Well this was totally my fault because I was following too close behind someone and I was speeding. I hit someone in the back. I believe I was going 40mph on a 30mph. It looks bad and I am not sure if it can get repaired. I have full coverage on the car but I just wanted to share this to you guys. Definitely learned my lesson here yesterday and this is my first ever "accident". I am only 18 years old and I have a court date on the 29th. I am just waiting for the police report so I can send it to the insurance and they can take care of it. Btw I find it weird that my airbags did not go off. I am ok (hopefully nothing comes up with me for the next 3 days) but my car is messed up! Very sad! Be careful out there and be safe!

 

Raffy88 sorry this happened. Hope no one was hurt but your pride. Hope it all works out. Keep your chin up it takes a lot to admit mistakes and move on.

 

+1

Don't fret over the damage...wait until the adjuster looks at it. You may find that the sheet metal can be replace and you are back rolling again. Good luck with it and take stock of what you have learned.

As for the air bags, you need to hit pretty hard for them to go off. There are a few other crashed MINIs in posts here and at least for one the airbags didn't go off either. But if needed, they will go off - been there.

 

+1 on what he said.

 

Very sorry to see the damage and hear about your accident.

I applaud you for stepping up and admitting that you made a mistake. It shows that you are a high caliber person!

Good luck with your repairs.

Matt

 

doesnt look that bad IMO. as long as the frame and steering structure are ok, it should mostly be cosmetic, so now you have a "good" reason to get aftermarket stuff.

speeding is "fine", just dont be a fool by driving up someones @$$ next time eh?

 

Looks repairable to me.

 

Ditto! I hope your back in the saddle soon!

 

Glad that no one was hurt in the accident. The airbags won't go off unless one of the triggers are hit, which are all at the bumper level, which did not appear to take much of a hit. The hood crumple zones do seem to have worked and absorbed a lot of the energy during the crash.

 

It's good you weren't hurt and it looks like your MINI will be okay too. Hopefully you will be back on the road in no time, with a little more space between you and the next car.

 

Bummer!!

Glad you are ok, though. It truly is a pain in the behind to deal with accident stuff.

Glad you're here and can post about it though!

Lots of people on here are really kind and really smart and can help you through the process!!

 

First I would have to agree it takes a great person to admit when they are wrong as all too often no one wants to assume responsibility and most like to blame someone else. Keep in mind when you go to court that most judges will respect this a great deal when it comes to fines and fees but don't be afraid to disagree with anything that you believe is not correct. As example: I will always agree to speeding but I will never tell the officer what my speed was so if they ticket me for a speed above what I was doing I've always fought it and always won (either no fees or just the court fee but still no points). I plead no contest (I think that is what it is called) basically admitting I did something wrong but not always in full agreement to what I was ticketed for as I am like you an am extremely honest (I am told to a fault) but I've learned not to give away details that could hurt me more.

As for tailgating ...what you have done is learned a valuable driving lesson as I did the same thing when I was 16. Hopefully the person you hit is o.k. and respects your honesty. Sadly your insurance has a really good chance of spiking up a bit but you never know.

Good Luck on getting everything back on track, life included as it can still be stressful even when everyone escapes injury.

 

Guys this past weekend I got the "Estimate of Record" from the shop. I tried scanning it to be easier but my scanner is not working. Anyway these are all the parts that need to be replaced. I am just gonna name all the major/expensive parts on the list. I guess I did a bigger damage than I expected. These are all the parts that they are gonna replace. There is a lot more but these are the "major" parts that I think is "major" and it would take me forever to list all the parts down. Anyway here it is.

FRONT BUMPER & GRILLE
1. "Bumper cover w/o aero pkg." #51117268746 $323.22

2. "Spoiler w/o aero pkg." #51117248788 $128.68

3. "Lower grille w/o aero pkg w/chrome" #51117248789 $134.80

4. "Upper grille w/chrome" #51117317264 $220.91

5. "Impact bar" #51117296635 $311.82

FRONT LAMPS
1. "LT Headlamp assy w/o black surround, w/o Xenon w/yellow bulb" #63122751869 $384.43

RADIATOR SUPPORT
1. "Radiator support base models" #51647248799 $291.50

HOOD
1. "Hood base models" #41617318364 $481.19

2. "Lock carrier all" #51717147911 $159.24

EMISSION SYSTEM
1. "Upr oxygen snsr" #11787595353 $222.02

2. "Engine harness w/o turbocharger" #12517631599 $476.89

I will try to scan the papers today after school so you guys can see the full list, etc...

 

Three words, Left Foot Breaking, Very useful in heavy traffic.

 

Not sure I'd recommend this to a new driver with a 6spd manual car.

 

Dont think I would recommend it ever. Unless you are a brake salesman.

Nik

 

Your lucky the airbags didn't deploy as that surely would have totaled your car. Glad to hear you weren't hurt. At least you recognize what you did wrong and will learn from it. That's called life!

 

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone . . no need to use your left foot for breaking, ever . . even if you had an automatic

 

Wow, never thought I would get negative responses about left foot breaking. For a new driver you would be right. The rest of you are just crazy lol.

 

*braking

"Breaking" is what happens to your car if you fail to use your brakes correctly.

Left-foot braking is not something I'd do on the street. Maybe on the track (especially if I had a turbocharged car, to keep the boost up) but not on the street.

 

Actually, that is one of the first things my father taught me when driving a car. It cuts the reaction time from about .8 sec to about .2 sec. And yes I measured that on a machine in driver ed class. At 60 mph, which is 88 ft/sec, that is 44 ft you just saved yourself when you are in traffic.

No, left foot braking will not wear out the brakes any more than right foot braking. You just need to keep from pressing on the brake while you are on the gas. A smart driver will learn how to cover the brake pedal when they are not using.

However, I learned left foot braking on an automatic. I would be very hesitant to do that with a 6 speed without a lot of practice.

 

Thank you. I learned on a manual. Yes I slammed my breaks a couple times then going to shift. You learn not do do that really fast. I find it very useful in heavy traffic. By the time you lift your foot if the gas you are already pushing the breaks. It has saved me many times.

 

Well I said that because its really something that would be used with a 2 pedal car and really geared towards track driving. It's really not a safe practice at all with a 3 pedal car.

 

I'll leave it alone. Look up left foot breaking and make your own decision. Me personally use it every day when I am at work valeting cars, driving in less then perfect conditions, in traffic, and of course it's intended applications. It has save me many more times that it has ever caused an issue. Now left foot breaking comes as naturally to me as right foot breaking does to some of you. It is a valuable technique to have in your bag. Anyway, I hope you get your mini back.

I will end with a quote from the late and great Collin McRae. Well it's a rough quote pulling it of an old video.

"We like the speed of the movement from taking your right foot of the pedal and putting it on the break. It takes time to do that, but now I can put my left foot on the break as my right foot is coming off the power. That way there is no transition between throttle and break pedal. They almost overlap each other."

Collin McRey, RIP

 

OP: you are a very special young man to fess up in this manner...your attitude gives me some hope in the next generation!

I'm so happy that just the Mini was damaged and it looks like you will bring it back to road-worthiness.

I have daughters your age (18 and 19) and while they are very good drivers, the one issue that I've had with them is following too closely; I've shared your story with them and I know that it will assist in teaching them the lesson without having to experience what you did.

Keep us apprised of the repairs to your baby!