Wednesday morning I read Leo Babauta’s article The Body as a Vessel For Living. He compares our bodies to a car- a car is a vehicle we use to experience a journey, but not the journey itself. Likewise, we can see that our bodies aren’t who we are- they’re a vehicle for our life experiences. That doesn’t mean we can’t polish our cars or try to improve our bodies, but our attention should be on the scenery we’re moving through or the adventures we’re having.
Ah, what a nice article. Funny that I should read it on a day where we went on to experience a RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF CAR STRESS. Get a load of this…
First, the AC in my car stopped working several days ago. Anyone who lives in Florida knows that if your AC isn’t working in the summer, you might as well just drive your car to the junkyard and leave it there. Driving in the heat is absolute torture. No problem though- I have Wednesdays off so it was the perfect day to bring it to the dealer. And it’s under warranty- what could possibly go wrong?
Ho ho. We’ll get back to that in a minute. After we left my car at the dealer, my husband and I stopped at Trader Joe’s. As he opened his car door, a gust of wind suddenly caught it, and it hit the car parked next to us.
We got out of the car, and a woman barreled towards us yelling “You just HIT MY CAR with your car door! It’s a BRAND NEW PORSCHE and now it’s DENTED! You DENTED MY CAR!” Yep, there was a tiny dent- but the way she yelled at us, you would think she had found us demolishing her car with a sledgehammer.
I assured her that we didn’t do it on purpose- I mean, obviously- and she calmed down enough to exchange phone numbers, but boy- she was a total jerk. Because I was afraid my husband would end up throttling her, I thought it was best to have her communicate with me.
She apparently went directly to a bodyshop and got an estimate, and forwarded a copy of it to me- $880. Well, I didn’t think it would be cheap. Someone drives a brand-new Porsche into a bodyshop, and they’re not going to give them the bargain rate. But here’s the capper- she texted me “And of course I’ll have to rent a car for 2-3 days.”
Oh, REALLY??? That’s funny, because I could see on the estimate that the job would take five hours. At this point, we called our insurance company and filed a claim. It will cost us $500 (that’s our deductible) but it’s worth every penny- and the thousands we pay to Allstate every year- not to have to deal with a woman like that.
So let’s get back to my car. The one that is now STRANDED AT THE TOYOTA DEALER. They can’t work on it until they get the approval from the warranty company, and for some reason that’s taking several days. We thought that maybe we could take it back until they’re ready to work on it- because we really need two cars- but they said no, because sometimes the warranty company sends someone out to inspect the car, so it has to be there. If we take it back we’ll be starting over from square one.
Hmmm! Maybe WE’LL be the ones renting a car for 2-3 days. Or maybe the universe is trying to tell me something. Stay away from cars from now on… I could just start running everywhere. Or riding my bike. Yes, I can picture myself showing up to work, ready to give a massage, drenched in sweat. That probably won’t work.
In all seriousness, what would I do without running? I’m so glad I get to go for a run this morning, first thing, before anything else stressful can happen. When I’m running like that I’m reminded that none of the rest of it really matters.
What’s the most frustrating car experience you’ve had?
24 Responses
Ha as soon as I saw the title of this post my first thought was “uh oh”. Thank heavens for insurance to deal with Porsche Lady. Your running wisdom is spot on – none of this stuff matters but it’s frustrating in the moment.
I’m kind of evilly hoping the insurance company gives Porsche lady a hard time, heh heh. But whatever- I’m grateful to hand the whole matter over to them.
OMG. What an awful week. I can just imagine that Porsche woman… I am glad you don’t have to deal with her anymore.
I hate dealing with car stuff. I think the worst experience I had was getting rear ended by someone in a parking lot just days before I was moving from Charlotte to Minneapolis. I really did not like my time in Charlotte so it was the cherry on the top to get into an accident days before leaving. I was worried my trunk wouldn’t shut which would have been bad for a cross country trip! I used a relocation moving company but wouldn’t have my stuff for a good week+ so still had to pack a lot in the car. And the person who hit me was awful to deal with so I was very glad when insurance took over.
Really! The person who hit you was awful to deal with- they should have been contrite. I definitely have a whole new appreciation of car insurance now!
That sounds terrible. I hate conflict with other people and the whole situation sounds absolutely awful. I’m sorry you’re out $500 on the insurance deductible but thank goodness you don’t have to deal with that woman anymore.
And no AC in Florida would be like pure torture.
We’ve had a couple of accidents (only one our fault – that was me pulling out of a parking lot). Perhaps the most memorable car thing was the time we got towed in the middle of a snow storm (we couldn’t make it up the hill to our apartment and parked in a nearby lot associated with our complex and the complex manager had us towed – we ended up getting reimbursed but it was SUCH a hassle and coming down to the parking lot to see our car missing…and sorting out what had happened…was very annoying).
Ack! That does sound terrible. I’m glad you got reimbursed- but what a hassle to have to get your car back after being towed!
Ugh. I hate car problems.
Knock on wood. My 2010 BMW has 155k miles on it. And going strong.
But I have gotten hit from behind three times by drivers not paying attention. I gave up fixing it. And when it was brand new, a shopping cart blew into it.
If only we didn’t need cars.
Yes! It’s funny because I was just thinking about how great it was when I lived in MYC and didn’t need a car. Oh well…
Yikes! Some people are pretty tightly wound.
I’m imagining getting into a car with no AC in Florida in the summer…no thanks. Talk about a sweat box!
It’s horrible! Then you open the window and more hot air blows in at you…
I was listening to a podcast about a mobile car repairman today (okay, the podcast was actually about a serial killer, but this was his day job) and I thought it was such a clever idea. The nearest dealership to our house for our VW is an hour away and whenever we have major car work done, I just know I’m going to sit there all day because I’m too cheap to rent a car and I can’t just walk/ride my bike home. I wish someone would just come to my house to deal with my car issues. I’m so sorry your car is being held hostage and I hope you get it back soon!
Yes, I’m also too cheap to rent a car. I think a mobile car repairman would be in high demand!
A few years ago, I was backing out of a parking space at Walgreens and a woman in a minivan drove behind me. Yep, I backed right into her. And not just into her van, into the sliding door. When we stopped and she rolled the door open, there were her 2 kids in their car seats. I felt horrible. My car didn’t have a lot of damage but I pretty much destroyed that door. Which costs $$$ to fix. Thank goodness for car insurance. Allstate took care of everything. I didn’t have to rent a car, because my youngest son’s car was here while he was away at school. But I was happy to get my Jeep back!
Luckily the lady I hit was very nice. There’s no reason to be rude, Ms Porsche!
Hmm, Toyota didn’t give you a loaner? One of the reasons I take my vehicle back to the dealer is because I get a loaner vehicle. Including my 4Runner that was well past warranty – 19 years I had it.
Good question- they didn’t. Maybe it’s because our warranty is through a different company, I don’t know. Maybe we should have asked for a loaner!
Ugh – as soon as I read Porsche I had a feeling the woman would be a jerk and overreact. So sorry you had to deal with her initially, but thank goodness now you can go through insurance and not deal with her! I never understand why people feel the need to be mean spirited – it’s not like your husband intentionally hit her car.
Yes, I don’t get it either. It reminded me to be extra nice to everyone I encountered this week though!
Oh, Jenny, I am so sorry that happened, and believe me, I understand how it could happen. I once opened my driver’s side door at a gas station and a gust of wind blew it back so hard that a guy working at the station had to come close it for me. I could barely open or shut it until it got fixed. Also, I hope you get your car back quickly and with an AC that has you shivering shortly after turning your car on. 😉
Ha! Yes, my AC is back and it’s ice cold… just the way I like it.
This sounds so frustrating! And hell no to having no AC in your car in Florida, ESPECIALLY right now when we’re having so many heat warnings. That’s a MUST. I can’t imagine not having AC in the car, so I’m glad you got it fixed.
The whole situation with the Porsche woman sounds awful and I’m glad you just decided to file a claim and let the insurance company deal with her!
Yes! That’s what insurance is for, right? And now my car AC blows soooo cold… I appreciate it every single time I drive.
Ugh, I am so sorry. Car trouble sucks. I hope you can get it back with a working AC soon. (We had an old car where the AC failed and that one summer we lived without it was HELL.
Ha! Everything is good (for now, at least.) I’m definitely appreciating my AC every time I get in the car.