Any Californians know what constitutes a total loss vehicle after a collision?

I've been googling this and I can't seem to find a good solid answer. I just recently paid my last payment to toyota financial and now my poor tundra is wounded. I thought initially the damage wasn't so bad. but after a good look the entire front end is crooked and all of my sensors are going off with my 4wd half engaged. Airbags are blown too. I have to go buy a new truck for work since my insurance will only cover a $30 sub compact and plywood don't fit in a Hyundai. So I'm really hoping it's a total loss. Otherwise, i'll have to sell it after repair. I have a feeling this will drag out so can't afford to wait.

Story if anyone is interested:

Saturday, after a light rain, I was out in my 08 Tundra heading to home depot. When around a 30 mph curve comes a driver in his mini pickup 4 bald tires and no seat belt. Probably doing about 40-50. Needless to say, he fishtails around the curve and is sliding sideways toward me. I swerve best I can to miss his passenger compartment. I hit his rear box and send his tailgate about 50 feet in the other direction. He plows thru a ditch and up the otherside taking out his entire front end.

Surprisingly no one was hurt and dumbass with no seat belt cracks his windshield with his head and gets out without a scratch. His wife is crying her eyes out as I'm helping her out of the truck. he admits to speeding in front of witnesses but as soon as CHP arrives, story changes. So I assume there might be some "no fault" weather crap I'll have to deal with - which means MY insurance and deductable kicks in. Lucky I have a witness who heard his pre-CHP confession.

Of course, my wife tells me this is why I tell you not to ride in the rain. not sure why though, I generally don't ride in the rain on purpose. Maybe she does actually care about me?

 

Shucks that is tough luck - especially as its was all paid for. At least you walked away unscathed.

If this happened in Europe and given the other drivers changed story I would be making sure I get a good lawyer and getting that witness statement in print asap, and of course make sure you get a proper medical check-up. Adrenaline can mask a multitude of after-effects - and days later you end up with bad bruising where the seat-belt dug in, or your head got pounded by those airbags going off.

If the guys tyres were bald then he would be on a hiding to nothing for causing an accident in wet conditions. Yes you may have to initially claim against your cover but they should be able to fully recover that and any excess(deductible) from the other drivers insurance, once liability is determined.

As for a vehicle being a total write off - the usual tests are financial and safety related - so your insurer will probably send an assessor to inspect the vehicle, and identify what work would be needed to return the vehicle to the pre-accident condition - which is fully safe for continued use. If the cost with labour exceeds 50% of its trade price then it won't be repaired.

If the chassis has sustained any major damage (you mention twisting) then it would be very likely to be written off. Certainly from your description with damaged 4w drive system and sensors messing around I would say the chances are it is a write off especially as it is over 5 years old. Nowadays loads of bits are one time use - seat-belts - airbags - bumpers once crushed get binned as once used they won't absorb as much crush energy. Even stuff like seats which may look externally OK may need replacement as the frame/mountings will have been strained by the impact and could fail prematurely in any further accident. I suggest you start focusing on finding a suitable replacement.

Take care




SkiMad

 

Google: "california salvage titles"

Basic stuff.. If it costs more to fix than it's worth, it's a total.

WTF is your insurance company doing for you? Sounds like not much.

Every state has an insurance commission.

 

Reek - A few things to consider.

1. If you have an AGENT or BROKER, meaning you didn't buy your insurance on line, contact them. They are supposed to help you.
2. If the insurance carrier is not doing right, do as Billy suggested - contact your insurance commissioner, department of Banking and Insurance, whatever.
3. Consider getting a Public Adjuster. Most of these guys work on a 10% fee of what they settle on. So if a $25K truck is totaled, they get $2,500, you walk with $22.5K. Insurance companies hate dealing with PA's, but they are good for you.
4. The two words any insurance company never want to hear when resolving a claim are "bad faith". If they are not doing the right thing, you can throw that at them. But be prepared, once you tell them they are handling the claim in bad faith, don't make it an idle threat. You will need to document the shit outta everything, send it to your agent, carrier, Department of B&I, etc.

Forget about what might happen to your rates right now. You buy insurance to protect you and your assets. The idea is to indemnify you. What are you worried about - a $20K truck, or having your premium go up by 25% next year? And if the other guy truly was at fault (which is what it certainly appears to be), you get your insurance company to handle it, then let them go and subrogate against the other guys carrier.

Good luck.

 

Follow Pliskin's advice, it is up to adjuster to either fix your truck or deem it a total loss. If it is a "total" loss, then they take it and you can buy it back if you think it can be fixed, but it will then have a "Salvage" title. Have your agent find out what coverage the other driver had, if he was even insured.

 

Good stuff. I didn't know aboot the PA service.. The benefit there is that they are neutral and not on the side of the insurer.

Insurance commissions have many sides. Some (Oregon) has one guy who acts as an ombundsman. The commissions have the power to say who can sell insurance in a given state and who cannot.

Brokers and agents get a little off the top. Hell, it's the American way and they have mouths to feed too. Mine is great and a keeper. Had a small incident with the cage and his advice got me in and out of the deal in minutes.

Oh yeah. He rides too..

 

Sorry about your Tundra, glad you are ok
Hope you the best getting a new Tundra :thumbsup:

 

thanks all for the replies. And yes, lucky no one got hurt.

My insurance is USAA and I finally did hear from my agent taking care of my claim. the wreck was on the weekend so can't say they weren't responding. I've always had good service from USAA. I was just a little anxious since with out a truck, I'm dead in the water with no work getting done. So I was just trying to figure out what would happen so I could figure out what to do. I just bit the bullet and bought a new truck tonight. No, Scubalong, not another tundra. A similar one as my late Tundra is now $38,000! I would have to turn to man-whoring to raise that kinda dough. I ended up with a 5.7 Ram 1500, didn't hurt too much, just a little rug burn on the knees.....

Right after I signed for the truck, my agent ended up contacting me. He had already stopped by my house and wanted to tell me there's no way the thing will be repairable. Totalled - and thanks to the recent increase in Tundra resale prices, I should actually get back a significant chunk of my original 2008 cost. They're cutting me a check soon so I can move on. I'm super impressed with this. and as soon as the CHP report confirms other driver's fault, they'll go after him to get their $$$ back.

apparently there's a formula they use that involves estimated repair vs. the salvage price (?) and it has to be less than the current value of the truck. I always thought the 50% of the value rule was what they went with. I didn't ask about details since I was still busy with the Dodge dealer's finance guy.

Anyway, looks like I'll be back to work tomorrow with a minor speed bump only.

thanks again for the input. I was panicking for nothing I guess.

 

Glad to see you got taken care of properly, and glad you you weren't hurt, the Tundra was on the air bag recall list!

 

I'm glad I didn't need the airbag! I just watched it inflate infront of me while my seatbelt did all the work.

 

Ahh...Bad luck man. Where in town was this? (from Sacramento as well, currently in Rancho Cordova...)

Glad to hear insurance is working out. I have heard nothing but good things about USAA, and I'm glad I haven't had to find out personally...

 

grant line and white rock in Rancho.

 

I would have seriously looked at the new 3.0 V6 Diesel that Ram offers. 28 MPG hwy. And even with the difference in cost between regular and diesel it's still a huge savings at the pump. Although the price over the Hemi you'd have to keep it for a while to become economical.

 

Ahh...that little bend just south of the white rock intersection? That can sneak up on ya if you're not paying attention. I kinda wish they'd put some rumble strips on the approaches to the turn.

Glad everything is turning out for ya.

 

Yup, that's the one! I drive that road atleast 3 times a week. Not uncommon to see a mustang or little truck in the ditch even when dry.

and yeah, USAA really took care of me. I still don't know how they calculate total loss but they do use local equivalent vehicle cost to determine how much they give you. Lucky all new Tundras are now too rich for my blood, it helped my pay off significantly. Now I can put this all behind me and keep on going.

 

UASS is rated near the top of the pile for insurance if you're military. USAA was founded in WWI by a group of US Army Officers who could not get insurance elsewhere.