Good Afternoon. My 1999 Ford F-150 was damaged by a hail storm. I have 4 estimates and all are in the $4,500 dollar range after deductible. The question is this. The truck has 170,000 miles and a market value less than repair costs. I like the vehicle and am reluctant to spend a bunch of money on a new vehicle. Given that I like the truck, that it runs pretty good, it costs me about $1,700 per year in repairs and maintenance, is it worth dumping the $4,500 into a fourteen year old truck? Thanks.
If the truck is drivable, I would have any broken glass replaced and drive on. Hail dents won’t hurt the gas mileage. If you can get a settlement from the insurance company that nets you a little money for your loss, invest the money in savings for a new or newer truck when your present truck finally quits.
Agree with Triedaq, at that age and mileage, who cares what it looks like. Repair any glass, and drive it 'till the wheels fall off.
Did any of the estimates include the Paintless Dent Removal (PDR) repair method? It would be good to know if this can save some money.
I had the paintless folks fix mine. Total cost to the insurance company was about $1100 for 21 plus dings. Did a great job but they all have different skills. If your estimate didn’t include this option then its something to look at.
While from a practical standpoint, the folks above are correct that it makes no sense to fix it, but I had a girl park next to me today with hail damage, and I would have a hard time continuing to drive something like that. Isn’t this covered by insurance? If they are willing to pay to fix it and not total it out, that’s what I would do. If not and if it were me, I’d replace the bolt on parts like hood, fenders, etc. and polish up my body and paint skills. Since high school, I’ve never driven a damaged or rusted car, so it wouldn’t be something I’d do. Pride is pride.
Some years back, I had a friend whose car was badly damaged by hail. The hood, top and trunk received the dents. The insurance company wanted to total the car and she was certain she couldn’t find a car as good. I made the following suggestion–replace the hood and trunk with used parts and put on a vinyl roof. She suggested that to her insurance company and they went along with it. This was in the days when vinyl tops were popular. Maybe you could apply the same method to your pickup truck. You could have the only 1999 Ford F-150 on the road with a vinyl top. In fact, you might even start a new fad. I don’t know if there are any trim shops left, however, that install vinyl tops.
I’ve always hated vynal tops. I’d rather look at the dents! 
For all the right reasons nobody repairs (vehicle owners) like yours. Make it safe and legal. If you do decide to turn this into your insurance carrier they will total the truck.
At 170,000 miles, it isn’t worth it to fix the body. Get the glass done if it is damaged.
Depends on how much damage you’re talking about.
If your headlights and tail lights and windows have all been destroyed, and your interior was soaked with rain water, you might have a hard time fixing the car up to drivable condition without totaling the car.
If it’s all just body damage to a pickup truck, replace the hood, maybe the fenders if they are really bad, and have PDR done to the biggest dents on the roof of the car.
I’ve seen new car dealers trying to sell hail damaged $32k sports cars at full cost, and they don’t like it when I point out the hail damage on the car, even though they’ve done their best to hide all the damage.
BC.
Thank you to each of you who responded. Aside from the "emotional’ attachment, I can live with the truck for another year until I can pay cash for a decent used truck.