Hey all

Was on my way to work the other day when a spaz in a transit bus decided to cut me off and slam the brakes on in order to stop for a red light. Well, the roads were slippery and the Dodge ate the back of the bus. Smashed it up pretty good but like a typical Dodge it's still perfectly driveable. It's not leaking anything and all the lights still work. The impact was hard enough it pused the bumper back into the A/C condenser rad and tranny cooler and pushed the rad cradle back.

My dilemna is that when I took it to the adjuster, they pegged the damage as $4800 and the status as "marginal". What this means is that the Dodge is right on the edge of being written off. When I take it to the body shop they will make and exact estimate and then get the thumbs up or down from the insurance company. I guess if they find any further damage it will be a write off. I guesstimate that if it is written off, i would get approx $5500 - $6000 for it.

My initial reaction is to take the money and run as I paid $3000 for it 2 years ago from my dad (I got a deal). But when I think about it I hesitate because the truck is in really good shape. It's a 95 ext cab short box with 282 000 km (172 000 miles) Laramie SLT loaded. Silver and Blue in color and has a very nice interior. The only rust on the truck is the lower lip on the driver side door, that's it. The truck does need some mechanical work like lower ball joints, tires, brakes and shocks. To replace the truck with one that is in similar shape I would have to get a newer one.

Should I push to have it fixed or written off? Pics coming soon.

Opinions?

 

Lets see the pics... and as far as the guesstimate, that sounds high to me expecially for a 95 with 172k. Hell if you can get that much for it, i'd take it.

 

I would take the 6000 and run.But if they low ball like most insurance companies do you might only get a couple grand and then I would buy it back and fix it.

 

Take the money if they will give you more than $5000 for it. If you do decide to keep it make sure it doesn't get a salvage title. That truck is worth maybe $3000 as it sits you didn't get a steal from your dad. I only paid $3350 for my 1994, 4 years ago with 165K on the clock.

 

i don't think your going to get anywhere near that much for a 95.
assuming its 4wd and loaded with all options thats about 3200-3500 US dollars.

http://www.kbb.com/kbb/UsedCars/Pric...itions=#survey

 

If the insurance company totals it for $6000 you just made yourself $3000! If you are not emotionally attached to this truck, I'd total it.

 

I know it sounds high but I'm in Canada where the value of vehicles is a little higher that in the US. The reason I peg it at 5500-6000 is because with our insurance (it's government run - yay) they don't just look at the value of the vehicle versus the cost of repair. The cost of repairs could be less that the vehicle and they will still write it off because they can recoup some money back when they auction it ex, if a vehicle is worth $10 000 and it has 8000 in damages, but they can get 3000 for it at auction, they will write it off because it's costing them only 7000 to write it off versus 8000 to fix it. My truck has 4800 in damages and they are still willing to fix it. I guess if it gets pushed to 5000, they could probably still get 1000 for it at auction, making it worth their while to write it off.

I'll get pics as soon as I can but the truck looks really nice for the year it is.

 

Just to reiterate, I live in Canada where vehicle prices are quite a bit higher than in the states. For example my friend is looking at buying a Nissan Pathfinder approx 2 years old. By going to the states, he saves at least $10 000, it's ridiculous. He was looking at 06-07 Jeep Commanders and you could find them in the states all over the place for approx 14 500 - 15 000 from his experience, and most had a 4.7L. In Canada, you're looking at least 23 000, 25 000 more realistically.

 

The shop will most likely find hidden damages that the adjuster didnt see.

 

I would take the money, just saying. You can go buy another one with no rust.