just totaled my car...

bmwperson · Oct 31, 2003

!@%!@%!@#%!% i just bought this car 3 weeks ago and now its gone, this evening while driving back from work( not fast, just tired ) so on one of the intersection there are 3 cars standing to turn left, two of em went and the third one just went in the middle front of my car... i was driving maybe 40-50 the guy maybe 20 and bam.... i went flying on the road countersteering not to hit anything else finaly stoping on a pole. I came out of it without a scratch( to the amazement of all the bystanders ), anyway i had only liability, the guy had nothing, no drivers license, no insurance. My car is totaled im pretty sure about that, i still took it to my friends shop maybe i can get some of the money back... but truly my day today sucks... now its time to start saving some more money ( this time its gonna be an M3 ).I still have to go to court, i have a few witnesses saying that he ran a red light, but that would also mean that so did i, altho i dont remember it ( iv seen yellow a sec before i got to the intersection ) anyway, Im gonna get a lawyer maybe i can get some money back.

PS i bought the car of a dealer, shouldnt they have like a 30day insurance on it?

anyway, sad storry...... [V]

mikev · Oct 31, 2003

bmwperson said:

That really sucks. good that your ok though. Unfortunatly (In England Anyway) once you take the car away officially from the dealer (as in he has signed it over to your name) any group insurance he would have had on the car expires as he no longer has responsibility it. Any advice for the future would be go for fully comprehensive each and everytime especially on an M3.

Tom · Oct 31, 2003

Sorry to hear buddy and I'm glad you made it out ok. Since he ran a red-light and you have witnesses, you might be able to take him to court. Otherwise it's your word against his.

Once you drive that car off the lot its not longer the dealers responsibility for insuring the car.

manuel · Oct 31, 2003

dang, that sucks really bad tom. good luck when you get to trial. btw, you wont go wrong with the M3. g'luck.

frolf · Oct 31, 2003

hey man, sorry to here about that. I wish you well.

bmwperson · Oct 31, 2003

Thanks guys, anyone knows what happends if the judge decides that it was my fault? the speed limit there was 35 or so, I saw the guy before it actualy happen and i turned in front right so i would just hit im in the front, not the middle. The officer said i was going 40-50, dont know how he determined that but that worries me... gonna get a lawyer soon prolly....

bmwperson · Oct 31, 2003

one more thing, if i win in the court, whos gonna pay for my car? the guy wasnt insured, he proly doesnt have money, shouldnt the city pay in this situation? or my insurance company?

frolf · Oct 31, 2003

in this situation a lawyer sounds like a good idea

bmwperson · Oct 31, 2003

turns out that i have a ticket for disobeying a red light... sucks even more, im pretty sure the light was green, maybe yellow a bit later.. anyone knows what would be a good line of defence in this situation?

Wadula · Oct 31, 2003

oh crap!!! sorry to hear about that badluck....as all said before i am to hear you are okay.

bmwperson · Oct 31, 2003

if worst comes to worst could they suspend my license?

bmwperson · Oct 31, 2003

one more thing, the guy that i hit was drunk( thats what i heard ), he went to the hospital.. to they automaticly run a DUI on him?

mikev · Oct 31, 2003

bmwperson said:

Thats about right. basically hes flouted more rules than you so hes at fault. if he has no money then the state would pay his legal costs and i suppose if you win they'll pay for the car as well. but then again i'm not a lawyer and im not in your country so i could be completely wrong [?|]

Wadula · Oct 31, 2003

i would wonder if the state pays for something like that. if i were a state, i wouldn't [hihi]

no, i don't think they will touch your license. no others were hurt and he was actually the guy that more or less caused the accident. where is big daddy when you need him?

Fielding Yost · Oct 31, 2003

So sorry about the awful luck with the accident. I'm not sure where you live, but you could have some difficulty with any lawsuit that you file against this guy, even if he is drunk. First, you need to separate the criminal suit that will likely be filed against him (presumably for DUI) from the civil suit that you could file against him.

For the criminal case (if any), he will be provided with an attorney, and if he can't afford one. The court will appoint one for him (and pay the attorney). Remember, the state has a direct interest in the criminal case because someone may have broken the law. Unfortunately, that doesn't get your car fixed and doesn't pay you for any injuries. Criminal cases typically are just between the state and the defendant.

For any civil lawsuits (like a lawsuit that you could file against him directly for your damages), the state has no involvment. That means that the state doesn't get an attorney for him, they don't pay for any losses, and they have no involvment whatsoever. If he had no auto insurance, you may have a lot of trouble collecting any money from him if it was his fault and you win a civil lawsuit. The hard part about most lawsuits isn't winning, it's collecting on the judgment that you won.

I'm just giving you a little thumbnail map of the legal system. Like everyone else is saying, CALL AN ATTORNEY, because I don't know all the facts and I don't know how you could be affected by all this. Plus, your state may have some no fault insurance laws that may apply. I don't know too much about that stuff, but an attorney in your area should be able to give you all the answers. Just be prepared, because you may not like what those answers are.

Just my two cents. Good luck and be very thankful that you walked away from that accident. A lot of people aren't so lucky. So while the money and cost matters, it really is dwarfed by the most important thing: your health. Just try to keep it in perspective.

jrt67ss350 · Oct 31, 2003

The state isn't going to pay you a dime. Do you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your auto insurance? Since this guy has no insurance, the damage to your car should be paid for by your insurance under your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. I don't know where you are at, but I'm pretty sure just about every state in the country requires you to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. Situations like these are what it is for.

If you don't think you ran a red light, I would contest that citation to high heaven. If you don't contest it, it could seriously impact your case, because, even though this guy was drunk, the red light violation makes it look like it was your fault. I would also contest the officer's determination of your speed if you have no idea how he came to that conclusion. If he says you were going between 40 and 50, well, there's a big difference between going 40 in a 35 and 50 in a 35. Seems like he's just guessing to me, and guesswork is not admissible in court if you fight it and demand proof.

I agree that I think a consultation with a lawyer may benefit you here. At the very least, put up the biggest fight about everything - don't give in - contest everything and demand hard and fast proof for all claims made against your case by the cop, the other driver, etc.

bmwperson · Oct 31, 2003

Dont have uninsured coverage, my lawyer said first i should plea innocent, from what the people there told me, when i was going thrue the intersection the light turned yellow, this person who was turning went before me and that was alright, but then the guy followed( he wasnt on the intersection ), which basicly means that i was on the intersection when it was yellow, he went on the intersection when it was red, he failed to yell the right to me and we colided... Now Im waiting for my court date, still wondering what happends if i get convicted of running a red light? do i just pay the ticket, whats the worst thing that can happen to me? one more thing, can i find out some how if the guy was under influence or not? i found out from bystanders that he was, but i want to be sure.
Thanks guys for the info, its really helpful.

MrElussive · Oct 31, 2003

Sorry to hear what happened, but listen.
Did you run a red light? No...so plead not guilty for that. Other than going 40-50 you have committed no crim. If the light turned yellow while you were entering the intersection but you didn't have time to stop for the light, then you just keep going and it's perfectly alright. Man, you have such a good case...this drunk fool with no license and no insurance slammed into you. Also, the cops can't just accuse you of going 40-50, unless they bring out the special guy who measures tire tracks and stuff...and even then, usually they can only "estimate" if the driving speed was excessive or not. The tire tracks have to be really really straight for them to be able to tell how fast you were going, I believe, but don't quote me on this.
Man, I hope for the best for you and I hope everything works out. I know it really sucks but these are the things that life throws at us...just get through it and move on....and get an M3. [:p]

CTBMW · Oct 31, 2003

WELL!!!!!!!!!
I was going to tell you how bad I felt about it, did the cop have radar at the time? etc.
JEESH!! I think I just found a good lawyer.
Son... get an attorney!!
I wish you the best! SO sorry! I can only imagine what you're going through. Let us know how this works out-and good luck!
As cheesy as this sounds "At least you are O.K." ( Jeesh I sound like my Mother)
-Mel

-Mel

bmwperson · Oct 31, 2003

When i saw the guy i swerved trying to go thrue the gap in the two cars ( the white one and the guy who i hit ) so my car started skidding, i ended up at the sidewalk, they cant measure the tracks from there ( i think ) but they can see the damage to the car, how accurate the estimates based on that are?

just totaled my car...

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