Welcome to New Jersey--Providence Isn't Only In Rhode Island

      My wife and I recently returned from a massive three week 7000 mile road trip from our home near Los Angeles to the Jersey Shore and Tennessee and many points yon and about.  That came down to ten full days of driving that averaged out at about twelve hours and around 700 miles per day.  All told it was another great adventure--one that I thought wouldn't happen.  Since we had already taken our trip to Ecuador I figured we wouldn't do the U.S. tour, but my wife decided that we should still do it and I have her to thank for this second vacation.

        We'd barely been back a week from Ecuador when my wife finished up an obligation to jury duty and then told me to make arrangements for the trip.  I planned taking a more northerly route through Utah and Colorado and on across the great interior of the nation.  Early Saturday July 13th we hit the road and by the early evening of Tuesday July 16th we were in New Jersey sitting in the living room of one of my daughter's house when we heard what I thought was a loud knock at the front door.  It was not a knock at the door.

        One of my other daughters who had gone to check it out came back stunned.  "Somebody hit your car!" she said.

         Her words seemed so unreal that they didn't exactly register with me as I followed her to the front door.   The sight that greeted me made no sense at first.   A different car was now sitting where I had left ours.  Our car was several feet away with its front end bashed against a street light pole that now tilted at a precarious angle.

You Should See the Other Guy!

     
         I must admit that the damage to our car initially didn't look that bad.  Looking at the damage to the offending vehicle, a sporty 2013 Toyota FRS, the old fight joke "You should see the other guy!" ran through my mind.  I tried to keep a positive frame of mind considering our circumstances.

       Next Time Use Your Brakes Instead of Our Car

        The young man who was driving the car registered in his father's name was obviously driving way too fast and not paying attention to his driving.  Texting perhaps?  He had not even tried to use his brakes.  His airbags were deployed.  He had a broken wrist and was visibly shaken by the accident.  He also probably was a bit concerned about what his father would be saying.  His mother arrived on the scene shortly after the accident happened.  They lived around the corner from my daughter.   Two ambulances arrived on the scene, but the mother declined treatment and opted to take her "child" to the hospital herself.   The police cited the kid for careless driving.

It's Much Worse Than It Looks

        My wife, son-in-law, and myself all made rough guesses that the damage would come to about $5000.  The appraiser who came out the next day wrote up his estimate for a couple hundred over that.  After the damaged parts were dismantled and upon final investigation at the body shop, the final bill was over $8100.  Remember, we had damage at both ends and there was a lot of replacing of parts to be done.

                       Wrecking the Car at Both Ends

        Our car took a forceful hit when you consider how far it traveled after being struck and the damage to the streetlight pole.  And talk about service from the power company.  They were out on the scene to straighten the damaged pole before the Toyota had even been towed.

                   An Endorsement for Nissan Maxima

         I've always liked my wife's Maxima.  It's the second one she's owned.  It's comfortable, drives well, and hasn't required much major maintenance.   Now I know it holds up well in an accident.   Like everyone said afterward, it's good that we weren't in the car when this happened.   However, now I feel even more secure driving this car.

                   And While I'm Handing Out Praise



         I was very pleased with the speed with which my claim was handled by my insurance company which is through the Auto Club of Southern California.  We were quickly taken care of by Carsmetics of Brick, NJ.   Since everyone knew our circumstance of being on vacation, they prioritized the repairs and got us back on the road two days after our originally scheduled departure date.   While the car was in the shop we had to get a rental car in order to go to Tennessee as we had planned.   Not in our plans was having to return to New Jersey to pick up our Maxima.   I can't say enough good things here about the service we received from Carsmetics, but I gave them a good review at Yelp.

        It's kind of amazing to consider all the traveling that we did to get to New Jersey with no problems and then to be parked in front of my daughter's house not more than a half hour and have this happen.  If something like this was going to happen, what a convenient place and time for it to happen.   I guess I could call it providence and I'm thankful for our safety throughout this entire amazing trip.

        And as they say, "Stuff happens."   Or something like that.

        Have you had any experiences of providence like this?   What's your favorite car?   Is it the car you drive now?    Have you ever dealt with a location of the Carsmetics body shop chain?

Related articles

• Learner Stickers - A Good Idea or an Invitation to Sexual Predators?
• 2013 Nissan Maxima comparison: full-size sedan guide
• The DNA of the 2013 Nissan Maxima