Vera's Hurt!

Yesterday, as I was leaving the school parking lot, someone hit Vera!

I was driving through the parking lot, when I noticed this SUV backing up.  My first instinct was to slam on the brakes (which I did), and I knew that I needed her to notice me.  So I yelled, "Ah!"  She didn't notice me until she heard my side mirror crunching in to my door.  :(  May be the horn would've been a better choice?

When she first got out of her SUV, she was still talking on the phone!  And not in an, "OMG, I just hit someone, I gotta go!" way, but in a "Yeah, yeah.  I should get off the phone..." way.  It was a speaker phone, but still.


Luckily, a campus security officer was in the same parking lot, so he came over to helped.  Unfortunately, he didn't see anything.  He helped us remember all of the information that we should exchange, and reminded me that the college's auto shop was still open.  The other person took FOREVER to get her insurance information, saying that it was her father's car.  Poor, broken Vera was blocking her SUV from leaving, and I wasn't about to leave until I had her insurance information!  Eventually, after talking on the phone several more times, she gets me her father's insurance information.  While I'm getting all of her information, she asks whose fault it was.  I just stare at her.  Then say, "Yours."  My Prius is quiet, but it's not invisible!

Since my side mirror was now dangling limply on the door, I went to the auto shop to get it removed.  I knew the instructor, Larry, so he was really nice.  He even asked me how I was doing!!  So sweet.  The students took off the mirror while I graded papers.  Larry looked up the part, and found that it cost over $250.  Who knew that Vera had heated mirrors?  Looking at the door damage, he said that the whole repair would probably cost over $1k.  The other driver had asked me not to call insurance because her father is a mechanic.  But for a thousand dollars of body work?  Heck yeah I'm calling my insurance! 

On my drive home, I sorely missed my mirror.  You don't know how often you use it until it's not there!  


The next day, I left Vera with the body shop that Allstate suggested, and got a very red Versa.  This is the second time that I've had a rental Versa, and they don't hold a candle to my Vera!  I mean, where's the back-up cam?  Why doesn't the radio show me what songs are playing?  Why can't I change the radio or the temperature from the steering wheel?  You really expect me to do math to figure out my average gas mileage?  Why do I have to click the fob to unlock the door?  Why do I have to put the keys into the ignition?  It's all so arcane.

After almost a week in the shop, I finally have Vera back.  Yay!!  I do miss some features of the Versa, though.  I like how you could choose how much face versus foot fan you wanted.
The insurance company called, too.  Although I paid my deductible at the auto shop, I'll be getting it all back because they've agreed that I'm not at fault. And Larry was right, it did cost about $1000!

All's well that ends well, I guess.