Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Cars don't go to heaven either.

Mr S. is completely fine,  but he got rear ended again. This time they will probably total the Solstice.

Last time it got hit, someone only dented the bumper, and everyone elected to handle it outside of insurance. This time, her car pushed him into another car. So I'm pretty sure they are going to total it. Which is such a bummer. Those were really fun cars for their price point. And you can't buy them anymore. You just can't believe how fun they are. They are small and you can really get around in traffic.

I did worry about it being the commuter car though, because there are a lot of giant trucks on the road these days. But that car only had 50,000 wish miles for how old it was. It never got driven in the winter because those cars can be quite squirrely in the rain.

But I guess eventually that is how these cars become rare. But I always hoped other Solstices were being taken out. Now ours. ;(

11 comments:

  1. Well, glad he's ok at least. Good luck with the car.

    We were at our state fair a couple weeks ago, and Husband went to swing around one of the stopped trolleys they use to transport people around the parking lots, and he didn't swing wide enough.

    The good news is no one was hurt, and the damage to the state owned trolley amounted to the need for a can of spray paint. The state folks looked at it, announced that they weren't going to claim any damage, told the attending Statie that they just needed the report for their records, and went on their way. So its down to us and our insurance at least.

    The bad news is that there is now a foot+ wide scrape down the side of our previously pristine 2017 Honda. *sigh* our deductible is $500, so it could be worse, but geez.

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  2. Wow. That does suck. Do you still get a good driver ding? I think it sucks that you only find out what happens to your insurance - after something happens. No one should have to guess. They should just be like - if you do this, that's going to costs you this.

    I only ask because Bay Area traffic is mad max. Yesterday I was patting myself on the back for riding the zero gap. Which basically means a real possibility of tapping someone. Its not just me. The dive bombers have created a whole new traffic behavior and it's riding the zero gap.

    Today, I was superstitious enough not to do that, but it doesn't mean everyone feels that way. And I just can't afford to lose another car. I'm so bummed.

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  3. Dwan: You can't have sex in the back of an AMC Gremlin ...

    I know, I've tried it, and we had to switch to my four-door car.

    I think she only wanted to try it so we could properly "break in" her car. :-)

    Pity about the Solstice, it's an interestingly quirky car for an American-designed vehicle. It would have been even worse if this had been one of the super-rare models at the end of Solstice production.

    The thing is that since you could afford the Nihilist Audi, you can probably afford having a dedicated commuter vehicle and keep the Audi going for more enjoyable road trips.

    I have one vehicle that's OK on gas and attracts zero attention, and it's the vehicle that I'd use to meet up with friends late at night (or often early in the mornings) at the Waffle House over by Alligator Alley.

    You could do worse than a Hyundai Sonata, for instance ...

    But I would definitely recommend some serious window tinting.

    The cool thing about something like the Sonata is that nobody seems to want to jack it at 3 AM, even in Miami, and that if you're really clever, you can figure out how to hide at least six pistols within easy reaching distance of the driver's seat and at least a couple of long guns in the trunk.

    OH WAIT YOU'RE IN CALIFORNIA WHERE GUNS-R-BAD-NEWS-BEERS AND ARE EEE-LEE-GULL

    Well, if you move to RTP or (gasp) Florida, you're going to have to buy a medium-sized gun safe full of guns and go shooting regularly for the locals to accept that you've gone local, and you'll absolutely have to get your carry permit JUST BECAUSE.

    And even then, they'll refer to you as a Former Californian. :-)

    But semi-seriously, as much as the traffic annoys you and the fact that the Bay Area doesn't seem to want to develop Interesting New Stuff, you might as well get the extra value out of you house early before you're having to sell it in a market full of Boomers who are trying to extract their "saved" equity.

    Although if you want to continue to put up with the shitty traffic, maybe getting a slightly used Chevy Express cargo van would work, even if the gas usage is far from OK.

    I'm considering ditching the "late-night commuter car" as well now that I'm living in a somewhat safer place and buying one, but with some essential modifications: I'm going to armor the rear doors with steel plates and fill the doors with as much structural concrete and rebar as I can fit into them.

    Because the next asshole who rear-ends one of my vehicles because of tailgating, being drunk, or being a dumbass aggressive driver?

    I want what comes out of it to hurt a lot -- this is my way of enforcing a Stupidity Tax on tailgaters, drunks, and aggressive drivers.

    BTW, I may have a buyer for the "expensive toy", but I am not looking forward to the trip for the delivery -- I may have to leave the guns behind.

    Maybe I can take some Pelican cases and padlocks with me so I can transfer them somewhere along the way before I get to Problematic Locality With Batshit Insane Gun Laws. I know I'm going to get shit at airports in the area with some of them, so I'll also be looking at driving back in a one-way rental.

    This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no foolin' around ...

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  4. Hold up... slow your roll Texas Refugee. Maybe you can't have sex in those Gremlins, and honestly they are hideous - but lets at least stick some 26's on there and see how this thing looks.

    Are the late model Solstices the rare ones? The ones with a little wing? Why are they different than the others?

    I just made my last Nihilist Audi payment on Saturday. I'm so bummed. I was looking forward to having money again. If that thing gets hit - you will see a complete meltdown on this blog. You also can't buy the ones I have anymore. We got the last of the naturally aspirated engines and flappy padels. OMG.

    The Solstice was the first new car Mr S. and I ever bought. And it might be the first car that got totaled. I know just to repaint it - it costs 6 grand. And they would have to repaint literally half the car. And in some ways it was funner than the Audi. It was the perfect traffic car.

    I think I'm actually having a tough time. I've never had to get rid of a car that I didn't want to set on fire by the end.

    I think I might have a memorial. I took off the front plate in case it never comes back. It has a hole poked in it. I feel like I'm putting this car down. I know it's a bit dramatic, but I don't understand these feelings.

    Those Toyota Sciions are pretty cute. But I think we might wait. I JUST became unpoor. Window tinting - yes. But you are not getting the ticket! I'm on restriction!

    "OH WAIT YOU'RE IN CALIFORNIA WHERE GUNS-R-BAD-NEWS-BEERS AND ARE EEE-LEE-GULL"

    Yeah. Californians are so phoney. Everyone on my block has a gun. Even the stereotypical liberal Californian next door. She was like - why I never. But he was always willing tell me he had a gun. I'm not sure why because it isn't something I really talk about. But I lived in Texas when everyone just had gun racks in their trucks. I thought you saying I had an inner redneck was the kindest thing a Texan ever said to me. So I'm not worried about wherever I go not accepting me. I was born in Washington and if I went back there they would probably burn me.

    I'm gonna let you in on a secret. Those boomers aren't going to sell until they die. Literally everyone in my neighborhood has a nanny now. FOR OLD PEOPLE.

    "I'm going to armor the rear doors with steel plates and fill the doors with as much structural concrete and rebar as I can fit into them."

    You are being dramatic. Right? That's gonna B heavy. Post pictures!!!!!!!!!!

    I'm not sure what the "expensive toy" is. Don't wind up in jail. My childhood girlfriends husband took a gun to the airport one time. In Seattle. He did NOT check it. You see people that do that all the time and you can't believe it. Well yeah. She's never quite told me the whole story. And this is my oldest friend in the world.

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  5. Just so you know ...

    There's a federal container transport law that you can rely on in states where you can't have the guns up front and concealed. You have to lock up the guns in a container that isn't accessible from the front of the vehicle -- they have to be unloaded, so it's better to store the magazines and the guns in separate locked containers.

    My solution for vehicles without a locking trunk is to lock the containers inside another locked container which is then security cable locked to the vehicle. I then throw a black cloth blanket that matches the interior of most of my vehicles over the suitcase.

    But Florida has reciprocity with a bunch of states for concealed carry, and so this only has to be done in certain states.

    So the way that works:

    "Crap, looks like we're about to enter The People's Republic of Maryland, better put the SIGs in the containers at some place where we can hide what we're doing ..."

    BTW, Glocks? Those are not firearms, those are ballistic PEZ dispensers. DEAL WITH IT. :-)

    "Oh, look, we just entered the Great State of Pennsylvania, we can get the guns out again."

    "Crap crap crap, we're about to enter The People's Republic of New Jersey, the guns have to get locked up again."

    "Crap again, looks like we're about to enter The New York State Penal Colony, the guns have to stay locked up still."

    "We're about to enter The Great and (Mostly) Free State of New Hampshire, it's OK to get out the guns out again!"

    "WOOHOO! VERMONT! FREE AND OPEN CARRY! WOOHOO!"

    And so it goes. :-)

    So I have Pelican cases that fit into a really big suitcase that looks like it's full of clothes (that are wrapped around the Pelican cases), allowing most people to be completely unaware of what's actually being transported as long as I don't have to deal with airport security.

    Logistics and legality can be fun with a suitcase full of guns in those more annoying states, so I tend to leave it cable locked to a bunch of stuff in a hotel room with the TV on, the "do not disturb" sign on the door, and all of the other suitcases sitting on top of it with a highly annoying motion sensitive alarm positioned on top.

    There's also now a burner phone running Haven on it that's set to trigger off that alarm.

    But ... you do realize that once you're a Californian, you're always a Californian?

    So always, always tell Floridians you're from Washington, and that you've lived in California "for a short while" but you don't like it. :-)

    The "expensive toy" is in fact an expensive toy that I bought (foolishly) and enjoyed for a short while, but it now needs to be sold. You can probably guess what it is ... and just keep that to yourself. :-)

    Why don't I take pics like you do?

    Because as bad as it would be to out myself, it would be even worse and much easier to out some of my friends ...

    When you get to a certain place in life, people trust you not to be like the paparazzi ... and so I'm not.

    I'll just come here and enjoy your pics instead.

    I don't know most of these people whose cars you're photographing. :-)

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  6. Yah, no accidents in years, and only one claim due to ice falling off a roof at our previous residence. So thats something at least.

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  7. But what I"m asking is - did they treat is as a moving violation or like someone had keyed your door?

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  8. "But ... you do realize that once you're a Californian, you're always a Californian?"

    Yeah - I get that. That's why all you States are intolerant. We don't give a shit where you came from. We treat you just the same.

    "I don't know most of these people whose cars you're photographing. :-)"

    Do you recognize ~any~ of the owners from the cars I've posted. Lots of them come out of Florida.

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  9. The word "most" was accurate, BTW ... :-)

    One guy I had to wonder about: does he secretly like California enough to drive all the way out there?

    Doesn't he know THAT IS NOT ALLOWED IN FLORIDA? :-)

    The farthest west I'll drive now is the I-25 corridor -- I'll rent a car for any other trip.

    While changing a bunch of addresses over the past few weeks, I discovered something really crappy: although my AVIS corporate account remains open, my personal account that I've had for over twenty-five years had been closed.

    Explanations? Apparently AVIS is too cheap to keep the half-kilobyte or so of records needed to preserve the account for whenever I want to use it, and so extended inactivity makes them want to save a piffling fraction of a penny.

    So the return trip rental will be coming out of Hertz which now has incentive to give me a better deal. I think I now have something like a half-dozen frequent flyer programs with them where I can earn points as well as AAA and bank-related discounts, so this is looking like it's going to be a better deal for the corporate account as well.

    Oh, about assholes who key your vehicles ...

    Buy a Stanley knife, especially one of those Gerber EAB compacts that'll fit in the bottom of your pocket, and then buy one of these packs: Lenox gold-edged titanium nitride-coated utility knife blades. (You can also buy these at Lowe's.) Replace the craptastic blade that the Stanley/Gerber comes with and install one of these instead.

    Not only do titanium knives make wicked nasty cuts if you have to use them (on somebody or something), but also you can score the keyfucker's windows with one so they'll break at a later date.

    And so the scumbag who keyed my driver's side window will get to replace all of his windows over the next year, especially when thermal stresses complete the rest of the work.

    As a lesson to all of the peanut gallery out there: NEVER key someone's car, because there's ALWAYS a bigger asshole out there than you. :-)

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  10. Oh, um, Moving violation I THINK, but now I'll have to check. The insurance is technically under my husband and he was the driver and so I haven't actually seen the paperwork.

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