Off Topic- I'm doomed, would really appreciate some advice.

What kind of advice are you hoping to get from this board? Cut down on clubbing for a bit to save up the money?

Are there buses, trains, or friends that could get you to and from school? If your credit is okay then you can probably get a loan or put it on a credit card, but then you may end up paying a good amount of interest.

i was simply hoping for some more idea's man, it can't hurt to ask.

there are buses, but i live just outside of the city (where the buses don't run), so the bus isn't going to work for me. i have to go to and from school 4 times a week, don't have any friends that could help with that.

i only have a debit card, i don't have a credit card. :(

I'm sorry if I'm overlooking something here... but what about your auto insurance?

I hate to say this but since you don't have comprehensive, you'd been better off letting the car hit you and filing the claim with thier insurance.

You might be able to find a good deal on a used car for around $1K that won't need immediate fixing. It might not look that great but if it gets you from point a to point b, that's all you need. If you don't owe money on what you have, you could sell it minus the repair cost plus maybe a little extra or possibly trade down minus the repair cost. I'm not a car expert so I don't know for sure. Just my guesses.

Dude, if $2000 for a car repair (or other emergency) causes this kind of stress, then stay out of the clubs for good or at least until you get a nest egg built up. You might still be in college but you are plenty old enough to learn that lesson.

mjx01- the thing is, i ONLY have liability insurance, i don't have full coverage. i could be mistaken, but with liability coverage i'm pretty sure it only covers you for the damage you do to another person and/or their vehicle. i don't think it'll cover my vehicle if i run into a poll or tree, like in this case. am i wrong?

sharkhunter- thanks for the idea. i'll keep that in mind. the thing is, although this is just a used car, it's in good shape for the year (97) and it has very low miles on it, so i'm hoping to hold onto it, because everyone i talked to has told me it'll last a long time and i got a great deal on the car. i paid for the car all at once, i don't owe any money on it.

I have seen many signs along the streets for car title loans. Since your have the title, you may be able to get a loan from them. I have no idea of their terms but I suspecty that the interest rate may be high. Check the yellow pages and make a call.

I would try and find some auto repair shops that are more hole in the wall type places. They will often do the job cheaper and just as well. I had a place when I was in college where I took my car for repairs and got it done well and a whole lot cheaper than the chain repair shops. If you blinked, you would roll right past the place.

If it costs more to fix it than it is worth, you have to try and sell it and get something else unfortunately.

Yeah, you should probably just look for a cheap $1,000 car to hold you over while you save up. Or you can just CAREFULLY ride it out, and hope nothing goes wrong before you get enough to fix it.

I hate to kick you while you're down but...I think your day foreshadows the upcoming season for the Vikings...A CAR WRECK!

staxwell- ha, that was pretty clever.

thanks for the thoughts and idea's guys, i really appreciate it. the estimate of 2 grand that i received today is what it'll cost to fix the entire front end.

i'm going to another place tomorrow, and i'm hoping that there might be a way where i can just get the roof fixed, so that it'll go up and down again like normal. i don't care if the rest of the front end is messed up, but i have to get the roof to raise. if that's possible, the price of the repair should decrease a lot.

My advice is two-fold:

1. Call your car insurance company. Report the accident. Find out exactly what type of coverage you have. Even if you only have liability insurance, you may be able to file what's called an "uninsured motorist" claim. Your accident would qualify as an "uninsured motorist" claim if someone else's (i.e. someone whose information you don't have, someone who drove away, etc.) negligence caused you to hit the pole. From your description of the accident, it sounds like you avoided an accident with a car and ended up hitting the pole. Did someone else's bad driving cause you to swerve into the pole? If so, you want to tell this to your insurance company. But you won't lose a thing by calling your insurance company and getting clear answers about your coverage (you can also request a copy of your policy from your insurance company if you don't trust what they're telling you over the phone).
2. Try to get another estimate. $2,000 worth of damage sounds like a "total loss," but you should definitely get a second opinion on the damage. Let me know how it goes.

As scpatron says squeeze your insurance company as hard as you can. You might get a cash payout. It is most likely that a car that is almost 15 years old has no residual value greater than the damage estimate.

If your car is mechanically sound rig a repair to the hood yourself. Use a crowbar or some kind of leverage to pry open the hood. If the hood still raises and lowers fasten the hood with an array of bungee cords. Bingo! Good to go. (As long as local authorities allow you to drive an obviously damaged vehicle with no police accident damage sticker on the windshield.)

lots of good advice above, just go with what works best for you, go browns!

You're a brownie fan troop? No wonder you go to the SC all the time. You have to do something to perk up your day after watching that team. Lol.

You've got some good advice here. $2K to fix an old car is not a good financial decision. If you have a friend who has some tools, he may be able to help you get the hood open. As farmerart says, you can rig a repair that will let you drive the car even if it doesn't look perfect.

Well, you've got to fix/replace the headlight, that's a safety issue. Otherwise, kimichi-rig the hood as suggested, and forget about the cosmetic damage to the fender.

On the bright side, since you're already broke and have a shitty job and now you have a shitty looking car, too - you're fast becoming perfect stripper boyfriend material! Don't let on you're in school (don't want them to know you have some ambition) and pretty soon you'll have one of those young lovelies supporting you and you'll be on easy street, my man.

call your insurance agent & repor it. Thata what car insurance is for

Hell look in your local papers I can find a peace of shit car for $300 to $600 that will run.......that will get you to point a and b plus the "c". : )) good luck man!

Depends on the car whether $2000 to fix is a good deal. A Lexus for instance runs for 250,000 - 300,000 miles regularly with standard maintenance. So even on an older one you are money ahead in the long run. (And no that is not pie in the sky numbers. We have had two that went that long - out of two - and know someone else who has had 5 that went that long. Passed em down to each kid as he got a newer one.) $2000 on Kia or GM is just stupid.

Like some people posted call you insurance company about your accident. Does your college have a mechanic ship program? If they do, take you car in and they might fix your car for a couple hundred dollar or sometimes for free. I used to take my Jeep in for oil change and brake repairs. All I did was by the things and they did it for free. Last but least post something on Craigslist for a cheap mechanic.

@ rh, yes i'm a long suffering fan of the cursed browns. :-(

smokey3334- what you said is EXACTLY what i'm hoping to do. i'm about to leave now and go to this other body and hopefully get someone to help me get the hood up.

nothing on the front end of my car got completely torn off. there were just two things that are slightly knocked out of place. if i can get the hood up, i might be able to adjust things back into place with some tools and a little help

i'll know for sure when i get back from the body shop, thanks guys

GV- I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this, but did you report accident to police, or did they otherwise get involved? In an an accident I had on a road trip to stripclub several years ago, that was one of the 1st questions insurance co. asked me. I'd hit a deer 1 hour from home halfway to club. Car was driveable, left regular headlamp busted out, left high beams worked, though. I drove to next fwy. exit with 24 hr. diner, called the local police to report accident and dead deer on fwy. After some time, an officer showed up, looked over damage in car, filled out report,handed me a copy, and sent me on my way home.(I aborted club visit, and got police report mainly as a CMA thing- car condition would raise eyebrows and elicit a pullover from any cop that saw me.)

I'm curious how your deal turns out. One thing I'd seriously consider would be collision insurance, if having your own transportation is important to you. I was driving a fairly expensive sports car, the repair bill was $3K, which made me glad I had collision insurance. Best wishes on this event.

If you can crowbar the hood open and rig it so it closes while you have access, that would be the best option, as a few other guys here have advised. I helped a buddy of mine do that for his car after he had a little minor fender bender. He kept it like that til he got rid of the car, it worked pretty good. The thing to be concerned about I think is the headlight. If you don't get it working properly, its just giftwrapping an excuse for police to harass you and take closer looks at your hood handiwork.

good luck with it man and glad you werne't hurt in the accident.

theres some shops that will let you make payments ..most of those will have you put a down payment on it.. back in my younger days i had that happen damage was 1300 and down payment was like 400 so you might want to check into that

steve229... right on! I should follow that plan too! :)

as for the comprehensive vs. libility only thing, eh I don't know I'm not an insurance agent... and insurance varies from state to state... but doesn't sound promising. If the repair bill is more than the blue book value, saound like a good idea to try and replace it. It would also probablly be easier to get a bank loan towards a replacement.

I would try your insurance, but if you didn't bother with an accident report, you can write that off the list. If you did, often the insurance will bill the other guys insurance company for the damage (that is what insurance is about.)

I would also look for an auto mechanics class - see if they have an auto body program. You might not get it back very quickly, but something like that can be pretty inexpensive and give them good experience. (Be sure to empty out your car first.)

well, good news guys.

i found a place that will fix it and for a lot cheaper than the initial estimates that i received. basically, he's going to replace the hood, and the other parts he's going to fix with his hands by adjusting them back into place. and it's only going to cost me 1 grand which i can afford. i know this guy does good work, because he fixed my friends car and i saw it and it looked great.

the reason the initial estimates i received were so high, is because most body shops want to replace EVERY part when that isn't always necessary. the only part of my car that HAS to be replaced is the hood, and the rest he can fix with his hands.

this is such great news guys :), because 1 grand i can afford, but i was going to be doomed if i had to pay 2 grand or more.

Glad to hear it. Although you have to be bummed by the play of your Vikings.

No need to remind me. :(