May 20, 2004

R.I.P. the Focus.

I'm waiting to hear from Geico's "Total Loss" division. That's right; that jerk destroyed our nine-month-old car last Friday. When the folks at Geico and the Ford dealer cut the hood off, they said that the engine and frame were too damaged to ever be repaired. That's probably good, since every noise from under the hood would from then on make me wonder. Of course, the insurance company (despite how much I love Geico) only pays the "blue book" value of the car, which is considerably less than we actually owe on it. Fortunately, we are pretty sure that we took out "gap coverage," which pays what's left. Also, my aunt (who is AWESOME) used to work for Ford Credit, so we are getting a sweet deal on a new Focus, as soon as we can find a 2005 model with what we want on it. If everything works out, we'll have a new Focus with lower payments than the old one, which was about the same price as a V6 Mustang. So, my secret wish to have the newly-updated 2005 Focus will come true. But we can't bring ourselves to get another Sangria Red one or a ZX5 -- too sad. We'll probably get a ZX3 (the three door, as opposed to the five door) since that ZX5 was really just a waste of money for us. I mean, we used to put our backpacks on the backseat, using the backdoors, just to get some use out of having the extra doors. Geico called the asshole that hit us, and he wouldn't respond at all to their question about his speeding through a bus stop when he hit us. After that and hearing what a jerk he was at the scene, our claims adjustor says that theGeico is seeking all of the money from his insurance company. Whatever the law is in Maryland about making left turns, they think they can get his insurance company to pony up when confronted with his dangerous driving. This is all good news for me and for my rates. As for his insurance company, they have not even bothered to call me at all. Then, there's the rental car. Geico pays for that. But the lazy bastards at the Enterprise near Hampden gave us a brand-new car with the brake light on. Then, they charged Geico for two days wherein we could not even drive the car, and they never had another one ready like they told Geico they would. So we finally got one last night from another Enterprise, and it's one of those hybrid Toyotas. It's very strange, and I keep waiting for one of the computers to fail. It feels like a box-shaped vacuum cleaner on wheels. But it gets 45 mpg on the highway, and with Bush's gas prices, I guess one can't lose with it. As we were leaving the rental lot, some crazy old man backed into another car in the lot. He hit its wheel with his bumper. He didn't hit it all that hard, but it was hard enough to move the suspension. I told the employees there, and they stopped him. He swore he didn't do it. Cars should come with lie-detectors. And, as my recent experience proves, SUVs should be first to have them installed.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

TPB, Esq.
http://unbillablehours.typepad.com

Regarding "Bush's gas prices," exactly when did he develop complete control over the petroleum market?

Pragmatik said...

It's a running family joke between my dad and I. He likes Bush a lot, but his big Ford FX4 pick-up eats gas, so I tease him. He blames Clinton.:)

Anonymous said...

Loretta
http://artjournaler.typepad.com/pomegranatesandpaper/

Thank God you all weren't hurt! I spend my day defending people who were in auto accidents and I know how easily a fender bender can become a mortality.

And I'm glad you have Geico because they are known to pay quickly.