Got sideswiped, any advice or a pick me up?

[rschap1]

Mears...?
Close to the dunes !!!

 

[MDJAK]

did op ever update this?

 

[MCJEFE]

did op ever update this?

Appreciate all the support on here, it's been a trying few months but here's the update. I picked up my truck from the body shop yesterday. All told it was a little over 6 months after the accident when I took possession. I've put maybe 100 miles on it in the past day, it feels solid, possibly better than prior to the accident. Several suspension parts needed replaced due to the accident, I'm guessing that's why it feels tighter. Just under 25k in damage. I was very picky on the body shop, called several from San Antonio to Austin before settling on Hill Country Customs out of New Braunfels, TX. The metal fab on the cab repair appears to be flawless, if I didn't know about the accident not sure you could convince me it was ever in one. Color match is perfect. Gaps are on point, but I did ask them to reset the bed as I was supposed to pick the truck up earlier in the week but the gap between the cab and bed was a little off. To their credit they rolled it back in the shop, worked with it, and I picked it up 3 days later. I'm happy with the work and would highly recommend the shop. I even asked them to color match the fenders and bumpers (paid separately), which they also did a great job on.

The ordeal isn't over though. I hired an attorney for the diminished value claim. The insurance company originally offered $600 in diminished value which I was legit insulted by. I challenged them on it, they raised it up to $4500, I countered with 10k which they refused so I began threatening legal recourse. They called me on it, so I hired an attorney out of SA that specializes in these type of cases. I looked into the do it yourself diminished value services out there, spoke to one out of Georgia, but decided my best option was to pay someone else to handle it. Next step is to have an assessor come look over the truck to gauge the value now. Looks like the used car market has gone down a bit, but of the few sub 30k mile gen 1's out there the value hasn't dipped much. Of course I have a minor/major(?) accident on the title now, which clearly hurts value. Carvana says my truck is now worth $34,200, considering my truck was a mint 23k mile asset just prior to the moment of impact, I do not believe 10k in diminished value is unrealistic. I paid 55k for it in January 2023 when it had 17k miles on it.

I haven't taken photos yet, but the truck appears to have come out nice. I feel like I'm getting used to it again. I drove my Jeep 392 the past 6 months, which is a fun ride, but I am a lifelong truck guy. TX guy born and raised, I think it's in my DNA. If there is a silver lining, once I get passed the lawsuit I do believe this will open the door to a few mods that I probably would never have done when it was a mint gen 1 Raptor. First up will be wheels and tires, then I'm thinking long tubes, full exhaust, and tune. I'll probably upgrade the brakes, and after that I may go with a Whipple. Never had a s/c, kind of want to feel what that's like. All in all it feels good to have my truck back in the garage where it belongs.

That said, it's atrocious how someone carelessly disregarding basic traffic laws can derail your life. Undue stress, the fighting with insurance, the patience required, the anxiety in hoping you picked the right body shop, the anticipation as you get nearer to the day you get it back. Granted, we both walked away unscathed so ultimately that's what matters, but I'd so much rather the guy that hit me just stop at the damn stop sign and we both would have went about our merry way. Instead he lost his job, his livelihood (not of my doing), and I've spent an untold amount of my valuable personal time trying to chase down a satisfactory resolution. And the saga continues. Not cool. Truth be told it has made me question if it is worth it driving something as nice (and expensive) as these vehicles. I live in one of the fastest growing areas in the country. People are so distracted, I've had 3 friends get in fender benders since my accident. I can't imagine myself driving something simple, almost like a throwaway vehicle if something happens, but the thought crossed my mind.

I'll shut up and get off my soapbox, as you can probably tell I'm still irritated with the entire ordeal. If I have any advice to give it's don't accept any of the bs coming from insurance. Even my own insurance company sucks, I tried to file a claim with them to cover my bases and they sent me to a call center in India. No joke. One of the biggest names in US insurance outsources overseas to save money to their customers detriment. The lady was nice enough, but I literally could not have a conversation with her due to the language barrier so I just hung up. I already had a negative mindset on insurance before all this, I assure you it has not improved. That's the update y'all. For everyone that chimed in thank you, you folks please be safe out there as you are out enjoying these incredible machines.

 

[RdR2027]

Thanks for the update. I've had my share of insurance company grievances over the years and can relate to your situation. Keep up the good fight. My last crash was with a deer so I can't get any diminished value claim reparations from her. The body shop did a great job with my repairs, and I'll suck it up on trade in time. I can't see myself driving a throw away vehicle either. Driving the Raptor is too much fun.

 

[smurfslayer]

Glad you got the truck back !

called several from San Antonio to Austin before settling on Hill Country Customs out of New Braunfels, TX

Solid reference, thanks !

The ordeal isn't over though. I hired an attorney for the diminished value claim.

Did you call the 4’s?

I'll shut up and get off my soapbox, as you can probably tell I'm still irritated with the entire ordeal

You’re not wrong. these little things add up. You’ve been through a PITA ordeal. I almost got T ***** by some inattentive dipstick on 1604 & N Seguin by Randolph. I was able to stop but in a bit of anger I launched the truck forward so he got stranded in the middle of the intersection and wouldn’t let him through forcing him to slowly reverse.
Everybody seemingly wants to move to Texas and the corridor from New Braunfels to Austin is murderous. We need to start paying ex Commiefornians to leave and not come back, razing their houses and returning them to open space.

still, as bad as it is, metro-DC and surrounding suburban areas are a sea of unwashed humanity with traffic orders of magnitude worse and there are a bunch more urban hell holes that we would definitely not enjoy driving. Good luck in the lawsuit, I hope things return to normal.

 

[MCJEFE]

Did you call the 4’s?

Not sure I called the 4's specifically, I may have, but I did call several attorneys. Don't get me started on the legal profession either, they are neck and neck with insurance for being a scourge on society in my opinion. First question out of most every attorney's office was if I was hurt. Thankfully I was not outside of a headache for about 24 hours, and I am not the type of person to embellish such things. Integrity stills matters to me, probably why I feel so much disdain for the insurance and legal profession. I was passed on to the next attorney roughly 4-5 times until I landed on the guy I hired. I googled attorneys that specialize in diminished value, when most heard I was not injured they passed on my case. Nowhere near as bad as dealing with insurance, but a little disappointing when I call an attorney that claims to specialize in diminished value on their website only to learn it's really personal injury they are interested in. I get it, that's their bread and butter. I guess I've turned into the old guy and not realized it, feels like honor is missing in todays litigious society. I live in a smallish city, I think I do a pretty good job of staying in my own little world. I definitely get riled up when something like this drags me back into some of these aspects of life I purposefully walked away from several years ago when I moved to small town Texas.

Hopefully none of you awesome folks local to SA/Austin have to deal with this nonsense, but if you ever do need a recommendation for a body shop or an attorney please do feel free to reach out. Jury is still out on my attorney, we haven't really gotten going yet, first impression is the communication has been solid so that's a good start in my book.

 

[smurfslayer]

Honor has dwindled away from many professions, surely lawyers among them.

 

[rschap1]

Glad the repairs were done well and back on (and off) road.
Good luck with the rest

 

[MCJEFE]

Wanted to provide closure to my saga for any folks that may find themselves in this situation down the line. My diminished value claim has been resolved. My attorney engaged and we settled. Before hiring an attorney the company at faults insurance initially offered $600 diminished value. I fought it and they bumped it to $4500. Still not happy I threatened legal action, they said bring it. I did, and we settled on 10k.

I don't think I won. After settling with the attorney I walked away with $6500, 2k more than if I would have accepted their last offer before getting the attorney involved. Considering all the time wasted and flaming hoops that had to be overcome since the accident I would just assume not deal with any of it.

Glass half full I learned a lot. It did open the door to make a few changes to the truck and not feel guilty about altering a primo gen 1. The body shop color matched the fenders/bumpers and it came out great. I put new wheels and 35" Nitto Recon Grapplers courtesy of insurance. Next up is a full exhaust and tune, I'm leaning towards Stainless Works there.

At the end of the day it worked out, but it was a needless PITA. For anyone that may find themself in this situation stand your ground. Don't take the BS insurance throws your way. Gather your own data to support your claims. Insurance is out to protect their interests, not yours. I developed a good rapport with the local insurance rep, but I told him in our first conversation I would not be an easy client. They wanted to rebuild my truck with cheaper parts, I refused to accept anything that wasn't OEM. The role of insurance is to put you back to where you were just prior to the accident, non OEM does not qualify in meeting that requirement for me.

Find a body shop that'll work with you. When you're talking to them if the rep is geeking out with you on car/truck stuff that's a good sign. Educate yourself, have patience, and be ready to fight. That's all I got. For you TX folks my attorney was William Gavit out of SA. His website is https://www.gavitlaw.com/. His fee was steep, but he was a straight shooter and I would recommend him with no hesitation. Stay safe everyone!

 

[smurfslayer]

Wanted to provide closure to my saga for any folks that may find themselves in this situation down the line. My diminished value claim has been resolved. My attorney engaged and we settled. Before hiring an attorney the company at faults insurance initially offered $600 diminished value. I fought it and they bumped it to $4500. Still not happy I threatened legal action, they said bring it. I did, and we settled on 10k.

I don't think I won. After settling with the attorney I walked away with $6500, 2k more than if I would have accepted their last offer before getting the attorney involved. Considering all the time wasted and flaming hoops that had to be overcome since the accident I would just assume not deal with any of it.

Glass half full I learned a lot. It did open the door to make a few changes to the truck and not feel guilty about altering a primo gen 1. The body shop color matched the fenders/bumpers and it came out great. I put new wheels and 35" Nitto Recon Grapplers courtesy of insurance. Next up is a full exhaust and tune, I'm leaning towards Stainless Works there.

At the end of the day it worked out, but it was a needless PITA. For anyone that may find themself in this situation stand your ground. Don't take the BS insurance throws your way. Gather your own data to support your claims. Insurance is out to protect their interests, not yours. I developed a good rapport with the local insurance rep, but I told him in our first conversation I would not be an easy client. They wanted to rebuild my truck with cheaper parts, I refused to accept anything that wasn't OEM. The role of insurance is to put you back to where you were just prior to the accident, non OEM does not qualify in meeting that requirement for me.

Find a body shop that'll work with you. When you're talking to them if the rep is geeking out with you on car/truck stuff that's a good sign. Educate yourself, have patience, and be ready to fight. That's all I got. For you TX folks my attorney was William Gavit out of SA. His website is https://www.gavitlaw.com/. His fee was steep, but he was a straight shooter and I would recommend him with no hesitation. Stay safe everyone!

You didn’t call the 4’s? (If you know, you know)

I’m glad it worked out and you are spot on about the body shop. #MeToo on my old Mustang.

I know that a previous Allstate policy I had gave the insurance co. Discretion to choose less expensive parts, but as you pointed out a good body shop knows what to do and if it’s a bad fit they won’t use it, or tell you it’s a bad fit and let you object, etc.

What shop did you use?