Is my truck totaled or fixable?

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tron67j

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I admit, I was so not wanting the truck back. It was actually brand new and 2 days old for me and happened at the dealership so their attorneys and mine we in meetings and such. But we all had the two different frame specialists included and they showed proof on how frames are made and can often be repaired if done correctly so we all decided to take the approach of fix it and then test it on a separate frame rail. Of course I got some free aftermarket parts out of it to ease my pain. But the experience totally changed my attitude, but I certainly understand the hesitation for someone who hasn't been through what I did experience.
 
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fireflymedic

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If a major repair to a vehicle was no big deal. And they were as good as new. Used vehicles that had wrecks on their car fox would sail for same price as vehicles that have not. Frame repair on a truck that is used as a truck is definitely a no go in my experience.
 

tron67j

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I think the important difference is that I was the owner of the truck (not buying one with reported damage) and was deeply involved in the repair and verification process rather than having no context as to how repairs were made and if done by a reputable technician. To me, the truck retained it's full value and since I keep them for years, it wasn't a problem. For the OP, it is a different story but potentially my experience may be of some value in considering all of the options objectively. Kind of a " don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" before all options are weighed. OP could take the payout if totalled less the buy-back value and keep the truck and do some repairs themself. I did that with a car one time, worked out good for me.

But I would certainly do a great deal of investigation in a used vehicle whether or not repair history showed anything. Major damage can occur and never be reported.
 

TotallyHucked

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That Chrysler took the hit like a champ ;)
Lol it really did. She tried to jump through a break in traffic, turned right in front of me doing ~50. When I hit her, my truck went up on it's nose, spun 90* and landed in the middle of the intersection, less than 30ft from where I hit her. She bounced off me and went ~50yrds up against that railroad box. Thankfully neither of us were seriously injured
 

CanuckRam1313

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Lol it really did. She tried to jump through a break in traffic, turned right in front of me doing ~50. When I hit her, my truck went up on it's nose, spun 90* and landed in the middle of the intersection, less than 30ft from where I hit her. She bounced off me and went ~50yrds up against that railroad box. Thankfully neither of us were seriously injured
Glad you all were okay and walked away!
 

tron67j

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Wow what is the story here?
I bought a brand new truck, one option it didn't have was cruise control. So dealership said drop off Monday and we will install. I called later afternoon and asked if ready. They said it wasn't there but they missed it since someone thought it was still a for sale unit. So they said they would get it in Tuesday. Meanwhile, coincidentally, the service bay was having its two lifts serviced. So lift number one was serviced on Monday and my truck would have been put on lift number two. But since they didn't do the work until Tuesday my truck was put on lift number one which had been serviced but had the wrong parts on it. It went up fine but when they went to release the pressure the lift dropped about 5 ft until the safety catch caught the whole thing and my truck momentum kept pulling on the front and rear bumpers (since wheels were still in air) and basically bent the truck frame right around the point where the bed and the cab met. I have lost the box that I had the pictures in, yes that was back when cameras were a thing.
 

Fnjoey

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Well, head on at 45mph.. (mostly pass side) frame bent in 2 places, no airbag deployment, 28k in damages. 2014 with only 57k.. totaled. Good luck.
 

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olscout

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Airbag deployment depends on a lot of factors including vehicle speed,angle of impact,etc
If certain conditions are not met,they won't deploy
Back in the early 2000's I worked for a car lot and towing service, our lot and office was co-located with a busy body shop. Between towing and stuff coming in the body shop, Ray Charles could have seen that Chrysler products were deficient in air bag deployment. I don't know why, but all of us talked about it at the time. It was actually a cause for comment when we had a Mopar product in a solid front hit that actually DID deploy. One crash in front of the lot was a hard hit newer Chrysler passenger car with the front shortened by a half....no air bags at all. Could be Chrysler was lucky with the Takata fiasco back then, I know they had to have chased the issue down because we had people say they were going to lawyer up over the non-op airbags in their crash.
 

Marshall

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As has been said , we can't tell from pictures on the web, Will depend on the insurance company , and if the frame is bent ,It will likely be weote off.
Thou I do know body shops with frame machines.
My last truck was a 2010 Laramie loaded, low miles , no rust, chev car hit rear end and took out the rear end, tail lights where still fine, so needed rear differential, and maybe box panel.
Repair bill was going to be over 20K, so wrote off, I did get 26K payout that surprised the hell out of me. That was 2015
I never thought to take pictures, but with a old school flip phone, no point anyway.
 

GeoffG68

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My son's Avenger was totaled recently. The threshold was the repair cost exceeding 80% of the actual cash value of the vehicle. Your insurance company will tell you how they make this evaluation in your state. I would guess you're going to be in excess of $15K in repairs, but that's only a wild guess based on a couple of pictures. If they do elect to repair it, I would not be concerned about the quality of the repair if the body shop is a reputable one.

Even if the front end was mushed to the firewall, technically anything can be repaired given enough time and money. I guarantee that if it is totaled, the insurance company will auction it off and a rebuilder will buy and fix it. That damage is not so serious as to preclude that.
 

Tominator223

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Hope everyone is ok. If you really like the truck. Take it to a good frame shop & have them determine the amount of damage. As I had 2 vehicles in the past. Insurance said both had frame damage. I had said vehicle(s) sent to frame shop & neither one had frame damage. Still have 1. It seems insurance adjusters see factory bends in the frame & go , well the frame is bent . It seems to me they rather write it off. No matter the damage. Almost everything can be fixed.
 

Jim113

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As others have pointed out the frame would be your main concern ... Having said that, what did your insurance company have to say ??
 

rosco11

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Updated info based on comments:
Hello,
I was in front end collision last week and looking to get perspective on what will happen to much truck.
Before the accident, the truck was perfect, rust free, and only had 31k miles on it.
2017 1500 Sport 4x4. Airbags did not go off. Frame is damaged on the passenger side. I tboned a Chevy Cruze at about 45mph.
If you are lucky it is. That is the only possible way you will see book value for your truck. If they fix it, the repairs will show on the vehicle history and it will be worth less to trade in or sell. Have them total it if you can. Insist on having it repaird at the dealer with OEM parts. That should do it.

Little info on vehicles involved in a collision for you newer drivers. When you jar a vehicle that hard, things you do not see get damaged. Plastic clips, plastic parts under the dash, bearings. electronics in the transmission, etc. etc. It is highly likely after you repair the visible damage, you will start having electrical, transmission, or other mechanical problems over the next few months. It will not be over after you get it back from the body shop. But what the insurance company will be responsible for will be over the moment you sign to pick up your truck. The collateral damage that happens over the next few weeks/months will come out of your pocket.

Try to get them to total it. If they fix it, sell it the day it comes out of the body shop to Car Max. That is why you check the car fax when you buy a used vehicle. I am sure all of them that have accidents noted were done by a little old lady who bumped a shopping cart at the grocery store. Walk away.

Under 100k miles, clean car fax, and well maintained on the inside. Chances are of the interior is free of tears and abuse, they also took care of the maintenence. And no mods of any kind. If it looks like they treated it like a toy on the outside, they probably drove it like a toy too.
 

Whiskerfish

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Wife has totaled 2 Unlimited Wranglers in the last 2 years. Neither her fault, to me both were fixable. Both Adjusters told me Chrysler does not do frame repair. The first one I could have fixed the hair line crack in the frame weld with my 140 amp handler in my garage. The body work was insignificant but when they added up the frame replacement it exceeded the value so they paid out. First one was a 19 and the second was a 21. Both payouts were close to 40 grand.
 

GTyankee

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If the accident was someone else's fault & you like your Ram

Let them fix it, get damage value loss.

Drive it, see if you like it again
Drive it until a deal comes along that you don't want to pass up on both another vehicle purchase or sale of the current one
 
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Updated info based on comments:
Hello,
I was in front end collision last week and looking to get perspective on what will happen to much truck.
Before the accident, the truck was perfect, rust free, and only had 31k miles on it.
2017 1500 Sport 4x4. Airbags did not go off. Frame is
Just looking at pictures it does not look that bad to me, but a picture is worth a thousand words as they say and your damage story might take longer to tell. You have to figure out what you're comfortable with.

If you're having it repaired at the dealer you bought it from you might be able to get them to take it off your hands and get a deal from them on a new one. Seen it happen more that a few times. Regarding carfax, it might never show up on their or any one else's report or, it could show up as "service" which could be an oil change or inspection or not listed at all as I said. I've seen that a lot too. Even if it's not listed you still have a responsibility to tell perspective buyers about the damage.

I'm a reformed paint & body guy that moved on to the appraisal side so I've seen this from each point of view. I've done a lot of diminution of value, total loss, actual cash value and stated value work. The absolute minimum you will want to do if it's repaired is put your claim in for diminution of value. The insurers methodology is not a scientific equation, it is often a simple worksheet with preset percentages used. Or it could be a very basic search done through CCC One. Do not accept their initial offer without a lot of research as they will only pay as little as they can. Simple human nature at work. If it's totaled then it's essentially the same situation, do your research so you get the best deal for you. Remember, there's no right dollar amount. Everyone has a slightly different perspective on things. Use that to your advantage. Gather lots of information such as 3-5 "vehicle comps" each from 2 or 3 websites and local reputable dealers that can be verified by the insurer, get more than one online valuation like an NADA value and consult a reputable and independent appraiser if necessary. The more "numbers" you come up with the better.

Let us know how things turn out. Good luck to you.
 
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Bigskyroadglide

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If fixable, fix it, get a diminished value payment then trade before it shows on car fax.

If you repair with used parts, a lot less cost but the sport hood is aluminum so it will be a challenge to repair.

As I see the photos, about 9 to 12k of costs. Hood, fender, bumper, inner bumper, crash bar in front, fog light, grill, then frame straightened and alignment plus labor. Not counting any potential internal damage to radiator, air conditioning etc.etc.

Lots of work
 

JimID

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I do know of some people getting it totaled, never accept first offer and then buy it back at auction. Just has some "If this and if that come together".
 
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