Steve034x4

Had an '03 totaled - lots of other damage but the frame was 'diamond' by about 1 1/2 inches and that was something the dealer said could be straightened. Told me that if the frame was buckled, then it's a write-off, but a diamond they can pull back true.
If the dealer will honour the warranty and it's as good as new, then you might not have much of a choice from an insurance point of view. For better or worse, after telling the dealer about how I haul a heavy camper, go off road, etc. dealer wrote it off to be on the safe side - afterwards they said that they could have fixed it but it would never quite ride the same. Yeah, sounds like talking out of both sides of their mouth, but bottom line I got a new '05. Love the new truck, but it came at a price.

eastmentCTD600

on what basis? no flame intended just want to know why. Do you have a metallurgy background?

eastmentCTD600

That sucks, I had a similar experience when some dumb **ich totaled a showroom new ford expedition on the back side of my 5-month old CTD.

Long and short - frame was checked, found to be slightly bent ( i knew it since the bed contacted the cab for a brief instant during the accident - evidenced by dents on the cab) and was straightened - that turned out ok.

The suck part was I know for a fact the body (cab) shifted rearward on the frame at least 3/4 " but I could not convince the mechanic at the dealership that this was the case.

Theory - insurance companies tell you that "it will be repaired to new condition".

Fact = No matter what... it won't be ...and you have to fight like a rabbid dog to get it even close to what it was new. I could not convince them that the body shifted on the frame... even when I showed them the rubber cab mounts had moved as evidenced by the wear patterns and exposed "new shiny paint" under/around the cab mounts... not to mention the gap between the front clip and the bumper is uneven and larger than 99% of the CTD's on the lot. rant off

fight like he** to get it totaled!!!!

werewolf

from personal xperience i can tell you how it works allstate, mycompany,so i know they do, hire companies like ccs to handle these situations so thaat they come out on top . my daughter was hit headon in the left turn lane so hard it flattened her full replacement bumper and drove her 3/4 ton z71 backwards on the hood of the car behind. what you do is find replacement vehicles that is whata they base reimbursement on. it is sad that you have to argue with your own insurance comp to get satisfaction. you need to houd the he$$ out of his insurance comp cuz this is a game all ins comp play there is also a decreased value clause research it it could help we couldn't get the hood up it was too smashed so that helped get them off go they decided it would add to the cost of the estimate to have to go to that expense. in other words i hounded them about all the hidden damage and the added rental and other costs if there was more repair. it worked i also stood firm on what i could find a truck like hers 3/4 ton ext cab z71 with 350 loaded under 95000 2000 really creampuff. although hers had 138000 when wrecked i argued that we put the miles on hers had done repairs and seems that 100k is when all falls apart we would only price those with lower miles that narrowed down the list to 1 in the usa they had offered 11,5k this truck was 19k but could be bought 16k that is what i settled for. good luck

CUMMINSBILL

You have the right to choose where the truck is repaired. If the dealer won't help you total it then maybe a body shop will. I'm not suggesting anything illegal but sometimes the body shops have better relationships with the adjusters. I used to work in a body shop and it was a one hand washes the other situation some times the boss would give a little on some repairs and sometimes the adjuster would help him out on jobs like yours. We did a frame on a 1500 mile 2wd regular cab gasser and it wasn't fun. It was a while ago but I think the frame was only $1500 but with the labor and the rest of the damaged front end parts including a motor (cracked motor mount bolt holes) the truck was only a grand or so from being totaled but the owner wanted to keep it. If your oil pan got damaged it needs to come off and make sure it didn't hit the crank. With totals the "what else may be wrong after tear down" is factored in to the percentage and with the possiblity of needing a new deisel your chances of a total should be pretty good. You do not want that motor fixed if it hit the crank!!!! You have to be cool headed but not soft, your truck is brand new, you need your truck every, day fuel prices are too high to have a gasser for a rental and this all needs to be factored into the equation along with a lifetime frame warranty if they do straighten it. Hope this helps and good luck.

Cargun

Thanks for the advice... it looks like my truck will be back on the road in 2 weeks, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the best.

Yeah, if the axle hit the crank I would have demanded a new engine. They said it didn't though, and being 500 miles away I have to rely on what they say. But I've had to deal with so many incompetent mechanics that I have a hard time believing everything I hear.

Some good news is the body shop said the frame was only bent 4mm off nominal (+/-3mm being Dodge's tolerances). I'm hoping that's the truth and they aren't just telling me that because the insurance company wanted me off their back I've been on the phone with several insurance people trying to explain material science to them and why straightening a bent frame doesn't "return the vehicle to pre-accident condition". But I'm cool with them pulling it back 4mm... I was thinking it'd be more like 2".

But if the info I'm getting is correct and the crank wasn't touched, and the frame is only bent 4mm... I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will turn out OK. I say that because I'm beginning to hear about DMF failures on G56's and really want to keep my NV5600

Anyone have a pic of a Cummins with the oil pan off? I think there was about 2" between the top of the axle and the bottom of the block and I'm just wondering how far the crank sticks out.