Xmas day around 330 ish pm I was driving home from my mom's house driving on 280 N.
btw, we were having a storm here in the San Francisco bay area. to make a long story short, i hydroplaned (did a 180 degree spin)across 4 lanes on the freeway with traffic coming straight @me and slammed parallel into the freeway shoulder.

Luckily i was not hurt and nobody was riding with me. Now all i am worried about is whether or not the insurance company will deem my car a "TOTAL LOSS". I have had my car for about 4yrs and it has never ever given me any issues or even made a weird noise EVER. iI woke up this morning feeling sad, i never realized i loved my TL soo much. I was driving about 60mph and when i slammed into the wall I barely even felt it. i have a new sense of respect for 2nd gen TL's now.

So what do u guys think? Total loss or not?
kbb on my car is about 8500 retail/4700 trade in

 

that doesnt look terrible at all. youre lucky. it could have been much worse. i think that damage can be easily fixed. did any airbags go off?

 

That'll buff right out. Shouldn't be declared a total loss.

 

hidden damage is the thing to get checked out at a body shop
bent control arms, struts etc can up the repair cost to totalled

if ok underneath, seafoam and buff it~

 

glad your ok bro

 

a strange thing about insurance totals at least here in Ca- its not based on book value of the car
Rather on value of same type/model car FOR SALE online or elsewhere, within 100-300 miles of your location
ie: what will it cost to put you back in an equal car

 

same thing in NYC, they check the local sale prices to determine payout value

 

dave: to really be the worst xmas ever- this thread would have come from a friend of yours letting the group know you didnt survive the holidays

Anything less than that is just dented sheet metal and broken plastic

 

As long as the fender in the bottom didnt bend the frame then you're good

 

You arekidding, right- text should have been red- You saw the fender?

 

glad to hear you're ok. i did something similar (damage wise) and insurance had no issue covering it

 

that is not a total lost

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am grateful to walk away unharmed, my only concern is what 01tl4tl said about the hidden damage considering i was doing about 60mph and came do a complete stop by hitting the barracade. If not considered a total loss, I just hope everything is repaired correctly and nothing is overlooked.

The insurance adjuster will come look @ it tomorrow morning and i will update u guys on the outcome

 

That bitch is NOT totaled OP

 

dont believe the adjusters `walk around` inspection
If its not on a lift to look at the places hidden damage occurs,,it hasnt been inspected

In normal repairs the shop just calls and ups the estimate, insurance looks again and agrees to repairs
But it can be the differance between total or not, so get it determined ahead of starting repairs

no doubt the car took a huge hit!!,,and the passengers as well
Everything needs 2 opinions!!!

 

The insurance company decided to total my 99 TL last year after the front end was rearranged. After worked through the details the outcome was financially rewarding; although the car was still totaled. ...it allowed me to purchased a newer TL with more features.

Hang in there as the photo initially shows a little body work and minimal (if any) frame damage. (that's a good thing)

 

TOTAL LOSS my folks.
getting a check cut for a little less than $9k
but ima keep my gurl and sell her later

 

sorry to hear, but 9k isn't bad. you can get another tl.

and they're letting you keep the car? usually they take it when they pay you

holidays claiming some tls i see. mine was lucky that it's just cosmetic damage

 

They are cashing me out, 9k and letting me buy my car for about 1500. thats what the adjuster said but its not the official price... i should know in the next few days.

Now im debating on getting a 3rd gen TL or a 08'-09' Tacoma TRD

 

^lol truck or 3G, seems like a tought choice

is your car stock? there might be some bits that you can part out on here. It's a shame your tails didn't survive (well one of them did I'm assuming) those would have netted you some cash.

And I'm curious about the front end, looks like it's more side damage than anything else, maybe someone with more experience knows but what's the diff between the 99-01 and 02-03? Is it just the hood/grill, headlamps, front bumper? or does it include the front fenders?

there might be some 99-01 guys interested in doing a 02-03 conversion and you could sell that front end for a bit of cash if you don't require a fender as well

**hint** **hint**