Auto Insurance Claims: What Im intitled too?, frame machine, repair estimate

Question
Hi Richard

If you have time, I need some info.
I was recently in an accident 9/22/06. I just bought a brand new Toyota Tacoma pick up truck for $24,000, I put $500 down.  It's about 2 months old and has about 4,000 miles on it.  I was rear ended, my drivers side rear was were I was hit. I was at a stand still when they rear ended me, maybe they were going about 15 to 20 mph.  Not alot of exterior damage, some cracks, scrapes, and the bumper was pushed in about 1" to 1 1/2".  My concern is the internal damage of the truck.  After the accident, driving home I could feel the truck pulling and dragging, it just doesn't feel right.  Were I was hit in one corner of the my truck, taking all that brunt force, causing it to rack the frame on the truck.  I talked to an auto body tech, they said 9 out of 10 times, the vehicle will never be the same and you can not fix damages like that.  I don't want to get stuck with something like this. WIll the claims ajuster see this or try to brush me off with a few thousand dollars?    I was wondering what my options are and can or would I be intitled to a new truck. I just don't want to get stuck owning this truck for the next 6 or 7 years and it not driving right.  Thank you for your time.

Bob

Answer
Hi Bob,

The first thing you should do is to select a reputable body shop in your area.  Bring these concerns up to them and ask that they throughly inspect the vehicle including the rear suspension, leaf springs, axel and set the vehicle up on a frame machine to take measurements. Once this is done they can write a repair estimate that is accurate.

Unfortunately, there is no way to force the insurance company to total your vehicle or buy you a new truck. Insurance companies will generally not consider a vehicle to be a total loss unless the cost of repairs is more than 75% of the value of the vehicle.

Finally, you should seek compensation for the diminished value of your vehicle.  Depending on the extent of the damage, you may be entitled to claim thousands of dollars for the lost value of your truck due to the collision, even if the repairs are done well.

If you would like more information on diminished value, please visit www.collisionclaims.com.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh