RamCharger.net

Hey, sorry I haven't given an update and hopefully this will answer a couple of the PM's I received.

First of all, I'd like to get another Mexico RC so I'm not going to part it out until know what parts I might need. However, I'm sure I won't need everything; stuff like carpet, interior trim, etc. so I will let everyone here know and won't send anything useful to the shredder.

As for the insurance companies... I've been assembling my values, in part using the ads posted here and what I've been able to find on my own. The cherry on the cake was supposed to be an independent appraisal, at a cost of $175 . To say I was disappointed with his appraisal value would be an understatement. It was also very hard to find someone who would even appraise the truck, at least with any sort of credentials... There are tons of "hobby" guys who's appraisal values have no credibility. I don't know how you rate the vehicle as "Very good condition" and then give a value that wouldn't purchase a similar condition vehicle, or ship it..

So right now, I debate my strategy. I can go to the insurance company and tell them I have a 3rd-party value of XXXX and they'll offer XXX. Then I can go to small claims and collect the difference between XXX and XXXX. But that means my appraisal is now on the record.

Another approach is to burn the sh*tty appraisal with it's Wikipedia cut/paste, accept the XX offer and try to collect the difference of XX and XXXX in court.

So that's what I'm rolling over in my head.

Quote from: rjtx667 on May 14, 2015, 01:12:36 PM
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/5022436137.html

here is a 99 for sale right now... can't say I did the paint job, but that one is a slt+

that means 360, power windows, locks, air bags, rear A/C fog lights, etc etc.

Thanks for your help.You'll have a PM soon. Your screen caps are now part of a damage claim, lol. I was also able to find a second (beater) example for sale. That helps because I'm looking to establish that these SUVs are rare, but there are examples available at any given time... And thus I will not accept the value of some sh__beater Durango.

Will keep you posted how it turns out. It is good if we all know our rights... I recall being a kid on a schoolbus circa 1988 and there was a decent, but not perfect-looking '72 Newport coupe parked in the neighborhood we ran through. One day it reappeared with brand new paint, tires and a vinyl top. Looked like new. Then about two weeks later, it was halfway up the lawn after being legally parked on the street. Some drunk scumbag blasted it... I can only hope he ate his own steering wheel. Then I remember that my wife could have been getting into/out of the RC when it happened and I get sick all over again.

When the legals are settled, I'll spill more details.

(As you may have noticed, I have a lot of other Mopar stuff around the house)

So here's where the help part comes in... As you might imagine, I'm now dealing with HER insurance company.

Because it was struck while legally parked, the loss is covered by HER property damage coverage rather than being treated as a motor vehicle, as it would have been if on a roadway.

Their first response was to value it as a "Durango" since that's the closest vehicle, in terms of function, in their opinion. Which is a fairly BS response because a $1500 K-car does the same basic job as a $60,000 Chrysler 300, so if that's their basis for value they can blow it out their ____. However, I will say their valuation of $5k isn't completely insane. I'm not looking to get-rich, just recover what would be necessary to replace it with another MexiRC of similar condition (excellent after much suspension work and other repairs I performed).

What I feel I need to make my case are two things...

1) Show that these trucks while uncommon, ARE available in the US. I have a few Craigslist ads already, but if anyone could direct my to other sources, websites, etc. it would be appreciated. I'll take screen captures and use them to show that I CAN buy another 99-01 RC in the US, so no need to offer me a "Durango" as a comparable.

2) Of course anything that may give an indication of value. For example there is a '00 RC on Craigs California for $3900, but it's a piece of crap compared to mine, then add another $1500 to ship to Michigan. I think $8500 is a pretty fair valuation, and in fact I just saw one in Colorado at that price, (near identical to mine) but forgot to screen capture it before it sold.

So anything you guys could turn up in searches would be much appreciated. 

In early April, it was struck (while parked) by a senior woman texting-and-driving, (then panicing and using the accelerator as a brake pedal) after she bounced off another car. She left the road entirely and traveled a good 200' at full throttle before hitting it right between the axles. She was driving a 2014 Buick Enclave, a good-sized truck in its own right. She survived but is still in the hospital last I heard. She could have killed God only knows who as she drove over the sidewalk and over the grass.

Last summer, the Bing camera even captured it parked in the exact spot where it was hit at my wife's work. Ironically, in a spot where no one could park next to it and bang their doors on it. This picture gives you some idea how far the Buick SUV traveled before impacting.



Here are some aftermath photos...





The impact was so hard, it pushed the truck over the curb and about 20' through some soft earth.





This aint gonna buff out.



Shattered glass hit the driver's side interior so hard as to lodge shards into the vinyl door panels and even window tint film.

OK, I confess I haven't done a of of posting here. Quite honestly I don't post much on the internet at all anymore... But I'm hoping I'll get some sympathy by the end of this post. Let me make up for some of that by posting what I've done in the past year:



Pulled out the whole interior and cleaned it. Looked/smelled like new when done.




Got vanity tags and made up a fake license plate frame/front plate.



Had the whole thing "oil-coated" for the winter.

Otherwise the plan was just to enjoy the thing as my stock driver/cruise night vehicle. Which is what I did...





Both my wife and I took quite a liking to this thing. For cheap entertainment we'd park within sight at a restaurant and watch people get out their cell phone cameras. I'm sure it's been posted on car websites and FB quite a few times.

Then tragedy struck...

Quote from: SixGun on April 20, 2014, 04:15:10 PM
I could swear that Ryan's 2000 Ramcharger used mini van tail lights.  He and several other guys went on an Easter safari to Hidden Falls off road park.

Believe me, I wish they were that simple. They look like minivan lights, and they match the minivan liftgate, but they are different (wider) at the side that meets the 1/4 panel.

Quote from: The War Wagon on April 20, 2014, 03:27:58 PM
Your Mexican fuse guide, to help you understand what was done to your truck. 

Daas phunny...

Oh yeah... I would also like to find the original ^Ram_Charger emblems

+ Roof rails (entirely missing)
+ a left tailight (minor crack)

are there any online links to the factory catalog for these things? Would like to see what was available when new. (Options, colors, etc.)

Hello,

I'm a regular over at Moparts.com, owner of at least 10 cars/trucks and 20-year Chrysler employee from the Detroit area. I've known about the Mexichargers since working out in Phoenix at Chrysler's proving grounds when they were new and I'd see them occasionally running around the area with Mexican plates. Oddly enough, I don't think we ever had one in our test fleet... and we tested all kinds of weird stuff; Chinese Jeeps, Euro everything,  and even tests to simulate the beatings our B-series vans took on Mexican back roads.

Anyways, that time spent at the proving grounds gave me a real love for the Phoenix area (or maybe just a hatred of Michigan winters) so I head out there pretty often. A few weeks ago I started thinking about picking up something rust-free and bringing it back to MI. Usually I go after cheap C-bodies, Cordobas, Imperials, etc. (like this survivor I found in Tucson).



...but this time I started thinking about the 3rd gen Ramchargers. Then I started googling them and found the major thread on this site which really got me interested in finding one. That search didn't last long! Unbelievably an off-hand Craigslist Phoenix search found one that already had a California title. Long story short, I bought it, and thankfully not for the insane asking price!



This truck is pretty beat-up (as they all seem to be) having already been painted once, tinted lights, boomin' system, 26" rims and no screw left unturned (and loose). However, it seemed to run and shift well enough. No way I would have driven this thing cross-country as-is, so I got a shipping quote: $1300.    I figured I'd rather put the money into repairs than shipping, so I left it with an "internet friend" and AZ mopar club guy to make some repairs at his leisure until I return in a few months to drive it back. Most of what I expect it to need is suspension related, and if you see by the vehicles in the background, (which he has rebuilt the suspensions on) he seems to know his way around this generation of truck (another SST out-of-the shot)...



Before I handed it over I had a little de-crap-ifying project in the driveway of the house I rented (wonder what those neighbors thought I was pulling out of the door panels, lol) Here are the pounds of stereo wiring. This thing could have an AM radio and I wouldn't care about upgrades since I mostly listen to talk radio junk in the car.



Also not the lengths the PO went to making the sound system nice and safe:



I like the way he zip-tied a direct feed from the battery to a steel brake line... Exposed terminals and all. At least there was a 150 amp fuse so once fully engulfed in flames it would break the circuit! It's a wonder I don't see more stereo-mobiles burned up on the road.

So anyway, my desire is much like the mega-thread already posted. I thank rjtx667 for experiencing headaches and posting them so I wont have to. That said, I have a few questions:

1) It sounds like the dash harness was plug & play after you fixed a few missed fuse block connections, with the exception of the rear wiper circuit? Is this the takeaway? Sounds like there were probably two wiring harnesses from the factory, base and SLT? Nothing and Everything?

2) Did you ever finish the tilt wheel install? The airbags?