Bumper Cars
Submitted by My Garden Spot Blog
‘Pup and I used to have very clean driving records. No DUI’s (still true), no recent speeding tickets (none for me, ever) and, generally speaking, a record free of wrecks. The last of those sterling qualities has now changed with a little fender bender we had on Dec. 23. So much for cheap car insurance, it’s gonna cost us.
We had hoped to get by with just fixing the van (the one with my scooter lift in it), but the repair shop has reported that it would cost a lot more than the van is worth to fix it, as the frame was just so ever slightly bent out of shape. Damn.
The end result is a totaled van. We’re waiting for the insurance to tell us how much it will be giving us. I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be very much. We do have to get the van back so that we can take out the lift and a power inverter. Together, the two of them may be worth more than the van just now.
We’ve started shopping for a new vehicle, one that can be fitted out with a powered lift and with enough room for the scooter. It’s harder to find one than you’d think. It’s not just that they’re expensive, but that there aren’t many vehicles made that are suitable. Most vans, suv’s and crossovers are made, nowadays, carrying the spare tire in a compartment that is accessed through the cargo area.
Think about that. It’s impossible to both have an installed lift AND a spare tire inhabiting the same space. In fact, I think it’s a daft idea to have the spares there in the first place. If you have a flat tire, do you really want to unload your groceries or anything else you’re carrying before you can change the tire?
I’ll get into just how hard it is to talk to most car salesmen who have no real interest in listening to what you need in a vehicle. Seems most of them just want to sell you the car they’ve been told to sell. Still, I will admit most of the salesmen and one woman were more or less honest and courteous and eventually, with enough repetitions, they did try to show us something that might work.
There was one glaring exception towards the worst and one towards the best. I’m going to be writing about just how hard it is to shop for a new vehicle when you’re disabled. It isn’t fun.
We have narrowed down the search for a van, as my dear Pa-in-law had bought one recently. We may even be able to find one used. Whether we can afford one or not, a new (ish) vehicle is in our future.
