Need some advice

[accessmark]

I was up at my condo in Breckenridge, Colorado this morning and I heard a crash out front. A F150 Crashed into my beloved original owner 100 LC while is was sitting in the parking lot minding its own business. It was a hard hit since the ford was coming from a near by 3 way intersection and lost control. The hit in the rear quarter panel pivoted the LC 90 degrees from how it was parked. It will likely be totaled. It drives but the rear axel is pushed a couple of inches from the passenger side to the driver side and made a grinding/clunking noise when I moved it back to its parking spot. There are now door fitment issues as well. What are my options? It is a one owner colorado car. No accidents prior. Thanks for your comments.

 

[timmbuck2]

glad to see you made it here to Rising Sun. I think the biggest factor will be the frame integrity? That looks pretty pushed in...

FYI I saw his post to the ih8mud page on Facebook and I suggested he come post here, and he lives in Denver and did you say it was being towed back soon??

 

[accessmark]

Yes. Flatbeded to my home in Denver today. Insurance estimator coming by Friday. If it is totaled, I will be looking for a buyer who will fix it and give it a good home.

 

[DaveInDenver]

All you can do is see what the adjuster and shop find.

But if I was guessing (or hoping!) is that you have the obvious sheet metal damage but also just a broken wheel, suspension or/and compromised axle. Maybe the axle housing is straight and it's flange, backing plate, rear hub or brakes.

I'd think for the frame to have bent you'd see more body damage or direct hit to it via bumpers or sliders.

It's probably not as bad as you think. Cruisers are tough suckers. Plus it was parked so no airbags triggered in it, right?

Finger's crossed!

 

[rover67]

Be sure to not settle for their first offer. Unless its more than fair. Also keep it in your possesion untill you are done with it. Sorry this happened..

 

[levi]

Keep in mind the adjuster works for / represents the insurance company. It’s okay to not agree with their estimate and seek second opinions

 

[On the RX]

You can also have a good body shop give you an estimate. They will probably be better to assess if the frame is tweaked.

 

[Corbet]

Almost a guarantee of a total from the insurance. Like Marco said maintain possession of it. Don’t accept first offer. Seek 2nd opinion from a shop of your choice if needed. This process is going to suck. Good the police responded, hopefully a full report filed in your favor. If they give you a rental car you can leverage that cost in the negotiation. Example, “give me what I want or we can drag this out for months while you pay for my rental”. But they might just pull the rental after the offer and play that game on you.

 

[BritKLR]

All great advice!

As for the rental, if your insurance provides for one get it now and hang onto it throughout the repair (if repaired). They will sometimes say they are cutting off the rental car when negotiations start dragging on but, keep it anyway since the policy provides for it. They just want to wear you down to the point of giving in since you are just a number to them and not a real person.

Sorry for what your going through....it can really suck. But, please let us know if the Fords insurance company wants to place some of the blame on you since they might claim you were improperly parked or some other BS claim.

 

[DaveInDenver]

It seems pretty clear since he was parked off street and there was a police report. Not sure what the driver might be able to assert. Of course the insurance company will try everything to minimize payment but everyone's assuming it will be contentious. Anything's possible but seems smart to make things clear up front that you're not gonna take bull.

But there's always the option of getting your insurance involved. We had to do that once and it was worth the lack of headache and having a claim to get someone advocating on your behalf. Even if you don't make a claim you might call your agent anyway to ask.

 

[ChuckleBuckle]

You came to the right place. There are landcruiser specialists all over the front range. I would have one of them come by and look as well. The damage may well be less than you think. Cruisers are tough and made to be repaired. Be firm.
The biggest problem I've had with a similar accident is that it eats up a lot of your time. You may mention to the agent that you intend to charge for that. My biggest advocate was my own insurance company. They were glad to deal on my behalf with another company.
rScotty

 

[AimCOTaco]

My wild guess is the frame is fine but the housing or panhard may be bent out of shape... as long as he didn't hit that slider too hard which might have dented the frame.
They might say total on first pass but if you get the value numbers up for your 1 owner CO LC I bet you can get it back in shape with a little luck.
Keep us posted.

 

[BritKLR]

Not sure what the driver might be able to assert.

The driver won't assert it but, his/her insurance company "may" assert that since there is no obvious painted parking spots in the lot then the LC was improperly parked thereby, claiming that if the LC had been properly parked (even though there is no painted lines) it wouldn't have been hit, therefore the LC is partially to blame.......This then requires the LC owner to drag the condo ownership into the claim to explain why the lot wasn't painted.....Thereby, taking time, money, distraction and playing games to accept a lower pay out which is what insurance companies are good at.

Insurance companies love this game with snow covered parking lots where the lines can't be seen due to the snow and then claim the insured party improperly parked their car, whereas if they had parked their car properly the car sliding across the snow covered lot wouldn't have hit them. All about nothing except to force a quicker payout for the least amount.

Bottom line, if they start playing games......get a Attorney!

 

[DaveInDenver]

The driver won't assert it but, his/her insurance company "may" assert that since there is no obvious painted parking spots in the lot then the LC was improperly parked thereby, claiming that if the LC had been properly parked (even though there is no painted lines) it wouldn't have been hit, therefore the LC is partially to blame.......This then requires the LC owner to drag the condo ownership into the claim to explain why the lot wasn't painted.....Thereby, taking time, money, distraction and playing games to accept a lower pay out which is what insurance companies are good at.

Insurance companies love this game with snow covered parking lots where the lines can't be seen due to the snow and then claim the insured party improperly parked their car, whereas if they had parked their car properly the car sliding across the snow covered lot wouldn't have hit them. All about nothing except to force a quicker payout for the least amount.

Bottom line, if they start playing games......get a Attorney!

I may just be misreading but it sounds like the F150 slid though a 3-way into the parking lot. I guess I'm just naive (I do seem to find new and interesting ways to get screwed, so there's that) but if a car is off the street and someone runs off the street and on to my property how does it matter where it's sitting?

 

[gungriffin]

Something you might also be able to explore is filing a claim through your insurance company if it is a more reputable firm. This assumes that you have full coverage. You will also need to pay your deductible. If you have comprehensive coverage, it might be worth at least exploring this option through your insurance. You insurance will in turn recover damages through the other driver's insurance company.

This is an excellent piece of advice. Colorado is single party consent for recording and having a recorded record might well make all the difference.

recorded phone calls, copious notes

 

[BritKLR]

I may just be misreading but it sounds like the F150 slid though a 3-way into the parking lot. I guess I'm just naive (I do seem to find new and interesting ways to get screwed, so there's that) but if a car is off the street and someone runs off the street and on to my property how does it matter where it's sitting?

Nah, it's probably my poor writing.

(traffic code) Generally speaking, in Colorado, if you hit an illegally parked car you are 50% at fault and the illegally parked car operator is 50% at fault.

So, in the photos the LC is sitting in the condo parking lot (private property). Condo parking lots generally have marked and assigned parking spaces to each unit (enforceable by the property owner, tenant, HOA's, local law enforcement, etc....) It appears there is no painted parking spot lines designating assigned parking spot, so was the LC parked where it's allowed to be parked or not? If it's not parked in it's assigned spot (illegal parking) I could see a insurance investigator trying to make the connection between the Colorado traffic code (illegal parking) and the Terms and Conditions within the Insurance Contract that if you do anything illegal with your car they aren't obligated to pay out the full amount. It's a technicality but, that's what they look for.

In the end, we're not talking alot of money here but, just make sure you can explain that you were parked legally.

As for your private property, you can park anywhere you want as long as your not within the roadway edge easement.

 

[Basaltfj40]

That’s a bummer, a rough couple days for the 100 series. This happened today in front of my house on highway 82

 

[timmbuck2]

Fyi looks like they totaled it, he is parting a few things out including a nice gamiviti rack