Automotive: One Man Engine Drop

[temporal1]

”Seventh-generation 2024 Ford Mustang debuts, and it’s not even close to an electric car”
'Opinionated' new Mustang has a V-8 and a stick shift
https://www.foxnews.com/auto/seventh-ge ... ectric-car

The 2024 Mustang was unveiled at an outdoor event in Detroit attended by hundreds of current Mustang owners. (Fox News Digital)

The Mustang will be offered in coupe and convertible versions. (Ford)

Entry-level Mustangs will have a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. (Ford)

[temporal1]

o.my.

i’ve been having brake problems at low speeds.
the van has been in the shop.

my head is spinning with reports of ABS brakes, anti-lock systems, speed sensors, rings, front axles, windows .. ay-ya-ya.
more than i ever cared to know .. bearings.

the work is done, i’ll pick up tomorrow. i may dream of car parts tonight.

ABS Speed Sensor Replacement


i asked if he would check tie-rods while he was at it. thankfully, they look ok.

i hope this takes care of it. it’s been unpleasant braking at slow speeds. i was told it wasn’t dangerous, but the feeling of brakes giving out is unnerving. plus that grinding sound. at low speeds.

he said it was normal wear+tear. that, overall, it’s in good shape. i try to take care of it.

[temporal1]

WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR and CONNECTORS replaced.

findpigtails.com
https://findpigtails.com/

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FENDER BENDER September 27
i thought it was nothing. the other driver was hysterical. not a child. i suspect other problems involved.
she was aggressive and certain i hit her (backing slowly out of parking in a walmart lot).
not just to me, everyone she crossed paths with remarked about her behavior.

i wasn’t sure about what happened, at all. i didn’t believe i was at fault, not sure. i didn’t try to convince anyone.

i took photos and hoped it would be worked out.
her car has a small scratch, under 2”, my car has bumper and rear quarter panel damage. doors are ok.

the damage on her car was so slight, i walked all around it, wondering if it hit somewhere else? i saw nothing.

she insisted on calling the police, so, i called 911, they said they didn’t need to come out, to exchange insurance info, let ins companies handle it. she called for county police to come out. ok. it was getting dark, i try to be home by dark.

she didn’t want to show me her ins card. she eventually did.

an officer came out, she said the same as 911, said she was not going to do a police report, to turn it into insurance.
she said walmart may have video of it.

i didn’t go ask for the video, i needed to get home. i try to be home before dark. (dread winter)

The next morning, i was contacted by my insurance (of decades) that a claim had been filed.
My ins guy said, regardless of fault, this is unlikely to disturb my policy with them. Happy to hear.

Well. “It’s complicated.” To repeat, if left to me, i wouldn’t have reported it. i told the ins guy this.

i called Walmart, they have a tape. Their security guy told me it’s pretty good, and shows she hit me.

Getting the tape .. has been a big run-around, ending with, “Walmart NEVER gives video out” except to police or by subpoena.
i spoke with the deputy last night, she said the police will not go to wmart to do anything. she said this is a civil case.

i have no idea what’s ahead. i’m not sure what the other driver knows/doesn’t know.

i find this bizarre, and a nuisance. i hope it doesn’t get worse.
i’m glad the security guy believes the tape vindicates me. no one else has seen it, so, ‘not sure.

[temporal1]

My car, 23 years old, “OLD RELIABLE,” may turn out to be “totaled” by insurance.
i have no idea what will unfold here.

i go for a repair estimate next week.

[temporal1]

^^After DRAGGING the process out .. i finally got a private estimate, THEN submitted an online picture claim to insurance.
The picture claim ins estimate was $64 lower than the private estimate. i was impressed the estimates were so close.

Without hesitation, every professional who looked at pictures assured me i was not at fault, including the insurance company.
i didn’t think i was. i didn’t know.

Ins company will keep $500 unless they recover from the other party (i’m guessing, unlikely).

i dragged it out. My ins co probably would have had this done within a week or less.
Procrastination on my part, nothing else.

i wonder about the lady who hit me. she was very upset. and adamant i was at fault. to everyone she crossed paths with.
she turned in her claim to my ins the next morning. no word from her since.

she was “a wreck,” no pun intended. fortunately for her, there was only a very small scratch on her car.
she may have forgotten all about it by now.

[temporal1]

^^Unexpected call from insurance company.
i was told they decided the damage constituted a TOTAL LOSS.
i spent much of the day learning what that meant.

i asked for time to figure out what to do, no former experience.
It seemed overwhelming to begin.

i’m happy to say, i’ve no experience with accident claims.

This evening it seems the best thing is to accept the insurance offer, keep the car, they will continue to insure, with contingency that the damaged rear panel won’t be covered (until/unless repaired). And hope they can be repaid by the other ins company, if so, they will pay me $500 (the deductible amount). Low expectations for this to happen.

Because of my low mileage, and good upkeep, it might be difficult to find another car that’s comparable, even for 2-3 times the price. i’ll probably have part of the damage repaired. It’s cosmetic. Everything works.

Strange day.

Tonight, the longest night of the year.
i asked my granddaughter if we should stay up all night to enjoy it??!

We decided against it.

[temporal1]

.. ^^prayers for the other driver ..

More twists. i’m ok, everything’s ok here.

However, i was told the other driver is now claiming she was not at the scene.
Her ins rep told me. i was astonished.

She insisted on police, she went into the store to get the parking lot video, she called my ins co the next morning.
She saw me take photos of both cars and her ins card.

There is something wrong here, she can’t be ok.

My ins rep told me this could be an attempt at ins fraud on her part. i’m worried about her.
This can’t be good. My ins told me it’s ok to talk with her ins rep, and send them the pics.

i didn’t ask, but i suppose she may not be able to get ins now.
i suppose she may have “a history.” i sensed there was more to her response than that little bump.
i hope there are no children in the mix. something is very wrong there.

“i wasn’t there.”

[Josh]

At this point I drive multiple vehicles that have had a “total loss” that was basically cosmetic.

[Ken]

Insurance companies will "total" a vehicle according to a very simply formula:

If estimated repair costs > [book value - auction value] then the vehicle is declared totaled.
If estimated repair costs < [book value - auction value] then the vehicle will be repaired.

It works like this. Every wrecked car has a residual value that it will likely sell for at auction. People buy up wrecked cars at auction and either part them out or fix them back up to sell. Every car also has a book value which is the replacement cost or in insurance lingo "actual cash value".

So if you have a 15 year old Toyota with a replacement or book value of $5,000 and the estimated auction value of the wrecked car is $2,000 then the difference between those two numbers is $3,000. That is the key number for the insurance company. If the repair estimate is more than $3,000 then it is cheaper to declare the vehicle totaled and just pay the owner the $5,000 book value towards a replacement car. Then tow the car away and have it auctioned. If the repair estimate is less than $3000 then it will be cheaper for them to have the car repaired. Of course they also factor in the transaction and towing costs so it's not quite that simple, but that is the gist of it.

Insurance companies are in the business of making money and the way to do that is to pay out the lowest amount of money per claim. In many cases a car that is not badly damaged is still cheaper for them to declare totaled and just write a check since they will get the residual value back when they auction the wrecked vehicle. Especially with modern vehicles with unibodies and molded parts that can be astronomically expensive to repair.

Sometimes you can negotiate a settlement check and keep the vehicle to repair yourself which makes sense if you are a mechanic or have one available who will work for cheap.

[Josh]

Ken’s formulas are incorrect. The correct formula will be left as an exercise to the reader.