2 weeks ago my wife and I were rear ended and pushed into the truck in front of us. Going through insurance and waiting on their assessment, which is brutal, but I'm curious what TexAgs thinks…is this going to end up "totaled", or do you think it's repairable?

Cars valued around $60k according to KBB…

Airbag go off?

Maybe, that's a lot of value to overcome. Unfortunately the days of trading in after repair to avoid the carfax wreck depreciation are gone. My crash report last week is made available to me via a web application that carfax offers to LEOs. I'm sure as soon as the police report is made, you are toast. There's likely no delay anymore.

I bet you're at least $45K in damage based on similar front and rear wrecks I've had in the past. From my previous experiences, insurance will total around 75% of value.

Do your all of your doors still open without touching? Do the door gaps all look uniform?

I was hit in my wife's Denali a while back and even though the doors still worked without touching, the gap were tighter as the frame had barely collapsed. These cars have three piece frames. If any of the frames are collapsed, they'll total it.

Seeing the rear picture, I'm guessing its totaled. Sorry.

I will tell you that I have negotiated with an insurance company out of totaling a car and taking it to my body man as opposed to their recommended shop. They subtracted out the salvage value of the car from my settlement, but I walked away with $6K in cash after the car was repaired. Keep in mind, there was no frame damage and the adjuster was an idiot.

aggieforester05 said:

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Maybe, that's a lot of value to overcome. Unfortunately the days of trading in after repair to avoid the carfax wreck depreciation are gone. My crash report last week is made available to me via a web application that carfax offers to LEOs. I'm sure as soon as the police report is made, you are toast. There's likely no delay anymore.

I bet you're at least $45K in damage based on similar front and rear wrecks I've had in the past. From my previous experiences, insurance will total around 75% of value.

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Yep. Go after the insurance company for diminished value. I'm learning the hard way. I was hit by a vehicle after 5K miles and was denied Diminished Value by their insurance, Kenper Group. I am so busy with other things I didn't persue legal action. Fast forward to 60,000 miles. I'm changing vehicles because our car allowance has increased for EVs substantially so I'm planning on moving into a Tesla. I've babied my car every step of the way. Ceramic coating, never been through a car wash, detailed weekly, maintenance performed on schedule, etc. Estimated trade-in value from 36-38K. Given the almost perfect condition and the car looks like a new I was expecting the higher end of that. Car Max offered 28K. Carvana 29.5. Ecopark 29. There was a weld involved so nobody wants it on their lot & they are giving me auction prices for the trade.

I'm in the car for 55,300 and have been reimbursed $20,250 by my company in that time so trading it in would be a 5K hit. I'm hoping to sell it private party now and get a little more out of it, but I'm kicking myself for not taking legal action against Kemper. I'm also kicking myself for not going to the ER which would have probably been worth a settlement.

The airbag didn't deploy, shocking!

I am fearful of the totaled result and having to go back into the market for a vehicle. I did have some neck and back pain after the incident and went to Urgent Care…so the records have been started with that.

Ironically, we got hit by an ambulance van…but their insurance is playing all kind of games right now. So, I will likely have to go through subrogation with my insurance.

While I don't want it totaled, I also don't want the rapid devaluation with a repaired/wrecked title.

…damned if you do, damned if you don't. Thanks for all the insight!

You're getting a Tesla?

That didn't take long. Yes, I ordered a low mile '23 Model S

Our company is bumping up the EV car allowance from $950 to $1,150/mo while ICE and Hybrids are staying at $750. They are also letting us expense FSD

I'll let a POS Tesla drive me around if it puts more money in my pocket.

Report back if you wind up thinking the S is a POS. At a minimum, FSD should avoid foot fatigue

Not totaled but 28k and 4 weeks of your life birdogging the repair

They totaled my 2019 Sierra a few months ago for this:





Can't really tell from the pics, but the frame around the motor was twisted, one of the motor mounts was compromised, and the drive shaft ended up falling off when unloading from the tow truck since the transmission was shifted along with the motor.

All that and no airbags.

Fido, how long ago was your accident? I believe you have 2 years to file a diminished value claim. We had a lawyer file a claim for a small fender bender on the wife's Cayenne. I think the lawyer was $400 but he got a good settlement.

2 years and 3 months. I discovered that 2 year window after I got the appraisals unfortunately.