Not how I planned to spend my afternoon.

[paddlenbike]

The repair shop got truck torn down this morning and thankfully there was no hidden damage. They are replacing the rear bumper, left bumperette & bracket, left mudflap, the black bumper capper, repairing and respraying the hatch and they even included time to paint my emblems black again. (The Toyota black pearl emblems are no longer available from Toyota.)

Even with these "wimpy" bumpers, the truck took a hell of a beating and came out with very little damage.

[Seanz0rz]

Sounds like they got you covered.

I am not happy that the rear bumper bolts to the body instead of the frame. seems like it would end up causing more damage that way, but those brackets are designed to fold up to absorb the impact.

[Bob98SR5]

Ken,

Did you wash the damaged parts before the body shop visit??!?

Reminds me that I need to remove my bumpers and treat the rust crap on the back side

[paddlenbike]

Ken,

Did you wash the damaged parts before the body shop visit??!?

Just for you, Bob.

[paddlenbike]

The repair shop invited me to come by today and take a peek at the 4Runner as they roll it into the booth for painting. They were telling me about the experiences they had with the various insurance companies involved. I have AAA, the at-fault party that hit me had Allstate. The Allstate has called me four or five times trying to get varying information for me. The story is the same every time, I was stopped in traffic and was rear-ended by their client. Even the person that hit me is admitting they are at fault.

So Allstate did their inspection of the 4Runner and they did not want to pay to have the bumper brackets replaced (one was bent) and did not want to pay for the damaged fender flare/mudflap. They came back a second and third time and on third visit they said my tail lights looked new and wanted to make sure they worked. The shop owner's response was "you better look for a different excuse because I don't know how you could ever miss THOSE brake lights!" Awesome.

AAA, yet again, has worked well for me. They haven't called me at all other than the initial contact, they are having everything replaced (including the brackets and mud flap) and gave the shop time to paint the emblems black like I had them. Overall, I'm glad the shop insisted on doing things the right way and didn't cater to Allstate's shenanigans.

In the paint booth, she goes.

[Seanz0rz]

Wow, unfortunate that allstate is making you jump. I'd tell them to go talk to AAA and stop harassing you.

[paddlenbike]

Wow, unfortunate that allstate is making you jump. I'd tell them to go talk to AAA and stop harassing you.

I actually just called AAA and they said I don't have to respond to any of Allstate's calls. Allstate has assumed liability, end of story.

BTW, I need side-lighting in my garage like they have in their booth.

[YotaFun]

BTW, I need side-lighting in my garage like they have in their booth.

Just so you can detail it even more to make it continually look like it just rolled off the showroom floor :-P

[paddlenbike]

Just so you can detail it even more to make it continually look like it just rolled off the showroom floor :-P

White paint hides a lot. I'm having them repaint the hood because it was in lousy shape, but it should look pretty good when I get it back.

[Robinhood4x4]

BTW, I need side-lighting in my garage like they have in their booth.

I have 6 fluorescent lights hanging from my garage and I have seriously thought about side lighting.