# Rear end collision



## J_Lannon

I have a 2004 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4. I got rear ended on Indian River Road on Weds, on the way to work.

I have the factory towing reciever mounted on mine, and it took most of the impact causing the trucks rear frame rails to buckle. I also have a walnut sized dent at the rear corner of the cab where the top left corner of the bed must have hit it during impact. So........Im thinking the frame must have torqued during impact.

The other guys insurance wants to "total" my truck.

I would just assume that they repair the rear of the frame and replace the reciever/bumper assembly, and paint it.

Cant they repair frames any more? Any of you guys or gals gone through this? I would just assume keep my truck instead of a whole new set of payments for a new truck.


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## Finger_Mullet

*Rear Ended*

My buddy bought a new Ford truck a couple of years ago. The same week he bought it someone hit him in the rear. It warped the frame much like you are describing. The insurance company had it fixed.

Last month things started to fall apart on the truck. The mechanic said that the accident caused the frame to shift and there is not much of a way to fix it exactly like the way it was. He said with the frame being off it will cause things to wear out much earlier than it should. He needed a rear end, and a ton of other things. It would have been a money trap.

He sold the truck and bought a new one. I would suggest the same. Although I could not afford another car payment at the moment. This is just my opinion.

Darin


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## Hannibal

Totaling the truck may not be bad thing - depending on what they give you for it. For example - if you owe $10K and it's worth roughly that - and they will give you $12K or close. It may not be a bad deal. You can also choose to buy the truck back after they total it for a really cheap price.

The issue a lot of times is that they try to short change you on the total price - it's never enough. However, as mentioned above, it's usually the right choice to make because a damaged frame can easily cause many problems in the future in which you will have no way to get repaired.

If that damage isn't too bad - total it - buy it back and get it "fixed" enough to be driveable. Then covert it into your beach buggy.


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## surf monkey

*Total and buy back*

The only problem if you were to total it and then buy it back is that it would have a salvage title. Which means, usualy, uninsurable. You can get it switched back to a repaired title (i think that's what it's called) but it can take some time and money unless you know somebody.

A tornado hit my town last summer and they wanted to total my 96 blazer. Literally all that was wrong was a busted window and a broken mirror. They wanted to say there was more than 3500 worth of damage. It's paid off and they were gonna give me 3 grand for it. I could have bought it back for around 2k fixed it for ~200 but it would have cost me around $500 to get the title fixed. TOO much work for $300!


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## gtodave

If they total it and can give you a good price for it (ie: you can actually go buy something with the check), take that. More then likely, that isn't the case though. Good thing with trucks is that they are not uni-bodies. You can get a new (or used) frame and put your good parts and other new parts on it. A lot of body shops take this route, and there's nothing wrong with it.


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## J_Lannon

Heres a few pics of the damage the the rear frame assembly.

Sorry that they are so large, but it would be hard to see otherwise.

Its only the last 2 feet of the frame rails that got "visibly" damaged. But I cant tell if the rest of the frame got torqued.

<a href="http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/J_Lannon/?action=view&current=4-16-08047.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/J_Lannon/4-16-08047.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/J_Lannon/?action=view&current=4-16-08045-1-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/J_Lannon/4-16-08045-1-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/J_Lannon/?action=view&current=4-16-08045.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/J_Lannon/4-16-08045.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


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## Dyhard

J_Lannon said:


> I have a 2004 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4. I got rear ended on Indian River Road on Weds, on the way to work.
> 
> I have the factory towing reciever mounted on mine, and it took most of the impact causing the trucks rear frame rails to buckle. I also have a walnut sized dent at the rear corner of the cab where the top left corner of the bed must have hit it during impact. So........Im thinking the frame must have torqued during impact.
> 
> The other guys insurance wants to "total" my truck.
> 
> I would just assume that they repair the rear of the frame and replace the reciever/bumper assembly, and paint it.
> 
> Cant they repair frames any more? Any of you guys or gals gone through this? I would just assume keep my truck instead of a whole new set of payments for a new truck.


 Call Sam Madina, he has a shop in the Oceana area. Ask his advice. I had him repair my car that someone broadsided. He did a great job. His forte is repairing totals.


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## J_Lannon

*Update*

Come to find out. GMC offers a frame rail kit for the rear of its Sierra class pick up trucks. Looks to be right around $5,000 damage. Good news is, .......its definately repairable.

Its going to be a long month without having transport for my kayak though.:redface:


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## jmadre

*My experience*

I was rear-ended in my 2001 Sonoma and the trailer hitch took most of the force. My frame was bent, along with the bumper and bumper mounts.

The body shop was able to 'straighten' the bed to cab gap, but the rear left corner of the bed is higher than the rest. It was not like that before the collision.

They can make it better, but don't expect miracles.

Jeff


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## J_Lannon

Got the truck back from Greenbriar Collision after 5 weeks. They did a awsome job replacing the frame, and numerous other pieces. The truck drives as good as ever. The alignment was done and the readings came out to be like new.


Between the rental truck for 35 days, and the cost for repairs. It might have been cheaper to total it. Well over 9 K in all.


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## Rockfish1

always good to hear when things work out... enjoy your "new" truck...


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