OK, time for my rant and I'll apologize in advance for how long this post is!
Because we live on an acreage, our garbage man is kind enough to drive in and park next to our garage to pick up the trash. And so he did as usual this morning at 8am. I'm in our living room observing him when I see my son dash out to the garage and get into his car. He's on his way to univ classes. I'm thinking I should just run out there and tell him to be careful as the G truck is in the driveway but I figured he'd see him before backing up. WELL, SURE ENOUGH.....BAMM!......PHHACKKK!!! He comes running back in, obviously upset.
Meanwhile my wife has now heard about this and is there with us asking what the commotion is all about. I can't hold back and so I tear a strip out of him. She says..."Ok, it's not his fault. He didn't know he was there!" "WHAT? It's 110% his fault! What is the first thing you should do before backing up? What if the guy was standing there? What if it was another person or child or Bodi (our dog)?". OK, so I'm just pissed while my wife is consoling our son, who is near tears at this point.
So luckily he hit the G truck on his front right hub with no damage...the gentleman waves it off and apologizes for "being a little late this time". I shake his hand and apologize on my son's behalf and he drives off.
Meanwhile:
I figure that these modern bumpers just pop off in a low impact collision. I can see that there are some plastic brackets that have broken so my thought is to try and order the brackets and attempt a home repair.
So how would this be handled in your household? My son is 18 and in his first year at univ with no significant savings. As we live out of town, taking transit to classes is not an option for him. He needs a vehicle. The vehicle is a 2005 Mazda 3 2.3L with just over 100K Km on the clock.
(a) "Son, you're on your own here!"
(b) "I can probably fix it for you son but it'll look like a home repair. When you get a summer job you can have it repaired at the Mazda dealership on your dime". (aprox $1000, I figure)
(c) "Alex, don't be such a cheap bastard! Have it fixed and suck it up. He's your son!" (I can guarantee that this is what my wife will insist on!)
(d) As per (c) but "charge him later" or have him pay it back month to month, say $100 per month until paid off.
I'll be leaning to (b) with further discussion with him to be held this evening.
Gentlemen and ladies of PPOT...what say youze guyz?
OK, RANT OVER!!!
