My truck got hit yesterday
 

So I finally had the first collision of my life yesterday on my way home from work. Good news is every is OK, there were no injuries at all. Bad news is my truck got dinged up a bit. It was completely the other driver's fault. I was already on the off ramp and they decided at the last minute they wanted to take that exit also and zoomed on over. They obviously were not even looking because they smacked right into the side of the truck without a sign of slowing down. The funny part is their vehicle has a blown tire and is all smashed up. My truck just has a bent bumper and some minor dings. Gotta love these tough old trucks. I'm waiting for their insurance claims adjuster to call me back to set up an estimate. I know there are some other folks from the Portland/Vancouver area on here. My question is do any of you guys have a body shop that you trust/recommend to work on our old treasures? I will upload pics in the next post. Gotta figure out how to do it from my phone.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Here are the pics -

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

That sucks, hope he had coverage...

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

5 bucks says the insurance co will want to total out the truck. Ya know it's only worth about 500.00 book. Body shop wise there is about 1-2 g in repairs:mm:

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

That is definitely my main worry.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Man, that stinks. I'm glad to hear everyone is alright! Hopefully they don't try the, "Your truck is old and not worth more than X amount." After all, it wasn't your fault and they'll be in for a surprise if they run a NADA report for your truck.

At least the damage isn't major and it looks like your original sheet metal should be able to be saved.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

NADA has low retail at $15,200. I doubt mine is worth that much, but it's prob close with almost everything original and working.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

That sucks, glad it wasn't worse though! Odds are you'll wind up taking as much money as they'll give you and you wind up fixing it yourself, putting a new bumper on and so on.

Rob, how'd you find a low retail of $15K on this truck? That seems wildly high!

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Here's the link to what I found on NADA. I agree that it is wildly high, and it is important to remember that just because NADA says that, it doesn't mean that's what I will get.

http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Ca...ide-LWB/Values

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Sorry to see this.

What it does mean though, is that they can't come in and low ball you into a total loss. It's worth much more than the $1k-$2k that has been mentioned.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

I'm not sure if he does insurance work, but he's worth a try. There is a guy in St. Helens that did some work for me, and he had a sweet El Camino he was working on in his shop, so he knows the older cars. His shop is called ALLBRIGHT Body and Paint, the guys name is Ben Snyder, his cell is 971-645-6182. I believe he has a day job, works at another body shop, so leave a message if he does not pickup.

I was referred to him when I went to a local body shop and wanted a couple fenders and door painted for my Land Rover, he did good work at a good price.

Steve

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Calif has so many rules and you have to pay throw the nose.its so expensive here as it is.If i had a 1969-70 and driving in Calif i run a rail road tie the smaller one.One guy in Riverside has a hitch in the front of his truck with a push long bar on it.Its saved his truck 3 times from kids or people Blowing stop lights or stop signs.

He told me he waited 30 sec and the guy behind him honked his horn he went some kid in a rice burner runs the red light he clipped the side of his Car Put a jagged rip down the side of the car be he kept on going.

Its so bad here in Calif no one wants to stop and there just looking to KILL you or your family

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

I installed a dash cam in my truck a month ago. its the world we live in.

I hope the people who hit you dont have discount car ins. Im still waiting to get paid from the General, for a accident that was caused by the other person. They will not pay out, period.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Call the state insurance commissioner. That will get the General's "attention".

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Glad to see no one was hurt!

Try these guys, they are up in Kelso - Behrends auto body. If they can't fit you in they will send you over to another shop called Toy Land a block or two over.

Phone +13604255212.

I had them do some insurance work for me last fall, great guy.
The fellas over at Toy Land specialize in restoration work, so if the insurance pays you out some cash they may be the ticket.

Good luck!
PS - don't use Mackins auto body... Maybe try Todds auto body on 4th plain if you don't want to make the trip to Kelso.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Wow, what a bummer! Good your unharmed and the truck is definitely repairable. My first choice of body shops closed last fall, but 5 or so years ago I did use 5 Star Auto Body in Vancouver with good results for a collision repair. The owner at the time seemed to be an old car guy and not just some guy who worked at a body shop. They were over by Woody's 4x4 off of St Johns Rd. Good luck.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Buy your insurance through Haggertys. They insure older vehicles for a lot less that regular insurance companies because they don't figure you use them as a daily driver. It is amazing the things they cover. Insurance on m 72 is 350.00 a year.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Do they limit the miles per year you can drive and where you can go? Grundy does.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Aaaaaaaaand the other driver is claiming it's my fault. People just suck sometimes, I even changed their tire for them so they weren't stranded on the side of the freeway (it was a couple of older ladies that didn't even know if they had a spare in their car). Comically, they are claiming that I hit them while they were stopped in traffic. Oh really? If I hit them while they were at a standstill then please explain how my front bumper got bent FORWARD!! Good thing I took a boat load of pics of the whole situation. I've got USAA and am confident it will work out in my favor. Now getting their rinky dink auto insurance to pay out? That will be the real challenge.

Spf 79 and HO455, thanks for the tips on local body shops!

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

My wife has a forward facing camera for this reason. I'm looking into getting forward and rear facing cameras. I don't drive much since I retired, but having some footage would be a great help if I get in an accident.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Another quick question. Can you guys help me out with the type of molding I have? I'll want the replaced, but in my ignorance I don't even know if it's a special type or just generic '69 chevy truck molding.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Those came standard on your truck. They look just like mine, except for the dents.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Far out, thanks man.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Make sure you have the body shop quote for Mar_k ones and not some cheaper tangya (China) ones.

Re: My truck got hit yesterday
 

Sounds like an open and shut case, they made an unsafe lane change. The hardest part is color matching to older faded paint, and how the repair holds up and looks over time. Most shops will probably want to paint the entire left side. I would probably take the insurance money for the whole repair and only replace the bumper and molding myself.