Auto ins is written for car, not driver. Even if u have full coverage on ur car, don’t matter if u drive friends car and wreck it. THAT car needs full coverage for damage coverage.
Not necessarily true. There are different types of policies. It’s a good idea to check with your insurer, because if your policy covers you no matter the car, the optional “add-on” policy offered for rental cars is an unnecessary expense.
You may have also damaged the exhaust system. Lots of potential damage from a hit like that.
I bet you damaged the sub frame in the wreck, possibly cracked the transmission case, hitting a curb at 40 is going to move a lot of stuff.
Main thing is to learn a lesson from this, as to not repeat the same mistake. How were the tires on the car? Speeding perhaps? We had a wreck here where some lady driving too fast in the rain in a focus on bald tires hydroplaned and spun out and hit a motorcyclist and killed him. She should have gotten jail time but she didn’t even get a ticket because she was sorry. Lucky you didn’t kill anyone. How many did you have in you?
Im coming off as harsh, but its all true. When we have a mishap at work we talk about it and make sure it doesn’t happen again, Of course I work in a field where mistakes are deadly, Kinda like driving a car. Plus, when I messed up as a kid, my father always made sure to talk sense to me.
Alright everyone, I’m very grateful for everybody’s input. When I posted here I was worried no one would even see my question but I’ve gotten a ton of feedback, and it might even have saved my life because when I headed into work Friday morning I was planning on driving the car back home and who knows how that might have ended up.
But to address some recent things - my friend/roommate is very understanding, besides himself I am the driver he trusts most in the world and vice versa, so he knows it was an honest mistake and that I probably did the best I could. Also, his insurance is apparently quite good, and unless they declare the car totaled they should be covering the vast majority of it, I just have to pay rental car until then so we can get to work next week.
I’m not beating myself up about it, there was little if anything I could have done. I was driving considerable below the speed limit, sober (on the way home from work), and simple changed lanes and during the lane change completely lost control of the car. I probably could’ve done a better job turning with the car and regaining control, but who is expecting to spin out alone on the road making a lane change? We’ve had some winter weather but the roads the entire way home had been completely dry, I must have hit some residual ice or something - tough to say for sure as his headlights are god awful and there were no streetlights where I was. I grew up in Minnesota and am no stranger to driving in snow & ice, heck, I did my behind the wheel training the morning after a snow storm dumped 12" of snow & it was still snowing.
Friday was an overwhelming day because I simply never have extra money, didn’t even have enough to take my car in for repairs so the potential financial impact has been the most worrisome, but combine that with a long week at work and being very far from home with no way to get home… like I said, it was very overwhelming to hear the damage is likely way way worse than I’d been hoping.
I am very grateful for 3 things though: all your advice, my friend’s completely chill attitude through all of this, and the fact that my accident caused no one any bodily harm or property damage. On that front I am extremely lucky. I wish I could say there’s a big lesson to be learned here but… might things have been different if he had newer tires & better headlights? Probably. But then if that was a financially attainable reality for us we already would have seen to that.
On that very last note - because it’s already been mentioned something like ‘if you don’t have the money for repairs you’re exactly the person who should have X type of insurance’ and to preempt a similar comment about tires/headlights:
I’m not talking we blow all our money on other luxuries and don’t tend to these needs or just don’t choose to spend money on them. When after all your regular monthly bills you have maybe $150 left in your pocket at the end of the month things like “yeah, let me just significantly increase my car insurance payments” or “hmm, I should get new tires” aren’t really and option. The money simply isn’t there. Student loans are a bitch.
I feel for you, I really do. How close are you and your room mate? Maybe you can pool what money you do have and buy one car? Maybe You can go to a bike… Not trying to be smart but a car is nothing but an expense. There is a guy around here that rides his bike year round pulling a trailer he uses to put soda cans he collects from peoples recycling bins, in the snow and all.
Thankfully you are ok, everyones ok. Thats what matters.
Loans are evil, Im not knocking you for getting student loans, But I hate debt. It sucks. I swear student loans are the worst, you can’t even file bankruptcy on them.
Look at it this way, in 5 years the car thing won’t matter,
" Maybe You can go to a bike"
That would be a reasonable suggestion if the OP did not have a 26 mile commute to work.
That distance, coupled with the fact that he lives in a state with cold winter temperatures, is enough to convince me that your idea is…not practical for him.
Your absolutely right,
I Forgot about the 26 mile commute, Well yes then that wouldn’t work… Its a pickle for him.
@Godot We have lived in Minnesota type weather for the last 60 years or so. All our family members have taken a winter driving course from the local AAA. It teaches you how to anticipate skids and correct them when they happen, along with many other winter driving techniques. None of our family has had a winter driving accident.
The course cost $75 or so when we took it and it’s a great investment.
I hit a curb on the passenger front tire sideways going about 30-35 mph this morning trying to avoid a head on collision with a moron flying around a sharp corner on the wrong side on the road. Aside from a damaged rim and flat tire now my 4x4 06’Dakota won’t accelerate properly. (Like it’s stuck in a higher gear? Anyone have any ideas what that could be?
@David_Keeler You would do best to start a new discussion rather than tack your question onto a six year old discussion. You will get better responses that way. Best of luck to you, sir.
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Thank you for the advice I’m new to this. Much appreciated
You are quite welcome.