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Patrysha
02-21-2009, 08:05 PM
Because I'm so excited about the new car we bought today. Not a new-new car, a new to me car.

Last month I was rear-ended by a young punk in Daddy's one ton, there wasn't (to my untrained eye) a heck of a lot of damage. But what do I know? Evidently not much...

Because it was enough damage for the repair costs to exceed the value of the car...which evidently isn't very hard to do with the uni-body construction that's become the standard on these cheap cars.

So...the insurance company wrote it off and sent a check and a tow truck.

I was steamed.

I did not want to head into the city to try and find an inexpensive car to replace the one I lost. I hate going to the city...even to visit relatives. It's a pain and I hate wasting all that gas on the 3 hour return trip (even though prices have come down and it's not as bad as it was last year)

Luckily, I didn't have to.

The used car lot in town actually had something within my price range.

Whew!

I'll pick it Wednesday after I get all the insurance and registration stuff taken care of.

cbscreative
02-21-2009, 08:49 PM
Congrats, I'm glad that worked out since getting hit was not part of the plans you had. I would not want to be shopping for a car now either, but that's because I like mine and I don't want to be replacing it.

vangogh
02-21-2009, 09:51 PM
Congrats that it all worked out.

A few years ago I was sitting at a light when an accident happened behind me. No one was hurt, but the impact caused one of the cars to slide on the slick road and hit the back of my truck. There was some cosmetic damage and when the insurance company came out to see I figured they weren't going to give me much, but they ended giving me about $700 for what to me was a few dents and a busted tail light.

Of course I've also been on the flip side where someone hit me who didn't have insurance and I've collected nothing and had to repair my car out of pocket. maybe it's the universe's way of evening things out.

Steve B
02-21-2009, 10:01 PM
Where is the city for you? Just curious what part of the country (or which country) you are in.

billbenson
02-21-2009, 10:31 PM
I have an ugly truck that I bought in 2003 with a bashed in passenger door. Same situation, works fine for what little driving I do. An elderly gentleman stopped at a stop sign at a rural 50 mphfreeway. As I was nearing the intersection he started to cross the freeway. He just plain didn't see me. I tried to miss him, but I caught his rear quarter panel at about 50. Spun him in circles, across two lanes and into a tree.

In my case it worked out. They went on the blue book value of my truck, not what it really was worth which is about $700. They gave me the option of totaling it or a check for $1k. I took the $1k, replaced a turn signal lense, and am still driving it.

Blessed
02-21-2009, 11:02 PM
Glad things worked out for you!

I drive a 99 Ford Explorer and I love it... yes it has almost 200k miles on it, yes it's rusting, yes there are stains in the upholstery and I prefer not to leave my metropolitan area with it - but it's paid for, I have AAA, and I've been in five or six fender-benders with it in the six or seven years I've owned it (mostly in snowy/icy conditions) and it has never sustained any real damage - a busted lens cover on a taillight, some scratches, minor dents, - had a blowout once that made me do a 360 in the middle of a busy road and land in some bushes and mud 20 feet off the roadway - that did the most damage - it ripped out the dust covers under the bumper and front wheel wells. But - the important thing is that it didn't flip!

We've never had any major mechanical problems with it - small things are starting to go wrong now, but fixing them is still cheaper than buying a new car and besides I like the thing. Also - when I was working for someone else I had a 40 mile each way commute so the miles added up quickly, last year I put about 15 thousand miles on it and most of those are tax-deductible! I like new cars until I start writing checks to pay for them, their insurance and the property taxes!

Sorry to high-jack your post RadioGirl in order to be so defensive of my little SUV but for the past year my Hubby keeps talking about replacing it because it's starting to rust and he's always wanted perfectly maintained vehicles inside and out, mechanically and cosmetically. I'm of a different persuasion - keep the thing clean, keep the mechanics working good and then drive it till the wheels fall off or something mechanically goes wrong that is too expensive to justify fixing! Oh well... they do say that opposites attract :D

Patrysha
02-22-2009, 11:44 AM
I live in a small town in Northern Alberta...the city in question is Edmonton. I don't mind thinking about going in to work with clients or to visit family but to go in to shop is simply an overwhelming prospect for me. I like to shop where I know the owner and staff where I can.

KristineS
02-22-2009, 04:05 PM
Congratulations on the new car, and I'm glad the accident didn't cause any harm to anyone.

I drive a Saturn, almost 9 years old now. I bought it new and it's been a terrific car. Never had any problems with it, and it doesn't have any serious injuries. I did back it into a tree once, but it only sustained a small ding from that.

Blessed
02-23-2009, 12:02 AM
I backed the car I had before I got the Explorer into a dumpster once... it had a huge scrape and red paint on the bumper for the rest of its life... it was a Pontiac Grand Prix, an excellent car until the transmission went out, and went out again, and again... but - even though there were always lots of them in the parking lot at WalMart I just had to check the rear bumpers until I came to the right one :)

tuitionsource
02-23-2009, 12:57 AM
Congrats on the car. I drove a 1992 Geo Metro until it had 200K miles on it. I was tired of looking at it. It still got 40 mpg when I sold it, but it was ugly.