Death of an Explorer, 2013-2017

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 01/02/2018 at 13:48 • Filed to: None

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Yep, the verdict is in, my wife’s Explorer is officially scrap. It only took 5 weeks and three days for the insurance companies (yes, plural) to come to this conclusion. The body shop knew the day after I dropped it off.

What happened? Back in November, I was rear-ended while towing a u-haul trailer. I previously posted about it !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The force was focused through the trailer hitch, making for a single point of impact. As the hitch moved forward, it crumpled the floor pan and pulled both sides of the car inward. The shop said they would need to replace the floor from the front seats back, both sides would have to be realigned, a new quarter-panel was needed on the right side, the hatch would have to be replaced, and there may be hidden damage in the roof. They stopped writing after hitting $12,000 in repairs and that didn’t include any of the rear electronics which quit functioning.

So, why did it take so long for them to figure it out? Well, we were trying to keep the costs down by working directly with the other fellow’s insurance, The General. It was pretty clear who was at fault since the fellow who hit us received a citation. But The General started using delaying tactics - first they couldn’t get a copy of the police report (I provided them a link to download it themselves), then they had to wait for a physical copy of the police report (but they accepted the electronic copy I sent them via e-mail), then they couldn’t reach their insured by phone so they couldn’t accept liability until they reached their insured by certified mail. All the while, we were out a vehicle and they wouldn’t pay for a rental which we needed for holiday travel. That was the last straw. I contacted my own insurance company and filed a claim.

Now The General will face subrogation costs in addition to the full rental costs and the retail value of our Explorer. What’s that, you ask? Nearly $17,000.

It’s time for us to start shopping. Our rental runs out in about a week, so we have to have something in hand by then. My wife really, really wants her Explorer back. I told her we could either buy another one or a newer model, but she exclaimed, “It won’t be the same!” I’m thinking she might like one in red.

Textured Soy Protein > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/02/2018 at 13:52

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Every insurer wants you to work directly with them for claims where their insured is at fault, but as you’ve learned, it’s basically never in your interest to do that. Better to go through your own insurer who is more interested in taking care of their customer than worrying about keeping costs down on a claim that they’re subrogating.

jimz > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/02/2018 at 13:57

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you mean an insurance company which advertises via cheez-ball commercials on late-night TV might be a pain to work with?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2018 at 13:57

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The last time it was wrecked, we handled the entire claim  through the other insurance company and everything went fine. I think this is more a problem with a cut-rate insurance company than insurance companies in general.

Future next gen S2000 owner > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/02/2018 at 13:58

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I saw a Wrangler with a Viper motor in it........

TheRealBicycleBuck > jimz 01/02/2018 at 14:02

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Yeah. I’ve been tempted to start tweeting to Shaq about being a cut-rate insurance shill. 

Textured Soy Protein > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/02/2018 at 14:02

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My wife had her car get hit by someone while it was parked. No structural damage but needed new bumper cover and other cosmetic stuff. That person left a note and was insured by State Farm. Since they admitted fault, State Farm makes it very easy to work through them. I started the process through them but I did some more research since her car is leased and new, I wanted OE parts. State Farm doesn’t necessarily guarantee OE parts but our insurance through USAA does on cars that are less than 24 months old. So we subrogated the claim through USAA to make sure OE parts were used. Even if it’s some subtle thing like that, as long as you for sure know that the other driver is at fault (which you know is the case if you have a police report, even if their insurer dicks around with you) you’re better off subrogating.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Future next gen S2000 owner 01/02/2018 at 14:06

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I can’t have my wife driving a car that’s faster than mine! 

jimz > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/02/2018 at 14:07

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look at the up-side. at least they’re not your insurance company.

Cash Rewards > Textured Soy Protein 01/02/2018 at 14:08

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Yup. I had a hit and run where the other party had Geico. Body shop straight up told me to use my own USAA, since Geico would insist on non OE parts.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/02/2018 at 14:14

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Abarth 500 - completely like the Explorer in every way! Yup... >_> <_< >_>

TheRealBicycleBuck > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 01/02/2018 at 14:18

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Seating for seven?

Mercedes Streeter > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/02/2018 at 14:31

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Uh, two used Abarths? Seating for 8 baby!

TheRealBicycleBuck > Mercedes Streeter 01/02/2018 at 14:42

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We have enough drivers, but my wife likes to nap on trips and I’m not putting my teenager behind the wheel of a performance car, no matter how slow it really is. Think of the insurance!

OPPOsaurus WRX > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/02/2018 at 15:02

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maybe you guys should just take up walking. You’ve had shit luck with cars. Although when you inevitably get hit again, its gunna hurt worse

http://www.mortarinvestments.eu/products/armoured-vehicles-4/ot-62-topas—btr-50pk-b—284#currency=USD

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Mercedes Streeter 01/02/2018 at 15:08

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See? This gal gets it!

Mercedes Streeter > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/02/2018 at 15:15

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Oooohhh, perfect solution! One base 500 for the kid, one Abarth for you and wife! 

Or more logically, probably another 7 seater. Ecoboost Expedition?

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/02/2018 at 15:44

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I haven’t had to subrogate a claim. Last time I got smacked by someone was in my Mercedes E300, and they had Liberty Mutual. The only real dicking around they did was when they tried to claim to me that a Dodge Avenger was equivalent to an E-Klasse.

Yeah, no. They put me in a Crown Victoria instead (OK sure, most rental companies don’t keep Mercs and BMWs in the fleet).

Nationwide was good to me when I totalled that E-Klasse out in the rain. Fortunately, I didn’t hit anyone else, so it was just a one car accident.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Mercedes Streeter 01/02/2018 at 15:55

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I drove an Ecoboost Expedition as a rental for work. That thing was surprisingly peppy. It’s too big for my wife’s tastes. I think she’ll be happy with a new Explorer, but she really liked driving the rental Audi Q3 we had for a few days. It was just way too small for her needs. I’m thinking a lightly used Q7 might fit the bill.

TheRealBicycleBuck > OPPOsaurus WRX 01/02/2018 at 15:56

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Walking? That’s a bad idea. I’d rather have a few layers of steel between me and the offending car. The armored car idea isn’t bad....

TheRealBicycleBuck > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 01/02/2018 at 15:58

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Since the rental allowance under my insurance is only $30/day, I’m having to pay the extra out-of-pocket to keep my wife in a Grand Cherokee. They tell me we will be reimbursed for that and my deductible when they subrogate the claim, but I’m not holding my breath.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/02/2018 at 16:53

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Ford Bronco II.

xyzabc > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/03/2018 at 05:56

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Did she name it “Brad”?

TheRealBicycleBuck > xyzabc 01/03/2018 at 07:49

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She did not. She hates those commercials as much as I do.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/03/2018 at 09:10

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Just had similar problems through my parents. I’ll do a post today, my dad got hit head on by a drunk driver and totaled their 2015 Durango.

TheRealBicycleBuck > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 01/03/2018 at 09:14

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Everyone was ok, right?

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/03/2018 at 09:42

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probably should have included that, yes everyone is fine. my dad was sore from encountering about 4 airbags inside the truck but they all did his job and he had minor bruising and walked away fine. He was alone in the truck on the way to get us. Thankfully we had a lot of luggage and my mom wasn’t in the truck (there wasn’t going to be room for an extra passenger). Of course drunk guy went floppy on impact and had no injuries and was able to quickly start saying “No call police. No call police. I pay. I pay.” over and over again. Which was actually funny because it was recorded on my dad’s 911 call.

TheRealBicycleBuck > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 01/03/2018 at 09:45

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Anxiety abated. Now I’m looking forward to the full post.

xyzabc > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/03/2018 at 11:00

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So, no “happy dance”?

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/03/2018 at 11:12

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post is up:

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/2015-durango-totalled-no-injuries-1821738323?rev=1514995853721

TheRealBicycleBuck > xyzabc 01/03/2018 at 11:14

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Definitely no happy dance. She hates dealing with car salesmen. She hates having to search for and select a new car. She hates that we will be making payments on a new car when the old one was mostly paid off, yet she doesn’t want to consider a used car since we can never know its history. I even offered to go out and buy her the same year, make and model of Explorer, but that doesn’t make her happy either. Basically, she’s going to be unhappy no matter what. Perhaps in six months when everything settles down she will be ready to do a happy dance.

xyzabc > TheRealBicycleBuck 01/03/2018 at 18:18

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Think she maybe needs a “Snickers” bar...