Hey all,
Just wanted to say that I got sideswiped the other day and Wally took a big hit. I was hoping that I could get some advice and closure on this...
In the process of insurance claim settlement I cannot unfortunately post too much information (or pics, b/c I provided to insurance immediately) for fear of some reversal by them.
Basic situation: Looking to Merge into another lane w/ the INTENTION (only) of merging but before I even left my lane (or began turning) I felt an impact by another driver. Not only did I have my turn signal on and my daytime running lights on but I was traveling <10 MPH in my own lane that was beside that of another lane coming off the freeway (return traffic). But before any questions arise that I was doing anything wrong, I was still by the solid (do-not-cross-me) line and pulling past it slowly when I felt the collision first. The kicker to all this? The other driver pulled past and then got out of the vehicle, agreed to exchange information in a parking lot instead. While I followed the other driver, they decided to deliberately lose me in traffic and evade me. Now before you can say I so won the claim of not-at-fault because it was a hit-and-run, I proceeded to flag down a passing Officer and get some help right away to which we then were in the process of driving to the scene when he gets a call and says the other driver was "found" in another FAR removed location after having called their significant other to ask what to do to which they were told Call the Police... My reaction? Like WTF?! you get into an accident you should immediately check whether emergency services are needed and if not, exchange information if the accident does not warrant police involvement BUT YOU SHOULD NEVER RUN. Since the other driver was FOUND, the reporting officer said it was not a hit-and-run... Wally got hurt and this individual narrowly avoided a felony charge and no-fault was declared. Smells fishy huh? Hitting a $55K+ truck and thinking "Oh no... its a rich person" is no excuse to do what they just did; also Hell No am I rich, far from it.
The damage is on the driver's side towards the front and I was hit by another individual going about ~45 MPH+ while I was under <10 MPH. The damage comes out to be front driver's side fender/flare, popped the passenger's side fender/flare out an 1", displaced my hood and bent it a little, shifted my bumper over a good 2-3" whole inches and cracked both headlights. Wally's still driveable but >50 MPH he starts to skip forward a discernible .5" so that would probably mean damage to my front axle and due to the way the front driver's side fender was cracked up to the B-pillar I am concerned that maybe there was potential bending there...
This is such a headache and heartbreak because while I am glad no-one was injured and the write-up complete, my heart sunk 'cause Wally's now sitting off to the side damaged. With the initial shellshock past, I am just seething with anger b/c I am not sure insurance will cover jack---- for me. I maxed out my limits and chose the highest policy coverages for any standard policy BUT what about aftermarket parts?
The one obviously glaring one is my FabFours Pre-runner bumper that, despite the collision was bent inward and upward due to the angle of impact b/c had it been a frontal collision I am sure it would have dissipated the impact much better. But because it was hit at an irregular extreme angle it shifted the bumper too as I said and actually CHIPPED/FLAKED off the HD bedliner coating applied to it. Now some of ya'll may be thinking, oh its no problem but I do not know how to go about addressing this problem. Oh and my front skid plate warped a little too because of the bumper's shift. I am not sure what insurance will do for me and the bumper + the HD liner.
Now my concern is where should I take Wally to get fixed up... I know like me a lot of ya'll do your own stuff and so do I but... this is unfortunately far out of my capabilities to fix BUT I also do not want some Vulture hacking into Wally. I have my reservations about taking him to just any repair shop regardless of ASE and I-CAR certifications because tbh I am one of those guys that thinks it's best to consolidate work to one shop, only one shop. You know... because a point to be made is, if you need work on 10 hypothetical jobs would you want to delegate that work to 10+ people or just 1 dedicated shop owner (of equal/better skill to those 10+ people) who will KNOW your truck? I hate sloppy-seconds and to me it feels like some other shop picking up another job to pass on makes me feel uncomfortable. And for reasons I cannot quite reveal yet, I am far out North many states away from Texas and the logistics involved in trailering Wally back Home are just out of my scheduling. At this point $ is not too far up on the priority scale as opposed to just having the job done Right the first time. I hear far too many horror stories of some people having to go back to the shop several times because the job was never done right.
It just breaks my heart looking at Wally sitting there while I feel high and dry because I am so far away from home. Personally I have come to have my high reservations against the driving ability of Northern state drivers (VA and up) b/c I found in the heavy rain I had to drive Wally back damaged I was cut off 3+ times by drivers who did not signal, nor had their headlights on, and were on the phone. As it stands I estimate quite a payout out of pocket for Wally and truthfully I need closure and advice b/c I am here in MD where had I been in TX I'd have Wally up and running no problems. I just predict problems with insurance and its painful b/c I have only had Wally for 2 months now...
Sorry for the long rant but I consider the Raptor community here like my extended family because we all are a font of knowledge and support for each other. I know it sounds like I am overreacting but truthfully I never saw it coming, was just helping a friend check out a Used Vehicle when on the way back I was involved in a collision that b/c of my honesty I could not 100% say it was the other driver being careless b/c even though I feel like I got hit since I never left my own lane and did not forget to check my mirrors I felt the impact before I saw it with my own eyes. No fault was declared by the reporting officer, so that too is why I feel like not only did I lose my deductible (since I am pretty sure it has to be the other driver's fault for a deductible to be waived) but I feel cheated.
Just wanted to say that I got sideswiped the other day and Wally took a big hit. I was hoping that I could get some advice and closure on this...
In the process of insurance claim settlement I cannot unfortunately post too much information (or pics, b/c I provided to insurance immediately) for fear of some reversal by them.
Basic situation: Looking to Merge into another lane w/ the INTENTION (only) of merging but before I even left my lane (or began turning) I felt an impact by another driver. Not only did I have my turn signal on and my daytime running lights on but I was traveling <10 MPH in my own lane that was beside that of another lane coming off the freeway (return traffic). But before any questions arise that I was doing anything wrong, I was still by the solid (do-not-cross-me) line and pulling past it slowly when I felt the collision first. The kicker to all this? The other driver pulled past and then got out of the vehicle, agreed to exchange information in a parking lot instead. While I followed the other driver, they decided to deliberately lose me in traffic and evade me. Now before you can say I so won the claim of not-at-fault because it was a hit-and-run, I proceeded to flag down a passing Officer and get some help right away to which we then were in the process of driving to the scene when he gets a call and says the other driver was "found" in another FAR removed location after having called their significant other to ask what to do to which they were told Call the Police... My reaction? Like WTF?! you get into an accident you should immediately check whether emergency services are needed and if not, exchange information if the accident does not warrant police involvement BUT YOU SHOULD NEVER RUN. Since the other driver was FOUND, the reporting officer said it was not a hit-and-run... Wally got hurt and this individual narrowly avoided a felony charge and no-fault was declared. Smells fishy huh? Hitting a $55K+ truck and thinking "Oh no... its a rich person" is no excuse to do what they just did; also Hell No am I rich, far from it.
The damage is on the driver's side towards the front and I was hit by another individual going about ~45 MPH+ while I was under <10 MPH. The damage comes out to be front driver's side fender/flare, popped the passenger's side fender/flare out an 1", displaced my hood and bent it a little, shifted my bumper over a good 2-3" whole inches and cracked both headlights. Wally's still driveable but >50 MPH he starts to skip forward a discernible .5" so that would probably mean damage to my front axle and due to the way the front driver's side fender was cracked up to the B-pillar I am concerned that maybe there was potential bending there...
This is such a headache and heartbreak because while I am glad no-one was injured and the write-up complete, my heart sunk 'cause Wally's now sitting off to the side damaged. With the initial shellshock past, I am just seething with anger b/c I am not sure insurance will cover jack---- for me. I maxed out my limits and chose the highest policy coverages for any standard policy BUT what about aftermarket parts?
The one obviously glaring one is my FabFours Pre-runner bumper that, despite the collision was bent inward and upward due to the angle of impact b/c had it been a frontal collision I am sure it would have dissipated the impact much better. But because it was hit at an irregular extreme angle it shifted the bumper too as I said and actually CHIPPED/FLAKED off the HD bedliner coating applied to it. Now some of ya'll may be thinking, oh its no problem but I do not know how to go about addressing this problem. Oh and my front skid plate warped a little too because of the bumper's shift. I am not sure what insurance will do for me and the bumper + the HD liner.
Now my concern is where should I take Wally to get fixed up... I know like me a lot of ya'll do your own stuff and so do I but... this is unfortunately far out of my capabilities to fix BUT I also do not want some Vulture hacking into Wally. I have my reservations about taking him to just any repair shop regardless of ASE and I-CAR certifications because tbh I am one of those guys that thinks it's best to consolidate work to one shop, only one shop. You know... because a point to be made is, if you need work on 10 hypothetical jobs would you want to delegate that work to 10+ people or just 1 dedicated shop owner (of equal/better skill to those 10+ people) who will KNOW your truck? I hate sloppy-seconds and to me it feels like some other shop picking up another job to pass on makes me feel uncomfortable. And for reasons I cannot quite reveal yet, I am far out North many states away from Texas and the logistics involved in trailering Wally back Home are just out of my scheduling. At this point $ is not too far up on the priority scale as opposed to just having the job done Right the first time. I hear far too many horror stories of some people having to go back to the shop several times because the job was never done right.
It just breaks my heart looking at Wally sitting there while I feel high and dry because I am so far away from home. Personally I have come to have my high reservations against the driving ability of Northern state drivers (VA and up) b/c I found in the heavy rain I had to drive Wally back damaged I was cut off 3+ times by drivers who did not signal, nor had their headlights on, and were on the phone. As it stands I estimate quite a payout out of pocket for Wally and truthfully I need closure and advice b/c I am here in MD where had I been in TX I'd have Wally up and running no problems. I just predict problems with insurance and its painful b/c I have only had Wally for 2 months now...
Sorry for the long rant but I consider the Raptor community here like my extended family because we all are a font of knowledge and support for each other. I know it sounds like I am overreacting but truthfully I never saw it coming, was just helping a friend check out a Used Vehicle when on the way back I was involved in a collision that b/c of my honesty I could not 100% say it was the other driver being careless b/c even though I feel like I got hit since I never left my own lane and did not forget to check my mirrors I felt the impact before I saw it with my own eyes. No fault was declared by the reporting officer, so that too is why I feel like not only did I lose my deductible (since I am pretty sure it has to be the other driver's fault for a deductible to be waived) but I feel cheated.
