Help Needed for Crashed Cruiser (1 Viewer)

[DadsOldCruiser]

Long story short: Loaned my 1997 Land Cruiser to a friend, who rear-ended a Volvo SUV in the heavy rains we had a few days ago.

The front end of the Cruiser is smashed up, but frame, axle, radiator, and engine appear to be fine. Vehicle has 181,000 miles.

Insurance company wants to total it. I am not very happy.
Their payoff is $5600, and they salvage the vehicle.
Or, if I keep it, they'll give me $3900

Should I try to get it fixed?
Should I take the insurance pay-out?
Should I take the partial payment and try to sell the poor old Cruiser as a parts vehicle?

Any advice or suggestions would be very, very greatly appreciated!

 

[matzell]

Fix it! You could take the payout and pay for it all and have money left over. Their is one on Craigslist being parted out now you could get most of the parts from.

 

[matzell]

95 toyota land cruiser parting out

 

[davesax36]

Yeah. Hood, one quarter, bumper, lights... I'm sure Stump has some parts you could buy. Or call Ryan at @OTRAMM. He's probably got a hulk over there someone would want to part out.

 

[OTRAMM]

The one we've got is smashed on the same side.

 

[iptman]

That's a damn shame. I love the black collectors editions. Definitely don't give it to them. I'd buy it from you for at least the difference between the two figures. Lots of parts on that truck I'd use to keep mine on the road for a long time.

 

[Betteron2wheels]

Bummer,

As long the frame is sound, fix it. So, how did the Volvo look?

 

[Stumpalama]

Looks like a fun project... How much of the 94 front end will transfer to this one... I have good steel upfront and the AC stuff is solid the light mounts are good etc... The PS fender on mine is crunched too. But the hood is very good.

 

[Stumpalama]

I am VERY reasonable too.

 

[PAToyota]

Seems like you could take the $3900 and at least find a buyer for more than the $1700 difference and come out ahead that way.

 

[1MOA]

I'm glad I don't have any friends like that.
I would fix it.

 

[DadsOldCruiser]

I'm glad I don't have any friends like that.
I would fix it.

I can't be too mad at my friend.
She was actually doing a favor for me the day of the accident.
She is beside herself that she smashed it up.

 

[DadsOldCruiser]

Bummer,

As long the frame is sound, fix it. So, how did the Volvo look?

The Volvo took the hit right on its bumper. I was not there at the scene, but from what I can see in the photos, the body damage was not severe. However, a friend of mine who also saw the photos mentioned the Volvo may have sustained damage underneath, and possibly to the frame. So, who knows.

At least nobody got hurt. Except for my poor old Cruiser

 

[TLEX]

Buggy time!!!!

 

[ace10]

Never take the insurance co's first offer. Ever.

$5600 for a mid-miles 80 seems low. Really low.
Show them recent maintenance records. Pull market comparables. Do some work on supporting a much higher value.

I wouldn't buy it out, unless you have a rock solid plan to restore it and are going to keep the rig for a long time.

A Salvage title sucks.

$0.02

 

[1MOA]

Just a question about insurance. If you let someone drive your car and they are involved in an accident is it your insurance or thier insurance that covers it?

 

[bkfj40]

you insure the vehicle, not the driver...

when I had an employee total out my 80, my insurance covered it. The typical buy back is 20% of the vehicle blue book - at least that is what the adjuster told me. I would love to run a carfax on it to see if it has a record on mine. My title was never marked salvaged

 

[Crusha]

Man, that looks ugly.

You'll need pretty much the whole front end. Inner/outer fenders, hood, rad supports, lower valance, headlights, corner markers, grill, bumper, etc. Hopefully the rad and a/c condenser survived. Left front of frame may be bent as well.

$5600 for a mid-miles 80 seems low. Really low.
Show them recent maintenance records. Pull market comparables. Do some work on supporting a much higher value.

I wholeheartedly agree with the above statement. As nice as that truck looks, AND it's a collector's edition....I'd say double what they value it at.

 

[Stumpalama]

USAA will throw a low offer initial, from what I have seen.

Also, it is interesting that the DS fender flare didn't crack or brake. Have you checked for fluid leaks? that would help assess some of the level of damage. If it didn't spew coolant and antifreeze and transmission fluid all over the road, that's a positive. Does it start and run?
Other positives: the windshield didn't crack/ spider, which indicates that the body itself didn't deform significantly. How do the doors open and close?

Man, that looks ugly.

You'll need pretty much the whole front end. Inner/outer fenders, hood, rad supports, lower valance, headlights, corner markers, grill, bumper, etc. Hopefully the rad and a/c condenser survived. Left front of frame may be bent as well.



I wholeheartedly agree with the above statement. As nice as that truck looks, AND it's a collector's edition....I'd say double what they value it at.

 

[iptman]

Christina is close to my house so I'm going to go over and look at it this week. I'll take some pictures and with her approval post them up for everyone to provide feedback.