In Colorado and need some help- My 100 was in wreck, front is bad- nd used parts to get back on rd

[COLandCrusher]

Long story short- In highlands ranch. Letting my son drive my '98 LC. He was in an accident in school parking lot - nobody hurt.
Problem is the state farm estimator shows repairs at $6200. And so state farm is showing it as a total loss.
Their formula was evaluating the 100 at $6400 maximum actual cash value. They only go to 75% of ACV.

Now I am fighting hard to get an increase in cash value. showing receipts of new wheels and tires, estimates for Aries grill guard and lamp guards, and arguing condition.

Bottom line is even if they bump my ACV to say $7500 that only gets me to $5625. They then will reduce the value by whatever they feel a salvage yard or auction will give them. so that could be $2500.
That would mean they give me a check for $3125 and the car.

So now if I can get used hood and fender, and maybe buy a Dissent stinger bumper, that just may allow me to get the repairs taken care of with the $3100 they are giving me. I can probably kick in another $1500 but I just think, this damage should not cost $6200 to fix.

Advice is GREATLY appreciated, and does anyone know of a parting out '98 or compatible year cruiser out there near me? Mine is black.

I did send a message to the guys at Dissent as well.

 

[benjawi4]

Few months ago I was able to get a part off a 100 at this nearby (I'm in Highlands Ranch as well) toyota-specific salvage yard, although the owner did tell me it was the first 100 he'd ever had on his lot in 15 years...

Call Soneff's Master Garage - a classic car restoration shop - and ask for Quincy. He's their body and paint guy who just ordered a rocker panel for me. I didn't ask specifically, but from our last conversation it sounded like he was buying from a part-out situation/junkyard/etc.

 

[TheForger]

What is the condition of the LC? What all is bent/broken and needs to be replaced? Did you use a shop the insurance agency insisted on or did you take it to a private mechanic? Lastly, any pics??

 

[COLandCrusher]

What is the condition of the LC? What all is bent/broken and needs to be replaced? Did you use a shop the insurance agency insisted on or did you take it to a private mechanic? Lastly, any pics??

here is the image. driver side fender, hood and bumper, grill assembly, bumper cover, all need replaced. looks like some sheet metal work is figured in. I used EuroCollision as my choice, but the estimator for state farm put the repair at $6200. And the shop said there will be several hundred in supplemental charges as well. It runs and drives. does not look like any encroachment to the engine bay at all.

 

[REZARF]

You could see if Yota Yard in Denver has any 100s, also post up on Rising Sun 4x4 forum

 

[RotorHead04]

My 2000 LC with 198k was rear ended back in October and "totaled" by insurance standards. I called my insurance (AAA) as a precaution the day of the accident and they came and looked at it. They said if they handled the claim they would give me $9k for the truck and buy back would be $2,500. The other driver had Geico and they took their sweet time coming take a look. They gave me a value of $11,000 for the truck, but buy back at $3k. One thing that helped my case was asking him to determine the value of my truck based on a national average, not just trucks in the DFW area. It might be a different story on Colorado but around Dallas you can count the number of 100 Series for sale at any given time on your hand. I also brought up how big 4x4 SUV's tend to go up in price in winter. On top of that finding one out of state would involve time off work, plane ticket, a hotel, fuel to bring it home, and the worst part of all another trip to he local tax office to register it. This helped get the vehicle value up to $11,500. Thankfully the adjuster was reasonable and worked with me throughout the process. I send them an email stating the recent repairs, regular maintenance, and modifications I had done to the vehicle, plus the fact that they took 30 days to provide me with a rental car even then it was only because I asked for one. I figured if I was making them spend money they would be much more willing to settle the claim. He was a Jeep guy and said he understood about all the recent work that I had done to the truck. He said he could not flat out compensate me for stuff I had done, but could use the lack of rental car as a scape goat to help out. He gave me an extra $1,500 as compensation, but claimed it on paper as rental car payment.

I hope that helps somewhat. I think you're on the right track providing receipts and claiming the condition of the truck as a means to justify a higher overall value. My adjuster told me to find and sent him several comparable vehicles for sale and he would factor that into determining the overall value. Under his breath he said to find the nicest ones I could that were similar in year and mileage. I did end up buying my truck back. Even then I tried arguing by buying it back Geico would not have to spend money on a wrecker to get it to the salvage yard, no auction fees, and no more time spent on their end dealing with my claim. No such luck though. He told me if he gave me any more it would throw up red flags in the system because the payout was already over $10k and management would review it and most likely I would lose out on some of what we had already agreed upon.

Something else to consider, I don't know how it works in Colorado but even though my truck was written off by Geico standards it might not get a salvage title. Im still waiting to hear back on that one. Texas determines a salvage title by looking at the value of the vehicle before the accident, then determining the cost of the parts to fix it. It the parts do not add up to 80% (it might be 100% I can't remember) of the value of the vehicle then its not "totaled" by the state standard and you can keep a clean title. The state doesn't factor in paint or labor because they vary so much from shop to shop.

Good luck in your dealings with insurance! Having been through it recently I don't wish it upon anyone but there are good deals floating around out there. Once you have a check in hand it opens up all kinds of possibilities. I lucked out and ended up finding a complete running truck to use as a parts donor for less than the cost of a new ARB front and rear bumper.

I would say I'll sell you parts off my donor vehicle, but it would not be cost effective to ship a front clip up your way. You're in Cruiser country, there should be plenty of options around you.

 

[2001LC]

Did your lower or upper radiator support get bent?

I think your title will stay clean, but do check will insurance rep on this. ~30 years ago I had insurance total my car and let me keep. Title never left my hands so it stayed clean.

Doing the work yourself would be a good spring project for you & your son.

The big issues to keep cost down is to find color matching used parts. This can be difficult when looking for front end parts. Although you'll find more options available for the LC than I did for the LX. OEM and aftermarket hood for the LC are available, search "hood" in mud and Google. If going with steel bumper, flat black or vinyl coated hood may work nicely. In addition to Yoda Jim, try Foreign 3/296-2224 they had two LC last time I checked.

I ended up buying a rig for parts, swapped what I needed, and sold as parts rig for more than I paid for it. It took 9 mo of daily searches to find it locally. It worked out really well as I did $4K (shop quoted) worth of work and color match perfectly. I basically ended up with free parts and was paid for my effort. You've got to see this hood, who would do such a thing?

There are Aftermarket options for headlights with side marker available. I have some extra OEM headlight I may part with. PM me if you end up needing.

 

[labcab]

Dang. That's why they call those brush guards ... damage multipliers, huh.

According to car-part.com, the closest used parts are at LKQ in Albuquerque. They also happen to be black. Hood and fender for $400 and $310.

 

[COLandCrusher]

Did your lower or upper radiator support get bent?

I think your title will stay clean, but do check will insurance rep on this. ~30 years ago I had insurance total my car and let me keep. Title never left my hands so it stayed clean.

Doing the work yourself would be a good spring project for you & your son.

The big issues to keep cost down is to find color matching used parts. This can be difficult when looking for front end parts. Although you'll find more options available for the LC than I did for the LX. OEM and aftermarket hood for the LC are available, search "hood" in mud and Google. If going with steel bumper, flat black or vinyl coated hood may work nicely. In addition to Yoda Jim, try Foreign 3/296-2224 they had two LC last time I checked.

I ended up buying a rig for parts, swapped what I needed, and sold as parts rig for more than I paid for it. It took 9 mo of daily searches to find it locally. It worked out really well as I did $4K (shop quoted) worth of work and color match perfectly. I basically ended up with free parts and was paid for my effort. You've got to see this hood, who would do such a thing?

There are Aftermarket options for headlights with side marker available. I have some extra OEM headlight I may part with. PM me if you end up needing.

I do not think there is any damage to radiator supports but I am still waiting to confirm that. Yeah if I can find a black hood and fender that would be helpful. I noticed labcab said there were black parts in ALBAQ so I think that is a place to start! thanks everybody- so far it looks hopeful

 

[COLandCrusher]

My 2000 LC with 198k was rear ended back in October and "totaled" by insurance standards. I called my insurance (AAA) as a precaution the day of the accident and they came and looked at it. They said if they handled the claim they would give me $9k for the truck and buy back would be $2,500. The other driver had Geico and they took their sweet time coming take a look. They gave me a value of $11,000 for the truck, but buy back at $3k. One thing that helped my case was asking him to determine the value of my truck based on a national average, not just trucks in the DFW area. It might be a different story on Colorado but around Dallas you can count the number of 100 Series for sale at any given time on your hand. I also brought up how big 4x4 SUV's tend to go up in price in winter. On top of that finding one out of state would involve time off work, plane ticket, a hotel, fuel to bring it home, and the worst part of all another trip to he local tax office to register it. This helped get the vehicle value up to $11,500. Thankfully the adjuster was reasonable and worked with me throughout the process. I send them an email stating the recent repairs, regular maintenance, and modifications I had done to the vehicle, plus the fact that they took 30 days to provide me with a rental car even then it was only because I asked for one. I figured if I was making them spend money they would be much more willing to settle the claim. He was a Jeep guy and said he understood about all the recent work that I had done to the truck. He said he could not flat out compensate me for stuff I had done, but could use the lack of rental car as a scape goat to help out. He gave me an extra $1,500 as compensation, but claimed it on paper as rental car payment.

I hope that helps somewhat. I think you're on the right track providing receipts and claiming the condition of the truck as a means to justify a higher overall value. My adjuster told me to find and sent him several comparable vehicles for sale and he would factor that into determining the overall value. Under his breath he said to find the nicest ones I could that were similar in year and mileage. I did end up buying my truck back. Even then I tried arguing by buying it back Geico would not have to spend money on a wrecker to get it to the salvage yard, no auction fees, and no more time spent on their end dealing with my claim. No such luck though. He told me if he gave me any more it would throw up red flags in the system because the payout was already over $10k and management would review it and most likely I would lose out on some of what we had already agreed upon.

Something else to consider, I don't know how it works in Colorado but even though my truck was written off by Geico standards it might not get a salvage title. Im still waiting to hear back on that one. Texas determines a salvage title by looking at the value of the vehicle before the accident, then determining the cost of the parts to fix it. It the parts do not add up to 80% (it might be 100% I can't remember) of the value of the vehicle then its not "totaled" by the state standard and you can keep a clean title. The state doesn't factor in paint or labor because they vary so much from shop to shop.

Good luck in your dealings with insurance! Having been through it recently I don't wish it upon anyone but there are good deals floating around out there. Once you have a check in hand it opens up all kinds of possibilities. I lucked out and ended up finding a complete running truck to use as a parts donor for less than the cost of a new ARB front and rear bumper.

I would say I'll sell you parts off my donor vehicle, but it would not be cost effective to ship a front clip up your way. You're in Cruiser country, there should be plenty of options around you.

Both complete headlight assemblies need to be replaced. Do you have those on your donor that would help me out?

 

[2001LC]

I do not think there is any damage to radiator supports but I am still waiting to confirm that. Yeah if I can find a black hood and fender that would be helpful. I noticed labcab said there were black parts in ALBAQ so I think that is a place to start! thanks everybody- so far it looks hopeful

Issue I kept coming across is the yards do not want to ship hoods or cost was prohibitive. But a drive to NM would be worth it. I end up keeping my search within a day trip driving distance. Here a few national search engines. Not all shop use them or keep updated, but many do.
Used 2001 Lexus Lx470 Front Body Hood Parts | Search Used Car + T
Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

If your radiator supports are not bent your in luck. If bent you may be able to use puller, but this my involve shop. Otherwise look for front end clip. Be patient in your search for parts.

 

[COLandCrusher]

Few months ago I was able to get a part off a 100 at this nearby (I'm in Highlands Ranch as well) toyota-specific salvage yard, although the owner did tell me it was the first 100 he'd ever had on his lot in 15 years...

Call Soneff's Master Garage - a classic car restoration shop - and ask for Quincy. He's their body and paint guy who just ordered a rocker panel for me. I didn't ask specifically, but from our last conversation it sounded like he was buying from a part-out situation/junkyard/etc.

OK, talked to Jim this morning. Unfortunately the one that he has that was a fit was rolled, and all the front end parts all damaged. Nothing usable there. I tried Soneffs but they seem closed on weekend, so will try again Monday.

 

[gwatts]

@COLandCrusher
I've got a front bumper skin (plasti dipped black) and support up north in Boulder I am looking to sell. Interested?

 

[COLandCrusher]

@COLandCrusher
I've got a front bumper skin (plasti dipped black) and support up north in Boulder I am looking to sell. Interested?

Hey GWatts, Thanks! but I am going to go with a more sturdy bumper at this point either a Blueberry Slee, TJM or ARB. still waiting for a final $$ figure to know what I am working with.

 

[timmbuck2]

You call Oleg down in Castle Rock? I know he has at least one 100 series he is parting out. Also definitely ask Rising Sun guys as well.

I think this is his number, from a CL ad for parting out an 80: 720 27 six six six 97 call or text only.

 

[COLandCrusher]

720 27 six six six 97

I just spoke to Slavic (sp?) he will look for me. Thanks for the info Timmbuck2-checking Rising Sun now...

 

[WarWagon]

I'm in the same boat trying to replace my front DS fender. I priced an aftermarket primered front fender for $188 shipped.

 

[COLandCrusher]

I'm in the same boat trying to replace my front DS fender. I priced an aftermarket primered front fender for $188 shipped.

I thought i stumbled onto a great deal at stylintrucks but the fender was with no body moulding and had a hole for a turn signal. they had no other fenders available. was almost able to get a hood asnd fender shipped for $500! but did not work out

 

[COLandCrusher]

So I am working now with Cruiserparts.net they are looking into all the parts I need, Rebecca was very helpful, and I may be going with the TJM T13 bull bar instead of the ARB or Dissent. Seems they may be in this month.

 

[WarWagon]

I like TJM.....I'd go that route.