Car Trouble

Time to document the 2008/2009 saga of my car troubles--not really for your reading pleasure (though you are welcome to read) but because it is all adding up and I'm beginning to worry that I will lose track.

SUMMER 2008: Time to sell the Ford Crown Victoria. It has served us well. Time to get something with better gas mileage, better in snow, etc.

FALL 2008: A few bites but still no sale. Wonder how low we should go?

OCTOBER: I had a dream and awoke with this random thought:

GOD WANTS US TO GIVE OUR CAR TO A SUDANESE REFUGEE FAMILY.

There was nothing to prompt this thought. There was nothing in the dream overtly related to this thought, but I woke up with such a certainty that I immediately told Randy who has learned to believe my dreams.

SATURDAY...
Randy looked for a charity that could make it happen and did not find one. Instead he found one that catered to battered women starting a new life after leaving abusive situations. We decide this would also work. We will wait until Monday to make the call just in case something becomes clearer.

SUNDAY...
At church, small groups report on what they are doing. One is working with two refugee families from Burma to help them get established here in Denver. I ask the pastor if either family needs a reliable car. He will check. We will hold off on the other phone call.

LATER THAT WEEK...
A note from church says that neither Burmese family can use our car; however, would we mind terribly if the car went to another local charity helping a refugee family in desperate need of a car--the husband has just lost his job due to a lack of transportation and without a job, they may lose the house. They are from Sudan.

In November, our car became the property of this Sudanese family. We hope it serves them well and thank God for working in mysterious ways.

11.19.08
I fly out to South Carolina to purchase my aunt's Honda green CR-V "the Pickle." It is my favorite car yet. She made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

02.14.09
Someone hit & totaled the Pickle in front of our home, then fled the scene before I noticed that 3/4 of my car were in the front yard. A police report was filed. Details are scarce but all signs point to a neighbor.

03.11.09
After receiving insurance money for the Pickle and scouring ads for good deals, I settle on a silver 1999 Honda Civic, a great car which I love.

05.14.09
I wake up and notice that my car has been stolen. Police reports are filed. Insurance claims are started.

Random: I find myself thinking of the house we almost bought at 1100 S Xavier. We won the HUD lottery for an Officer Next Door home but were denied on a technicality--long story. Anyway, I don't know why I am thinking of this home, but remind myself I am much better off where we are and it's foolish to be thinking of it since the car was far more likely to be stolen from that home!

05.15.09
This evening the police found my car abandoned in an alley at the 1200 South block of Utica, 3 blocks from the house we nearly bought. It is in the city impound now and I can pick up tomorrow.

05.16.09
Josh took me to the impound and the car doesn't look as bad as I had expected. It will be assessed but should be repairable. I am concerned about what papers may have been in the car at the time of the theft since all contents were stolen. Goodbye Patty Griffin CD, Goodbye new Sam Phillips CD. Goodbye $500 deductible.

SHORTLY THEREAFTER...
My car will be fixed by a local body shop that I found when I had a fender bender due to a stupid incident that we aren't discussing. (Notice it went completely unmentioned above.)

After it arrives, I get a call from the body shop. suggesting I come down to the shop with a digital camera. After removing the fender, they have iscovered that despite a clean Carfax report, this car is a "rebuilt wreck." Bondo everywhere in the back end. I'm too tired to do anything about anything. Randy takes some pictures. We aren't sure what recourse we have.

JUNE 2009
Well, I got my car back but it took 3-4 weeks by the time all is said and done.

Despite my turning down rental coverage, in the case of theft, USAA covers me for up to $30 a day for a rental car. What a lifesaver. I had no idea that I was covered, or that it would take so long to get my car back. I almost bonded with the red rental Chevy Cobalt. I tried to get the rust colored Kia Rio at first because I figured it would be the least desirable thing to steal, but alas, someone had smoked in it. In the end, no one really wanted the Cobalt either.

ME & THE HONDA NOW:

They left a scratch or two on one panel--barely noticeable and did not replace the cloth in the trunk. This saved me a few hundred dollars. Also, in a bizarre twist of fate, the pink pillows that Randy has wanted me to throw away for ages and that I kept forgetting to bring in after Melanie's birthday party turned out to have a ridiculous replacement value, which further offset the deductible. Thank you Urban Outfitters for having obscene prices on floor pillows.

Somewhere along the way, I got a postcard from our local police telling me that they were closing the case with no suspects. I am pretty sure I know who totalled my CRV and that there are telltale fingerprints on my Civic's steering wheel which might reveal the thieves' identity, but of course, there are bigger fish to fry in the city of Denver.

LESSONS LEARNED:

-DPD doesn't really care who stole my car, but eventually, and sadly, these kids will probably find their way to Randy for some other reason.
-Always leave something of high replacement value that you might have thrown out anyway in your trunk to offset your deductible in the event of accident or theft.
-Do not trust Carfax alone. Take a potential car purchase to your local body shop for further investigation.
-A car is just stuff, after all, so don't get too attached.
-NEVER forget to put the club on the car!