Is it Totaled?

[Bamaclan4]

Well minding my own business today, turning left in the turning lane and someone ran the red light and hit me rather hard in the rear right wheel area . I was spun completely around and thank the Lord I managed to not hit anyone else and no one was hurt other than being sore. My rear axle was shifted to the left with the left tire now jutting out about 8 inches maybe. It is dented in some where impact was. Just wondering my chances of hopefully having it fixed and not totaled. Any thoughts on this? Klayfish where are you?

 

[Dan Murphy]

It depends on the value of your car vs. the cost of repairs. If repairs are more than the value of your car, it is totaled.

 

[dclpluto]

Well minding my own business today, turning left in the turning lane and someone ran the red light and hit me rather hard in the rear right wheel area . I was spun completely around and thank the Lord I managed to not hit anyone else and no one was hurt other than being sore. My rear axle was shifted to the left with the left tire now jutting out about 8 inches maybe. It is dented in some where impact was. Just wondering my chances of hopefully having it fixed and not totaled. Any thoughts on this? Klayfish where are you?

need more info. You told us nothing about what kind of vehicle you have.

 

[Immadismom]

I, too, work in insurance. Definitely need info on year, make, model, mileage of the vehicle, and where you are located.

 

[Bamaclan4]

Oh sorry still a little shaken up It is a 2015 Tahoe LT with 114,500. Located in North Alabama.

 

[tvguy]

Oh sorry still a little shaken up It is a 2015 Tahoe LT with 114,500. Located in North Alabama.

Insurance decisions on totaling a car always baffle me. With over 100,000 miles and the damage you describe, I would say those are two strikes against them repairing it. And in my book, I'm not sure I would want a car with that kind of damaged repaired.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

@Klayfish

Hope you can work it out and glad you weren't hurt! You might be sore tomorrow!

 

[low-key]

Its totaled

 

[Bamaclan4]

I figure it is but I sure don’t want to start over. Was looking forward to paying it off and driving it for 13 years just like I did my 2003 Tahoe. I really do love that vehicle.

 

[Bamaclan4]

@Klayfish

Hope you can work it out and glad you weren't hurt! You might be sore tomorrow!

What are your thoughts? I also really wonder if it is totaled what type of settlement I will get.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

What are your thoughts? I also really wonder if it is totaled what type of settlement I will get.

I really don’t know. It is a big vehicle. Can you look up the book value on it? Do you know anyone who works with cars?

What does @Immadismom say now that we have more info?

I can understand why you don’t want to total it.

 

[wgeo]

When they totalled our car a few months ago (2015 Rav4 hit from behind) they had a percentage amount. I think it differs per state but if the cost of repairs was more than 60% or 80% or whatever number they pick for you carrier and state then they just total the car. So you need to look up an approx value of your car to get an idea of numbers.

FWIW - the Kelly Blue Book value on our car was listed around $2000 less then the check that our insurer gave us for the car. Obviously they use a different system to estimate value, but at least KBB got us in the ballpark.

 

[Klayfish]

Hope you're feeling OK. Don't be surprised if you're sore this morning.

I'd want to see a picture to help me, if you have one or can get one. Those are body on frame trucks, i.e. like a pick up truck. Every single passenger car and almost all small and midsize SUVs are unibody. They sustain damage very differently. When talking about full frames, when they are hit from the front or rear, they are usually repairable. However, a hard side hit will turn them into a banana and there's no repairing that. Best way to understand it is to imagine putting a ladder on the ground. Bash it really hard from the front, hitting just the left rail and what's going to happen? The side you hit will get pushed down to where instead of a rectangle, it's now shaped like more of a parallelogram (or diamond, as they call it). That's fixable if it's not too severe. Oversimplifying it, you just pull the side back into alignment with the other side so it's a rectangle again. Now imagine slamming that same ladder really hard from the side. What will it look like? A banana. That's not likely repairable. Hope that analogy helps.

Based on your description I'd be concerned the frame is too bent for repair. If you've got a picture, post it or PM me, but it sounds like it could be totaled. The rear wheel out sticking out may be more a function of the body pushed in as opposed to the wheel pushed out. How does the right side look? For example, do the gaps between the right side doors like right?

As for value, I'd have to do quick research but off the top of my head I'd guess mid 20s? But do one step at a time...

 

[ponyboy]

I personally would be hoping that they totaled it. I wouldn't want a vehicle that was hit like that. Too many other problems you can encounter down the road.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

If the frame is bent, it will be totaled. You can’t repair that. It compromises the integrity of the whole vehicle.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

It really has to do with the value of the vehicle vs the dollar amount of repair. I saw one "total loss" come in to us where a tree had fallen and hit an older SUV. The damage was only to the paint on the back, the lid thing and the bumper. The insurance company had deemed it a total loss. The insurance settlement was going to be less than what they owed us on the vehicle.
I don't know how the whole thing turned out because somebody else was the one working on the case, she was just showing it to us. Hopefully they were able to cancel the claim and just keep on as if nothing had happened.

 

[Klayfish]

If the frame is bent, it will be totaled. You can’t repair that. It compromises the integrity of the whole vehicle.

Absolutely not true. There are some bad misconceptions about that. You definitely can repair a frame, without a doubt. Happens all the time, every day. If you choose the right body shop, the repairs will make the vehicle as good as new...and in the case of GM probably better (I'm kidding...sorta...I own a GM product myself and love it). The integrity is NOT compromised when repaired properly. The misconception above is a myth stemming from repair practices that disappeared literally 30-40 years ago.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

If the frame is bent, it will be totaled. You can’t repair that. It compromises the integrity of the whole vehicle.

A bent frame can lead to a totalling but that's not a given. Many factors come into play there. It's not accurate to present it as a given.

I was rearended..twice by the same vehicle (driver mistook gas for brake) and it bent my back frame. It did not total my car and my car was 8 years old at that point (it is now 17 years old). That said it was approximately $1,500 away from being totalled IF more damage had occurred due to 1) labor fees 2) paint job (which was a decent amount). I got a new back bumper and several other items. As an aside I could have gotten the repairs done at at least a slightly lower cost but as I was going through my insurance I opted to use one of their body shops which the one chosen happened to be a dealer vs mechanic shop. I was not-at-fault and paid my deductible and my insurance company subrogated and was able to recover my deductible back (not a given).

Also back in 2015 my in-laws with my husband and I in the vehicle were in a hit and run (the other driver ran) accident in Atlanta on our way back from a road trip. They had a Ford Explorer (several years old) and it bent the back frame as well. It did not total the vehicle out however they opted to sell the vehicle a few months later in part due to that but also really they just wanted a different vehicle.

 

[tvguy]

Absolutely not true. There are some bad misconceptions about that. You definitely can repair a frame, without a doubt. Happens all the time, every day. If you choose the right body shop, the repairs will make the vehicle as good as new...and in the case of GM probably better (I'm kidding...sorta...I own a GM product myself and love it). The integrity is NOT compromised when repaired properly. The misconception above is a myth stemming from repair practices that disappeared literally 30-40 years ago.

Well, there is the whole salvage title car sales industry. They buy totaled cars from places like Co-Part and fix them. They pass state inspections and are back on the road. I know more that one person who won't own anything BUT a salvage title car that has been fixed because they believe they ARE better than when then were new. Several work in the auto repair industry. One guy just retired after 45 years as a Toyota Dealer mechanic. I've known him 23 years and he is still driving the same 1981 salvage title Toyota pickup. It was rolled over. Still no rattles, starts and stops straight, doesn't chew up tires. Of course he has the skills to fix things himself, or trade labor with someone else if he doesn't have the skills.

 

[Bamaclan4]

Well went to get stuff out of the vehicle and to take pictures but of course it started pouring down rain and I hated to keep the lady at the wrecker company out in it. She said that she understood that the other man involved only has liability and was supposed to come settle with her today. I will be calling my agent on Monday with details and then I guess we wait about 7 days for the accident report and adjuster etc and go from there.