Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Hey all,

I had my van off the road for the past 2 or 3 months to do some minor repairs and maintenance. New procomp9000 shocks, egr plating, thermostat replaced and a bit of work on the manual glow plug relay. Anyways, the gf and I had just loaded up the van with camping gear, drove over to the nearest icbc, re-insured it and were on our merry way. 20 minutes later driving northbound on Clark St just past 1st avenue. I feel a slight wobble, then hear a loud BANG as I think the rear left tire blew out (BF Goodrich All Terrains installed 9,000km ago or so, which made that highly unlikely) slammed on the brakes, and turned to the right. I can't remember what speed I was going when I tried to get to the right, but the van fishtailed and ended up rolling onto her left side. The gf and I are shocked as all hell at what had happened over the past 10 seconds, but climb out my open drivers side window completely unharmed, thankfully her window was up and her arm was in the car.

Out I climb to inspect while trying to calm the hell down. The back left tire was completely off the hub, but laying right next to the axle, meaning it hadnt completely fallen off until we flipped. Some of the lug bolts were bent quite severely. I did the suspension myself but didn't even touch the rear tires since I could remove and replace the shocks without taking the tire off. I can't for the life of me figure out how I didn't check the lugs before setting off but that's the ol' hindsight kicking in.
Think it'll buff out?

Needless to say, I am VERY grateful that my gf and I are unharmed and nobody else was injured in the ordeal. When they rolled it over it actually didnt look terrible. I figured it MIGHT just be fixable. Cut to an hour ago and I get off the phone with the guy at the ICBC salvage yard in New West informing me that it will be a right-off. Also, it's treated as an at-fault collision so my insurance premiums are set to rise 30%. Fantastic.

Now I'm waiting to hear from the ICBC guy on the vehicle worth which could take a few days. Any help on what I should be doing now? My original claims adjuster spat out $2-3k just looking at the year 1992. Will the ICBC claims ask me for compatible prices or will they be doing their own "research"?

The salvage guy also said I could request Owner Retention which would deduct the cost of them salvaging it from my claim or something along those lines. I was kind of confused about that.

If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be GREATLY appreciated.

Wow, glad you two are both safe!!!

If you think you can repair it or can part it out for more than icbc is offering then don't let them write it off. Keep the van and your insurance premiums won't go up. I got stuck paying almost $4000/year after my accident. If you do let them write it off make sure you get a decent amount for it. I wouldn't settle for less than $6000 but would push for 10,000 hoping to meet in the middle around 8,000.
Good luck!

Again, I'm glad everyone is safe, that's the important thing!

it's unfortunate that the L300's can flip the way they do. lord knows there's enough rolled one's out there but most involved a tire blown out, ice, high speed plus the dreaded fast turn.

Weight both sides and see which one you come out on top. If the frame is damaged (unibody) and had to be straightened/certified, it may not be the best route to take.

you'll need to get it inspected at a frame shop to make sure it can be repaired and is still insurable.

if they are offering owner retention and it checked okay at a frame shop, then go that route since you have time/money invested in the van.

L300's do not fetch the 10k+ price mark anymore. The average cost is $6-7k and you can deduct 1-2k via ICBC. All the typical maintenance counts for next to nothing, regardless of how much it cost you. What adds to your vehicle value is the mileage, condition and additional accessories.

Good to hear no one was injured.

Glad your ok!

Asked my sister, who is a long time ICBC employee, about 'what's up with RHD vehicles lately'. 'Don't know, but they still write them off if they can. And they do'. Good luck and hope you get back on the road, and get camping, soon.

Kevin

From the look of it and the he fact that none oft he windows are even out or damaged it seems like it was a low speed crash.

So if the van is structurally sound, you could keep it as salvage, tell icbc you will fix it yourself, fix it and safety inspect it for 'rebuilt' status.

That way your premium doesn't go up and you keep your van.
...and perhaps let CVI do the work...

Glad you guys are ok

Martin

After looking at it again today, it reallllly doesn't seem like it should be written off so quickly . The hub and spring will need work, as will most of the body panels on the crash side. And you're correct, I would have been going less than 40kph at the time, but much likely way less as I had slammed on the brakes.

I'll upload more photos later to show you guys what really only looks like cosmetic damage.
Any advice on getting the alignment/integrity of the structure looked at before I sign yes or no for the write off?

Thanks for the well wishes so far as well!

Ouch, that's kinda' harsh. Glad you're both OK.

I can't offer much advice except this: In my experience ICBC will ALWAYS low ball their initial offer, knowing you're attached to your vehicle and won't be happy with the offer. They're (again, in my experience) prepared to go higher with very little prompting. This way they gain your trust and then screw you on the injury end; if it applies. (They're very motivated to minimize injury claims.)
Take receipts and ads for similar vans etc. Anything to demonstrate value and to show you're serious.

I don't mean to sound overly cynical but that's how I see it. So, in case you decide against keeping it, make sure you get every possible cent you can from them. Another thing to keep in mind, as previously mentioned, is that these guys WANT to write your JDM vehicle off. Who knows, presumably there's some internal reward in it for them but whatever the case, knowing this is a bit of an advantage for you.

As for your rates going up, I'm wondering if you could keep it and then part it out. The money made plus money saved on rates could work out for you.
Good luck & drive safe.

ps, someone else asked and I'm curious: do you know exactly what caused the spill and how that came about?

I'm fairly certain the lug nuts loosened somehow, perhaps just from road vibrations and failed catastrophically before I noticed anything. That coupled with the sharp turn to get to the shoulder opposite of the missing tyre put it into a severely unbalanced spin and final tip-over.
Still just waiting for icbc to get back to me with their cost evaluation.

So any news? It would be a shame if this van end up scrapped.

I missed a call on Saturday (icbc works Saturday's?!) and she said she has a price, but she won't be back in office till Thursday. Keeping my fingers crossed...

Okay so, I got a call today from the total loss department regarding the Van. Taking into account the brand new(ish) tires and whatnot, they're offering me $8,400 (after the $300 deductible). Seeing as I bought the Van for $6000 and put the tires on for around $1000 about a year ago, it seems like a fair deal. Does anyone think it advisable to put up an argument to try and get more money?

I also still have to talk to them to see if I can change the claim from at-fault accident to no-fault seeing as it wasn't exactly my fault the accident happened. If it remains at-fault, my insurance rates will increase significantly to the tune of $3000 over the next 3 years.

Any suggestions?

Well I wouldn't be bragging about it on here as icbc may look here to get current prices, there are a lot of adjusters etc. not just the one handling your case. btw you know you are getting a good deal, I would take it unless there were other things that you had added on after the purchase.

cheers

Take it! Put it towards an L400 Deals don't usually get any better than that.

Craig

I wouldnt have been posting those Numbers out..

ICBC investigators are smart people..

It sounds like your coming out on top basicly so i would take that offer.