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joyfulguy

One nice feature of my after-auto write-off situation

joyfulguy
17 years ago

For twenty years or so as a personal financial advisor, I recommended that clients build an emergency fund available in case of emergency, so that they could survive without income for 3 - 6 months, or, in recent years of uncertainty, including that of employment, up to a year.

And before that, as a clergyperson, I think, when I recommended that people take a long view of life.

Just under a year ago, when my mechanic told me that continuing to drive my car put others and me at risk, I junked it and bought a 13 year old station wagon, costing about $2 - 3,000. It has given me good service.

But, last week, after I passed a gravel truck and started to pull off of the road to offer a coupe of hikers a lift ...

... that gravel truck hit the back of my car, doing such substantial damage that it isn't worth fixing.

Though in the usual course, a driver who rear-ends another vehicle is considered fully at fault, this driver claims that I cut him off, and has a witness that backs his story, I think.

Which may mean that my insurance company will refuse at least part of the compensation indicated for my damage. We have a "No-fault" system of insurance in operation.

Currently I am driving a vehicle loaned by a friend, and looking for a replacement vehicle (my insurance company won't pay for a rented car, as I do not carry collision insurance - on a 14 year old car).

It is comforting to know that I have funds on hand enough to purchase pretty well whatever vehicle I choose (and it will very likely be one over 5 years old at least, more likely over 10 years).

Actually, I may buy a vehicle identical to the one that was smashed, if its body is in reasonable shape, for it has trouble with its motor heating up - I could transfer the motor and transmission.

It seems to me wasteful to scrap a vehicle that is 90% useful, for the sake of the 10% that isn't.

Building one car takes huge amounts of energy to mine the ore, smelt it, make sheets of metal, then cut and stamp them, and construct parts of plastic (whose feedstock is usually petroleum), then assemble the whole thing, using trucks to haul all of the stuff from plant to plant while doing so.

Energy that we're rapidly running out of.

And - which is warming our globe rather drastically.

But - I am pleased that I can afford to buy a replacement vehicle without sweating blood worrying about how I'm to pay for it.

Have a wonderful New Year, everyone.

ole joyful

P.S. No injury at all to anyone involved - there was not a great difference in speed between the two vehicles.

o j

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