Well it was raining today in Southern CA. for the first time in awhile. As you may know, people here, loose all brain function when the sun is not out.

So, my whole family, including 6 month pregnant wife and 2 1/2 year old are in the Expy. when I stop at a red light. I dont know if I saw or heard the Pathfinder bearing down on us, but in the mirror I see it aint gonna stop in time! I try to get the @#% out of the way and go to make my move around a right turn when BAAMOO! She creams our back end! I gave her an extra 15-20 feet to stop, but it was'nt happening.

Long story shorter, everyone is fine but her Pathfinder LOST that battle! The back of the Expy. got some good knocks but her Pathfinder is TORE UP! The #$%$ idiot, but sweet young girl, had NO insurance and NO license! Thank God for Big Ford Trucks and Uninsured coverage!

I just keep thinking that if we still had the Maxima it might have been alot uglier

 

Bikenut,

I'm sorry to hear that happend to you and your family but I'm glad to hear that everyone is seemingly okay, whew. That must have been a bad day indeed. Let us know how everything turns out. Were you able to get any pictures of the damage? If I had to guess, the girl that hit you would have done it rain or shine, no experience driving and cruising the highways is a dangerous proposition for sure.

Take care...

Later,

~DM~

 

Been through that scenario twice myself with unlicensed and uninsured drivers. I'm screwed out of a vehicle for repairs and my insurance deductable. Of course the other driver will find another vehicle at a "Car's R Us" lot and repeat the cycle.

Put them on the side of the road and let them pick up trash for a couple of years.

Keith

 

Funny how a cloud does have a silver lining some times;

If anyone recalls, I was recently whining about a foreign object flying into my lower radiator opening and puncturing the trans. cooler. During that, I contacted my Ins. Co. about claiming it (which I didnt) and found out that for some reason I did not have rental car coverage on my policy. SO, I added it.


Fast forward two weeks to this incident and THANK goodness I added rental car cuz the Expy. will be in the shop for a couple Weeks at least considering the holidays!

So, there will be ZERO $$ out of my pocket and I get a $40/day rental allowance

Also, I found out from my Ins. Co. that the girl who hit me with no license or Ins. will get billed for the total repair costs of our Expy! ~OUCH! I estimate damages to be in the area of $5000 and that does'nt include her car which was way worse. It will eventually go to collections Im sure, but that will haunt her for years.

Also, when the DMV finds out, she will not be able to get a license hereafter, but I doubt that will be any inconvenience since she didnt care this time.

 

Before I got our Expedition, my wife totalled our two economy cars. Now with the Expedition, she has totalled two other peoples cars.
At least she and the kids are safe.

 

Shorty,

Sounds like for what your probably paying in car insurance, you could hire a car and driver to get everyone around.......

 

This is why I like a truck. I have seen full size pickups hit the back of little economy cars and fold their trunks up like a NASCAR that has backed into the outside wall at 100+ MPH! The trucks have appeared to have very little damage in comparison. Of course when a truck meets a truck it is probably a different story.

 

Now where do you live? What does she drive?

 

We had somebody run their car through the wall into our business. She had insurance but only the minimum required for liability. She caused more damage than she's insured for. Our business insurance is going to pay the rest but told us that they will sue her personally for the balance of the damages. As a side note the car was only 3 weeks old.

 

My Expy got tagged in 2001 like that.

Lady in a Chevy S-10 tagged my family and knocked them into what would have been oncoming traffic at the intersection one rain-soaked August night.

Ironically, I'd just seen a Navigator get tagged in a similiar manner the same day or day before with little visible damage to the Navi, but the Camry had seen better days.

24-48 hours later, my truck gets hit. Long story short, my Expy got about $392 in damage. I'm told the ladies S-10 was hurt for about $2,000 - $3,000, and the adjuster said her truck would've been messed up worse if I had the towing package. (I had a Class IV hitch installed days after my truck was repaired.)

All 4 of the passengers in my truck that night got $400 each if they promised not to sue. I was still at work when it happened, but I got $100 for agreeing to look the other way on a small scratches that was on my bumper. So, the (Please don't sue us) money was 4-times greater than the damages to my car. Family was OK, with the exception of frayed nerves and stiff necks... But, they were $400 richer!

I'm not nearly as confident that my 2003 would survive a similiar hit and have so little damage.

 

Force = mass * accelleration (Period). That is why it pays to drive a more massive vehicle than others. I like my Expy's mass.

Purchasing an economy car - $15000
40 mpg for 15k miles @ 1.50/gallon - $562.50
back pain for the rest of your life after getting into an accident - Priceless.