So my car got rear-ended... AGAIN... by another stupid girl not paying attention while driving a car that was much too big for her. She ran into us while we were at a stop sign. A STOP sign! No one was hurt and the car is drivable. In fact you can barely see the damage, but I'm still insisting on it getting fixed anyway... because I can
The girl that hit us is a teenager that probably just got her licence because she immediately started sobbing before we could get out of the car to exchange info. She begged us not to report it to her dad, er... insurance company, offering to pay for the damage out-of-pocket...
HA! Obviously she has no idea what replacing a bumper on a Volvo costs. (Clue: it's stupid ridiculous. I know. I've had to do it twice now.) Yeah, um... I think I'll get that estimate and call your insurance company anyway, sweetie. You can deal with them yourself...
I let my husband do the talking. He was kind, but firm with her, especially in pointing out how she was at fault and therefore there was no reason to give her our insurance info. That upset her even more, but the last time we exchanged info, the other company tried to screw us into a 50-50 deal for an accident that wasn't our fault... No way!
Better him than me, because I WAS PISSED. This makes for the THIRD time I have to take my car to the collision shop for some random "incident" in seven months! Obviously, no one in their right mind is "oh yea! another car accident". I just really don't have patience or the TIME for the insurance company/rental car rigmarole that's about to ensue...
Especially since the last time the car was fixed, it took four weeks to FIND a replacement bumper and the one we got... yep, the one that just got smooshed for apparently no good reason today... that was THE ONLY ONE IN THE COUNTRY at the time. Then, other things on the car related to, but not directly caused by the accident started falling apart and I had to deal with the "who has to cover this" run around- warranty, insurance, or us...
In the meantime, I had to tell my story a million times to both insurance agents and their various claim reps, who all actually worked for the same insurance company, but "they don't talk".
As for my loaner car, I requested that the rental company meet me at the shop, with a car big enough to accommodate my son's humongous car seat, and someone that could help reinstall it for me. I called, called again to confirm the details, and called one more time to double-confirm. What I got was a Ford Focus that arrived three hours late and was driven by a man that didn't speak English and neither knew how nor could be instructed on how to install a car seat!
It was winter. We were standing outside in the cold. I had my son with me and I was not about to hand him to stranger while I put the car seat in the wrong car... It barely fit in the back seat, but we made do. One of the mechanics at the shop helped with the car seat and the driver took us to the rental car offices where the manager got an earful and I got a "nicer" car...
By the way, it also took four weeks, $150, and 10 seconds of "labor" to replace the driver side mirror cover because the part had to come from SWEDEN. At least, I didn't have to get a rental car for that fix...
Oh, I just can't wait to start this process all over again.
The girl that hit us is a teenager that probably just got her licence because she immediately started sobbing before we could get out of the car to exchange info. She begged us not to report it to her dad, er... insurance company, offering to pay for the damage out-of-pocket...
HA! Obviously she has no idea what replacing a bumper on a Volvo costs. (Clue: it's stupid ridiculous. I know. I've had to do it twice now.) Yeah, um... I think I'll get that estimate and call your insurance company anyway, sweetie. You can deal with them yourself...
I let my husband do the talking. He was kind, but firm with her, especially in pointing out how she was at fault and therefore there was no reason to give her our insurance info. That upset her even more, but the last time we exchanged info, the other company tried to screw us into a 50-50 deal for an accident that wasn't our fault... No way!
Better him than me, because I WAS PISSED. This makes for the THIRD time I have to take my car to the collision shop for some random "incident" in seven months! Obviously, no one in their right mind is "oh yea! another car accident". I just really don't have patience or the TIME for the insurance company/rental car rigmarole that's about to ensue...
Especially since the last time the car was fixed, it took four weeks to FIND a replacement bumper and the one we got... yep, the one that just got smooshed for apparently no good reason today... that was THE ONLY ONE IN THE COUNTRY at the time. Then, other things on the car related to, but not directly caused by the accident started falling apart and I had to deal with the "who has to cover this" run around- warranty, insurance, or us...
In the meantime, I had to tell my story a million times to both insurance agents and their various claim reps, who all actually worked for the same insurance company, but "they don't talk".
As for my loaner car, I requested that the rental company meet me at the shop, with a car big enough to accommodate my son's humongous car seat, and someone that could help reinstall it for me. I called, called again to confirm the details, and called one more time to double-confirm. What I got was a Ford Focus that arrived three hours late and was driven by a man that didn't speak English and neither knew how nor could be instructed on how to install a car seat!
It was winter. We were standing outside in the cold. I had my son with me and I was not about to hand him to stranger while I put the car seat in the wrong car... It barely fit in the back seat, but we made do. One of the mechanics at the shop helped with the car seat and the driver took us to the rental car offices where the manager got an earful and I got a "nicer" car...
By the way, it also took four weeks, $150, and 10 seconds of "labor" to replace the driver side mirror cover because the part had to come from SWEDEN. At least, I didn't have to get a rental car for that fix...
Oh, I just can't wait to start this process all over again.
2 comments:
Hope everyone was okay in the long run!
Sigh...what happen to personal accountability?? Not telling her dad or insurance company...*gulp*, Uhm...welcome to the real world and the responsibilty of having a driver's license. That's really scary though when you think of how many kids just get a driver's license and keys to the car without thinking of the responsibilty and cost of owning a vehicle is.
They talk on their cellphones or ipods and if something happens, oh let's try and sweep it under the rug. What's scary is that if they learn to get away with it now...they grow up to become moms who well...we know the cycle.
Hope you can get your car fix faster than what you've had to deal with and have the mechanic check that the bumper doesn't come with a "hit me" magnet secretly hidden in it.
OMG! AGAIN!?!?
I am aghast.
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