What to do with recovered theft vehicle

I recently had my 2004 Dodge Ram Quad Cab stolen from Phoenix area. It was recovered the end of last week in the middle of the desert between Tucson and Mexico.

The body is allegedly not in too bad of shape. Scratches and one small dent and a broken widsheild.

What I am worried about is the mechanicals. It was an expesive tow out of the desert ~1500 and it was in a tough spot. The best I can think of to do is bring it to the dealership and have them go through it all. I need to have the frame, suspention, motor trans, t case, diffs, axels, ect checked. Has anyone gone through this and have any advise as to what to do. I do not want to get this back and have it blow up in a couple of thousand miles.

I know there are a couple of adjusters on here. Any advise as to dealer over private shop. How to go about getting it from shop to shop for repairs and how to handle bills from different shops?

shouldn't your insurance be dealing with all of that stuff?

Insurance wants to give it a quicky 'safety inspection' and repaint it and put in a new interior. Interior was ripped out as you can fit more people in it when you are not confined to seats.

If the motor or tranny where to poop out a week after I get it back I would be on my own.

I ain't an adjuster or theif, I mean lawyer. I think that one is totalled. I think I would be leaning on the adjuster and telling him to get you another one just like it but not totalled or cut you a check for the value of another one just like it. First thing you do, though, is make sure you have a beater to drive around while all this negotiating is going on, otherwise, they have you by the short hairs.

Mention this: You have two trucks. One that someone has been driving around and taking care of. The other is the identical model that someone stole, wrecked, gutted, and abandoned in the middle of the desert on a drug or "undocumented worker" run, then given a safety inspection, new interior and a coat of paint. Are they worth the same? Which is worth more? Then you tell them "you make me whole." That's insurance company buzz words for "pay up, sucka." You may need a (ugh) lawyer here, but you can try sticking your ground on your own. If you keep telling them to "pay up" they eventually will. You're not trying to rip them off, just give you what your contract with them says. Cover your losses.

I am sooo jaded. My first response is Challenge Car

But I would also offer my own uninformed opinion and perspective in addition to whats above. How much less would you be willing to pay for a truck that carfax showed as a theft recovery., if it is substancial, then definetly pursue a new one. It sounds like you have already made that decision and are simply looking for some folks to back up your reasoning.

So ,yes, you deserve a new truck, you did nothing wrong. You bought a new vehicle becuase you wwanted a reasonable degree of piece of mind in regards to its mechanical reliability. If the insurance compnay were to get their way, how much of a hit would you take on trade in or resale?

Let that one get scrapped and someone can by it at auction as a theft recovery and maybe get nice truck at a discount rate.

Did your 2004 Dodge Ram Quad Cab have full insurance coverage at the time it was stolen?

Full coverage with rental car, uninsured and all the other goodies. That is why I want to make sure it all gets taken care of. I have paid for the service and now I want to make sure I get it.

listen to the good doctor.

No, don't. Because his advice to "tell them you want it totalled" is a complete waste of your breath.

Theft recoveries suck. Everyone involved is usually much happier when the damn things get burned to a shell, but you aren't so lucky. When you get a look at it, pick out every little flaw you can find. Perhaps if you can accumulate enough annoyances it will add up to enough to actually total it. Probably tough to do if the truck isn't that old. A theft like you describe was probably for the purpose of making a delivery of some sort, so the mechanical abuse is probably minimal. The drug or alien runners are more interested in getting their shipment to wherever it's going than joy-riding over sand dunes. I'd change all the fluids, make sure the engine is quiet, have a alignment done, etc. The upside for you is that the insurance company pretty much owns this truck as a problem child for at least the next 3-6 months, so if the trans suddenly fails you can come back to them for replacement provided they can't prove it's unrelated to the theft (and good luck with that).

The "two trucks side by side" is a wonderful fantasy argument that we get all the time. I'm not interested in debating the ethics of it; we're here to deal with reality. What you're seeking is "diminished value" which is only paid out in certain states that recognize it. You'll have to find out if it applies in Arizona.

Ultimately, once the thing is repaired and handed back to you I suggest you rely on your gut. Either you'll feel it wasn't that bad and will be okay, or it will nag at you that it may be a eternal problem child. If it's the latter, the best thing to do is get rid of it. You may lose money on it, but sometimes it's better than the stress of worrying about the thing. I've dealt with recovered cars I'd never be afraid to own and ones I wished I could just write a check and make them go away. The sad reality is, unless the money is there on paper to make it a total, it's going to be fixed wether you want it or not.

Sounds like your best bet is to nitpick this thing to death and hope for it to be totalled. I'm not sure what the ratio of damage to value is to total this vehicle.

Listen to David. And be a royal PITA.

If your not sure what your looking at or not comfortable talking to the the insurance adjuster use a body shop or dealer you are comfortable with. They deal with inurance companies for a living and if this type of thing happens frequently in your area they will have an idea what you are in for and what tends to be damaged.

The thiefs were most likely transporting either bodies or marijuana. Firstly, I'd want to be sure that you would never have a problem with a drug-sniffing dog. That would land you in a whole lotta PITA.

I think you ought to be able to generate some numbers on how badly the value has dropped due to theft recovery. Simply repairing the vehicle will not make you whole. I would push hard to say that your position is the value has been sufficiently impaired that they pay you full market value and you walk away with a check. Let them take the risk of fixing and selling it. That, after all, is why we pay insurance, to transfer risk to the insurance company!

They will probably fight you. I'd start consulting with a lawyer. I hate to say it, but there it is. I was in a wreck and Progressive was a total a$$hat until I hired an attorney. Yes, it sucks, but even after paying the attorney I got more than I would have received on my own.

Get an initial offer from the insurance company, and then negotiate with your attorney to pay the attorney a percentage of what he gets you OVER AND ABOVE the initial offer.

Good luck!

David

You would be the one person who ever gained money from the expense of an attorney on a vehicle damage claim. It simply isn't worth the expense 99% of the time, and few attorneys will even bother with such a paltry case.

OTOH, Progressive is a company full of asshats, so that doesn't surprise me.

All of this is speculation. The owner hasn't even seen his truck yet, so we really don't know what we are dealing with.

Well I still haven't seen it yet, but the insurance adjuster sent up thier initial adjustment number. It is at $6700 for exterior and some interior. Some of the highlights are the complete replacement of the front bumper and grill, everything in the interior minus the front seats (center council, rear seats, door panels, radio, 2 out of 4 power window motors). Nearly all exterior surfaces (no roof or tannuoe cover). It also wouldn't start for them the second time. Mirrors are broken, taillight gone.

Big new question is what they hit in the front and how much other damage is there.

What a mess.

I was an adjuster in a former life (note that this is different than an appraiser.)

I also 100% agree with ddavidv. You are in for a long drawn out battle if you go in with a me vs. them attitude. They this truck vs. an untouched truck is nice in theory but it is not the way it works in real life, if you don't believe me read up on your policy. You can ask for diminished value if applicable in your state.

Understand that yelling at them does little to motivate them to help you. If you are pleasant and understand that they do not like this any more than you do it may go a long way. I know that I worked harder and was more pleasant to people that were pleasant to me.

Point out all the damage they have missed. Look for anything damaged on the interior, obvious stains etc. Was anything personal taken from the truck?

It is a lose lose situation for you. A lawyer will not likely take your case and if they do you will have to pay them about 33%. 33% of property damage is not that much and you will end up with less than you were offered to begin with.

Good luck with it all. It is not a fun situation to deal with.

Be reasonable, organized, and most importantly, not in a rush to settle. Having time on your side is the best thing you can do. When my van was totalled, they offered me $2000. I said no way - it's worth $5000 (which was valid). This went back and forth for a while. At some point I figured out they were using the wrong comps (E150 vs E350, all they saw was Econoline), but they wouldn't budge, so neither did I. After 6 months of stalling, they offered me $4500 and I took it.