K, well I'm turning to the experts here... I have a situation on my hands... recently our 2004.5 Chevy Duramax was stolen. They did a complete and I mean COMPLETE interior strip. My insurance is considering totaling it. Should I allow this? Or should I buy it back and fix it myself? OR should I buy new, however buy back the old one and part out the rest of the truck?

Thanks
MBD

Umm, usually you get a pretty sweet deal when you buy it back from them. Insurance companies are not exactly in the used car market. They love to not have to deal with them IMO.

Let the insurance total it out and if the buyback is reasonable get it back then part it out. I have seen the 6.6 diesel engine complete sell for easy 7-10 K the Allison tranny is a easy 2 K too. Rear axle easy 700-1 K .....this is just off the top of my head here in my local market....your call though

Let the insurance total it out and if the buyback is reasonable get it back then part it out. I have seen the 6.6 diesel engine complete sell for easy 7-10 K the Allison tranny is a easy 2 K too. Rear axle easy 700-1 K .....this is just off the top of my head here in my local market....your call though


That's what I had heard but couldn't believe it.. I just don't have a garage to store it while the piecing apart begins... :lol:

IMO i would let them total it and buy another interior from a wreck. You should be able to buy the interior for a couple $k and like said you should be able to buy it back for a low price. If you chose to get rid of it you will probably be able to sell it quicker as a whole truck. As far as a salvage title goes this too will depend on what state your in. If you buy it back and repair it takes pics from when you get it back to when the final repairs are done and keep your receipts. Selling a theft recovery is alot easier than selling a wreck that has been repaired/restored. You could part it out but you will be sitting on it for awhile, the demand for the parts will vary by location. If you are looking for any other info or to sell it go to diesel place.com. There are alot of guys on there who are into pulling that buy these trucks as a whole to build or parts for the rigs they are pulling with.

I dont think you will be able to buy your truck back for very cheap. There going to get top dollar for that truck at salvage auction and on top of that the price for a full interior is going to be pretty high but maybe you will get lucky. If it was me I would get a newer duramax but not an 08 or 09 the mileage will be worse because of the dpf on the exhaust. I would get an 06 or 07 my 06 runs way better than my 04 did.

where do you live? You could find one in a wrecking yard and take the entire interior from it and install it in your truck. It isn't very hard to install. There is a wrecking yard close to me that has them in there.

You may not be able to buy it back. In many areas there are problems with people stealing cars and stripping them only to buy them from auction and rebuild them using the parts they stripped off. To combat this the title is often changed to Dismantle Only (or equivalent).

Hey, not sure if it's any help but, I have the complete interior for a 2001 2500hd 8.1 liter truck standard cab power window model. Head liner is tan, 2 power seats covered in cloth grayish color and dash is a grey blueish. I am keeping the center console/seat, steering wheel and gauge cluster. I bought the truck wrecked for the engine, tranny and wiring harness. But pulled everything else off it just because it was there. Anyway the stuff is in my way now so make offer. I can get pics.