Hail storm smashed my runner last week, insurance called today.

Can total it and receive 9800$ or keep it and receive 6500$ with a savage title.

If I keep it'll need a new windshield, tires, headlights, etc so 1500$ or so.

How's the rest of the bodywork? and how is Texas with salvage titles? Here in Connecticut it is difficult to get a salvage vehicle back on the road.

Otherwise, sounds like you can make some bank and update your 4runner, might be worthwhile. Only you really know how good/bad the vehicle was before the damage.

Pic of the hail damaged tires please!!

It's nice they gave you a choice. If it's lifted and you offroad it I'd keep it and fix it. If it's just basic transportation might be a good way to finance a new truck. Do you owe any money on it? might be a deciding factor. Selling salvage title vehicles can be hard sometimes.

Pics and a current mod list would help. If its stock and so so shape or worse, take the money. If you have put a lot of your own time and money in mods and you have been completely happy. Then take the coin.

Damage isn't terrible but the dents on there are deep and flaking paint off....

It's got 220,000 on it but runs great. It's got 5100s on it but that's it. I use it to maintain my shooting range and check cattle... so it spends a lot of time off pavement but not tough off road stuff.

What are your intentions with the vehicle from this point forward?

If you simply plan on using it for that purpose and want to keep it, pocket the cash and take the salvage title.

If there's even a remote chance that you may want to sell it in the future, I'd go ahead and take the higher lump sum. Reason being, not sure how it is where you're from, but it can be a pain (at least in Mississippi) to sell a vehicle with a salvaged title.

Thanks for the info. I have several thoughts.

If you use it mainly for Range and Cattle. I would think a pick-up would be better. But maybe not. So this isn't your daily driver?
1. Get rid of it and use the $9k to get a truck for farm use
2. Keep the T4r, use the $6.5 to get tires, windshield if really have too. Are headlight busted from hail? Get a cheap light bar or buy headlights, use for farm truck.

Its a tough call, but depends on the other part of life for you.

I say let um total it..take the 9.8k and run.

Keep it, use the $6,500 and do this!! Be the most bada$$ Cattle/Range truck ever!

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Several options here to consider;

-do math and see if you can make more $ selling individual parts where profit is more than insurance's offer. if you think it's possible then keep it and part everything out

-keep the truck and complete repairs only if you think you will not sell the truck anytime soon. salvaged vehicles can be difficult for trade-ins in terms of prices due to the title having damage on record. in other words only keep the truck if you feel like it is a beast and you plan to keep it for a long time (a decade or more)

-sell the 4Runner and look for a replacement sport.

My V8 07 Sport was totaled this past June and it cost about 12k to fix everything. My only regret was not keeping the truck because I would have parted everything out, including my v8 engine with only 56k miles on it. I suspect I'd have made a good profit if I had parted everything out. Instead I accepted their offer of $21k to buy my totaled 4R sport and found the same replacement few months later after searching local / out-of-state listings

I think if he drove that thing, it will not only scare the cattle but any wildlife around the perimeter! lol

how are they going to turn your title into a "salvage" if they never take ownership of the truck? I just did this with one of my cars that was in an accident and decided to keep the vehicle and repair it. Title is unchanged. Car is repaired and I pocketed $4K for my DIY repairs. The Geico agent talked about it having a salvage title if I kept it, but that didn't happen?

Ironically, this was the second time this car was declared "totaled" by an insurance company and I've fixed it both times and it still has a clear title - been a profitable car for me. I'm in Tennessee, might be different in other states?

You have to check the laws in each state. In some states, after a certain age of vehicle (6-10 years), the salvage title laws no longer apply.

In my state of South Carolina the only way to avoid a Salvage Title after the insurance declares a vehicle a total lost is if the vehicle was registered by South Carolina as an antique vehicle and the requirement for that is if the vehicle is at least 25 years old and is used as a collector's item..and it has to be registered as such before the accident.