Please help guys, I've been in an accident

[bajaexpy]

I was hit recently when a lady ran a red light. I have a prerunner bumper on my expedition and that is where she hit. It totalled her dodge neon and shoved my bumper into the grill. It didn't penetrate into the radiator but it was close. I had a body shop come look at it and the guy said the frame may be bent and the hood and panels above the wheel well are definietly out of alignment. So possibly the whole front end is misaligned including the frame. This is tearing me up inside, guys. My first truck, bought with all my own money. I've dumped money into it and spent hours and hours on maintenance and cleaning it. Always drove very cautious and I still end up getting hit. My intentions were to keep it forever, eventually dropping a new motor into it. I'm honestly devestated right now, I love my truck. And I couldn't imagine parting with it, but will it ever be the same if the frame is bent?

 

[98EBEXPY]

ya i had to have the horns pulled back down and some welding upfront and it still drives the same and feels the same

 

[KWT2000]

don't sweat it till the body shop gives you an estimate and see what the insurance says...

probly not all that bad.. and some shops will use used parts to keep the cost down so it don't get totaled

 

[panda24619]

the horns would have to be bent back down and the whole frame pulled back to normal. can be done though.

 

[KWT2000]

post a couple pictures will gives us a better idea

 

[bajaexpy]

Heres a couple pictures, guys. The frame is not visibly bent that I can see, maybe slightly off, though. Is my truck going to get a salvage title? And how can I avoid that? Not that I want to sell it, I just don't want a salvage title on it.

 

[panda24619]

thats a nice, was a nice expo. salvage happens when the damage goes over 75% of your vehicles worth. it dosent look that much. are sure the frame is damaged? it just looks like the bumper broke off. and on the first pic it looks like it has a sad face.

 

[bajaexpy]

thats a nice, was a nice expo. salvage happens when the damage goes over 75% of your vehicles worth. it dosent look that much. are sure the frame is damaged? it just looks like the bumper broke off. and on the first pic it looks like it has a sad face.

I honestly don't think the frame is bent. The guy from the shop said it could be bent and they'd have to take it in to tell for sure. The welds on the bumper just half broke.

Okay, that's what I thought. On KBB it's worth about $2,800. Shouldn't be that much for grill, bumper, headlights, and aligning the hood. Yeah, It does look like that. I'm still so angry about this whole thing. This truck is my baby.

 

[tallsville]

in the pics it looks like you just need to pull the bumper off and get a new grille and front trim piece that goes around grille and lights. it looks like the bumper is holding the hood up.

 

[bajaexpy]

in the pics it looks like you just need to pull the bumper off and get a new grille and front trim piece that goes around grille and lights. it looks like the bumper is holding the hood up.

Yeah, the hood is out of alignment though I think. The frame looks perfect to me, the body guy said it could be bent though they'd have to take it to the shop to check. He said the damage really isn't bad. Could've been a lot worse. The car that hit me got totalled.

 

[panda24619]

yeah the frame dosnet look bent. but the bumper dosent look bent. just straighten it out. all you need is a new hood, grill, grill suround, and lights. shouldnt be too much.

 

[toms89]

Wow! Sorry to hear about that. Sucks when you put so much of your time and sweat and $$ into it and out of nowhere something like this happens. Sounds as if it can be fixed like new though.

All you can do now is try and stay positive and look forward to getting her repaired and maybe do some additional mods why your at it.

Looks like a nice expy! Do you have photos pre-accident??

 

[SOLISIMO]

I hate to be the bad guy but if the car is worth $2500 and even if there is no frame damage, based on those pics its close to being totaled. I mean when you look at parts, labor, paint, etc...

Even if it is salvaged who cares, your gonna keep the truck anyway. Look at it as a free make over where you can change somethings on someone elses coin.


btw, BAD ASS TRUCK

 

[Canadian Expy]

That sucks but I don't think it's that bad like everyone said new grill, bumper and lights, it should be like new. hopefully they don't write it off. I'm not sure how salvage titles work in your state but my uncle had to jump through hoops to get his ranger back on the road. My Expy rear ended a Toyota in the rain when my EX was driving it. the only problem I had was the support for the grill has a bend in it so the drives side light isn't as tight in the opening anymore. GOOD LUCK with it ,it looks like a sweet EXPY

 

[tonydiv]

Because of the age of the vehicle, the insurance company is probably going to request that the body shop use used parts if / where available. This will help keep the costs down.

Because the truck isn't stock, you may end up having to negotiate with the insurance company. If you tell the adjuster what you want to do from the get-go, they may be able to figure out a solution for you.

 

[Erich Zeppelin]

If you go through an insurance company, they will brand the title. The only way to avoid a salvaged title is to do the work yourself. I really wouldnt worry about a salvage title though, everyone knows that the insurance companies brand vehicles for very minor damage.

 

[nvycrmn]

hopefully it all works out bro. i would do like Tony said and talk to your adjuster and tell them what you would like to do...have it fixed without being totalled out. from the pics, nobody can really tell if the frame is bent or not, so let the body shop work that out. as for the front end parts, you can get the pretty cheap so shouldnt cost too much. i have extra headlights and corners in my garage back in iowa that i could send to you if you needed them, just pay for the shipping. if i had other parts, i would help you out but i do not unfortunately. just from the pics, suspension components didnt look bad so just a little cosmetic stuff which wont/shouldnt cost that much. just get the quote from the shop and let us know what they say. good luck bud.

 

[panda24619]

get a quote from them. and then do the work your self, as long as the supports rnt too bent. this really sucks man. but that was a nice tube bumper too, and it looks like it was built strong, just the welds didnt hold up very well.

 

[bajaexpy]

Thanks for all the support and advice guys. I didn't get the lady's information, wasn't sure if she was hurt or how bad so I just called the cops immediately. She only had minor injuries and the cops got all her info and filled a report. I'm currently waiting 5-7 days for a report. I filed a claim with my insurance co. and they are waiting on the report. I don't know what kind of statement she made and I don't think there were any witness reports. I don't have collision coverage, so I may have to fix it out of pocket anyway depending on the report. I was thinking of ordering new lights, a grill, and bumper and keeping the reciepts.

nvycrmn, that would be great if I could get a hold of some I could put them on and just drive in the mean time. I'm currently without a vehicle. I drove it home, but I lost a corner turn signal so I don't want to chance driving it more.

and panda, you're right. It was a very well built bumper. I was suprised how tough it was. My friend did the welds and I think they held up fairly good for the speed I got hit at. They only half broke on the impacted side.

 

[nvycrmn]

well if you need the lights baha, just let me know. i will call my wife back in iowa and see if she can set up some time to send them to you. you would have to pay for shipping though...