Another reminder PS2s are crap in winter. Yep, crashed my M3 on the highway.

[JCtx]

Yep, trusted the weather forecast (cold but dry) to drive my daughter to Amarillo, TX in the M3, since it was my birthday yesterday, hadn't driven the car in a while, and wanted to 'celebrate' my birthday while driving. Big mistake. But in retrospect, my biggest mistake was not driving back when a bit of slosh started to appear, signaling deteriorating conditions. Thought driving carefully was enough, but was wrong in my assessment. Yeah, had to drive back anyway, but with the car all wrecked . Was following a large van at a prudent distance when a block of ice forced me to change lanes, and in a fraction of a second the car was pointing 45º to the median. Jumped it, was able to avoid oncoming traffic but now car was at 45º at the opposite direction, and there I go like a hockey puck across the highway and onto the embankment, hitting the cattle guard (barbed wire), and finally regaining a bit of control to avoid centering a tree, which I hit about 5" into the bumper, destroying the fender, the tranny radiator duct, and scraping the crap out of the entire right side. Did all the 'right' things (VSA on, steering in the direction of the road, no gas and no brakes, etc), but nothing worked on a 24º wet road with summer tires. The wheels hit the tree hard too, but minimal vibration on the way back tells me major suspension damage was avoided, but will obviously ask for everything to be thoroughly checked. Was blessed not to hit anything solid. A car just before my accident rolled over not long ago. Nobody to blame but me. Should have taken my Accord all along, but also return when it started looking dicey. An expensive lessor learned folks. PLEASE DON'T MAKE MY SAME MISTAKE. Funny how I was worried sick about my daughter, and she was worried sick about my car. She kept screaming 'your car daddy, your car'. Yeah, it was sickening to wreck your dream car, especially being as picky as I am since I'm probably going to lose the 'love' for the car, and won't buy an expensive one again, but we'll see. I was grateful my daughter was unscathed (me too, but didn't care), that we didn't roll over, hit something solid, or had car disabled, as it'd have been 100 times worse to wait for police, tow, etc. at 24º, and then figure out how to get back home 100 miles away. I always like to see the bright side, and although any accident sucks, it could have been MUCH worse. And again, can't blame anybody (not even back luck this time ) because I should have known better. My daughter wanted to get there yesterday, but will NEVER attempt to do it ever again under adverse conditions, even with the more winter-friendly Accord. Anyway, sorry for the rambling. Need your help, so here are my questions:

1. Have Geico, with every option. They're making the claim under 'collision', which will surely increase my premiums at the very least. First accident claim ever at my 48, but just renewed my 2nd 6-month term with them. Is it the right classification? Guess it can't be tackled on 'uninsured' motorist since nobody hit me, and neither on 'comprehensive', correct?

2. Geico only have one 'preferred' body shop but they don't deal with dealer. The only bodyshop which only local BMW dealer suggested is a different one, and will take it there since they use BMW for checking alignment, suspension, etc., but does that mean I'll have to pay more? Geico wants me to take car to that body shop first, but guy from BMW's recommended bodyshop said to just take it to him, and notify adjuster so he goes as well. Comments welcome, since I've never dealt with this.

3. Should I wash the car to visualize damage more readily?

4. This is the hard part. Door is scraped to the metal but only a couple of very minor dents. And same story with the hood. I'd certainly love a new hood, since it's easy to replace, but how about the door? And the door window has a 'frosted' scrape, where the mirror hit it while getting destroyed. And the rear fender is all dented around the wheel arch lip, where the crease is. It's impossible to fix without bondo, so again, should it be fixed or replaced? If replaced, that piece goes all the way to the front, and probably requires dismantling the inside of the car to get to the fasteners, no? And finally, the rear bumper is also scraped but not bad. Does it have to be replaced? Need tips to know how to deal with adjuster and body shop. Sometimes replacement that requires ton of inside panels is questionable. Car won't be the same regardless, so just want what's best for the car. Wheels are all scraped; do they have to replace them, or Geico might want to fix them? And rear tire has a thick piece of wood that looks like a thorn in the sidewall, but don't want to remove it now. If not pierced thru, should tire be replaced anyway?

5. Finally, what should I ask from the dealer? 4-wheel alignment and balancing? Do they have a machine to check chassis and such? The fact not even the very low 'felt' part under bumper wasn't busted tells me probably no suspension damage, but would like it checked anyway.
And any other tips? Plan to remove EVERYTHING from the car, including the iDrive disc (does the stereo work without it?), wheel locks so don't have to leave the key, all tools including the compressor and goop, all manuals, and all belongings. Also plan to put plastic over all seats, protect door sill with masking tape, and put towels in the carpet.

All comments welcome folks. And be careful out there.

[smmmurf]

D'oh!

Not you, too!

[FStop7]

Just a car, mane. Just a car. Glad you and your daughter are OK.

[CATCH_M3]

butt stillll argh!!!! I was going about 130kmh on snow tires last night (30kmh above the speed limit.. Other cars we're doing about 120-130 average speed) and hit black ice and almost lost it too..

I don't know how it works in texas; but here in Ontario, Canada we are normally asked to get 3 quotes. In the end you can insist for your own bodyshop to do it.

I think it is the smart thing to do to protect your car (ie. towels, taking out everything you can, etc.) before you take it in to the shop. Not only does this help protect your car; it signals to the bodyshop that you are meticulous with your car. My best friend used to work at a high-end bodyshop in Toronto, and he told me that there are the customers that don't care that much about their cars, but the ones that screamed for perfection would normally get it.

[footie]

Sorry to hear and glad everyone was OK.

[foosh]

Elp JC,

I'm really sorry to hear this, my friend.

[powertrip]

JC,

I am so sorry to hear about this buddy. Thankfully you and your daughter are safe, and that's what really matters.

Make sure to take your time choosing a repair shop; I would find one with references for work done on BMW's too.

[WCH]

Sorry to hear this - glad you and your daughter are alright. My advice is to get try to find a good shop that knows BMWs and let them assess whether any of crumple zones, the suspension or engine components are compromised first. This will determine whether this is mostly cosmetic or if there are more serious issues. If it is the latter, then I would see if you can push them to total it. If it is mostly cosmetic, I would have them replace as much as possible rather than trying to straighten etc.

This reinforces my painful daily decision to let my car sit in the garage during the winter.

Any pictures?

[gemini330zhp]

All that matters you are both safe and not injured!!!!!!! The car can be replaced and repaired. If your car is not totaled make sure your car goes to your BMW certified repair shop not the insurance company shop!!!!!

[TLud]

JC, no words I can say will make you feel better about this situation, but I'm so sorry this happened to you and I'm glad you and your daughter are unscathed. Try not to beat yourself up about it too bad.

1. This will definitely be under collision, regardless of whether another vehicle was involved. No way around that.

2. Geico's "preferred" body shop is just that: preferred. No requirement that you use that shop. Go with the recommendation of fellow enthusiasts or your BMW dealer, no question.

3. No need. A good shop will break the car down thoroughly and figure out what the damage is.

4. A good body shop will work with you to get replacements, as opposed to a bondo/touch-up job. Before the adjuster even gets there, do a walk through with the body shop contact, so that he can give you recommendations and you can tell him what you expect. Then get in touch with him again as soon as they've had a chance to break the car down and see if there's any suspension or other unseen damage.

5. The body shop will involve BMW as necessary. They can acquire parts as needed on their own, they should already have the factory recommended alignment specs, etc. The body shop will also have a frame bench to determine whether there was any structural damage. Definitely remove everything from the car now.

Again, really, really sorry this happened to you, but glad you and your daughter are unhurt. Best of luck with the repair process. On a good note, Geico is one of the better insurance companies to work with when something like this happened. They should take care of you.

[chungdae]

Pray to the one up above. Seems as if there have been many accidents already.

[dimabimmer]

To get more money from insurance for repairs is to have the car seen by adjuster at BMW, so that he knows they have to pay for OEM. You can even get SA to write up a "work order" and that you'd give to adjuster for consideration. All this works very well with most insurance, but this would never work with Geico. Thats why Geico wants you to go to their shop... so that they'd pay pennies for your car's repairs. You might be able to squeeze Geico out of more pennies, meet them down the middle if they see the car at BMW... but it's a very very slim chance they'd pay more. It all depends how important this car to you. I know for a fact Geico likes to replace BMW OEM parts with those Made In China... Ofcourse you can also take whatever $$ Geico will give you, then add more $$ and have everything done right. I wonder if the door could be simply replaced and how much the actual door cost? The door is easy to remove/bolt back on... I have done it myself... somewhat hard to re-align though.

[TLud]

Originally Posted by dimabimmer

To get more money from insurance for repairs is to have the car seen by adjuster at BMW, so that he knows they have to pay for OEM. You can even get SA to write up a "work order" and that you'd give to adjuster for consideration. All this works very well with most insurance, but this would never work with Geico. Thats why Geico wants you to go to their shop... so that they'd pay pennies for your car's repairs. You might be able to squeeze Geico out of more pennies, meet them down the middle if they see the car at BMW... but it's a very very slim chance they'd pay more. It all depends how important this car to you. I know for a fact Geico likes to replace BMW OEM parts with those Made In China... Ofcourse you can also take whatever $$ Geico will give you, then add more $$ and have everything done right. I wonder if the door could be simply replaced and how much the actual door cost? The door is easy to remove/bolt back on... I have done it myself... somewhat hard to re-align though.

When my E46 was hit by a drunk driver, I had no problems with Geico (in choosing my shop, getting OEM parts, or in having everything fixed in the manner I requested and to my satisfaction).

[10M3MAN]

Glad everyone is ok...Good luck with the repairs...

[Zed]

That is terrible man, I feel for you. An antelope in the middle of AZ nowhere tore up my baby months back. At the time it seemed like the end of the world and that the magic might be gone from the car, but after it is fixed... that wears off and the love comes back!

Everyone came out safe, and that is what matters.

Good reminder on the PS2s however... experienced a bit of that fabulous cold driving tire performance here in Houston. Decided to drive the wife's car for a few days until the weather warms up.

[ihyln]

The important thing is you and your daughter made it out okay. You'll still love the car again, trust me

[cotenseto]

you "jumped" it? how the f*** did you do that? And furthermore, if you impacted and flew over it (unlikely) then there would most assuredly be some kind of susp damage.

[Nawaaz]

I'm very glad you're ok, JC.

Choose wisely on which body shop does the repairs. I've had my bad experience with one before.

I can understand how you feel right now, but I still encourage you to think positive. Don't bring yourself down about this incident. Stuff happens with everyone.

Most importantly, I'm happy that you and your daughter are ok.

Take care man.

Nawaaz

[slipstream]

Sorry to hear about your accident. Glad no one was hurt. Good luck with the insurance and repairs--that tends to be a nerve-racking ordeal.

[URBAN LEGEND]

Don't think GEICO can tell you where to go get it fixed. Unless there is something in the fine print (that 30 page document they send and no one reads).

[JCtx]

Oh man, is this a nice family or what ? Thanks a million for all the encouraging words folks; they mean a lot to me, as only owners of fine machines like these can understand how we feel when something like this happens. But just as all of you said, after seeing the other car rolled over and passengers being taken by ambulance, didn't really care about the car. But one thing I LOVED about my trusty M3 is it didn't let me down, and took me back home rolling . It's certainly tougher than I thought.
By the way, they classified my claim under 'collision at fault'. Should have said I hit a freaking dog or a deer, like somebody suggested, and it'd have been comprehensive. Being honest doesn't always pay off, but that's the way I am. Oh well.

Originally Posted by powertrip

Make sure to take your time choosing a repair shop; I would find one with references for work done on BMW's too.

There's only one recommended by the only dealer in town, and I'm definitely taking your advice, whatever Geico says.

Originally Posted by WCH

My advice is to get try to find a good shop that knows BMWs and let them assess whether any of crumple zones, the suspension or engine components are compromised first. This will determine whether this is mostly cosmetic or if there are more serious issues. If it is the latter, then I would see if you can push them to total it.

I'm sure something was crushed where the tree hit, so great suggestion. But the funny thing is not even the right headlight is damaged, at least visibly. I had great luck that the tranny cooler's ducting didin't pierce it, which would have meant being stranded (plus a tow).

Originally Posted by TLud

5. The body shop will involve BMW as necessary. They can acquire parts as needed on their own, they should already have the factory recommended alignment specs, etc. The body shop will also have a frame bench to determine whether there was any structural damage. Definitely remove everything from the car now.

Great point buddy . Have to ask the body shop to make sure they have that capability.

Originally Posted by cotenseto

you "jumped" it? how the f*** did you do that? And furthermore, if you impacted and flew over it (unlikely) then there would most assuredly be some kind of susp damage.

The great news is the curb was the curved type, so no catastrophic wheel damage, which would have been the case with a regular (90º) curb. Don't remember hearing anything hitting the bottom of my car, but when car is lifted we'll find out for sure. I was surprised to hit a curb, but it was just a short stretch where there was a turn-around. But in a way I was lucky, or I'd probably have gone straight into oncoming traffic (yikes!).

Thanks again to all for the good wishes. Will keep you posted on the ordeal with the insurance, and wish me luck tomorrow that I have to leave again to drop my daughter off. Hopefully I'll be back in one piece. It's been dry the last 2 days, so should be okay now. And my trusty coupe is much better for winter, with FWD and all-season tires. Will take pics when I come back Monday afternoon. It pains me to take pictures, but I feel better now . Take care folks.

[Crazy Bimmer]

Everyone has already given great advice. Still hurts to know a fellow enthusiast has to go through this.

Once again, glad you and your daughter are safe. BMWs are tough!