Advice after wreck

[rushthezeppelin]

So yeah, I ran into the guy going probably 25. Addicted Offroad bumper took the vast majority of the hit. The claim process is already started, I don't know when an adjuster is going to get out here or have me do a remote adjustment. I don't notice any frame damage at all which is frankly shocking but I think the bumper pivoting up is what saved my frame. Quarter panels, wheel wells damaged. Grill is obviously gone (was already cut up to mount my winch anyway). Headlights and hood gone. Radiator support is also bent in a bit. It was getting the brown cancer anyway so if I rebuild then this is finally a good excuse to replace the radiator (maybe even switch to asian red cool juice in the process). Radiator did not get pushed into the fan so that's good. I think engine is completely unharmed assuming the sudden stopping force didn't do anything (I assume the motor mounts would have taken the brunt and I was planning on replacing those at some point anyway). Wings on the bumper got bent into both front tires. Driver side it just barely touched, passenger it was digging in pretty hard but the tire didn't blow out. I did however notice that I have a sidewall bulge on that one so it's toast (I have a Discount Tire protection plan on them). And then there's the airbags and the windshield that got messed up by the passenger airbag going off. The airbags are the trickiest part in all this.... Surprisingly it looks like my winch totally survived unscathed. I guess I'll find out for sure when I pull the bumper and see if the mount plate got twisted which could have possibly damaged it.

So likely insurance is going to total this just because of the airbags is my guess. I guess at that point I have 3 options, total it take the money (seems pretty stupid but there's the least hassle there), total it buy the truck back and fix it up (probably will take more than the money I get to pull that off and obviously will have a salvage title and there's the air bag issue), total it buy it back and part it out (I've got quite a few goodies I can part on this).

Any other options I'm missing here? What would you do in my shoes? I have half a mind to get a 4th gen in the worst case.

 

[On the RX]

This is sad news indeed, especially the part about a 4th gen! Curious how the other vehicle held up after making out with your bumper?

My only suggestion is to try to get market value for the 3rd gen. Insurance isn't going to initially give you a fair shake on the actual value of it. Do your research and have multiple examples of what they are selling for with the options you have on it to support a higher value.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Man, what a gut punch after the Trailblazer accident. Really sorry to hear this happened to you.

Like Adam says, get a few comparable values and collect all your receipts to be ready to counter the insurance offer. First thing you need is a reasonable offer on the table before you can figure out if you want to sell to the insurance or buy it back.

Good luck, most of us have been in your situation and understand the stress.

 

[DouglasVB]

Wow! Are y'all okay?

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Wow! Are y'all okay?

I might actually have some slight symptoms of whiplash that started showing up last night. As soon as I get a rental through my insurance I'm going to go get that checked out.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

So looking on BAT over the last little while it looks like comparable is going for 12k+ atm. IDK how insurance adjusters feel about BAT though.

Got an adjustment from a chiropractor today, neck feels better than usual (I've had old injuries that have given me a small amount of trouble for well over a decade).

@On the RX I know I love 3rd gens but I wouldn't mind a bit more modern and a v8 and perhaps a multimode transfer case so I can have unlocked center diff for certain road conditions. I've also thought about a 1st gen Sequioa.

Anyone have advice on replacing airbags? Seems a bit dicey to me as there's no way to ensure they are working. Last thing I want if nothing else from a liability perspective is to get in a wreck and them not go off and a lawyer finds out I replaced them. Part of my mind says just hold on to it and go full trailer queen but that would probably run 20K+ for a trailer, SAS, dual cases and a TDI swap (then add in some other stuff like a full cage, etc) plus the front end body replacement. Would definitely need the 2UZ to haul it at that point. Regardless I don't have even close to that kind of money right now, I did just interview for a job that pays 75-90k which will more than double my income though so that might change a bit but I'm really trying to focus on saving right now and dating for getting married as soon as I can (no good way to phrase that the way I mean it probably).

 

[DaveInDenver]

The insurance value is based on Blue Book so I'd bet they'll start with something like $4K. Countering with Craigslist actual market values and others will be of limited help but it's all you can do. It's ridiculous in the real world of prices. To rub salt in the wound they'll see tires, lockers, lifts and bumpers and call it a lump $1k more for all of it. That's why you'll want receipts for the aftermarket to account for direct costs. This is why you'll most likely buy it back if for no other reason than to give at least something reasonable back out for all the parts. The insurance company likes to talk about making you whole but it's crock on sort of collectible old junk. With new cars they have the actual cost to buy one for you and there's nothing they can do to get around that. Or with a 1998 Dodge Neon they can offer you $2K and that's probably exactly what it would cost you to buy another running one that's not a complete shit box. There is no real way to uniformly price a nice and built 1998 4Runner unless you've negotiated an agreed value ahead of time on your individual truck with your insurance company. But in that case, if they even want to write the policy, you'll have been paying higher rates for it. At normal insurance rates to them a 4Runner is a Pathfinder is a Blazer is an Explorer, e.g. a 25-year old 4WD SUV with a ton of miles. It'll be on the high side of average prices for the market segment but nothing like representative of the actual price to find another one like it.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Any input on my concern with the airbags going off? I'm really thinking the only way to have this be a functional vehicle again is to have it as an offroad only rig otherwise I see opening myself up to a lot of liability.

 

[Hulk]

Don't airbags get replaced all the time? I'm not an expert at all, but I don't know why you can't just get new units to replace the ones that were deployed.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Don't airbags get replaced all the time? I'm not an expert at all, but I don't know why you can't just get new units to replace the ones that were deployed.

Are they still manufactured for 25 year old vehicles? Also I would think if you don't get a professional to install them there's issues there. Perhaps I'm overthinking this though.

 

[DaveInDenver]

That's a good question. If Toyota has discontinued them and you can't find ones that have not been deployed in a junk yard are you then stuck? It's probably assumed that if the accident was bad enough to trigger the airbags the vehicle damage is significant. You do hear a lot of people say airbags equal totaled but in my experience that's has only been true about half the time. I've driven and wrecked enough cars without airbags that it would not bother me to run exposed without them but I don't know if you did not replace them if insurance wouldn't cover the truck or you.

 

[HDavis]

I would take the money from the trailblazer rear ending you and let your insurance pay you out for this accident and let them take the 4runner. I would consider trying to remove the winch before it gets taken and swap out the wheels and tires with some rollers and try to sell them. Thats probably the two most valuable items left. Having parted out a 4runner, people won't want your body panels because they are not a stock color and the interior can be hit and miss, most want a clean rip free driver seat. I think I made about 2k from parting out all of the non mechanical bits and body parts on the one I used for my body swap.

As for if you want to keep it and swap airbags, look around on ebay, facebook marketplace, craigslist. I sold my airbags for maybe $200. The hard part about the passenger side is it also means replacing the dashboard on the 3rd gen.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

As expected they totaled it....they are working on an offer, we will see what they come up with.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Wow they actually offered me 8k for it. 7500 after the deductible.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

So how do I proceed now? I'm still thinking I want to buy it back and part it. At the very least I'm going to strip the skids and get the winch off before I let a yard take it.

 

[HDavis]

You'll ask them what the buyback price is if you were to keep it. 7500 is pretty good. Have you heard back about the claim from the trailblazer hitting it while parked?

 

[rushthezeppelin]

You'll ask them what the buyback price is if you were to keep it. 7500 is pretty good. Have you heard back about the claim from the trailblazer hitting it while parked?

We settled that wreck out of insurance.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Wow they actually offered me 8k for it. 7500 after the deductible.

So how do I proceed now? I'm still thinking I want to buy it back and part it. At the very least I'm going to strip the skids and get the winch off before I let a yard take it.

That's a pretty decent offer they made. They didn't give you a buy back? If you can get the winch and sliders off before they take it not sure you'd do better than $7500 trying to part it out. Plus the Trailblazer money you might not be too bad off. Glad that it seems to be working out.

 

[rushthezeppelin]

Yeah I'm really leaning towards buying a 1st gen Sequoia right now. The market is REALLY good on them right now (tons of them below 5k on FB MP). Anyone have experience with Sequoas to know if that's an indication of just a lot of beat up Sequoas?

 

[rushthezeppelin]

That's a pretty decent offer they made. They didn't give you a buy back? If you can get the winch and sliders off before they take it not sure you'd do better than $7500 trying to part it out. Plus the Trailblazer money you might not be too bad off. Glad that it seems to be working out.

Sliders are welded on, I suppose I could grind them off and get something for them especially since they hadn't even gotten scratches yet. Skids and winch I def want to take off. I would also grab the radio I put in there and put the old one back I suppose. So you think it might not be a bad idea depending on the buy back price to just junk it? I can def sell the motor, trans (it's a 5 speed so hot commodity), transfer and elocker. I might go ahead and take my tires and wheels and swap that if I get a Sequoia (would be tricky to do that if I junked it as I probably couldn't stall long enough). Probably a few other things I could part on it like UCAS, front diff (someone might want it with the rear anyway), LCAs, brand new rear arms, etc.