That Could Have Gone Better
May. 29th, 2023 10:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
billroperLet's start with the bottom line, which is the important thing. All of the human beings involved are fine.
The new minivan is not. On the way back from Marcon, we stopped to grab dinner with the Midkiffs, drop off their kids (who were in the other vehicle), and grab dinner. The restaurant was lovely, but the kitchen was clearly having some problems, so dinner ran quite long, and it was dusk and moving into dark by the time we got on the road. We were going to take SR 38 north to get back to I-65, because that's a much faster way to go.
And it is. If you do not hit a deer crossing the road.
The deer was small and caught the front and right bumper. It continued and was probably ok. The van, not so much. It went into safe mode and I crawled along until I could find a place to pull over, flashers on. Randy (the other vehicle in the dinner party that was heading north) realized it was us, stopped, and came over to take a look. The radiator was clearly leaking fluid, so the van was going nowhere far tonight. I limped it back to the Midkiffs. We agreed that K could go home with Randy and Leah's party, while I would stay behind, as it appeared that the local Chrysler dealership service department was open on Monday and could possibly fix the radiator so I could get home for the required body work.
I called my insurance claims department. They also told me that I had coverage for a rental car from Enterprise, which was likely to be a very good thing, and they set up things so I could pick up a car in the area if I needed it to drive home.
The problem was that between the two of us, all of the information exchanged ended up being incorrect.
The dealership service department was closed for Memorial Day, so there was no question of getting the van repaired on Monday, but we had already arranged to have it towed there and had nowhere better to take it, because I couldn't call the insurance company to update the claim, because the updating claim department was closed for the night. I made an appointment with them using their automated phone robot for a callback at 9:15 AM in the hope of figuring out what to do.
They didn't call because (Greek chorus) It Was Memorial Day.
Ok, the van is at the dealership. They are going to look at it on Tuesday, but I am not going to hang around until Tuesday. Let's get the rental car that I have been promised from Enterprise.
That cannot be done because they are closed. (Greek chorus) It Was Memorial Day.
We recognized the night before that things were FUBAR when I couldn't get hold of the claims department for a second time, and I tentatively asked and Jen agreed that they already figured that there was some substantial chance that they would need to get me home. I *greatly* appreciated this.
So I headed north with Jen in her van. She agreed to drive 2/3 of the distance and meet up with Gretchen in Hobart, Indiana, just north of Merrillville. The conversation was good, the traffic was a mess, but we eventually arrived at a well-known McDonald's, had some lunch, swapped luggage, and I reclaimed my car from Gretchen. We also ended up handing off a box full of DVDs and other things that might be of interest to Jen's grandnieces, who are the right age for the things in the box, unlike all of the other children in our circle, so that was a very good thing.
I am *very* grateful for the place to stay last night and the ride home and that no one was hurt.
Tomorrow, I expect that I am going to start receiving and making a great many phone calls, as neither I nor the van are where the insurance company expects us to be.
And I'm going to have to see about getting a car for Gretchen to drive...
The new minivan is not. On the way back from Marcon, we stopped to grab dinner with the Midkiffs, drop off their kids (who were in the other vehicle), and grab dinner. The restaurant was lovely, but the kitchen was clearly having some problems, so dinner ran quite long, and it was dusk and moving into dark by the time we got on the road. We were going to take SR 38 north to get back to I-65, because that's a much faster way to go.
And it is. If you do not hit a deer crossing the road.
The deer was small and caught the front and right bumper. It continued and was probably ok. The van, not so much. It went into safe mode and I crawled along until I could find a place to pull over, flashers on. Randy (the other vehicle in the dinner party that was heading north) realized it was us, stopped, and came over to take a look. The radiator was clearly leaking fluid, so the van was going nowhere far tonight. I limped it back to the Midkiffs. We agreed that K could go home with Randy and Leah's party, while I would stay behind, as it appeared that the local Chrysler dealership service department was open on Monday and could possibly fix the radiator so I could get home for the required body work.
I called my insurance claims department. They also told me that I had coverage for a rental car from Enterprise, which was likely to be a very good thing, and they set up things so I could pick up a car in the area if I needed it to drive home.
The problem was that between the two of us, all of the information exchanged ended up being incorrect.
The dealership service department was closed for Memorial Day, so there was no question of getting the van repaired on Monday, but we had already arranged to have it towed there and had nowhere better to take it, because I couldn't call the insurance company to update the claim, because the updating claim department was closed for the night. I made an appointment with them using their automated phone robot for a callback at 9:15 AM in the hope of figuring out what to do.
They didn't call because (Greek chorus) It Was Memorial Day.
Ok, the van is at the dealership. They are going to look at it on Tuesday, but I am not going to hang around until Tuesday. Let's get the rental car that I have been promised from Enterprise.
That cannot be done because they are closed. (Greek chorus) It Was Memorial Day.
We recognized the night before that things were FUBAR when I couldn't get hold of the claims department for a second time, and I tentatively asked and Jen agreed that they already figured that there was some substantial chance that they would need to get me home. I *greatly* appreciated this.
So I headed north with Jen in her van. She agreed to drive 2/3 of the distance and meet up with Gretchen in Hobart, Indiana, just north of Merrillville. The conversation was good, the traffic was a mess, but we eventually arrived at a well-known McDonald's, had some lunch, swapped luggage, and I reclaimed my car from Gretchen. We also ended up handing off a box full of DVDs and other things that might be of interest to Jen's grandnieces, who are the right age for the things in the box, unlike all of the other children in our circle, so that was a very good thing.
I am *very* grateful for the place to stay last night and the ride home and that no one was hurt.
Tomorrow, I expect that I am going to start receiving and making a great many phone calls, as neither I nor the van are where the insurance company expects us to be.
And I'm going to have to see about getting a car for Gretchen to drive...
no subject
Date: 2023-05-30 10:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-05-30 01:39 pm (UTC)It adds a layer of annoyance when things like this happen on a holiday weekend, or late Sunday. Or both!
Glad to hear that every one is fine....
no subject
Date: 2023-06-02 01:30 pm (UTC)At least no one was hurt (except possibly the deer); glad everyone is all right. Hope to see you again some day at a convention.
Mary Orwig, a satisfied WindyCon 2022 customer