This afternoon I was backing out of a parking space, and the person opposite my space started to back out with a huge Ford truck afterwards. Luckily, and in just the nick of time, I pulled forward and must have just avoided getting clipped by mere millimeters. It feels good to rant when these sorts of idiotic things happen.

Steve Villatoro
www.stevenvillatoro.com
“An enlightened guide to small business mastery.”

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I have selfish reasons for posting


Since your bumper and tail light are practically off, and since you said you would post pictures...can you PLEASE do so?

I still need to replace my tail light (see another thread) and have the replacement part in my hands. It seems SOOOOO easy to get the tail light off, but that dreaded retainer clip holds it in place.

I'm not planning to have the dealer install the tail light until my 5000 mile service.

In the meantime, I actually attempted to take off bumper (seems REALLY easy, but I can't do it). The bumper has 2 screws on the bottom facing the roadway, and some easy to remove plastic clips. Also, it has two screws on the rear facing the back of the car (you can only see them if the trunk is open and you pop open the plastic covers that face the rear of the car). After taking all of this off, the bumper is still solid in place.

So it would be nice to know how to finish removing the bumper. Perhaps with your bumper torn off you can see where the other connectors are hiding.

Also, if you can take a picture of the retainer clip I'd appreciate it. I can see it through the space between the bumper and the tail light, and I can see the slot on the replacement light. I was trying to find a way I could possibly stick something between into that slot without taking the bumper off.

I'm soooo close....

Hamm3r,

Did you pay someone to hit Charlesc so you could get a look at the bumper?

Poor Charles probably just wanted some sympathy (which we have--believe me!) and instead got lectured about why he didn't call the police!

Ha...sorry.

But, seriously, I think we made our point. I hope it goes well with insurance, I'm just saying that you'd surprised how many times something totally innocuous like that happens, but a few days later when somebody's husband gets involved or whatever, the other driver changes his tune, and next thing you know she's saying you backed into her and you need to pay.

And now its your word against hers, and insurance won't get involved in that mess. For example.

In many California cities, the Police will refuse to come to an accident site or take a report unless an injury is invoved.

Do you live in a no-fault state? I think a police statement helps if you do live in a no-fault state, but isn't necessary to get your claim from insurance processed. I think...

Wes Tested, Earth Approved

I was stopped at a red light 2 days ago and someone in a Chevy blazer rear ended me. It was night and I had already been stopped at the light at least 30 seconds. The must have hit me pretty slowly. I thought there would be a dent and a lot of scratches, but there actually were NO scratches, just a very small, dime sized shallow dent in the lower part of the bumper. Paint wasn't damaged. It was late at night and it was some young kid driving. After careful inspection, I actually told him to forget about it. The dent was so miniscule and hard to see I didn't even want to deal with the hassel of getting him or his insurance (if he had it) to pay. I know you guys will probably yell at me, but it just seemed not worth it to me.

SanDiegoBlue,

No, won't yell at you. I've blown off minor things like that before. But I would have taken his info. Often times it is very minor. But sometimes with bumpers there will be almost no sign of damage, but the mounting hardware underneath the bumper is damaged. Either way, you may want to take a look and make sure there's no hidden damage.

I got rear ended once while driving my wife's previous vehicle - a 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse. It felt like a pretty good bump, so I pulled into a parking lot and the offending driver (a high-school age girl and her friend) followed. I got out to look, and I could find absolutely no evidence of the car even being hit. Her car (an older Eclipse with a different body-style) didn't appear damaged at all either.

I took her name and phone number and gave her mine, and later that day I stopped at a body shop and asked if they could take a look underneath to see if there was any hidden damage. There was none, so I never called.

I can appreciate your kind gestures but it really ticks me off when people follow too close. If you don't make them feel some pain they won't stop.

Last month coming back from Nags Head I was in a rain storm watching a girl talking on a cell phone driving 70 miles per hour with less than a car length between her and the car in front of her. When the car pulled over she simply sped up and pulled up behind the next driver. I was in the slow lane and was able to keep up with her for almost 10 miles reguardless of her effort to get ahead. I passed her a few times on the right when she had to slow down.

If this was my kid I would take her car away from her.

Sometimes they have to pay the price to see the light.

Your forgiveness is admirable but letting them get by with this behavor is not really in their best interest.