Hurray for worthless drivers!

Cali-V · #1 08-06-2010, 08:59 AM

I mean that completely sarcastically of course.

Here is the story. Around 8:30 pm tuesday night I am laying in bed and I hear a strange but loud crash outside. My first thought is that something fell through or knocked over the wood fence in the backyard. I make my way from the back of the house and peek out front. CRAP! I can see the silhouette of the V20 and it is about 4 feet further forward than where it was parked. I walked outside and half the neighborhood is there, half of a front bumper is there, one side mirror is there, the shattered remains of a head light assembly is there however no damaged car is anywhere in sight. Yep, a hit and run.

It is not all bad news though. The boat is barely damaged. It looks like the driver hit the rear corner with his mirror which put a little chip and a scuff in the gel coat, then slid down the port side that put a gouge right about at the water line (not even through the gel coat). The boat is okay and since I am not too far from painting the topsides I am not worried. The real problem is that after the glancing blow to the boat they slammed into the tires/fenders of the trailer. My super cool chrome fenders are toast! A few of the leaf spring U-bolts broke and the axles are twisted to the point that the tires are wedged to the frame so the trailer will not roll. I have the next 4 days off of work at least so I will be able to deal with it. I think the trailer is not worth saving so I will be calling around looking for a replacement. I just don't really have the money to spend right now and what money I do have I was setting aside for a motor. I was hoping to milk it with this trailer until the boat was up and running.

Why so many people have no sense of personal responsibility is such a mystery to me. I always own up to my mistakes. I once backed into a car in a parking lot and put a small dent in the rear door. I spent about 30 minutes looking before I found the owner (who told me me to drive more carefully but don't worry about the dent). Truth is if the guy had stopped and it was an honest mistake, I would have asked for a few bucks or even told him don't worry about it. Unless of course he was drunk (as I suspect), in which case I would have knocked his *** out and called the cops. I have no patience for drunk drivers, especially on my street where there are about a dozen kids.

I will post some pictures later today.

RWilson2526 · #2 08-06-2010, 09:16 AM

That just plain old sucks....Boat sitting there and minding its own business and bam.....start searching neighborhood for a care with missing fender, headlight and mirror!

nipper · #3 08-06-2010, 10:11 AM

Bummer, Cali-V. Make sure to check with your homeowner's insurance and boat insurance carrier to see if this can be covered by insurance.

Destroyer · #4 08-06-2010, 11:09 AM

I know different companies cover different things, but like Nipper said, check with your homeowners ins company. I'd be willing to bet that it's covered... only problem is what is your deductable.. if, like a lot of ppl, it's $500 then it's probably cheaper to just repair, buy new a trailer.

Speaking of that, unless the frame of the trailer is bent, I'd just buy a new axel unit. There are several dealers on eBay that specialize in them and the prices are much less than a new trailer. Just something to think about. And like RW said, I'd cruise the neighborhood looking for a car with those missing parts. Also, it shouldn't be too hard to find out what kind of car they are from, then have the police or you start asking local dealers of that brand if anyone has come in to have those parts repaired. Most junk years are closed now, so in a lot of cases dealers are the only places to get parts to get the repairs done. Good luck, and yes, it sucks...

Was the boat parked on the street btw? How were they able to hit it?

Cali-V · #5 08-06-2010, 11:39 AM

Yes, the boat was parked on the street. I had it so the inside tires where up on the curb so it actually doesn't stick out further than an average sized car. The police officer who responded said it was parked perfectly legal and that I had the proper lights and reflectors. I was hoping to get it into a storage place once I was done with the major work but I guess I took too long! The fortunate thing is that I usually park my truck where the boat is now and if it had been there tuesday night my truck would have been smashed, potentially totaled.

A kid down the street saw it happen but was unable to get a lic. plate number, he did give the police a discription of a late '90's to early 00's, dark blue Toyota Camary or Corolla which was confirmed by the Toyota name on the mirror and the color. I think I am S.O.L. on insurance both boat and being a renter, home owners.

Good idea on the axle swap, I am going to search around right now.

nymack66 · #6 08-06-2010, 11:59 AM

Sad indeed , What's with Toyota and brakes?
"A kid down the street saw it happen but was unable to get a lic. plate number, he did give the police a discription of a late '90's to early 00's, dark blue Toyota Camary or Corolla which was confirmed by the Toyota name on the mirror and the color. I think I am S.O.L. on insurance both boat and being a renter, home owners."

fishingwithblue · #7 08-06-2010, 02:57 PM

This may be a dumb question but I'm only 33 and have only owned 2 homes. Would home owners insurance help with this?

Destroyer · #8 08-06-2010, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishingwithblue

This may be a dumb question but I'm only 33 and have only owned 2 homes. Would home owners insurance help with this?

It would normally, but as a renter he'd need renters insurance, and not a lot of people actually have that kind of ins... however, you might want to speak to your landloard and see if there's anything in his policy that might cover it.

Talk to Toyota dealers in the general area. He's gonna need a fender and mirror... and they are both dealer items...might find out who ordered same.. I'd make a bunch of business type cards with my name and number on them.. and maybe the offer of a reward... give them to the parts counter salesmen at the dealers and to any junk yards in the area.. explain what happened and ask them to contact you if anyone com4es in looking to buy that stuff. The fender will be a special order part... the police might be able to catch the guy when he shows up to pick up the part. Just a suggestion...

nipper · #9 08-07-2010, 09:58 PM

I believe homeowner's insurance would have covered it. It is pretty broad insurance. I remember a long time back when I was in college some %$^%$'s broke into our house and stole a bunch of stuff. Believe it or not, my parents' homeowner's insurance covered it even though I was not even living at their home, but rather in college. Guess since I was still a dependent the coverage extended to me in my college rental house.

Straight renter's insurance is different though, and pretty limited to the contents of rental unit. It is really cheap, and any renter should have it, but again, it only covers contents within the 4 walls of the rental unit.

phatdaddy · #10 08-07-2010, 10:24 PM

hownowners has changed a whole lot in the last 15 or 20 years. i had a tool box stolen off of my truck at a motel and it was covered. now it only covers things that never happen to you. in florida all i can afford is $2500 deductible($10,000 during a hurricane)