dam..got into accident need some advice...

[zer0c123]

I'm driving home from school on a busy street. I'm following a BMV M3 from about a cars distance away. The M3 is following a green corolla. The corolla makes a quick left turn into one of those special left turn lanes that is packed. Since there isn't much room for the guy in the corolla to get his whole car in, it causes the M3 driver to brake hard. I was in 4th gear going about 43mph i think. I hit the brakes, but i saw i wasn;t gonna make it so i tried to swerve right to get out of the way. However it was too late and I rear ended the M3, causing the M3 to rear end the corolla.

The corolla had just about no damage at all. The M3 had minor paint damage to the front and back. My 93 240sx got some damage to the left fender, its kinda crushed a bit inward. We pulled over to a less busy street. The Corolla driver was just gonna leave the scene, but the guy in the M3 told him that he needed his info cause he was part of the accident. The guy in the corolla just gave him his phone number and took off. Probably cause he had minor damage or none at all.

Visually the M3 wasn;t that damaged at all. But the guy was saying that his back bumper had some srping inside it and might be damaged. To me it just looked like paint damage. Also saying that it might cost some "G's" (thosaunds) to fix. We exchanged info(phone #, license) but didn;t give each others insurance info.

Basically there is damage to the left side of my front fender. Where the flip light is located. The left flip light is a bit damaged and it has trouble engaging up and down. Actually it goes up and down repeatedly, so i just disconnected the wires. My hood was stuck at first, but i decided to open it up to see what eles was damaged. Now i can't close my hood compeletly.

THe guy was saying that his insurance was already pretty high and wasn't gonna report it. But asked me to give him a call or he was gonna call me to sort this thing out. He said that he could help ask his buddies to get me a good deal to fix my car. He just said sorry this happened to me, shook hands and we drove of.

Should I report the accident cause i really don;t want my insurance rate to jump. Also does anyone know around how much this is gonna cost me to fix? This is my first accident...I know that mostly who ever rear ends someone is at fault.

I'll try to post a screenie when i get a chance.

[Anand]

try to go to a shop and get an estimate before going to the ins company... take his car to a shop that YOU know and get a quote... you will be able to figure out if you want to pay out of your pocket or not

[NeedCAforS13]

I'd say don't report it to the insurance company... here's why:

It was your fault...plain and simple, you should have left more space. Any insurance company will find you at fault.

There was no police report, so if he doesn't report it, no one knows it ever happened.

And even if he does file it, you really aren't in trouble for not filing, you could say you were still getting estimates done or something like that...

Sean

[WingsNThangs]

Every time you get into an accident, you should take down: license plate, insurance info, drivers license info, contact info.

[Bubba1]

All the above is good advice. I'm kinda surprised the M3 owner didn't insist on a police accident report as M3 body work costs are potentially very expensive. If the damage to the M3 is not bad, it might be better if you didn't report it as it would be considered a chargeable accident to you. Hope it turns out ok for you

[Turb0wned]

dont report it if u dont want ur incerance to go up look around at different body shops matter of fact... if u know anyone that can hook u up for a good price at one go there and when ur friend gives u a good deal tell the guy that you'll give him that amount and to go to that body shop

[zer0c123]

Well the other guy or an insurance company hasn;t contacted me in the last 2 days. So i'm not reporting then. Got my estimate of $1,000 for repairs from one shop. Still looking around for other prices.

I'm also considering changing my brake pads and rotors since they are always squeeking when i brake.

[deftdrummer]

how about an S13 front end conversion???

[zer0c123]

you mean adding the s14 lights or s15 ones? Yea i've thought about both of those. But my car is a fastback, not a coupe... I think the conversion only looks good on coupes for the true silvia look. I'm mostly aiming for the sil80 look.

[NeedCAforS13]

wow...where to start with this one...

he said "s13 conversion" would tend to lead me to believe that he meant s13 lights...

and if you're going for the sil80 look thats what you need! However you said that the s13 lights only look good on the coupes, so you're all confusing me?

Sean

[zer0c123]

ahh wtf was i typing

I stand corrected

[NeedCAforS13]

lol

Sean

[driftaholic]

hahazer0, you are hilarious

oh and,i wouldn't claim it if you can afford to pay it.

oh and, "The guy in the corolla just gave him his phone number and took off. Probably cause he had minor damage or none at all. "

or maybe cause he thought he caused the accident??

[Phax]

It was your fault...plain and simple, you should have left more space. Any insurance company will find you at fault.Sean

:Werd

Accidents suck, I've been in more than a few. Following too closely is a *****. A simple rule of thumb is 1 car length, or 1 second of seperation per 10 mph. At least until you get a brake upgrade...

J/K - even with good brakes that are already up to temp, you still need a good 2-3 seconds worth of distance to slow / manuver when things go sideways. The M3 guy was at fault too, for not having enough following distance between himself and the Corolla.

[leftovercrizack]

you mean adding the s14 lights or s15 ones?

The front end conversions require more then just lights.... That's why the cost a good amount.

[zer0c123]

Thought i would give an update. Well the dude called me today. Said his estimate is around $2600...sounds right considering its a BMW. My estimate was around $1000. Took him long enough to contact me cause i was gonna fix my car soon.

Anyway it looks like i'm gonna be reporting it to the insurance company since the cost for repairs is so high. If the guys estiamte was maybe $1500 i probably would have paid for his repair cost but $2600 is too high for my $11.50 an hour part time job.

If anyone of you come to san francisco for a visit. AVOID VAN NESS STREET!!! That street is going on my list of "don't drive there places" right next to 19th avenue....