Total Loss vs. Keeping Salvage titled vehicle

[LRflip]

Some of you guys may know I got into a bit of a fender bender a few months back...

turns out, my frame is bent...the call it "diamond" so one frame rail is pushed back farther than the other creating a diamond between the crossmembers.

anyways, I'm thinking I am going to take the money and try and keep driving the truck. I drove it for a while after the accident so I know it'll drive around, it's just the front suspension showing the bend.

However, I do still owe money on the truck so I'm not really sure how that's going to work out. Will the bank allow me to keep paying off the loan or since there is no collateral, will they make me pay off the loan right then and refinance the truck? Will any bank finance a vehicle with a salvage title?

I'm not sure of the salvage value or any of that...I'm also not sure if they will total it. so there are a few unknowns with this.

When I bought the truck, I planned to drive the wheels off of it...10yrs or more.

It's a 2004.5 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins...so I know it'll last if I keep driving it.

Just looking to hear some reasoning one way or the other...

I really would like to keep it, and I know that if I keep it, I'm probably not ever going to sell it with a salvage title, and that's ok with me...but, am I better off just wiping my hands of the whole thing?

 

[LRflip]

Also want to add that they haven't officially totalled the vehicle yet...but, I got a gut feeling that it's coming.

The worst part is, the truck looks brand spanking new...they've already done all the work to repair it sans the frame repair.

 

[Ballah06]

So, just to clarify, the truck was in an accident which resulted in the frame damage, as well as some other issues. Then some of the issues, but not the frame were repaired by the shop? If so, who paid for the repairs?
Prior to conducting any repairs, did you get an estimate from the insurance company? If so, from my experience, that should have included the total amount to bring the vehicle to its previous condition. After all, whether you were at fault or someone else, the damages should be covered, minus the deductible if your fault of course. Also, at that point they should have stated whether it was worth fixing or whether it was considered totalled. From my past first-hand experiences, that has always been the case - either they pay for fixing it or they total it. Did you decide to forego some of the repairs yourself, but take the money instead?
Either way, personally I would opt for either fixing it completely , if the insurance is paying for it, or taking the amount they offer if totalled. Also, do you know for sure if it is going to have a salvage title?

 

[singingcamel]

My son just totaled his car, bought it back from the insurance co a certain % of value but I cant remember the % but it was cheap.
i was able to keep the title so it wasn't a salvage title . bought a new front end and its good to go without a salvage title .
Once the insurance co gets it hand on the title , its a salvage title.

 

[KyleT]

i had one totalled, bought it back for the tax value (6.25% of ACV) sold the totaled car for a good profit.

 

[LRflip]

So, just to clarify, the truck was in an accident which resulted in the frame damage, as well as some other issues. Then some of the issues, but not the frame were repaired by the shop? If so, who paid for the repairs?
Prior to conducting any repairs, did you get an estimate from the insurance company? If so, from my experience, that should have included the total amount to bring the vehicle to its previous condition. After all, whether you were at fault or someone else, the damages should be covered, minus the deductible if your fault of course. Also, at that point they should have stated whether it was worth fixing or whether it was considered totalled. From my past first-hand experiences, that has always been the case - either they pay for fixing it or they total it. Did you decide to forego some of the repairs yourself, but take the money instead?
Either way, personally I would opt for either fixing it completely , if the insurance is paying for it, or taking the amount they offer if totalled. Also, do you know for sure if it is going to have a salvage title?

All of the repairs except for the frame were taken care of by the insurance company. The frame damage wasn't discovered until after they tried to get the front end aligned. The alignment was in the original estimate, the frame damage was not...this is an HD truck that was in what was considered a minor fender bender...so nobody thought to check the frame before the initial repairs were carried out. This will now be my very first request after all accidents moving forward - check the frame first.

This has happened before on our old P38...small accident turned into a bent frame...nobody checked until we were at the very end of the process and I had to take the truck back and chew out the manager at the body shop as to why he sent my wife home with a vehicle that was clearly not fixed.

I paid (from the insurance check) for the initial repairs...so the undiscovered frame damage would be a supplement. This also brings another point to mind. Will the total loss value be based off of the aggregate total of the initial repairs + frame damage, or will the frame damage be seen as a seperate account?

Also, the insurance company is the bank where my loan/title is held so there are surely going to get their hands on the title.

I hope that answered all the questions.

 

[Ballah06]

All of the repairs except for the frame were taken care of by the insurance company. The frame damage wasn't discovered until after they tried to get the front end aligned. The alignment was in the original estimate, the frame damage was not...this is an HD truck that was in what was considered a minor fender bender...so nobody thought to check the frame before the initial repairs were carried out. This will now be my very first request after all accidents moving forward - check the frame first.

This has happened before on our old P38...small accident turned into a bent frame...nobody checked until we were at the very end of the process and I had to take the truck back and chew out the manager at the body shop as to why he sent my wife home with a vehicle that was clearly not fixed.

I paid (from the insurance check) for the initial repairs...so the undiscovered frame damage would be a supplement. This also brings another point to mind. Will the total loss value be based off of the aggregate total of the initial repairs + frame damage, or will the frame damage be seen as a seperate account?

Also, the insurance company is the bank where my loan/title is held so there are surely going to get their hands on the title.

I hope that answered all the questions.

Good deal. This makes sense, however in a few accidents I have had, I dont think I ever got the funds to pay the bodyshop for the car/truck in question directly, since either my own insurance company or someone else's paid the shop directly. Also, the shop you took it to, was it a guaranteed repair shop by your insurance company? If so, it could make handling the bent frame issue easier.
I would venture to say the total cost of repairs should be based off the incident as a whole, rather than the frame damage being seen as a separate account. After all, all the damage was caused by the same accident. The question is, since everyone now knows of the frame damage issue, even when its fixed, will the title still say salvage (for whatever reason), or not be affected?

 

[adriatic04]

most banks wont refi a salvage title, so if you can keep it from showing as a salvage that will help your cause in refinancing.

someone may have already said this, I couldnt read all the posts, sorry

if it were me I would be cautious driving it because if you keep the same insurance company and then have another issue that vin will show it was supposed to be salvaged. dont know the legalities of this but it would be enough to make me reconsider driving it, personally.

 

[jim-00-4.6]

I had an accident in my truck & owed about $7000 on it at the time.
Insurance company said "total" and paid me their "value" at that point, around $9000.
Paid off the truck, then paid a total of $5500 to get it fixed.
I told the insurance company I had a quote to fix it for $5500, but they didn't care; they said it would cost $10K to fix but was worth $9K.

In Colorado, since the vehicle is more than 10 years old, it DID NOT get a salvage title.
The title is normal.
BUT!

The national insurance database shows it as a "total loss".
I can no longer get comprehensive coverage, just collision.

I'm going to drive it to death anyways, so whatever.

 

[dcarr1971]

Maybe I missed this, but didn't you say the vehicle is worth less than the payoff on the loan?

Stating the obvious here, but...typically, unless the ins co pays off the loan, the bank is going to expect you to continue making payments whether the vehicle is paid off or not and whether or not you have the truck. At best they'll turn the title over to the ins co in return for the $$$ from the claim. If they no longer have collateral, the bank should typically still accept your payments, but this could vary from bank to bank.

(This last part is all just to prepare you for a 'worst case scenario' though...If it's a reputable financial institution (as I'm sure it is) then they should be willing to work with you on the remaining payments.) I'd suggest looking at your loan documents under the definitions of what constitutes 'default' on the loan and the banks options for curing the default. From the risk management side of banking, their view should be to just be glad you keep paying and don't file bankruptcy to get out of any remaining debt, but some will issue a demand letter for the full balance if the contract defines loss of the collateral as 'default'.

 

[LRflip]

the truck should be worth way more than what I owe on it...

I have USAA for the loan and for the insurance so they are a one stop shop...I wouldn't however recommend them to anyone. Their customer service is terrible.

 

[mgreenspan]

the truck should be worth way more than what I owe on it...

I have USAA for the loan and for the insurance so they are a one stop shop...I wouldn't however recommend them to anyone. Their customer service is terrible.

Haha. That's quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever heard. Their customer service is the best customer service I have ever experienced. Please explain because I'm curious what you think is terrible about it. I have never heard a complaint from anybody that uses them(almost everybody I have worked with and been around since 2002).

 

[LRflip]

I know, I was surprised myself.

The first person I talked to basically told me it was my fault...she wouldn't hear it any other way.

Then, because the other person went to the doctor, I got transferred to an injury claims representative. He wouldn't hear my side of the story and when I requested that they obtain a copy of the original scene statement from both parties to backup my story, they refused.

The other party involved didn't give her phone statement for two weeks, so there is no telling how many LEO's, Lawyers, etc. she may have talked to to get her story straight...I know for a fact that she changed her story but, since they wouldn't request a copy of the written statement or contact the trooper that wrote the report, the facts were DOA.

Over the course of the two weeks that I was trying to get everything settled, the second representative wouldn't answer my messages for days on end, and when I tried to speak to anyone else, they had no information and would basically pass me from phone jockey to phone jockey...

then, when additional damages were uncovered, they fought me for an additional two weeks as to whether the damage was a part of the accident or not. Then, they sent a 3rd party adjuster out from a national company with independently owned appraisal offices...talk about no accountability...there was nobody to call for status updates, information, or anybody...they just told me to leave a message. I left messages for weeks to no avail.

At this point, I'm dealing with a 3rd rep at USAA...she has no idea. I really do feel sorry for the lady. If I talk to her from one day to the next, I have to retell my entire story and regive her every bit of info. Not just the claim number of my member number but, the date of loss, my vehicle make model and year, the body shop I'm using, etc...

so then after the body was repaired, and the supplemental damage was taken care of, they found out my frame was bent.

I've spent hours on the phone between the insurance company, appraisal company, and the body shop and have just today gotten an answer...

all in all from my truck going into the shop to today, my truck has been in the shop for 6 weeks.

The original estimate stated 10 days...

the 6 weeks have included atleast a month of USAA and the appraisal company dragging their feet with my file getting shuffled from desk to desk.

So yes, I'm very disappointed in their customer service right now...I'm just waiting until everything is said and done before I formally complain to USAA.

 

[dcarr1971]

Haha. That's quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever heard. Their customer service is the best customer service I have ever experienced. Please explain because I'm curious what you think is terrible about it. I have never heard a complaint from anybody that uses them(almost everybody I have worked with and been around since 2002).

x2. USAA has always been phenominal to me and my family.

 

[mgreenspan]

Well damn. Good luck with all of that. Did you not get a copy of the police report from the incident when it happened? I don't see why you couldn't just give it to USAA yourself. If it proves the other party is at fault I would think they would love to have that.

I have a personal policy of always getting a copy of any report for anything and keeping it for unnecessarily long just in case.

 

[az_max]

...... He wouldn't hear my side of the story and when I requested that they obtain a copy of the original scene statement from both parties to backup my story, they refused.

I would have gone to the police dept (or used their automated phone system, if they have one) and emailed/faxed the report to the insurance rep *Daily* until they acknowledge they read it.

 

[Roach]

just an observation: in the future, use an ins. co like SF or Allstate, fix your vehicle, pay the deductible, and let the ins. co fight it out. I have waited 6 months or more over the years for my deductible to be paid back when someone hit me or the Mrs. and had ins. co. like Geico, usaa, progressive, etc. (18 months for geico.) Those 2nd and 3rd tier co. do not like to pay, and won't if you don't know how to deal with them. my 2 cents.

 

[LRflip]

Well damn. Good luck with all of that. Did you not get a copy of the police report from the incident when it happened? I don't see why you couldn't just give it to USAA yourself. If it proves the other party is at fault I would think they would love to have that.

I have a personal policy of always getting a copy of any report for anything and keeping it for unnecessarily long just in case.

The trooper informed me that the incident report would be ready in 5-7 business days, and I did get it a week later.

What I couldn't get was the written statements from the incident...they aren't included in the incident report, just the names, ins. policy #'s, addresses, and a rough computerized sketch of what the officer think happened.

She had her right turn signal on, swung right, then made a left turn...I hit her on her drivers side. She was in front of me.

She admitted that she didn't know if she had her turn signal on...she wasn't sure, she couldn't remember. I said most definately yes. When she gave her phone statement, she expressely said that she didn't have her signal on, no way, no how.

In the end, neither of us got tickets, and USAA paid me and her Ins. Co paid her...

I was just pissed because they let her go so long before giving her statement. She didn't even contact her insurance company for 2 weeks, only after USAA called her insurance company and her insurance company was able to get in touch with her.

I gave my statement 30 minutes after the incident....If I had waited a week, I could have talked to one of my lawyer, LEO, or insurance friends to get some tips and tricks...but, no I did the right thing and got it taken care of that day.

 

[draaronr]

i say galvanize the frame. that'll fix it.

 

[LRflip]

Turns out the frame isn't bent...apparently the idiots at the original body shop have never heard of Car-O-Tronic.

had it remeasured and everything is within 3mil, well within spec. I still have a few intense conversations to have to get the final bill sorted out and I've finally got two representatives of USAA that have my back and I have their cell phone #s...It's all going to be ok.

It's back in my possession and ready for the haul to conclave.