Mako76`s Rig

[trumpy955]

hey Mako, looks like you are pretty handy there on the tools. Awesome job there mate and so damn neat !!! Looks like a great ute, cant wait to see pics of it muddy
Dougy

[mako76]

Just a little update on the Triton. Here are the results of getting T Boned at 80kms/hr when another driver failed to stop at an intersection and stop sign.Lucky for me the point of impact was the drivers side rear tyre which absorbed all impact however there was a lot of body damage along the the drivers side due to their car spinning after impact. This happened November last year and after just shy of 10 months in the repair shop the Tritons back in my hands as good as new. Enjoy the pics below.







Luckily for me the other person was insured and after a $25K repair bill its back on the road. There were quite few delays with parts and panels having to come from overseas but happy to get the Triton back.

[c-dale]

Wow! Glad you are alright mate. 10 month repair is crazy! Enjoy the beast now shes back

[baito]

Good result in the end I guess, did you get a hire car or something?

[mako76]

Walked away with a slight head ache from head butting the door frame, but i looked worse for wear as I was only dressed in an old pair of torn shorts and singlet with a 2 week beard growth and bare feet as I was dropping the kids off at school which amused the police, ambos and firies. The Mrs wasn't happy at my appearance when she turned up.The biggest issue we had was dealing with the other drivers insurance company and the assessor. They offer cheap insurance for a reason and it was like getting blood out of stone. My insurance company did a great job dealing with them, but they didnt budge for a hire car but lucky for me I have a spare car.

10 months was a long time but there was a bit of rework along with a few unforeseen electrical issues requiring reassessing etc and due to a spare parts person who couldn't differentiate drivers side from passenger side. In all, happy to get her back so I can add more goodies.

[baito]

Can't believe they didn't give a hire car, lucky you didn't need it, I guess the other driver would have had to pay for it

[Cowboy Dave]

I can't believe they didn't write it off. If it was 80kmh in the side I wouldn't want it back to be honest.

[mako76]

The write off value was around 65k with all the accessories and the repair was shy of 25k so they took the least expensive option plus I was just out of the new for old replacement by about 2 months. A lot of fine print and insurance policies were presented to me and if I wanted a long and expensive legal case I`d still be in court. Unfortunately the biggest drama was dealing with their insurance company. They advertise on TV about having the cheapest insurance around which reflects how they do business. In the end it wasn't even worth trying to get anymore out of them without legal action.

The tyres and leaf springs took all the impact leaving he chassis untouched and at factory specs, one thing I made sure was to be tested and reported.

[mattz]

Luckily you were ok.
Any pics?

Insurance companies won't fork out for a hire car unless you have it in your policy.
Otherwise if you really need a vehicle and have to hire one you can then claim it against the other persons insurance company. If they are at fault.
Generally you'll have to take it to court and show receipts for your claim but you'll win.

Correct me if I'm wrong CD.

[mako76]

Hey Mattz

I had to get the pics back up. You are right on that one, couldn't be bothered with lawyers etc, the hire car thing wasn't really an issue for me as I have a spare car anyway. One good thing is that my insurance company was able to force the use of all new parts and no second hand or reconditioned parts at all. Trust me Cowboy its not that easy to refuse to have a car repaired and rather written off, that was asked but like I said all the fine print etc came into play.

[Cowboy Dave]

If you're in a major city there are businesses now that will rent you the car for free and then sue the other driver in your name to get the $ back out of their insurance. But 10 months is out of control. I'm not really understanding why the attitude of the other person's insurer had anything to do with it. Usually your insurer would just do the repair in accordance with their usual practices and then put their hand out at the end for the money back from the other insurer.

Anyway let's hope they've got it all sorted for you properly - with the time they had they could have rebuilt the whole thing from scratch, by hand.

[mako76]

Was advised by my insurance company to allow them to asses it etc and after the initial quotes came in they disputed the cost of the repair and had it reviewed by their own assessors a number of times. Some of the recommendation were and absolute joke such as using 2nd hand parts etc. My insurance company then stepped in and carried out the repairs and then recoup the costs. The biggest delay was waiting for parts to come from overseas.

The car has been put over the pits a number of times had the chassis and drive line inspected by engineers before taking ownership of it, so pretty satisfied and have a lifetime warranty on the repairs ( which probably means squat).