Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

[TilliamWe]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Agreed, total idiot.

Not a bad looking truck notsofree. Of course you have the right to "see" or know how they arrived at their ACV. They should be more than willing to share that with you. That way you'll know what they included and what they didn't.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Ok I have some experience with this ....now you have the appraised value from their insurance what you do is get three qoates from used car dealership managers on what it would cost to replace that vehicle on THEIR Lots...then any add ons go above tthat price .......their ins with take the lowest value of the three quotes then you have to negoiate the add ons {recent} including that figgin exhaust..hopein that quotes are higher they usually are

 

[aspeck]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Yep, what Dolluper and TilliamWe are telling you. Find out how they arrived at that figure, get the quotes, and be ready to negotiate. If they won't negotiate on the new tires, exhaust, battery, and amp, then let them know you will be removing them and REPLACING them with age appropriate parts. You will have to get used tires for the beast, and swap a used battery that will hold a charge, etc. But do what you need to do to make it a reasonable settlement for you. And don't forget the rental and storage they owe you while they are dragging their feet on this. If they do not agree, then Small Claims Court will mediate the matter for you.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Just for clarity sake, storage and rental are usually not owed, unless they are incurred. if this truck is just your toy and not a primary vehicle, then you won't get any rental. If it is sitting at your house, you can not charge storage, nor will you be paid for it. Sorry, that's how it works.

Very good advice aspeck, regarding replacing the "add ons" with age/condition appropriate parts. I had a guy take off fancy A/M wheels/tires and a battery once, but didn't replace them at all. I priced out used factory original stuff, called him, and explained he could either buy similiar stuff and install it, or mail me $225. He obviously deemed that $225 for his fancy wheels/tires/battery was worth it, cause he mailed the check! So instead of having him arrested and charged with petty theft, I gave him a break.

 

[thenotsofreeboat]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

I think I may have come to the solution. Small claims in my county tops at $3000. Hiring a lawyer and going to court is not really an option as they would take 25-33% and i would be back where i started. I have got them up to 2658.91 and I keep the truck. I faxed them every Blazer I could find in a 200 mile radius on the internet and they raised the price a little bit but were still going to keep it. I told them that I had no problems going to court. That I had talked to an lawyer and letting the judge decide how much it was worth was his advise. I told them I didn't need to talk to them anymore as they were not offering me what i thought was just compensation and for them to send me their paperwork. In an about 2 hours I had a different guy from the insurance company call me and offered 2658.91 and i keep the truck. I will have to get a prior salvage title after they pay me as it is reported to the state. I think this is my best option as going to court and dealing with all of that isn't worth $341.09. This way I can either part it out, sell it out right or put a drive shaft in it and see what happens.

 

[JCF350]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Now that sounds like a good deal. Salvage on the title is really only going to affect the value if some "collector" wants the thing any way. If it's a working truck and no frame damage (unlikely in your case) it'll still be worth close to market value any way.
But now your gonna have a spare truck (Even though you bought a newer truck) keep all your goodies and cash to boot.

Your lucky, here in FLA if the insurance folks total a vehicle here it'll will never have a FLA title issued again (part of the anti-theft legislation that got pushed through the state congress critters).

 

[BF]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

without knowing how much comparable trucks are going for around there, it doesn't sound like too bad a deal. If you made it a project to get the parts from a wrecker, you could probably get it working again yourself for a couple hundred. Even if you decide to get rid of it, at least then it's running which would have a big impact on sale price I think. I guess since you've already bought a newer truck, you're likely ditching the old one anyway (?).

I am partial to having a "beater" truck.... comes in handy for hunting season. But sometimes the hassle/expense of keeping them reliable enough to use isn't worth it.

congrat's on getting the offer up'd... that line in the sand thing helps sometimes.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Definately sounds like you made the best deal you could. Close to the full value of the truck, plus you get to keep it? That's as close to a win-win as you are ever going to get. A used driveshaft might not be that expensive. Shoot for a couple hundred bucks you could have a serviceable vehicle again, $2300 in your pocket, and not have to worry about hurting it.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Yep, ya done good! Congratulations! Now, to tell the shop that they totaled your truck, so the exhaust job was useless! Get them to pony up the refund for that job, and you will be sitting really nicely.

 

[thenotsofreeboat]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Yeah I think it was about the best I could do for sure. I was prepared for a full blown event but luckily it came out way better than that. I don't understand why they fought about it in the first place, the guy who offered me the deal said that they only get 290 bucks from selling it to the scrappers anyways. So it isn't like they were going to lose a lot of money in the first place. He took that off of the offer if they took it and gave me the rest. Heck I got close to half of that in the gas tank. I guess it is like my lawyer said they are paid to be a55holes. I will not be keeping the blazer as I really have no room for it at the house and no real need for it. Heck it was impractical when i first bought it, I used to tow a little 4x8 trailer just to pick up drywall and such with it but I have always liked them so I put up with that just fine. Besides my off road days are behind me, when i got this Blazer it was so nice i didn't want to mess up the metal and as i aged I have grown more against aired down tires popping off rims in the middle of creeks anyways. My BIL has always said he wanted first bibs on it if i went to sell it. Now he may be getting it at quite a discount if he doesn't mind some dented metal and the possibility of a transfer case change out. Thanks for all your input this has been a learning experience. Now if they could get the check to me before I have to pay my taxes on the new one that would be outstanding. Once again thanks for the input guys. I will be dragging the boat out soon so i am sure i will be posting again here in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully of fish caught and not SHT or Chrysler troubles.

 

[dave11]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

It sounds like there was a silver lining in that cloud. It worked out well.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Wouldn't the shop be liable for the simple reason the parking brake was NOT set??????

wncrjb

That was the first thing that popped into my brain! Even impossible as it seems that the truck jumped into reverse, how did the Ebrake pop off at the same time. Not having the Ebrake applied on the lift shows negligence on their part right there.

If the truck (is) was really nice I wouldn't stop until it was completely repaired, not the insurance companies BS fair market value settlement. I've heard of a few people pushing to have the vehicle completely repaired since it wasn't their insurance policy, the insurance company had to repair the vehicle instead of getting out cheap.

In Nevada, the state has laws (your state may differ) for auto insurance that say totaled vehicles are paid out at actual cash value. But, I highly doubt this is an auto insurance policy that's covering the damage, so I would be curious how the insurance is going to legally AVC your vehicle when it should be your choice for repair or total.

Hope it all works out

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Dan, read your and every other insurance policy again. Physical damage coverage for the first party is always at cost to repair or ACV, and it is the insurance carrier's option, not the policy holder. I know you think that's unfair, but that is the way it is. Period.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Not necessarily true, I personally know of 2 people who had their wrecked vehicles repaired by the insurance company when the repair cost exceeded "the insurance companies ACV" by a few thousand $,,, it was a fight to get it done though. Both of these guys had nice older vehicles with significant rebuilding; body, paint, engine, etc.

This was 5-10 years ago, so who knows what the insurance companies have concocted to get past this now.

(EDIT) Ooops,,, looks like I totally missed page 2 of the thread, dunno how that happened Nice looking blazer and not a typical looking 20 year old vehicle.

Here are a few more options, unless you have already made up your mind to settle with their offer. (Yes unlucky me, I have a little experience from having 2 vehicles totalled out within the past several years)

-Have the vehicle appraised by an actual vehicle appraiser, not a person from the insurance company. I had this done on a truck 3-4 years ago, the appraisal came back a few thousand over AVC and the insurance company paid what the appraisal stated. It looks like your truck is in better than average condition, so this might work out in your favor.

- I think this has been stated before, get appraisals from dealerships as to what your vehicle would sell for on their lot. On my last totaled vehicle the insurance company was initially at $9,200 ACV and said they no longer did the independent appraisals,,, but I could get 3 quotes from dealerships as to what my vehicle would sell on their lot for. Luckily, I had a very popular vehicle and the quotes from the dealerships were quite a bit higher than ACV. I submitted the quotes and was shocked the insurance company came back with an offer of $11,500, it took me about 2 seconds to take their offer.

From my experience, telling them that your vehicle is worth more than they are offering does no good. But, if you can prove that your vehicle is worth more than they are offering they have something to work with and are more willing to pay you the actual worth of the vehicle.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Dan the two people you know that had more work done to their vehicles than they were worth either
1. got the insurance carriers to agree that the ACV was higher than the reapir cost,
2. There was significant hidden damage that wasn't discovered until the repair had begun and it was too late to turn back
3. Have insurance companies that don't know how to read/settle their own policy.

It is necessarily true, Dan. It's written in every auto policy. Read yours and scan in where it says they'll exceed the ACV to fix your car. I'll give you a hint, it's not in there.
(okay there is a policy that some companies sell that if your car is less than 1 or 2 years old they'll actually replace it with brand new if it's a total. But the threshold for repair v. replace is still the same)

Dan, the original poster has taken their offer and the claim appears to be settled.

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

It is necessarily true, Dan. It's written in every auto policy. Read yours and scan in where it says they'll exceed the ACV to fix your car. I'll give you a hint, it's not in there.

But that's Dan's point. The ACV is not a set figure. If the insurance company that agrees to pay off the ACV is also determining the ACV, how can you ensure that they are coming up with a fair estimate? There's a conflict of interest there. In this case, it appears that the insurance company recognized that their initial estimate of ACV was low, otherwise they wouldn't have paid out a higher amount. Dan's point is that since the ACV is to a large extent negotiable, and since the insurance company's interests lie in determining the lowest ACV possible, getting additional estimates of the ACV might be a good idea.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

And as the original poster already explained, he did. He sent them several comparable vehicles and that may be why they raised their offer a little.

Fellas there comes a point where it's not worth the effort for a few dollars more. That is all the original poster was going to get, he realized it, got what was fair, kept the truck, and settled the claim. You are all too late with your "screw the insurance company, fight with them just to fight, they are screwing you" advice.

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

And as the original poster already explained, he did. He sent them several comparable vehicles and that may be why they raised their offer a little.

Fellas there comes a point where it's not worth the effort for a few dollars more. That is all the original poster was going to get, he realized it, got what was fair, kept the truck, and settled the claim. You are all too late with your "screw the insurance company, fight with them just to fight, they are screwing you" advice.

But they WERE screwing him. That's the point here. The offer they made originally was 2558. When he complained, they gave him 2658 plus they let him keep the truck. I'd say that was well worth the effort. An extra hundred, plus a set of tires that cost $1000? I'd say he did quite well. I don't think he stuck it to the insurer. I just think he got back what was rightfully his.

 

[thenotsofreeboat]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

The reason why I didn't want to drag this out was the insurance company offered me something I thought was fair. I can take the check, sell the tires and other parts or the whole thing and make about as much as I could have if would have sold it before they messed it up.

I know it doesn't seem fair but that is just what happens. I talked to two lawyers and one prosecutor for the county. Pretty much its either deal with the insurance company or sue the shop, lose my vacation time messing with it all, pay the fees to do it and see what the judge says all for a max payout of $3000. If I go to court with the lawyer he is going to take 33%, and the truck was only worth so much. Then after they don't pay i have to go back to get a garnishment. So it wasn't that hard to figure out what I had to do.

No I didn't make any money on it, but at least i think i got as close as i could have to them making it right. The truck can drive around now. It seems the transfer case is not damaged badly just shoved mounts to the front a little and the seal is leaking. I take off the running boards and get the drivers front door to open up and the sheet metal damage isn't so bad just a dent in the door and fender and the rear fenders are smashed in a little. So I can still make some money on selling it, but it will be pretty cheap with a salvage title and unknown transfer case issues. In the end it will save me the hassle of it all. I now have a car payment which sucks but at least i will gain a lot from gas mileage about 2.5 times as much, and the fact it has a good warranty means trouble free fixing.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Need Advise Muffler shop drove my truck off lift

Notsofree,

Sounds like it worked out well for you.

On selling the salvage titled truck, check your local laws. Out here in Nevada it's against the law for a private party to sell a salvage title vehicle unless it has been repaired and inspected.

TilliamWe,

From your comments I take it your an insurance adjuster or work in claims,,, am I right? It seems you are getting pretty upset that we are trying to give some advice on how to handle a claim fairly.

Screw the insurance company? Well, it seems like that's what they were trying to do to him. I don't think people should try to screw an insurance company, but they should fight to get fair compensation. Sure, there are people who would lie, cheat and steal on an insurance claim, but karma will catch up with them in the long run.

I do agree with you on one thing, there comes a time your have to settle because the extra time and effort is not worth it. Even though you're a winner, you're still a loser, the extra time and effort wasn't worth the outcome.

On the subject of comps, I think there is a lot to be desired. In my case the insurance company was comparing my truck to other trucks with far less options; IE stripped 2x4 V-6 truck to my loaded 4x4 V-8. The adjustments to the lesser truck did not equal the value of my truck. I pointed out the flaws in the comp report and the adjuster agreed these trucks were not comparable vehicles. With the vehicles removed from the report it was no longer a valid report because there were not enough comparable vehicles. This led me down the path of getting quotes from dealerships which worked well. Yes, it was a process and took time, but well worth my efforts. Did I screw the insurance company? No! I was able to buy the exact same truck (yes I wanted and found one) without spending any additional money.