Un freakin' believable !!!
 

Was headed to the shop to pick up my rolloff truck and on the way,.........the Blazer got hit!!! Or according to the insurance company, (the guy that hit me and I have the same insurance company) IT'S TOTALED!!!! ................................NO FREAKIN' WAY!!!

Now I ask you,........................does this look like a "TOTAL LOSS" to any of you???!!!!

The damage you see,.................is ALL THERE IS!!!!

The air bags aren't blown, and there is NO structural damage what so ever!!!

So again I ask,........does this look like a "TOTAL LOSS"

I wouldn't think it would be a total loss, but that all depends on what they valued the vehicle at and what their repair costs were calculated to be. A new door, bodywork the fender, paint & pin stripe could end up being nearly a grand at an expensive body shop. Some insurance companies will only repair up to 70% of what they determine the vehicle's value to be.

I think they valued my 98 4x4 blazer at like 2700$ when it got hit 5 years ago. A vehicle totals at 75% of its value, and to have a body shop properly repair that, it could probably go 2000$+ it doesn't seem like much damage but to do it right they'd remove the rear bumper, quarter glass, replace the door, paint the new one(inside and out) remove and install all the parts from the old door to the new door, repair the quarter, prime it, block it paint it. Jamb has to get painted, front fender has to get blended/cleared for color match to the new door. Headlights have to get R&i to, etc

If you want I can punch the info into my estimating software at work tomorrow and see what it comes out to, just so you have something to put it against.


With that being said, if I were you, I'd buy that back from the insurance company (it would be super cheap)and keep driving it

It's because they saw that front bumper on there lol!

Just keep it out if insurance and tell the other dude to give you the $500 he was going to be putting towards his deductible instead and then find the parts yourself. That way you keep your truck with a clean title and he will be happy not to have his insurance go up!

that sucks. Paint gets soo expensive.

my truck is so old it gets totaled for a dent. you just have to figure how much the body shop is going to charge you do do a great job on it, cutting and removing the panel, welding a new one in and painting it.

so if your truck is only worth $2500 and its a $2700 job then yep totaled.

last time i got hit some lady blew a red light slid and hit the bed of my truck, basically looked like someone ran full speed and kicked it in. nothing a 6 foot prybar couldnt fix,

Since they value it so little, is it worth your while to take the payoff from the insurance and buy it back from them? If you can do that before they get the title and change it to salvage vehicle that would be best. Sorry to see that after all the work you've put into it.

Well to be honest when starting this post I should have indicated that it was composed more out of frustration than looking for answers. (although it doesn't hurt to get input in search of other alternatives)

I guess the thing that bothers me the most is how little value is placed on 2nd gen Blazers. (Kelly Blue Book, NADA, etc.) show mine only being worth $300.00-$1100.00 (based primarily on age and mileage) the adjusters est. is $1500 and change. So escentually if I continue with the claim.................... it's totaled.

So if I were to let them total it,..........then it would end up costing me WAY MORE (to the point where I would end up having to PAY the insurance company just to keep my own vehicle AND then have to pay for the repairs out of my own pocket as well!!!????)

So at this point it looks like I'm just going to have to cancel the claim and suck it up and fix it on my own. That SUCKS!!! I feel like I'm being punished by my own insurance company (for being in the wrong place at the wrong time) for an accident that wasn't in ANY WAY my fault!!!

On another foot, did the other guy get charged (his fault) for hitting you? If so, have you considered suing him for damages?

still looks pretty driveable just leave it alone or take it to a detail shop and have them buff out the scratches to make them look a little better and just pocket the money for your pain and suffering. but dont let them take it as its probably very cheap to buy it back. last time it was $125 to buy back my 1990 silverado. i figured the tires were worth that

My last 05 Jimmy got totaled , it was in great shape with a 150,000 KM...Insurance gave me $6000 Canadian dollars .......I think that's about $25 US Dollars ...LOL....I'm serious about the 6 grand though.

Your assessment of repair steps is quite accurate (matches the adjusters estimate almost verbatim) additionally they want to pull the front bumper, the headlight, the front fender, and the vent window (the one between the drivers door and the quarter window) as well.

Now I've done my fair share of body work, (collision and restoration) and am pretty good at it if I do say so myself. (sorry if that comes across as arrogant it's NOT meant to) That being said, I know how "I" would repair it.........and it would not involve removing the fender or the windows for one. Also I would save a whole lot of time by Not trying to do a "blend" on the paint. (a blend might look descent for a little while but it wouldn't stay that way for long, the truck has never been painted and as such the new paint will oxidize at a different rate then the original paint) Given the amount of area that would end up being "blended" and given the areas that would be masked are the same it would make sense (at least to me) to just paint the entire side (the additional amount of paint/clear would be negligible) and be done with it.

99% of the damage is confined to the outer door skin, so just hanging a different door will actually take care of most of the repair.

At this point the insurance company does NOT have right or title to my vehicle (I did NOT permit the adjuster to "lock in" the estimate) so I'm fairly certain that I'm just going to have to drop the claim and repair the damage myself. (in the long run it's the cheapest alternative)

Don't I know it!!! I think over the years I've paid for my paint suppliers kids to go to college.

At this point (it's still early in the process) I'm trying to exhaust all possibilities but it looks as though the payout would be LESS than the salvage value. (and I REALLY DON'T want to deal with all the pitfalls of a salvage title) What that means is simply it would end up "costing me" money (out of my own pocket) just to "buy back" my own vehicle and then I'd have to come up with the additional funds to do the repairs. So unfortunately it would appear that (through no fault of my own) I've been hosed..........AGAIN!!! SAD BUT TRUE!

Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on it, and could definitely tackle the job yourself
When I was saying blend, I was referring to blending the color out, but clearing the whole panel. If you were to spray the whole side with color, you would end up running into colormatch issues from fender to hood and quarter to lift gate. As long as you get a good blend in your basecoat, it won't show back up later. Using a slower reducer in your base helps to get a good blend. If you don't blend the basecoat you'll almost never get a good match


Sometimes people do blend clear it within a panel... You're definitely right about that, it will oxidize at different rates and show back up down the road.

Hope you keep it and fix it up! You should post pics of your progress if you do

I totally agree with your thoughts on blending,.......but the mismatch would be temporary. (I was actually planning on doing a complete repaint) of the whole Blazer in the future but I was going to wait on that until AFTER the V-8 conversion was done.

Yes, I definitely plan on keeping it (I've had it since it was new) I've had LOTS of plans in the works for a LONG time, (not to mention all the parts that I've already collected or currently have on order) and really I was just getting started when the accident happened.

Picked up a door yesterday for $100.00 complete. It's even the same color as the blazer (I'll still completely repaint it of course)

Today I've started prepping it,........gutting the shell and doing some of the initial clean up.

Replacement door

Nice score in the donor truck!

I drive a tow truck and bring cars that are a "complete write off" all the time that are totally fine.

buy it back from the insurance and fix it yourself. that is not written off but in terms of value it's not worth it to them.

Yes it was!!! I was absolutely amazed that GM only made ONE front door for the 2nd gen s10's. Pickups and blazers both take the SAME door (2 door or 4 it doesn't matter as long as it's the front) usually you don't get that lucky. Other than a couple of door dings it's in pretty good shape although the hinge bushings were OBVIOUSLY trashed on the donor truck so I may have to do some work on the lower hinge.

Took a look at your build.................VERY NICE!!!!!

The initial door prep: sanding, degreasing, and closer inspection.

As I suspected earlier there was a problem with the lower door hinge,......and a REALLY HORRIBLE attempt at trying to fix it!!! (luckily it wasn't that horrible to reverse)

Not in bad condition overall,.......few parking lot dents (bout an hours worth of "clean up" before a repaint)

Not too shabby for a door that's almost 20 yrs old. Looks like it sanded out nicely!

I concur,..........especially considering that except for a very poor photo I bought it sight unseen. I got extremely lucky!!! It's complete, no rust, two small dents (about the size of a quarter and not very deep) nothing a few mins. with a hammer and dolly won't cure. The rest,........a little spot putty, some primer,and a good blocking and I'll be in business.

The new hinge pins and bushings arrived today.

Well I'm finally back home from a wedding in Asheville NC.

Now it's back to fighting with the insurance company.