av_ri11

I agree I was negligent and should have read about the different types of tires. I grew up in the North East my whole life and didn't realize the difference between all-year tires and sports tires. Again this is my first sports car and but there is no excuse, I should have known or at-least read about the dangers of what I was doing. I do work from home most days that it snows so unfortunately I did not self educate myself before my first accident ever.

Regarding the insurance claim, they still have to send me the paperwork for exactly what they are writing up for the "total" but the adjuster kept referring to the aluminum block needing to be replaced. They would need to take out the whole engine to do this repair which is why the costs started to skyrocket.

superswiss

The babysitting mentality in this country is mind boggling. The specs of the car one buys are fully disclosed. It says right on the window sticker what kind of tires it has.

I can't really fault you and the average driver, because the ease at which somebody is given a drivers license in this country is also mind boggling.

I grew up in Europe. It cost me several thousands to obtain my drivers license due to mandatory lessons. Learned everything about driving in different conditions and the importance of the right tires. Where I'm from, if you don't pass your theoretical and practical tests after the third time, you'll have to go see a shrink.

Driver8

The whole "max summer tire" package combined with cold and icy winter weather is precisely why we only have put 350 miles on our new S5 SB in the month we've owned her. She's been sitting nice and warm in the garage awaiting warmer weather. We live on a ridgetop and our driveway can be very treacherous in winter. We run snow tires on everything in winter. It just makes the most sense for us.

I learned from the lessons of my first Audi, a '98 A4 2.8, on which I mounted 18" wheels and summer performance tires. In cold and snowy weather I could accelerate relatively well but stopping was the real challenge; even with ABS the car - by virtue of the summer rubber - really struggled with Newton's laws of physics when braking, even though I could back right up my admittedly steep driveway.

OP - sorry about your loss. That truly sucks and I wish you the best outcome.

superswiss

That would be the engine block. You hit that curb good to damage the engine block in the process. At what speed was this?

Elliedad

If the insurance company deemed it a total loss, then they will usually pay you what the current used value is. Since this is a new model and no used cars exist, the insurance company will find out how much you can purchase the car for from 2-3 dealers and will take away the mileage from that price. Some insurance companies will consider what you paid for. Don't know about Amica.
Don;t worry about the accident being your fault or driving with Summer Max Tires. Even though what you did was really DUMB, they will only take away your deductible from your settlement.

P.S. Please do yourself a favor and use at least AS tires next time during the winter months!!!

dadrocker

To the OP: Start reading your insurance policy. If you don't understand something in it, ask your agent to explain.

Many insurers offer, either as part of the policy or for an extra premium, some form of GAP insurance that covers the gap between current market value and what you may owe on a finance contract. In fact, Amica's website says: " No deduction for depreciation when a new vehicle is declared a total loss within the first year of ownership." You're within the first year, so you shouldn't be out of pocket by much, if at all. The timing is the only good luck you've had in this episode.

Some in this thread have been rough on you. That's unnecessary, especially given that your initial post acknowledged you screwed this up and that you've learned from it. Sorry this happened; glad nobody was hurt; and thanks for sharing. Good luck with the insurance settlement.

N8!

After living in Germany, I wish the US would go to this kind of process for getting a driver's license. It should cost $3500 and require classes in driving in all conditions/basic mechanics/first aid/etc.

It would also help if states would enact laws requiring snow tires from October to Easter (or whatever the snow season is) like in DE.

ArvX147

In a country where 95% of people in most of the country must drive or take public transportation to their job, this idea would create a massive impoverished class who have no means to get to their jobs.

the US is a LOT bigger than Germany (or any country in europe for that matter)

freesole

Yeah there has got to be a different way of gating these issues at the outset other than using cost as a mechanism. The test's should be harder and maybe, it should take more than 1 practical exam (ie. 2-3). A 45 minute exam just 1 time is just not enough to weed out the irresponsible drivers out there.

njspeedfreak

Years ago I made a similar error in judgement with an AWD Mitsubishi GSX. I learned very quickly that AWD means very little when your foot is on any other pedal than the accelerator. That one ended up with the car in a ditch on its side but at least the car was fixable. Later I learned what the limits of summer performance tires were when we got hit with an early season snow squall and 1/2 inch of snow turned my S4 into a rolling death trap. I got lucky with that one and didn't actually hit anything, but I still look back at that and wonder how I dodged that bullet. That's why I've become such an evangelical on winter tires in the winter. I can't stress enough how crucial the right tire is in the winter and how dangerous a summer tire is when it gets cold and icy out. Unfortunately you just found out the hard way.

Personally I'd like to thank you for posting this - you are going to take some heat for it, but you may have just scared the next guy straight. As they say, a picture is worth a 1000 words. So for anyone out there who is lurking on the forum and thinks that they can probably squeeze through the rest of the winter without having to spend the money on some proper tires, DONT. All it takes is a tiny little bit of snow and those summer tires loose all traction. No brakes, no steering, you are guaranteed to go into an uncontrolled slide where you will probably wreck your car - or much worse.