frost Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Ok people, what does it take to get around town these days without taking your own life (and the clearcoat/metalflake on your Pride and Joy - in my case a cherried-out '97 SDV named Lucille) in your hands? Case in point: JUST got the car out of the bodyshop 2 weeks ago after someone was kind enough to lay down a number of scratches and gouges along the lower right rear quarter panel - of course, no compensation in sight and it wasn't worth the insurance trouble and strife to go that route, so my wallet was left approx $480.00 lighter. This Saturday past, rain. Alot of rain. I had to go to a bookstore to find something that detailed furniture casework from the 19th century - one of my other incarnations is as a hobbyist cabinetmaker and a commission is on the offing,,,,,,,,,,, Didn't find anything useful for the upcoming task and in the midst of backing Lucille out of her parking spot------some Capuccino-sucking, Berkenstock-wearing, Polo-shirted, Tommy Bahama'd clothed BONEHEAD in a 2000-something or other Subaru Outlandish decided to "squeeze past" me - as I was backing out of my spot. Upshot of all this? A few deep and jagged, down-past-the-primer scrapes/gouges that run the full length Lucille's rear bumber. BONEHEAD's damage? A severely crumpled left rear fender, bumber and deeply pushed-in left rear doorway. Could have been an excellent advertisement for the solidly built philosophy that GM is famous for with these Caddys. His excuse? He had 2 actually. The first one was "Gee sorry, didn't see you". Realizing just how lame this was, considering the length and breadth of a '97 SDV, reason No. 2 came quickly to the forefront - "Well, I DID see you, but thought I could squeeze past before you got far enough out of the parking spot to connect with me". Will a HUMMER make me more visible? Will a HUMMER protect itself any better than the SDV? Will having a HUMMER make me feel any better or more vindicated when I scrape the remnants of an Outlandish off it's lower bumpers, like so much insect-guts? Yes, I am majorly pissed off this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Ouch; sorry to hear, but glad no one was injured. One of the things people love about SUV's is that you sit up so high and can see traffic better. An Escalade would also be handy for your furniture crafting deliveries. You can get them with 'bull bars' and similar accessories for offroading and parking lots Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Sorry about that, there are always plenty of aholes to keep your day interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etcxtc Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Sorry to hear about your car. I don't know about where you live, but I live in a "college town" and a Hummer would just be a bigger target for them to be able hit here. I don't know how many times I've had to stop in the middle of the lane I'm traveling in because some little air-headed college kid is trying to dial their phone and turn up the radio while driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frost Posted September 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2005 I get the estimate done today - I may hold off on getting any of this bodywork done until Spring anyway, whenI can get the fender skirts painted/installed. Lucille will be going back into storage soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etcxtc Posted September 20, 2005 Report Share Posted September 20, 2005 How long does "Lucille" go into storage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navion Posted September 20, 2005 Report Share Posted September 20, 2005 If you do go the Hummer route, get an H-1, preferably an ex military unit. On those, you can fix the scratches with an olive drab spray bomb. The other guy will be totaled unless he was driving a Mack Truck! That reminds me of an accident report in Germany. It seems that a VW beetle tried to pass an M-60 tank on the right. Trouble was, the tank was in the process of turning right at the time. Damage report went something like this: Damage to tank: Some slight paint transfer, nothing serious. Damage to civilian vehicle: Tank tread marks on roof. Sorry that Lucille was damaged. Perhaps you should have BirkenSOCKed the perp! Britt Britt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KW103 Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 His excuse? He had 2 actually. The first one was "Gee sorry, didn't see you". Realizing just how lame this was, considering the length and breadth of a '97 SDV, reason No. 2 came quickly to the forefront - "Well, I DID see you, but thought I could squeeze past before you got far enough out of the parking spot to connect with me". Will a HUMMER make me more visible? Will a HUMMER protect itself any better than the SDV? Will having a HUMMER make me feel any better or more vindicated when I scrape the remnants of an Outlandish off it's lower bumpers, like so much insect-guts? Sorry to hear about your misfortune. The excuse ??? I've heard them all. I drive a trailer for a living and it doesn't matter how big of a vehicle you drive. People just don't think anymore or just plain don't care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike5514 Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 I dont usualy spend this much time on the site since you know who is gone but my big old german shepard is fed and the wife is on a beer run so fwiw I feel yor pain. I scratched up my 97 a year ago on a barb wire fence and i did not feel as bad as if someone else did it but almost, I guess accidents happen our fault or theirs. Its how you handle it that counts. mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDK Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 Frost, First, Sorry about Lucille - she will be all beter... Although it may have been satisfying, Its probably better to leave the Ruger or MAC-10 at home. You have his address right? Amazing the ahole did not consider "steering", which may be a foreign concept. As much as I try to avoid it, braking is a last resort that should be considered. If he had been in a Caddy, add power may have worked if applied judiciously! It seems that I subconsciously consider various outcomes/options etc as I drive and weigh the options. A discussion of these options typically occurs after startled passengers and I converse about what they think was a near miss. It seems that you never know precisely what the driver is thinking and the passenger does not consider the "dynamic environment", until the event is over. I believe it gets down to don't dive faster than you can think Be brave Lucille. Add power to leave problems behind. Most braking is just - poor planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterset Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 You should be careful how you word this with your insurance company. Maybe I am wrong, but I believe because you had your car in reverse, you will be automatically charged 100% for this accident. When you saw this guy comming at you, and you had your car in drive, you attempted to get out of the way when he struck you right?? Several years ago while I was in the left lane in my wife's honda on the NJ Garden State Parkway, the car in the middle lane just cut in front of me. I could have tried to stop more, but I would have hit them in the rear (or possibly skid into their rear). I didn't, so my front bumper hit their front bumper/fender. If I stopped and my front hit their back, I would have gotten a % of the accident. instead they were charged 100%. Additionally, they had a difficult time explaining to the state trooper how they hit me. they were also given a ticket. Also, I want to add that I think dark grey is the worst color for a car. I think it blends in with the street when people look in their mirrors too quickly. I got hit more times in that grey car. I was glad to get rid of it when it was hit for the last time. (tired of hearing "you came out of nowhere") I was releived when they told that to the police. always gave them 100% wrong when they say that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frost Posted September 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 No worries there, winterset - he admitted 100% fault! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimHare Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 This is why I will BACK IN a parking spot when that is possible (it's next to a sidewalk, whatever), or PULL THROUGH to the spot where I can pull directly out into the parking lot lane. I've always hated parking lots, and reversing direction in one is akin to poking a hot andiron up a rhino's butt... and I don't relish doing either. LOL Being in southern New Jersey, we have the double benefit of bubble-headed out-of-state tourists who don't know where they're going, and pea-brained locals who are busy checking the farm report on their CBs while they drive. Makes it unsafe to even leave your driveway sometimes. "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard P. Feynman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 One of the things people love about SUV's is that you sit up so high and can see traffic better. An Escalade would also be handy for your furniture crafting deliveries. You can get them with 'bull bars' and similar accessories for offroading and parking lots So 'bull bars' are for parking lots? That's something I hadn't considered. Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolnesss Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 Back when I was being chased around by the $cientologists, I found by accident that backing into parking spaces is the only sane way to park. I did it then as a defensive measure, and learned that you back into a space where its less likely someone is walking than in the parking aisle, and you drive forward out with unobstructed view of everyone you can run into. Backing out of parking spaces makes NO sense whatsovever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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