Less than 2 months and just 1,507 miles on the odometer, and I get hit.
09-23-2006, 11:33 AM
#1
Less than 2 months and just 1,507 miles on the odometer, and I get hit.
Around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, I pull into a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike (northbound, just past Exit 4) and carefully park in the row furthest away from the reststop door, with open spaces on both sides. Shut the engine off and open my door, when over my shoulder I see this older Ford minivan come whipping (and I mean WHIPPING) into the space next to mine. I desperately reach for the grab bar and BOOM! This guy rams into my open driver's door. I helplessly watch the door get bent back far beyond its normal range.
The guy backs up a bit, pops out, and immediately says, "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say." I reply, "the car is not even two months old." He again says, "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say."
It turns out he has his wife and three young children with him and he is on his way home to Mass. My speculation is that one of the kids had to "go" real bad and wifey was yelling at him him to get parked so she could hustle the kid in. Whatever, he definitely wasn't paying attention.
I didn't raise my voice. I just stood there, in shock, and he kept on talking. First, his story was, "I saw your brake lights on so I thought you were backing out." After the second time he said this I replied, "well you didn't see any backup lights, did you?" A few minutes later he says, "I saw your brake lights on so I thought you saw me." I said, "what does one have to do with the other?" "So," I asked him, "now your story is going to change?" He started stammering, and I said, "look, it was an accident. Just wait for the trooper and we'll each tell him what happened."
Basically, he knew from the get go that he had screwed up majorly. I'll give him credit that he felt badly about my car. In fact, I'd hazzard a guess that he's going to have a far worse evening then me: he's going to be dealing with both guilt and wifey; and I'm going to sit home with the game on and drink heavily.
Result: the driver's door won't close, and the car was flat bedded some 60 miles back to my local body shop. The trooper said the report would state that I was parked and he rammed into my open door, so insurance is all on him.
All in all, it could have been far worse, but damn, just damn!
The guy backs up a bit, pops out, and immediately says, "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say." I reply, "the car is not even two months old." He again says, "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say."
It turns out he has his wife and three young children with him and he is on his way home to Mass. My speculation is that one of the kids had to "go" real bad and wifey was yelling at him him to get parked so she could hustle the kid in. Whatever, he definitely wasn't paying attention.
I didn't raise my voice. I just stood there, in shock, and he kept on talking. First, his story was, "I saw your brake lights on so I thought you were backing out." After the second time he said this I replied, "well you didn't see any backup lights, did you?" A few minutes later he says, "I saw your brake lights on so I thought you saw me." I said, "what does one have to do with the other?" "So," I asked him, "now your story is going to change?" He started stammering, and I said, "look, it was an accident. Just wait for the trooper and we'll each tell him what happened."
Basically, he knew from the get go that he had screwed up majorly. I'll give him credit that he felt badly about my car. In fact, I'd hazzard a guess that he's going to have a far worse evening then me: he's going to be dealing with both guilt and wifey; and I'm going to sit home with the game on and drink heavily.
Result: the driver's door won't close, and the car was flat bedded some 60 miles back to my local body shop. The trooper said the report would state that I was parked and he rammed into my open door, so insurance is all on him.
All in all, it could have been far worse, but damn, just damn!
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09-24-2006, 08:43 AM
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Re: Less than 2 months and just 1,507 miles on the odometer, and I get hit.
i feel your pain Ed-- my 2 month old 2006 A6 4.2 was slightly scratched in the parking lot. The culprit did not stick around so it was labeled a hit and run and as such no deductible to pay on my part. Scratched the front bumper and the reflector -- approx $500 to rebuff/repaint/replace... but it's the fact that it was hit that really blows my mind 
mike
mike
