Just really not my day today...

[Helltown]

Well.... *sigh* Went to the body shop today and got the final word on what needs fixed/replaced. The right side box panel, if we can find one, will be the cheapest thing to replace because it can't be banged out. Otherwise the entire bed needs replaced. As tempting as it is to go redneck and build a new bed out of 2x4's, it's never 100% sure that it'll pass the state inspection. Maine and the neighboring states all seem to have vehicle inspections designed to get older vehicles, like mine, off the road where they won't offend anyone's vision with their rust and miscellaneous cosmetic repairs under the guise of safety. So... I'll be checking eBay motors for parts and my auto body guy will be taking a look through his sources to find an F-150 right side box panel for an '86 that's rust free. Time frame for when it ultimately must be repaired by is February '09 when my inspection is due again.

 

My insurance isn't going to pay for squat because all I carry is liability, old truck == easily 'totalled' by insurance companies.

[kristof65]

My insurance isn't going to pay for squat because all I carry is liability, old truck == easily 'totalled' by insurance companies.

Any chance of getting anything out of his insurance? Or is that still up in the air?

[Helltown]

I'm going by town hall tomorrow to renew my registration and pick up a copy of the police report to see what's going on with that. I know that he's not a happy guy right now because by hitting me (his fault or not) his job is in jeopardy because he's a school bus driver, so I imagine that the insurance companies are going to have a slug fest. I don't think I'll be getting anything from his insurance because of where they'll assign alleged fault (because I was backing into traffic, it'll probably be my fault) if they assign it at all. He's got comprehensive, I don't. I highly doubt that Geico (his insurance) would see fit to fix my truck if it were his fault, old vehicle n' all. The labor costs for repairing it would be likely more than the truck is worth despite it being in really great shape before the accident.

 

Searching for the replacement panel, there's one on eBay that'll fit plus JC Whitney manufactures replacement panels as well so... there is hope still for my truck to be all purdy again (I know they make replacement fender wells already because well... the guy destroyed one). So on the agenda tomorrow is swinging by the auto body place with the sources available for replacements and get a labor quote.

[wildbill]

Don't discount LMC Truck. They have a ton of parts for Fords as well.

 

I'm sorry to hear that you will most likely have to pay for this out of pocket. That sucks.

 

Wild Bill

[pferdundvogel]

I'm sorry to read about your accident. I have a lot of experience in the autobody repair field (mostly my own because of accidents). Have you thought about some of your local junk yards? If you can locate a truck that has front end damage, you "may" run into minor scratches at the front of the panel but otherwise straight. And I do hate to tell you, but usually if there were no tickets issued at the time of the accident, there won't be any. The officer I would assume deemed the other party at fault for speeding, and you at fault for not yeilding to on coming traffic ( My own exceedingly frustrating experience) Good luck with your search I know it will be a difficult one.

 

~P&V~

[Helltown]

The auto body repair shop is calling all the local junk yards (all three of them) to see if they've got any dead trucks, but I'm not holding my breath about them turning up a rust-free panel. It's not the dings and dents that keeps me looking for shiny new parts, it's rust. The poor truck is 22 years old, rust is a big problem on older vehicles up here and I've already replaced the fender wells once. A new part will likely last longer than a junkyard replacement, and honestly... Rust will take the truck off the road well before anything else mechanically so the better the replacement body pieces are, the longer my silly, red truck stays on the road (and through the occasional mud puddle).

[Kheprera]

See if there are any Texas junkyards (central Texas is best) to find some F150 parts. Rust is relatively low in these parts (not near the coast, though) and there are so many trucks around here that when my 1986 F150XL was totaled I got $2500 for it, and that was in 2000. You might be able to find the panel you're looking for and shipping may add some cost, but it should be better than nothing, right?

[Zinzig]

When converting an older dodge from power windows to manual crank I used http://www.car-part.com/ to find the window regulators. Doing a quick search for an 86 ford bed, can't really tell in picture if it's a 6.75 or 8 foot bed, but a full bed can be had for a couple hundred bucks. Of course, there aren't many up north (found two in CT), but maybe you can get one from a local yard for a good price. I think the biggest problem you will run into is getting the part from it's current location to where you are, but there are quite a few out there.

 

If the gate works and the taillight is intact...I'd probably shove a car jack into the fenderwell and push the sheetmetal back over the wheel and call it done. It's an old truck, a couple dents just add character

 

Any thoughts of going to a wooden flatbed? Couldn't find any links and you'd have to find out the inspection laws for the lights, rear bumper, gas tank, etc. but it's always another option.

 

-Z

[Helltown]

Well... today the insurance adjusters crawled out of the woodwork and I've determined a few things:

 

1) Geico has some awesome folks working there, the adjuster that called me from them not only took a recorded statement asking for my side of the accident but also informed me of something I didn't know... that I could file a claim against his insurance policy. Almost 12 years since my first accident (an argument with a telephone pole so obviously that wasn't a claim thing, but a ticket thing), so I had (and still pretty much have) no clue how these things work. I had called Geico to let them know one of their policy holders hit me, that was it. Filed a claim against him, and I should know next week how much I'm at fault for the accident.

 

2) Geico will pay to fix my truck if I'm found to be less than 50 percent liable for the accident, which is a slim chance but still a chance to get the truck properly repaired sooner rather than later

 

3) My insurance adjuster called and rattled off what the other driver told them on his claim, which was a lie. He said that I hit him, which if I had I don't think I would've ended up parallel to my driveway (dunno, minimal experience with accidents n' all). I told my side again, but this time the guy from my insurance company was pretty much 'So? You were backing up, it's your fault.' I'll be switching insurance companies when this policy runs out, probably to Geico.

 

Zinzig: I can't put the jack in wheel well and push it out unfortunately because it's flattened (the wheel well that is). The floor of the bed is bent up, the gate is questionable for normal operation because the side panel is bashed in bad enough that the hinge point is well... it's not sitting properly. Maine's state inspection guidelines are hairy enough to navigate through with an old truck, enough so that I'd like to keep as close to what the truck is supposed to look like as possible. Finding a bed in a junkyard in decent enough shape that will fit my truck (the last year of that body style) is difficult to impossible. Those phone calls took the better part of yesterday to make and there's one and the yard says that 'It needs a few dents banged out on the passenger side of it'. So I went and looked, I told them thanks but no thanks, passenger side is the problem with mine right now and the one I looked at was worse.

[kristof65]

3) My insurance adjuster called and rattled off what the other driver told them on his claim, which was a lie. He said that I hit him, which if I had I don't think I would've ended up parallel to my driveway (dunno, minimal experience with accidents n' all).

 

umm, given the picture of your truck, there is no way in H-E-Double Hockey Sticks that you hit him, unless you can somehow drive your truck sideways.

 

Pulled out in front of him - yes. But who's at fault comes down to why you pulled out in front of him, and why he didn't see you before hitting you, and what he did to try and avoide the accident. First glance - you pulled out in front of him, it's your fault. And in some states, that's just the way it is, regardless of other circumstances.

 

But there are a lot of other factors involved.

 

- How fast was he going?

- Did he even try and stop?

- Are there visual obstructions that may have contributed to one or both of you not seeing each other?

- What were you doing right before and while you backed out.

- What was he doing at the time?

- Was he coming from straight down the street, or did he turn off of a nearby side street?

- What street signs are nearby - did he run a stop sign right before hitting you.

 

This is very important - keep your story straight - be honest, don't embellish - at this point, you're probably already considered at fault, so you have nothing to lose by being honest. However, if the accident is in anyway his fault and since his job may be on the line as well, he has everything to lose by being honest. You can use this to your advantage if he lies. All you have to do is draw attention to any lies he tells. The more he lies, the more likely he's going to get caught up in them, and the more your side of the story is going to be beleived.

 

I had a similar accident, where I pulled out in front of a speeding van that went on to hit 3 parked cars in a mall parking lot. I didn't get a ticket because it was on private property, and the insurance companies weren't interested in the fact that he was speeding and may not have had his lights on, because I pulled out in front of him. However, he or his insurance agent made a major mistake - they told my insurance company he couldn't speak English. When the adjuster from my insurance company mentioned that she had to talk to him through a translator, I told her bullcrap, he was speaking good english the night of the accident to both me and the mall security guard. Once she caught him in that lie, she used it as leverage against his insurance company, and they finally agreed to split the claim.

[Helltown]

Well... my lousy insurance company has decided to just pay for it and not investigate the accident at all. Thus making my claim against the guy that hit me is gone, done, and over with. So.... onwards with saving the money to repair my truck on my own.

 

Which is going to be fun because my April Fool's present from the truck was that it ran smoothly long enough for me to shell out the money to renew it's registration, put the new stickers on it, and then... not start.

 

One thing after another, after another. YAY ME! I'm still kickin' (just not with my left foot because my left foot is attached to a gimpy knee)!

 

That's all that matters right?

[Rastl]

Can't you take him to civil court? Just because your insurance company said they would pay doesn't mean that you agreed to it.