I was driving to work today in the pickup and had a lady pull out in front of me and with nowhere to go, I hit her and probably totaled the truck, so I was wondering if anyone on here has any experience with the insurance company and how much they got for their pickup and how much they were able to buy it back for?

 

Had Skate Farm (not a typo) on a lowered show truck, antique collector car insurance. Truck was jacked, stripped, and smashed to ... State farm offered me $300. I told them to take a flying leap, was going to hire lawyer, and would not sign. That afternoon, got a call, asking me to prove what i had on / in it. Brought in pics and receipts, was grilled by the "board", and got $3200. Did not want to buy it back. Good Luck! Don't sign the first thing they offer you.

 

Thanks, your story doesn't really give me much faith, I kind of figure I will get offered like $600 for it but looking on craigslist, I can't find even a 2wd toyota for less than $1500 and those ones look beat to crap, I always thought my truck cosmetically was in good shape compared to the other 80's Toyota's I see running around.

 

Gather your receipts, pics, anything you can find showing the value of the truck, and bring it to them after they low ball you with the first offer. They are looking after their #1, themselves, and that is not you.

 

Print out local adds for similar trucks so you can show them what the true market value for the truck is. Give them any reciepts for aftermarket parts or the like.

I got 6100 from Allstate for my 91 pickup. Granted, we had just put almost $2000 into the engine and it had a great paint job, and we live in Cali where yota prices are generally higher. They first offered us $3000, once we showed them the reciepts, again I got 6100 for a 91 single can pickup with 122k miles.

 

Look for trucks for sale similar to yours and pay attention to asking prices...your insurance company is required to either provide you with a vehicle similar to yours or the money to purchase one. They can't just give you what they think your truck is worth.

I know a few people who got more than book value for their trucks because they found similar trucks at dealerships and took those prices to their agent.

 

Ya beat me.

 

Hopefully they don't go off of Edmunds.com prices, it shows in outstanding shape (which my truck was not) is worth $525 and in average condition it is worth $269 which isn't even scrap prices I don't think. I would love to buy an outstanding 4x4 Yota for $500

Oh and trade in value in average condition is $50

 

They are required to replace your vehicle with one similar...I can guarantee you they won't find anything similar for book value. Show them some local ads for similar trucks and go from there.

 

Yeah, thanks for your input I will keep you guys updated on everything.

 

Just because of the year, they may total it, but the damge doesnt look bad at all from what I am seeing. You could probably try several different autobody shops that could fix it for a reasonable price.

Jump in and do it yourself. It isnt like you are going to make it any worse. You might be surprised at what you can do. If the frame isnt damaged, I would just give it my best shot.

 

Nooooo, that sucks! I really liked that little truck; it was my desktop background:



I wish you good luck on your case and like others have said research what the truck is actually selling for. If you can... buy it back, it is worth it.

 

Just did a deal with Allstate and they were very fair. Can't say the same about dealing with my own insurance Co. In other words depending on who the adjuster is you may get a great first offer, but check out Auto Trader ads and don't stick to only local adds.

 

Just did a search on Auto Trader for '85 - '90 Toyota pickups any distance and I got 49 results. Here is a link, don't know if it will work.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...=1325833036558

 

They will for sure total the truck out, it doesn't look bad in the pics but the passenger door wont open anymore, the hood wont latch and the tub and radiator support are wrinkled, I got rear ended in a parking lot in my Honda a few years back and just a little dent on the trunk lid and 1/4 panel was around $1500 which is less than what the truck needs and that is more than 80% of the its worth.


Thanks alot, I really liked the truck also and I am going to buy it back 100% positive on that, if anything it will stay dented and be a dedicated wheeler.

Thanks for the link, and Farmers is her company, I have Geico Insurance which they said they would pay me if I want minus $500 and have them reimburse them and me the $500 but I didn't want to go that route.

 

Sucks to see another Yota take damage. If pricing off car value sites, definitely DONT use Edmunds - they have the lowest values. Same vehicle on NADA shows a more real-world value, but still low. Local ads would be best. I'm sure you'll be able to fix that up pretty quick as it doesn't look too bad.

 

body damage: diy, not too hard to do
bumper: make one!
suspension: get it checked out. that's the only thing that would be detrimental

you didn't even break the turn signal...

 

How is it driving now?

 

The truck drives, the steering wheel is way off and I can hear the tire howling when driving, it is also sitting lower on the passenger side. Don't get me wrong guys I am NOT getting rid of this truck, I have a 3rd gen 4runner to DD and plans have always been to someday make this truck a wheeler, I already have the SA in the garage and plans for SAS have been in the works for about 6 months now.

The pics don't really show all of the damage that well, I only hit on the front right but there are wrinkles all the way down the cab, the passenger door wont open and the drivers door rubs on the fender now when opening it.

When I get the money from the Insurance company it will go to mods to get further into the woods and I am not worried about a vehicle to drive, it sucks because I love my truck but I have no intentions of making it road worthy again I am just trying to get a feel for how much I will be offered and how much they will ask for me to pay to get it back.

 

ah, good to know.

good luck, then