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In light of the last movie of the Harry Potter series finally being released, I thought it only appropriate to use a Gun’s Quotes from one of the lead characters.
My stress level has been maxed out for a while. I sat down with my bosses to discuss my workload and the conversation went well, but this past week and this upcoming week will be 60+ hours trying to get a massive project out the door. It has been trying.
So when my car ended up in yet another wreck, I was at my wits’ end.
Driving to work on Monday, I was making a right turn. In the middle of the intersection, the guy behind me changed lanes and caught the right rear fender, barely missing the door. We pulled over. He gave me his contact info, but he didn’t have his insurance card. I made the police report and we both went about our business.
After trying to get a hold of him last week so that we could settle the $2,500+ damage he did to my car, none of my phone calls or texts were returned. I’m having to turn the claim into my insurance company for repairs and I’ll end up paying my $500 deductible. Because he didn’t return my calls and didn’t have an insurance card, my insurance company and I will be treating this as a case where he didn’t have insurance. Their claims department will pursue him for money, but I’ve been told not to be optimistic.
I’m paying $500 and without a car for two weeks because of something the police report and insurance company clearly state is not my fault.
While at the body-repair shop to get an estimate, the estimator came outside and stated, “Oh I remember this car!” As if my week needed a cherry on top.
As he was jotting notes down on his clip board, he noticed the large scrape of paint and hole punched into my rear bumper that was left from when a family member of mine accidentally backed into a pole while borrowing my car. (Love you, Mom!) This damage was right underneath the new damage caused by the wreck.
“Where’s this from?” he asked.
It was about that time that all of the stress, frustration and embarrassment from work, getting into my 5th car wreck, dumping $500 of my own money into somebody else’s mistake and learning I was going to be car-less for two weeks crashed into an ethical dilemma. What should I tell him? Was this from a previous wreck, or was this caused by my current wreck?
It would only be a little-white lie. After all, this guy who hit me left me with the baggage… why not stick it back to him as an additional cost the insurance company would shake out of him? I’m spending $500 anyways… why not pretend that I was spending $500 to fix my own problem and pretend like he was fixing his mistake for free? I was inconvenienced, I was the victim… why not get something out of the deal? I’ve always hated the scrape on my rear bumper, I’ve played with the idea of getting it fixed for a while, I knew what it cost, and I knew that it would be awfully nice to get that $750 repair done for free…
The car goes to the shop tomorrow to start repairs. It will sit there for two weeks. When it reemerges, it will have a new taillight, new rear fender and new rear wheel well. It also gets “complimentary” detailing.
It will also have that hideous scrape and hole in the rear bumper, the scar that I’ve wanted to go away for years.
The decision to live with it for a few more wasn’t that easy.
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