Body damage on the side of my truck / Insurance question

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noupf

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Curious if anybody can give me some pointers or advice when the insurance adjuster comes by.

A tow truck driver was parked next to me in a parking lot. He pulled out of his spot and the back corner of his truck swung in and ripped up the side of my Ram. Clearly misjudged how much swing remove he had.

It clipped the dear door and pillar and really ****** up the side of the bed.

I have no idea what sort of repair job the body shop will do. Will they / can they replace the bed? Will they simply try to pull it and bondo it? Same goes for the door and pillar.

I’ll be using a very good and reputable body shop locally, but I want my truck repaired properly….mainly the bed being replaced.

Thoughts / advice on how to get this done properly and not get ****** around?

Thanks.
 

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OC455

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ME personally, I'd want the whole rear door replace, and the whole bed....fix the cab.

My Dad had a deer bounce down the side of his Toyota Tacoma one year. The replaced the outer rear driver's side door skin and fixed the bed. Every where they fixed it, it rusted out. It was a good repair from what I could tell...i
 

bcbouy

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no chance will your ins let the body shop replace panels if it can be pulled/repaired.unless you are willing to cover the difference.i had similar damage,but way worse, a few years back and it was a little over 10k can. to fix.i couldn't tell where the repair was.
 
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16Ram4x4

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Personally I would have the whole bedside panel replaced. Replace the whole rear door. Have the cab dent pulled, filled and painted. His employers insurance company is paying for the repairs. Have them do the repairs the right way and at a body shop that you know and trust. Plus if you need transportation during the time your truck is in the shop, have them pay for a rental car.
 
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noupf

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Personally I would have the whole bedside panel replaced. Replace the whole rear door. Have the cab dent pulled, filled and painted. His employers insurance company is paying for the repairs. Have them do the repairs the right way and at a body shop that you know and trust. Plus if you need transportation during the time your truck is in the shop, have them pay for a rental car.

Just spoke to a friend, he thinks, like you stated, the side of the bed should be its own panel and can be taken off and replaced.

As for insurance, yes its the tow truck companies insurance provider ( progressive ) that is responsible for every last penny of damage as well as providing me a loaner.

Im just trying to figure out how to handle the adjuster when he comes by. I of course want everything replaced with new parts, and want as little to be pulled, filled and painted. Should i be forcefull with the adjuster or just let them do their thing with little input from me and then talk to the body shop i plan on using. I know the isurance company is going to want to spend as little as possible and skimp out where ever they can.

Thanks Guys
 

RamInfo

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I wouldn’t even talk to the adjuster until you have an estimate in hand from the body shop you want to do the work, done the way you want. The adjusters usually start somewhere around a bondo fill with an Earl Scheib paint job and have to be forced up from there.

best,
DG
 
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noupf

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I wouldn’t even talk to the adjuster until you have an estimate in hand from the body shop you want to do the work, done the way you want. The adjusters usually start somewhere around a bondo fill with an Earl Scheib paint job and have to be forced up from there.

best,
DG

yea i was almost thinking that this would be the route to go. Get a couple estimates first to see how "out of the ballpark" the adjuster starts out at.
 

Rlaf75

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I would bring it to the body shop that you plan on having do the work and let them deal with the insurance company. The adjuster is going to come out and give you the least amount of money THEY think will take to fix it. The adjuster will basically cut the check and leave. Once you cash that check the insurance company considers the case closed and it will be difficult to get anymore money out of them when it takes more than they gave you to fix it. Again, let the body shop deal with the insurance company and DO NOT cash any check the insurance company gives you until you are satisfied with the work
 

GTyankee

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Do your research on a body shop, ask friends who they used & their satisfaction rating

That cab corner is called a "C" pillar

A good auto body shop could either repair or replace a door, A repair would depend if the damage had rounded damage or sharp edged damage.
Sharp edged damage can be repaired with a Door Skin

The bed can be replaced or they can fix it using a skin, maybe even an

2009-2015 DODGE RAM PICKUP REAR UPPER WHEEL ARCH DRIVER’S SIDE, which is just an after market upper panel​

similar to this
1584_147__30248.png
The door & bed skins don't cost much
But they involve a lot of labor, cutting, welding, painting

By the way, once a body shop gets into a repair, they can find unseen damage, & they call the insurance company & inform them that the original estimate price has risen

complete beds run about $1500, not counting shipping costs
 
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Moose2

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My insurance adjuster gave me a very good estimate, right on par with dealer estimates except dealer had discrepancies in their estimate on what needed done. Adjuster said new top, dealer said no new top, but new back glass and other stuff that wasn’t needed, as well.I had my local shop do the repair off the adjusters estimate. Body guy had worked in the insurance industry over 15 years so knew the ins and outs as well. If he would have found more he would have filed an amendment, with pictures and the insurance company would cut the check. Interestingly, body guy was able to do the job without cutting or filling, or replacing glass. New hood though. Good as new and only had to pay partial deductible. We all happy.
 

gagesram

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I sell GM sheet metal to the local bodyshops. I am not sure about our Rams, but with GM, you cannot get just the C pillar, you get the whole cab opening. With GM you can either get a complete box side, which is the whole outer including wheel well, as well as the inner which includes the inner wheelhouse, it is the seam on the bed floor. Or you can just get a box skin. The door to me looks easily fixable, with some stud gun work or else an outer skin.

Just my $.02.
 
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DodgeDude1999

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Goonzquad did that cab repair on a TRX and had to buy the entire cab side just for the same area as yours.

The door will get pulled, the bed side replaced.
 

Treburkulosis

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Most likely they will pull what they can out of the door and cab corner area, then use filler. They may reskin it it will all just come down to how bad they deem the damage. With the bed they most likely will just replace that panel not the entire bed. They will do just enough to fix it and not a penny more. You might get lucky, but that is usually how it plays out. Thats just my personal experience with these things.
 

caulk04

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The cab corner will be fixed. Door... Maybe a skin, likey just replaced. Bed side replaced. Figure paint from front door all the way around the tailgate.

I just had this done a few months ago on my truck due to a deer, total was around $7000.
 
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noupf

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Thanks for all the input guys. Was going to hit up a couple of local repuatable body shops this weekend, but they were all closed, likely for the holiday. Have not heard from the adjsuter / progressive yet, so we will see how that goes once i hear from them
 

EdGs

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When the bottom rear corner of the cab on my 2015 was hit, the body shop had to get the whole uniside, just to cut the piece out for it.

20210408_160356.jpg

The bedside was dented pretty good, but they were able to get it back into shape without having to get a new bedside, which was around $1200 IIRC.

I had the misfortune of the idiot that hit me had no insurance, and even though I had UM coverage, it didn't cover my collision deductible.
 

Robert Mc

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I haven't heard of an adjuster coming out in years, like 15 or more. A few years ago I backed into a guy at Costco and I asked my insurance company which body shops they used that had direct billing. They gave me three companies they work with and I dropped off the car after picking one that did the best work. The body shop told the insurance company how much it would be and they paid it. If it wasn't repairable, like the bed of your truck, it was replaced. IMHO the damage on the bed is too significant to repair. They will likely cut off the outer skin off and redo the bed that way. But then again labor is pretty expensive and replacing the bed with a new one and paint matching it might be cheaper.
 

Jeepwalker

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The 'con' of putting on a new rear door is, fit/finish and details. The new door comes as a shell. It's not seam-sealed or anything. The shop has to transfer all that over, transfer all the wires over, gaskets, then line it up. How well will guy line it up? Who knows? Guys tend to get lazy in that area. If you get a really good body guy, they'll get it perfect.

I guess you'll have to trust the shop, but also keep an eye out for details and ask them to re-tweak any anomolies you find even after you pick it up.
 

LugsLeadOut84

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That sucks....You didn't mention whether you got the tow truck driver's info and whether your insurance will have the tow truck companies insurance foot the bill for YOUR preferred body shop. Hopefully you did and it won't ding your policy.
 

rneal55555

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Unless you have a favorite Body shop it may ne easiest to just use the shop the insurance company uses. They tend to be pretty good because the insurance companies don't want to deal with issues after the work is done. I had better luck with their recommended shop than one I picked myself even though they had a good reputation.

Bigger issue is to make sure you're reimbursed for the "Diminished Value ".
 
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