SWB 4x4 was totaled. Now what? Can I get it back?

[georgieb51]

Sad story here. I recently bought a 1970 Chevy 4x4 SWB (Short wide-bed) automatic, 350, with original caravan on it always owned in the desert of Elko, Nevada. I was having it shipped to me in upstate NY when the transporter went off the road and all 9 vehicles and the tractor/trailer were "Totaled". The insurance company (of the trucking company) wants to pay me $5500. and then put the truck up for salvage auction. They have no idea how rare this truck is in any form. I do not want to lose this truck to a salvage company in Iowa. Any suggestions on what to do?

[Grumpy old man]

Call them back and tell them your not giving up the truck and they need to complete their delivery along with the check for damages that will be determined at a later date once your lawyer is involved ! They don't get to just tell you it's totaled without due process and that means delivery of whats left of your property !

[Dieselwrencher]

Wow, definitely sounds like a backwards deal. Did the towing company keep the entire wreck for the tow bill or something?

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Wow, definitely sounds like a backwards deal. Did the towing company keep the entire wreck for the tow bill or something?

The towing company has all nine vehicles that were on the load. All have been totaled. I talked to the towing owner (Barney at Barney's Crane and Wrecking in Newton, Iowa, 641-792-1505). In Barney's opinion mine was the only one worth keeping. It took two large cranes and two large wreckers to get the transporter upright and back to his place of business (he does not run a salvage yard). He says mine was missing the gas cap and therefore had no gas because it all drained out, but he put some gas in it and it started right up. I am tempted to go out and get the truck (1100 miles away) but I really don't have a way of doing this. Anyone in Newton, Iowa available to go to Barney's to check out my truck?

[In The Ten Ring]

If you can't go yourself, hire someone to go get it for you.

After reading this, I think if I buy a vehicle out-of-state, I'll do it in person and tow it back myself.

[Grumpy old man]

please tell me you had insurance ? They don't get to decide what happens with your property just because it's cheaper for them ! Personally I'd have my attorney having them rebuild the complete truck at their expense ! I'd start screaming and not stop until it's better than when they picked it up ! your not hurting the delivery company they have insurance to cover just this situation .

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by georgieb51

The towing company has all nine vehicles that were on the load. All have been totaled. I talked to the towing owner (Barney at Barney's Crane and Wrecking in Newton, Iowa, 641-792-1505). In Barney's opinion mine was the only one worth keeping. It took two large cranes and two large wreckers to get the transporter upright and back to his place of business (he does not run a salvage yard). He says mine was missing the gas cap and therefore had no gas because it all drained out, but he put some gas in it and it started right up. I am tempted to go out and get the truck (1100 miles away) but I really don't have a way of doing this. Anyone in Newton, Iowa available to go to Barney's to check out my truck?

Did the towing company go out of business?

I'm going to guess no.

Tell Barney to get off his ass and put your truck on another carrier and complete the delivery you've paid for?

You can then work out the damages with their insurance. Make sure you take a lot of pics of it when it arrives, still on their trailer.

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

please tell me you had insurance ? They don't get to decide what happens with your property just because it's cheaper for them ! Personally I'd have my attorney having them rebuild the complete truck at their expense ! I'd start screaming and not stop until it's better than when they picked it up ! your not hurting the delivery company they have insurance to cover just this situation .

I did not have my own insurance. The trucking company has insurance on it. I wish I had put my own insurance on it but I have alwasy waited until I got them home to me first and got them roadworthy. My mistake. But the trucking company has insurance. I do not seem to have much leverage in this situation. I do not even know if I can take it out of the wrecker's yard.

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by georgieb51

The towing company has all nine vehicles that were on the load. All have been totaled. I talked to the towing owner (Barney at Barney's Crane and Wrecking in Newton, Iowa, 641-792-1505). In Barney's opinion mine was the only one worth keeping. It took two large cranes and two large wreckers to get the transporter upright and back to his place of business (he does not run a salvage yard). He says mine was missing the gas cap and therefore had no gas because it all drained out, but he put some gas in it and it started right up. I am tempted to go out and get the truck (1100 miles away) but I really don't have a way of doing this. Anyone in Newton, Iowa available to go to Barney's to check out my truck?

Barney's is literally 20 minutes from me. If they will let you have the truck, I have a trailer and can go get it for you. I have a place it can set inside for a bit if need be as well.

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Did the towing company go out of business?

I'm going to guess no.

Tell Barney to get off his ass and put your truck on another carrier and complete the delivery you've paid for?

You can then work out the damages with their insurance. Make sure you take a lot of pics of it when it arrives, still on their trailer.

Thanks. The carrier had only one truck. Essentially he is out of business until he can get another truck. I will call right now to try to arrange another carrier. Thanks. Barney is just the guy in the middle who hauled everything out of the ditch and back to his yard. Not his fault.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Misread that part, then yeah, go back to the carrier.

I'd be leary of using a different transporter to finish the trip as I'm not sure how that would work out with insurance, especially since you can't inspect the truck before the "new" carrier picks it up??

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Barney's is literally 20 minutes from me. If they will let you have the truck, I have a trailer and can go get it for you. I have a place it can set inside for a bit if need be as well.

Holy Shoot!! You sound like you were sent from heaven! I think I really need to get my truck out of there until I can arrange another carrier. Should I PM you to exchange info, or just send you my phone number? According to Barney the truck still runs and drives OK.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Barney's is literally 20 minutes from me. If they will let you have the truck, I have a trailer and can go get it for you. I have a place it can set inside for a bit if need be as well.

This place is awesome

Get us some pics too

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by georgieb51

Holy Shoot!! You sound like you were sent from heaven! I think I really need to get my truck out of there until I can arrange another carrier. Should I PM you to exchange info, or just send you my phone number? According to Barney the truck still runs and drives OK.

PM Sent.

I'll get you pics. They used to have a pretty good selection of cars and trucks. They used to sell them to get their tow fees back. My cousin's sister got a 79 Mustang from there when we were in junior high.

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

PM Sent.

I'll get you pics. They used to have a pretty good selection of cars and trucks. They used to sell them to get their tow fees back. My cousin's sister got a 79 Mustang from there when we were in junior high.

Thanks dieselwrencher. PM sent. I have no photos so anything you could get would be helpful. I talked to the adjuster today and he said he would send me photos but I have not received anything yet. It would sure be nice to have the opinion of some like yourself who knows about these trucks. This was a 1970 Chevy SWB 4x4 and it looked like the original owner had a caravan on it since he first got it. Auto and 350 but relatively plain after that. No tailgate because of the style of caravan. I found it on Craigslist. I was hoping the caravan would have preserved to inside of the bed. The CL had lousy photos and did not show much, but I took my chances and bought it because no one had done anything to it. It had just been baked by the sun for 47 years in Nevada.

[Boog]

Im sorry to hear of your troubles Georgie. It could happen to anyone of us.
Way to go Ryan for helping a forum member out.

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by Boog

Im sorry to hear of your troubles Georgie. It could happen to anyone of us.
Way to go Ryan for helping a forum member out.

Lots of good folks on this forum. Ryan is super! I will continue to post as I find new info. Now the insurance company is valuing my truck at $6,000. and does not believe me when I tell him this truck is very rare-- that only 2,554 were made in 1970. They try to tell me they can find them all day long for less than that price. Crazy huh? I bet we all wish we could find an original 4x4 SWB for $6,000. Any one have any ads to show what these are really worth in original unrestored condition?

[Snake72]

Wow Georgie, that story makes me sick to my stomach...I live near Cedar Rapids Iowa, its about 1 1/2 hrs from Newton. If there's anything I can do, let me know. I know several guys that haul cars for local dealerships for a side gig, I'm sure I could find someone to run to Newton and load it.

I certainly wouldn't let the insurance company take it without a brawl, thats a rare truck!

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by Snake72

Wow Georgie, that story makes me sick to my stomach...I live near Cedar Rapids Iowa, its about 1 1/2 hrs from Newton. If there's anything I can do, let me know. I know several guys that haul cars for local dealerships for a side gig, I'm sure I could find someone to run to Newton and load it.

I certainly wouldn't let the insurance company take it without a brawl, thats a rare truck!

Thanks snake72. You are right. It IS a rare truck. And the insurance company tries to tell me these trucks are "devaluating." I appreciate your offer to come to my rescue. For now I have a fellow member who contacted me with a similar offer who lives only 20 miles away. For now I cannot get the truck released from the wreckers yard, but I will post something when I know more. Thanks for caring, George.

[70cst]

georgieb51 ...

So sorry to hear of this happening.

Stick to your guns and get your truck back.

Don't hesitate in getting a lawyer involved.


Best wishes and keep us updated.

[Joesjunk]

Wow that's a bad deal. I hope it works out good for you. Also lots of good guys on this board willing to help out!

As a side note, I always put insurance on everything I buy out of state the second I buy it. Hagerty is who I use and that say that they will insure it like that no problem.

Best of luck to you on this deal

[Dieselwrencher]

It sounds to me like the insurance company is playing the old bait and switch routine to not pay the value of something. Just look at the values on NADA. They for sure are not going down other wise you'd see a lot of threads on here every day about all the SWB's being dried up.

http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Ca...hortbed/Values

[arocars]

You do not need to have any insurance on your vehicle. The insurance company for the car hauler is the one responsible for paying you under third party liability coverage. It is their job to appraise your vehicle's damages, and if it exceeds 70% or so of its value, determine its actual cash value and/or replacement value. If you decide to keep the totaled vehicle, the insurer will subtract the salvage value of the vehicle from the money that they owe you.

The insurer cannot legally take your property without your permission.

The car hauler's insurance company is also responsible for the cost of the tow from the scene of the accident and for reasonable storage charges at the place that it's towed to. They also owe you for your loss of use of the vehicle.

If our fellow board member can go and get your vehicle and store it briefly for you, you might consider that. On the flip side, how much did you pay for this vehicle? Do you really still want a totaled vehicle that's 1000 miles away? Things to think about. It's easy to say you're going to sue. The reality is that it's often expensive and time consuming.

Lastly, you paid the car hauler to have your vehicle moved from Point A to Point B. The car hauler did not do that. They have materially breached the contract they have with you. You are likely entitled to 100% reimbursement of the money that you paid them to do the job. Check your written contract to be sure.

[arocars]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Barney's is literally 20 minutes from me. If they will let you have the truck, I have a trailer and can go get it for you. I have a place it can set inside for a bit if need be as well.

Dude, you are awesome for even offering.

[57taskforce]

+1 Ryan! Your a class act for helping the op out! That's what makes this board so awesome!