Big Bang
It was only a matter of time. First Jen, now me.
That's right, I got into a car accident on Sunday night. I was coming back from dinner with Michelle, driving on Golf Road, when I was rear-ended by (surprise!) an uninsured driver. Fortunately it was a low-speed accident, so nobody was hurt. I was only going about 15 mph and he couldn't have been going much faster than that. Even more fortunately, there was a cop going the other way who witnessed the entire thing and wrote up a nice accident report for me. When I left she was still yelling at the uninsured guy for speeding without insurance in the middle of a thunderstorm.
I've already filed a claim with the very helpful and non-judgemental folks at my new insurance company, and I'm taking the car in for the initial estimate on Saturday. There's some deep scratching on the bumper - not the kind you can buff out, but not giant dents either - and the muffler is riding a bit lower than it used to. I'm guessing I'll need an entirely bumper, which I've been told can run anywhere from $200 to $900. Your guess, Andrik?
Naturally, I have every conceivable kind of coverage in my policy EXCEPT property damage caused by uninsured drivers. I have bodily injury from uninsured driver coverage, but nothing that will cover this. So hello $500 deductible, goodbye part of my annual bonus.
In other news, from March 31-April 3 I'll be kicking it with Beanieliz in the Bay Area. I'm psyched, although Eric wants to know what I want to, you know, um, do.
posted by Jamie @ 12:04 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
walk across the golden gate bridge...and drink.
walk across the golden gate bridge...and drink.
It's so fun, you could even do it twice.
Allow me to jump in here before Andrik, and tell you that what you've got there is a fascia, not a bumper, son.
el frijole is right.
But, that doesn't mean that you don't have any bumper damage (the fascia is the plastic part that covers the actual, steel bumper. If you were really going the speeds you said, there shouldn't be much more damage than the fascia and the energy absorber (that's a foam block that is rides between the fascia and the bumper - guess what it does).
The price range you have is generally right (and very broad). The actual price will vary greatly depending on the design of the fascia and how easy it is to replace it. The part itself should only be about $150-$250 (this is a guess, since I don't know anything about your import). The rest is the labor and can vary widely.
Depending on the material of the fascia, there may be a chance to fix it instead of repair it. The chances of the repair shop agreeing to this is very low because they probably like money.
All in all, there is a very important lesson here: Michelle is dangerous.
When you come to the area around the Bay, feel free to stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Santa Clara, where I am currently situated. It is 1000 times better than the Holiday Inn in Midtown Manhattan where I was a couple of weeks ago. Of course, the price-to-dog ratio may be better if you stay in the city. Remember to bring your umbrella and a jacket.
First, not to toot our own horn or anything, but jendrik rolls off the tongue better than beanieliz. Can we come up with anything better? I propose beanski
Second, watch out for your back. I'm in physical therapy for my accident and that was in august. Turns out that even minor accidents can screw up your back.
Finally, I think you should consider a trip to Tahoe during your stay. It can include a blizzard, margaritas and getting drunk in your hotel room, which is fun to do with beanski, if you've never tried it.
Thanks for the advice. Like I said, I've got the initial estimate on Saturday, and I'll take it from there. Now that I know I have to satisfy the entire deductible before USAA will cough up anything, I'll be a little more savvy regarding price.
Andrik, if you are at a Holiday Inn Express, please swipe some of the cinammon-scented shampoo for me. I love it, and now that I'm done going to Champaign, I won't be at a Holiday Inn Express again until the fall.
How about Bridkowski? Or Liric?
I could definitely get behind Liric. Has a nice ring to it.
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