Back in the saddel again!

[Special Ed]

SWMBO wrecked our van: a story which I will expand upon later, but in the meantime, I'm on the road again! With the van totaled and the Blue Goose ('80 something Volvo wagon clunker,) down with an electrical grimlin, we are in a transpo crunch. SWMBO insisted, forced me against me will and better judgment to register my '79 XSFS and renew the insurance. She must be obeyed so what could I do? Only problem is the frozen front brake from sitting so long, but that is almost taken care of.. I will probably be back on the road by the time you read this.
I hate to rub it in, but we have been having absolutely marvelous springlike weather here on the central coast of Cantafordia: 65 degrees, clear sky's,,, except for the lovely chemtrails!
Ah, how sweet it is!
Special Ed

[natemoen]

Sweet! Hopefully you got the brake sorted out!

[CatatonicBug]

Sorry to hear about your cages, but it is nice when SWMBO insists that you get on the bike! Gotta love that weather over there too...

[motoman]

Ed, glad to hear you throwin' a leg over occassionally again.......

[3Phase]

Ed, sorry to hear about the van but at least SWMBO is okay! Well, if she told you to register and insure the XS she might have hit her head a little harder than you thought but just go with it for now.

I'm heading to Arizona in about half an hour to rebuild a VW engine but I'll be back on Tuesday. If you want some help sorting the ovloV electrics I'm sure I can force myself to take advantage of the horrible winter t-shirt weather we're having and ride up PCH to Santa Cruz.

[Special Ed]

Here's the wreck story

“I'm heading to Arizona in about half an hour to rebuild a VW engine but I'll be back on Tuesday. If you want some help sorting the ovloV electrics I'm sure I can force myself to take advantage of the horrible winter t-shirt weather we're having and ride up PCH to Santa Cruz.“

Wow, thanks Scott, that's a heck of an offer! Here's the story on the wreck:
We needed a tire on the 2006 Chrysler Town and Country van, on which we are still making payments. I escorted SWMBO to an independent tire shop that has a $30 deal on used tires. I take off after getting her set up, thinking she could handle it from there. Thirty minutes later she calls up freaked out saying she wrecked the van.
Not to be raciest, but it's a Mexican shop and only the owner speaks English. The worker who changed the tire started the engine, left it in reverse, put on the parking brake and indicates to my better half that it is ready and she can drive it out. She gets in, but can't release the brake from the seat, so she gets out and releases the brake, not realizing the engine is running. The van starts rolling out, she jumps into the drivers seat to put on the brake and hits the gas instead. The open drivers side door is practically ripped off when it hits the work-bay door frame, and the right-rear tail light collides with the heavy duty lift on the rear of a truck parked out back: no harm to the truck. There is more, but this is the basic story.
I feel like the tire shop is liable. If I had gone to Big O, or Firestone, or any other chain shop, my wife would not have been allowed in the work area, and an employee would have backed the vehicle out and parked it in the parking lot.
What do you think? Is there a lawyer in the house?
Meanwhile, I'd love to see you up here Scott, with or without your help. My ol' Vol has always had electrical issues, but we have a Volvo mechanic who is a retired certified Volvo employee who won't work on anything newer than '85, and works on credit. We can pay him 20 or 40 bucks whenever we can afford it. But then, electrical issues are a specialty, and he seems to be challenged on this one. The ol' Blue Goose has had so many by passes and jury rigged “fixes”...
More later.
Special Ed

[natemoen]

Who puts a vehicle in reverse and puts the parking break on and then gets out! I agree, it is their fault!

[WMarshy]

Who puts a vehicle in reverse and puts the parking break on and then gets out! I agree, it is their fault!

I concur, it should be their responsibility to cover your loss. Just hope that shop has insurance! GL with the cage, glad everyone is unharmed.

[3Phase]

Ed, it'll be good to see you both again; Ray and Penny too if they're not busy. I'll try not to forget my hat this time or lock myself in the parking garage!

From your description it looks like the accident was no accident and would be the shop's fault but get a real lawyer. Back in reality for now it's like you have no transportation except a mini-van with no door, the 'scoot or the ovloV. It should easier to get the electrical problem sorted out than to use bungee cords and JB Weld to put the door back on the van!

Uh, what kind of ghostly electrical problem is it: intermittant engine/ignition, lights, charging system, or does Jimi Hendrix appear in the back seat next to Janis Joplin when you put on the turn signals?

[fredintoon]

Who puts a vehicle in reverse and puts the parking break on and then gets out! - - -

Hi Nate,
OTOH, who gets out of a vehicle without putting it in park &/or turning the motor off?
Especially after an ESL mechanic has been driving it.

[DGXSER]

Ok Fred, ESL?? you lost me there for some reason.

As to Ed's question, it all boils down to negligence. There is SOME negligence on both parties, to what extent each is responsible depends on the laws of your state. I would suggest you talk to an attorney licensed in your state. I feel certain the shop would be required to pay some portion of the bill, but not all of it. Is that 30% or 90%, all depends on the laws of the state and the judge you draw.

[GARTHXS]

e.s.l. english is a second language

[latexeses]

Who puts a vehicle in reverse and puts the parking break on and then gets out! I agree, it is their fault!

Man I have to go along with that. She wouldn't have had to put herself in the position of having to get out at all to remove the brake or anything else if that van had been parked in any normal manner.

That shop is guilty of felony stupid. What if the engine had warmed up, picked up some rpm's and the park brake didn't hold? No one in the car???

Ed, the Mrs. is lucky she didn't get anything more that the poo scared out of her. Wow.

Hope this gets straightened out to your favor.

[Special Ed]

More on the wrech

“OTOH, who gets out of a vehicle without putting it in park &/or turning the motor off?”
Quote Fredintoon

“Take my wife, please!”
Quote Henny Youngman

In her defense, the van idles very quietly, and what with the background noise, she said she didn't know it was running: which would be a moot point if the shop had been following standard tire shop protocol.

“She wouldn't have had to put herself in the position of having to get out at all to remove the brake or anything else if that van had been parked in any normal manner..”
Quote Latexeses

“What I'm sayin'.”
Quote Special Ed

“There is SOME negligence on both parties, to what extent each is responsible depends on the laws of your state. I would suggest you talk to an attorney licensed in your state.”
Quote DGXSER
That's what I'm thinking. I'm not out for blood, but I do feel that shop is liable to some degree.

“When the world gives you a lemon, make lemonade.”
Anonymous

Wreck prologue
We are going to have the van “totaled.” This is actually a good thing.
A We don't have to pay the $500 deductible.
B We get out of making $440 a month payments for the next 3 years.
C Our auto insurance cost will go down.
D We come out with improved credit: AAA valued it at about $7,800. and we had 18,000 left to pay on it. Fortunately we were paying into something called “gap insurance” which guarantees that in an instance such as this, they will pay the difference between what our car insurance will pay and what the finance company says it is worth.

The downside, of course, is that we are out of a reliable, respectable looking, very practical and versatile vehicle.. Which leaves me thinking I really should try to extract some portion of loss and inconvenience that so far only my wife and I have had to endure. SWIMBO is willing to let it go.

Scott, (to change the subject,) we were driving home in the Blue Goose from seeing True Grit and it just quit running as if I had pulled a plug. I was fortunate enough to coast to a safe side street and hoof it home. The engine will catch, but not stay running when started.. Mel, (our Volvo wrench stopped by and did a little work on it. It obviously has a short somewhere that he said is going to take some time to track down.

BTW True Grit is the best movie I have seen in a long time. Definitely NOT a “chick flick,” but with a very solid and prominent woman's interest that should make this a good couple's film. It only has one really bloody scene.
Gotta go to bed!
Special Ed

[fredintoon]

- - - - The downside, of course, is that we are out of a reliable, respectable looking, very practical and versatile vehicle.. - - -

Hi Ed,
the upside is, nobody got hurt and you are up ten grand on the deal.
Be happy.
Take the clever lady out for a very nice dinner at the poshest place in town.