Stupid car hijinx
So our driveway is kind of lumpy and icy. Last week, I was backing out and got stuck as I tried to turn around to pull out (as opposed to back out) onto the street. This has happened before. I put the car into neutral and tried pushing it. No dice.
Now I could have gone in to ask my wife for a hand but I didn’t. Instead, I put the car into first gear and went back to push it again. I rocked it for a while on a little ice ridge and then cleared it. The car kept right on going. I ran to stop or steer it but was too late. It careened off a wooded planter and into the back of my wife’s car.
I was not happy.
The damage appeared minimal - a headlight, a cracked bumper, a shattered wheel well liner - or so I thought. The next day I brought it to a local body shop.
First estimate - $2100. I nearly crapped my pants. We managed to whittle it down to a mere $800 but that still totally sucks. The problem, the guy explained, was that it’s a Saab and parts are expensive. It’s not that I didn’t know that, what kills me is how dumb I am sometimes. I guess I figured that in a standard transmission car, no gas means no go. Guess not . . .
