2021 was off to a great start lol

[gbritt89]

Welcome to my nightmare lol. After about 14 months of back and forth over suspected frame damage on my ranger with the incompetent collision center that initially had it in for repair when I was rear ended... I decided to call up my insurance company and tell them "the next call will be from an attorney if I can't be granted permission to take it to a different body shop, or otherwise receive something in writing saying that *4 letter insurance company* is okay with me driving a truck that may or may not have frame damage by the end of the day" 20 minutes later... a claims department manager called me and said "you can take it to any shop, sorry for the inconvenience I see this claim has been open since December 2019".

So I wait for my next set of days off and drop it off at a local shop with a good standing as far as I can see on the internet. No games when I dropped it off, their staff member handling my truck even crawled under and looked at the frame damage which is now rusting with me. This was Tuesday 2/2

Today I get word from them that the frame is indeed bent out of shape and most likely unrepairable, and that the bed is also bent and unrepairable as well. I asked for his ballpark price for the frame and bed assemblies granted I had a pretty good idea in my head. He said without crunching numbers on paper, nothing solid the estimate would easily be between 11-14K in parts alone without labor or paint. Also that ford might not be able to come up with said parts in a decent timeframe due to covid.

They have not sent the supplement repair order to my insurance company yet, or at least as far as I can see from my user portal on their website. But the specific terms with my insurance company in regards to total loss of a vehicle is that the damages have to equal 100% of the ACV of the vehicle. Seeing as the incompetent body shop already put in $5,236.28 into repairing the bent bed and replacing the rear bumper assemblies i'm not sure how this will play out.

Does anyone have experience in removing aftermarket items on a total loss vehicle? If not.. will insurance company factor in everything I have done to truck and have receipts for that is affixed to it?? I probably have 2-3000 put into my truck in decent upgrades (linex spray in bediner, 3m window tint, bfg AT's x5 and full size spare, carhartt seat covers, ford TBC kit and more)

The hard part is now it's a waiting game. The worst part... My rental is a 4 door Mini Countryman

If my truck does wind up getting totalled now, I intend to buy another XL or XLT supercab. Will just be hard to find another like what I had, I bought at end of year closeout in 2019 for 23K if I recall correctly.

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[NeptuneRanger]

Welcome to my nightmare lol. After about 14 months of back and forth over suspected frame damage on my ranger with the incompetent collision center that initially had it in for repair when I was rear ended... I decided to call up my insurance company and tell them "the next call will be from an attorney if I can't be granted permission to take it to a different body shop, or otherwise receive something in writing saying that *4 letter insurance company* is okay with me driving a truck that may or may not have frame damage by the end of the day" 20 minutes later... a claims department manager called me and said "you can take it to any shop, sorry for the inconvenience I see this claim has been open since December 2019".

So I wait for my next set of days off and drop it off at a local shop with a good standing as far as I can see on the internet. No games when I dropped it off, their staff member handling my truck even crawled under and looked at the frame damage which is now rusting with me. This was Tuesday 2/2

Today I get word from them that the frame is indeed bent out of shape and most likely unrepairable, and that the bed is also bent and unrepairable as well. I asked for his ballpark price for the frame and bed assemblies granted I had a pretty good idea in my head. He said without crunching numbers on paper, nothing solid the estimate would easily be between 11-14K in parts alone without labor or paint. Also that ford might not be able to come up with said parts in a decent timeframe due to covid.

They have not sent the supplement repair order to my insurance company yet, or at least as far as I can see from my user portal on their website. But the specific terms with my insurance company in regards to total loss of a vehicle is that the damages have to equal 100% of the ACV of the vehicle. Seeing as the incompetent body shop already put in $5,236.28 into repairing the bent bed and replacing the rear bumper assemblies i'm not sure how this will play out.

Does anyone have experience in removing aftermarket items on a total loss vehicle? If not.. will insurance company factor in everything I have done to truck and have receipts for that is affixed to it?? I probably have 2-3000 put into my truck in decent upgrades (linex spray in bediner, 3m window tint, bfg AT's x5 and full size spare, carhartt seat covers, ford TBC kit and more)

The hard part is now it's a waiting game. The worst part... My rental is a 4 door Mini Countryman

If my truck does wind up getting totalled now, I intend to buy another XL or XLT supercab. Will just be hard to find another like what I had, I bought at end of year closeout in 2019 for 23K if I recall correctly.

With respect to insurance claims handling every state has unique laws each insurance company has its own nuances. Having said that as rule of thumb, totaling a car usually requires the damage repair cost to be equal or greater than 75 to 80 percent of the current value of the vehicle. You should be compensated for the aftermarket add ons at ACV not replacement cost. You simply get paid for them as part of the final settlement, you don’t pull them off. You sometimes can buy back the salvage value vehicle at pennies on the dollar, given how new it is and how scarce parts are, it may not pencil out to do so. If you are not made whole you may have a diminished value case against the person that hit you.

I wouldn’t hold my breath on a total, the body shop and the insurance company will need to fight over the body shop negligence. All you pay is your deductible, not even that if the insurance company of the person that hit you pays. Good luck !

 

[gbritt89]

Thanks! My predicament has been that we both have Usaa. They have always been good to me in every instance prior to this occurrence. The other driver was found 100% at fault as I was at a complete stop and she hit me straight on from the rear. I will look into the diminished value aspect! Appreciate it!

 

[NeptuneRanger]

Thanks! My predicament has been that we both have Usaa. They have always been good to me in every instance prior to this occurrence. The other driver was found 100% at fault as I was at a complete stop and she hit me straight on from the rear. I will look into the diminished value aspect! Appreciate it!

. You bet ! Remember for diminished value you are a third party claimant even though you both have USAA, you should both have your own adjusters in this case. Ask your adjuster to pursue diminished value. You will need a number that will compare a severely damaged but fixed Ranger to one without damage. On a new truck that difference may be quite large so don’t leave money on the table.

 

[Trigganometry]

It was long ago but... I had a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 it was a couple of years old and I hydroplaned in it. 3 full 360’s doing 75 mph across 3 lanes of highway at 7AM in the morning. Hopped the breakdown curb and then rolled 3 times. Came to a stop on its roof. The State cop that arrived couldn’t believe I was the driver and walked away without a scratch.

Insu Co wanted to fix it. There wasn’t 1 square foot on the thing that didn’t have body damage. We’re going to fix it they said. I protested to them for not totaling it. They weren’t going to budge. Then I called back and said OK go ahead with the repairs, but only if you provide me with a letter that states clearly that once completed you guarantee my, and my families safety once I get it back. They said they would get back to me. Two hours later they called back, we’re totaling the vehicle and will be sending out a check shortly!

 

[Obijack]

The shop will likely let you come up there and take parts off of it.

 

[gbritt89]

It was long ago but... I had a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 it was a couple of years old and I hydroplaned in it. 3 full 360’s doing 75 mph across 3 lanes of highway at 7AM in the morning. Hopped the breakdown curb and then rolled 3 times. Came to a stop on its roof. The State cop that arrived couldn’t believe I was the driver and walked away without a scratch.

Insu Co wanted to fix it. There wasn’t 1 square foot on the thing that didn’t have body damage. We’re going to fix it they said. I protested to them for not totaling it. They weren’t going to budge. Then I called back and said OK go ahead with the repairs, but only if you provide me with a letter that states clearly that once completed you guarantee my, and my families safety once I get it back. They said they would get back to me. Two hours later they called back, we’re totaling the vehicle and will be sending out a check shortly!

I believe I read you post that somewhere else as well which is what gave me the inspiration to call them and pitch the line of “new shop to check out my concerns or send me a letter saying you acknowledge I’m driving around a truck that I suspect has frame damage” which lead to the right person contacting me saying I could take it to another shop lol.
What I hate is that a I know USAA would be working in my best interest if the person that hit me wasn’t a usaa policy holder themselves. Now they’re just being like every other stereotypical business trying to dish out the cheapest route to get me to shut up while they have a smile on their face since they’re at a loss regardless. I will wait to see what they say when the supplement repair order comes in and post back.

But for how I actually use my truck like a work truck I’m not ecstatic at the thought of it essentially being pieced back together as far as a complete tear down goes. I’m contemplating telling them no consent to repair it on my end if they don’t want to total it and running everything by an attorney at the least. The claims rep at USAA about two weeks ago told me I “needed to give the original body a reasonable amount of time to drop it off and them make good on the repairs”. This was December 2020 lol, a year of back and forth before the frame started rusting to the point they acknowledged they possibly overlooked frame damage and then 3 scheduled visits attempting to drop it off in January getting the same song about how they are short stafffed and every other excuse in the book.

I told the current body shop to account for every but and bolt and part that would need replaced and make it the most thorough supplement they ever submit. They seem to be on board with my “total it” agenda but time will tell what USAA wants to do. I’m going to reach out to them Monday and try and steer this in the direction of total loss some more but I think in the end if they want to fix it it’s going to take legal intervention to total it. At least the timeline and the run around from USAA is well documented on my end. I don’t want to drive this rental Mini for another damn minute!

 

[gbritt89]

The shop will likely let you come up there and take parts off of it.

I told the guy handling my truck if USAA doesn’t factor every cent of parts into it if totaled that I would need it parked in their customer parking lot for a day while I do some magic with my own tools and strip everything not permanently attached to it. I have 2 of the factory tires in my garage, a third Michelen defender that was my original full-size spare and then the factory spare on the steel wheel. Might be the tire combo it has on it if they total loss it

 

[Zaph]

I don’t want to drive this rental Mini for another damn minute!

Well then you're doing it wrong.


(good luck btw)

 

[gbritt89]

Well then you're doing it wrong.


(good luck btw)

It’s a Mini “countryman” I have had ample time the last couple days to go out and have fun with it. It’s comfortable and definitely feels planted on sharp curves at speed but damn it is slow getting up to Texas speeds from a stop lol

 

[gbritt89]

is it just the rear section of the frame they need to replace?
the center section isnt repairable obviously but the front and rears are replaceable.
look at the price list below for that mount kit...wholly wtf? is it made from unobtanium steels?

https://www.repairerdrivennews.com/...ing-kits-available-for-2019-ranger-hss-frame/

https://www.bluespringsfordparts.com/v-2019-ford-ranger--xlt--2-3l-l4-gas/body--frame-and-components

Not sure, but from what I gathered from the new collision center “the entire frame” would need replaced. They might have seen more than I could with them having access to lifts and a frame machine but the part I have been insisting where the damage is obvious is directly inline with the rear axle on both the left and right hand sides. It is crumbled inwards and bends downwards slightly.

There has been lots of posts here about Ford being slow to deliver on parts throughout the last year with covid being the blanket excuse.

 

[Lucky2013]

You are not allowed to take parts of the truck which are bolted on or belong to the truck. That includes after market stereo systems ( mounted in the dash ), tires and wheels, battery, nerf bars...

We deal on daily basis with that at my work !

If the shop allows you to take parts off he can be held resposible for that.

My tip is to inform your Insurance in the future about all upgrades you did to your vehicle ! They might ask for pictures or the invoice. Like that the upgrades are documented and you get reimbursed.

 

[D Fresh]

You are not allowed to take parts of the truck which are bolted on or belong to the truck. That includes after market stereo systems ( mounted in the dash ), tires and wheels, battery, nerf bars...

We deal on daily basis with that at my work !

If the shop allows you to take parts off he can be held resposible for that.

My tip is to inform your Insurance in the future about all upgrades you did to your vehicle ! They might ask for pictures or the invoice. Like that the upgrades are documented and you get reimbursed.

Pretty sure that varies by state.

Removing them AND being reimbursed for them would be fraud.

However, when my WRX was totalled both the shop it at was at AND my insurance company allowed me to remove aftermarket parts. I was required to replace them with the stock parts, which I had available.

I pulled a full TBE, coilovers, and wheels and tires off, which recouped a lot of my mod money.

 

[HenryMac]

You are not allowed to take parts of the truck which are bolted on or belong to the truck. That includes after market stereo systems ( mounted in the dash ), tires and wheels, battery, nerf bars...

We deal on daily basis with that at my work !

If the shop allows you to take parts off he can be held resposible for that.

My tip is to inform your Insurance in the future about all upgrades you did to your vehicle ! They might ask for pictures or the invoice. Like that the upgrades are documented and you get reimbursed.

What I learned today from @Lucky2013 :

• If you have significant modifications on your truck, keep all the OEM parts.
• If you wreck the truck and have significant damage, have it towed to your home first.
• Remove all the aftermarket components, put the OEM components back on.
• Then have it towed to the body shop.

 

[Lucky2013]

What I learned today from @Lucky2013 :

• If you have significant modifications on your truck, keep all the OEM parts.
• If you wreck the truck and have significant damage, have it towed to your home first.
• Remove all the aftermarket components, put the OEM components back on.
• Then have it towed to the body shop.

You might end up with one or two big tow bills !

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