Need help...Wife's Centurion Wrecked

[SFC11B4]

Morning all,
Last Thursday my wife got into an accident with her 1993 Centurion.
She has (had) the Luverne grille guard. It absorbed much of the damage thereby saving a LOT of other parts.
We have an appointment in a couple of hours with the body shop and the insurance adjuster.
We want the rig back to the way it was. But Luverne doesn't make the same style of grille guard found on Centurions.
Does anybody have any idea of who does?
Does anybody have one they want to get rid of?
Thanks in advance.
Jim

[natterre]

Sfc- I have both that style and the newer round one. I took off the newer round one but since I am going to sell the 1992. U could always pull off that style of guard for you. I know you would appreciate it and am not sure of what a new owner would do. The beat part is that I am in Benson. Just let me know your preference.

[Traveler]

That is always tough trying to dig up parts.
You will have to watch ebay, scour craigslist and just keep your eyes open. You will have to put a value on it with the insurance company, so if you choose to wait and find one on say craigslist, then you need to include shipping or any other associated costs you think you might incur.

[SFC11B4]

Sfc- I have both that style and the newer round one. I took off the newer round one but since I am going to sell the 1992. U could always pull off that style of guard for you. I know you would appreciate it and am not sure of what a new owner would do. The beat part is that I am in Benson. Just let me know your preference.

Woo-hoo... You Sir, are a life saver!
I'll PM you my contact information.

[Bronco Biff]

Morning all,
Last Thursday my wife got into an accident with her 1993 Centurion.
She has (had) the Luverne grille guard. It absorbed much of the damage thereby saving a LOT of other parts.
We have an appointment in a couple of hours with the body shop and the insurance adjuster.
We want the rig back to the way it was. But Luverne doesn't make the same style of grille guard found on Centurions.
Does anybody have any idea of who does?
Does anybody have one they want to get rid of?
Thanks in advance.
Jim

OUCH!!

[armyfox26]

...So those grill guards came with the centurion?!?! Crap! I sold the one that was hooked to mine. I hated it...but I still would have kept it if I knew it was original. Blah

[Traveler]

They were a standard luverene grille guard but at that time customizing trucks just was starting to take off so they were not very common in the aftermarket yet.

[68Mercury250Ranger]

so how has the insurance company treated you? my insurance company has always been more than fair, we have declined a payout on a hit my wife's car took a couple years back and it went on our record(fixed it myself for under $150,they were willing to pay out 2500). our rates have stayed very reasonable . too many people abuse insurance. oops that starting to sound like a rant

[SFC11B4]

Well, the insurance company and the shop have come up with an estimate in excess of $5,000.00
At the same time they're saying the Centurion is worth about $5,200.00....?
The Right Front frame rail, from the spring hanger forward is bent about 20-25 degrees. I told them that under ordinary circumstances I'd be all for totaling a vehicle with frame damage BUT, this is in front of the spring hanger and the ONLY thing that goes on it is the bumper. Additionally I pointed out that there was only about 4,048 of these built and by comparison there were 13,995 SHELBY MUSTANGS built between 1965 and 1973.
I told the shop manager and the insurance guy what I would repair, replace, and how I would do it, to include the frame. They even wrote up the A/C condenser as damaged. I pointed out that there are about 6-8 Fins damaged but not the coil itself. It holds pressure and works and that a rock could be kicked up from the road and make it through the grill and damage a few fins....no replacement needed!
Another thing was they said they couldn't find the Luverne grill guard...well duh...I told them what the deal was with that when we dropped it off. I told them I had that covered (thanks Natterre).
Shop guys said he didn't have the luxury of buying used parts. I said well I do and I'm okay with certain things being used.
I'm supposed to get a call BY 12 NOON today from the insurance guy.
At that time I'll see what the insurance guy says. I may be taking a cash offer to fix it myself. Not ideal since I'm neck deep with stuff from my unit and won't even have a weekend to work on this until November 15th. I don't even get Veteran's Day off this year since I'll be getting certified by Harley Davidson to instruct motorcycle riding at their dealership (I've been MSF certified since 2012) any way, may have to order parts and then take leave and go at it.
While they haven't said they were going to total it, that is the way it's headed and I'm not about to let it happen.
More to follow as it develops.

[armyfox26]

Good luck! I would do everything in my power to get mine on the road if itgot injured!

[kto17]

SFC11B4, They are only giving the base truck value. On the NADA website there used to be an adder value for Centurions. I had to send it to my insurance agent and afterwards they agreed to insure my 95 for over the book of $9,000 ish and thats a gasser with 235k miles. It appears they now charge for that section. I sent a message to NADA asking where to find those values.

[natterre]

Thanks for the tip! This information will be good to know.

[SFC11B4]

Well, the insurance guy FAILED to call me by 12 noon as he said. 1205 hours I called Geico and filed a complaint against him, his supervisor, the regional rep, and the shop.
Then I called the insurance adjuster and left him a scathing voicemail. He called me as I was about to hang up from leaving the voicemail...lol
We talked briefly and he informed me that his boss agreed that the vehicle was worth more than the $5,500.00 they originally came up with, then I told him I was on my way over to the shop so we could go over everything again, face to face in hopes of eliminating any mis-understandings.
Now where we stand is that Wayne (the insurance adjuster) is supposed to eliminate some of the BS that was written up (like the AC condenser that has a few damaged fins but no damaged lines, the air intake plenum (has a 1/2" crack at the front lip), the grille guard that I'm handling (thanks again Natterre)). Once done, he was supposed to re-write the estimate and send me a copy (by yesterday, and no it didn't happen and didn't happen today either). They'll add everything up that I removed from the estimate, deduct that from my deductible, and cut me a check for anything over....I still don't have a warm fuzzy.
I'm starting to thing I may need to re-evaluate my insurance company.
More to follow in this saga.

[Traveler]

Insurance sucks, sorry to hear about the trouble.
It is wrong that we are required to carry it when their whole business plan is DO NOT PAY CLAIMS.
If we are required to buy insurance, why are they not help to some standards as well.

[Bronco Biff]

My bestest insurance guy appologized to me for the whole industry while telling me he was done and selling off all of his accounts, movng to Florida to do something different. He was over the scandle. havn't had near the service since. It is ORGANIZED CRIME.

[kto17]

This story is exactly why I insisted on a policy with full coverage and a minimum payout that I could name as long as I could show justification. Its a pain to read through all the BS and make sure you are covered. That is why I called and did it over the phone with the actual insurance company that records calls and made them email everything to me. I know I pay more but I'm covered for my C350 plus the aftermarket parts added by me. Travelers calls it a customized vehicle policy. Its basically what is used for show cars that are not old or rare enough for Hagerty.

[SFC11B4]

Well, Its been a couple of days.
The whole of the story now is that they are fixing the Centurion and the items I called BS on are being removed from the estimate.
A few things I will be credited for via my deductible and I may actually get a small check back....I'm thinking one so small that I'll probably file it with my check for a few bucks for jury duty and the $5.00 check the Army sent me in 1993 for reimbursement for having to pay my own way to get a bath....in the Korean bath houses!
I always thought it was funny how an organization will waste hundreds of dollars (man hours, equipment, etc.) to cut a check for $5.00 or less.
One thing that is strange is that I haven't heard from anybody about the other lady and her vehicle.....
If all goes well, Suzanne should be out of my Centurion and back into hers by the middle of next week.
Can't happen quick enough for me.....mine now has over 58,xxx original miles!!!!
And I have a few scuffs on my tires from Suzanne rubbing a curb every now and then.....I don't get it. Why my raised white letters get chewed on and her black walls are always nice?????

[SFC11B4]

And it's still in the shop.....They went to detail it out, rolled the back window down and it won't go back up....Shop called in an automotive electrician...no help, sent it to Rodeo Ford (was a good dealership when it was Pioneer Ford, not so much now), dealership said they had no idea what was wrong, didn't have schematics, and was afraid to break the glass messing with it. So, it's back at the shop and they're waiting on a regulator to come in and try swapping that out. I told them that if the rear window being down is the only thing holding things up, I'll pick it up tomorrow and I'll fix it over the weekend.
And I haven't heard anything from Geico....not the adjuster taking care of my vehicle, the adjuster taking care of the other lady and her claim. They said they wanted my wife's statement a day or two after the accident. My wife called 2-3 times, left messages and we have yet to hear back.

[SFC11B4]

Well, I haven't posted anything about the wife's Centurion in a while.
We've had it back for a couple of weeks now.
They couldn't find a grille guard that my wife liked. However, thanks to Natterre she now has one just like she had before.
I haven't had a chance to put it on yet....weather is not conducive to me working on a vehicle today....I won't say cold since I do vaguely remember what true cold is but it is cooler then it has been and windy as heck. I had to straighten a couple of things out (bracket and the aux light "box"), then I need to paint the mounting brackets and the box that surrounds the aux lights.
In any case, here are a couple of pictures that I snapped today so everyone can see the finished product of the collision repair sans grille guard.