Accident Advice

Topic: Accident Advice (Read 1219 times) previous topic - next topic

Accident Advice

February 27, 2023, 06:45:32 pm

Hello all,
We are hoping for some advice. We were in an accident with our coach and have brought it to Foretravel for the repairs. The amount of the repair estimate is double the amount quoted by the insurance company. The cost of the repairs is 70% of the insured value of the coach. With that being the case, we are wondering if anyone has any advice.

Specifically, we are wondering whether we can push the insurance company to total the coach as there are unknowns regarding hidden damage. The other question is should we just take the chance with the repairs or just cut our loses and purchase another coach (only looking at Foretravel coaches).

As we are new to the lifestyle, we'd like to know if anyone else has experienced a similar situation and able to provide us with any guidance or suggestions, we would greatly appreciate it! We can also provide additional details on our particular situation to help gather the best advice.

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #1 – February 27, 2023, 07:24:23 pm

In general, insurance company adjusters total a vehicle when the repair price equals or exceeds 50% of the book value.
The question is what do you want? Foretravels are eminently repairable, and maybe while you're in Nacogdoches you might want to get a second or third quote. Others with more experience with collision damage will chime in soon. Heck, there's one guy here who bought a totaled UniCoach and did the repairs himself. I don't know if the original owner is still on this list or not so all I'll say is that he probably will never forget to set the brakes again.

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #2 – February 27, 2023, 09:24:03 pm

If you are already in Nacadochus, get a 2nd estimate at Xtreme.

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #3 – February 27, 2023, 09:43:19 pm

My experience is that insurance companies usually total a vehicle when they can sell the salvage for a significant sum - they want the lowest out of Pocket cost

they look at it this way

$$$$ to total coach less $$$ for salvage value = out of pocket costs to toal

then they compare that figure with the cost to just repair only and pick the cheaper route.

Did you get a quote from XTreme paint and graphix in Nacogdoches? THe insurance companies work well with them and their work is first rate

Tim Fiedler

On Mon, Feb 27, 2023 at 3:45 PM Dixon5 via ForeForums noreply@foreforums.com> wrote:

Quote

Hello all,

We are hoping for some advice. We were in an accident with our coach and have brought it to Foretravel for the repairs. The amount of the repair estimate is double the amount quoted by the insurance company. The cost of the repairs is 70% of the insured value of the coach. With that being the case, we are wondering if anyone has any advice.

Specifically, we are wondering whether we can push the insurance company to total the coach as there are unknowns regarding hidden damage. The other question is should we just take the chance with the repairs or just cut our loses and purchase another coach (only looking at Foretravel coaches).

As we are new to the lifestyle, we'd like to know if anyone else has experienced a similar situation and able to provide us with any guidance or suggestions, we would greatly appreciate it! We can also provide additional details on our particular situation to help gather the best advice.

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #4 – February 28, 2023, 09:08:47 am

Another vote for Xtreme! They work well with your insurance company. I've had 2 insurance repairs and both initial estimates were much lower than the final cost. None were close to 50% of the value though. Kristin is very helpful with this process.
But like others have said "what do you want"?

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #5 – February 28, 2023, 09:30:49 am

Hi All,
We appreciate all of the advice! We are going to call Xtreme today for a quote on the work. We will keep you all posted on how things go as soon as we can.

Thanks again for all your help!

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #6 – February 28, 2023, 12:16:56 pm

Not knowing what the insured value is makes it tough to speculate, but my experience is that the insurance company has to "make you whole." I expect that either Foretravel or Xtreme will be able to negotiate the repair cost between them and insurance.

If they balk then the only option is to total it. You retain the salvage for the value that their appraiser assigns, I'd expect it to be in the $5k range. You can request a copy of the appraisers report, almost certainly done by an independent appraisal group.

Drive your salvage to Mexico and have it fixed. Pocket the balance.

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #7 – March 05, 2023, 02:31:02 pm

Before you settle get a third party inspection for total value.. Insurance will low ball you.. get a second opinion on the damage .. looks pretty bad.

Update Re: Accident Advice

Reply #8 – March 20, 2023, 11:25:54 am

Hello All,
Good update on our accident situation!
Our insurance and Foretravel have an agreement on the repair costs! We will have The Bus repaired along with some other renovations and maintenance items we wanted to have performed. The insurance company actually valued our bus higher than what we insured it for so it made sense to them to repair vice totaling it. Foretravel has already started making the doors and will take The Bus into the shop this coming Monday Feb 27th. So that is the good news.

A little less than good news is that we will be out of The Bus until August! So in the interim, since we are full-timers, we are looking for a travel trailer to stay in during the time we are out of The Bus. The cost to stay in a apt rental or rent a travel trailer with 3 large dogs would be astronomical for that time period. Insurance would pay for a portion of our displacement, but that only goes so far. We did the math and it would be more economical in the long run to get a travel trailer. We get to continue our full-time life and we're thinking we could resell it or rent it out ourselves after we get The Bus back.

We will definitely share pictures of The Bus after the repairs and renovations are done in August.

Thanks to everyone for your input and advice on our situation, we really appreciate it!

BTW, the repair quote from XTreme Paint and Graphix was just as much as Foretravel's.

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #9 – March 20, 2023, 12:20:22 pm

Chris and Rhon,

Sorry to hear about your accident.

Can you share how it happened.

Sounds like you have good insurance and are in the right place to get back to whole.

Thanks
Barry

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #10 – March 20, 2023, 05:54:23 pm

But Xtreme does have an apartment they offer to customers....

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #11 – March 20, 2023, 06:28:38 pm

May I suggest a Class C over a travel trailer. Easier to sell and they are not as available as a travel trailer. We bought one for our trip to Alaska and when we came back, sold it. Came out even on the deal. A no brainer in my opinion. Again, just a suggestion!

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #12 – March 20, 2023, 06:29:51 pm

Or you could buy another Foretravel! I know of one hitting the market soon and it's ready to go

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #13 – March 21, 2023, 09:22:01 am

Quote from: Dixon5 – March 20, 2023, 11:25:54 am

A little less than good news is that we will be out of The Bus until August! So in the interim, since we are full-timers, we are looking for a travel trailer to stay in during the time we are out of The Bus.

You "could" slide a camper into the back of your pickup truck if it'll handle the weight. That would make an addition to your stable that would be a keeper. You know, for all those places the U295 won't "fit."

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #14 – March 22, 2023, 09:10:45 am

Quote from: Barry & Cindy – March 20, 2023, 12:20:22 pm

Chris and Rhon,

Sorry to hear about your accident.

Can you share how it happened.

Sounds like you have good insurance and are in the right place to get back to whole.

Thanks
Barry

Hi Barry and Cindy,
Thank you for the sentiments.
As for the accident, we were in Bradenton Florida at a KOA and needed to refill our LP Gas tank. The KOA didn't have the ability to do it. On the way to the local LP gas company, there was a 2 lane country road that was under construction and the road lanes were shifted. Due to the shift in lanes, the metal guardrail was very close to the white line. As we traveled, there was a hugh dump truck traveling in the opposite direction just at the point the construction area started. As we passed one another, the force of the dump truck pushed us slightly to the left and we scrapped against the guardrail thus causing the damage. Luckily, we had the Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer installed on our bus and were able to maintain control. We did not shift out of our lane or make contact with any other vehicle. There wasn't any mechanical damage so we were able to drive the bus safely back to the campground. The damage is terrible, but it was all cosmetic.

We have National General for insurance; they are a division of All State. The insurance company made an assessment of the damage and initially suggested we take it to a Chevy dealer in Jacksonville or Camping World. We thought that was ridiculous given the nature of Foretravel's not being a typical production coach. These are more of a custom bus in our opinion, so we elected to bring it to Foretravel. Another repair facility would have to come to Foretravel anyway for parts, etc so why not bring it to the manufacturer.

Insurance was a little difficult to deal with, but they made a deal with Foretravel on the overall cost. Insurance actually valued our bus higher than what we insured it for so I'm sure this factored into the decision to repair vice totaling it.

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #15 – March 22, 2023, 09:14:43 am

Quote from: Old Toolmaker – March 21, 2023, 09:22:01 am

You "could" slide a camper into the back of your pickup truck if it'll handle the weight. That would make an addition to your stable that would be a keeper. You know, for all those places the U295 won't "fit."

Hey Old Toolmaker,
That would work in a normal situation, but we travel with a Great Dane, a French Mastiff (the breed from Turner and Hooch), and a Boxer/Pit Bull mix. That is too close for comfort! They don't need that much space despite their size, but the camper would be too cozy.

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #16 – March 22, 2023, 09:20:38 am

Quote from: Elliott – March 20, 2023, 06:29:51 pm

Or you could buy another Foretravel! I know of one hitting the market soon and it's ready to go

Hi Elliot,
We considered buying another Foretravel as there are a few here at Motorhomes of Texas that are pretty cheap. We would have bought another one if the insurance company decided to total ours.
We did consider purchasing another one, however the units we looked at appeared to need some work to make them usable. With the insurance company agreeing to fix ours, we couldn't justify that size purchase and another diesel pusher as full-timers. At least with the travel trailer, we can store it easily when not in use.

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #17 – March 22, 2023, 09:27:41 am

Quote from: juicesqueezer – March 20, 2023, 06:28:38 pm

May I suggest a Class C over a travel trailer. Easier to sell and they are not as available as a travel trailer. We bought one for our trip to Alaska and when we came back, sold it. Came out even on the deal. A no brainer in my opinion. Again, just a suggestion!

Hi juicesqueezer,
Great suggestion and we looked into purchasing a Class C, however our pockets aren't that deep especially for the short term we would need it. If we could find one at a price point we would need it, we would've definitely considered it.

Additionally, while our bus is here getting repaired, we are getting some renovations done (new floor, couches, front seats) and maintenance on our slide, Aqua-Hot and A/C. After all that, my check writing hand (so to speak) will be worn out! HA, HA!

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #18 – March 22, 2023, 01:00:59 pm

Quote from: Dixon5 – March 22, 2023, 09:14:43 am

Hey Old Toolmaker,
That would work in a normal situation, but we travel with a Great Dane, a French Mastiff (the breed from Turner and Hooch), and a Boxer/Pit Bull mix. That is too close for comfort! They don't need that much space despite their size, but the camper would be too cozy.

It was a thought. After we moved from the P30 chassie'd Rockwood to the slightly longer U225, it didn't take very long to realize that the longer wheelbase that makes the U225 drive like a van also limits where we can go. Then again, you could get rid of the Ram and tow a Class C for local use with the dogs happily bouncing off the four walls.

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #19 – March 22, 2023, 01:06:31 pm

Hi Chris & Rhon,

Thanks for sharing your damage. Guard rails have bitten many a coach. BTW, somewhere in Cindy's DNA, she learned to stop our vehicle and wait for the other to pass in these tight situations.

So interesting that we are at risk of totaling a fully functional motorhome from cosmetic damage. Feels out of balance.

Glad insurance worked out and in time you will be back to full timing in your wonderful home. We enjoyed our 20+ years on the road, only staying in one place for days, weeks, or a month or so. There is lot to see when the US and Canada are your backyard, so it is nice to keep moving. It was also great not having anything pulling us back and being free of expectations.

Assume all fiberglass can be repaired but wonder what they will do with the door damage. With your truck's ability to tow over 12,000 lbs, you guys may find an inexpensive tow-behind to live in until you home is ready. Maybe after a while, finding a nearby campsite to check on progress and keep the repair moving. Then sell the trailer, even as a loss to keep from managing a long-distance rental. It is not an investment and being free to travel is worth it.

Thanks,

Barry & Cindy

Re: Accident Advice

Reply #20 – March 24, 2023, 11:07:02 am

Quote from: Old Toolmaker – February 27, 2023, 07:24:23 pm

In general, insurance company adjusters total a vehicle when the repair price equals or exceeds 50% of the book value.
The question is what do you want? Foretravels are eminently repairable, and maybe while you're in Nacogdoches you might want to get a second or third quote. Others with more experience with collision damage will chime in soon. Heck, there's one guy here who bought a totaled UniCoach and did the repairs himself. I don't know if the original owner is still on this list or not so all I'll say is that he probably will never forget to set the brakes again.

Ahh, I am late to the party but yes that damage looks all too familiar! I still have the body work to finish up and paint this summer but it functions and the price was right doing it myself. Take a look at my signature for more picture of my adventure.

Glad you were able to work something out with insurance. We were hit with a bad hail storm late last fall and I still have to deal with making a claim for some damage to the coach.

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