JK23112

Friday afternoon on my way home, I was involved in a "chain reaction" crash. There were actually two related crashes involving four vehicles. Nobody was hurt and I did not get a ticket (Whew!) -- but the front end of my truck sustained some damage.

My bumper is bent, my grille is probably shot and my hood folded up like a tent. The left turn signal housing is cracked as well - but I think the headlight lenses and right turn signal assembly are unscathed. It appears as though there is no frame damage, no leaking fluids, no mechanical damage and my airbags did not deploy. The front fenders appear intact - at least from looking at them when my truck was on the back of the flatbed tow truck.

I had it towed because the bumper was pushed "inward" too close to my tire and I could not steer it; nor did I want to risk any unseen damage that could occur if I drove it (overheating, bent tranny line, non-working fan, pinched hose, etc.). My impact speed was only about 10 mph and the RAV4 I hit only had a dent in the rear tailgate, a cracked spare tire cover and perhaps a scratch on the bumper. Since I stood on my brakes and the ABS worked perfectly, my truck 'dived' in the front end before I hit the other vehicle.

My insurance company was very nice to me on the phone (no claims in more than 25 years from me) and had someone from a rental car company drive to the tow lot and pick me up. That was very cool. I have a rental car covered by them for three weeks, whether they 'total' my truck or decide to repair it. They will tell me on Tuesday which route they'll take - after their appraiser examines my Silverado.

Because they said I have "high mileage" (112,000 or so) on the truck, there is a chance they might declare it a total loss. While I love my truck dearly, I am afraid that if they "fix" it by replacing the grille, hood and front bumper....part of the front will look "new" and the rest of the truck will not. I also run the risk of a bad Carfax or a non-clear title of some sort.

I cannot afford a new truck; but if they gave me 'book value' for my Silverado, I would at least have a nice down payment on a new economy car. My other vehicle is a 2002 Nissan Sentra (143k on it) that I bought new in 2001 and am going to give to my son when he begins driving next summer. Ack!

Do any of you have any opinion on what you think the insurance company will do? Are they going to want to repair a truck that is soon ten years old? Any idea what they'd pay me for it (no lien on it and I have a $500 deductible)? I am waiting with bated breath to find out what they're going to do. I was planning on keeping this truck for several more years and was going to be a new small car NEXT YEAR and give my Sentra to my son; but now may have to push it back a bit. I honestly did not want a car note right now - even a small one. Doh!

P.S. I had a big box truck following behind me and he "locked up" his brakes - sliding sideways to the left and then back to the right. He nearly hit the jersey wall, but managed not to hit me. A state trooper was on the shoulder and witnessed the fiasco, which is probably why he chose not to cite me - although he technically could have. I am grateful for his positive discretion!

JK23112

Here are four pictures of my truck right after the crash: