Average Jane Can’t Have A Nice Car

As I’ve mentioned, I can’t seem to get a break when it comes to cars lately. Over the past few years I’ve experienced the following catastrophic car issues:

• Totalled SUV, thanks to a careless teenaged driver
• Severe transmission damage caused initially, I believe, by a huge hole in the pavement of a parking area
• One car waterlogged to death in a flash flood

That doesn’t count minor (but expensive) car incidents such as the dent my husband put in my last car by hitting it with his Jeep, or the big piece of trim I knocked off the bottom of my convertible before we got our driveway redone.

So obviously there’s a pattern.

Yesterday I was driving to work through an area that’s being subjected to all manner of heavy construction. A bulldozer was loading big pieces of asphalt into the bin of a large truck and I remember jumping at the loud noise as the chunks of asphalt hit the bottom of the nearly empty bin. Then I jumped because a piece of asphalt somehow missed the bin, bounced out and hit my car. Yes, that’s my new car. The car I’d just licensed the day before.

The construction crew were very apologetic and rushed to give me contact information for their office. I spoke with the owner and got the whole insurance thing rolling with them, so I’m sure it’ll all work out. But still, it’s my NEW CAR.

This morning I’ll have to squeeze in some time to start collecting estimates. My driver’s side door has some pretty heavy-duty dents and scratches, and I’m pretty sure there are bits of asphalt stuck in the metal. Considering that the body panels are made of aluminum, it wouldn’t surprise me if they just decide to replace the whole door. Sigh.

So how’s your week going?