Car Accident

[repoman0]

With the 330i I bought about a month ago. Coming home from work yesterday I'm in the left lane and the 3-lane highway is about to split into two 2-lane highways - I need to be in the middle to get on the right one. I look behind me for a second to check blind spot and someone is in the way so I can't move over, and at the same time I looked behind me some lady in front of me decided she wanted to stop and let somebody in who was at a stop sign waiting.. 3 car lengths turned into 0 really fast on a 45mph road.

She was in a big BMW X3 and her bumper went into my hood at around 10-15mph as I slammed on the brakes. She got some chipped paint and I got a wrecked hood, left headlight, crunched radiator (and probably more cooling system parts), misshapen bumper.. etc. Probably $4-5k worth of damage, and I didn't add collision coverage to my insurance because it was an extra $2k per year on a $9k car. At least I come out ahead if I don't get in another accident in three years 🙄

Finally got it to a good shop today after researching a bit. They're gonna tear it down tomorrow and give me a list of everything that definitely is gonna need to go because I already have a whole bunch of replacement parts waiting to get put into it. They said they'll need about 2-3 weeks, so now I have a ~2 hour commute each way to work on public transport vs half hour with the car. Definitely could have been worse though, no one was hurt, airbags didn't even go off, the engine wasn't touched at all, and that will teach me to assume that no one's gonna stop in the middle of a highway. Luckily I don't care about the value of the car as I plan on driving it to 300k+ miles if I can.

 

[CRXican]

fail

 

[repoman0]

..

 

[CRXican]

Speaking of fail, ever read any of your posts?

most of them

good driving and good job not having adequate insurance

A poor attitude and nothing constructive to add does not gain respect...
So contribute or stay out of the threads...

AT Moderator
Bartman39

 

[Arkaign]

Hrm. Glad y'all are both okay, vehicles can always be fixed or replaced.

As an aside, planning on keeping a 330i for 300k miles is ... financially unwise. I'm not trying to be rude or anything there. Similar vehicles that are much easier to get very high use out of are Infiniti G-series and Lexus ES/GS models. Cheaper to maintain, and less weird issues. I loooove BMW 3-series and 5-series, but I mainly recommend them to people who can afford them as disposable vehicles (ie; drive it for 20-50k miles, throw it away). Ditto Audi and Mercedes imho fwiw. I hope things work out well for you though, and that it gets fixed up to your satisfaction.

 

[repoman0]

most of them

good driving and good job not having adequate insurance

Thanks bro. like I said, I still come out ahead within about 2.5 years because insurance rapes me. Luckily I can pay in cash in full from my savings and just build it back up.

I'm kind of bummed about not seeing the lady stop, it was definitely my fault but who expects anyone to stop on a HIGHWAY?

 

[repoman0]

Hrm. Glad y'all are both okay, vehicles can always be fixed or replaced.

As an aside, planning on keeping a 330i for 300k miles is ... financially unwise. I'm not trying to be rude or anything there. Similar vehicles that are much easier to get very high use out of are Infiniti G-series and Lexus ES/GS models. Cheaper to maintain, and less weird issues. I loooove BMW 3-series and 5-series, but I mainly recommend them to people who can afford them as disposable vehicles (ie; drive it for 20-50k miles, throw it away). Ditto Audi and Mercedes imho fwiw. I hope things work out well for you though, and that it gets fixed up to your satisfaction.

Thanks, appreciate it. And yeah, maybe if a future routine repair ends up too expensive I'll just move on and find something known to be cheaper, but I plan on doing most of it myself so that might help make it more reasonable. We'll see

 

[thescreensavers]

^ lol you never driven in South Florida yet have you.
Sucks about the accident, happens man

 

[halik]

I've got a feeling this isn't your first accident. Also Arkaign knows nothing about cars.

 

[Howard]

I'm assuming you don't have much driving experience? One of my rules is to never try a lane change if you're too close to the car in front of you (various exceptions).

 

[chusteczka]

There are too many cars on the roads not to have full insurance coverage.

A driver might have been able to get away with less than full coverage 30 years ago but not today. The probability of an accident is too high.

We drive past thousands of cars each year. Assuming you drive perfectly, all that is needed for an accident to occur is one of those cars to make a mistake in a year's time.

 

[repoman0]

I've got a feeling this isn't your first accident. Also Arkaign knows nothing about cars.

First accident in the 50k+ miles I've driven, never even came close otherwise. And a lot of it is city driving

I'm assuming you don't have much driving experience? One of my rules is to never try a lane change if you're too close to the car in front of you (various exceptions).

Like I said, 50k+ miles although I'm only 23. And I didn't think I was too close, dumb mistake I guess. Must have looked back for a half second too long after realizing there was a guy in the way.

There are too many cars on the roads not to have full insurance coverage.

A driver might have been able to get away with less than full coverage 30 years ago but not today. The probability of an accident is too high.

We drive past thousands of cars each year. Assuming you drive perfectly, all that is needed for an accident to occur is one of those cars to make a mistake in a year's time.

Full coverage was over $3k/year, may still add it after this nonsense though.

 

[Arkaign]

I've got a feeling this isn't your first accident. Also Arkaign knows nothing about cars.

Haha, you're just mad because I don't think German cars are on average a good long-term bet, unless you do all your own work, which can be considerable. Or unless you're wealthy and want to pay to keep one running for a long long time. But if you're wealthy, why drive an old one anyway?

Why the dig?

Edit : Oh yeah, you had a sweet E46 M3 IIRC? That is kind of an exception to my general rule of thumb, as they are classics and worth keeping running even if the parts are often more expensive than the japanese brands. My dig on maintaining most of the run of the mill cars, like say an E46 325i or E39 528i, is that the depreciation on the car reaches a point where the maintenance on the car starts not to make sense (exceptions can be made for those who can and are willing to do most of their own work). But say you've got a '99 323i with 190k miles on it and the tranny takes a dump. Do you spend the cash to get a tranny replaced at that point? I don't think so, or at least that's not something I'd ever consider a great idea.

 

[makken]

I have just over 250k miles on my E36 and the drivetrain is solid. Expect everything else to break though.

 

[Arkaign]

I have just over 250k miles on my E36 and the drivetrain is solid. Expect everything else to break though.

That's pretty sweet, which model, and what maintenance besides oil, brakes, tires have been required? Obviously any car that makes it that far will need a few odds and ends. I really like the E36, those CSLs were the coolest things.

 

[makken]

That's pretty sweet, which model, and what maintenance besides oil, brakes, tires have been required? Obviously any car that makes it that far will need a few odds and ends. I really like the E36, those CSLs were the coolest things.

It's a '97 328is

aside from regular maintenance, I had to replace a coolant hose (cracked), a seized brake caliper, a leaky water pump, and had to solder a new capacitor into the climate control system. New clutch was put in at 120k miles, and seems to still be ok (no slippage yet) edit: oh almost forgot, power window regulators... those were a PITA

There are plenty of issues that I haven't address, and probably don't plan to:
-heated seats don't work
-the motor that reclines the front seats are shot
-motor that locks the gas cap door is seized (thank god in the unlocked position)
-half the pixels on the info LCD display are dead
-all of the weather sealing are cracked and starting to peel off (no water leakage yet tho)
-burns about 1qt of oil per 5k miles (a lot better now that I switched to a thicker oil, around 1qt per 10k now)
-cat converter performance is borderline not passing for smog checks

 

[EagleKeeper]

A second is to long for you to be looking in a side mirror.

2k more for collision coverage?? What is age of vehicle?

What is your driving record?

At 23 you should plan on being raped because of lack of experience.
And regretfully, you proved them correct.

 

[halik]

That's pretty sweet, which model, and what maintenance besides oil, brakes, tires have been required? Obviously any car that makes it that far will need a few odds and ends. I really like the E36, those CSLs were the coolest things.

There are tons of e46 cars in 200s

 

[Arkaign]

There are tons of e46 cars in 200s

Sure there are, well-kept and with a few things costing a bit more than the average car, or loose analogues by Acura/Lexus/Infiniti. Obviously the BMW (or Audi, or Mercedes) purist may not view these as equal vehicles, but for the most part it's cheaper to keep them on the road. That's not to say that the japanese are perfect by any stretch, the infamous auto tranny failures about a decade back on the Honda/Acura models stand out in that respect.

The typical BMW buyer around here buys or leases one new, drives it for 1-3 years, and gets rid of it for a new one. This then creates a good market for lightly used private party and CPO BMWs that are then driven for a few years, by which time they are often bought by people that can afford to buy the BMW, but not to own the BMW 😀

I'm sure we've all known that guy, who buys a <insert high mileage lux/sport car> with heaps of miles on it with the savings he's carefully put away working for $10/hr at some box store, only to find out that replacing almost anything on that car is going to cost more than he's probably used to. Any major problem such as a motor or transmission failure pretty much prices the thing beyond the worth of the vehicle unless you can do your own work AND find a great deal on a reputable part. To be fair, once a certain amount of depreciation hits, basically every car will reach that point. That aspect seems to hit the 7 and 5 series the worst, as their depreciation after that first 5 years is massive.

I know quite a large number of BMW owners, I very seldom see them keep their cars for more than a year or two. It really works out quite well that way, as the BMW service is very comprehensive and included in the price, and people with that kind of money usually don't want to be seen in a last-gen car, or have money burning a hole in their pocket and want the new toy now.

 

[Black2na]

At 23 you should plan on being raped because of lack of experience.
And regretfully, you proved them correct.

Really? this is a scenero that can and DOES happen to everyone! from 16-60 we have all had the person in front of us to unexpected things. and some of us are lucky enough to avoid it. this happens to be the case were he didnt it sucks he is paying for his mistakes and moving on.

Also OP you gotta shop around better for insurance. ive had my cobalt and silverado pickup truck on my policy full coverage on both and im at 1600 a year. went down from 1996 when i turned 25 and my record has no crashes but i have a speeding ticket or 2 you should be able to find a much better rate.

 

[saratoga172]

Definitely do some shopping around for better insurance prices. In the past 6 months I've been quoted: (all 12 month prices)
$3000+ for a years full coverage with $500 deduct from State Farm.
$2000 from Progressive
$1300 from Geico with a $250 deduct
$1700 from Nationwide
$2500 from All State

For whatever reason in my area prices vary wildly. This was with a 2011 Mazda 3 hatchback in the town of Addison just north of Dallas. I'm 22. Need to shop now that I've got a G35, but Geico lowered my rate with this car by about $100. Don't imagine State Farm or All State being any cheaper though. Progressive seems to be high in this area as well.

Do some shopping though because when I lived in Oklahoma Progressive was actually cheaper than Geico. The prices were almost flopped exactly to what they are now.

 

[foghorn67]

I've had State Farm for about ten years now, they have been very good to me.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Really? this is a scenero that can and DOES happen to everyone! from 16-60 we have all had the person in front of us to unexpected things. and some of us are lucky enough to avoid it. this happens to be the case were he didnt it sucks he is paying for his mistakes and move on.

It is not the person in front of him that was the problem.

It was him, paying attention to long on the side mirror.

Lack of experience in controlling situational awareness.

You always pay attention two cars in front; that drives the reactions of the vehicle infront of you.

The OP lost both frames of reference by concentrating on the side mirror for to long

 

[Doppel]

Really? this is a scenero that can and DOES happen to everyone! from 16-60 we have all had the person in front of us to unexpected things. and some of us are lucky enough to avoid it. this happens to be the case were he didnt it sucks he is paying for his mistakes and moving on.

It ONLY happens to people following too closely. Everybody should at all times be far enough away from people ahead that if that person locks their brakes up you have time to react. ALWAYS.

In truth the majority of us don't drive like that. The vast majority of us drive in ways that would result in a rear-end if at the stupidest times somebody locked brakes (like on empty highway for example). This generally works because most people are to some degree anticipating what the driver ahead is going to do. E.g. no driver in the world locks brakes on the highway for no reason unless they want to cause an accident.

A 23 year old in a 330i is going to have huge insurance premiums anyway, now it's just likely to get higher.

You do have my sympathy, OP, this kind of stupid accident happens to most of us at some point. I've gone very many years now without one, but I am not so sure of myself to believe it won't happen.

 

[Arkaign]

Those are very fair points Doppel. It can be hard to get a nice following distance around here though (the Tollways in the DFW area, and 635, 75, and 35 when traffic is moving at a good clip). The problem arises when I establish a good following distance, someone whips around into the space I've left right in front of me, and I have to space out again, someone else whips into the free space, etc. I very rarely find that following gap space is respected, at least on the freeways around here. Maybe I'm just surrounded by assholes! Keep firing assholes! 😀

Anyway, I agree totally, but it's really damned hard to do around here. Still, the simple act of trying does help. I know I've come close a few times, including just last week on George Bush when a multicar collission happened on a bridge just ahead of me, I was spaced out enough to completely avoid being tangled up. If I had been clustered up like they were I couldn't have escaped it.