And in an attempt to add to the insurance situation, this is what happened to
me.
I was rear ended in my 97 4x4 Dak by a Dodge Van, 8 months after I bought it.
He hit me at 55+ while I was sitting still. The total repair bill was $13,000.
After I got the truck back and was finally satisfied with the work, I called the
Insurance Adjuster and mentioned the little known words "LOST DEPRECIATION". He
acted like he didn't know anything about it at first, and then it dawned on him
that I was the State Law Enforcement Officer who had kept bugging the "you know
what" out of him wanting my truck repaired and repaired right, no short cuts.
I know here in Georgia, a victim of an accident is entitled to lost depreciation
for their vehicle. Meaning that the vehicle is not worth what it was before the
wreck. You would have to check with your local laws and insurance company to
see if it available to you.
In a nut shell, after all the repairs, and a rental car for almost 6 weeks (all
paid for by the other insurance company), I received a check for $1300 in the
mail 3 days later. I do not know what the actual formula is for calculating the
loss, but as you can see I got 10%.
When it was all over, they wound up paying out almost $17,000 and I still don't
know why they didn't total the truck. But if they had I would of lost money on
all the extras I had put into it, so I'm not complaining.
My biggest concern was any lost resale I would loose because of the wreck if I
ever traded it in. I checked with a buddy of mine at a dealership and found out
that the seller is "NOT" entitled to tell the dealership that the vehicle has
been wrecked (unless they ask you if it's been wrecked), but if the dealership
knows it's been wrecked, they are entitled to tell the buyer.
Just my 2 cents
Mel Janousek
97, 4x4, CC, 5.2, Auto
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