If you have ever caused a accident please help me out

Sorry for so much info below. No one will help on yahoo so I come here..I wrecked a Buick not a computer but please help

Yesterday 10/11/10 I got into a car wreck. I was turning into a plaza, but I was waiting in the median for the cars to pass so I could proceed. I am sure I double checked so I went, well right as my front wheels were entering the publix I heard something looked to my right and then, crash. A 98 model yukon T-bones me. I slide about ten feet and a few feet forward scratching the bumper of a newer honda odyssey. I have a 1995 Buick LeSabre. I am pretty sure my car is now totaled. I got hit on the passenger side my right hand side of car is totally messed up. I don't know if my engine cracked or what but all the oil leaked out and my right front wheel ripped of the axel. Its also counted as my fault. But the officer wrote a ticket with no points added and wrote I wasn't paying attention. The car that hit me, front end is very bad now. They were going about 40 when they t-boned me. How much will my rates go up, Im 16, but never got pulled over before and they didn't add any points.

ALSO how much will I get for my car if they count it as totaled???
It is a 95 Buick LeSabre with 145k miles. It was in pretty good condition before the wreck. Ran great, and only had paint fade. Interior was great.
Kbb says its worth $2800 and NaDa says like the same. But when we added myself on the insurance policy like 2 months ago they said they thinks its worth around $850. Can I argue and get 3k? How about my rates? I also have full coverage and like 100k in property damage coverable

Not really as the insurer has no doubt an agreed value and that is $850 as you agreed to that when premiums paid. Insurance companies do not get 25 story building in luxury locations by paying out more than an item is worth and they sure ain't known for their charitable works.

Hard luck but it is all part of what is known as experience or growing up. You may also be sued for the other driver's excess, if any, and may have trouble getting another policy. They are not that keen on under 25's at the best of times!

You could start by not implying an admission of any guilt (ie: "If you have ever caused a accident please help me out") for the civil aspects of the case.

I don't think that a car accident belongs in the "Apple Notebooks" area...clearly this belongs in "Anything Goes"!

- Nick

Moved to "Anything Goes". Has nothing to do with "Notebooks". Please read forum descriptions prior to posting.

sorry for posting this there. And thanks for not deleting it..just posted here, cause no one would tell me what they think would happen. Sorry guys

If the car does indeed have the kind of damage you are talking about, fixing it will likely cost significantly more than the KBB or NADA book values, so the car will most likely be totaled. Now as to the actual total value..if the insurer already told you that they think it's around $850..I doubt they'd suddenly go anywhere near $3K..

Depending on which state you live in, being at-fault will most likely mean point and premium increase..it's interesting that the cop gave you a no-point ticket..being under 21 you were probably paying a pretty penny on insurance, expect that to get a lot more expensive now..you'll need to spend the next 5-6 years driving with a perfectly clean record to get back to down to reasonable rates..

Regards

apoirier594 said:

sorry for posting this there. And thanks for not deleting it..just posted here, cause no one would tell me what they think would happen. Sorry guys

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Sorry to say it...but with the details given...you were making a left hand turn... it's your responsibility to make sure it was safe to turn left before doing it.

Sounds to me that you were in a hurry...and turned left when it really wasn't safe (or the traffic coming at you was very dense & not many gaps)...and when you turned...you didn't have enough space or time to do it safely.

As far as the rest of your questions (value of your totaled car, insurance premiums, etc)...there really isn't a lot we can do or say.

Your totaled car it worth what it is worth according to the insurance claims adjuster (for the most part)...they won't negotiate much. Regarding your insurance claims going up. Well they definitely will go up...but by how much depends on your States insurance laws...and geographically where you live. And it depends on if you were on your parents policy...or if it was your own individual policy.

Auto accidents are NEVER a good thing (whether if it was your fault or not). Good luck,

- Nick

As Nick mentioned..since you were crossing traffic to take a left turn, the onus is on you to make sure it's safe to travel, but causing an accident while taking that left turn automatically puts the fault on you..

Regards

apoirier594 said:

Sorry for so much info below. No one will help on yahoo so I come here..I wrecked a Buick not a computer but please help

Yesterday 10/11/10 I got into a car wreck. I was turning into a plaza, but I was waiting in the median for the cars to pass so I could proceed. I am sure I double checked so I went, well right as my front wheels were entering the publix I heard something looked to my right and then, crash. A 98 model yukon T-bones me. I slide about ten feet and a few feet forward scratching the bumper of a newer honda odyssey. I have a 1995 Buick LeSabre. I am pretty sure my car is now totaled. I got hit on the passenger side my right hand side of car is totally messed up. I don't know if my engine cracked or what but all the oil leaked out and my right front wheel ripped of the axel. Its also counted as my fault. But the officer wrote a ticket with no points added and wrote I wasn't paying attention. The car that hit me, front end is very bad now. They were going about 40 when they t-boned me. How much will my rates go up, Im 16, but never got pulled over before and they didn't add any points.

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It depends on the insurer. Some companies have accident forgiveness for a first time accident. With that said, young drivers are almost always considered "high risk" and I wouldn't be surprised if your rates went up significantly. It will vary depending on the region you live in and the insurer. To be honest, your biggest concern is whether they drop you outright, because it might be difficult to pick up insurance outside of being on an "assigned risk" policy.

ALSO how much will I get for my car if they count it as totaled???
It is a 95 Buick LeSabre with 145k miles. It was in pretty good condition before the wreck. Ran great, and only had paint fade. Interior was great.
Kbb says its worth $2800 and NaDa says like the same.

Click to expand...

Do you have comp & collision, or just liability insurance? Most agents would recommend against carrying "full coverage" on a vehicle that old as the cost of the insurance (particularly for a young driver) would easily be more than the value of the car.

But when we added myself on the insurance policy like 2 months ago they said they thinks its worth around $850. Can I argue and get 3k? How about my rates? I also have full coverage and like 100k in property damage coverable

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Assuming you did get comp & collision, you should get roughly the retail value of the car. If you can make a good case for the car being worth $2800, you should push for it. Talk to your agent.

The other drivers are covered under your liability policy. So, yes, for any damages up to $100K (which is kind of low in my experience) your insurance will pay out to those parties.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but being an inexperienced driver is rough - both in terms of the financial implications and in having limited experience dealing with insurance companies.

Good luck.

Seek legal counsel immediately. Only an accident attorney can fully help you with your particular circumstance. Odds are you'll be at fault at least to some degree, but an attorney may (or may not) be able to protect you from "being raked over the coals", as the expression goes.

If you agreed to the 850 when you got signed on to the insurance plan, then they will never give you anything above that. If you are found guilty of the accident, and your insurance does NOT cover the other parties claims, they can sue you. Being young sucks when dealing with car insurance. If you haven't already figured it out, you might want to stick with an old car to keep the price down. When I started driving, I had a new vw jetta. Back then, my insurance was $140 a month. Now, I have a new passat, 3 tickets(1 speeding, one for not stopping at a stop sign, and one for gunning the throttle after a useless school sign), my insurance is actually lower at @114 for the same full coverage. If I didn't have my tickets, I would be at exactly 90 dollars with my current car and same coverage. There's a 5 year span between the jetta and the passat.

At least be grateful you don't have to pay Canadian insurance premiums...seriously costs an arm and a leg!

Yeah...I've been down this road before.

As an under 25 male (presumably), your insurance is already high.

When you get in an accident the insurance will go up. They have a formula for figuring out how much it goes up depending, so you'll only be able to figure that out after talking to an agent.

Now, you have to know whether or not you have liability only (possibly with extras) or full coverage. Unless you have full coverage, then you won't likely get a dime for your accident. You will get a raise in premium or possibly dropped, which sucks.

You are definitely liable. I got into an accident one day. I was waved out of a business in my work vehicle, and when I pulled out, the person behind them decided to speed around them and hit my work truck. Cop told me the ticket automatically goes to the person making a turn, regardless, and the burden is on that person to prove they aren't liable.