"Mom! Dad says he can get the guy to write the estimate for $500 over, and he'll keep the difference! I don't want to be a part of insurance fraud!"
Yeah. That's not happening. Hick said that Genius's car was fine, but that he wanted him to get all the wheels aligned, and get a mirror put on. So they made an appointment at the Ford dealership for Friday so Genius could take it. He has been working extra hours during the week so he can get out early on Fridays.
Also...the dealer told Hick that to fix the damage, it would be $3500. Hick was not having it. He told Genius, "We can clean that car up and fix it way cheaper than that. I'm not going to turn it in on our insurance. We'll do it ourselves." Genius was somewhat skeptical, but was in no position to demand $3500 worth of repairs on the car we bought him that he wrecked while under the coverage of the insurance we pay for. He and Hick went back to his house and got a bucket of water, a couple of rags, and a can of Comet. This is the result of 30 minutes of those ingredients combined with elbow grease from one aging right elbow and one youthful left elbow:
Hick took the number of the paint job, and is looking for a matching front fender on the internet. He says he can get one for a couple hundred dollars, and he and Genius will put it on. Let the record show that Hick took auto body in vocational school when he was a young 'un. He says the rear panel will need putty and paint, but they will deal with that at a more convenient time.
Hick and Genius hired a traffic lawyer to handle the court appearance. Genius will know more after the attorney gets the police report and a court date is set. Right now he has generously offered to pay for either his lawyer or his mirror/wheel alignment bill. But the main thing is
GENIUS IS OKAY!
As long as it does not interfere with the cars operation, I always just leave dings and dents be. Buff them out and paint so they don't rust, but otherwise it's all good.
ReplyDeleteIf Genius fell asleep while driving, it is indeed very good that he is OK!
Hick, who brags that he has 250 hours of auto-body repair under his belt, wants to putty and paint all by himself. I am skeptical.
DeleteIF Genius fell asleep? What do you know? Were you in the semi that saw the accident happen? Sing, canary, sing!
I don't know much about auto repairs but $3500 does sound like a lot. And again its so wonderful Genius is okay.
ReplyDeleteThe insurance gouges you for more than it should, then the repair shops gouge the insurance company, then the insurance company gouges you MORE to recoup.
DeleteSeems like Genius is the only one who came out of this without any gouging. Though I would gladly pay $3500 to have HIM repaired.
Who cares about the car, as long as the boy is okay...
ReplyDeleteFor being in a rumble with a tractor trailer truck, Genius' vehicle doesn't look too bad.
And he can't say, "You should've seen the truck!" Because now I HAVE seen the truck, which is unscathed.
DeleteI was counting on you to get the title...don't make me give you a clue, Madam.
DeleteIt's always good to have a man around the house. With tools. And an auto body repair education.
ReplyDeleteAnd, like the others, it's great that the Genius(?) is okay.
It's especially good to have a man around the house to complain about, or else Val couldn't run two blogs.
DeleteI imagine his housemates had something to say, along the lines of "Way to go, GENIUS!"
Sounds like a lot of money. SD's Dad wrote his car off a few weeks ago (mainly written off as it wasn't worth much) but the insurance company insisted on using their breakdown company who then insisted on keeping the car at their workshop for a couple of weeks charging for storage even though we knew it was going to be written off. They also booked a hire car for SD's Dad even though he said he didn't want one. All of it just to claim extra on the insurance then they put his premium up to cover the cost of all the things he told him he didn't want. It makes me cross!
ReplyDeleteAs much as we pay that insurance company for our 8 cars (and two were sold since last year so it would have been 10) you'd think they would give us a bigger break than a simple "multi car discount" of about $158 every six months.
DeleteWe can only drive 4 at a time, you know...
Hope Hick is not as heavy handed as my wise guy who decided to touch up the hood chips. Looked like a kid took his mom's nail polish out to paint the car. Thankful your boy is okay. And YOU, creek bound? Wake up and eat some chicken on the way home.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine Hick's handiwork turning out like that.
DeleteI haven't had gas station chicken for about six weeks. Super Nachos made at home are my new favorite. But there's not a gas station Super Nacho store. I should have picked up a 44 oz Diet Coke to wake me!