Very sad Ranger

[Bill]

Can your brother in law sue the other person's insurance for the cost of a new vehicle?

The vehicle is insured up to it's market value. Having a new engine, transmission, or anything else like that is rarely factored into what the insurance pays out. I have heard of people taking the at fault party to small claims to make up the difference. But, those people had all that extra work documented and the at fault party was really negligent. Like blasting through a red light and caught on dash cam, or driving under the influence.

Back in the late 80s I had a 1972 Capri with a 2.6L Cologne V6 I rebuilt along with a rebuilt manual transmission. Three months after I got it running someone feeding his face with a Whopper ran into me and totaled the car. The insurance wanted to pay $50 for it because back then the attitude was a 16 year old vehicle should have been off the road a long time ago (and it cost about $2000 new). I managed to haggle with them and get $100. In the meantime I pulled the engine and transmission and sold it to someone who had a project Ford Courier that someone ran without oil. The tow truck driver who came to pick it up didn't care and said the insurance doesn't check. The V6 had around 110-125 hp, depending on the source. The original Mazda engines only had 74 hp. There was a little bit of a fad with putting the 2.6 and 2.8L engines in the older Courier/B1800/B2000 at the time. So, absolutely grab what you can off of it. The cap isn't covered by insurance either as it is considered an accessory.

 

[KaHOnas]

...absolutely grab what you can off of it. The cap isn't covered by insurance either as it is considered an accessory.

Thank you, Bill. That's what I was trying to say but I couldn't word goodly.

 

[JohnnyO]

Dang. Glad he's okay.
20+ years ago when I had my first Ranger, a 99, I got T-boned in the driver's side by someone who ran a stop sign but it wasn't as bad as that. I did have a big lump on the side off my head where I hit it on the window frame (window was down).

 

[MaicoDoug]

With my auto insurance (USAA) I did mention about a $13k paint job on my 2014 Challenger when I was shopping for new coverage lately. They replied sure, we'll charge you for that every month, but we can put a "rider" in your file that will cover the cost. So if you're in love with your Ranger (or anything else), you can ask for extra coverage. You can document that it has received a lot of extra work, and should not be considered worth "market value".

Sorry to hear of the loss. I would loose because the other driver would have my boot in his...what Red Forman would do !

 

[pentode]

I got word over the holidays they offered him a really good payout (something over 10k, I'll have to double check- but he was happy with it)
Ironically,I couldn't get the cap as somehow the adjuster seemed to feel it added a significant amount of value to the truck. I don't understand how they think sometimes but maybe that's one vote in favor of keeping your truck looking fresh and spiffy?

 

[KaHOnas]

So the adjuster actually took the cap into consideration? I'm surprised but I appreciate that. It clearly did add value to the vehicle. A nice ARE cap ain't cheap.

I suppose as long as your BIL is happy with the settlement, that's really what matters. Here's hoping he gets something nice as a replacement.

 

[pentode]

So the adjuster actually took the cap into consideration? I'm surprised but I appreciate that. It clearly did add value to the vehicle. A nice ARE cap ain't cheap.

I suppose as long as your BIL is happy with the settlement, that's really what matters. Here's hoping he gets something nice as a replacement.

Yeah, I was surprised too. He knew I wanted it so he asked the adjuster and the guy told him he had factored it in to the payout. The way insurance companies determine value will always mystify me - but yeah, it's a really nice cap. I'm bummed. . BIL is a mechanic and a perfectionist too so all his vehicles are in tip top shape at all times.

 

[Shran]

A while back some kid ran into my F150 and destroyed the passenger side fender and a couple other things. His insurance adjuster told me that they were going to give me $500, total my truck and take it to the junkyard. If I wanted to keep it they offered to brand the title as salvage and sell it back to me for $200. So I about had a stroke and told them that was crazy... what I did was go on eBay, Marketplace, Craigslist, Auto Trader, etc and printed out a bunch of similar trucks for sale and especially sold listings on eBay. I found a couple of nice bull nose Fords in there that sold for like $6-8000. I handed those to the adjuster and told him to reconsider. I ended up getting a check for $3200, kept my truck and it has a clean title. I am still pissed that it happened but I'm OK with what I got out of the deal, I did find a nice color matching fender at the junkyard a few years later so it looks decent.

You absolutely can negotiate with them, the adjuster's only job is to make you settle as quick as possible and for as little as possible. For what insurance costs these days there is no reason to accept their first offer.

 

[Brain75]

In addition to Shran's rare success story above, I have some words from an actual insurance person (one of the fellow at 48-56 classic crowd might loose their daily 2000 pickup over a bumper and tailgate, no damage to fenders, lights, etc)
Here is a quote from a long time fellow on FTE word for word:


"
Charlie,
I work for a commercial insurance company. No, I'm no adjuster, auditor or UW. I'm a Loss Control rep. My job is to help companies not have claims (we just want peoples money, we don't want to give any back to them).
I've read through a lot of claims files. Yes, you can get compensated for non-factory add-ons; wheels, bumpers, tires, bed covers, camper shells, toolboxes, etc. No, it doesn't necessarily have to be declared beforehand either. It does fall on you to prove the value of the add-ons or show receipts and to fight and insist on compensation. (the key word here is fight)
Most adjusters are under a lot of pressure to get claims closed fast and cheap. You don't have to be pressured into settling the claim, or taking their offer, or agreeing on it being a total. Stand your ground.
The more info you have on your end the better, sales histories from comparable vehicles in your area, receipts for parts and maintenance, etc. Anything to prove that you have a nice vehicle. I'd fight to keep it from being totalled. Once totalled then it has a "salvage" title and, as has already been mentioned, you would not be able to get insurance beyond the bare minimum.

Good luck
Bobby
"

These additional words might be a little too late, since we are just over 2 weeks now since it happened. Things might be settled up already I know, but I felt like this was good to add in case there was still time to fight.

 

[Brain75]

And to everyone I have a thought / piece of advice... My grandad got robbed (like broke into the house and everything stolen) and after the horrific BS that that was, the insurance company said the best way to go through this again is to photograph everything and keep the photos somewhere else like a safe deposit box....

So from time to time (once a year on July 1 maybe after waxing it up for the holiday weekend), might take a new set of pictures of your truck from all angles so you have good evidence of what condition it was in... bring that to the courtroom and show year after year you kept it looking good.