[prestonharp]

Gonna try to keep this short. Was going through a intersection yesterday and lost control, striking another vehicle. My insurance is already INSANE (750 per month 23YO male).

There is zero faults on the screen, the car only punctured the windshield washer tank, that I can see so far. Here’s where I need advice. My mind is kind of scrambled after this one and I’m not sure what to do… the vehicle I struck is OBVIOUSLY going to let my insurance know there was a accident, oh and I received a reckless! I talked with a buddy at a body shop and he said he’d recommend to do it privately rather then attempt to go through insurance so I don’t get kicked off or my rates go up extensively..clearly I am going to need a lawyer, the reckless has to get pled down. Now on the car side of thing, what would you guys do? I’m considering just giving it to the body shop and saying screw it but I’m just not sure yet…

[prestonharp]

More info,

I am mechanically savvy to an extent. I can do about everything I can without a car lift and body work. I’ve looked at prices of fenders and doors, would it be easiest if I just disassembled the car and had my friend paint match new OEM parts out of pocket? I’m just concerned about other damage I can’t see?

[NickyC]

$750 a month for insurance? Are you kidding me? You're going to get immediately dropped by your insurance provider once they find out, you are going to be uninsurable. That $750 a month is going to look good for a car 1/5th the cost of that M4 you're driving now, I think you need to come to terms with just how bad your situation is right now.

I'm not even going to get into the reckless driving ticket, if you can't get that off your record I don't even want to think of your possibilities. You are basically the worst case for a 23-year-old now when it comes to automobile insurance. Insurance company rates have been rising drastically, and they're looking for any reason to get rid of high risk drivers such as yourself.

I would fix the car, sell it, then start looking for something about 1/5th the cost. I don't even think you'd be insurable at this point on an M4, and if so, you're going to be way over $1k a month which is completely bat-shit crazy.

You're young, you need to change your habits. It's fortunate nobody was hurt (I'm assuming nobody was) in this incident. Downgrade the car and start investing that money on your future.

Also, one point you will want to consider. You shouldn't have posted this. Insurance companies are not stupid, and it's very possible they will be able to find this thread if they look hard enough.

[prestonharp]

Thank you for the truthful answer, I need it right now. Gonna lawyer up and fix it myself hopefully…

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by prestonharp

Thank you for the truthful answer, I need it right now. Gonna lawyer up and fix it myself hopefully…

No problem, I'm old now but remember how I was at 23. You're likely smarter now than I was, but boy if I could go back in time and kick my 23 year old ass I would. I'm a very slow learner, I would have done things very differently back then knowing what I know now.

Good luck. If you are able to keep the reckless off your record, and a clean driving record for 5-8 years, this should pass. These high dollar toys will always be available to you a bit later in life.

[BIGW0RM]

I hate to be mean and sound like this. But WTF is a 23yr old doing in a M3? And paying 750 a month in insurance just to have it. My gawd!

[prestonharp]

Originally Posted by BIGW0RM

I hate to be mean and sound like this. But WTF is a 23yr old doing in a M3? And paying 750 a month in insurance just to have it. My gawd!

I work my ass off for my stuff man. I’ve had a S4 S3 TTRS and a slew of motorcycles. Just gotta want it bad enough. $750 is insane, but having a car like that at my age is a memory that’s priceless. Also, M4.

[a5m]

Originally Posted by prestonharp

I work my ass off for my stuff man. I’ve had a S4 S3 TTRS and a slew of motorcycles. Just gotta want it bad enough. $750 is insane, but having a car like that at my age is a memory that’s priceless. Also, M4.

Eh I don't know lol

[prestonharp]

Originally Posted by a5m

Eh I don't know lol

What do you not know

[wb8164]

From the photos you posted, the damage does not look terrible, but the paint match is going to be the biggest issue in the repair process. You'll need to paint the Fender + door at a minimum. I can't tell the extent of the door damage, but you might also need a new door skin. To do the job right, you'll need to do some blending into the rear door and the hood and possibly the front bumper.

I would go through your insurance. They'll be paying out to repair the car that you were involved with, so it's going to be a "chargeable" accident regardless. So, any thought of hoping they'll give you a pass is most likely out the window. Hopefully nobody was hurt or is making a bodily injury claim, but you don't have control over that at this point.

Just my two cents, but I spent over 32 yrs in the industry, but not in NV.

[tcphoto]

You might want to drive an M4 but at 23 and paying $750 a month for insurance is insane. Yes, your insurance will likely drop you after paying the claim to fix the other persons car and yours. You lost control of your car? Were you on the phone, texting or playing with the stereo? My guess is that the only car that you will be about to insure is an older Honda or Toyota after this because you aren’t high risk, you are near uninsurable.

[prestonharp]

Originally Posted by tcphoto

You might want to drive an M4 but at 23 and paying $750 a month for insurance is insane. Yes, your insurance will likely drop you after paying the claim to fix the other persons car and yours. You lost control of your car? Were you on the phone, texting or playing with the stereo? My guess is that the only car that you will be about to insure is an older Honda or Toyota after this because you aren’t high risk, you are near uninsurable.

Shitty tires and slick road, tried to shoot the light and the back end hopped out.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by prestonharp

I work my ass off for my stuff man. I’ve had a S4 S3 TTRS and a slew of motorcycles. Just gotta want it bad enough. $750 is insane, but having a car like that at my age is a memory that’s priceless. Also, M4.

It looks like there’s likely to be a pretty substantial price to that memory right on the horizon.

[Rich76]

Originally Posted by prestonharp

Shitty tires and slick road, tried to shoot the light and the back end hopped out.

Always a bad situation!
Never skimp on tyres!
They keep you on the road!!
Learn a lesson

[Soylent]

What M4 comes with shitty tires? Were the nannies off?

[reallymarkedup]

Originally Posted by Soylent

What M4 comes with shitty tires? Were the nannies off?

Dude can't drive, that's why his insurance is already so high but he won't ever admit that. It's obviously the cars fault. Bad tires.

[alex2364]

Learn how to drive and stop f*cking around on the streets. Bad tires and slick roads are just an excuse for driving too fast and going past your limit on the street.

[P1]

Even with "shitty" tires and wet roads, was everyone else going through that intersection crashing also? For some reason I doubt you were driving responsibly. Accidents like yours is what makes all of OUR insurance go up also.

[cozye]

bro, thats more than a fender bender. You ain’t fixing that yourself. 10k job easily with the way thats pushed in under the A pillar. You obviously have some growing up to do. Time to start making some smart decisions. Let insurance fix the car. Get a proper car for a 23 year old and put liability only on it. All that “hard work” you are doing to burn your money at the prime of your life, take that money and start socking it away in investments. That $750 a month for insurance (with the $100k you spent on that car), thats serious money. Let me net this out for you. You take that $100k plus the 750 a month and put in on an S&P 500 ETF,, in 30 years thats worth $3.7m.. you can buy a whole slew of M4’s then, one for each day of the week, just on the rate of return you will be earning on that money. And to top it off, you’ll be wiser and not jumping lights looking for trouble. Bro, you need to get some humility and quit trying to live the baller life on the gram. You want the hard truth? There it is.

[Raimo5]

Originally Posted by prestonharp

...clearly I am going to need a lawyer, the reckless has to get pled down...

Or, you know ... you could take responsibility and own up to your actions. Might be a worthwhile lesson in discipline.

[zx10guy]

I guess I'll be piling on with some additional thoughts.

First, the tires you have are not $hitty tires. I can only assume you have the same tire around all 4 corners of the car. From your picture, I see the fronts are Michelins and they're probably either the Pilot Super Sports or 4S'. These tires are not $hitty and have been used as the reference for ultra high performance tires. I have had both on my 135i and have driven on them in track conditions. They're more than capable. First part of growing up is knowing when to be humble and recognizing that you were the cause of the issue. You remind me of the phrase Casey Stoner said, "Your ambition outweighs your talent."

Next, I'm pretty sure you're carrying a note on this car. With that in mind, you'll be forced to fix the car regardless. And when your current insurance most likely drops you, good luck finding "reasonable" insurance. If you think $750 a month is bad, just wait when your finance company secures their own insurance and makes you pay it. That $750 is going to look like a bargain.

As the others have said, all that money thrown away just to YOLO and impress people that really don't care about you could have been invested setting you up for future success.

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by prestonharp

I talked with a buddy at a body shop and he said he’d recommend to do it privately rather then attempt to go through insurance so I don’t get kicked off or my rates go up extensively.

I would highly advise against that, especially since there is another vehicle and person/people involved. I work in the insurance industry, if you try to go it alone this can go very financially sideways for you very, very quickly. Very.