Recently my 2006 F350 triton v10 automatic with shift on the fly and an attached gooseneck trailer which was hauling two antique tractors was stolen from my driveway. The truck was in 4WD low when it was stolen and was recovered in 4WD low about 50 miles from my home the next day. The thieves ran through a full 36 gallon tank of gas, eventually lost control (likely due to the large amounts of beer consumed), and ran the truck into a ditch. The truck pulled itself out but then went into limp mode after having suffered quite enough abuse. Rear leaf springs and the “ditched” running board were broken on the truck and there was some damage done to the trailer. Beyond the obvious, I’ve been having a devil of a time convincing my insurance adjuster that there has also been substantial damage done to my drivetrain, including front wheel bearings. What damage could one reasonably expect considering the level of abuse to my truck? There are metal filings in the front and rear differentials. P.S. The truck has 90K miles.
Unfortunately, your insurance adjuster’s job is to pay out as little money as possible
That said, I would document everything. Take pictures. Note the distance driven in 4LO.
Has your insurance adjuster actually come out to look at your truck? If not, urge him to do so.
If your insurance won’t do right by you, you might want to consider contacting a lawyer
If you somehow manage to extricate your self successfully from this mess, dump this insurance and get another. My insurance company would pay for the obvious then allow you an amount of time, up to two years, for possible related damage. See if they go for something like that. I would also get an afadavit from a Ford dealer outlining possible damage for such abuse. I like @db4690 great advice including contacting a lawyer. I do it all the time, but he’s my best friend and we do it over a beer. Others aren’t so lucky but it’s still absolutely worth it.
My friend bought a caprice classic 1989 model and restored it from top to bottom and spend many thousands on it. It got an accident and the insurance company totaled it and just gave a few hundred blue book value.
I don’t know anything about 4WD but this might be a case to just hire an adjuster to represent you on the whole thing. You don’t have to accept any offer they make and if you have justification can certainly go to arbitration or court on it.
As far as work on a classic, you need to inform the insurance agent of any work done as a classic and register it as such. Then you get a classic car policy. Otherwise its just a used car with good parts on it. A lot of us have been there where we have done substantial repairs, new tires, and so on and just get the standard value when someone ruins it.
No worrying about metal particles in your axle fluid; you’ll always find them. No damage to front wheel bearings either. I don’t know if you have CV joints on that model but if things still work you won’t get an insurance company to pay for new parts.
I would be concerned about damage to the engine. If the truck was run in 4WD low for 50 miles the engine must have just been screaming. I have seen damage done to stock engines that have been run with the accelerator 'matted" and it is not pretty.
The problem is now the truck is tainted. You will never be happy with the truck after this incident and I wouldn’t either. Who knows the level of abuse it was put thru. Just driving on pavement that long in 4 wheel drive can cause damage, let alone whatever else they did.
If my car ever gets stolen, I don’t want it back. Did they smoke in the truck? Smoke weed? Do heroin? Who knows. Its tainted, they could have murdered somebody in the truck for all we know.
I would try to get diminished value from insurance company and you will need to get a new truck to be happy.
You know what? I am getting very angry thinking about this. The truck is totaled. Period. They need to total it, You didn’t steal it and damage it, they did. Did they catch the thieve? Let the insurance company get the money out of the bonehead that stole it. You need a laywer, I would sue Sue SUE!
Where do you live? Indiana? Sounds like something that would happen 'round here.
I had a driver with a suspended license damage a 2 year old 9,000 dollar culvert (dont anybody give me any crap, its a 5 foot diameter, 40 foot long smooth walled culvert and the damaged section of pipe costs 3000 dollars alone not including labor. I have receipts so don’t anybody mouth me or give me the business),
, Luckily the truck was insured, but Im not sure if the trucks owners insurance will pay yet. My insurance paid me minus my deductible, which they will try to get out of the guilty parties insurance company. If they can not I will have to sue to get my money. Thats why I wanted to keep the truck as ransom, but the cop wouldn’t let me.
If My insurance doesn’t recover all of their money it will be considered a loss and My rates may go up. All because someone destroyed my property to no fault of my own. The f’in culvert is 30 feet off the road, and he took down two trees before he hit it. NOT MY FAULT. YOUR TRUCK GOT STOLEN, NOT YOUR FAULT. I don’t give a rip if you left your keys in it or what happened, maybe if the police did their job they would have pulled the drunk SOB over on his 50 mile joyride.
I hate Indiana. some of the most ignorant people in the country live here, if the SOB who hit my culvert could of ran he would have. He should have gotten hauled to jail but the cop didn’t even give him a ticket.
You need a laywer, I would sue Sue SUE!
Who is he going to sue?? And how do you sue someone who doesn’t have any money?
Not all states can you get insurance for uninsured motorist. So if you live in one of those states and something like this happens…you better have good collision or you’re SOL.
I would also have concerns about the engine; along with the transmission and possibly even the chassis of the truck seeing as how the rear springs were broken.
I would take what the insurance company is willing to give you and then turn around and sell it. I personally don’t have emotional attachment to cars, and if my car was ever stolen, I would have the insurance fix it or give me the money too, and then instantly turn around and sell it before the event shows up on the carfax report.
@BillyC I guess another reason to buy new or at the very least be very wary of a used car. So many people not changing their oil and so willing to pass off their problems on someone else rather than man up and take the hit themselves.
@Bing, if you are dealing with that type of situation, would you not act the same way?
Your truck gets stolen, insurance is unwilling to fix any problems that are not immediately present. You try every means necessary, but they are unwilling to budge. So you have to take what the insurance will fix, and when you get your truck back, wouldn’t you just sell it? What happens if you can’t afford to replace the transmission a few months later? Just sell it and be done with it.
If it makes you more comfortable, sell the truck. And get a new insurance company.
Nope, I wouldn’t just pass it on to someone else without saying something about it. I have sold good and bad but if its been bad, I always am truthful about what the problems were or are. What goes around comes around. Its called honesty and decency. I’d just rather take the hit myself than pass it on to some other unsuspecting buyer.
This truck should be totaled. Get a it all documented. The motor will be a problem from now on Driving a 4x4 on dry roads for 50 miles will damage the axles. They get real hot. Then you have the binding in the drive line. A lawyer maybe what you need to settle this. I am a Adjuster and I have to deal with desk adjusters all the time. Most have never pick up a body hammer. You would not believe what they try to tell me some days. I had a car not to long ago that had both rockers bent . IE car bent up at rockers. No way this car could be fixed. Also left fender and upper rail ripped off to cowl. I had write a complete estimate so he could see it would cost more to fix than it was worth. He tried to tell me it could be pulled and sill be safe.