My Car Saga Comes to a Happy Close

Shortly after 1:30 today, I got a call from James, the guy at Lucky Autobody. He said that my car was finished, and that it had already been paid for. I could hardly contain my excitement and relief as I hauled the kids down to the garage. We drove that tiny, dirty, Cobalt car one last time to Hertz to return it. In my glee, I forgot to go gas it up. I didn't realize this until the guy at the counter in the rental office went out to inspect the gas and mileage. Another man said that they would cut me a deal and not charge for gas. Yipee! So, I was charged the expected 69 buckeroos, and I didn't have to pay for the gas I used! They felt bad about th dirty car, so at least they were trying to make things better. They also dropped me off at Lucky, which isn't very far away, but since I had two kids and two car seats, it was needed. I had a double-take when I first saw my car. It looked a thousand times better than it had even before the fender bender. Wow... ANYway, without looking at it in too much detail, I hefted Tyler (who was still buckled into his car seat) into the office to pick up the final paper work. Jasmine was a big girl and carried her booster seat all by herself. James told me that Chris paid for my car yesterday when he picked up his truck. I suppose I really lucked out in having an honest, decent person hit my car.

James walked back out to the car with me. They washed the whole outside, including the paint off of the front bumper (which must have taken some heavy duty washing, since no regular car was has been able to get it off). The inside was also vacuumed (it was pretty nasty with crumbs, etc,when I brought it in). The back bumper looked fantastic. Man, it looked like a completely different vehicle. I am very happy with the service I got there. They were quick, professional and friendly... AND, they did an awesome job. I suppose I am one of the blessed few who actually benefited from an out-of-pocket situation like this. I'll never know why Chris didn't want to go through his insurance, but now that everything is gaken care of, that doesn't really matter. He held true to his responsibilities in the situation, and I got a car back that looked even better than it did originally. I am very happy that this whole thing is over.