Insurance Claim: Replace B7100D or repair?

natedlee · Mar 26, 2017

So my solar trickle charger created a fire today and destroyed a 12/ utility trailer and did a lot of damage to my Kubota B7100D. At the very least my tires, radiator, fan, belts, any rubber hoses around engine, and most likely my hydraulic hoses for the front loader need to be replaced. Anything underneath the tractor is probably also compromised.

So my insurance wants me to get an "estimate to replace the tractor" and I'm trying to decide which way to go. Of course the tractor is worth more to me than it's "value," and it's also hard to determine exactly how much it's worth.

Curious if anyone has any thoughts on how to proceed with this claim? I can't easily even get it to a Kubota shop, so it's hard to determine what exactly needs to be replaced to get working. Or, perhaps it's actually far worse off than it seems.

North Idaho Wolfman · Mar 26, 2017

If the fire was good enough there is going to be a lot more damage than the hoses, you'll also have damage to all the seals and any other part that got hot.
A dealer is going to be astronomical is they would even consider doing it, most won't, and a good independent mechanic is going to charge you far more than what the tractor is worth to rebuild it, and that's not even adding in the several thousand in parts that will be involved if all the parts are available.

Post some pictures of it and we should be able to give you a better idea what is involved to repair it.

Replacement cost of a tractor like that is in the $5500 to $7800 range.

natedlee · Mar 26, 2017

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natedlee · Mar 26, 2017

North Idaho Wolfman said:
If the fire was good enough there is going to be a lot more damage than the hoses, you'll also have damage to all the seals and any other part that got hot.

A dealer is going to be astronomical is they would even consider doing it, most won't, and a good independent mechanic is going to charge you far more than what the tractor is worth to rebuild it, and that's not even adding in the several thousand in parts that will be involved if all the parts are available.

Post some pictures of it and we should be able to give you a better idea what is involved to repair it.

Replacement cost of a tractor like that is in the $5500 to $7800 range.

There are some pics. I didn't even think about the seals. I couldn't really get a pic of them anyway. Just looking at the tractor doesn't seem too bad. But when you start looking at specific nom-metalic pieces the situation doesn't look good. Then there's the huge radiator hose that seems untouched.

In any case all of the tires were already on their last leg and now they are all melted enough to be replaced. That along will cost a bit.

If it's a situation of insurance paying out the depreciated value I'm going to have a hard time finding a decent replacement. If they pay out what it would cost to get an equivalent model maybe I'd get more. I guess we'll see. But I don't even have a way to move it since the trailer was burned too.

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L35 · Mar 27, 2017

Curious as to what brand solar charger you had?

North Idaho Wolfman · Mar 27, 2017

That doesn't look pretty, sorry for your loss.

Parts for that are going to be rough to find, one example is the fan.

My estimate for it would be in the 4K range parts and labor to tear it down and rebuild it, parts around the front tire look pretty stressed.

Ike · Mar 27, 2017

Replace it. I bought one that was next to a barn that had burned down and I thought it did not look to bad. I ended up parting it out. Many of the casting around the seal area was warped and I could not get them to seal with out recutting all of them. I just cut my losses

Ramos · Mar 27, 2017

I would do two things: Further explore just what the insurance company is willing to give you in the way of replacement funds. Once that is done, see what they would sell the casualty back to you for. That way you could contemplate fixing it up or parting it out if you can buy it back for a few hundred bucks.

If you are insured for replacement value, they should pay back the depreciation once you have a signed contract on a new(er) tractor.

Tooljunkie · Mar 27, 2017

Sorry for your loss.
Many have tried what you are thinking but it becomes an expensive proposition.
Not only the parts, but you need to put value on your time too. A couple hundred hours doesent seem like much, tear down to nuts and bolts replacing damaged parts,cleaning and painting. Over a grand in tires alone,reseal motor and transmission and diffs.

I would rather beat myself over the head with a stick.

Whatever you decide, i wish you the best of luck.

D2Cat · Mar 27, 2017

Was the tractor setting on the trailer when the fire started? Where was the charger setting? What brand of charger was it? How did you discover the fire?

It looks like the right front tire got real hot by looking at the melted rubber and steering linkage.

I'd follow Ramos' line of thinking. Buy it back for a song, and have a project.

Be thankful the fire didn't get into those dry leaves and get way out of control.

hodge · Mar 27, 2017

I agree with Ramos. I had a friend who lost a Belarus in a barn fire, and the insurance company estimated and gave him about double what it was worth. He replaced that heap with a much nicer, and more valuable, JD.

Swampcollie · Mar 27, 2017

You might want to talk to an attorney before revealing the brand of the charger. You might also want an official opinion (ie insurance investigator) as to cause of the fire. It could be that the manufacturer of the charger has some liability. Maybe even hush money.

HickoryNut · Mar 29, 2017

Service Dept Vic said:
Yikes! That's a parts tractor me thinks.

Sorry about the tractor.....

Vic Lives!!!

natedlee · Mar 31, 2017

Sorry for the silence and thanks everybody. I'll get a report on the tractor today and see what my insurance is going to do. They'll cover the trailer fine and it sounds like they'll cover a replacement for the tractor, so I *may* end up with a new one.

Solar charger is being sent to an investigator for the insurance company. That could add an interesting twist to the story.

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Insurance Claim: Replace B7100D or repair?

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