Smashed 2022 BRZ
 

Hi Guys,

I crashed my brand new 2022 BRZ (only 1 week old).

I was on the race track and hence have no insurance. I am in the hole big time and am desperately trying to locate a wreck or some well priced parts.

I need the following:

1. Full Front fascia
2. Bonnet
3. Fenders / Guards (left and right)
4. Radiator support
5. Radiator condenser
6. Doors (left and right)
7. Headlights (left and right). I am in Australia so the regulations are different.

Would appreciate it if anyone could assist.

No track insurance and no gap insurance on a brand new car, which you promptly crashed on track? I hope you learn a valuable lesson, because it's going to cost a lot of $.

Gap insurance wouldn't cover a track incident, so not sure why that's even being brought up.

You've got a point on track insurance, but slightly wrong. The point of any insurance is to have someone else cover the risk of damage to keep yourself whole. But they do it at a cost as well. If you're well enough off to self-insure, it's not the terrible no-good horrible thing everyone makes it out to be. But that carries certain risks as well.

My first BRZ was totalled 4 months after purchase. I declined gap insurance. I also financed 2/3's of the purchase, but maintained the full purchase price in my savings. When it was totalled, I repeated the deal, lost $10k in depreciation, but had plenty in savings to cover the new vehicle cost, but financed 2/3's again. I've had the replacement now for 8 years. So gap insurance the second time around would've been a waste. But one doesn't know it's needed until it's needed!

In my case, I was comfortable with the level of risk of self financing the loss of the vehicle. That doesn't mean I wanted to lose it, only that I was financially prepared for it.

Track insurance should be viewed as the same thing. If you're willing to decline it, do you have the means to walk away and/or replace the vehicle with minimal financial impact?

Also important is whether the track you're at requires accident cleanup costs to be the responsibility of the person that caused the accident. Those alone can easily total dozens of thousands. Again, maybe not a problem for some, but something that each individual must take an honest assessment of their level of risk. It's not always so cut-n-dried!



I'll keep an eye out for parts, though given the newness of the car, it's going to be tough to find a lot of those no matter what.

Sorry to hear about that, I was involved in an accident a few months ago with mine. Unfortunately, you may have some trouble finding the radiator, as of the moment they are backordered until August 28th in the U.S. I dropped my car off for repairs in June and likely won't see it until September.

Aftermarket options might work, but the part number for the radiator is different from the last generation car, and the body shop does not want to find out if the former aftermarket kits still fit. I haven't had luck with junk yards yet either. If I hear about any date changes, I can update though.

We're not asking the important question here:


is there video of this?

most people who track drive their cars use a gopro or something to show how they are driving well.

Pretty sure the guy came on here for help from the community and not to be ridiculed, I imagine he is feeling pretty upset as it is.

Exactly ^

Tracked cars get smashed up sometimes. It is the very top risk of the sport and not something to be ridiculed just because the car was new.

It is fun that so many on here are all "You don't even track so what do you know" but then as soon as somebody crashes then it is "you shouldn't track unless you can afford it".

Soundman summed the reality up nicely. Tracking is an expensive hobby. You blow out a shoe while playing badminton you buy new shoes and there is no court cleanup fees or extra costs. You smash up your car then it is going to cost you in several directions. Especially bad if it is also your daily and now you can't get to work!

What are you on about? Gap insurance covers the cost difference of what's owned on the vehicle vs. what your comp/coll insurance will cover in the event that the vehicle is damaged beyond repair, totaled. Track insurance covers damage to yourself, your vehicle, or the track facilities, in the event of an incident at a track. Track insurance plus gap insurance makes a track incident, even in a car directly from the dealer's lot, a nuisance, but not a financial wash. Why are you even bringing up self-coverage? It's pretty obvious from OP's statement - "I was on the race track and hence have no insurance. I am in the hole big time and am desperately trying to locate a wreck or some well priced parts" - that they do not have the kind of cash involved in self-coverage.

Yes, it's very true that motorsports in inherently dangerous. Competition motorsports, vastly more so. I wouldn't say wrecking a car is the top risk of the sport. The top risk of the sport is dying horribly in a crash, unable to escape, as you're burned to death from lack of fire extinguishing equipment in the car. Probably.

Ergo, it is just common sense to make sure that an indecent at the track won't be ruinous.

If a car is vital to your work/life and you don't have a backup, you SHOULD only take your car to the track if you can afford it, and the safety precautions (track insurance and/or huge repair bill) that go along with replacing/fixing it.

I waited to move from autocross to HPDE until I could afford not just the entry fee, but a hotel nearby the track so I would be well-rested, and track insurance, so I wouldn't be in financial difficulty if I crashed. Later, when I had a brand-new car I wanted to track, I had gap insurance, track insurance, and even AAA to tow a potential wreck home so I wouldn't be screwed if I had an incident at the track. I've been practicing what I'm preaching.

I said top risk as in most common incident not worst risk as in the most horrific result.
Gap insurance is almost guaranteed to be nonapplicable to a track accident. It will be right in the fine print.
All in all I don't think anybody has said that track insurance is a bad idea just that each individual should know if it is needed by them. Back when I did track you can bet I spent the little bit to have insurance. Never had to use it but I bet my times would have been a hell of a lot slower without it since I would have been worried every second I was driving.

Damn. Good luck man. Scary. My fear as well since there appears to be no such thing as track insurance in Canada ( unless you are insuring a large race team). If anyone knows otherwise please do share ( don't ask your insurance company as they will most likely drop you and your entire family if you even ask about it).

I saw this and thought "no way"!
There used to be about 10 places that offered it in Ontario. You could sign up for it right at many tracks. Started at about $50 a day and went up as far as $500 all depending on how much coverage you wanted. Now, this was the mid 90s so we are talking almost 30 years ago at this point. A quick search (I didn't deep dive) shows that there really is nothing out there now! If there is it is very hidden.

https://c.tenor.com/FWT55c9coQwAAAAM...ran-torino.gif

Damage does not look that bad, just a bitch waiting for parts given supply constraints.

Open Track has many Canadian tracks covered.

Never thought to check US companies!

That's bizarre! Glad someone is stepping up for you all. The value of this thread has doubled with that info.

???????


Bot reported

Does Lockton Affinity sell track insurance in the great white north?

They are one of the big companies that sells track insurance here in the US.

Haha.... I mean the challenge of obtaining track insurance in Canada, and potential solution.

LOL I know

It just read exactly like one of those almost but not quite on topic bot posts.

Am I ever really on topic? :D

Both are valid statements and do not contradict each other.

Commiserations mate. I'm in Vic but will alert you if I see any of the bits you need.

Sorry to hear mate, hopefully a simple repair.

Geeze there are some insensitive people out there.

Not sure what relevance gap or track insurance has to this threat. I don't have insurance coverage. Period

Please reach out of you can assist with well priced parts. I am in Australia but can arrange international shipping if the price is right.

That's not illegal in AU?

Eventually we will learn that OP is twelve years old and hopes to fix the car before his parents discover it.

I don't think it's insensitive at all. You knew the risk, did it anyway, and it bit you in the ass. The relevance of track insurance is that would have coverage for the accident after your deductible. And wouldn't have to worry about finding and shipping used parts. Gap is relevant due to the diminished value of the vehicle after a wreck.

When I still had my NA as a track rat, I had no problem throwing it around on track because it wasn't my daily driver, I paid cash for it and all the mods, and figured if I wadded it up, I just buy another and swap over any remaining good parts.

Gap insurance won't help with diminished value. All gap insurance does for you is make up the difference between the book and loan values if the car is totaled. It doesn't help one little bit if not written off.

Good to know, I didn't realize it only covered a total loss.

Well, at least in the U.S., your regular insurance is supposed to cover both the cost of repairs and diminished value from the crash. But its hard to prove the diminished value and even harder to get.

What's funny about gap insurance (the difference between what you owe and what the car is worth) is that you should probably NEVER, EVER buy it (especially in the current used car climate). Specifically, given that new cars are worth more than they cost most of the time and even cars that are 1 or 2 years old are worth close to what you bought them for, there simply is no need for gap insurance because it is very unlikely that a "gap" will ever exist.

Furthermore, how many people here are financing almost the entirety of their cars??? Almost everybody has, at least, a trade-in worth at least 5 - 10k that they roll into their down payment. In other words, if you financed every dime of this car because you had to, you probably shouldn't be buying it in the first place.

BTW - I bet insurance companies are still selling it for about what they used to and stupid people that ROUTINELY over-insure for things they actually should be self-insuring for regularly pay it thinking they are being safe and SMART. Uh, no... Those insurance companies are laughing themselves all the way to the bank.

BTW, on the subject of insurance, I heard a funny story yesterday from a guy who was admiring my car while it was getting tinted. He said he just lost his 2003 S2k. He had some work done and he was driving it and he lost a cylinder and, having to get home, he drove it harder until the engine blew and caught on fire. He then said he got a good insurance settlement given the current resale values for S2ks. He claimed he was driving it hard because he knew the engine was done and he wanted it to catch on fire. Whether that is true or not, I don't know. But it was smart (even if only by accident).

To be clear, I am not advocating insurance fraud. However, if you blow your engine while out of warranty, it wouldn't hurt to be so surprised that you accidentally swerve and total it at the same time (but be very careful when you "accidentally" crash). ;)

This is just patently not true. It's only been this way for approx the last 18 months because of supply chain issues.

Again, not true. This is why you're seeing people use 84 month loans to purchase cars that carry higher rates.

"Currently, however, less than half of U.S. households — about 4 in 10 — are able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense like a car repair or medical bill, a recent Bankrate survey found."

"Moreover, a significant number of auto loans nowadays come with negative equity from the outset. Almost half—46 percent—of the loans in the data we reviewed were underwater; that is, people owed more on the car—$3,700 on average—than what the vehicle was worth."

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...s-a8076436935/

Self-insuring? You realize most people don't have the money to do that, right? I carry 50/100/50 on our vehicle, and even though Oklahoma only requires a $75k bond.......I don't have that laying around to do so.

There also the part where some states require you to have as many 25 cars in your name to self-insure.

https://www.motor1.com/reviews/40696...elf-insurance/

When anyone brings up self-insuring, including the other poster earlier in the thread, I get the idea they're either so wealthy that their opinion about money almost doesn't matter for regular folks, or borderline conspiracy-theory "all
insurance is a scam, laws are meant to be bent, they're all out to get you".

Then CincyJohn straight-up related a story of insurance fraud as through it was a good thing and recommended others should do it and it firmly put him in the second category.

No real point in trying to educate him on the points your brought up as being blatantly false, but hopefully someone else won't come along and read his BS without reading your rebuttal.

Nice selective quoting there by leaving out "in the current climate."

In any event, yes - if you had to scrape up every penny you had to put $1,000 down and get an 84 month loan at 5%, by all means, spend that extra on gap insurance.

Of course, you TOTALLY IGNORED the fact that if you bought this car today at MSRP and you total it a year from now (or tomorrow) gap insurance wouldn't pay you a FREAKIN DIME since there would be no "gap."

If you buy a car at MSRP today with $1000 down and an 84 month loan, then there's going to be a gap until the day it's paid off. You'll be paying the note down slower than the car depreciates.

Also: You can cancel gap coverage at any time. So if you get the note lower than the insurance value, just cancel it.

Happy to discuss actual math - but if you buy a GR86/BRZ at MSRP with an 84 month loan today, you will have zero gap the day you walk out (if you believe the thread about the flooded BRZ where he just got 41k for his 5000 mile, 6 month old totaled car). Explain to me when, given the current climate, that that gap will exist. As another example, I just sold my 1.5 year old BRZ with 32,000 miles on it for $500 less than sticker. Obviously, if I financed every penny, I never had a "gap."

Second, if a gap does exist, it will be a LOT smaller than it would have been in years past.

Third, what are the chances you total the car? What are you paying for the gap insurance? Keep in mind that, in the current climate, the chance that your car gets totaled are a LOT smaller than they used to be.

I'm so sorry I left that part out and that seems to be all you can focus on.

Why would you put money down on a 5% loan when inflation is approaching 10%? And in a few years if rates come down back down, basically every decent credit union will refinance the car at the lower rate with no fees or additional costs.


There is no guarantee that the valuation will still be that high in 12-24 months from now, especially if we dip into a recession. GDP shrank last month and some big companies are already laying off workers. Then if it doesn't by the time you've paid the loan down to the point you have equity, you can cancel the GAP and get a pro-rated refund.


Of course, you TOTALLY IGNORED all the information I provided about self-insuring and how it's really not feasible for the vast majority of the population.

Hey provide some numbers and prove me wrong. As I said above, explain to me how a gap would ever exist today if insurance companies are paying 41k for a 6 month old totaled GR86 with 5k miles. You say people can’t afford to go without gap insurance and I say that if money is so dear for those people then the last thing they should be pissing it away on is insuring a risk that doesn’t exist. Of course, if you are an insurance agent, you LOVE people who are willing to piss away money on nonexistent risks.

The whole idea of “self” or under insuring is a fools game in the modern world where prices and values can and do change on an almost daily basis.
There is not a hope I would finance a new car without Gap. Sure today it is worth more but next week I could lose thousands. How much are people pa ting for gap anyway? I know that it cost me $80 to have gap. Not $80 a month or year just $80. People will spend thousands of dollar to change a header and gain 5hp but gap casts to much?
Under or self insured is simply moronic at any time. There have been a hundred or more threads on this forum alone where someone with insufficient insurance showed up begging for help and blaming everyone but themselves lives for their situation. Sure it sucks to pay some company all that cash if you never need it but then when you do at least it is there.

Oh and Cincy is very very good at ignoring what he doesn’t like and focusing on some minor out of context point.

Where did I say someone can't afford to go with out it?

I said, there is no guarantee that the values will still be this high over MSRP or the residuals in 12-24 months.

You crack me up, you say I intentionally misquoted you, so you're response is to ignore everything you said that I showed you was incorrect and then make things up.

You're great dude. Keep it up. You're a great source of entertainment.

To be fair, there are cases where self-insuring can make sense based on the price of the bond vs the cost of insurance, like fleet operators for instance. But for an individual car, those people make/have the kind of money they aren't buying a twin.

But it's still a huge gamble, because if something does happen you're still responsible for the entirety of the bond vs insurance being your deductible.

Yeah, that's pretty clear. I don't know why I bother engaging him when I should be looking for intake and charcoal filter dynos on YouTube.