Thursday, March 13, 2008

Totaled! Less than 4 months old and <4K miles

The set-up: Minnesota 2007 Toyota Tundra purchased NEW 10/07 andlt;4K miles The accident: At work I park in a 2 level parking garage run by a valet service. The valet parks my truck in the basement level. There is a steep 40' ramp that connects the two levels. On the day of the accident, the valet drove my truck up the ramp, stopped at the top of the ramp, threw it in park (he thought), jumped out, and the truck immediately started backing up towards the ramp!!! The truck was in REVERSE! The truck raced down the full length of the ramp, all the way to the bottom where it wrapped the rear end around a 3' wide concrete pillar. The Parking Garage is taking FULL responsibility, and has turned it over to their insurance company. Estimate: Toyota Collision shop estimated repairs at $20,200 (replacing entire frame), and he says it came up as a total loss warning on his system. Now the Parking Garage Insurance adjuster wants to take a look for himself. I have a friend who works for Progressive who gave me a value of $30,900 using their system. 70% = $21,630 My questions: 1) I WANT this totaled. If the insurance adjuster decides not to total it, is there anything I can do? 2) If it is totaled, am I legally entitled to a settlement which puts me back in a BRAND NEW truck, since a similiar model with equal mileage isn't available in my area? 3) If it is totaled, am I legally entitled to a settlement which reimburses me for the aftermarket items (topper and bedliner) which I have reciepts for? 4) If it is totaled, am I legally entitled to a settlement which reimburses me for the difference between the old truck payoff, and the new truck financed (assuming its an equal truck)? Meaning, regardless of current financing rates, my payments would be the same and for the same number of remaining months. Thanks for any advice! NB

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