Truck Fire Ford SD 6.7

[agesilaus]

My truck caught on fire for no obvious reason. 2012 F350 6.7L 4WD. Has about 170K on it. Parked, engine off, no electrical gear on. Right side of the engine compartment caught on fire.
I had a wheel off to check the brakes, went inside for a minute, came out smoke coming from the truck, seemed to be small fire.
Got a pot of water from camper, came out and it was blazing.
Finally put it out with the hose but that whole side of the front end and the front of the truck incinerated. All that plastic burned like crazy.
Fire department and sheriff came out. FD said it looked to be electrical. Waiting for Allstate.

[Dadoffourgirls]

I was glad to have OnStar when my daughters car caught fire in a marina parking lot. I could show that the car had been driven 7 miles, when it was parked, when the fire department was called, etc. I could show that what time it had been driven the previous day, current odometer, and that there had been no warnings.

This was the 2nd vehicle that was totaled under my Progressive policy. The other was an Impala that drowned overnight in Manhattan KS. Both first offers were what I expected. The Malibu was totaled in 2020, was 2 years old, and the offer was more than I paid (I stacked a bunch of incentives). The Impala was in 2019. The buy-back amount for the Impala was a steal, but I was not able to get to Kansas to retrieve it. My new tires and rims were worth more parted off the car. The items retrieved from the Malibu smelled awful, and were all thrown away.

[Grit_dog]

And in the end after a series of no fault accidents (on the new car) and of course a big comp claim with the fire, insurance co dropped my parents and they were high risk simply due to premiums collected vs payouts received. Nothing to do with high risk. All events were not owners fault.
I could keep going, but if you’re not outright, forceful and pro-active, the insurance company will hose you. Not subjective. Not even debatable.

[Grit_dog]

^This was learned back when I was in college and we had 3 family vehicles burned up. It was one of the vehicle fires I mentioned that started it.
Truck that caused the fire was 8-9 years old. Nothing left but steel components. Burned to the ground. Insurance was speculating on the mileage and condition. Claiming how “high” the miles had to have been on it based on age. They had no basis. That truck could have had a blown engine and 300k miles. They had no way of knowing but they tried to convince us of it. I went the other way and claimed how it was like new and only had _____miles. First liar never has a chance.
Our “new” car was also 100% engulfed. It was only 3-4 years old and actually was babied and pristine condition. They used a similar argument ( because that car was jinxed and had been hit and repaired 3 separate times since new). They attempted to de-value the car because they had history of previous damage. Umm diminished value doesn’t work that way.
Also claimed it must have higher miles than we stated. Lol.
The 3rd car, Z28 was also 50% cooked and totaled. It actually was a chit box. My sisters high school car. It was really a pile of ____. We got more than it was really worth due to its “popularity” and “value.”

I’ve had ins co try to lower the settlement on a fender bender when I wanted a check and not a settlement with a body shop. “If you repair it yourself, it will be cheaper, so we give you less $”. Again, sorry, that’s not how it works bud!

[Grit_dog]

agesilaus wrote:
OK Allstate first offer $30000 via Edmunds Blue book I got an offer for $36500 from Carmax that does not include the $1500 Leer Topper.
Sent that to Allstate guy hopefully he will bump his offer up a bit. I saw a 2014 F350 almost identical to our 2012 except no topper and a shortbed on the local Carmax lot. The sticker said $54000?! Must be a mistake

No, it’s not. It’s a stupid price, but people are paying those stupid prices.
First, that Leer topper needs to come off, and any other accessories that have value, unless they are specifically valued and insured in your policy (guessing not). And don’t let the adjuster bully you into leaving them on. His job is to make as much money off the deal as possible and give you as little as you’ll settle for. This is not a fair fight.

Secondly, the point of totaling a vehicle with an ACV policy is to receive the same amount it would cost you to purchase an otherwise comparable vehicle, reasonably. Doesn’t mean flying to Texas for that one “deal” that is the wrong color, floor boards full of cow manure and faded paint.
If “your” truck is for sale locally for…however much, that is what you hold out for. Period.
If you want to take the money, then “shop” for a deal, or downgrade or do anything other than spend all of it on a truck, that is your perogative.
An insurance adjuster is basically the same as a car salesman. His job is to screw you on your “trade in.”

[EricCO]

agesilaus wrote:
OK Allstate first offer $30000 via Edmunds Blue book I got an offer for $36500 from Carmax that does not include the $1500 Leer Topper.
Sent that to Allstate guy hopefully he will bump his offer up a bit. I saw a 2014 F350 almost identical to our 2012 except no topper and a shortbed on the local Carmax lot. The sticker said $54000?! Must be a mistake

In my opinion -

You aren't going to find an available 2014 going for $36k. The $54k is more reasonable. Save those ads. The databases like KBB can't keep up with the demand pressures on prices.

[Bionic_Man]

A few years ago I had a car that was totaled by a hailstorm. My insurance (Safeco) low balled me at the time. They allowed me to find 5 vehicles within 1 year old with similar or one model trim higher advertised for sale within something like 100 miles, and re-evaluated. I still thought that wasn't an accurate value due to the extreme low miles on my vehicle, but to fight I would have had to go to arbitration, so I ended up setting.

Just a long winded way of saying that you should have some options to dispute the claim amount. Have you got your actual agent involved?

Used values are absolutely crazy high right now. That $54k sticker you saw probably wasn't a mistake.

[Cummins12V98]

You need to look at recent sales! YES they are going for HIGH numbers. Don't let them bone you.

[agesilaus]

OK Allstate first offer $30000 via Edmunds Blue book I got an offer for $36500 from Carmax that does not include the $1500 Leer Topper.
Sent that to Allstate guy hopefully he will bump his offer up a bit. I saw a 2014 F350 almost identical to our 2012 except no topper and a shortbed on the local Carmax lot. The sticker said $54000?! Must be a mistake

[Grit_dog]

agesilaus wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
Back on topic, OP, any insight into the cause yet? (Not that ins will do any sort of investigation, but maybe someone has shed some light on a cause?)

No investigations known or planned, the guess is electrical.

Yeah 10-4. Morbid curiosity I guess.
Have had 2 vehicle fires in my life. Neither one got a second look from insurance other than “totaled.”

[agesilaus]

Grit dog wrote:
Back on topic, OP, any insight into the cause yet? (Not that ins will do any sort of investigation, but maybe someone has shed some light on a cause?)

No investigations known or planned, the guess is electrical.

[Grit_dog]

Back on topic, OP, any insight into the cause yet? (Not that ins will do any sort of investigation, but maybe someone has shed some light on a cause?)

[Grit_dog]

joshuajim wrote:
OK,Port,Starboard. But do you know why?

Ancient ships didn’t have a centered rudder. They had a “steering board” attached to the RIGHT side of the ship. That meant when a ship came in to dock, it docked on the LEFT side of the ship. PORT side. The RIGHT side became the steer board (STARBOARD) side.

Lesson over:B

And my boat is much easier to port (dock) on the starboard side since a rudder doesn’t work real well in reverse…so confusing to not port on the port side….lol.

[joshuajim]

OK,Port,Starboard. But do you know why?

Ancient ships didn’t have a centered rudder. They had a “steering board” attached to the RIGHT side of the ship. That meant when a ship came in to dock, it docked on the LEFT side of the ship. PORT side. The RIGHT side became the steer board (STARBOARD) side.

Lesson over:B

[BB_TX]

agesilaus wrote:

ksss wrote:

agesilaus wrote:

I would be happy for the total as well. Hopefully your insurance treats you well.

First offer: $28600
That is a 2012 F350 6.7 4WD longbed with a Leer topper. About 170K on iy

What trim level is it?

Lariet, leather seats, crew cab, 18 inch wheels

I recently traded my 2012 F350 6.7 CC LB FX4 King Ranch 83,000 miles for a new F150. I would have sold it myself, but due to almost no dealer inventory I had to order the F150 to get exactly what I wanted. And with a 3-6 month forecast delivery time I could not do without a truck that long. And the dealer allowed me to keep my truck until the new one came in. Ordered it July 2021 and got it December 2021.

That being said, they offered $34,000 trade-in. That was nada value. Along with the $2,150 savings in sales tax it came to the equivalent trade in value of $36,150. About 6 weeks after the new truck came in and the trade was completed, I got a call from someone who was considering buying my old truck. He had traced the history of the truck. I am in north Texas and he said the truck was in New Mexico. Surprisingly apparently auctioned off instead of being sold by my local dealer. He said they were asking $45,500 for it! :E The truck was in near perfect condition, but wow!

NADA may be what your insurance is going by.

[Grit_dog]

agesilaus wrote:

I would be happy for the total as well. Hopefully your insurance treats you well.

First offer: $28600
That is a 2012 F350 6.7 4WD longbed with a Leer topper. About 170K on iy

Start truck shopping. Find every 2011-2013 crew cab power stroke you can find for sale within a few hundred miles of your location.
Have the evidence ready. Btw, first offer doesn’t sound horrible, so you may have less of a hill to climb reaching a settlement.
And know what you’ll get reimbursed for aftermarket stuff left on the truck so you can decide how to maximize removing aftermarket equipment vs leaving with the truck.

Regarding newer half ton vs another HD diesel…
Bunch of considerations that you can analyze.