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This has NOT been a good weekend for me.

To update from other parts of the forums: On Thursday night, I was on my way to work (I work in a rural part of Wisconsin, at a corrections facility out in the middle of nowhere, on third shift) when I hit a deer on the county highway that leads out of town. I swerved to miss it, still managed to clip my driver's side (left side) mirror, and slid onto the shoulder. Because we have had an unusual cold snap here (it's sub-zero temps at the moment), the shoulder was pretty much solid ice - so the car went right into the ditch on the east side of the road. I was heading northbound at the time - and the car went flying over the frozen snow.

I actually thought I would be able to recover and get back on the highway, but momentum had finally caught up to my car, and the front got stuck in the deep snow. I had to call 911 and get the car towed - there goes $200 out the door - and yet I still managed to drive the car home, sans side mirror.

After taking it in to the body shop, I thought I was going to end up having to really take it on the chin for my deductible, despite the deer fur still on the remnants of my side mirror. This morning, I get a call from the insurance, and they inform me the deductible will only be half of what I had thought. The only major damage was a crack in the front bumper, the mirror, and the driver's door window. The latter was from the mirror, causing some pitting of the window. The deer did put some smallish dents in the side of the car, but nothing that couldn't be bumped out.

And then came today. I was going to take the opportunity to get gas in the vehicle, so I took my wife off to an appointment and then went off to the gas station.

As I was driving back into town, a #### kid in a Saturn rammed me while he was turning through an intersection, and there's now MORE damage to the car. Front bumper is shattered, with the grill. Fender got shoved back, so I can't open the driver's door. Hood is bent and damaged.

The intersection in question is both a.) the busiest in the city, because it leads to the Wal-Mart and the McDonald's, and b.) the worst for accidents.

Add to all this the lovely weather (sub-zero temps that make it feel like February, not December) and the fact that I am dangerously close to totaling out the car, and I'm just happy I'm okay.

This has NOT been a good week.

I'm wondering if maybe you should consider getting a different car. The Universe is obviously trying to tell you something.

--Patrick

I'm wondering that myself.


This is the third accident this thing's been in. The first one was on Cinco de Mayo of 2012 - when some guy ran a stop sign as we were heading down to visit my dad. Same fender. The body shop guy is going to love seeing this.

An update: just got back from a visit to the urgent care/ER. I was having mild pain in my lower back. It appears I just had some tissue strain related to the accident - water-bags as we are, sudden jarring causes aching well after the event. X-rays didn't show any issues, thankfully.

I think the car just doesn't like Wisconsin. It's originally an Arizona car that my dad picked up as he was wintering down there. When my PT got to the point of being too costly to keep, he brought it up here.

The second part better be on the kid, not you.

"Failure to yield right of way." I had the green light, he sped up through the intersection to turn into the road that leads to McD's and Wallyworld.

You figure out why he got cited.

jwhouk said:

"Failure to yield right of way." I had the green light, he sped up through the intersection to turn into the road that leads to McD's and Wallyworld.

You figure out why he got cited.

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Is he (or the parents) going to have to cough up funds to get the damage fixed?

YES.

In situations like that, the offending party's insurance should handle the claim, given that there was an at fault party.

RE: your lower back pain, from personal experience, ibuprofen (800mg), a hot bath, as hot as you can stand, and a glass or two of your favorite tasty adult beverage.

This is, of course, if they didn't already prescribe you relaxants, in which case, disregard the previous. *grins*

I feel your pain with the universe telling you something about your car - my wife's car is the same way. Dumbass magnet. I hope things start looking up for you, and they really might - when we got t-boned earlier this year, the body shop went ahead and fixed up some pre-existing damage that was on the same region of the car. We paid not a red cent.

Oh, the only thing that might not be repaired under this guy is the side view mirror.

And cyclobenzaprine is my friend. I may need to get another prescription for it, though, from my doc.

I really can't afford a new car, though. (And I'm not even talking "brand new".)

The damage.

The kid was driving an early 90's Saturn SL 4-door sedan. I'm not sure, but I think my PC cost more than his car.

jwhouk said:

The kid was driving an early 90's Saturn SL 4-door sedan. I'm not sure, but I think my PC cost more than his car.

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Priorities!

--Patrick

Update: Car is at the shop. It's all pretty much in "Flo's" court now. I just need to get a copy of the accident report, and hopefully Progressive pays for full replacement.

Gonna be down to one car for a few days, though. Enterprise might be my friend in the future.

stienman said:

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He said "Enterprise", silly.

(And for those of you who are confused, I meant "Enterprise Rent-a-car". The people of the "We'll pick you up!" tag line and the brown paper delivery wrapping around their cars in ads.)

NCC-71M0
Har.
I wonder if that's their actual phone number.

--Patrick

It'd be a neat gimmick.

I'm at a point where I'm actually pricing used cars.

I'll recommend that you find a vehicle made of NERF. Or something from here http://www.ebay.com/sch/Military-Vehicles-/80765/i.html

In all seriousness, get a Crown Vic. Parts are dirt cheap, there are tons of them out there, and with departments having to shop around for replacements for them, they've got to offload their old inventories quickly, so auction prices might be low for a little bit.

Officer_Charon said:

In all seriousness, get a Crown Vic. Parts are dirt cheap, there are tons of them out there, and with departments having to shop around for replacements for them, they've got to offload their old inventories quickly, so auction prices might be low for a little bit.

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Can probably get a Lumina Impala like that as well...if you swing that way.

--Patrick

...Did I mention that I used to work at a Ford store as a detailer and "lot monkey"?

I never cared for Crown Vics.

I'd really like to get back to my Mopar roots, but those HHR's I'm seeing around are looking tempting.

I think @Dave has (or had) an HHR

Sent from my MB886 using Tapatalk

jwhouk said:

I'd really like to get back to my Mopar roots, but those HHR's I'm seeing around are looking tempting.

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I would take a 2005 Fusion over any HHR any day of the week. Hell, I think I'd take $6000 cash instead of any HHR. They're just so...anemic.

--Patrick

You have to remember I once owned the vehicle the HHR was copied from inspired by: a PT Cruiser.

The HHR, for some inexplicable reason, gets better gas mileage.

I have a PT. Handy in a pinch but ready to move on.

Sent from my MB886 using Tapatalk

Yeah, the PT had crappy gas mileage, but I liked it. If the rear end hadn't basically given out and a bunch of other little things piled up, I'd still be driving it.

jwhouk said:

You have to remember I once owned the vehicle the HHR was copied from inspired by: a PT Cruiser.

The HHR, for some inexplicable reason, gets better gas mileage.

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I would take the PT. The mileage isn't inexplicable, the HHR that I rented for a week (was rented for me for a week) drove like it had an engine only half the size of any PT I've ever been in.

--Patrick

The poor gas mileage on the PT (I averaged about 22 MPG) is explainable, too: the wedge shape ruins aerodynamics.

The first time I saw a PT I honestly thought it was a joke. I still don't like the style.

MindDetective said:

I think @Dave has (or had) an HHR

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I did! I loved that car! Unfortunately, the bank loved it more.

News got bad yesterday. Cost to repair is pretty much right at the value of the car. Flo's people may balk at a complete repair.

There has been a change in direction.

I contacted my CU, and got a hold of a local used car dealer here in the M-town.

It's an '06 HHR LT.

The tentative plans are this - purchase new car, get what we can for old, and go from there.

If I'm remembering correctly, (and if I'm not, let me know) Dave's HHR was a magnet for accidents. Maybe you'll have better luck with yours?

Echoing the PT's aerodynamics: my grandmother got one of the first released PT's, and she still has it to this day. I drove it a few times when I was visiting, and I have to say it always felt...off. Awkward would be the best way to describe it.

Okay, weird things have happened.

First of all - the damage to the car from the deer was greater than the damage from the 19 year old kid driving the 17-year-old car.

Secondly - neither amount was more than the magic number of "your car is totaled at this point".

Thirdly - and this BLEW MY MIND - the car IS repairable. I only need to pay the $750 total deductible for both estimates - and I believe $500 of that will come back to me, thanks to Flo and company.

THEN, Flo's people called me. Heard I'd gone to the hospital to have my back checked. Heard I'd called in for one day. Offered to cut me a check for roughly the same amount I was gonna have to pay out.

Talked to Dad, who owned the car before me. He said, "get the HHR."

I've talked to two or three others - including a family member - who own an HHR, and they say it's great.

I called back, called the bank, and GUESS WHAT I'M GONNA GET AFTER CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A check for $150 claims it for me.

Good news: Old car is out of the shop.

Bad news: I had to pay the deductible(s) out of my own pocket, because they didn't take the credit card I was going to put said deductible on.

The HHR is, for all practical purposes, mine.

Because of this pesky Christmas holiday, I won't take delivery until Thursday, but it's pretty much all mine at this point. The Buick is emptied out of pretty much everything - except a snow brush with scraper, which, of course, you HAVE to keep with you in this state.

Though I feel sick as a dog, the HHR is now mine.

(does happy dance)