New (Rental) Car for Mama
The other day I walked out to get into my car and spied a yellow piece of notepaper stuck under my windshield wiper. Immediately my heart sank. It could be a secret admirer note I guess but that doesn’t happen that often to me.
On the bright side, it wasn’t the small white $49 parking ticket for failing to park on the other side of the street on street-sweeping day. I got one of those the other day and that did NOT make me happy. I must be getting old or something because suddenly FORTY-NINE DOLLARS seems like so much money to me! I could park on the wrong side of the street for two months and buy myself a very small used car for that price! Sheesh.
However, a parking ticket would probably be a lot less hassle than the impending doom that this note held. Just as I suspected, it was a hand-scrawled message from a really nice girl named, Mimi, saying she had accidentally side-swiped my parked car. I looked down at my left front fender and sure enough there was a nice big four-inch crinkle. Not just a scrape but a good ol’ dent and a scrape.
I knew Toby wouldn’t be happy. You should hear him go on about how and where I am supposed to park this car so that it doesn’t get dented or scraped. I hate to say it, but this car is a prized possession in this family and we are fools to have bought it before we own a house with a protective garage. Every nick and dent has taken a year off my life I think. Sometimes, I wish I never got rid of my ratty but dependable old Honda Civic.
The good news was that Mimi had a conscience and left her phone number. God bless Mimi. What a sweet girl. Nobody ever leaves a note when they scratch up your car in this neighborhood. I will be eternally thankful to Mimi and her insurance company. She has definitely got some good karma coming her way.
We made the call and Mimi turned out to be just as sweet as her note. She quickly and efficiently got us in touch with her insurance company and they took care of the rest. I dropped off my car at a body shop yesterday and found myself in a brand new Kia-something-or-other rental car.
It smells like an ash tray and has really weird blind spots but it’s not that bad. Not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. I thought sure I’d get stuck in something turquoise and plastic with big bumpers and mush for a gas pedal. What can I say, I’m a bit of a car snob.
I’ve been driving my small red sports car for three years now and I love it with a passion. No minivan for this mom. (Yes, I admit that not all minivans are bad, Bethany, and no, my small car does not have a dvd player that will occupy my kid on long trips but…) I just love small cars.
I love being close to the road, feeling every curve and bump. I love that my car could easily win a street race if I ever felt inclined to lay down some rubber. I love that I don’t have to worry about rolling it when I take a curve at 80 miles an hour (well, maybe not that fast but I could). I love the comfortable leather seats that hug me snugly and never give me a backache on long drives. I just love everything about it.
So yeah, I’m probably going to miss my small red car for the week that it is in the body shop but I have to say I am getting a kick out of this Kia thingy. The windows are giant and the back area is a hoot. Bug thinks it’s her new playhouse and she cries when I make her get out of the car and come into the house. I plan to take it out to the sticks later this week. I’ll let you know how it drives.
16 Comments
Kuky
That’s very decent of Mimi. Yay Mimi! It’s nice to hear about good people because of the yucky ones out there.
Some not nice person hit my friend’s car in a parking lot. She was in it and went out to check but didn’t see where the damage was. The person who did it obviously did see it but didn’t say anything about it. She let my friend think there was no damage and then went on her merry way. What scum.
Abby
Aw, man! That stinks. But, yay for Mimi and that decent people still exist in this world!!!
PS. I totally HEART our VWs too – I don’t think I’ll ever drive another brand.
Suze
I love that I can u-turn on a dime and parallel park anywhere in my little car!
Shanna
You have a very unique way of taking pictures – I love it! Your Bug is adorable! I hear ya on taking a year off your life with every ding. Every time I get in the car from leaving in a parking lot I take 10 minutes to examine it and compare any ding with the color of car parked next to me. It drives my husband crazy LOL ;)
Deib
What is it with kids and hatchbacks? I babysat two kids for years who begged to play in the back of my Ford Probe. Em would cry when I’d move her up to her car seat when we needed to go somewhere. I explained we couldn’t ride back there because it wasn’t safe without seat belts. She quickly pointed to the straps on the floor and said they were seat belts. I responded that they were luggage straps and she sobbed, “I’ll beee-eee lug-g-g-ggage.” I laughed the whole way to the store.
Melissa
Wow, what a rarity that someone would actually leave a note. If you’re going to get your car dented, may as well be by someone with a good conscious like Mimi. On a total sidenote, Bug’s hair has gotten so long and I love her sideswept bangs. It’s so very whoorl of her!
C @ Kid Things
That’s awesome of Mimi, she’s better than a lot of people.
Mrs. Mom
I love this post, especially the part were you say Mimi has definitely got some good karma coming her way… I love VWs too, I had a KIA back home and I must say it was not very impressive, but VWs are THE car to drive, they become part of your family and they go well with everything, lol, yayyyy for VWs!!!!… oh and God bless Mimi!
Camels & Chocolate
Good for Mimi! I love how kids get so excited over the smallest things. Oh, Bug.
nicole
Hey, we drove through “the sticks” last weekend…I had no idea “the sticks” was such a big town! We were in SD and decided to drive to the desert…to Joshua Tree. A long drive in a rental car in one afternoon.
Jennifer
I just died a little inside, missing my Turbo Jetta. BUT, unless I wanted Molly to ride on the roof we had to get the minivan. *sigh*
Mimi deserves lots of great Karma. Notes for side swipes, I thought that was unheard of nowadays!
gingermog
I am glad that Mimi was a nice honest person. Go Mimi! Our car got bashed by a falling scaffolding pole the other day. Lucky nobody was passing by on the pavement at the time. The building company next door tried to claim they didn’t know anything about it hmmmm?
Jen
I did that to someone this past week. Except that guy was still in his car. But oh, I felt like the biggest idiot.
I hope your car comes back as good as new!!
Jummy
Aww, I’m glad your red ride is getting fixed and hopefully it’ll be as good as new before long! I’m glad that Mimi left her coordinates for you to get in touch with her…that’s a relief!
sizzle
Bug just keeps getting cuter and cuter!
That’s really great that she left a note with her contact information. You hardly ever hear about people doing that.
BeachMama
Sweet, sweet Mimi. Not many people would do that. Sorry that you had to have a ding, but at least it is getting all fixed up for you. Enjoy your new ride for a bit.