What should have been a relatively simple approval of repairs to a 1984 Toyota pickup turned into a long hassle between a claimant and State Farm Insurance, who tried to total the truck to save money.

Recently, Art, the owner of the pickup – he’s been the sole owner of the vehicle – needed repairs to the front left fender and bumper after an accident that left the truck with damages.

Repairs at Leif’s were for $2,000 on a truck that—through the owner’s research—is valued at about $5,000. Instead of paying for the repairs, State Farm wanted to total the truck, claiming repairs exceeded the vehicle’s value – they initially offered Art $1,700 but wanted to total the truck too.

“If they would have just given me the check, I would have been fine with it,” Art said as he picked up his finished product at Leif’s.

After a good deal of research Art wrote State Farm with his plight:

“Admittedly, ‘comps’ for this vehicle are very difficult to obtain, due to the age and overall good condition of the vehicle. However, I have found similar comps to yours on the Internet and have included them in this letter (Two were priced at $6,000, a third was priced just under $5K). I understand that these are asking values and the sellers would probably settle for less. I have taken that into account when estimating the value of my own vehicle. I believe that the value of my truck is between $4,500 and $5,000.”

Art didn’t stop there, he went on to warn State Farm about what attempting to total would entail:

“Do NOT notify the State that the vehicle is “totaled” before we reach an agreement. Doing so will cause me undue financial harm, for which I will seek further compensation from State Farm.”

Since Art instituted his rights to have his car appraised – you don’t have to accept your insurance company’s total estimate – an appraiser came to Leif’s and studied the car. Shortly after, State Farm called Leif’s to state the repairs could be done no matter the cost.

Art said he chose Leif’s because of his independence from insurance companies and the reliability of their work.

In the past, Art went to Kadel’s Auto Body, who shunned work on an engine that eventually failed; conversely, his one previous experience at Leif’s was terrific, he said.

“When I saw Leif was independent and wouldn’t be pushed around by insurance companies, that’s where I knew I had to go,” he said.

Art reiterated that if he didn’t know his rights – he states laws about steering and the right to take his car to any body shop – he could have easily accepted the money and been out of a car.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened to others,” he said.

Unfortunately, at Leif’s, we see these sort of tactics all too often. An insurance company will try to avoid work and pad its pockets by totaling cars they undervalue, like Art’s ’84 Toyota pickup.