My Poor Car

Monday the 14th I was involved in a car accident. My nice(for me) car, which I purchased with the help of my friend Henway Twingo, is now a whoopdie. Godfuckingdammit. The accident was not my fault. I was broadsided by someone who ran a red light. I'm fairly sure, but I can't prove it, that he was talking on his cell phone at the time.

I lurve my whoopdie. Henway convinced me that it was now okay to Buy American. My last car had been a 1985 Ford Escort I had bought brand new that went through 2 camshafts, a crank shaft and a set of lifters in the first 18 mos. I had it. It took them that long to find out the problem was the oil pump. I had to replaced the trans at about 50K miles. The belt and water pump at 70K, and every 70 K. The last thing I wanted was another American car. In 1999, I sold a house that I co-owned with someone and got a very nice return on my $1.3K investment. I was going to buy a Toyota or something. Henway showed me the way to an excellent used car dealer in Zion. I ended up with a 1997 Ford Taurus. It already had 67K miles on it... but they were mostly highway, because it still had the original factory brake pads on it.

Me and the whoopdie have traveled many, many miles together, with only a small hiccup now and again. I had to have the original transmission re-built @ 189,000 miles. A gas tank gasket leak. A new spring and ball joint. An alternator and battery.

We have been from Chicago, to Ontario, Canada, to New Hampshire, to Massachusetts, to Delaware, and the yearly trip to Florida to visit the P's. And the approx. 80 miles a day I drive to and from work. Other than the basic maintenance, it has really been a trouble free car. Cars were made for driving, and I figured I'd drive this one 'til the wheels came off, and then have a frame off restoration done. Sure, it would cost $8-10K. You can't buy a new car for that.

I was sitting at a red light at the corner of Emerson and Greenbay roads in Evanston. Westbound on Emerson. I was the first person at the stoplight. Since I was at a red light, I took the opportunity to fiddle with the radio. When I looked up, the light was green. It took a few seconds for the green-ness of the green light to sink in, and the people behind me started honking.

I proceeded through the intersection, in fact, I was more than halfway through it when BAM! The driver's side window exploded all over me. I said EEK!, and pulled over.

The guy who hit me, one Mr. Sharma, pulled right behind me. It took a curiously long time for him to get out of his car, and when he did, he went directly to the trunk of his car, and put something in it. Hmmmmm. Of course there were none of Evanston's finest around, and I don't have a cel phone, and Mr. Sharma sure didn't call the cops. We exchanged info. I drove home in the rain in my now battle scarred whoopdie. She protected me at the cost of her own good looks! My back is still really stiff, though.

Since I have friends who work in the insurance industry...they tell me I might end up owing the insurance company of the guy who hit me. Something about a "comparative liability" statute that Illinois has.

State Farm, the guy's insurance company, hasn't exactly impressed me with their quick resolution to this claim.