ARGH! Kansas tourist took me out!

[Trudy Carp]

July 3rd, a date that will live in infamy. Some tourist on his way to Steamboat Springs just killed my VX. Shot out of a gas station and into my right side as
I passed by. Bye bye hinge pillar (crushed) right door, fender, and all the claddings. Even cracked my new fiberglass hood panel. Not drivable, door won't close, etc. Worst part? HE HAS PROGRESSIVE! AAARRRGGHHHHHH!
Let the screwing begin. Can't wait till their little "Progressive Mobile" shows
up here at the shop. I'll let him go through the motions and do the used part search I have already done. There are no good doors or fenders for the right side. Nothing "body shop quality". New parts are 12 weeks out. Looks like they'll have me in a rental for a VERY LONG TIME if they don't total it.
Well another 01 Ironman might have just bit the dust. We'll see...........

[Baldwin]

Bummer!!

[mdwyer]

Tourists... Why do they call it tourist season if we're not allowed to shoot them?

Still, the good news is that, last time I looked, you had your choice of four different VXs on Craigslist if you needed to replace yours.

I'm sorry for your loss. I hope it turns out okay.

BTW, if everything works out right, I'm going to be a tourist in your neck of the woods near the end of the month. I'll be volunteering on the burro race circuit if I can get away from the office.

[Solitude]

just remember these words when it comes to talking to the adjuster..

If your insured hadn't hit me.. we wouldn't even need to be negotiating

trust me.. it works wonders when you are asking for what is right

[don moore]

i had to get a lawer to get a fair settelment...he had PROGRESSIVE...thats how I got my VX


sweet post 400

[Joe Isuzu]

sorry for the bad news, I hope things turn out well for you but I think it's wise of you to at least consider the possibility that it may be totalled, I hope it's not but it sounds like a good amount of damage and with parts being difficult to obtain and likely expensive, it may end up being a hefty estimate

[VehiGAZ]

Sorry for your loss, Trudy! If it is the end, use this a nice opportunity to find another VX for yourself. Good luck!

[circmand]

But if it turns out it can't be fixed can you give the site a heads up on where the VX is towed and let us know what may be usable? I really do noy need anything but since parts are rare someone here may need them.

[tom4bren]

Sorry to hear about your woes. Sending you all the positive Karma we can.

[Trudy Carp]

Progressive guy due here today. Upside, I deal with these same Progressive
people here at the body shop so I already know the adjuster and he's not a
unreasonable guy and will be right up front with me about what his company
will or won't do. Progressive figures the car rental costs as part of the total claim, so that's going to screw me. I just completed the estimate and I wrote $3600, so it's only 40% of threshold for a total loss, but a potential car rental bill of $7000 will be the deal breaker.

Ed @ Tynan's Isuzu called again this morning after contacting Isuzu about my parts. Most of the body items are no longer stocked, period, anywhere. I have to place the order with vin# and they have to be "made" at Isuzu's Japan Fabrication Facility. That can be a wait of as long as 6-9 months as I'm sure some of you equally unlucky owners have already discovered.

Lenny Weisberg just put his 01 Charcoal in the local paper for 10k and I called him this morning to see if it was still up for grabs. It has 87k miles and he is the original owner. I plan to push them to buy that one for me if they are going to take mine.

Salvage value could be as high as 7k since it really has so little damage. It will go to Klode Salvage Distribution in Littleton, Co to be listed on their bid sheet. You have to be a body shop, salvage yard, or dealer to even bid on it. That's the downside to letting go of a VX with so many good parts needed by so many good people. Will post an update as more info is available.

[kodiak]

I’m sorry you have to go thru this. You should agree with there terms only if you can keep the VX. That way you can recoup more from selling the parts. Tell them you need to run this agreement by your lawyer first, it helps.

[rowhard]

That so much's SUCKS! I wasn't in my VX a week and this '*******' (sorry) almost took me out doing the same crap. God if I could of got my hands on him,... proable would of had a heart attack at my age, but I wanted to kill the,....sorry, bastard!

[clive goodridge]

Hi
sorry to hear of your accident BUT if you get the salvage could I buy the roof spoiler, steering wheel & centre armrest please?
Clive

[DarkWing]

I hope you do get your ride fixed, and fixed right. I'd hate to see another VX drop from the ranks.

In case you have do part it out, do you have a luggage rack? I was promised one by a guy trying to sell his VX and he sold it out from under me, I've been looking for one ever since. (Not a lot of cargo room on the inside, and I need to be able to carry equipment about 8ft long, the only place is on the top if I can get a rack.) Let me know, but, we will still be keeping our fingers crossed that you get your ride back.

DW
#0147

[Trudy Carp]

They are officially totaling my VX, over a door that won't close and their refusal to pay car rental for the time it will take to get parts. I can't remember when I have been more pissed off in my life. Unfortunately, all insurance companies view car rental costs as part of the total, so getting my
insurance company involved won't change that.
I have done my homework and they will need to offer me 12k to get my attention. A 2001 was just sold by Palmer Dodge in Indiana for 10k with a confirmed salvage title and 39k miles.

My friends at Klode Salvage tell me they do have a request for salvage value from Progressive on my VX. They have the photos on file and it's already been claimed for re-build by one of their people. Why not, just needs a door and fender. So, it's going to end up back on the road down in Denver with a salvage title. Sorry guys.
However I will still have a front axle and rear axle with only 4200 miles on it
up for grabs. I will also have a buildable transmission and transfer case. Trans has blown front pump, transfer case was run with minimal fluid and clutch is burnt. Still works in 2wd, but won't auto lockup the front. Does still function in 4w lo with no noise. I also have a new combo/turn signal switch still in the box. Anyone need these items, I'll make you screaming deals. I'm trying to sell my house right now so I really need to clean these items out of my garage.
These vehicles are awesome off road and I'm glad I had the chance to do
Kane Creek, Hells Revenge, and Fins & Things before I lost her.

[taylorRichie]

FYI most Insurance agencies offer the owner first right of refusal on a buy back.

But you have to ask.

they were going to let me buy my S10 ZR2 back for $3500, I opted not to though. Hindsight, I should have. But I just wanted to bury that whole deal.

[tom4bren]

Condolances Trudy. I know that has to be rough. Good luck with all you have goin on right now.

[Joe Isuzu]

sorry to hear about the bad news

[Trudy Carp]

After I faxed all my documentation to Progressive and they realized I had
enough to support $14k in payout, they switched gears. Helps when you
know the people at the salvage facility. Made 1 phone call. All of a sudden
my salvage value was submitted as $2500 instead of the predicted $5000 that Progressive was expecting. Paying $14,000 and only getting back $2500
were not the numbers Progressive wanted. So, I have 16 weeks of pre-approved car rental and my "Turtle" comes in the shop every night to stay warm, safe, and dry while we wait for brand new parts to arrive sometime in October. :)
It was touch and go for awhile, but I didn't want to go down without a fight.
Found a 2001 Charcoal that was recently sold by Palmer Dodge in Indiana for
10k with a salvage title. That was the one piece of info that really pushed it over my side of the fence. The deal breaker. Whoooo.......hoooooo My little
"Ninja Turtle" will live to off road another day!

[Ldub]

Said it before, & I'll say it again...

The Dub L:heart:VES a happy ending!!!:thumbup:

[So-CalVX]

that's freakin sweet!!! Great news to hear that u get to keep ur turtle. I would hate to loose my Bumble-V.
The best news is ur VX goes in shop everynight. That's awesome right there.
Glad to hear the good news! Good for u!

[Trudy Carp]

Thanks everybody for your advise and encouragement. Our VX's are becoming
more rare everyday and I'm thankful I could save an 01 Ironman from extinction. I always wanted an 01 Ironman, period. It wasn't as pristine as I would have wished, but the price was right.
Also ordered a new gate shell and lower cladding when the accident parts were ordered. That was her only major flaw, a pretty crummy bondo job just above the right side of the cladding. A hit and run in a local parking lot this spring made it six sides of ugly behind the cladding. I have one of the best metal guys in the area and he can't fix it. So, when she spits out the door this fall, she will be dent and bondo free with a new fiberglass hood panel and all her decals back in place.

Anybody know how many of the original 86 Ironman's built in 2001 are toast?
We should start a "dead pool" so to speak. Collect all the vin# that we find in
salavge yards and add them to the list. Could eventually discover how many are left. I would estimate that 15% of the original 4153 are probably gone, that would leave just over 3500 still in private hands.

Can't wait to do Moab again next year. Would like to make the next zuzoo and meet some of you fine folks. I have a good photo of mine climbing up the
ledges incline near the end of Kane Creek trail. I was in the company of 3-2007 Rubicons and if I had to stack rocks, so did they. Ran with the "big dogs" all day. Made it all the way through, totally stock, in spite of what a few "naysayers" thought. Some chick on a dirt bike, at the start of the trail, told me I'd never get that "car thing" all the way through Kane Creek. It was certainly fun proving them all wrong. God bless the trailer hitch!