Quote:
1st, DO NOT drive it anymore! You could doing more damage.
2nd, if it is your fault, then going out of pocket is fine. But if someone else hit you, I'd try to see if they would be willing to settle on the side without insurance involvement if possible, since even if their liability insurance covers your repairs, your insurance company will still be notified.
3rd, since you talked about driving it after the collision and paying out of pocket, I can only assume you did not file a police report. This may bite you, if you damaged private or public property in some way.
That doesn't look good at all man. At least $6,000 in damage, but prolly up to $12,000.
Good luck.
|
1) I might not have a choice about driving it - I am in Mexico about 60 miles south of the border. I don't think I'm going to be able to get it towed to San Diego. I took a look under the hood and nothing seems to be damaged, other than the front-right section. If I had an option, I have AAA and BMW Roadside, I would tow. But this is a bad situation.
2) I would be at fault. My car was on the downward-side of a steep slope (gated entrance, not a public road) and started rolling downhill. I couldn't get to my brake in time. I hit a low wall/high bump. There is no other party involved and no police report. I have valid US and Mexican auto insurance but voluntarily reporting this to insurance would count it as a collision which is at-fault. My insurance rates going up for 5 years and possibly being disqualified from many insurance companies is probably not worth it for me. I had an accident in 3/2014 and my rates are very sensitive to any additional violations.
3) The police came and made sure that everything was okay, no property was damaged, no one was hurt, only my car damage. I have 0 concern about that coming back at me.
It doesn't look good.. It really looks bad compared to the other beautiful side. I think your price estimates are what I was thinking as well. $6000 is if I can find a good body shop that will work with me being a direct pay customer... negotiated rates, lower margins... The only thing I have going for me is that there are hundreds of top rated repair shops between here and LA. I can get multiple estimates, take my time, and choose where I take it. I need a body shop that is good, fair, and needs the business because it is a slow time of the year and will therefore, be willing to make a reasonable deal. $12000 is what it will cost if I take it to my local BMW dealership and near-worst case scenario for potential damage.
The leaking is from the front right is washer fluid. I checked to make sure that no hoses/cooling system were damaged and this looks like the only one that is affected.
Finding a really good body shop is going to be really important.