Do I Have Bad Car Karma?
January 26th, 2007 by JJ
Heading to work last Friday, I drove down a narrow one way street a block away from my house. Cars were parked along the right side of the road, and a school bus was parked on the left. It looked like I had just enough room to squeeze through, so I gave it a shot. Bad idea.
My passenger side mirror clipped the mirror of a parked car. Smash! It sounded like someone threw a baseball at my car. I looked at my mirror and saw it was bent in flat against my car. The mirror itself was shattered. I looked in my rear-view and saw what looked like the plastic housing to my mirror in pieces on the street. My first thought: “Fuck! I just destroyed my mirror.”
At that point I knew there was nothing I could do to fix it and the plastic parts that littered the street were useless. So I headed on to work. After I made it through city traffic and finally had a chance to take a breath, I rolled down the passenger side window and reached out to feel the damage to the mirror housing. Shit. It felt fine. My mirror was not destroyed - only the mirror glass. That meant the pieces in the street belonged to the parked car, not mine.
I felt like such a dick. But I was already well on my way to work and I really am a dick, so I just kept going. I want to clarify something here. I’m not saying “I’m a dick” in an unapologetic tough guy kind of way. I know I’m a dick and I feel constant painful guilt over that fact.
So I let the guilt build up to the point that I decided I needed to make it right. I even half-assed planned on looking for the car later and leaving a note with my contact info. Then on Monday as I drove to work, the school crossing guard near my house motioned for me to pull over. I thought “Fuck. She saw what happened and she doesn’t realize that I really am planning to do what I can to remedy the situation. She probably thinks I’m a total asshole and wants to yell at me.”
I rolled down my window and she said, “You know that car you hit on Friday? That’s my car.” …. uhhh…. ummm…. uhhhhh…
Shit. That lady is so nice. Every morning, she waves to me and smiles as I pass by. I really would have felt like less of an asshole if the car belonged to someone I felt apathy towards. But this lady really is cool. I tried to explain at least a little, without digging myself into an even deeper hole. “I’m so sorry. I really do want to help. I want to pay for the damage.”
We exchanged info and I called her a couple of days later and left a voicemail asking if she received an estimate yet. Then today, she stopped me on my way to work again and handed me the estimate. What could it be? A couple hundred bucks maximum, right? It’s just a mirror. The paperwork was in an envelope. I took it, thanked her and drove off. I finally took a look a few minutes later when I reached a stoplight. Drum roll…. … … .. ..
$465.
I’ll let that sink in for a second.
I never really thought about what kind of car she might own. And I didn’t see the car the day I clipped it. Certain car models sell a whole lot more than others. Odds are she drives a Honda or Ford, right? Nope. It’s a Jaguar.
How’s that for car karma?
RSS
I’ll admit that I did back into a truck in a parking garage which shatttered my tail light. I don’t think it did anything to the truck. I say think because I didn’t stick around long enough to find out.
Since when do crossing guards drive jaguars?
One time, I was riding my bike with the wife, and I accidently ran into a parked car and clipped the mirror.
I was embarassed that I fell on my stupid bike, so we got the fuck out of dodge.
The difference? The car is older than I am, and rusted to shit. The funny part? The left it that way for over a year.
oh, that’s embarrasing to get busted like that…
but $465 sound seriously inflated.
I bumped a car, barely scratching their paint last year… they told me it would cost 1300 to repair. This lady may seem nice, but if you dont actually see a bill or receipt, dude, dont pay it… garages love to do the overpriced quote for situations like this.
Doh! Bad Car Karma Sucks.
Man. That sucks. I once drove into a car when I was about 17 and thought, I’d just drive away. Yeah right. Someone saw me and they yelled “You better leave a note!” so I tried to play it off like I had to go buy paper. Then I went back and left the note. Hahahah. Memories.
OH! SNAP!
My first thought was covered by Cinders…..how in the hell is she driving a Jag? You did say school crossing guard, right? Her husband probably owns a body shop and she’s probably been able to afford that car by charging outrageous estimates for little shit like this courtesy of her hubby. Think about it man, think about it.
JJ - she has insurance and it should theoretically cover it. You would then only have to pay her deductible. I had my entire driver’s side view mirror stolen a few years back and when I took it to the dealer to get it replaced, they told me it was $450! (I had a Volvo). Luckily, I only had to pay $50 because insurance covered the rest of it. Why those mirrors are so expensive, I have no idea. It’s a racket.
cinders:
I was wondering the same thing myself. I’ve decided either she is married to a rich dude or she lives in a shithole and spends all her money on a car payment.
Ev:
Yeah, a bike fall is the perfect time to scram. I don’t really know what I mean by that. I just wanted to say “scram.”
Dawn (webmiztris):
Yeah… I Googled the parts and the estimate seems about right. That mirror ain’t cheap.
juicya:
The estimaet may be a little high. But my guilt precludes me from investigating further.
Rashenbo:
Big time.
randi:
Your guilt got the better of you.
MacBros:
No kidding.
April:
That would be a pretty complex scam.
Yo:
Maybe. But her deductible is likely $250 or $500. A zero deductible is super expensive. I’ll eat the cost and relieve my guilt.
it sucks but if you report that to your car insurance, your payment would probably go up…so maybe she doesn’t want to report it, and expects you to pay it entirely (per yolanda’s comment). but that really, really does blow.
DAMN!
pay her off with sexual favors
a school crossing guard drives a JAG? i am so in the wrong business.
[…] Now that I’m the victim of a hit and run, a few of my friends have asked if I think it’s payback in the form of car karma (or in this case: “car-ma”). My answer? Yeah - that might have something to do with it. […]