Classic Rant #755 (June 12, 2012): Accidents Will Happen

Last Friday, while I was at work, I said "Hello" to a co-worker, and the co-worker replied in kind.

But then she hit me with a bombshell.

Evidently, trying to back into a space in our company's parking lot, she hit my car (not the one in the photo).

Of course, I wasn't in it, having parked much earlier when I got to work.

She said that she had to maneuver her car because "a truck was parked in the parking lot," and she maneuvered it so well that, well, she hit my car.

She said the accident could have been even worse, if not for her driving prowess. And, "why was the truck parked in the parking lot anyway?"

Oh, the pain, the pain.

I ran out to survey the damage, and quite frankly, it is only on the front bumper on the passenger side. There appears to be a gash in the bumper, and paint was ripped off.

Obviously, this idiot tried to wedge her way into a space, and instead, she wedged her way into my car.

I told her I would take the car in for a damage estimate the next day, on Saturday, which I did.

The damage was estimated at slightly more than $600.

Several problems have arisen because of her ineptitude.

First of all, she told me later that Friday that she "could only pay" with her Discover card. Go find an auto body place that takes Discover (believe it or not, I did).

Second, after presenting her with the estimate yesterday, it took her nearly four hours to come over to me and tell me that she wasn't satisfied with what I gave her, and she "had a place that she could trust" which was close to work. Heck, she would even drive me there, or drive my car there because it was so convenient.

This is a sham, begging for time and speaking out of the side of her mouth. The convenience is supposed to be for me, not for her. I went to a highly rated auto body shop in my area, near my house. I want to get this done when it is convenient for me, not for her. She doesn't live that far away from me, so it should be no big deal for her to get to an auto body place that I trust.

The one she trusts was recommended to her by the auto repair shop across the street. She's never used them; why trust them?

And to have to use the Discover card ... give me a break!

So today, I am leaving work early to get her as many estimates as I can. I am going to places in my community. It is simply easier for me. I would like the work to be done next Tuesday, because I am not in need of a car that day. I have to go for one of my periodic eye exams, have taken the day off, and can drop the car off before the exam.

Or I can get it done on Saturday. My wife isn't working this weekend, so we can use her car instead of mine.

So it is easier for me to do it this way, whether my co-worker thinks it is or not.

I don't understand people, I really don't. I give her credit for telling me about the accident, although I probably would have figured out who did it myself even if she didn't tell me.

But don't justify your actions by telling me, like she did, that the accident "could have been worse."

Look, I don't want to go through insurance. I am sure many of you are wondering why I haven't mentioned this yet.

The reason is that in New York State, we have something called no fault.

What that means is that if there is a car accident, no fault is placed on either party or any of the parties involved.

And what that also means is that no matter who caused the accident, both of our rates are going to go up, because even though there was an accident, and no fault was placed on either of us, the accident has to count against us, anyway.

So here I am, at work, doing my job, and this idiot hits me.

According to New York State, I am at fault too.

So my rates will go up.

I am trying to avoid this. It isn't worth it to me to have my rates accelerate. I am a good driver and haven't had an accident in decades.

So today, I have to go for some estimates. I need at least one more, and I plan on getting it today.

It makes for something of a bad vibe at work, because the woman works on my floor and she is in plain site of me.

But the aggravation of trying to fix something that I didn't do is even worse.

Let's see what happens.