jhansenvoice09 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 The other day I was in a rush and made a stupid mistake. I was reversing out of a parking spot and scraped against a cement pillar. I am a new driver and I am unsure of the whole process as of now. I was advised by some friends to pay the expenses out of pocket to avoid a raise in my insurance cost. The estimate for the repair is around $1200 - $1600. My deductible is $300. Is it worth it to just pay out of pocket or is the repair cost small enough that it is better served to make a claim and pay extra per month for my insurance? If any more details would garner better opinions just let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magician Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I'd pay out of pocket Like your friends said you definitely don't want to raise your insurance over something so petty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drive-By Body Pierce Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 As a new driver making a claim, you are quite possibly looking at a 40% increase next year, 35% the year after, 30% the following year and 25% in the 4th year before you go back to what you are currently paying. In addition, you'd be reducing your premiums by 5% every year if you do not claim, so you'd have a 20 or 25% discount after the same amount of time. I believe these are the current numbers, but if not, it is something relatively close to this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheShaunz Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Out of pocket for sure. Drive-By Body Pierce explained it well Also: shop around for prices for the fix. I did something similar (fron panel on pillar) and the original estimate I got was $2500, I tried a few other places and ended up paying $900 for the fix and it looked like new. It was only body work though... I don't know if I would go bottom of the barrel pricing for mechanical unless I already knew the guy... Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offensive Threat Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 You def want to work toward that max discount as quick as possible. I have road star plus and when I got into an accident my rates didnt go up. Think that was after being at max discount for 10 years. One of the main reasons why people who say "I dont need a drivers licence, I dont even have a car" are making a big mistake. Good driving discounts piles up year after year whether you drive or not and by the time those people do buy a car they will have built up a decent discount without doing anything.. Yeah, and get some quotes on a fix for that car. I know it completely depends on the car but if its a older or low buck car there are places around that will give it a cheaper fix at a appropriate price. New or newish car, pay for the quality but still shop around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeefcakeBo Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Just pay out of pocket for it, your insurance will cost a ton more than the repair if you make a claim. Also pro tip, shop around for some quotes and make sure you let the shops know you will be paying out of pocket, and that it's not an icbc claim. You will get a better price on the work for sure. Most shops charge higher for icbc claims. It's because they know it makes no difference to you if the bill is an extra 10-20% since you would only be paying a 300 or 500 deductible anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsedin33 Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Yah ICBC rates will cost you a lot more over the long run then $1600. I had two accidents when I was a new driver, minor fender benders, my old base 91 civic hatchback cost me 5k to insure, the car wasn't worth half that, now imagine paying that over 4 years. That's the cost of a brand new car for two painted bumpers. There are legal ways around it though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McBackup Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 How bad is the damage? I did the exact same thing. Damage was just superficial(scrape and dent) so I decided not to report it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I totally scraped up the whole side of my car and didn't report it or fix it. I think it's important that your first car is a piece of crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwags Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Ah yes, the ICBC. The "I Consistently Bulls**t Canucks." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Definitely shop it around to different shops, and as others have pointed out, tell them you are shopping around, paying in cash, and not making an ICBC claim. The automotive industry is full of crooks that prey on people's lack of car knowledge and being too lazy to shop things around. I sent my car in for its yearly checkup and to get a hole in the tire patched. I was told I needed a full transmission flush and a full set of new tires. The tires apparently had to be purchased that day, as they had to order them in and that was the only time their tire guy could get them to the store. They wanted about $1000 on the spot. Did a bit of research. My car comes with transmission fluid that is good for the life of the transmission (IE does not need to be flushed). The tires had 30k on them and shouldn't need replacing for another 30k...at the worst (and possibly as long as another 70k). Took the tire to Canadian Tire. They patched it for $20. I did not get the transmission flush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyhee Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I had a situation a couple of years ago where I scraped a cement pillar. I called ICBC to enquire about making a claim and asked what the difference was going to be. The difference was almost nothing, something like $40 total spread over the next 3 years. As you're a young driver your situation may well be different, but it doesn't hurt to find out. If you don't feel like calling the claim center, your local agent should be able to tell you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
250Integra Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Pay out of pocket and find a body shop that's willing to accept cash (usually the smaller ones). May be a huge discount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denguin Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I agree. Shop around. Don't go to the mainstream shops. You can get much cheaper prices on repairs if you're willing to look. In my first couple years of driving, I made a minor scrape over the front bumper of my parents' car. Was quoted ~$800-1000 by Craftsman, ended up getting it fixed for around $3-400 at a smaller family run shop. Needless to say, my family has given them business ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-DLC- Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 As well as your rates going up, if you were to have ANOTHER "mishap", it would really start to get ugly. So try to be more careful and absorb this yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hosswolf Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Have it fixed yourself. Making a claim with ICBC just isn't worth it, especially if you're a new driver. I've had a few accidents in my day and it was always cheaper to pay off the cost of the repairs or pay out the repairs performed through an ICBC claim. Kind of sad that everyone is scared to file a claim these days though, isn't it? We all know how badly ICBC rapes us through raised premiums and other BS you have to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SergioMomesso Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 If it's driveable and not an eyesore. Just drive it until someone else hits your car and have their insurance pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I agree. Shop around. Don't go to the mainstream shops. You can get much cheaper prices on repairs if you're willing to look. In my first couple years of driving, I made a minor scrape over the front bumper of my parents' car. Was quoted ~$800-1000 by Craftsman, ended up getting it fixed for around $3-400 at a smaller family run shop. Needless to say, my family has given them business ever since. The small shops can be just as crooked as the big ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raoul Duke Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 As an insurance broker myself, it all depends on where you're at as far as discount/surcharge goes. You aid new-ish driver, so me thinks your discount is low. If you make that claim, you will drop back down the claim rated scale. For new drivers, it's quite drastic. Pay out of pocket, and just be careful next time. My advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jejejester Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 If you can live with it, just see about getting what can polished out and touch ups for the rest. Might not look great but it's a cheap fix for now if you don't have 1200+ to spend. There really is no difference between big and small shops. Just go somewhere close to home. I also work in a shop so I've seen work from all over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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