Saturday my brother and his family had to go to a wedding so I agreed to let their dogs out a couple times during the day. I went around dinner time and stayed until 8pm. He didn't know what time he was going to be back, so said to go over at around 11 unless he called.
11:00 came and I debated whether or not to go, since I left at 8 and I knew they wouldn't be too late, since they have a 1 year old. In the spirit of being a good aunt (although I'm not particularly fond of one of their dogs!), I went anyway.
All was fine until on my way out, I proceeded to back into a car parked directly behind their driveway. It was dark, darker-coloured paint, another car on the other side of the road to clear....I simply didn't see it. I've been driving for 7 years and never involved in an accident. In any case, it didn't look like much damage in the dark, but I knocked on the door of the house and gave the owner my number. He was nice about it, figuring he could probably just hammer the dent out himself. Sounds good to me! But, it's a leased car, so it has to be fixed if not.
Sunday, I hear nothing. No news is good news, right? Not so much. I come home from work on Monday and there is a message on the phone. The guy took it in to the dealership for a quote. To fix a dent in a door - $1600. Craziness! They can't tap it out, they have to replace the entire door panel, which is actually only worth like $200. All the rest is basically the costs of painting and blending (they basically have to paint the entire side of the car, which means a lot of labour costs for removing and re-installing parts). I figure...ok, it's a lot, but it's from the dealership...should be a lot cheaper at an auto body shop. NOPE! Almost $1800 there.
I've decided not to go through my insurance. My deductible is $500, so I don't really want to taint my clean driving record for an $1100 claim.
The moral of the story: My brother owes me a really good Christmas present this year. Did I mention he got home shortly after midnight, and would have been on his way home (but failed to call me) before I went over there? Figures!
11:00 came and I debated whether or not to go, since I left at 8 and I knew they wouldn't be too late, since they have a 1 year old. In the spirit of being a good aunt (although I'm not particularly fond of one of their dogs!), I went anyway.
All was fine until on my way out, I proceeded to back into a car parked directly behind their driveway. It was dark, darker-coloured paint, another car on the other side of the road to clear....I simply didn't see it. I've been driving for 7 years and never involved in an accident. In any case, it didn't look like much damage in the dark, but I knocked on the door of the house and gave the owner my number. He was nice about it, figuring he could probably just hammer the dent out himself. Sounds good to me! But, it's a leased car, so it has to be fixed if not.
Sunday, I hear nothing. No news is good news, right? Not so much. I come home from work on Monday and there is a message on the phone. The guy took it in to the dealership for a quote. To fix a dent in a door - $1600. Craziness! They can't tap it out, they have to replace the entire door panel, which is actually only worth like $200. All the rest is basically the costs of painting and blending (they basically have to paint the entire side of the car, which means a lot of labour costs for removing and re-installing parts). I figure...ok, it's a lot, but it's from the dealership...should be a lot cheaper at an auto body shop. NOPE! Almost $1800 there.
I've decided not to go through my insurance. My deductible is $500, so I don't really want to taint my clean driving record for an $1100 claim.
The moral of the story: My brother owes me a really good Christmas present this year. Did I mention he got home shortly after midnight, and would have been on his way home (but failed to call me) before I went over there? Figures!
