Hit and Run on my Beautiful Car

[bulletsnbriars]

I don't like negative posts, but I'd like to vent for a second if you wouldn't mind. I've owned four cars in my life since 15. My first was a clunker 86 Ranger. It was beat to crap, perfect first rig. I loved it despite all its flaws. No major accidents, backed into a friends trucks but only dented my tailgate, no damage to their truck. Then I had a Nissan Pathfinder that my dad helped me buy. Not a bad car by any means, but I could never quite love it. Sold it when I moved from Montana, didn't need it and had a feeling it would break down sooner than later. From there my dad gave me a 4runner to use whilst I worked in Maine, another awesome rig.
But I never had a car I could really be proud of, and aside from the Ranger, Id never bought a car all on my own. But when I got into the oilfield, I finally had the money to get a real rig, my own car. I bought a 94 GMC Suburban, everything I wanted. 4x4, lots of room, safe, leather seats and my favorite brand. It was MY car, my pride and joy. My first REAL rig.
Since I work so much I don't drive it much. My mom doesnt have a car so she borrows it frequently. While she was in town, in a hair salon, some jackwagon hit the passenger door and fender, scraping it to hell and tearing off the flare. Took off, didnt leave a note or nothing.
Im not mad about the accident; we all screw up and I've been in that position before.What jiggers me is the person didnt want to own up to their mistake, and instead ran like a coward. My pride and joy is looking shabby and Ive got to pay out of pocket. Ive got time off coming and Im going to my home town for the first time since Ive bought it. I was looking forward to showing of my car to my buddies, but now it dont look like much.
At the end of the day, the damage is purely cosmetic, my mother wasnt harmed in any way and Ive got the money to fix it. Im blessed and it could be a hell of a lot worse. But what makes a person think they can screw up and take off without consequence, without taking responsibility? Why is our culture so damn spineless?

 

[mso489]

I'm really sorry. Hope it looks great again soon and you can show off your ride to your friends, as you deserve.

About a year ago, I was driving along a six lane street near my home and out of the back of a pick-up truck whirled

a light piece of wood full of upstanding nails. No time to react. It went right under my tires, and there went the

radials. I made it to the tire place on low tires. Luckily, I'd gotten my 60K out of the tires I had, so I'd been told

it was time for replacements. But it illustrates, some of the driving population is sucking on pacifiers and has

no idea there are other people in the world.

 

[sablebrush52]

That's a shame and I share your feelings about the matter. A few decades ago, I accidentally hit a parked car while backing into a narrow street that had poor visibility. I left a note under the windshield wiper with my contact info. The owner called, thanked me, and said to forget about it. He just appreciated that I owned up to the bump.

 

[claypipesarchaeologist]

Apathy. It's an epidemic and I can't help but think that all of these electronic devices we use don't help.
California is pushing to make hit and runs (car on car/car on property)a felony. That might make people think twice about running off if they hit another car in daylight. But I doubt it'll do much for an incident at night in a quiet parking lot. Criminals don't mind breaking the law.

 

[crazypipe]

I had the same thing happen to me on my 2013 CRV.

Sorry to hear this happen to you, but your GMC will look good again. ::

 

[derfatdutchman]

Sorry to hear about your hit and run. If people just took responsibility for their actions the world would be a far better place.

 

[twangthang]

I feel your pain. A few years ago we bought a third car. It was an '89 Honda Civic. I know I know not much of a car. It had 150,000 miles on it and it was really basic, but it got 40mpg and it ran like a top. I was commuting over a hundred miles a day and it never once gave me a seconds trouble.

I had parked it out on the street and was coming home when I pulled up to find my car WRECKED. There was a card from the police on the car, but since there were no witnesses nothing could be done.

To this day I am heartbroken.

[/url][/img]

 

[davidintexas]

I feel for ya bullets. Glad it was only minor damage.

Dang twang. That's outrageous. That person should be sent to the pen for that. I have a 96 civic that's got over 300K and still gets 40 mph. I would be heartbroken if it happened to me.

 

[papipeguy]

That's terrible but we live in a world full of assholes who can' own up to their actions. Another reason why insurance rates are sky high. $10 says that driver was texting. I hope the damage to their car was triple what yours is.

 

[bulletsnbriars]

Really appreciate all the sympathy here guys. I dont like to bitch but wanted to vent just a little. Twang, thats awful. Im sorry. I feel a little silly for being upset about a little cosmetic damage when you had to go through that.
Dang mso, thats a bummer! Glad you were safe, that could have been a serious accident if things had gone a little worse.
Papipeguy, based on the height of the damage, it must have been a little car, probably cheap fenders and such. Compared to my all metal beast of a suburban its probably in pretty poor shape.
Fortunately, I have an uncle who does body and paint work. He lives pretty far away but I know hell give me a good price. All in all everythings gonna turn out just fine, probably not before my trip to my home town though. Damn my vanity haha.

 

[bulletsnbriars]

Ohhhhh. Trailboss, 69 Impala is one of my all time favorite cars. That SUCKS. Things like that are priceless.

 

[erichbaumer]

Tough hand there, though I'm glad it wasn't much worse. Similar thing happened to my mom's Yukon, but it was neighborhood kids keying a bunch of cars for kicks. She was about to trade it in for an upgrade, too. Anyway, my point is that in both cases, my favorite of my veterinarian father's sayings applies- In this world, the ratio of horses to horses' asses is not equal.

 

[dottiewarden]

94 GMC Suburban 4X4, great vehicle for both on and off road. It just would've been better if the weasle owned up to the damage.
Vent any time, that´s just another one of the many ways we can be there for each other.

 

[settersbrace]

Personal responsibility and scruples and even people with a conscious are all attributes that people once had in spades but now seem to be as elusive as Bigfoot. My wife doesn't get why I trust no one in most of life's encounters. Pipe smokers and fellow outdoorsman are becoming the last bastion of ethical, honest hard working people. Just on this forum alone we see daily the goodness in people who've never even met one another. Too bad about your buggy but the body man will bring her back. I had an S-10 extended cab for exactly 3 days when some DB sideswiped it and kept going. Worst part was that it was right in front of my house!

 

[larrylegend]

Same thing happened to my wife's then nearly brand new car. She was parked in a parking lot and someone ran into the bumper doing just enough damage that it wasn't worth it to turn into insurance. Other than the person driving off, the worst part was the numerous witnesses who saw it happen and didn't get a plate or take a picture.

 

[terry]

Man that sucks..no security camera at the salon I guess.

 

[rangerearthpig]

Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, that crap happens a lot.

 

[bulletsnbriars]

Setters, I feel you. I used to be a really trusting person, but stepping outside my quiet hometown and seeing more of the world really opens your eyes. Same thing happened to a friend of mine, his truck was side swiped in his own driveway. At least his was a company pickup!
Eric, thats an excellent quote. I will have to remember that!
Larry, everybody these days just assumes that someone else will do something, I think its the cause of a lot of problems. Look at Kitty Genovese.
Terry, that was my first question, but nope. Things are pretty old school around here in ND.
Ranger, its the first time anything like this has happened to me, but its pretty common around here these days.