2000 Runner hit :( advice?

i was side swiped a while back by a tacoma. It damaged my rear passenger door and it was entirely his fault. I was able to get his insurance to pay for an entire new door skin rather than pulling the dents and using bondo. I don't know if they did that out of the goodness of their hearts. In fact, I'm not sure insurance companies has any goodness or even hearts. But I got it done. The trick is to not sign the release they give you. Tell them you'll sign it when your car is repaired to your likings. The release they gave me said something about them not being responsible for unforeseen damages and what not. I scratched out those lines of text and asked them if they would accept the release. They did.

i just realized something funny.
I've been in 3 wrecks all 3 involved me in a toyota and the other driver in a toyota. I had an old celica in which i was sideswiped by a 4runner, and later rear ended a 4runner. Now I have a 4runner and I got sideswiped by a tacoma.
I better watch out for tacomas.
 
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I've been in 2 wrecks, both being my fault. Now I don't know what kind of parts/service the wreckies got but my stuff was replaced by all OEM. My first wreck was in a 99 BMW about 3 years ago, and it was taken to the Flow BMW body shop where I had a bit of a connection and he assured me everything was 100% bmw. The next was back over thanksgiving and I took it to a body shop in Lake Norman that is about a half mile from my work. We do a lot of business with them and I got to know the owner and he also assured me everything was replaced with OEM parts. However, I did have to talk on the phone with the insurance people numerous times to make a point that I would not accept anything less than aftermarket and even threatened to switch companies if they did not replace with factory parts. Needless to say my car is still 100% factory...

To everyday people you can't tell a difference in factory and aftermarket parts, but if you are one of those people who pay attention to every single detail, you know what I'm talking about. And I'm one of those people.
 
gapboi210 said:
i wouldn't worry about it too much. Doesn't look there is much to be replaces besides the bumper. Anyways it has to look good so it not like they can fix it with aftermarket and get it back to you with dangling tailights and dragging bumper. Aftermarket has come a long way and most of it is CAPA certified. Just don't settle for it looking bad.
Click to expand...

I think you missed a big part of the picture. The entire back door has to be replaced.

I'm not going to get all bent out of shape if OEM doesn't make it back onto the car. Insurance is warrantying the work. We have a long-standing relationship with our agent and I have doubts as to whether he wouldn't stand behind any reasonable claims about the quality of the fix. I'll switch insurance in a heartbeat if he does, plain and simple. I'm fairly certain my policy will permit aftermarket parts. All I want is for it to function and look the same as or better than before Mr. Ford Driver decided to stare at his heater knob instead of the traffic in front of him.

Thanks for all the tips folks.
 
Why does everyone hate aftermarket parts so much? We love to accessorize our rigs with aftermarket stuff. I've never had any issues with non-oem replacement parts fitting or matching and the reason they are 'cheap' is because the oem parts are 300-500% marked up on what they should cost! Toyota is known worldwide for having expensive spare parts.
A lot of the time the non-oem part comes from the same factory anyway. I needed a new rubber windshield seal for my nissan a few years ago. $190 for oem from the dealer, $65 for 'non-oem' from the local parts store. Both parts had the same manufactures markings on them!
But anyway, good luck with your repairs JohnInPA, I hope it is done to your satisfaction.
 
Rescue84 said:
Did this happen in the snow/sleet/ice we just had? Where did it occur?
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that's what a lot of people must think when they see it on the road but no, it happened about a week ago. It occurred on 463 in Horsham, right near the Montgomeryville mall. If you're familiar with that area, it's a traffic disaster during rush hour. My wife was in stop-n-go traffic. She was the second to last car making it through a yellow light. the truck behind her was squeeking through but didn't realize that everyone was stopping quickly and he smacked into her. :twak:

If I recall, it was sunny, cold, and dry out that day. Go figure.
 
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JohnInPA said:
that's what a lot of people must think when they see it on the road but no, it happened about a week ago. It occurred on 463 in Horsham, right near the Montgomeryville mall. If you're familiar with that area, it's a traffic disaster during rush hour. My wife was in stop-n-go traffic. She was the second to last car making it through a yellow light. the truck behind her was squeeking through but didn't realize that everyone was stopping quickly and he smacked into her. :twak:

If I recall, it was sunny, cold, and dry out that day. Go figure.
Click to expand...


Ahhh... I hate that area, especially the 5 points intersection... I'm just waiting for some yahoo to blow a light.
 
JohnInPA said:
I think you missed a big part of the picture. The entire back door has to be replaced.

.

Thanks for all the tips folks.
Click to expand...

The reason I didn't state that the door has to be replaced is because it doesn't. Is it better to? Definitly. But that is repairable. So it is up the insurance and body shop to come to an agreement. Faster and easier to replace but they could pull it out and smooth it out. Depends on how much a replacement costs and it's availability.
 
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repairing the rear door

ok.

Both estimates I have show the door being replaced. I would take one helluva body man to smooth this thing out. It's bent and twisted in 20 different directions. :artist:
 
repairing the rear door

ok.

Both estimates I have show the door being replaced. I would take one helluva body man to smooth this thing out. It's bent and twisted in 20 different directions. :artist:
 
the part cost around $300-$400. I don't have the estimate in front of me anymore. Based on that, which would you say?
 
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