Chuck Jones

so glad to hear that you came out of it with no personal injury. But that's one of my recurring nightmares....when I'm stopped at a light and the first thing I do is look in the mirror to see who's coming up and how fast they're going. There are times I just cringe thinking that they're not going to stop in time. I'm convinced that some folks deliberately come up fast and close on you just to mess with your mind.

And you weren't just hit by another car...but an F250!! That must have looked God awful in your rear view mirror!!

Nicolaasdb

the guy was probably SMS'ing while driving......glad you are okay....hope the damage wasn't too bad

pat056

I had Import Paint/Body estimate the damage yesterday. They were recommended by my Indy. and the Hendrick Porsche guys were there yesterday picking up a car, so that answers who they use.
Yes, my wife said we should get a lottery ticket.
Accidents are a pita for sure. I am starting to learn the drill though.
What a PAIN!!
Thanks for the kind words...

nosub

man, must be the time of year for accidents...

Friday night, 20 yr. old son begs and pleads to take the LR3 out. I cave and say OK as long as:
A. Does not take it to Dallas
B. Has it back by 12:30 AM Saturday
C. Does not let anyone else drive it

Breaks all 3 rules and the girl he let drive it ends up totalling (I think from looking at it, adjuster will decide today) it within FIVE minutes of getting behind the wheel..
AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!

gota911

Oh crap! That's wicked bad! Was anyone hurt?

Well, he broke rules "A" & "C" but you can't really blame your son for "B" because that wasn't really his fault. If the car was drivable he would have been back by 12:30! < this is the logic of a 20 year old > I know, because I have a 20 year old daughter.

pszikla

Sorry to hear about your accident and gladly everyone is OK.
Don't worry at all about paint match.........a qualified shop will make an absolutely perfect blend.
I have Ocean Blue and I had the nose and hood repainted to clean up rock chips. The finish is perfectly matched to original paint front fenders.

ArneeA

Do people with F250+ know how to SMS? Do they even know what a cellphone is?

I hope the guy was apologetic. We were rear-ended once when my wife and I were in the S2000 at a freeway offramp. Some young girl in her Ford Escape rammed into us at full freeway speed. She was looking for her cellphone on the floor and didn't realize that the offramp light was red. I wanted to bitchslap her.

nosub

Yeah, their logic is in and of itself illogical...

B was not possible since they did go to Dallas (first rule broken) and the accident occurred at 12:30 AM. Dallas is 30-45 Min from the house. And they were on their way to a friends apartment in Dallas when the accident occurred... :P

Other than a bruise to my sons nose (broken?) which was due to his leaning toward the center and back seat to talk to passengers there when the airbag went off, all is good. He was not <DOH!> wearing a seatbelt BTW... Other than a ringing in his right ear for a day or so from the airbag explosion, all is good.

Adjuster to look today to decide if totalled or not. Even worse, it was paid off.

RF5BPilot

As a father, my biggest concern would be his disregard for you and the safety of others.

(Why is he putting an inexperienced driver in the seat of a strange car, late at night? Why is he ignoring the conditions under which you lent him the car? Technically, at the point where he broke those conditions, he became a car thief.)

The way it is, he can say he's sorry. You can implement punishments/restraints. These might only increase resentment and forces you to take time to monitor. Most importantly, what would he actually learn from restrictions & punishments?--other than he shouldn't get caught.

You need him to be an adult. Treat him as one. Don't be mad...just treat him as a responsible adult. (rather than merely expect him to be a responsible adult)

Since insurance will cover the repairs, consider billing your son for the loss of value to the LR3, any increase in insurance and any incidental costs (e.g. replacement car rental, fuel, loss of income). Don't exaggerate--but don't skimp. It's a business transaction and should cover costs that, technically, you could sue him for if he were a stranger. Have him accompany you in the process of tallying and estimating the amounts. If you go to a car dealership to get help in estimating the loss of value, make sure he comes along.

Paying off the loss of value, etc., (which may be in the thousands) might give him partial insight into the consequences of his actions. Follow through. It is a loss that he created. As an adult he would be faced with these. If there needs to be a payment schedule, charge savings account interest rates on the outstanding balance. Assuming he's in college, he will probably have to get a part-time job. Tough.

He will be legally signing binding contracts as an adult in (what will seem to be) moments from now. (@ 21)

nosub

Good suggestions, many of which I had already put into play. Basically my wife and I decided that there must be punishment and acceptance of responsibility. He will not be allowed to drive any of our cars again (never let him drive the 996 to begin with) and once all is done will be responsible for any loss/deductibles. He will also be paying for his own car insurance starting his 21st b'day next March. This will keep us from getting hit with the increase in premiums (fingers crossed). Luckily the girl who was driving had insurance and it will be paying for damages to the LR3.

I had him go with me to the place it was towed yesterday, took pictures, etc. He was able to see the inconvenience this is causing (drive to not so good area of town, many seed characters there, etc.). Alas he is not in college (good kid but safe to say he is not the "academic type") and does not make much $.

BruceP

I think there's a special place in hell for people who tell other people how to raise their kids. (Mine are 24, 21 and 16). I'll just say this: You were a generous and trusting dad to lend him your ride. I hope that, not as a child but as man to man, he realizes that and how important it is for people who share a home to be able to count on each other's word. You're being cooler about it than I would be. Props for that.

nosub

Generous is a good way of putting it... It was against my better judgment and my wifes suggestion as well... While there was very little yelling on my part (in my experience all it does is make things worse and the quiet voice treatment is pretty powerful in and of itself) trust me when I say that we had a very serious "Coming to Jesus" talk.

At this point there are two possible things that will happen:

1. The adjuster will declare it totaled and I will then have to negotiate a settlement.

2. They decide it can be fixed, though I have the right to refuse and ask for it to be totaled if expenses are high enough to repair.

We are considering if it is totaled to take away the 2007 Honda Accord Coupe he is driving, buy a beater for him (something like a 2002-2003 Toyota Tacoma). That way if he takes care of it fine, if not that is fine too. I will then drive the Accord as a DD. In either case 1 or 2 we will most likely file suit against the girl who was driving for any out of pocket expenses, increases in insurance premiums and loss of value. In Texas the coverage for the car being driven follows the driver so her insurance is going to pay for the LR3 BUT coverage for other damaged vehicles (she rear ended a Mercedes G-Wagon (YIKES!) which then went into the rear of a Nissan something or other. No idea on the damage to the other two vehicles.

Patrick E

A little OT, but in my experience Land Rovers are tough trucks. Their reliability may be suspect, but they do well in a crash. My wife was hit pretty hard while she was waiting at a red light, but escaped injury and the truck had relatively modest damage. Meanwhile, the Camry and driver that hit her did not fare nearly as well. The insurance adjuster claimed he had seen other Rovers do remarkably well in collisions.

BruceP

Two things about that...

Older, ladder framed Rovers were tanks. The new unibody ones might not deserve that reputation.

And he hit a G-wagen. They are freakin' solid trucks.

shustermeister

You are a seriously understanding father and I commend you on that. Fortunately, my kids are 18 months and 1 month old, so I have about 15 years to worry about this kind of stuff.
When I think back to how I drove my parents cars when I was a young'un, I did some stupid things and got away with most (but not all) of them.
Very glad to hear that injuries were avoided, and hopefully your son will be more careful (obedient?) in the future.