The End.

Bow_Tied

Original poster
Member
Dec 21, 2014
453
London, ON
It is with mixed emotions that I report the demise of our Envoy Denali. On September the 16th my wife was driving to work when she was rear-ended by a college kid (late for class) in a Silverado on his way to school. He was apologetic, polite, and took responsibility which was a pleasant change from some stories I have heard. Today I settled with our insurance company.

Although the pics of the damage appear quite fixable, a quote I obtained ran up to $4500. And this did not include repair or replacement of the driver's seat which had the seat back twisted from the impact and the recline motor now ran jerkily. The last pics shows how much the hitch was bent - the drawbar should be slightly pointing up due to the grade of our lane. The hitch was pushed forward enough to jamb the spare tire against the panhard bar. The spare tire winch end had to be cut off in order to pry the tire out so it could be driveable. The tailgate took minor damage. Other than a reverse light out it was completely drivable, tracked true. Thank God our vehicle was not a Yaris or some small tin can.

I say mixed emotions - we put a LOT of money into this vehicle, it was always broken or wounded. Worst reliability of any vehicle we have owned. In that sense, good riddance. In another sense, it was the vehicle that checked all the boxes for family use, towing, ride quality, features and is hard to replace in that sense. Plus despite being an '06, it was lower mileage for the year and was in overall excellent shape. When it was working well, it was nice to drive and looked nice too - the styling was far less dated looking than many SUVs of the period imo.

The insurance company's policy is to write-off if damage exceeds 70% of fair market value. They valued it at $3700+tx which is terribly low. I disputed (self-represented, I wasn't hiring an appraiser) and by creating a 12 page report demonstrating the real value we will be walking away from it just shy of $7k in pocket which is close to it's fair value. It was a lot of effort to get there, but worth it. Whoever buys it from auction will be getting an overall good rig that was well maintained with a ton of new parts including air-ride springs, rebuilt trans, new steering rack, fuel pump and many other parts.

I will have some weather tech mats and the 18" Denali wheels with new rubber to sell to help offset our losses. We will not be getting another Envoy or TB, moving up to something newer. It's been great here, you all were very welcoming.
 

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northcreek

Member
Jan 15, 2012
3,310
WNY
That's a bummer but, thankfully nobody was hurt and that's what counts. The Silverado looks to have taken the worst of it though. But, hey no need to go away, I moved to a different vehicle from my 07 Denali and decided to stick around because of the great people here and in spite of my new brand nobody here has egged my house......yet!
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Certainly don't have to move away unless you buy that fugly Tesla truck :biggrin:

Who knows, you might be getting into a newer GMT?
 

Reprise

Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Jul 22, 2015
2,724
The Silverado looks to have taken the worst of it though.

Another Classic bites the dust. :sadcry:
And, of course, I'm glad no one was hurt.
 

Bow_Tied

Original poster
Member
Dec 21, 2014
453
London, ON
Certainly don't have to move away unless you buy that fugly Tesla truck :biggrin:

Who knows, you might be getting into a newer GMT?

LOL!! that Tesla truck looks like someone failed at thier first test at AutoCAD school.

DB9855D4-75C2-4F06-A1F4-D46009753D74.jpeg
We replaced it already. 2015 Nissan Xterra Pro4X Limited. But who knows maybe a Colorado is my future. Tbd.

And yes, no one hurt. A little stiff and sore but that’s it. And I should write a book on fighting the insurance company lol.
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
LOL!! that Tesla trick looks like some failed at thier first test at AutoCAD school.

we replaced it already. 2015 Nissan Xterra Pro4X Limited. But who knows maybe a Colorado is my future. Tbd.
And yes, no one hurt. A little stiff and sore but that’s it. And I should write a book on fighting the insurance company lol.
Friend of mine had one of those, actually just traded it in on a Colorado. He said he misses the ride, they do ride nice, but needed a little more for towing. Solid vehicle choice!
 
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Maverick6587

Member
Dec 16, 2018
730
Sterling Heights, Michigan
Most insurance companies sell their wrecked vehicles to coparts.com. my sister-in-law works at one and she said 90% sell them to coparts.

Buy it back and rebuild. It's a V8... I'd hate to lose a gem like that. It could sell for only $100+ fees.
 

Bow_Tied

Original poster
Member
Dec 21, 2014
453
London, ON
Friend of mine had one of those, actually just traded it in on a Colorado. He said he misses the ride, they do ride nice, but needed a little more for towing. Solid vehicle choice!

Thank you. Ya, they're only 5k lbs towing. With the 5 speed auto and the power output of the 4L I think it'd tow better than a lot of comparable midsized SUVs but not likely as well as the Envoy with the 5.3L. It could likely tow my RV trailer, but it'd be maxed out I think. I want to get a smaller trailer or another rig. Maybe both lol

Most insurance companies sell their wrecked vehicles to coparts.com. my sister-in-law works at one and she said 90% sell them to coparts.

Buy it back and rebuild. It's a V8... I'd hate to lose a gem like that. It could sell for only $100+ fees.

I considered it, but I would not be ahead of the game paying a shop to fix it. It might be cheaper than buying one randomly and I'd know what I have which is good, but I'd also know what I have that's bad which would be a well maintained almost lemon with an accident history. Plus I have little kids - no time to do any of it myself. And I'd be uneasy towing with something that had the hitch that badly mangled.

It would be a great rig for an enthusiast to buy that had time on their hands to fix what they could and would be ok with all the repairs these rigs need. Myself, I need to move to a much more reliable vehicle for family duty etc..

It currently is at Impact Auto Auctions but I don't see it listed yet.
 
Last edited:

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
Ya, they're only 5k. It would likely tow my RV trailer, but it'd be maxed out I think. I will need to get a smaller trailer or another rig.



I considered it, but I would not be ahead of the game paying a shop to fix it. It might be cheaper than buying one randomly and I'd know what I have which is good, but I'd also know what I have that's bad which would be a well maintained almost lemon with an accident history. Plus I have little kids - no time to do any of it myself. And I'd be uneasy towing with something that had the hitch that badly mangled.

It would be a great rig for an enthusiast to buy that had time on their hands to fix what they could and would be ok with all the repairs these rigs need. Myself, I need to move to a much more reliable vehicle for family duty etc..
I hear you. It's amazing the spread on these trucks, I personally went 120k with no more than a fuel pump required... failed around 150k on the odometer. Otherwise anything else I had to replace was purely wear items or my own stupidity. The only think to look out on with those is something with the 4wd... I forget what it was but it had to be fixed twice. I want to say CVs... it was cheap but is an inherently common piece.
 

TollKeeper

Supporting Donor
Member
Dec 3, 2011
8,047
Brighton, CO
Its a shame really. That looked to be pretty nice. Probably taken a week to fix (including replacing the trailer hitch). But I do understand thou. I am having the same feelings on my Pontiac. I wish someone would just hit it, but then my wife would be begging me to buy her another one.

No one was hurt, thats the main thing. Vehicles can be replaced, family cant!
 

Bow_Tied

Original poster
Member
Dec 21, 2014
453
London, ON
Its a shame really. That looked to be pretty nice. Probably taken a week to fix (including replacing the trailer hitch). But I do understand thou. I am having the same feelings on my Pontiac. I wish someone would just hit it, but then my wife would be begging me to buy her another one.

No one was hurt, thats the main thing. Vehicles can be replaced, family cant!

It is a shame, the factory paint shone nice, the driver's seat showed some wear, but not bad for the age, no rips or holes. Very minor wear and tear for the age overall. Totally up to date on all maintenance including all fluids even brake, crowned. A little rust just starting on bottoms of rear doors (I had all doors, hatch and hood touched up in early 2015, always ran Mobil 1 synthetic..... Whoever picks up will have some work to do, and it does need a steering column sensor, but overall a solid rig. Yes, no one hurt is the main thing and we move on.

Got the cheque in the mail yesterday! I have been watching the auction sites and I have not seen it listed, I wonder how long that takes? Maybe I am looking in the wrong places.
 

Bow_Tied

Original poster
Member
Dec 21, 2014
453
London, ON
It is finally listed on the auction site. If anyone here is interested in bidding on it I will happily share any info.

 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
To me, that looks fixable. The rear bumper frame/hitch is replaceable. Somebody is gonna wind up with a nice truck cheap. Of course body shop costs are way up because they would use all new parts along with the labour involved. If it would have been me, I would have taken the cash-out and kept it. If I wasn't so far, I'd take a chance of it and fix it up.
 

Reprise

Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Jul 22, 2015
2,724
It looked good enough to me that I seriously considered putting a bid on it. Like Mooseman, I definitely think it's fixable, since the frame is intact, per your description.

Granted, parts are going to be more expensive up there, but I remember getting a new bumper cover for my non-Denali (unpainted, but CAPA-certified) for under $200 USD (granted, about 4yrs ago, as I recall) Took that to my preferred body shop and they paint-matched & installed for me for about $400 on top of that).

Non-metallic white shouldn't be too hard to match (and even if it's off a tiny bit, who cares). Hell, there are people here in IL who'd drive the truck the way it sits, without a second thought.

Not sure if you could still get liability insurance on it, but if so, and you guys really liked it... I'd give serious thought to keeping it.
 
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Bow_Tied

Original poster
Member
Dec 21, 2014
453
London, ON
I agree with all you are saying. Insurance shouldn't be an issue, it is not branded.

My life has zero room for more projects on top of current daily drivers, home renos, and kids. I will say the Denali bumper cover, at least around here, is hard to get. I got a quote of ~$1100 for the just the cover via the one shop I got an estimate from for complete repairs (which might be why the quote I got was much higher than the insurance company repair estimate).
 

TollKeeper

Supporting Donor
Member
Dec 3, 2011
8,047
Brighton, CO
WTF..

Primary Damage:Rear
Loss Type:Collision
Fob:NA
Keys Present:No
Starts:Yes

Did you not give them keys or a FOB LOL
I bet because of these 2 things, it goes cheap!
 

Bow_Tied

Original poster
Member
Dec 21, 2014
453
London, ON
Ya, gave them 2 keys and 4 fobs (OE plus aftermarket with remote start). IDK what that's about.

Maybe the asshole tow truck driver that picked them up kept them.
 

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