Drunk driver wrecked my truck tonight - pics

Dave H M wrote:
I have followed this thread some, but no longer can keep wondering.

With my insurance company it would be between the adjustor and the shop to fix it or total it. What is going on?

Is the shop pimping for a great deal on a "totaled vehicle?

Seriously. :h

No, it is different here in BC. First of all, government owned mandatory insurance company. In a collision, the same company represents both parties. Their goal is to minimize what they pay out. This is frequently achieved by blaming both parties 50% so the rates go up and they get more premium money. In this case, they would not admit the drunk was at fault, but rather took a month to tell me they are now in a position to "waive my deductible" In other words it was the drunks fault but they cannot and will not say so due to legal implications of blah blah blah......

I could go on and on about ICBC but I won't.

So it is the shop doing their best to fix it within ICBC's parameters without them totaling it. Initially ICBC did the original repair sheet on the truck. It is a visual thing where they just eyeball the thing and write up a sheet. First call was $6500. excluding frame damage or anything hidden.

So I take the sheet to bodyshop and present it to them. Shop looks at truck and sheet and says something like "Ya gotta be kidding"

We arrange a time to bring truck to shop for repairs. I get a rental, which I have to pay some of myself (another story) and with the shops help we use a hoist to remove my rack and toolbox assembly and plunk it on a 2 ton flatdeck truck.

Shop now tears my truck down to assess the actual damage instead of the estimators lame evaluation that was done without even looking close at the bent parts. See pics posted previously.

Shop finds the actual damage - they do all the hard work of properly assessing the damage. They put it on the frame machine and discover the right front wheel is shoved back and that the frame is bent a bit, not too bad. They analyze the pickup bed and determine it is bent off-square, ripped and otherwise messed up, and will cost more to repair than it is worth.

Meanwhile Bob here says I want my truck fixed, not written off. It is such a good truck for me. And I cannot afford a new one. No more payments. And I want OEM parts on it. If I wanted Jap parts, I would have bought a Toyota.

So the shop goes on an extensive search for used parts for all damage in order to avoid totaling the truck. This process takes some time to do, as a bed is near impossible to find, most trucks get crunched in the front, most wrecked trucks have less than perfect parts on them, so it is difficult to source decent used parts. I had a near new windshield in the truck and ICBC put down to replace with a USED one due to chip damage from flying glass when I broadsided the Mazda, blowing out the back and one side window. Really, a used windshield.... Good luck finding one that is not in at least near new condition.

So on the fiasco goes.

The shop is definitely not pimping for a deal on a "totaled" truck. I know this shop and they are one of the few with integrity and honesty. I would stake my reputation on that one. Guaranteed the shop is good, honest and acting in my interests. The shop manager has phoned me several times asking input on if I will accept this or that to reduce the repair bill. He is really good and very helpful.

It really is a lot different with US insurance companies. It is X vs Y vs Z company. Rather straight forward and in most cases your insurance adjuster goes to bat for you against the other company. Whole different ball game when the same government owned company represents all the insured vehicles in the province.

At the end of the day when the shop gets all their pricing and repair costs in place, they have to call the adjuster, who is no longer a person anymore but rather a "Team" of multiple people, and present to them the overall actual repair cost. Then, and only then, they are at the complete mercy of the "team" to say fix it or total it.

It's a gong show, a real gong show indeed.