AARGH! Murder Is Too Kind!

[JewelFreak]

DH drives my car when it rains, when it's hot, icy, snowy, in other words, 75% of the time, because his 2 vintage cars are too prissy for real weather -- and (the real culprit) have no air conditioning. Let's note: I LOVE my Passat wagon, better known as my Dog Condo.

On Monday he brought it home thus:


He ALWAYS drives too closely to the car in front -- when riding with him I continually slam on non-existent brakes in the passenger seat. Monday, he admitted looking at somebody doing chores at the side of the road; the car ahead stopped suddenly, and BLAM! I'd kill, but that would be too quick for what he deserves!

The weird thing is that he crashed into a Cadillac SUV whose driver apparently felt or heard nothing! Drove on without even looking back & DH says he saw no damage to the other car. (Thank God we don't have to pay for repairing a Cadillac.) Those things must be built like Sherman tanks.

Insurance will take care of it but if I don't get it back as good as almost-new, he's gonna be my slave for the rest of his life.

--- Laurie

 

[LoversKites]

OUCH!

At least you'll have a slave.

 

[OreoRosies86]

Ugh, he tailgates? He needs to stop doing that. Hopefully your poor car shows him exactly why! Last summer I had a person tailgating me and a pregnant friend in the back seat. I kept thinking "This guy needs to back off" and then sure enough he got distracted at a stop sign and hit me.

 

[chrono]

JF,
So sorry your baby is hurt but she'll be fixed up (almost) as good as new. In the meantime, I would enjoy the slave at your beck and call.

 

[LaraOnline]

OUCH!

At least you'll have a slave.

Yes there is a silver lining...
and I suppose you'll be driving his precious cars on lovely sunny days now?

 

[AGBF]

DH drives my car when it rains, when it's hot, icy, snowy, in other words, 75% of the time, because his 2 vintage cars are too prissy for real weather -- and (the real culprit) have no air conditioning. Let's note: I LOVE my Passat wagon, better known as my Dog Condo.


The weird thing is that he crashed into a Cadillac SUV whose driver apparently felt or heard nothing! Drove on without even looking back & DH says he saw no damage to the other car. (Thank God we don't have to pay for repairing a Cadillac.) Those things must be built like Sherman tanks.

First, I am very sorry for what happened to your Dog Condo!!!

Second, let me assure you that the problem was not that your Passat was weaker than the Cadillac SUV! The problem it encountered is a low front hitting a high back. I have to admit that a few years back when I was living in Virginia I got a great kick out of a reverse situation, however. I was in excruciatingly slow moving traffic on the Georgetown Pike and got hit from behind (at very slow speed) while driving my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Like a Cadillac SUV, it is quite high in the back. The man who had hit me was driving a small, very expensive Mercedes. It may have been a sports car or convertible; it was low. It appeared to be somewhat under my Jeep and the front was totally crushed. The man was extremely courteous and kind of scratched his head and said about my Jeep, "I should have bought one of those".

Oh, yes. I forgot to say that my Jeep was unscathed!

Deb

 

[sonnyjane]

!!!! I can relate to your feeling lol! Not as serious as your case, but two weeks ago I had a week-long trip out of town and then my husband left for a two-week trip while I was still gone. He dropped me off at the airport in my car, so I knew he was the last one to drive it. My flight got back around midnight. I took a cab home, passed out, then woke up early for work. I get to the garage, go to start my car..... Silence! He'd left the lights on and drained the battery. I had to call for a ride to work and was nearly an hour late. Luckily AAA came after work to jump my battery. The most frustrating part for me (and luckiest break for DH) was that he was gone for 2 weeks without a phone so I could yell at him lol!

 

[VapidLapid]

I see a Solid Gold Maserati ring in your future.

 

[monarch64]

Oh, wow. Sorry about your car, JF. Good that no one was injured, and maybe your darling husband will pay closer attention and stop tailgating now.

I will actually pull over (if possible) to let a tailgater pass me. I find it so annoying, because I learned to drive "defensively" and to always be aware of what's happening around me and constantly plan my escape route. So when someone is riding my ass (who knows why? I consistently maintain the speed limit or at least 5 mph over), I just get out of the way. Let them run into some other poor soul.

 

[movie zombie]

time for him to start driving his own cars! especially since he insists on tailgating and getting distracted!
and if he doesn't want to drive his prissy cars it is time for him to buy one that he will drive.
do you now get to drive one of his cars [with dogs of course] because yours will be in the shop?

 

[blackprophet]

I see a Maserati in your future.

Fixed.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Glad to hear that your DH wasn't hurt in the accident. Strange...how come the air bag didn't pop out?..

 

[JewelFreak]

Thank you for the good wishes -- (and the gold ring, VL! I need one.) -- and no, I am not driving his crazy cars. Not for anything! Insurance paid for me to rent one; not an easy find in the summer, I discovered. They have a contract w/Enterprise -- a young idiot tried to give me a mini van -- I threw a mini tantrum. I am not going to fill the tank of a mini van at summertime gas rates of $1000 a gallon for whatever time a fix takes. "Um...I can give you a truck," he offered helpfully. Another Enterprise office came up with a Hyundai of some variety. At least the a/c works -- it's 95º all week.

He doesn't really tailgate. I HATE that practice. When somebody does it to me I slow down to a crawl. I'd really like a James Bond car that would spit greasy oil out the back, or better, in the back window a bright flashing neon hand flipping the bird. DH does not get up the tailpipe of the car ahead but does stay too close for safety if it stops suddenly -- as he finally learned. He drives European-style, having learned there. Here's how it's done: you stay a few car-lengths back, and if traffic stops, you keep steaming up to the next car & slam the brakes on at the last minute. Ever driven in France? Or Italy? That's it. The thing is, even there you don't watch people fixing church signs while you're doing it.

I wondered about the airbag too -- it was as Deb said, the SUV was much higher than my car (I bought a low one on purpose so my 14-yr-old dog could get in easily) & the front end kind of slipped underneath the SUVs rear. It sort of scraped the top half of the front end back but maybe didn't BANG enough to activate the airbag.

Will find out today if my Dog Condo is even fixable. In the meantime, he walks, drives his delicate (hot hot hot) little babies, or stays home! Aha! For once I get to give the car commands.

--- Laurie

 

[Dancing Fire]

OUCH!

At least you'll have a slave.

She is shopping for a new whip..

 

[VapidLapid]

JF, back in '64 they had the DB5 at Inskip, my dad brought it home for the weekend and we all got to ride in it. the oil slick and guns were disabled. Of course he proudly parked it in front of the house the whole weekend.

As cool as it was, to a mere 4 year old I preferred the Austin Princess when he brought that home!

 

[iLander]

I believe there should be compensatory bling involved here.

General PSA/Advice: When I have tailgaters, I push the emergency flashers button for a few seconds.

That makes them think that I am slamming on my brakes, and they brake.

Doing that a couple of times gets them to back off since I am obviously an "erratic driver".

 

[ame]

omg! I think you have a slave regardless of the repair outcome.

 

[yssie]

I believe there should be compensatory bling involved here.

General PSA/Advice: When I have tailgaters, I push the emergency flashers button for a few seconds.

That makes them think that I am slamming on my brakes, and they brake.

Doing that a couple of times gets them to back off since I am obviously an "erratic driver".

iLander, I do that too.

I drive a manual. You won't believe how many idiots will cruise right up to my bumper and stop five inches behind me on a steep uphill. I've started toeing off the brakes and letting the car drift backward a bit when people behind me don't seem to be stopping quickly enough - they usually take hint.



Oh Laurie your poor car!!! Your darling DH had better be a most willing slave for the next couple of weeks...

 

[JewelFreak]

As cool as it was, to a mere 4 year old I preferred the Austin Princess when he brought that home!

You had an Austin Princess, VL???? Did you get to keep that one? One of DH's beloved mistresses...er, I mean cars, is a van den Plas Princess -- also made by Austin but never sold in the States. He's had it since just after university. Smaller than the Austin Princess, but very cool with walnut dashboard & little fold-down walnut picnic tables in back, leather seats, etc. It is not in this good shape now, but it's like an old pet, you just can't let it go.


DH has been appropriately embarrassed & regretful -- though he's pretty much over it now, by the 3rd day. I'm not. I'll take it out of his hide one way or another. I have to give him credit for telling the truth about his own fault in it -- since nobody's around to verify, I might've been tempted to, well, fib a little?

I think you all are right -- a peace present is in order, and it needs to be 18k and sparkle!

--- Laurie

 

[VapidLapid]

That is SWEET!

No, the Princess was not a keeper; but the XK 120M was

 

[JewelFreak]

Way to go! They are gorgeous. I hope you didn't encounter Jaguar's famed reliability with it. As a teenager I wanted an E-Type very badly. No dice from my old man. All grown up, I amost went crazy & bought a Mark 4 at an auction but DH pounded sense into me before I went under for the last time. I've thought of that car since, very nice one. Hope you enjoyed the xk 120!

--- Laurie

 

[luv2sparkle]

That is such a bummer JF. I am so sorry about your car. Your DH won't have anything to say for the rest of his life if you catch him riding too close again! I saw an accident right in front of me today with a kid doing the very same thing. He cut in front of me, way to close, and then tailgated the truck in front of him. The guy stopped at a light and bam! The guy in the truck pulled over but the kid didn't. A chase ensued. Not good.

I think you should negotiate for a few more perks as well. Maybe some new bling, him doing all the cleaning for a while, maybe no cooking for a few weeks....work it girl!

 

[Indylady]

Sending you lots of car repair dust! New bling couldn't hurt either

 

[missy]

Oh no, so sorry Laurie! But thank goodness your dh (and everyone involved) is OK and that is the main thing no matter how aggravating this all is. Sending your car speedy recovery vibes and big hugs for you my dear. Again, dh is OK so truly a good learning lesson for him (and you in allowing him to borrow your car!). And next time he asks (if he dares) just say "fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me". No more sharing vehicles- at least from you to him.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

That is a facet (or extra one) that I would not appreciate!

cheers--Sharon