Death of a Saturn, Part II

Just a quick recap and follow-up on the saga of my car situation...

Eleven months ago (eleven!) some douchebag wrecked my car. We were sitting at a stoplight on the outer road at about 11:20 PM, and he didn't see me sitting behind him (WFT?!), and threw his truck into reverse so he could turn into the Shell station to use the restroom. His hardy pickup truck tore through the front end of my 2002 Saturn L200 series before I could even move my hand to react.

I called the police, but they basically told me to bugger off. They told me that if no one was hurt I should just file a report online. Hello?! What else are you guys doing out there?! I'm telling you there's a situation to respond to. But nooooo, stay perched at your petty little speed traps, and try to generate some revenue. The guy who hit me may have been drinking (he did have to desperately use the pisser, and it was at 11:20 PM, after all), but I'll never know because the cops wouldn't lift a finger to check up on the situation.

The dude apologized profusely and claimed full responsibility, and a call to his insurance people verified that claim. He was with a shady, small insurance company called Pronto Gen, so the offer they made was absurdly insufficient for the damages. Even though THEY claimed FULL liability, I had to go with my OWN insurance company at the time, a much more reputable one. But they were still responsible for paying for my rental car in the meantime, for which they offered a meager maximum of "up to two and a half weeks" at the rate of $25/day (the cheapest possible rate).

Eleven months later. No reimbursement for the rental car. I sent them copies of the receipts, proving the dates and rates of my rental car. No reply. They passed me on to some other agent to handle my claim, but I only get voicemail, and no reply to either phone or email messages.

I went online and found similar complaints of this bullshit here, here, and here.

Despite the fact that they're obviously screwing me, I'm irritated on a matter of principle. You're legally obligated to have car insurance, but the insurance companies are not punishable for not holding up their end of the bargain? That's a government-backed scam. Period.

So now I have to start showing up to their various office locations and force them to deal with me. But then there's my day sleep schedule to consider...

Now, for Part 2 of this blog post, completely unrelated to Pronto General Insurance.

A couple months ago, we were making ready to road trip up to northeast Arkansas for a funeral, and my engine died early Sunday morning after I loaded up everything in my car. I had to wait until Monday morning to have it checked out, and they told me the engine was blown. Terminally. As in, it would cost $4000+ with labor to repair it. So, that was the end of my Saturn. After sinking a couple thousand into the fucker already over the course of the past year, I just called it quits.

So, I had to learn to drive a stick on the spot, so we could take my girlfriend's car up to her grandfather's funeral. We left at 1o PM, and I drove all night, and we arrived shortly after 9 AM. Less than an hour before the funeral. Enough time to borrow somebody's shower, but you can imagine what an ordeal it was.

Ever since then, we've been sharing her car (with no working air conditioning!). One of her sisters is selling their old car and buying a new one, so I'm taking that one off their hands. For what it's worth, it's also a stick. I've gotten used to that. It doesn't have power windows, power locks, or power steering, but at least it has air conditioning!

The plan is to pick up the car Saturday morning, after I get off work at 8:00. Then, finally, I will have a car. I'll pay part now, the rest later.

Also, that same day, I'll be selling what's left of my car to an interested party, which will alleviate some of the burden.

But the Pronto Gen rental car reimbursement has yet to be resolved. Ass hats.

I think it's time to Occupy some mother fuckers...