Wahhh- Our truck is wrecked!

[Aggie_Ama]

On Friday morning my DH had a wreck in our beloved truck Gunther. It was one of those wrecks where he is at fault on paper but it wasn't something he could avoid. A lady two cars up slammed on her brakes in 60 mph traffic and came to a complete stop. DH doesn't tailgate but didn't have time to stop before hitting the truck behind her. He was then rear-ended. *Sigh* Gunther was getting close to paided off and I was envisioning all the things we could buy (new bikes) when we didn't have that extra car payment.

[Tri Girl]

OH NO!!!
It's a terrible thing to lose a car.

I'm so sorry that Gunther is a total loss. If you get the insurance money you could buy a car that costs just that amount (maybe a smidge more) and still have extra money each month to buy bike things (sorry- I'm always trying to sneak bike things into the budget ).

R.I.P. Gunther

[Kathi]

I went through the same thing with my Honda CRV 2 weeks ago except we hit a deer. We were in Lovell, Wy. The radiator was damaged so I couldn't drive it home. It had to stay in Powell, Wy to get fixed. There was $5,000 worth of damage and fortunately the insurance co. covered it less my deductable. They gave me $40.00 a day for a rental car and a $100 emergency money to cover gas and motel expenses.

We picked her up this weekend and on the way home yesterday we were almost involved in the same type of accident as yours. There was a major traffic slowdown on the interstate due to a grass fire. You could see the emergency vehicles and stopped traffic a good distance away. We and the car next to us were slowing down to stop when all of a sudden the car next to us veared off to the left onto the median. The woman behind him didn't see the slowdown and by the time she hit her brakes she to was close to avoid him. If he hadn't gone off the road she would have creamed him and probably gotten us too. When her car finally stopped her brakes were smoking.

I plan to have my car paid off by Dec. and hope to have many happy years with her before I fork out the money for a new one.

[Mr. Bloom]

this is silver, on Mr's computer.....


We so feel your pain. I'm so sorry that Gunther has been lost....is it for sure that he will be totaled out?

We had a car like that. We still mourn it's loss. It was a Mazda Millenia. Similar situation. Mr. slowed down and stopped in traffic at a traffic light but the teenager behind him didn't.

[Aggie_Ama]

Well, we are still waiting for an adjuster to look at the truck. The steering wheel bent and will need to be replaced, both fenders, the radiator, the hood and grill. You cannot open the passenger door either. We also think there is more damage under the hood.

It is a 2004, so it will take like $10k to total it but I think that is possible. My dad thinks it is repairable, but my brother (who spent a little time working in a body shop) says he would bet on it being totaled. Being repairable will cost us $600 (deductible and towing) plus drive down the resell value. It is a lose-lose situation. BUT my husband was not hurt and that I am thankful for. Poor Gunther I will miss.

TriGirl- This was the only new car DH has had and he doesn't want a used car. How convenient that would be, but he wants another new truck. Can't say I blame him.

[KnottedYet]

Poor Gunther.

[Kathi]

What's the current value of the truck? In excellent condition Blue Book value of my CRV is $23,000 so thankfully the insurance company didn't total it. My damage was to the radiator, AC fan, drivers side panel, front grill, minor damage to the driver door, bumper, a laundry list of clips, headlight, small parts etc.

In Wyoming the body shop is required to use original manufacturer parts which is not required in Colorado. That means they are not allowed to go to a junk yard and find parts off of a junk vehicle or use after market parts.

This is first my new car in over 25 years and it is the second time that it has been damaged. The first time I hadn't made my second car payment and some guy in the Keystone Ski area parking lot took a short cut through the lot, turned too sharp and scraped my bumper. Fortunately, we were standing by the car when he did it and he payed for a new bumper.

The interesting thing is we didn't realize we hit the deer. Neither one of us saw it, we felt no impact and only stopped because we saw parts of my car flying. We got out of the car and followed the trail of plastic and found the deer in the ditch on the other side of the road. Sadly, it was gone.

I worked closely with my insurance co. and my adjuster has been very helpful and supportive. Hopefully, yours will be also.

[Hub]

Poor Gunther, poor Gunther's parents. I have an emotional relationship with everything that has a transmission, so I feel your pain.

sniff

[Brandi]

I am sorry for your loss! But at the same time I am really glad your husband was ok!

[cosc]

So sorry for Gunther's big bump in the road. I hope you find a reasonable resolution that won't cost you a arm and leg and new bike stuff.

[Aggie_Ama]

We ended up having a somewhat good outcome. The insurance didn't chose to total it since it was only (roll eyes) $9300 of damage. But we were able to salvage it and pay it off. Then we got a brand new Dodge Quad Cab with all the bells and whistles for $15,000 off. Payment is only $30 more than we were paying but we will have a payment longer than we would have with Gunther. So it wasn't a total losing situation for us but it would be nice if it had never happened.

[LBTC]

Yay! The truck is *not* wrecked! I'm so glad it worked out. You'll be through those payments in no time and all will be well!


Hugs and butterflies,
~T~