Dude is ya need my help "Remedying the Situation," let me know what alley and
what time of night. I know how ya feel that is how my 88 bit the bullet, an
old man turned left in front of me at an intersection and I t-boned him, his
car was totalled on the scene, I drove mine for another couple of weeks before
I could start fixing it. If you are gettin it checked at Allstate the guy
that
does it in Lincoln (across from the mall) is a gear head and a real good duy
overall. basically be prepared, i went to my dealer and borrowed the
estimating book, since i was so well prepared he gave me extra hours which
added up to another $500 or so. He gave me all mopar parts even though
it's an
88... Again sorry man if ya need me jsut let me know when...
Sincerest Condolences,
Chris in Kingston
>>>Well, as I was going to work this morning, a car in front of me turned
on its left directional, shifted left a bit and slowed down. Being that the
single travel lane road we were on is wide enough for two semi's, I opted
to slow down and pass on the right. NOT one of my best choices in life.
When my front bumper was just behind his front door (4 door sedan), he
decided to turn right into the grocery store.
I jammed on the brakes taking care to not lock up the front wheels and
whipped the wheel to the right remembering that there was a curb there.
Well, everything did not fall into place and I nailed the pass. rear door
doing about 5-10 mph.
We stopped in the parking lot and the driver got out of his car while
his
wife stayed in the front pass. side. After asking if everyone was okay, he
walked to the pass. side of his car.
Not a pretty sight. There was about 3" intrusion on the pass. rear door
and about 1" intrusion on the rear fender. He opened the door and
fortunately everything worked without incident. I was getting my cell
phone to call the police and he stopped me saying that he didn't need them
there. I thought okay, he wants to settle this without the insurance
companies
and I offered to give him my name. He refused it (huh?!), but his wife who
had gotten out of the car thought it was a good idea and took my name and
phone number. It was then that they drove off.
Not having had any coffee yet, I didn't think to get his license plate.
I
pulled out of the parking lot and traveled a grand total of another 20 feet
before I parked my Dak at my fire station. It was then that I surveyed my
damage. I got out expecting to see a bruised bumper, but what I saw
surprised me. The bumper did show some damage (minor). However,
in addition to that was the corner lense (outside pushed inwards & easily
moves) abrasion on the marker mask, headlight lense pointing up and out
(easily moves by hand), bumper shifted down and to the right AND a
buckling of the fender by the v6 badge (along with complimentary paint
removal on the fender edge in front of the badge). Needless to say, I did
not want to see that.
I went inside the fire station, relieved my man, grabbed a coffee and
then proceeded to call the police. They promptly showed up to take a
report. Long story short, they ruled it as the other guy's fault (left
directional vs. right turn and leaving the scene of an accident). Okay, I
guess as my insurance will cover it now. And speaking of the insurance,
I have an appointment Monday to assess the damage.
I think what bothers me the most is not that my Dakota is damaged
( I was planning on doing front end body work anyways), but rather
that a seemingly nice middle-aged couple is now driving in a heavily
damaged sedan with no apparent course of action to correct it. I realize
that something is definitely strange about their leaving under those
conditions and that this might not be over with regards to them, but ...
I guess I'm just not comfortable with them being so nice on scene and
then getting the short end of the stick.
Anyway, thank you for listening to me ramble. Take care and stay safe.
Now, where's that jack & coke ...
Chuck Robbins
'99 Sport v6 5spd 2wd RC
http://www.members.home.com/clrobbins/dakota.htm>>>
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