July 23, 2016
-
A New Toy
After the major trauma of last week Thursday, when my car was sideswiped while I watched the Pageant of the Masters, things moved very quickly. On Friday, I had a claim number with AAA, a rental car to use while my world settled back down, and good instructions as to what would happen next. Over the weekend, I decided I needed to do something about shopping for a new car -- I visited a Toyota dealership and sat in two cars, a Corolla and a aCamry, and decided that there was value to using the same dealership that I had used twice before rather than the one that is much closer. Monday morning, the Adjuster called and set up an appointment for Tuesday morning. The Adjuster came on Tuesday, and told me that the old car had been totaled -- it was 5 years old, and it took quite a lot of estimated repairs to exceed its value, but the suspension was "messed up," among other damage. On Tuesday morning, after the Adjuster left, I went shopping for real -- I drove two models of Honda Accord. I liked one of them, but in order to meet my needs, we had to move 2 cars up the ladder, and I had to accept features I didn't want (the dealer would have given me those in order to sell the car, but I really didn't want a moon roof or heated seats! On Wednesday, I drove a Corolla and a Camry. The Corolla felt like a beginner's car, but as soon as I sat in the Camry it felt like my car! And on Thursday, I went back to the dealership and bought a Camry! By then I knew how much the insurance settlement would be, and that it should be at my house by Thursday evening, so I completed the transaction and brought home my car.
I am thoroughly enjoying the car -- it's like the old one, but with lots of updated features to learn about. I will take it back next week to have body side mouldings added -- they help with the door dings. And they will also add a Lo-Jack theft prevention device.
In the meantime, I am enjoying driving it! Today I went to Dana Point Harbor to see what was going on there. It is very warm this weekend, and the sky is full of smoke and ash from a huge fire burning about 150 miles to the northwest. One of the tall ships was on the way around the Harbor, and there were other, smaller ships in the channel.
And there were 2 egrets and a gull on the ship-builder's patio.
From there, I went to see if they have broken ground in order to build the retirement community I hope to join. The site has been a citrus orchard, with avocado trees at the top. This is what I saw today:
They are clearing the orchard -- the trees will be replanted, along with more, after the buildings are completed.
Oops -- I had heard that there was a grass fire in that area, but didn't know that it was on the property where I will live! Never fear -- their other facilities have been inspected by fire departments and have been declared to be safe -- in case of fire, they will ask residents to "shelter in place, rather than evacuating the facility!
It's been a tough week, but there's just a little paperwork to complete in order to finish the process! It all happened very fast, and I'm very happy to say that it was a very smooth process to replace my car.
Comments (25)
That's a nice looking car. I'm glad you like it.
Thank you -- I was fortunate to be able to purchase an updated version of the old one that was totaled. It's very comfortable, and feels like mine already!
Very fancy! I'm so glad everything went smoothly and you will have your money so quickly!! I think the hazy sky makes the ship stand out better than when the sky is blue... But I really like blue skies!
Believe it or not, I have the money already! AAA was very efficient and helpful throughout! The hazy sky at the harbor was actually a fog bank just off-shore. But the sky isn't blue today -- it's really smoky from the fire about 150 miles away!!! I'll do my best to blow the smoke away before I take more photos so the sky will be blue
!
What a nice feeling to have, after such a major mishap. The car looks mighty fine Janet, swanky clean; the color is almost similar to the one you had, no?
Love the shot of the tall ship and the sea. I have been watching the fire LA area is having. have some friends in Palm Desert and my niece near Ontario. Wonder how far this fire is from their area.
Enjoy your beautiful new car.
Thanks, Zakiah. This car is a little lighter than the old one -- silver, with a beige interior -- the old one was a greenish grey with a beige interior. Next week they'll add side moldings (to help with door dings), which will make it look even sleeker! There are a few electrical things inside that I'll need to get used to, but it really feels like mine already!
That's a nasty fire -- it's probably at least 200 miles from Palm Desert, and 150 or so from Ontario. There is no danger from this fire in either place, though it has now burned 2,000 acres and they have evacuated 1,000 homes -- there is a potential for damage to 45,000 homes (yes, 45,000!)! It's HOT (probably 110 in that area, and the fire has created its own windy weather. So far only one structure and one minor hand injury! Take a deep breath that there won't be more in the next few days!
So glad you found a car that feels right for you.
This car actually even corrects some shortcomings of the old one! I think I'll be very happy with it1
I started out adjusting claims as I moved up the ladder. Lol I totaled a few cars. I am glad AAA did such a nice job for you. I think your choice is excellent. It is a great looking new car!! Congrats.
The fires are awful. There is so much damage being done and this is only July. There is a fire near Big Sur and we saw the heavy smoke as we had lunch on the wharf in Monterey.
Thanks, Frank -- I thought of you when the adjuster was here, and I'll bet you could see from the photos that it was a total loss! I'm glad you like the new car!
I hope you're not threatened by any fires! I am fortunately nowhere near the Sand Fire, or one in Camp Pendleton, but it's a scary year for fires! The intense heat doesn't help at all, and is just drying out all the fuel to make the fires more intense!
Congrats for the new car,Janet.
BTW ; the hill nad been really cleaned !!
Love
Michel
Thank you, Michel! I'm glad you like the new car!
Soon there will be buildings on that hill -- and then they will replant all those trees. The plan is for an avocado orchard above the buildings.
That is a nice car! Glad they made things easy, my mother had an accident that took a month for the check to show up.
Thanks -- AAA has been super good to work with! I think it probably helped that they were the insurer on both sides, but it's been an amazing experience. It's only been 10 days, but the disruption of my life was pretty serious, even though nobody was anywhere near my car at the time! I'm sorry it took so long for your mom's accident!
Nice looking new car - glad everything was resolved quickly for you. Does your new car have a backup camera -- we have one in our car and I think it's the nicest feature they've come up with in a long time.
Thank you! The new car does have a backup camera -- it's a great idea, and I'm learning to use it! They have a similar one attached to the right turn indicator, showing the next lane. I didn't get that one, but it looks equally helpful! I still want to be the driver, though, and won't even look at self-driving cars!
ah paper work...
Nice outcome..
I would not trust a camera for lane changing.. and just the other day i saw a taxi with a camera on the dash for reversing.
Happy motoring.
Thanks! It's almost done now! The backup mirror helps, although I still don't trust it completely -- the side camera would be the same except it's more like an extra side mirror!
Nice looking car but I must say even though I live in hot dry TX I am glad to have my heated seats. Of course if I didn't have back and ischial tuberosity I probably wouldn't need them.
Thanks! I think there might be a week each winter that heated seats would be useful -- not worth $3,000 extra!
Goodness! We each had car challenges, about the same time. Your new ride looks snazzy. Heated seats in OC, though, do seem a bit over the top. Glad you passed on that extra.
The new car feels a lot like the older one, but with some updated features. It will be a comfortable ride!
Glad good things come out of bad things! Looks like a fun new car. We have heated seats and steering wheel. It's nice on a cold day but we don't live in California!
Such a nice car for you! Congratulations ~
Thank you! It is a good replacement for the 2011 Camry, and it really felt like home when I drove it!
Comments are closed.