to show the insurance co.

I say buy it back and part it out if they sell it cheap....

 

I have a reciept for everything that has been done to that truck from day one. I'm not sure I want to spend the time to part out a truck. I'm going to have to move here soon enough and don't need the hassle plus I have nowhere to store a truck and wheel and deal on pieces I don't even know how to remove! LOL!

 

did i read that right? THe police wouldnt come out???

if u were stopped, in VA, that would be reckless driving.

good luck man

 

Yeah I thoguht it was pretty lame too. Guess that's how the roll here in San Diego...

 

were you on private property?

That still doesnt make any sense to me.

 

No, I was on a city street. I called the regular local police number and got a message machine saying leave a message or call 911. I called 911, I was pretty desperate to have this documented and wasn't sure if I should have but I did, and the operator said they wont send anyone out unless there's an injury or severe damage. They said to just notify the DMV if there's more than 750 dollars worth of damage and call your insurance company. *shrug*

 

Usually in big cities they won't come out. When I volunteered at a police agency in CA we were considered really good, because no matter what we would roll a unit to an accident. But in big cities like LA and San Diego they don't have the extra officers to do it, or they don't see the need to do it.

Sorry to hear about your truck. Insurance companies suck to deal with, hope your's is as painless as possible.

 

Matt I returned your PM. It is just too hard to say what they will do. Some Insurance Co's even have different policies as to what they consider totaled. Only way to know is to have the body shop and ins. adjusters do thier thing and see what they say.

Really sorry to hear this happened to you. I know here in SD every time I have to make a panic stop in traffic one of the first things I do is look in the rear view mirror to see how hard I may get blasted by someone not paying attention.

I am in no way advocating unwarranted lawsuit action but in this type of accident you may have whip lash that can show up within the next day or so. What I am getting at is that if you at all feel this is effecting you make sure you see a Doc and get treated properly. That is what we all pay our insurance for.

 

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine that worked for Geiko. Anything attached directly to the frame ie shock mounts, body mounts are considered part of the frame. If it is totaled, I would buy it back and flat bed the rear.

 

Thanks for the info Josh. So I guess it's just formality now getting the body shop to inspect it. Not so sure I would want to buy it back and then spend more money to straighten it out etc. If I had another vehicle this would be the perfect SAS victim However we shall see what happens. I also need to see what the other two people are going to claim and give as their stories.

 

ahh man that sucks hard to say about the damage without pics

 

So far my insurance company as put the rear driver at fault. The rear driver's insurance company called me for a recorded statement which I gave after talking to my insurance and they said it looks like they will be liable most likely.

Initial estimates on my truck's repairs are 5200 dollars. A better estimate will be provided as they tear the truck down later this week. The collision center said I'm at 50% in repairs of what they consider the value of the truck. At 70% they would declare it totalled. The fact that they say this makes me think it's not in their best interest to declare my truck totalled. SO basically right now half of my trucks value is being replaced so why not push it up to 69% so they get the most money from the insurance company?

I thought this decision was up to the insurance company?

 

next time say the other guy looks hurt, the other guy is trying to leave...it happens so often that they dont have time to concern themselves when big crimes are goin on.

i hate it when that happens.

i had a big hassle being the middle car, luckily the guy in front didnt file a claim against my ex and the last cars insurance paid 75% of the front (which covered all the $$) and 100% rear. cause 'failure to yield to an emegency vehicle'

 

My family owns a local towing company.

Your truck is pretty much totalled. You can (by law) take all of your stuff, stereos, steering wheel and bumpers off. Its your personal stuff.

 

Collision shop called me back and said the repairs are going to cost more than the truck. They are sending their report to my insurance. The passenger side frame rail for the bed area is bent up 45mm or so plus all the other body damage and paint that will be needed.

Looking more like it will be totalled but the final word is up to the insurance company.

 

Be sure to ask them what the buy back amount is and seriously consider it. The 3.4 engine ECU, and accessories are highly prized for swaps. Complete wrecks are even harder to find and sell for top $$$. The bidding on this wreck on ebay went over $8000: