Bummed... What's it worth???

[KC]

OK, here's my prob. My '94 X-Cab 4X4 got totaled about a week ago. Now the at-fault's insurance co.(Gotta love MERCURY INSURANCE - NOT!) is telling me that I have to dispose of the truck in order to recoup whatever salvage value that they will determine it's worth. They will back that out of whatever amount they will determine the truck is worth!!!! A-A-A-R-R-R-R-G-H!!!!

I would like to solicit the board here and get a consensus of what the value might be. As mentioned the truck is a '94 X-cab 4X4 Ranger with the following equipment:

4.0 V-6
Auto Trans
Towing Package
Custom (i.e. chrome) bumpers (front is wasted...)
Power windows, locks and mirrors
Tilt wheel
Sliding rear window
Bed Liner
Off-Road package
New front brakes, rotors & bearings
New Master Cylinder
New Big O tires all around
New U-joints on rear drive shaft
And probably more new/recent parts
148,000 miles

The truck is burgundy red, and it looks like all the body parts except the right front fender are still good (Passenger door leading edge is a bit tweaked but doesn't look too bad). The front end and frame are toast, the steering shaft is bent so there is a "tight spot" when you turn the steering wheel. The truck still runs, engine and tranny sound good. I am not sure what gear ratios are in the front or rear axles.

Any ideas on how to or where to sell it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Tbars4]

...it depends if you want to part it out...:scratch:

...craigslist is a good place to get some ideas for parts...also, dezertrangers.com...they have a lot of ranger racers on there plus street trucks and they are always dealing parts...from every part on your truck they would be interested in...

...now i myself would be interested in your manual hubs...

 

[KC]

Well, it has the Auto Hubs on front.... Thanks for the info!

 

[TeckNine4]

Thats messed up about your Truck homieAre you trying to let that Transmissio. go with the kick down cable? I would greatly appreciate it even pick-up,, I need one for my Expo.:roll:,,,,Oh forgot one thing, did you ever pull anything with it(WITH THE SPECIAL TOW PACKAGE) I know... I know... like a bass boat,,,, Im sure nothing to heavy... Not that it matters,,,,
I greatly apprecitate that
Thanks, M.

 

[KC]

I'm the second owner of the truck. All we have ever towed with it was a Coleman tent trailer, a 16 ft. aluminum boat and then my son's Ranger bass boat - but that was only about 12 miles each way to the ramp. From what I remember the guy I bought it from never towed anything. He only drove it between Sacramento and Dallas during the Holidays.

I know I could probably make up some extra cash by parting it, but for two things... One is that I really loved this truck. It hurts me to know that it is totalled and it would hurt even more to start pulling parts off of it to sell. Second is that I seriously doubt that neither my neighbors or the ciy would appreciate me stripping a vehicle in front of my house!

 

[Tbars4]

...is it fixable??? if you are attached to it now would be a goodtime to have a friend buy it from you, buy it from him and fix it up...
...if not sell it as a parts vehicle as a whole, say 700 bucks...jy's only will give about 200 for the whole thing...the engine and tranny alone you could get maybe 700 for it...
...i understand your pain, just trying to help...

 

[94 Crawler]

Unfortunatle we are all at the mercy of the ins. co. and the older our autos get the easier they are to total (less damage). If it were mine I would do what it takes to keep it and fix it (I have far more invested in both of mine than I could recover from the ins.co.) Your basic decision is talk to a lawyer (probably no help and$$$$$$) live with what they give you or tell them to f@%& off. It is not fair or right especialy when another party is at fault I mean if someones wife was hurt they would not give you a settlement to forget abought her and get another one. Jost my thoughts I am probably wrong. Oh yes by the way if you havent been an a$$ to someone laitly it is extreamly liberating.

 

[KC]

As far as being fixable, I would prefer to do that but I doubt that it is. The truck was hit by a glancing blow across the front. Because the truck is so solid up there the very front and the right corner is what shows the damage but unfortunately the frame is bent to the right from about the engine bay forward. It's not "too" bent, but I just don't know if it could be straightened...??? I've thought about going after the other party in small claims court (the other driver is 100% at fault for turning left in front of my son - even though she saw him coming!!) but this is one of those situations where the other party probably doesn't have much money and I hear that small claims judgements are sometimes tough to enforce and can take years to collect. If I tell the insurance to F/O then I am at the mercy of the other party to pay up. On the other hand if I settle with the insurance then I'm sure I will have to sign a release of further liability. What really sucks even more is that here I am losing my truck for no fault of my own and I won't be able to replace it for what I will get from the insurance so I have to pay out of pocket for someone elses stupidity...

 

[RangerX]

Have you talked to your own insurance? See what kind of advice they can give you.
When my truck was totalled, I haggled with the adjuster about the value of the truck. They kinda lowballed it, so I came back with printouts of similar year Rangers for sale in my area, to show what they are selling for. I got my price.

 

[94 Crawler]

I have straightened many a frame in my demolition derby days. With any thing from a port-a-power to a loader I even traded some work out to a body man working at the dealership I was working at to straighten the frame on my 75 eldorado figure-eight car. I have cut and welded in new sections of frame rail. Anything that is bent can be fixed with a little enginuity. Anyway good luck with it and telling the insurance to F/O realy isnt the answer either sorry just thinking of how mad I'd be in the same situation.

 

[Kyle0614]

dude this is such an easy answer, have the insurance company do it's thing and then buy it back for cheap they will probably sell it to you for like 7 or 800 dollars or anything less than $1,000 even if it's higher it shouldn't be much more than 1,000...You have a ebay goldmine sitting in your yard right now...buy it back, strip her down to the frame sell the interior parts including the dash and clusters, the front suspension, the 4wd system, the rear axle, the good body parts even the whole cab if it's still in good shape...sell the motor and the transmission together on ebay also, sell the wheels and tires together....and I'll bet you will make at least what you paid for it back if not that it shouldn't be far from it.

 

[TeckNine4]

dude this is such an easy answer, have the insurance company do it's thing and then buy it back for cheap they will probably sell it to you for like 7 or 800 dollars or anything less than $1,000 even if it's higher it shouldn't be much more than 1,000...You have a ebay goldmine sitting in your yard right now...buy it back, strip her down to the frame sell the interior parts including the dash and clusters, the front suspension, the 4wd system, the rear axle, the good body parts even the whole cab if it's still in good shape...sell the motor and the transmission together on ebay also, sell the wheels and tires together....and I'll bet you will make at least what you paid for it back if not that it shouldn't be far from it.

Ahh yeas... that would be a great Idea,,you already have a buyer for the Trans. and Eng (I dont need a eng. tho), off e-bay,paypal, ect.,,(Im a broke muhfugga,also) But didnt you say you lived in the city??? Town ord.,city and other sh**.. **Please help**.

 

[KC]

Yeah, I'm sure the town I live in would kinda frown on me stripping the thing down in my yard. Plus the fact that what's my time worth? Why should I have to go through all of that just to get enough money to actually replace my truck, when nothing was my fault?? I realize that would get me the most money though. And with MERCURY insurance(Dead Link Removed), their deal is that once they determine the value, they then deduct whatever they determine the salvage value to be, so their offer will be value minus salvage value and I have to deal with disposal of the truck. So there ain't no buying it back - I'm stuck with it already. As for my insurance company, while they originally told me they might be able to help me deal with the other insurance, once they realized we have liability only they said they wouldn't even be able to help me out with an estimate. It just really pisses me off that here's this 16 year-old girl who's been driving all of 5 months and was basically driving illegaly at the time (driving after 11 pm without someone over 21 in the car and driving with a 16 year-old passenger) - she recieved two citations and the police report clearly states it was entirely her fault - takes out my truck that really was in "clean" condition and I will likely have to take money out of my own pocket to get another truck that's not a P.O.S.!!!

I have been looking for and documenting any and all similar Rangers for sale, as well as how far away they are from me. I have also dug up all my receipts for all the work/repairs I have done to the truck, pictures showing the condition of the paint, etc. and will be presenting my case. The one thing I did learn from my insurance is that while they do not use or believe in Kelly Blue Book or NADA pricing, the adjuster will automatically start at the equivalent of "trade-in value in poor condition". They told me it is up to me to prove it was in better condition than that with maintenance/repair records, pictures of shiny paint, etc.

I will probably try to find a buyer for it on Craigslist - if someone has the time and the tools it would make a great builder or a donor for a project truck! I kind was hoping I could get a rough idea of what it might be worth or how much to ask for it.

Thanks for the input so far!

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

Get an estimate...on my truck i was rear ended and it buckled the frame, broke a shackle, that with new tie-rod ends was 800 bucks(the fixed the frame)....

 

[Kyle0614]

Ok well in that case if it even is lifted or anything with maybe nice tires i'm assuming you probably couldn't get no more than 1,500 for the whole truck from a private buyer.