ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: nvbigblue on April 16, 2010, 08:36:50 PM
-
Mods.... feel free to move this if needed...
.... at least I have some now...
On another forum I was expounding on the reliability of my blue '93 Tracker. I guess I made the gods angry or something.... because on Wednesday....
(http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/oo127/nvbigblue/Tracker%20Crash/IMG_0188640x480.jpg)
(http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/oo127/nvbigblue/IMG_0190640x480.jpg)
(http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/oo127/nvbigblue/IMG_0191640x480.jpg)
(http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/oo127/nvbigblue/IMG_0194640x480.jpg)
(http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/oo127/nvbigblue/IMG_0193640x480.jpg)
(http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/oo127/nvbigblue/IMG_0192640x480.jpg)
A pretty good study in the transfer of energy from one vehicle (3/4 ton Chevy van) and my tracker. I was headed the other way (about 25mph) across the intersection when he hit me (35mph+) from the right. Stopped my tracker dead and spun me a little over 180 degrees. Spun me so fast, the rear of my truck hit the side of the van between the door and the rear tire.
As you can see, the frame is bent. Broke the engine and transmission mounts. And something is way broke in the tranny. When my truck finally stopped moving and I got my senses back, the engine was running wide open in 3rd gear..... and my feet weren't touching any pedals :o ....
Pretty sore, but nothing broke so that's good. I'm working with his insurance now, so we'll see what they want to do....
I'll take more pics once I get the truck home.
WEAR YOUR SEAT BELTS!! And be safe out there.
I miss my truck :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
NV
-
wow sorry to hear that!! glad you are ok tho, nothing, not even a tracker or sidekick or sammy is worth a life... keep us updated!
-
Dang, I feel your pain buddy :'( glad you're ok
Seatbelts work!
-
Ask them to fix it. :P
Glad to hear your all right though.
-
Did you get a police report? Who's at fault, assuming you don't live in a Communist no fault state like NJ. Don't you hurt somewhere? Sue the bitch!
-
Oh my!!!! So glad you are OK!!! That's scary! I hate to think how bad it coulda been if he'd hit you a foot or two back farther, like in the door. That's not the one you rebuilt the motor in is it?
-
Well... it's been a couple of days now. I'm still sore in a few spots, and I've got bruises showing up in weird places, but I feel a lot better.
Police report should be ready on Monday. His insurance is having a 'hard time' contacting him.... I'm getting a copy of the report faxing it to them as soon as I can. He was cited for something, failure to obey traffic device, or failure to yield or something. The cops spent10 minutes yelling at him about how even if he has a green light, he STILL HAS TO WAIT for traffic to clear the intersection. I spoke with the tow yard owner..... and he's pretty cool with everything. Once the other guys insurance pays the first tow bill... he'll let it sit until either they tow it to my house or I can tow it home. Charging them for storage of course.... but not me ;D
A bunch of people have said I should go after the guy in court... but I'm not into the sue happy thing.... i just want my DR bills paid, a reasonable amount for damages to my truck.... and my frickin' truck back.... The guy made a mistake... hopefully he'll learn from it.
You know what's odd is that even though I was wearing my seat belt.... I don't think it really worked as designed. I think because of the way I was hit, the locking mechanism didn't work as designed....because when the truck stopped moving, my butt was in one seat, and my torso was fully on the passenger seat. I've got bruises on my hips from the belt, but nothing on my neck or chest.
No, it's not the truck I'm housebuilding the engine in. But it was a really good truck. 27~30 mpg....
Oh well.... the engine for my '95 is about half way back together, so it won't be too long before I can drive that. :D for right now, I'm driving my Sammy.
Later,
NV
-
His insurance should pay your Dr. bills and pay to fix your truck, what will happen
in some cases is the insurance will call your vehicle a total loss, because it will cost
more to fix than it's worth (to them) and sometimes they will pay you for the car,
but they will want to give you "fair market value" which could be only $2000-3000
depending on the miles, year and condition of your vehicle, you should consult kbb.com
for a market value for your truck, and use private party sale, not dealer trade in value.
They will sometimes allow you to buy your vehicle back, at a significant discount from
what they paid you, but you need to decide if you are ok with what they are willing
to settle for, if not you might want to get a replacement truck. work this out with the
adjuster before you make any decisions, and don't agree with any terms they offer you
until you "consult" with someone else, leave them hanging so to speak, do your own
research and get back to them, you have the control here, they are the responsible ones
because of their client's negligence, and don't let them forget it.
If you cannot come to an agreement, that's when a lawsuit and court get's involved, if your
insurance Co. won't do anything about it, call an ambulance chasing attorney like Larry Parker
or who ever you want, you are libel to get more for the pain and suffering as well as your
loss of the truck and work time, and it's amazing how an attorney's letter gets the insurance
Co. to change their tune and meet your demands, and you might just get more out of the
insurance by going through with the law suit, your attorney can advise you of the best course
of action, and they usually will do it for free, and take their fee after the settlement, find out
how much that will be, and factor that into the total of what you stand to gain, you could get
15K out of this, maybe more, you just have to see what they can do for you.
Good Luck, glad you are OK
Wild
-
sad to see a rig get screwed up like that, BUT there is a good side here that you can look at. You're alive and I'm guessing because you've posted it, that you didnt get ripped up too badly. sounds like the tracker is a parts donor now though, sadly.
-
If the do total it out you may be able to by it back cheap or buy it from the junk yard the insurance sells it too. Don't know if you did much in the way of mods, but if you did you should look into it. I would bet that they will total it because of it's age and cost.
I have thought that if I took a hit like that one I would probably start stripping parts of it then and there.
Really sorry for your loss.
-
Thanks for the condolences on the loss of my truck. :)
I'm felling pretty good, and have been back to work for a while now. The guy's insurance finally decided that he was at fault (mostly due to the 4 police witness reports that all said the same thing..... he ran the red light and hit me).
Truck was totaled out. And I settled up with the damage adjuster. A little bit of haggling, but they came in above what I wanted for it, so yay for me. Decent enough guy really. He even gave the truck credit for having "two-tone paint" (my truck bed liner spray job... hehe) I did buy it back. A little more expensive than it could have been, but given that I have a couple of these trucks that I can use parts on, I guess $125 wasn't too bad of a deal ;D They delivered it back to my house yesterday, but I haven't had time to really look at it good. I'll dig into it this weekend and take some pics.
Still working with the other adjuster for medical, loss of wages, inconvenience, etc., but they seem to be decent so far. i really hope that keeps up.... I hate working with lawyers....
The good news is that my '95 is almost all back together, and should be running this weekend..... so hopefully back in a tracker on Monday!
Later,
NV
-
Glad to hear that you came out so well in the buy back. 125 would cover my battery. ;)
-
be careful, my wife got rear ended a few years ago and her pain did not show up for a few months.
-
Always keep your options open. But I know you are wanting to get your rig back on the road.