The dilemma with my truck continues, after being rear-ended on the highway, and having my frame bent, with no total. It's been back to the body shop 3 times already, and has had the frame bent twice, and 2 4-wheel alignments, and it's still not right.

To top it all off, while finally giving the frame a thorough once-over, I noticed a nice hole. It's only about 1cm long, occurs right on the lower corner of the frame rail, and looks to be the result of stress from the steel being bent.

I'm out of patience, and have no cash, being a student. I went in last night to see what I could get for a trade, and they only offered $2200, with a KBB trade-in value of $8000.... WHAT DO I DO???

 

Call your insurance and tell them what is going on, or have you done that already.

 

I had a problem with my insurance company a long time ago about repairs, I made a claim the the insurance comissioners office and within 3 days the insurance company called me and asked what they can do to make it right, they don't want black marks on there record either.
Mark

 

so what exactally is the problem here

 

I've contacted the insurance... They're not doing much for me...

Problems with Truck:
1. Strong tendency to drift right
2. Gas Mileage down
3. High-pitched whine-drone getting louder when driving
4. Brake problem (the calipers seem to stick now?)
5. Frame now has a noticable stress-hole
a. Can truck tow anymore? (I was planning on towing a Bobcat this weekend)
b. Can truck get a suspension lift kit, safely?
c. Are there more stress-holes, covered by the coating they sprayed on? It has been stretched twice....

 

I say wreck the SOB and then blame in on the insurance company for not totaling it since it can't be fixed correctly....

Ok Ok probably not the best option. I would hound the insurance company to make it right contact the Better Business Bureau most companies don't like to have those complaint records against them. You could try to talk to a lawyer but most likely that will just cost you more money than it's worth.

 

I like Marks idea, call the insurance co and threaten to take it to a higher level, calmly. Then follow thru. If there's stress cracks then the integrity of the frame is gone and safety is a factor.
Have another reputable shop look at it and give you a written statement.

 

yeah you gotta get on the horn to the insurance agency and take this up the chain. since the frame has been worked twice, and now there's what looks to be a stress crack/hole, something really has to be done. in my opinion it should be totaled out. if and when you call your insurance company, tell them about the stress crack in the frame. then express to them what it might be like if your frame cracked or broke while you were doing 70mph on the highway. i'm sure alluding to a multi-million dollar lawsuit would spark their interest and attention...

 

I don't see them totaling the truck... They've already put in about 5,000, plus car rentals, into it, and we still haven't even addressed the whining noises, which could be U-joints, could be rear end, could be transmission. I talked to the Adjuster today who tried giving me attitude. He know's i've been pushing for the total all along, and doesn't want to give it. I see them trying to avoid this entire frame issue completely....

 

well heres what you need to do!!!! go outside with a tape measure and measure the diamond of the truck. thats done by measuring from the left rear to the right front and from the right rear to the left front. possibly the whining noises are comming from the thrust bearing in the tranny which was caused by the the driveshaft getting shoved into the tranny. post me up a pic of the stress hole and ill tell you if its a problem (hole isnt a problem but i wanna see).
GAS MILEAGE = thrust bearing probably
BRAKE PROBLEM = i dont see that happening from the wreck
TRUCK CAN TOW
TRUCK CAN GET A SUSPENSION LIFT