Tweaked by a hit-and-run driver!

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hbquikcomjamesl

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2021
Messages
208
Last Sunday, I was watching a screening of Buster Keaton's classic silent, The General, with live organ accompaniment by Robert York at the "Mighty Reuter" of Our Saviour's Lutheran, while out on Junipero Avenue, some hit-and-run driver made a big mess.

After the movie, I went out to my car, and noticed that there was police activity nearby. Then I noticed that my port side front hubcap was smashed, and the port side of my front bumper was hanging loose.

Then I learned that the starboard front wheel had been pushed into the curb, hard enough to tweak the rim.

Amazingly, the front tires both still held pressure. And the car was drivable, albeit not at freeway speed. That surprised the cop who was taking statements from witnesses when I got there (she was as thoroughly professional about it as anybody could hope for), who was sure it would have to be towed.

I made it home, and the car surprised me: on one of the faster sections of PCH, it got up to 50 MPH without shaking to pieces.

I took Monday morning off to sit down with my agent and file the claim, and then go to a body shop.

At the body shop, I found out the extent of the damage:

Port side:
Front hubcap smashed. Unknown damage to front wheel. Front fender and headlight pushed in.

Starboard side:
Front rim tweaked. Front hubcap damaged.

Hood: knocked slightly askew.

I also found out that the body shop was not equipped to deal with a full electric (why do people assume a Leaf is a hybrid? Nissan has never offered a U.S. market hybrid).

Tuesday morning, the adjuster finally got back to me, and had found me a body shop that was equipped to handle a full electric. Far enough away to require towing.

Tuesday afternoon, I got a call from a body shop. The wrong body shop. The tow truck driver had been given the wrong destination. I had to take the afternoon off, drive clear into Cerritos (yes, the city for which the ship in Star Trek: Lower Decks is named!), and personally drive the car the two miles to the correct body shop.

All of this while I'm recovering from a prostate biopsy (22 separate cores!).
 
hbquikcomjamesl said:
Last Sunday, I was watching a screening of Buster Keaton's classic silent, The General, with live organ accompaniment by Robert York at the "Mighty Reuter" of Our Saviour's Lutheran, while out on Junipero Avenue, some hit-and-run driver made a big mess.

After the movie, I went out to my car, and noticed that there was police activity nearby. Then I noticed that my port side front hubcap was smashed, and the port side of my front bumper was hanging loose.

Then I learned that the starboard front wheel had been pushed into the curb, hard enough to tweak the rim.

Amazingly, the front tires both still held pressure. And the car was drivable, albeit not at freeway speed. That surprised the cop who was taking statements from witnesses when I got there (she was as thoroughly professional about it as anybody could hope for), who was sure it would have to be towed.

I made it home, and the car surprised me: on one of the faster sections of PCH, it got up to 50 MPH without shaking to pieces.

I took Monday morning off to sit down with my agent and file the claim, and then go to a body shop.

At the body shop, I found out the extent of the damage:

Port side:
Front hubcap smashed. Unknown damage to front wheel. Front fender and headlight pushed in.

Starboard side:
Front rim tweaked. Front hubcap damaged.

Hood: knocked slightly askew.

I also found out that the body shop was not equipped to deal with a full electric (why do people assume a Leaf is a hybrid? Nissan has never offered a U.S. market hybrid).

Tuesday morning, the adjuster finally got back to me, and had found me a body shop that was equipped to handle a full electric. Far enough away to require towing.

Tuesday afternoon, I got a call from a body shop. The wrong body shop. The tow truck driver had been given the wrong destination. I had to take the afternoon off, drive clear into Cerritos (yes, the city for which the ship in Star Trek: Lower Decks is named!), and personally drive the car the two miles to the correct body shop.

All of this while I'm recovering from a prostate biopsy (22 separate cores!).
Nice story. Best of luck to you. All the talk of Port and starboard you must be either a sailor or European. Looking forward for the rest of the story.
 
Steelcity said:
All the talk of Port and starboard you must be either a sailor or European.

No, just not a fan of ambiguity. "Right" and "Left" depend on your point of view. "Port" and "Starboard" have an implied frame of reference.

The same way that if I'm referring to an ordered collection of type and/or engravings, in readiness for printing, I call it a "forme" -- "form" can mean too many other things.
 
Got a time estimate yesterday. Should be ready December 6th. The feast day of St. Nicholas of Myra. Which seems somehow appropriate.
 
The body shop finished four days ahead of schedule: I paid my deductible last Friday, and could have picked it up that day, if it had been logistically possible. I picked it up Saturday morning, and everything was perfect. They even managed to avoid damaging the wire for my "flap ajar" warning, and reconnected it.

In the meantime, after the first full week, I'd exchanged my first rental (a Versa) for another (a Camry, at the same rate): the Versa smelled like an ashtray. The Camry merely smelled like janitorial products.
 
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