'97 Mountaineer - totaled!

[CDW6212R]

Did you mention to them that you may be interested in keeping the truck, for parts? It's always good to know what they'd take to let you keep it. If that was only $500-$750 say, then it would be better to keep it and salvage that much and more out of it.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I didn't, but the guy I talked to Friday obviously wasn't the guy to talk to about that anyway. That is an outside possibility, but depends a little bit on where the Mountaineer is now. They were anxious to get it out of the tow company's yard so the storage fees weren't adding up. The insurance auction co has 2 locations. One is only a couple of miles from my house. The other is about 20 miles away. It's probably at the 1st location, but I didn't ask. I actually thought they moved out of that location because I moved their copy machines from there to the other place a year or so ago, but the adjuster said they had the 2 locations and he didn't know which one it would go to.

 

[CDW6212R]

Often people will report their insurance experiences on the forums. It seems kind of common for the buy back cost to be under $1k, and often near $500, for these kinds of vehicles($2k-$5k values).

My dad actually did great three years ago with his car(hail damage). He had to give up about a $1k to keep his 2002 Cadillac, and he sold it to a neighbor for around $3k more than the insurance would have been($2k extra profit).

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Someone merged into the right front of my daughter's '02 Sable in Sept, shoving everything ahead of the front tire in several inches - not just the fender, but the entire inner structure as well. The car was totaled. State Farm offered $4200 or $4300 something, or $3750 and we keep the car. She never stopped driving it, and didn't want to be without it (she's 17), so we took the car and the cash, which was $550 more than we paid for it, and I thought I kind of overpaid. I put a mirror on, and managed to get a headlight back in it. In 3 weeks less time than my son has driven the Mountaineer 1236 miles, she's driven 9500. Always on the go, and almost always drives when she's out with friends.

 

[CDW6212R]

We'd be in trouble without our cars. Keep them pointed in the right direction.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

The girl from the insurance co called today. They looked at the $1150 in receipts I faxed them Friday, and added a whopping $78 to their offer. That did not go over well, to say the least! Then when she said the pictures showed it had rust, I totally lost it and started yelling at her. Very uncharacteristic of me! Fortunately, she stayed calm. There's no rust, just peeling of the clearcoat on the hood. We got past that and back to the tires. She said the tires and wheels added $28 to the value of the Mountaineer, and if I want them we'll revert back to the original offer of $2224 + tax and title, subtract $28 or thereabout, and I have to put tires back on it. AAHHRRGG! I wish the conversation would have started there! I have 3 decent tires on the "deer hoof" wheels from the '94 Ex that was hauled off last week. The right front tire on the wreck still held air when my son took pics at the scene, but is flat now, so there may only be 3 good tires and wheels there anyway. I suspect dragging it onto the flatbed popped the bead and may have messed up the wheel. Could also be the tire was punctured and just hadn't gone flat yet. That will still give us 7 matching rims and 5 tires I care to use. There are 2 tires on the "new" one I'd like to be rid of. I can live with that. Of course it's 20 miles away, and not at the location 2 miles away.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Taking a closer look at the 1st pic above, I see the tire is partially deflated, but still seated on the rim. That tire and rim are probably shot. That's what the adjuster thought too.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Got the 3 good tires and wheels swapped today. Much happier than I was yesterday! The 4th wheel looked ok, but the tire was shot. It probably would have been difficult to get off anyway, being shoved back into the wheel opening, and with that side so low to the ground I may not have been able to get a jack under it.

I also grabbed a few other little things since no one was watching - the jack (need the handle for my '01 Sport Trac), the cargo cover, and 3 of the 4 Mountaineer mud guards. The flat tire was up against the 4th one.

 

[CDW6212R]

Very good, you got what you could save from it.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Forgot to mention it is at the site 2 miles away after all. I was given the ph # for their office 20 miles away and assumed it was out there. Turns out they just have the yard here and the office is now at the other location, which is what I thought since I moved their copiers out there when they opened the 2nd location.

Since the Mounty is here locally I would think that increases the odds of it going to one of the local salvage yards. If it ends up at the one I frequent, I'll start another thread to let everyone here know. They get a lot of Explorers and Mountaineers. Their prices are very reasonable, and sometimes don't charge me for the little stuff. I'll go pull the parts anyone wants at no charge and just charge my cost and shipping. I paid just under $40 each for complete power leather seats, and $27.99 for a complete deluxe console, including a perfect lid, all from a '98 Ex since the 1st of the year. In fact, I saw the lid and figured I'd get it even though I didn't need it, decided I may as well take the whole console (figuring it would cost maybe $75). While I was taking the console out I noticed how comfy the seats were, which led to me getting the seats to go into my '02 Sport Trac. That led to........ one thing after another since.

Back to the Mounty - it would take a torch to get the hood open, and I wouldn't trust anything under there after the hit it took. The green leather interior is intact, but could be twisted. Front door panels could be tough to get out since the doors don't open all the way. The green carpet is faded and a bit stained, maybe a 6 or 7 out of 10. Anyway, if it ends up at Wrench n Go, I'll let you know.

Thanks for your encouragement and support!

 

[CDW6212R]

It sounds like you have plenty of cars/parts to choose from. Here some things are scarce, and I've been waiting for very odd things. I need a 99-02 Mustang SOHC auto for the wiring(all), headliners for a 93 and 98 Explorer, a rug for my 98 now that I've had an unknown leak, a red hatch from an 03-05 Sport, and a 95-97 Town Car with the memory seat/mirrors.

I hope you find plenty of good stuff for the new truck, I always did like going through the salvage yards.

 

[koda2000]

i might be interested in 4 Mountaineer hub caps (for alloy wheels as you pictured) if the price is right.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

i might be interested in 4 Mountaineer hub caps (for alloy wheels as you pictured) if the price is right.

I have the full set for the wheels shown on the wreck, plus extras. The Mounty I bought to replace this one has the same wheels (which was extra incentive to get these tires and wheels back), so I don't want to get rid of them all, but I'm sure I can come up with 4. The wheels are hard to come by, but the caps often end up inside the vehicle at the salvage yard. I bought extras a while back when I saw them just in case, and I've passed some up recently. Let me see how many I have and if I can find a receipt. They were dirt cheap.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I hope you find plenty of good stuff for the new truck, I always did like going through the salvage yards.

I already picked up a factory carpeted mat for the cargo area for the new one. Never knew they existed until recently - or didn't know what I was looking at. They're carpet on one side just like the interior, and rubber on the back side. They cover the cargo area between the wheelwells from the back seat to the hatch. I think they're intended to be used carpet side up, but could be flipped over. The carpet in the new one is so clean I'd hate to see it get messed up. The mat cost me $3.00, same as any floor mat!

 

[koda2000]

I have the full set for the wheels shown on the wreck, plus extras. The Mounty I bought to replace this one has the same wheels (which was extra incentive to get these tires and wheels back), so I don't want to get rid of them all, but I'm sure I can come up with 4. The wheels are hard to come by, but the caps often end up inside the vehicle at the salvage yard. I bought extras a while back when I saw them just in case, and I've passed some up recently. Let me see how many I have and if I can find a receipt. They were dirt cheap.

let me know. i stuck the 15" alloy wheels/tires of my scrapped Explorer on a Mountaineer and my daughter doesn't like having Ford hubcaps on her Mercury (Merc snob) and the Merc steel-wheel hubcaps don't work on the alloy wheels. frankly, she should be happy i replaced her bent chrome wheels and balding, mismatched tires.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Just be happy she hasn't realized the Mountaineer wheels are painted inside the teardrop, not plain like most (all?) the Ford ones!

 

[koda2000]

Just be happy she hasn't realized the Mountaineer wheels are painted inside the teardrop, not plain like most (all?) the Ford ones!

sssshhhh! she might hear you.

 

[delexploder]

sssshhhh! she might hear you.

Lol I have the same problem with my mounty ,at least now I only need two merc caps for it

 

[koda2000]

anybody need 4 nice Explorer hubcaps?

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Got the check from the insurance co today, $2438.95. Last week I got the check for the towing bill that I had to pay to get personal items out of the Mounty.

$2438.95 + 3 tires @ $132 ea = $2834.95 plus the 3 wheels the tires were on. I had just under $3200 in it counting the purchase price, new tires, front end work, and front brakes. I wouldn't expect all of the parts and labor on the front end to be covered, so I came out ok.