HELP! My first accident! Argh :(
 

I feel gutted. I had this beauty for 2 and 1/2 years now and today in the car parking I scraped alongside the parking post as I tried to park next to another 86.

Should I claim this on instance? Or is it cheaper to find someone outside and have them fix it?

https://ibb.co/gVXzo5

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Well that sucks but shit happens. Probably be more than your deductible but being an at fault accident it could impact your rates for years if you make a claim. I personally would pay out of pocket and be done with it.

Do you think it would be an expensive fix? The main body panel looks like a pain in the arse to fix

No idea what repairs cost there so can't comment. A good body shop can make that as good as new with no more effort than you put in on a boring day at work doing whatever you do.
Take it in and get a couple of quotes and see if worth going threw insurance. Don't take too long though as most companies (at least the ones here) have a time limit on reporting accidents.

Getting that fixed will be cheaper long term than reporting the accident to your insurance. Increases due to accidents vary widely, but the minimum is usually $40/month and I've seen increases as high as $200/month. An at fault is usually required to be charged for 3-5 years so if you're lucky you pay $1500-$2500 over that timespan. If you're unlucky it could be 5x that.

If you can afford the fix out of pocket it's probably in your best interest. Like Tcoat said though, get a quote. It'll probably be a few thousand dollars.

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Well, that's a darn shame ......:(

Like Tcoat said, get a couple of estimates then check your insurance deductible, factoring in a most likely insurance rate increase, and go from there.

How much will it cost to fix it ?...... about twice as much as you think it should .... :cry:


humfrz

Thanks guys...

I feel like absolute shit. It's going to be annoying balancing school and trying to get quotes on it

Not sure about the US, but in the UK insurance companies require you to notify them regardless of whether you are claiming or not. They specifically ask if you have had any accidents including single vehicle incidents in the last 5 years. They use this to assess your risk values. I believe it's only at the start or renewal of the policy though.

In the USA it's up to the person whether or not they wanna report a accident like he had. In OP situation he should just pay it out of pocket as others have mentioned up above. ;)

I suppose this depends on the specifics of the car and driver but I did something very similar last year in my wife's CX-9, clipped a "stationary object" while trying to parallel park and went through insurance. smashed door and rear quarter panel, deductible was $500 and the repair was about $4k (covered by insurance). We expected our premium to go up but it didn't budge. This was AAA, btw. Considering the difference in deductible vs out of pocket cost the premium would have had to jump a LOT to make it worth paying ourselves.

Again, this was a family car and I'm An Old so YMMV. Just wanted to throw out a different experience.

If you have accident forgiveness you get one freebie at fault claim. If you do not or have more than one claim then you premiums can jump a lot. Each individual needs to check their own policy and see what is best for them.

So, does your wife let you drive her car anymore ........??


humfrz

Well, we sold the CX-9 to get my FR-S, so in a way yes. :burnrubber: