Is it totaled?

[kaclark]

We were in an accident 4 days ago in our brand new 2015 Dodge Ram Rebel. As we were driving 50 mph with a green light, a 17 year old was stopped waiting to turn at an intersection with a green yield light. He hesitated and then turned at the last minute. We hit him right in the middle of his car on the passenger side. We were fine, but he had some non life threatening injuries.

The sticker price on this truck was $54k, but we payed $44k. I know that totaling a car has to do with how much it costs to fix, and with the truck being worth so much, it would take a lot. However, I'm not even sure if they CAN fix it. Can someone please tell me how much it looks like it would cost to fix, or if they are more likely to total it? Thanks!

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[SithSolo1]

In my untrained opinion it looks pretty totalled to me but I'm not an adjuster.

The frame may or may not be bent
The front axle is probably broken
The engine and drive train are probably damaged beyond repair
There is extensive body damage forward of the cabin

 

[razel]

You have no control of the adjuster's judgement. But you do have control over your insurance coverage and insurance agents will be more than happy if you change your policy to one costing more to get what you are hoping for. I believe some policies have >80% of car value as being totaled, others are 90%.

 

[Imported]

That looks totaled to me.

 

[Charmonium]

I hope for the OP that's it's totaled but if the criteria is 80% of book and book is $40k, then that's $32k of repair work. Unless the engine and transmission are damaged, could the body work, new front end, etc really add up to more than that? Especially if the ins lets them use aftermarket parts.

 

[Pulsar]

It's totaled. You really wouldn't want the vehicle after that much damage is done to it. They'll never be able to get it fixed back like new. For comparison, here was a $30k truck and it was totaled a month ago.

Did your airbags deploy? That's a couple thousand just by itself.

 

[kaclark]

i know that i have no control, but I am impatient and want to see what others think.

 

[kaclark]

Yes, we are hoping it is totaled because we only had it for a month. We are in Louisiana and the law is 75% of the value of the car. Also, they go by NADA, and the price is the same as the sticker price, so we shouldn't lose any money for "depreciation". I just wanted to see if anyone could tell how much could be damaged from that. The engine was still running afterwards, but sounded horrible, and the key was really difficult to turn. I am crossing my fingers for engine and transmission damage.

 

[kaclark]

no the airbags didn't deploy surprisingly. We are actually wondering why they didn't

 

[CombatChuk]

Definitely totaled... And alarming that the airbags didn't go off

 

[Charmonium]

no the airbags didn't deploy surprisingly. We are actually wondering why they didn't

I'll take a guess and say you didn't trigger the right crumble zones - also that the engine wasn't pushed into the firewall, but that's just a guess. I have no idea where the airbag sensors normally are.

 

[yh125d]

Yeah that's almost definitely totaled. Even if the law is only 75%, many insurance companies don't even require that. 65% is the number I've heard from a couple of different insurance people. I had a Ford Fusion that was totaled, despite being driven 700 miles back home from the accident, and me driving it for two weeks after that to get different estimates (AKA, just fine mechanical order. Not even a leaking radiator and it was a head on collision - but slow)

Possibly being brand new could skew it towards not being totaled, but I doubt it. Your front suspension is destroyed, MAJOR damage to all the cooling systems and probably much of the accessories, motor mounts, front subframes, electrical, etc. I don't see you coming out of this driving that truck

 

[SparkyJJO]

no the airbags didn't deploy surprisingly. We are actually wondering why they didn't

Definitely totaled... And alarming that the airbags didn't go off

If the OP and passenger(s) didn't strike the dash/wheel/pillar/etc then the computer did its job by not deploying bags and using other restraints like the belts instead. Airbags should remain an extreme impact restraint device as they cause a ton of damage and, if deployed when unnecessary, can actually cause more bodily injury than if they hadn't deployed. People got conditioned to thinking airbags should always go off as they used to go off instantly on older cars, and seem to think they are some air filled pillowy cushion, but they aren't something you really want to shove your face into if you don't need to.

BTW, that truck doesn't look totaled to me. It looks obliterated!

 

[rommelrommel]

Yeah that's almost definitely totaled. Even if the law is only 75%, many insurance companies don't even require that. 65% is the number I've heard from a couple of different insurance people. I had a Ford Fusion that was totaled, despite being driven 700 miles back home from the accident, and me driving it for two weeks after that to get different estimates (AKA, just fine mechanical order. Not even a leaking radiator and it was a head on collision - but slow)

Possibly being brand new could skew it towards not being totaled, but I doubt it. Your front suspension is destroyed, MAJOR damage to all the cooling systems and probably much of the accessories, motor mounts, front subframes, electrical, etc. I don't see you coming out of this driving that truck

Often it's 65% of (value - salvage value) as well.

I can't see that not being a write off.

 

[Jimzz]

I would not want it fixed after major damage. As said, and I agree, it will never be 100% even if "fixed". Then on top of that if anything goes bad under warranty they may deny due to the accident.

Fight to get it totaled, and if they say they will fix it tell them you will file a diminished claim after its fixed, have another shop inspect it after its fixed, and want in writing the insurance company will cover anything the factory warranty denies.

 

[Squeetard]

Geez people. This whole post is BS. Look at the picture. The truck hit a pole. No intersection in sight.

 

[kaclark]

?? We hit the car, spun around, then hit the pole

 

[LTC8K6]

I'll take a guess and say you didn't trigger the right crumble zones - also that the engine wasn't pushed into the firewall, but that's just a guess. I have no idea where the airbag sensors normally are.

Airbags are triggered by accelerometers. What got moved or crushed or broken has no bearing on airbag deployment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbag#Triggering_conditions

 

[Charmonium]

Airbags are triggered by accelerometers. What got moved or crushed or broken has no bearing on airbag deployment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbag#Triggering_conditions

Thanks. That occurred to me after I posted but I was too lazy to look it up.

From the link:

Airbags are designed to deploy in frontal and near-frontal collisions more severe than a threshold defined by the regulations governing vehicle construction in whatever particular market the vehicle is intended for: United States regulations require deployment in crashes at least equivalent in deceleration to a 23 km/h (14 mph) barrier collision, or similarly, striking a parked car of similar size across the full front of each vehicle at about twice the speed.[66] International regulations are performance based, rather than technology-based, so airbag deployment threshold is a function of overall vehicle design.

So despite the apparent damage, this is sounding like a low speed collision.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Geez people. This whole post is BS. Look at the picture. The truck hit a pole. No intersection in sight.

While the pole does appear to account for the damage to the driver's side of the truck, it's perfectly clear that the passenger side damage is from another vehicle.

ZV

 

[kaclark]

This was high speed. Possibly slower than 50 mph from breaking. It was also drizzling outside. This is the car we hit

 

[gorcorps]

I was in a similar accident in a Jeep Grand Cherokee recently. But instead of hitting him dead on, the driver turning into me hit my front driver side fender and all along the sides. Side airbags deployed but not the front. No glass damage. I had suspension work done on that wheel because it was toast, and had all of the body panels replaced on the drivers side (new doors). Because of the glancing angle he didn't do much damage to the engine compartment. Still... all of that work cost $22k (they didn't total it).

Since you hit head on it looks like quite a bit more damage than that, so I'd expect it to be totaled... if not very close to it.

 

[SOFTengCOMPelec]

This was high speed. Possibly slower than 50 mph from breaking. It was also drizzling outside. This is the car we hit

If the car you hit, was being dragged along the road (during the impact). The actual peak deacceleration, may have been low enough, for the air bag system(s), to decide it was safest to NOT activate.

One of the worries with air bags, is that the initial impact, may NOT be the BIG, dangerous one.

I.e. You can skim/hit something, then loose control and hit something really big and heavy, which then needs the air bag. So if the vehicle is still moving at a decent speed, and the impact is NOT that big yet. It can decide to wait and see where the biggest part of the impact is going to be. Which might be never, for this incident.

tl;dr
The first vehicle you hit, is relatively gentle. But then when you lose control and/or carry on at speed, you hit something which brings the vehicle to an almost instant standstill. The air bag(s), can only activate once, so they have to be careful, to fire at the right time.

The wiki page linked to earlier in this thread. Begins to explain about how the sophisticated and highly complicated computer algorithms work. Which are built into modern air-bags control systems.

Today, airbag triggering algorithms are becoming much more complex. They try to reduce unnecessary deployments and to adapt the deployment speed to the crash conditions. The algorithms are considered valuable intellectual property. Experimental algorithms may take into account such factors as the weight of the occupant, the seat location, seatbelt use, and even attempt to determine if a baby seat is present.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbag#Triggering_conditions

 

[Midwayman]

Given how expensive that car is and that its brand new I'd say there is a chance they'll try and repair it. I wouldn't want to drive it after that hard of a hit though. Yuck.

 

[Greenman]

Totaled twice. That thing ain't never going to roll again.