This is awful...

I'm bummed...I've had a dozen cars in my life that I could literally care less if I crashed/had stolen/never saw again/etc...But if anything happened to my Lambos I would certainly be a bit broken hearted; So I know what you mean when you say you *really* liked this car.

 

Just party like it's 1999 tonight, and start fresh in the New Year.

 

Cheers.

The worst part is the inconvenience. A small positive in all of it is that a broken Lamborghini isn't the worst problem in the world to have.

 

Good luck man.

Glad you're ok. In the end of the day, that is the most important thing. This kinda shit can always happen. Next year will for sure be better!

Glad you are ok! I still remember your review on 360 vs. Gallardo not too long ago. Look on the bright side you still have a 360 to drive and you are not hurt. Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with. A couple of friend of mine might have some parts for you. I know how you fee because a friend of mine who had an accident a collapsed roof in a Gallardo a couple years ago. These bad times will go away soon. Hope that make you feel better! Take care and happy new year!

Holy Shit thats a mile from where I work, I work in the buildings at the bottom of the big hill on 2222. Austin traffic sucks I've lived here for 20 years and it just keeps getting worse,this town is a vehicular cluster fcuk. . I can't believe he threw you all the way across those curb divider things and thats all it did to that car. Those things are what 8-10 feet wide, it says alot about Audi/Lambo and the design of Gallardo. I've turned in to the Boathouse Grill there about a thousand times from both directions and I'll bet you that he missed judged your speed and acceleration in the Gallardo

in addition to just not paying attention in general. After seeing the location and pictures I'm glad your okay that could have been worse. I've seen some ugly accidents near that intersection TXDOT needs to do more, so many cars go through there everday.

glad you are ok man. at least tonight you can think about the fact that you are going to buy a new lambo in 2010!!!

Sorry Bro, glad you are ok

I'm glad you are ok. It just sucks that you have to deal with this.

It sucks. Okay, everyone take just a second I have something very important to tell you. If we open up our insurance policy to page 17 (+/- 16 pgs) you will find a section called "uninsured/underinsured coverage" This is important. Make sure the box that says "Yes, I want this coverage" is checked. Confirm with your insurance company TODAY that you have this coverage.

 

I generally just carry liability, comp and collision on my policies but for whatever reason when we renewed our policy I added Un/Under insured to all of our cars. This policy has the effect of basically treating the entire claim, from my end, like the other driver (who is uninsured) has the max state limits of liability. And no hickey against my claim history, either.

 

Whew. That might have been the best $200 I've ever spent.

 

That area is dangerous, I always pay really close attention through there. 620/Hudson Bend and 620/Volente is skitchy too. Basically, 620 is skitchy. Basically, Austin is skitchy.

 

 

It sucks. Okay, everyone take just a second I have something very important to tell you. If we open up our insurance policy to page 17 (+/- 16 pgs) you will find a section called "uninsured/underinsured coverage" This is important. Make sure the box that says "Yes, I want this coverage" is checked. Confirm with your insurance company TODAY that you have this coverage.

 

I generally just carry liability, comp and collision on my policies but for whatever reason when we renewed our policy I added Un/Under insured to all of our cars. This policy has the effect of basically treating the entire claim, from my end, like the other driver (who is uninsured) has the max state limits of liability. And no hickey against my claim history, either.

 

Whew. That might have been the best $200 I've ever spent.

 

That area is dangerous, I always pay really close attention through there. 620/Hudson Bend and 620/Volente is skitchy too. Basically, 620 is skitchy. Basically, Austin is skitchy.

Yea you did the right thing on insurance in texas, got to have uninsured. The worst thing about 620 is that damn chicken lane. They need to put a median down the middle from

the Dam to 183 it would control traffic flow and stop what happened to you. When I moved here 20 years ago there was nothing on that road between 2222 and anderson mill rd. It sure has changed.

 

Whew. That might have been the best $200 I've ever spent.

 

NO DOUBT! Very few people have the right insurance let alone enough insurance to cover them if they hit something that's worth over $50k let alone $200k! Friend of mine was involved in a very similar accident about four months ago, the guy who caused the damage only had about $10k in coverage! EVERYONE WAS ON THEIR OWN!

the guy who caused the damage only had about $10k in coverage! EVERYONE WAS ON THEIR OWN!

is that even legal these days? I thought the minimums were much higher....like $20-40K

I dont understand, is insurance not manditory in the US?

 

In the UK you cant get your "Road Tax" without valid Insurance, without it, its illegal to have you car on a public highway...

I dont understand, is insurance not manditory in the US?

 

In the UK you cant get your "Road Tax" without valid Insurance, without it, its illegal to have you car on a public highway...

Same thing here in theory, but there are illegal ways around it. There are lots of private insurance company's and it's not that hard to fake an insurance card their not like a passport.

Plus alot of people carry liability only in a small amount which won't cover a nice car. My daliy driver is a 5 year old pickup truck. But you can bet your ass my statefarm coverage

will cover anything south of a veyron and then my umbrella coverage will cover that. But, I know what nice cars cost and I wouldn't want to leave anyone in the lurch to save a few $. But alot of

people don't know and don't care.

Hope it all turns out well for you. Please let us know how this unfolds and heres to a brighter 2010!

So in the US you can chose what level of compensation your insurance is liable for when involved in an accident? So let me get this right, if the car you hit is $100k and your liability cover is only $50k then thats all they pay out????

 

WTF!!! How is that even legal!

Thank God for uninsured,underinsured. I'd say 80% of people don't have the coverage that would replace an exotic, so we must make sure we cover our own asses for other peoples mistakes.

Joe, truly glad you are ok man. Love the blue Caleum, hopefully they can fix it for you. Good job with the underinsured, uinsured coverage. I have that on all my cars and in Atlanta it is needed. I have had to use it twice with my wife getting hit once by an uninsured lady from Tennessee and another where I was hit in one of our cars by someone without sufficient coverage. Best part is, I just turned the whole claim over to Nationwide and they cut the checks to fix/replace the car and chased the other guy for the money.

 

Have a safe new year man, it will all work itself out!!!

Weren't you trying to sell the car too? I kinda remember seeing your car ad somewhere.

 

Anyway, here's to a better 2010!!

So in the US you can chose what level of compensation your insurance is liable for when involved in an accident? So let me get this right, if the car you hit is $100k and your liability cover is only $50k then thats all they pay out????

 

WTF!!! How is that even legal!

 

It's just the easy part. The person who is at fault is responsible to cover any and all damage that they cause. But collecting it is the sticking point. Of that amount they owe, their insurance will pay out up to the max they're insured up to. After that the insurance company does not pay anything, but the person at fault still owes the money. It's just that the person who got hit now has to go try to collect the deficient amount, which (assuming they won't pay) I believe is done though gaining a judgement in court.

 

NOTE: I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY. The posting here is just based off my own experience dealing with these things.

 

So in numbers, let's say you get hit and the damage is $90K. They are insured up to $50K. Their insurance pays out $50K, and the person who hit you is still responsible for the remaining $40K. It's just that since they aren't insured for that amount, it will be harder to collect. And the fewer assets the person has, the harder it will be collect, even if you have a judgement. With a judgement I think you can either go after their assets, put a lien on their assets, or try to garnish their wages. And if they are an illegal alien, you're really screwed because since they don't have a legitimate job that you can garnish their wages from, you lose that method of collection as well.

 

So when you spring for that uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, basically your insurance company kicks in to pay the deficiency amount. So in the example above their insurance would pay $50K and your insurance would then add in $40K. Your insurance company basically then "owns" the right to collect that $40K from the person who hit you. The big difference though is it has gone from being your problem to being your insurance company's problem trying to collect it.

 

This is why people who have less to lose carry less insurance. Because even though technically they'll owe more from an accident because their insurance will pay out less than a more expensive policy, they have nothing you can go after so it doesn't matter if they personally owe $10K or $100K, so their downside is limited, but they get the upside of paying less in insurance for minimal coverage.

 

However, IMO, uninsured/underinsured motorists are only one burden expensive car owners face. The other major problem is "diminished value." Meaning, after your car is hit and repaired, even if it is repaired perfectly it will still never sell for the same as an undamaged car. That's true for any car, but the effect is massively amplified with exotics. Think about it, if you're going to drop $100K, $150k on an exotic you want one that has a perfect history and so if you're going to buy a car that has been in a wreck you are going to want a sizeable discount. I'm not talking $2-$3K less that a normal car would go for, I mean like $10K-$15K. That is why my heart completely goes out to the OP, because his value took a hit and he wasn't even at fault.

 

One other problem with diminished value is that your insurance company won't pay you for it, and nor will they get involved in helping you recover it. You're completely on your own trying to collect it. And other insurance companies LOVE to say that DV doesn't exist in any case and so they're not paying it. My wife's 6-month old Mercedes once got hit so hard two wheels came off the ground and the guy from their insurance tried to tell me the car's value had gone UP because it got had gotten a new door installed during the repair and so it was better than factory condition. The only way to recover diminished value, very sadly, is through having a professional estimate of the dimished value and then filing a court claim against the person who caused the accident. Pray that the amount of DV is less than your state's statute for small claims court because otherwise you have to get an attorney or file a pro se suit. The only time an insurance company will pay a DV claim is on the courthouse steps 10 minutes before a trial. Their MO is, if we're going to pay this out we're first going to make you go through all the pain of trying to collect it, because there's always the chance you'll just say screw it and walk away.

 

Joe my recommendation is to get a dimished value appraisal done before repair work starts. I used this fellow from Dimished Value of Texas .

 

That's the thing that sucks about owning these cars, we have so much downside and so much to deal with if someone hits us even if it's completely their fault. Owning one of these cars, it's a complete Sword of Damocles.

 

Best of luck my friend. I'm sorry this happened to you.

'Dubs

Skipped several pages... Its awful to see this happen to you.... Nvm the accident, Wishing you best of times rest of the year!

It sucks. Okay, everyone take just a second I have something very important to tell you. If we open up our insurance policy to page 17 (+/- 16 pgs) you will find a section called "uninsured/underinsured coverage" This is important. Make sure the box that says "Yes, I want this coverage" is checked. Confirm with your insurance company TODAY that you have this coverage.

 

I generally just carry liability, comp and collision on my policies but for whatever reason when we renewed our policy I added Un/Under insured to all of our cars. This policy has the effect of basically treating the entire claim, from my end, like the other driver (who is uninsured) has the max state limits of liability. And no hickey against my claim history, either.

 

Whew. That might have been the best $200 I've ever spent.

 

That area is dangerous, I always pay really close attention through there. 620/Hudson Bend and 620/Volente is skitchy too. Basically, 620 is skitchy. Basically, Austin is skitchy.

The uninsured/underinsured coverage has got to be the best coverage on my entire policy. People in South Dakota are cheap bastards and I bet most only have the minimums which I think is 25k here.

It's just the easy part. The person who is at fault is responsible to cover any and all damage that they cause. But collecting it is the sticking point. Of that amount they owe, their insurance will pay out up to the max they're insured up to. After that the insurance company does not pay anything, but the person at fault still owes the money. It's just that the person who got hit now has to go try to collect the deficient amount, which (assuming they won't pay) I believe is done though gaining a judgement in court.

 

NOTE: I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY. The posting here is just based off my own experience dealing with these things.

 

So in numbers, let's say you get hit and the damage is $90K. They are insured up to $50K. Their insurance pays out $50K, and the person who hit you is still responsible for the remaining $40K. It's just that since they aren't insured for that amount, it will be harder to collect. And the fewer assets the person has, the harder it will be collect, even if you have a judgement. With a judgement I think you can either go after their assets, put a lien on their assets, or try to garnish their wages. And if they are an illegal alien, you're really screwed because since they don't have a legitimate job that you can garnish their wages from, you lose that method of collection as well.

 

So when you spring for that uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, basically your insurance company kicks in to pay the deficiency amount. So in the example above their insurance would pay $50K and your insurance would then add in $40K. Your insurance company basically then "owns" the right to collect that $40K from the person who hit you. The big difference though is it has gone from being your problem to being your insurance company's problem trying to collect it.

 

This is why people who have less to lose carry less insurance. Because even though technically they'll owe more from an accident because their insurance will pay out less than a more expensive policy, they have nothing you can go after so it doesn't matter if they personally owe $10K or $100K, so their downside is limited, but they get the upside of paying less in insurance for minimal coverage.

 

However, IMO, uninsured/underinsured motorists are only one burden expensive car owners face. The other major problem is "diminished value." Meaning, after your car is hit and repaired, even if it is repaired perfectly it will still never sell for the same as an undamaged car. That's true for any car, but the effect is massively amplified with exotics. Think about it, if you're going to drop $100K, $150k on an exotic you want one that has a perfect history and so if you're going to buy a car that has been in a wreck you are going to want a sizeable discount. I'm not talking $2-$3K less that a normal car would go for, I mean like $10K-$15K. That is why my heart completely goes out to the OP, because his value took a hit and he wasn't even at fault.

 

One other problem with diminished value is that your insurance company won't pay you for it, and nor will they get involved in helping you recover it. You're completely on your own trying to collect it. And other insurance companies LOVE to say that DV doesn't exist in any case and so they're not paying it. My wife's 6-month old Mercedes once got hit so hard two wheels came off the ground and the guy from their insurance tried to tell me the car's value had gone UP because it got had gotten a new door installed during the repair and so it was better than factory condition. The only way to recover diminished value, very sadly, is through having a professional estimate of the dimished value and then filing a court claim against the person who caused the accident. Pray that the amount of DV is less than your state's statute for small claims court because otherwise you have to get an attorney or file a pro se suit. The only time an insurance company will pay a DV claim is on the courthouse steps 10 minutes before a trial. Their MO is, if we're going to pay this out we're first going to make you go through all the pain of trying to collect it, because there's always the chance you'll just say screw it and walk away.

 

Joe my recommendation is to get a dimished value appraisal done before repair work starts. I used this fellow from Dimished Value of Texas .

 

That's the thing that sucks about owning these cars, we have so much downside and so much to deal with if someone hits us even if it's completely their fault. Owning one of these cars, it's a complete Sword of Damocles.

 

Best of luck my friend. I'm sorry this happened to you.

'Dubs

 

Thanks for the explanation bud

In my case MY insurance paid me and it´s there problem to get the money back from the other(guilty) side, I don´t care!

You don´t have something like that in the US??

 

In my case MY insurance paid me and it´s there problem to get the money back from the other(guilty) side, I don´t care!

You don´t have something like that in the US??

 

that's what uninsured/underinsured coverage does.