grrrr... thieving bas****s! insurance totaled my 4r

[denverunner]

so i woke up today to find my 4runner defeated, the victim of a careless crime. I say careless because these have got to be the dumbest thieves that I've ever seen (well, I didn't see them....) but anyway, my insurance is totaling the 4runner and I want to keep it. I've never been down this road with insurance before, does anyone know how they calculate what you get? Or what I should ask for? Mine is a 98 manual trans 3.4L with 139k

Detailed chain of events from my stance:

First tried to break the passenger window with a huge chunk of concrete, which they left behind on the floor of the passenger seat- but they weren't strong enough, leaving them unsuccessful with that attempt.

Then , they pried off the passenger side door handle and lock to gain entry, which they were successful with. After ripping apart the dash and drilling out the ignition, it looks like they tried to start it and steal it. Mine is a manual transmission and I think that was a little to confusing for them to operate, so they abandoned the thought of stealing it and decided to PRY the radio out of the dash......also, without success. God forbid they use a screwdriver laying on the floor of the passenger side to remove the screws and take off with the radio..... that would be too intelligent.

Basically, my whole dash if f-ed up and i need a new ignition cylinder as well as a lock cylinder for my passenger door. The funniest part about this is that i had all of my hand tools in the car, which they stole. it's funny because they could have used them to cleanly take out the radio (its 4 screws.....) among other things, but they didn't even have the common sense to do that.

so, while I'm bitter at the lack of professionalism exhibited by said criminals, I'm happy that my insurance company is going to total it (i think), because it shouldn't cost much to fix.... ignition cylinder and lock is about ~$200 together from 1sttoyotaparts

pics of the carnage:

 

[fightman80]

That freakin blows man! Sorry to hear! Hope you get her fixed up soon!

 

[PitbullRescuer]

That's totaled? Damn. The upside is that if you keep it, you'll make out like a bandit.

 

[Jungoes]

:dammit: sorry to hear man, hope everything works out, no clue on the insurance issue, others may be able to chime in,

do you have a chipped key? correct me if i'm wrong, but you can't start the truck with out it even if you destroy the key cylinder...
hope there is some way you can find those POS crooks

 

[denverunner]

well I was surprised that they totaled it too, and I asked why... they cited two particular reasons:

(I'm with Progressive, FWIW).

1st - The ignition does not function, so therefore the vehicle does not function.

2nd - the decision has something to do with it being over 10 years old

If I understand insurance correctly, they will give you the trade in value for the vehicle and in return, you keep the vehicle, pay the deductible as well as an estimated salvage value at auction, but you can't have anything other than liability coverage on the vehicle from that point forward. Does that sound right to anyone?

 

[Nelsonmd]

Dude, that sucks. Must have been some idiot teens, or maybe addicts that did it on a whim...

That sounds about right as far as the insurance goes, though I would think if you got the title updated from salvage, you should be able to insure it properly. Maybe not though.

So did they damage your door too? I can't imagine they pried the handle and lock off without damaging the paint and bending the sheet metal.

 

[Nashvegas34]

I hate people. They're the worst.

Hope you get whatever out of it you decide is best.

 

[Stick Figure]

I thought you were able to fully insure a salvage vehicle once it was repaired. It may depend on the insurance carrier, or state its registered in as well.

Sucks to hear about though.

 

[Park]

Sorry man, that hurts me just to look at. Some people are real douche bags:cry2:

 

[dropped 95]

I hate this, sorry to hear man. It's just hack thieves. If they knew what they were doing you would have woken up to an empty parking space. Had this happen with my last car, same thing, pry the door in to remove the lock. They even had to put in a new steering column after they twisted the aftermarket wheel sideways out of frustration. They wanted to total it due to the estimated cost of repair. I worked with the body shop because I knew the owner and he rebuilt my door rather than replacing it which brought the estimate down.

I'm not sure about the salvage title but if you could get a payout and buy the vehicle back I don't believe it would be branded as the structure of the vehicle has not been compromised. Unfortunately insurance companies look at older vehicles as more of a liability to them and would rather see it written off. you get a new vehicle and pay higher rates. I would imagine there is someone who works in insurance on the boards that can chime in here. Maybe post up in the general section for advise on that?

If you can buy back and fix it that would be the best route. Good luck with the process and hopefully you have a happy result of this.

 

[Elton H]

that really sucks if i caught someone doing that to my truck its shoot first ask questions later

 

[shadow247]

Don't sweat it.

They do not have to brand your title as salvage or anything else. Just tell them you want to retain the vehicle and the title will never change hands. They will offer you "fair market value" which is based on NADA/KBB and the condition of the vehicle. NADA shows a value of 6625 for clean retail on a 1998 SR5 V6 5spd. They will probably offer you 6000 less your deductible and salvage value.

For the dash, you can probably source a used dash if they broke the mounts for the radio out, and a used passenger side window should run you no more than 100 bucks. If they just damaged the ignition cylinder and did not hurt the collumn that is not a big deal either. I just can't see why they would total the vehicle. They would have to write a repair estimate for 4500 before considering your Runner a total loss.

If you need some more help navigating this process, just shoot me a PM. I have been in the collision/body repair business for over 10 years and can give you all kinds of good advice on how to handle this.

 

[fish0281]

I'm sorry man, but you might come out ahead since they totalled it... assuming you can buy it back for a reasonable amount AND you plan on keeping it for a long time ("salvaged" titles are more difficult to sell). Hope for the best for you man!

What part of Denver are you in? I'm in Capitol Hill and am always fairly paranoid about my stuff getting swiped. In fact, I just got renter's insurance for the first time ever and that's after living all over Minneapolis (quazi-ghetto included) and a few different neighborhoods in Denver.

 

[Nelsonmd]

This is a good point, did an estimator actually come out, or did they total it over the phone based on what you told them?

 

[TheeMikeB]

What insurance carrier to you have?

 

[Duhockey]

What insurance carrier to you have?

He mentioned Progressive.

Man, thats a steal! if they are gonna total it out, then you should make out!

If you need any help fixing stuff let us know. Ill see what I can do, Im down in Parker.

That doesnt look bad at all. There are about 4 pick n pulls around town that have 4runners in stock and if all else fails go to Jims Yoda Yard.

 

[Illicitdream]

Sorry to see that

Oh hell man sorry to see that happen. I can speak from experience that some insurance companies are weird like that. My buddy has an LC 80 that got totaled because it was technically flooded, even though the water level never reached the bottom of the door sills. I hope you get everything fixed and everything works out for you. At least you'll be able to buy it back for cheap and then fix it and then get the title changed to either rebuilt or clear again... Good luck to you.

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

Real bummer man, a sweet truck indeed. Don't let go of that 5spd.

I think it's worth fixing outside of insurance... if that's still a possibility.

I have a lot of the parts still left from my part out, including passenger window, dashboard, center cluster bezel, radio, ignition cylinder/lock with key, etc.

I actually have all 4 desert dune door handles with the same key as the ignition.

Let me know if you're interested in any of the parts. Your truck is still very drivable and I'd hate to see it totaled from some stupid kids.

 

[BrianSD_42]

It is really important that you keep possesion of the broken vehicle.

Do not let them take it away. The dash can be replaced and the ignition isnt that much. You will want to find a shop that specilizes in Japanese cars.

Have an inspector come out. If you think they are trying to screw you then refuse to sign until you get a second inspector. If you sign before you get the cash result you want, well you are stuck.

Contact member IanB, he works in the insurance industry and just had his car totalled.

His ordeal is listed in the common thread "what did you do to your 3rd gen today"

If it were me, I would start a new thread called "Help, how do I keep my totalled 4Runner & get full payout, CO"

Dont hurry, you can always rent a cheap ass car if needed.

 

[Mf Baker]

i know if a car is stolen and then recovered its automatically totaled/salvage title after that, im wondering if theft+damage triggered the same thing in thier system for some reason. when my wagon was stolen it was recovered in driving order not stripped down or anything, and was still totaled, and no adjuster ever looked at it.


i kept the car though. it is still legally your car unless you have accepted a check and signed over the tile to them, you can totally keep it and fix it. though it will probably be a salvage now even if you do. you shouldn't have reported it at all, but hindsight is 20/20. definitely frakkin whack, but it could be worse and its not as bad as it sounds. any type of possessions like had tools are only covered by renters or similar insurance believe it or not. :/ good alarms cost a pretty penny, but after a break in and a theft its fully worth it to me now.