Drunk driver

[rosh]

My wife got rear ended by a drunk 2 week ago( at noon). Such a crappy situation as she is sore. Another brutal thing is our truck that she drives is a 2003. We ordered the truck in 02 and got it in September, the truck is in mint shape. If you seen the inside you would think it was brand new, just rolled over 200k, have had oil and maintenance done religiously. Planned on keeping truck till it was the end of its life. I believe they are going to write it off, anything they give us is not going to be worth what the truck is to us. Anyone have any experience with this? Anything to be done here? Thanks

[Joe Black]

Gone. Sorry bud.

[Cooeylover]

You can buy it back and fix it yourself. Don’t let them keep it or take it. Just because they insure it doesn’t mean they have a right to it! It’s your truck, and YOUR decision as to what happens with it. They will fight and try to convince you to do what’s in their best interest. This happened to my brother, and they tried to screw him out of his car, but they had no idea who they came up against. Lol
Don’t get rail-raided by insurance companies. Remember you are still the customer!!

[blacknorthernjk]

Terrible news, sorry.
If you suspect it's a write-off, prepare to deal with your insurance companies total loss department. They want to get rid of you as cheaply as possible, undoubtedly their first offer will be low. Stick to your guns, dont accept low ball buy outs. Research a fair price using kijiji, autotrader and such.
I've been there.
If you cant reach an agreement there is a process available to argue your case, but it isnt easy. You would require someone qualified such as an appraiser to fight your case.
You can always contact the insurance ombudsman for further consultation if conflict occurs.
Best of luck, sorry.

[sarahfaye]

Hope your wife is feeling better. Do not discount the sore part. It can be life changing.
There first offer will be based off a couple beat to death examples on KIJIJI. Worst of the worst examples.
On my minty, one owner, just painted Suburban, I was offered $1200.00 . After the battle, was paid out $12,000. I am not kidding. The adjuster from MY insurance company had maybe had a drivers licence for 3 years. Those **** ants are pretty tough and know everything hiding behind there phone. Meet in person.

My ex wife is still sore, 8 years later. Her payout process was just as painful.
Don't give in.

After that experience, I insure to the absolute minimum.

Best of luck on the healing and on the whole process.

[jstubbs]

Reminds me of a news story I read awhile back. Guy bought a brand new Corvette optioned exactly how he wanted it--pretty much his dream car. A year or so later he takes it in for some minor servicing or warranty work or something. Overnight, one of the dealer techs takes it for a joy ride and wrecks it. Insurance would only pay him for an equivalent car--which would be a slightly used one as well that isn't optioned exactly how he wanted it and dealer wouldn't do squat to help him.

It's a cruel world.

[Ken07AOVette]

It all depends who you insure through and how aggressive you are. I had a 2001 f150 Lariat, came over a hill on a pitch black night and hit a black cow.
I took pictures of ads off kijiji and autotrader.ca for similar km and shape trucks to my insurance company.
Insurance was decent, gave me $8500.
The land owner was a moron, was certain that I owed him for killing his cow. He threatened to sue me, so I beat him to the punch. I sued him in Provincial Court for loss, had all my paperwork in order, had pictures of the ratty unmaintained fence next to the highway, had testimony of a neighboring farmer that his cattle were always on the highway. His Lawyer settled out of court, they knew damn well they were going to lose.
Go after the drunken bastard. Go after his Insurance company. Losses include days away from work, loss of vehicle, days looking for new vehicle, days spent with Doctor, modications and maintenance, aftermarket accessories, less than fair market value, the list goes in and on. It's not hard to hit $25,000 and even $50,000 with lingering pain due to the accident keeping her away from work.
If your Insurance Company does not want you to go after the drunk get another insurance company. The drunk is liable for your loss but it is up to you to follow up.
You can always sue the guilty party even after payout from insurance, for losses above and beyond what you received. It is an easy inexpensive process. Feel free to pm me for information if you like.

[oilngas]

see what Ken said, do your own work, document / document / document.

[rosh]

Thanks all. Wife isn’t missing work, probably should have taken a few days off. Her back is pretty sore, stressed right out. She has physio and massage 3 times a week so far. She finishes work goes to appointments then runs kids to their activities, so she gets no rest. The passenger took off running and right before cops got there the driver ran, they found him 20 minutes later. She and witness ID him. I’m having a hard time find trucks anywhere close to the shape of my truck. 2003 F-150 supercrew lariat fully loaded, 200K in mint shape. Thanks again

[bobtodrick]

The insurance company can be beat. As has been said they want to give you the lowest price possible for your truck, but if you can prove it was worth more they will give in.
Had a five year old Volvo in the early 2000's. Low mileage, undercarriage rust treated every year and it had some nice options. They (Co-Operators whom I dumped as soon as this was over) wanted to give me about 1/4 of what I paid new because that was the Blue Book value. I did a weeks worth of research and brought in private and dealer ads from all over Canada and ended up proving that you would have to pay substantially more than what they were offering to replace it. It took the threat of a lawyer but they did cave and gave me what the car was actually worth.

[M.C. Gusto]

Been there. They super low balled me. I got 5 of the highest quotes out of kijiji country wide and they ended up giving me what I wanted. Then I went to the wreckers and bought it back for 200 and resold it.
Stick to your guns and don’t accept a low ball offer

[Sneeze]

Originally Posted by rosh

My wife got rear ended by a drunk 2 week ago( at noon). Such a crappy situation as she is sore.

My advice is don't dig for silver in a mountain of gold.

If she is injured you should be speaking to a lawyer post haste about the correct path to be following to ensure your wife is taken care of.

[Ken07AOVette]

Also you should not be out a nickle in the end. These drunken loser bastards cant get off easy. I hope there were heavy criminal charges and time involved. Repayment for compensation of loss comes after.

[Desert Eagle]

I had a similar thing happen years back. I had good luck with insurance company, but truck was less than 2 years old. I struggled daily with massive headaches for 3 years. Chiro, massage, physio only aggravated it. Acupuncture was finally the ticket to a mostly pain free life. It changed my life after the first appointment. 2 hour treatment and came up off the table a different person.

[Ken07AOVette]

I had sort of the same thing as desert eagle- when we hit the cow I braced, bent the steering wheel back towards the windshield. My elbows and shoulders have never been the same. Being a guy I kept telling Insurance I was fine, did not think enough about long term. Don't make the same mistake.

[huntinstuff]

Always fight them

You have nothing to lose

Friend got rear ended then t-boned in her Porsche

4400km on veh.

Insurance offered 35,000 less than what she paid

We fought.

Got full replacement.

You have to fight. They love collecting your premium. They hate writing cheques.

[rosh]

Definitely will do my best on my own. All info is great, Thanks all

[pa_of_6]

Sir
With all due respect, it is your wife you should be concentrating on

Her injuries may be life long...

Document all she is going thru... it is so important!!!!!

I know.... my daughter was hit by a drunk driver last fall...and what might of seemed like a minor injury has turned into a life changing condition....

Please ensure ur wife sees a doc...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rosh]

Don’t mean to come off as rude, but where do you come across as me not concerned with my wife?? My wife is the up most of my concerns. Thanks for your concern

[marlin1]

fix the truck , have the frame checked , recertify , will be salvage title but who cares unless you want to sell . Anything can be repaired , even if insurance wants to write off , which they always seem to do now a days . With the costs of body work it is no wonder . I have body shop buddies and a frame guy so may be biased I have bought 2 "write offs" and was happy with both for years

[R3illy]

My wifes accident she ended up with $5k more then her car is worth.... we thought it was awesome. Didnt argue.