Is my truck Totalled? What do you think?

My state requires 80% damage for total loss. A co-worker was hit head-on in front of the our office building in his ram sport cc which was 2 weeks old and had 400 miles on it. They did $28k in damage INCLUDING a bent frame and it was not totaled. (he'll be getting rid of the truck after the settlement). We learned a couple interesting FACTS from his ordeal:

1. Bent frame does not mean automatic total loss (depending on state)
2. If all repairs are done using oem parts and factory-authorized "procedures" chrysler will guarantee trade in value
3. If all repairs are done using oem parts and factory-authorized "procedures" it is ILLEGAL to report it to carfax (hence the guaranteed trade-in value) from chrysler


Some of this is depends on the state you live in. They had his truck for 5 months while he argued over the frame straightening and lobbied for total loss vehicle replacement. Also, because of these rules it had to be restored to factory condition (he tried to buy the upgraded sport hood and have it installed during repair but was denied by the body shop). Chrysler sent reps down to examine the repair to determine warranty qualification and trade-in value. This was a 2010 model, he has put about 10k miles on it since these repairs were done and said physically it is perfect but mentally he can;t get past it. Has notice no tire wear or odd noises. He is still going to get rid of it after the case is closed but thought I would share his story with you guys.

fat1 said:

My state requires 80% damage for total loss. We learned a couple interesting FACTS from his ordeal:

1. Bent frame does not mean automatic total loss (depending on state)
2. If all repairs are done using oem parts and factory-authorized "procedures" chrysler will guarantee trade in value
3. If all repairs are done using oem parts and factory-authorized "procedures" it is ILLEGAL to report it to carfax (hence the guaranteed trade-in value) from chrysler

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What state do you live in, i`ve never heard of this before, about NOT reporting an accident to carfax regardless the use of parts used to fix it. Do you have a some sort of link we can all see verifying these facts/statement...????

fat1 said:

My state requires 80% damage for total loss. A co-worker was hit head-on in front of the our office building in his ram sport cc which was 2 weeks old and had 400 miles on it. They did $28k in damage INCLUDING a bent frame and it was not totaled. (he'll be getting rid of the truck after the settlement). We learned a couple interesting FACTS from his ordeal:

1. Bent frame does not mean automatic total loss (depending on state)
2. If all repairs are done using oem parts and factory-authorized "procedures" chrysler will guarantee trade in value
3. If all repairs are done using oem parts and factory-authorized "procedures" it is ILLEGAL to report it to carfax (hence the guaranteed trade-in value) from chrysler


Some of this is depends on the state you live in. They had his truck for 5 months while he argued over the frame straightening and lobbied for total loss vehicle replacement. Also, because of these rules it had to be restored to factory condition (he tried to buy the upgraded sport hood and have it installed during repair but was denied by the body shop). Chrysler sent reps down to examine the repair to determine warranty qualification and trade-in value. This was a 2010 model, he has put about 10k miles on it since these repairs were done and said physically it is perfect but mentally he can;t get past it. Has notice no tire wear or odd noises. He is still going to get rid of it after the case is closed but thought I would share his story with you guys.

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I don't care if the truck was painted by Jesus himself a repaint is never the same as OEM IMO. I would want to know and make my decision so this seems like a TERRIBLE practice.

Sucks to see your truck damaged, but mine was hit by the tornado 2 months after purchase. New seats and brand new paint job with some custom stuff, I couldn't be happier!

Damn.

Well let me tell you all a story..

spring 2008 i was in an accident where I hit a 2007 Honda Accord that cut out in front of me. I actually went up and over the hood on the right side of the car. totaled it instantly.
now at that time it was just front end damage but with the speed i was traveling and the location, after i went over the car it pushed me up over the curb and into the grass medium in front of a McDonalds. almost hitting a telephone pole about 8inches to spare.

now when i hit the curb i was traveling forward and to the right so when i hit the curb my RF tire and rim ran up on it but as i was going right the force was so hard that when the LF tire hit the curb it blew the tire in half an the chrome clad 20' rims; pulled the drive shaft apart,broke the upper control arm into 3 pieces and landed on the frame in the dirt about 6 inches deep. my SRT front bumper was torn apart...left side running board was destroyed.
anyway...got truck to body shop and they started tearing it apart...and then they realized that the front x-member was bent(under the engine). so they had to find a frame for it. According to Chrysler they didn't have any in stock, so they had to locate a used one.
it took about 2 weeks to locate one and have it shipped from Wisconsin to Newark,Delaware. it had to be for a 04/05 QC 4X4 only. the one i got was for an 05.

It looked very sad seeing it in 12 different parts when i went to see it when i went to look at its new back bone.

well my point being that with everything being repaired the total came to $13,080.57
I was told that if it had gone much more say another $1000.00 it would have been totaled.
remember this was in April 2008 and the truck was a 2004. QC 4X4 Hemisport.

so they replaced the LF fender,SRT bumper,left headlamp,Axle shaft,left front suspension,wheel,tire and a few other parts.
it all depends on a lot of figuring how much the damage is,value of the vehicle,accessibility of the parts to repair and labor. that is why sometimes they try to use cheap aftermarket parts. they used all Mopar parts on my truck, i demanded it from the start. of course a Dodge dealer repaired it.

I will ask him if he has documentation. I do know he went through his insurance agent/company for the repairs and they recovered the costs from the other guy's insurance company. I was shocked by the carfax issue and started searching the web, I have seen a few other forum entries and stories similar to his in regards to carfax reporting.

Another story: I personally went to purchase a used vehicle. I acquired the carfax from the dealer and acquired an additional copy from the directly to verify it (and the dealer's integrity) They matched, nothing out of sorts, no accidents reported. As the deal was getting close to being finalized I called my insurance agency at the time (nationwide) to get a quote for the new vehicle. In a sort of passing-by statement she informed me the VIN was already in their system, a claim had been filed against it. $9,500 in repairs about $3,800 in medical claims. No other info was really available to the agent i nthat context. It was definitely involved in a collision, with injuries but none of this was on the carfax. I still ask for one but there is obviously a way around them.

I informed the dealer of what I found and declined the purchase. He put me in another vehicle, turns out this guy was one of the best used car dealers I have ever dealt with. We had two big issues with the SUV about 3 years after we bought it. Both times he split the cost of the parts with us and had his garage do the repiars for free.

macmongrel said:

Im in Anchorage too Got hit crossing Northern lights from a side street

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That is cool to have a local guy on here. I hope it gets fixed. We should compare trucks sometime and grab a beer.

I would say the cab and bed crumple saved the frame. probably not totaled.

Mad Cow said:

That is cool to have a local guy on here. I hope it gets fixed. We should compare trucks sometime and grab a beer.

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For sure man! Sounds like a plan, I was told just last week that I my truck should won't be fixed until April 27th though! So for the time being Im driving a chevy Blazer I bought off CL for 900 bucks

UPDATE: Truck Status

OK So here's what I got back from the insurance and the body shop...

"impact to center section at suspension mount. measured frame and impa
ct section in and frame is dimond and can not be repaired"

The Frame is Toast...They were like, "man you musta been hit hard!"
However, The vehicle is not being "totaled" -
Total Damage is $14,343 dollars So ....Basically they say it is still cheaper to fix it than buy a new one...

They are replacing the entire frame, Brand new factory frame which is 2025.00
Replacing left Uniside panel lock plr/cntr and LT Inner uniside
The floor panel and rear panel are being repaired
Replacing left door shell and door and all weather stripping on left side,
Replacing left Side panel, Set back box assay and Overlap Major Non-Adj. Panel
Replace Left Side panel reinforcement
Replace left Side panel brace and inner panel reinforcements,
Replace left closure panel
Replace left wheel flare
Replace fuel door
and replacing left and right parking brake cables

and other misc repairs ...

EVERYTHING is basically being taken off the old frame and put back together on the new frame...

5700 is parts the rest is Labor ....

Of course INSURANCE will only cover 30 days of a rental car and since the truck is in the shop for a projected 4 MONTHS i had to buy a beater of craigslist to get me through the winter

So there you have it folks - A WRECKED FRAME does not = totaled vehicle

Should I sell this truck after I get it back or y'all think its ok with the need frame and all?

Sheesh what a mess

wow...to me, either way will hurt trade in or resale value.
Sorry to hear man.

If you can get trade in value without taking a hit I would offload it ASAP
It'll be less to deal with in the long run

Brand new frame. I'd probably keep it.

In Canada, when something like that happens, we get what's called a Declaration (or Deck in car sales lingo) if damage is over iirc $3000. That seriously hurts your resale value. Does the USA have anything like that?

Did you ask about carfax reporting, if the accident was not your fault the other driver's insurance company can be held liable for depreciation in value due to the accident, unless of course your state is like mine and says this accident can be withheld from carfax

Cthulhu said:

In Canada, when something like that happens, we get what's called a Declaration (or Deck in car sales lingo) if damage is over iirc $3000. That seriously hurts your resale value. Does the USA have anything like that?

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Like someone had mentioned before, Im pretty sure as long as they use all OEM and procedures and everything is able to be repaired to factory specs then there is not a need for a Deck...A deck is basically the same thing as a Salvage title in the USA i believe...you get a salvage title when the vehicle is declared "Totaled" and then repaired after being declared totaled-
In my case, at least as far as the insurance company is concerned the vehicle will be 100% back to its original condition...The problem is that- even if this WERE true- People are not as likely to feel as confident in a car that was painted by Chaz rather than by Dodge themselves...so basic supply and demand...the value will decrease if a buyer feels its not worth as much due to a wreck in its past even though the truck is "technically" "back to normal"


This is why it can be illegal to report it to CARFAX, because- even though it WAS in an accident, -the truck was rebuilt, with no damage and should be viewed as new- even though its not

I love how they have to give out tickets for that. As if it isn't punishment enough for your truck to be damaged the way it is, they still have to generate revenue. I work in Law Enforcement and despise those kinds of tickets. Gives people a reason to hate the police. I could see it if someone was hurt or something but you just made an honest mistake and are already likely going to have take an insurance hit.

I had a similar accident back in Novermber of 2005. I was driving an older Ford conversion van while in college. Brakes simply didn't work at an intersection and I ended up going accross the front of an F250 that i had entered the intersection and to top it off I hit the stop sign on the opposite corner. The stop sign stopped me from hitting a tree because it snapped in half and the concrete holding it in the ground caught on my transmission. Didn't even feel like I was going all that fast. Needless to say the Iowa Falls Police basically called me a liar in regards to my brakes and gave me a Failure to Yield at a Stop Sign Ticket. First ticket I had ever gotten. Absolute joke.

UPDATE!!! HEY EVERYONE! AFTER ALMOST THREE MONTHS I GOT MY TRUCK BACK TODAY! Complete with a New 6" Rough Country Lift installed! New Rims And Tires Coming Soon!
http://www.ramforum.com/f38/finally-have-my-truck-complete-picturess-15699/

Same thing happened to me a month ago (2021 1500 Ram leather with every opition 3 weeks old 1300 miles $26k) damage. They would not total it because of the high stiker price and low salvage value. I had it taken to a Dodge dealer to prevent warranty issues. I am to pick up my OEM repaired truck wih new frame on Monday. Can you tell me how to get it certified by Dodge as you mentioned?
Jon