Goodbye For Now

[HILLY]

Well, after an unfortunate and almost "Final Destination" like event Friday evening, the Expy is no longer for me. My wife and kids went to a local venue to enjoy ice cream and entertainment while I went out to a work function. The lot they parked in had a huge tree in the middle of it. Well one of the branches that was about the size of a normal tree decided to let go about 90 seconds after they walked away from the truck. So I'm extremely fortunately that nobody was injured or even worse. Crushed and cut out roof and LR door area as well as totaling out another 4-5 cars in the row. Some others were luckier if you will as they only suffered scratches or a damaged windshield. The tree was rotted out on the inside even though there's life on the outside.

I hope this isn't the end of the Expedition journey as I truly liked this truck a lot. I had more plans for it as time would come (lift, performance, etc.). Right now it's waiting on the insurance to give their feedback (holiday weekend), and taking next steps to recover lost property value.

 

[JasonH]

Glad no one was injured, that could have been way worse.

Stuff like this is why I don't purchase new cars anymore. My first new car was a 2000 Ford Focus that I purchased when I was around 20 years old. I knew about depreciation, but planned to drive it until the wheels came off. It got flooded in a tropical storm one year after I purchased it. Hope you can find a suitable replacement vehicle!

 

[Hellwig]

looks like it's totaled.

 

[JamaicaJoe]

I am sorry to say, that will not buff out. By the way there are private insurance adjusters who will fight for every dime (less their fee ~$300) from your insurer. You should hold fast. Also there could be liability on the part of the venue if anyone ever reported the tree was sick to owner, city etc.

 

[BigOleFordFan]

So glad nobody was hurt, but unfortunately for the Expy, well, she's a gonner for sure, cause that damage would cost ALOT to repair, probably almost as much as it is worth....what a sad way for it to go

OTOH, assuming you have full coverage insurance, you should be able to get almost of it's value back in the settlement, but you may have to either wait for you insurance to work something out with the property owners, or get what you can from the insurance and deal with the property owners on your own, which may or may not require the assistance of a lawyer....

Probably would be a worth a 15-min consultation either way

Good luck, and here's looking forward to your next post with pics of a brand new vehicle !

I know your pain, as I had 3 really nice vehicles (2016 Acadia, 2014 Caddy, and a 2008 Impala) totaled out by a freak hailstorm in 2022 while parked in our driveway, on thanksgiving day no less, and thankfully, the insurance company was very easy to deal with (gee, imagine that) and gave me almost as much as I had originally paid for them...

This made me a little concerned, since our house also suffered major siding, deck & roof damage too, and I was just waiting for them to drop da hamma on me for that part....but I got their write up the next day, got 2 estimates from quality contractors I had used in years past, and they just sent me the higher of the 2 amounts....

What a relief !

 

[nationalgallery]

You're incredibly lucky that your 'Goodbye' is to your Expedition and not to this world.....

 

[5280tunage]

Scary stuff, glad everyone is okay.

 

[NevadaGeo]

Wow. That is scary. Hope insurance replaces it fully and then some. Good luck and see you back soon.

 

[GlennSullivan]

Glad no one was in it, especially in that drivers side rear seat. Looks totaled to me. Body structure bent and twisted, obviously on the drivers side but also on the pass side where you can see the front door mis-alignment. Even if they did not total it, you would not want it back after a major crunch like that.

 

[Fastcar]

Remember your insurance company is not your friend. In most states they are liable for any sales tax you paid at time of sale.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

assuming you have full comprehensive/collision style insurance, I would expect your insurance company to pay out for the car less deductible, go after the responsible party, and if they collect, refund you the deductible. It probably depends on who this parking lot was owned by, and how official the parking use was. Many parking lots have posted 'at your own risk' signs, whereupon there's very little chance of your insurance collecting anything.

 

[SyndicateZ]

assuming you have full comprehensive/collision style insurance, I would expect your insurance company to pay out for the car less deductible, go after the responsible party, and if they collect, refund you the deductible. It probably depends on who this parking lot was owned by, and how official the parking use was. Many parking lots have posted 'at your own risk' signs, whereupon there's very little chance of your insurance collecting anything.

So pay a lawyer $3000 to collect a $500 deductible?

 

[HILLY]

assuming you have full comprehensive/collision style insurance, I would expect your insurance company to pay out for the car less deductible, go after the responsible party, and if they collect, refund you the deductible. It probably depends on who this parking lot was owned by, and how official the parking use was. Many parking lots have posted 'at your own risk' signs, whereupon there's very little chance of your insurance collecting anything.

So far sounding like whatever I get from insurance is where I'm at. I subscribe to an Allstate Legal service through my work (like health ins) and as soon as I described the incident and also told them no one was hurt, they were immediate and blunt that it is an insurance comprehensive matter. Talking to others that have had accidents, etc., that have solicited a lawyer still ended up paying a good portion of the proceeds to their fees.

 

[GixxerJasen]

Just do your homework and know the comparables and ask for the reports they are using. Lots of websites out there to walk you through it. Insurance companies are for profit and they do so by charging as much for their services as they can while paying out as little as possible. What they offer IS negotiable and with a little knowledge you can increase that pretty easily. That first offer is a lowball offer because they know most folks will take it and not question it.

 

[Fastcar]

Your insurance should make you whole. Just a matter of establishing it's value.

 

[Mr Big]

If the vehicle gets totaled, they will pay out the full appraised amount. Unfortunately, I have found for some reason, Expeditions do not hold their value. I was going to trade it in on an EV SUV lease. They offered me $23,500 for my 2019 mint Platinum and they offered $25,400 for my Explorer Base model. So, it seems Explorers hold their value and Expeditions don't.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

So pay a lawyer $3000 to collect a $500 deductible?

the insurance company is paying the lawyer (who's probably on staff), and they're collecting whatever they paid out to you.

 

[GixxerJasen]

If the vehicle gets totaled, they will pay out the full appraised amount.

They will do research and find comparable vehicles listed for sale. Then they will take the three lowest priced ones and use them for their valuation of your vehicle. By asking for that particular report you can check and see if they indeed compare with your vehicle. In my particular case I had them throw some out. One wasn't in my region and that makes it not comparable, the other one had twice the miles on it. You should also be able to request a third party appraisal and they should have to pay for it.

If you take their first offer without a little investigative work, then you are losing the game. If you choose not to play the game, just remember they are still playing it, and you still lose. Most folks won't take the time to do a little research and just take the check and they know it. It pays well to check your rights in your particular area to see what you are entitled to.

 

[2018ExpyPlatinum]

They offered me $23,500 for my 2019 mint Platinum

Well, I don't feel bad at my $30K offer on my 2018 (pending mileage on both). Value is so low, it's almost not worth getting rid of.

 

[Benztech]

Having just gone through all this for my wife's Expy my takeaway is this: Take an average price of what equivalent optioned and mileage Expys near you, and see if the offer is reasonable. It might never seem to be a great offer because of personal time and emotion invested in the car but you shouldn't walk away feeling ripped off. My insurance company (Erie) used a third party for the report. Based on what I thought was fair price there were higher and lower values on the report (8 cars in total). They did not use the three cheapest for their offer in my case. I felt their offer was reasonable (not way off) but a little low and I explained why. They came up another $1500-2000 I believe. That was very fair for what listed vehicles were advertised for.