So I thought that getting pulled over for a non-OEM looking exhaust (HKS Drager) on my 3rd day with my "new to me" '92 1JZ was an inauspicious start. But on Day 12, it got worse... the following is mostly copied & pasted from a MINI Cooper forum I frequent...
*I did call his employer in the morning, and they were very cordial about the whole mess. They're sending their "Safety Manager" to meet me near my office at 7 a.m. as leave work this morning. He wants a look & some pics, then I'll get estimates & he'll decide if he wants to handle it from petty cash or file with his insurance.
What sucks most is that I have a laundry list of items that I need or want to fix or upgrade on this car, and this is just gonna slow down the process.
I had put the Supra in the garage on Friday & was going to drive my Mazdaspeed3 for a few weeks. But Tuesday was Bay Area MINIs (local MINI Cooper club, of which I am still a member) @ Rose and Crown Pub, so I decided to drag the Supra out for its first BAM meeting. Driving up Ashley Street onto 275 South, you don't have to merge right away, as the lane you're in continues for about a mile before it becomes an exit only for Howard/Armenia Ave. But cars are always merging in both directions, left and right, to get into or out of the exit only lane. I watch like a hawk, because I expect someone to pull out in front of me without warning.
The car directly in front of me suddenly darts left into a narrow space in front of a dump truck, and I want no part of that nonsense. There's a 1/4 mile of open lane in front fo me, so I go on ahead. I signal left to merge in, hoping someone will gimme a break, and as I slow down & prepare to check my mirrors & look back, I feel a vibration & hear a nasty grinding sound.
The farking dump truck I just passed by several car lengths came up from behind me & decided to change lanes. INTO my Supra. I was abso-freaking-lutey stunned. His right front tire/fender crunched my left rear wheel/fender. Helluva a spot to have to pull over, too, on 275 in rush hour traffic.
And wouldn't you know it, the dump truck driver is Mexican and speaks pretty much zero English. Which is great, since I speak about half a dozen sentences of Spanish. He immediately hands me his license & doesn't even ask for mine. I write down my license & insurance info for him anyhow, and ask for his insurance. He protests with "8 a.m. Dale Mabry. 5 minute." After a protracted game of charades on the interstate, I get that he's trying to avoid insurance claims & have me visit his buddy's shop on Dale Mabry at 8 a.m. & he'll pay cash to fix it. Thinks it'll take 5 minutes, making the standard "wax on, wax off" motion to indicate "that'll buff out."
But that won't buff out. He scraped it down to bare freaking metal, and dented & creased the sheet metal. Plus, the wheel will need to be repainted, and there's a body moulding that got shredded. This is gonna be a grand by the time any reputable shop gets done with it, and I am not visiting his buddy on Dale Mabry.
So I show him my insurance card and tell him I need to see his. I could see the defeat in his eyes as he returned to the truck & grabbed his insurance card. I'm betting he's gonna lose his job over this, and that's why he was so desperate for me not to file a claim. But frankly, if he's so blind or inattentive that he runs into me from behind, he needs to find a new career that doesn't involve motor vehicle operation- much less heavy equipment operation.
Anyhow... the damage... all things considered, dump truck vs. Supra, I am very lucky the damage wasn't far more extensive...
Now, granted, the car needed a paint job anyhow, and I had just gotten an estimate from Luis at Glimpse Auto Body. So it seems a waste to paint anything now, since I am saving for a proper full respray in the next 6 months or so. But the moulding and wheel need fixin'. I'm going to call his employer in the morning & see how they'd like to proceed.
*I did call his employer in the morning, and they were very cordial about the whole mess. They're sending their "Safety Manager" to meet me near my office at 7 a.m. as leave work this morning. He wants a look & some pics, then I'll get estimates & he'll decide if he wants to handle it from petty cash or file with his insurance.
What sucks most is that I have a laundry list of items that I need or want to fix or upgrade on this car, and this is just gonna slow down the process.
