Well, Been Nice Knowing you guys!...Sad Pics...

[RED MONSTER 4X4]

Well, lets hope I have a reason to stay for a few decades(fingers crossed)

As you know, with my posts and NOOB questions I got my first 4x4 and My first Suburban in February, and have been working on her bit by bit since!
Well today is Bitter Sweet. I had a kid in A Corolla Run a red light and smash in to my passenger side......The entire Passenger side......Bumper to bumper.
what makes it worse is I had my 8m old son in the center row center seat....As crappy as all of this sounds,I could not be happier! This Suburban gobbled up the Corolla like Breakfast! when he hit me in the intersection we were both going about 35mph. he was perhaps a bit slower, he hit my front bumper just barely but the brunt of the hit was almost dead center on my front tire and rim, hitting a 5400lb suburban with an 2300lb Corolla meant he stopped on impact, but I was still going, long story short I took off his front end, and he dragged his carcass across my entire passenger side. NO bueno! the baby and me were 100% okay and honestly, had it not been for me seeing him hit me and hearing the carnage, the Suburban barely flinched! It was as if I hit a pothole at best, and after the explosion of expletives from my mouth, My Son actually looked at me and laughed, CLEARLY un-phased! hahah! I love this kid.

Anyhow I owe my life and my son's to this truck now! had I been in my Dodge Avenger or other passenger car, we would not be nearly as lucky! I count my blessings tonight. things could have been a whole lot worse.

So the truck fared Exceptionally well! With exception of dents to the lower portion of the doors and fenders,and a damaged rear tire, He came out great! my alignment is off something fierce now, and I have fear that the entire front Differential was moved toward the drivers side a few inches(crap!) I was able to drive The monster home at freeway speeds. Below are some pics of the damage....What do u think? All parties are insured, and I plan on getting it fixed. I just hope they do not Total the truck.....I fell in love with it. and i enjoy this board, so yah! lol lets hope all goes well and i can stick around....

My Alignment now...

 

[Cruz89K5]

Looks very fixable to me. Take it somewhere that does alignments and have them assess the damage and go from there. The body damage looks minimal.

Glad you and your kid weren't injured!

 

[RED MONSTER 4X4]

Well When i say total it, i just mean real value of the truck VS repair costs, and IF the front end is tweeked, I can easily see a repair costing more than this 21 year old truck is worth. I may just have them total it, and keep the truck as salvage title and take the rest of the money & fix it myself...

the passenger rear door is wonky now, needs to be re adjusted , several metal rips in the doors too. Who knows! we shal see when i get it looked at. Crossing fingers.

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

That's nuthin'... stop cryin', and fix the damned thing.

 

[RED MONSTER 4X4]

That's nuthin'... stop cryin', and fix the damned thing.

Hahahah! in process! No crying. I have been bragging all day that my Suburban had a Corolla for lunch! and how I took off his front end LOL.A real Testament to the quality of this truck! Flint Michigan Baby!

I am planning to have stickers made of a small toyota logo for my fender, like the bombers did in wwii lol! any time I hit or get hit and survive, a new sticker goes on.

 

[y5mgisi]

That's nuthin'... stop cryin', and fix the damned thing.

What he said! Dont be cry baby! FIX IT! Else ship it to me and i'll drive the piss out of it!

 

[y5mgisi]

Anyway, i say chances are good that maybe you sheared a centering pin in the passenger leaf. Aside from that you have some cosmetics to deal with. I would be shocked if they total it. Besides, cant you say, "too bad i want it fixed" if they say they want to total it? Pretty sure you can but you have to file for reconstructed title.

 

[rampage]

I have a feeling he was going a lot slower than 35 when he hit you.

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

Prolly ~35....

Corolla's safety bumpers are designed to deflect the force, in a downward motion.
I hate knowing that.

 

[colbystephens]

I could see it being totalled, but I also suspect that you could buy the truck back and parts to fix it and still be ahead if it is totalled. The fender looks easily repairable by a decent body shop, and the doors could just be replaced. Is the rocker OK? Doesn't look like it got hammered, from the pics. The steering is probably a bent tie rod, which you can replace with a big ol' beefy one from ORD or a build-your-own beefy one from ruffstuffspectialties.

Crumple zones or not, I think you're pretty safe in one of those things. I learned a while back that even if something gets excellent safety ratings, they're only ratings for a vehicle in its class. So, a highly rated small car doesn't mean you'll be safe from an impact with a Suburban.

 

[Fordum]

Well, I hate to tell you this, but from years of experience trying to fix wreck damage, its ruined.
No matter what you do, it will never be safe to run on the highway again.......




The tire that is.

The truck should be fine.
But once you put a cut that deep in the sidewall, its just not safe anymore.

 

[Russell]

I must admit -- When I saw the picture of the car, then saw the picture of the damage to your Suburban, I definitely had a little chuckle :P Thing barely even scratched your truck, LOL

 

[63chevyll]

Glad your both ok.

I would get abfew estimates to get the body back to how you like it. Only because yours is so nice I would fix it. Maybe some extra $$$ and you can get a little lift kit.

Take a look at both front shackles and see if they are at same angle. That would be a good indication of front frame. Then take a close look at u bolts and front axle to see if it had moved.

 

[4xcrazy]

I get more damage than that when I go off roading.. :-/

 

[ktmoutfront]

Time for tube doors and massive rocker sliders.

 

[RED MONSTER 4X4]

Bahah!!!! all great responses! @Fordum yeah that tire is done! a shame too the tread is still like 80% on all 4 tires. @Russell, totally I had to kinda hold in the chuckle myself when i saw his front end and the "minimal" damage the suburban took,I told him he picked the wrong damn truck to slam in to that is for sure, next time aim for a Ranger or Tacoma heheh. I love this tuck THAT MUCH MORE now! hahah! @63chevyll i would like to Raise it just enough to fit 37's but in reality, i'll keep it where it is, it is plenty big, plenty of clearance, a good balance,it is a pain in the ass to get in already haha! @colbystephens&@y5mgisi If they do Total it out, I think I will buy it back from them, that is part of the plan anyway, Salvage title is Okay with me, I was gonna hand it down to my son in 16 years anyway hahaha! The frame & rockers look fine, he hit almost dead center on my passenger front wheel. Taking it for an inspection in about an hour see what happens then! @4xcrazy-- I know right! I have yet to take him on a proper 4x4 adventure and if i dent it 4x4ing it is on MY TERMS!!! hahah!.

 

[str8axle55]

My Burb looked worse than that when my father sideswiped a pole in a paring lot @ 2 mph. Get it fixed and drive it, or sell it to me.

 

[Jessie James]

Here's a few things to think of:

1. If you get quotes from shops, be SURE to tell them to give you a discount or whatever, explaining that if the quotes are too high the insurance company will total the truck and you won't be able to get it fixed. Don't get any sky high estimates.

2. Pick and choose what you want fixed. If I were you, I'd get the suspension bits fixed, maybe a pair of new tires up front (same size to save you differential), and get the door aligned. To get the doors fixed may boost the price too high, so be prepared to skip it.

3. Keep NOTES of the date, time, phone number, name of person, what they said, what you said, and any other details for every time you speak with your insurance company. Don't make it obvious you are writing/typing up the notes, so be brief. If your insurance company starts to dick you around just let them keep digging their own grave. The goal here is in 3 months to be able to say "Well, on 6-25-12 I spoke with Margie and she said you'd cover $4200 of repairs and not total my truck. Then on 7-1-12 Mark said you'd cover $5k for repairs and injuries. Then on 7-19 Steve said you'd only pay $3k. I'm sick of getting played here and I am thinking of taking my 10 pages of notes to the state Insurance Commissioners office [if you have one - JJ]." Once you mention the IC office and all your notes, they'll likely poop themselves and offer you a sweet settlement.

 

[mwood1985]

keep in mind she totalled a car and bearly got her paint scratched haha now thats a Heavy Chevy

 

[RED MONSTER 4X4]

HAHA yeah! exactly! @MWOOD1985

*****UPDATE*****
Well, it does not look good. The guy at the barely looked at it and said it will probably be totaled.Bummer, i will have to wait 1-2 days for the full inspection, if the front end(axle etc is not off center and it is just an alignment, I am going to just keep it. and use the the remainder of the money on the repair.