Too Damn Complicated
Nov. 30th, 2005 02:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqTook the car into the dealership to have it looked at, lest my bone-headedness cause my car to disintegrate around me. They just called me back.
Seems the damage is not merely cosmetic - I managed to drive the support frame that holds the radiator in place up. To fix it, they'll need to empty and recharge my A/C. Then they get to straighten it out, then they get to replace the bumper and the under-bumper (whatever that is).
Total estimated cost: $1700. There could be more damage hidden deeper still, so I doubt it's going to be as little as all that.
But they won't fix it. Why not? Because I never filed an accident report. Why would I, my car was the only one damaged, and the only stationary property damaged was some dirt and grass. Seems it's the law in Alberta that any accident over $1000 can't be fixed unless an accident report has been made.
I can't do it with the Calgary city police because the accident was in Lacombe (a two hour drive north). I need to go to the local RCMP office (thankfully not the one in Lacombe) and fill out the accident report.
So I need to go get my car. Then I need to take the estimate, my car, license, insurance and registration down to the local Horsemen office. Fill out a report. Take my copy of the report back to the dealership so they can fix it.
Plus they don't have all the parts in stock.
About the only bright spot in this whole affair (other than not having to go to Lacombe again) is that the car is perfectly safe to drive, so I don't have to do all this on the bus.
I think I shall do this tomorrow, right before my dental appointment. I'll get the dentist to hold off on the novocaine, because why should my suffering just be mental.
Seems the damage is not merely cosmetic - I managed to drive the support frame that holds the radiator in place up. To fix it, they'll need to empty and recharge my A/C. Then they get to straighten it out, then they get to replace the bumper and the under-bumper (whatever that is).
Total estimated cost: $1700. There could be more damage hidden deeper still, so I doubt it's going to be as little as all that.
But they won't fix it. Why not? Because I never filed an accident report. Why would I, my car was the only one damaged, and the only stationary property damaged was some dirt and grass. Seems it's the law in Alberta that any accident over $1000 can't be fixed unless an accident report has been made.
I can't do it with the Calgary city police because the accident was in Lacombe (a two hour drive north). I need to go to the local RCMP office (thankfully not the one in Lacombe) and fill out the accident report.
So I need to go get my car. Then I need to take the estimate, my car, license, insurance and registration down to the local Horsemen office. Fill out a report. Take my copy of the report back to the dealership so they can fix it.
Plus they don't have all the parts in stock.
About the only bright spot in this whole affair (other than not having to go to Lacombe again) is that the car is perfectly safe to drive, so I don't have to do all this on the bus.
I think I shall do this tomorrow, right before my dental appointment. I'll get the dentist to hold off on the novocaine, because why should my suffering just be mental.
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A couple words of advice....
Date: 2005-12-01 03:55 pm (UTC)However, as someone else advised, get a couple other estimates. It can't hurt, and it may save you some bucks. Try to get at least ONE estimate from a body-shop that is NOT attached to a car dealer. (Dealers do great work, but they usually cost more than an independant.) I can recommend a body-shop, if you like. Had one replace the rear door on our RAV4 last spring. (It's in the Crowfoot area, near me.)
Yeah, the $1000 dollar thing was a surprise to me as well, this past spring, and I've been driving since I was 16!