On Wednesday, the insurance adjuster declared the car to be "totalled". (The check is in the mail.) So the next day we drove out on the same route that we had gone on the day of the accident. It was a little spooky driving by the scene and still seeing the spots where the two vehicles were stuck.
We got to the storage lot and began pulling out all stuff. So many things in so many places. Don't forget the license plate. Don't overlook the mailbox key. Look under all the seats. And then there was all the big stuff. Julian had packed a lot of our supplies in the Vue for the drive to North Carolina. There were folding chairs, fishing equipment, a cooler, a small smoker/grill, and so much stuff.
Once we were finished with everything we wanted, we asked if they could remove the parts of the towing apparatus that were still attached to the car frame. We wanted them to help determine the cause of the accident. In fact, that faceplate and its attaching arms are what failed, not the car. Anyway, they said they could do it, but the guys had already left for lunch. So we went to lunch also.
When they did start working on removal, it was VERY difficult. The three bolts on each side are designed to never come off. They had to use all kinds of power equipment, including a saw, to finally get the first piece off. It had taken at least a half an hour and we knew that this was the side that failed. We decided not to have the second piece removed.
This picture shows the towing faceplate (the long square pole-like part) and the connecting section that had broken in two. The guys at the impound lot said that it was obviously weakened for some time as there was already corrosion/rust on it.
On Friday, we went car shopping. As it happens, Julian had started looking at cars, thinking that we would possibly want something different within the next year or so. That meant that he had a bit of a start on the narrowing-it-down process. We left the house planning to take a look at the Ford Edge, Ford Escape, and Chevy Equinox. We did look at them all before the day was done, but the Escape won us over. It had all the things we were wanting and a lot more. Here's our new 2010 Ford Escape:
The car in the background is the rental car we picked up on Tuesday. It's tough to be a one-car family and lose your one car!
On Saturday morning we listened to our voice-mails from Friday evening, when we had gone to a friend's for dinner. The first was from our friend who also has a Vue and a Blue Ox towing system just like ours was. He's in a campground with several others who tow a Vue with Blue Ox. Everyone has serious concerns, so Larry called Blue Ox and explained our "adventure" and his concerns. They were VERY receptive and wanted our phone number, which he gave to them.
The second voice mail was from Blue Ox. They told us they were very concerned and wanted to get as much information as possible regarding the breakage so they could do what was necessary to help us out. So we expect a call back from them on Monday. We'll have to wait and see what happens, but it looks like we may have some recourse with them.
Later, we took the new car and the broken tow bar to a local RV shop. The plan was to see if and when they could get our new car fitted with the required hardware to allow it to be towed. Jim, who said he'd worked with metal forever, stated the problem was caused by "metal fatigue" in his opinion. We all decided to wait until Blue Ox has their say on Monday and then go from there.
So, again, the weekend has us "on hold". The new car has SYNC, so I've been getting that set up for hands free telephone calls and getting that and the MP3 player voice activated. It's WAY cool!
We intend to go to NC as soon as we can get the towing part handled. If we can leave by next Saturday, that will be super - and get us back on track. Like everything right now, though, that's all up in the air.
1 comment:
You have a lovely new car. We bought a 2009 Escape, and love it -- even for us old nuns. I hope it all works out for you soon.
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