Just a little review of the damage....
I know I should be on my knees thanking God that we were unhurt….but anyone who’s been
Hmmm...Might be kind of close *drip sarcasm here*
in an accident knows that it generates a bunch of inconvenience at best. It took our carrier eleven business days to settle a total loss on a vehicle. Could someone please explain that to me? I looked at Kelley Blue Book’s website, looked at the damage on our car and even I could tell is was well over $2,500. Just to prove I’m no rocket scientist, let’s review the damage, shall we? This is a front wheel drive vehicle and by the time it made it to the towing yard that left front wheel had been rotated 90 degrees. Here’s what it looked like on the the inside of the wheel well. OK, so much for rocket science. We worked our butts off and found a car last weekend we could afford once the insurance company settled.
This is where the wheel was shorn off
The seller kindly waited for us to be paid and I got someone to drive me the 70 plus miles to go get it yesterday afternoon.
Since I had to go into Colorado Springs today anyway to see the chiropractor and meet with the drunk driver’s claims adjuster (both of which would have been unnecessary in the absence of an accident) I thought I’d stop by the DMV and pay the sales tax and get it registered. I had the title and the bill of sale with me in the car. I was maybe two miles into the Colorado Springs city limits when one of their finest pulled me over for having “no visible evidence of registration.” I told him my plan: going to the doctor, meeting with the adjuster and stopping by DMV. I explained that we had been hit by a drunk driver three weeks ago and that this was the replacement vehicle. I showed him the title, the bill of sale, my license and proof of insurance, all to no avail. He informed me that he was letting me off easy as there were many offenses involved with a lack of license plates and he was only citing me for one of them (sorry, didn’t bother to ask what the others were but I got the impression he could have “thrown the book at me”), and that it was illegal to drive an unregistered vehicle anywhere but home. I clarified that it was illegal to drive it straight from where you bought it to the DMV. So anyone buying a used car from a private party in the state of Colorado can consider this post a public service. Now you know. I was told by the employee at the DMV that technically a person is supposed to come in with the seller and do all the signing together, in person, at the DMV. Right.
Anyway, I have a court date on April 9th and I intend to be there. I’m sure teaching an errant citizen like me a lesson has made it so the residents of Colorado Springs will sleep better tonight.
Here’s the new car. Thomas is thrilled. It’s an upgraded minivan: towing capacity and four-wheel drive. And license plates.
The "new" Tahoe
UPDATE: I went to court on April 9th, armed to the gills to argue my case. I presented myself to the nice lady at the desk who, when she looked up my case, simply said, “Just bring me your registration and I’ll dismiss this for you.” It was rather anti-climactic not to be able to tell the whole awful story to the DA’s office but we’re a hundred dollars richer and it took less than five minutes.
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The City Girl Farmer 
Hey Rachel,
I wonder if they were so harsh with the driver who got you into this mess in the first place! Are they going to “throw the book” at him?
Congratulations on getting your license plates on the first visit. We only buy used vehicles, and we have yet to be so lucky. Would like you to teach us the trick to getting it right the first time? 😉
Nice car!!!
Comment by Fran January 15, 2009 @ 10:10 pmI thought about that, too. I guess it’s a lot easier to man a speed trap than to stop crime.
As far as the visit to the DMV, I about passed out from shock. I went to the one near Peterson AFB, pulled my ticket and to my surprise had to wait behind only six people! My last visit was 1 1/2 hours and unsuccessful, so I had to come back and wait again. We were getting a permit for Juliana. That was when I discovered Colorado doesn’t accept California birth certificates unless they come from the county clerk. So the ones I have for my kids are useless as far as Colorado is concerned.
The trick for the DMV? Take the day off work, bring a good book and/or some knitting, some food and water, every conceivable official document in your safe deposit box (you never know!)and settle in until they call your number. Maybe if they can cite more criminals like me, they’ll be able to hire more people to actually SERVE the taxpayer.
Comment by littletoe January 16, 2009 @ 8:33 amYour wit is so appropriate for these sorts of situations. Hello? anyone with common sense out there?? I would love to be a mouse in the corner when you give that court room a piece of you mind. I got pulled over in a speed trap once, and I was NOT speeding. The office was rude and condescending when I questioned him on my supposed speeding (he had 7 people pulled over in front of me and I think they were just waving everyone over, revenue you know) and I told him that I did not appreciate being treated like a criminal. hhmm, maybe not such a good idea. I actually won in court, just so you know that it can be done. You go girl!
Comment by Barb January 18, 2009 @ 2:28 pmWe got your letter and googleearthed your farm. How big is it? How far away are you from the nearest town? Do you have running watre(ha)?
Comment by Tim February 1, 2009 @ 12:38 pmI like this blog thing-i have never seen this kind of thing before. Kim will enjoy the wrecked car pictures. The trama does go away eventually, sooner than you think. one day you do something you have not been able to do in a while, and you realize you are feeling better. Your farm looks vey ideallic. Maybe we will ship children to you someday. Maybe we will ship ourselves instead!
Hi Tim,
Thanks for visiting! We have 40 acres and we’re about 10 miles away from the nearest town—2 gas stations, no McDonald’s. 🙂 Yes, we have running water but when the well pump went out we were preparing to flush with water from the horse’s trough.
Thanks for the encouragement about the accident.
The farm is pretty idyllic from my point of view but I hear it’s not for everybody. I really love it though and thank God for every day I can spend out here.
You know you are welcome (as are your children) whenever you’d like to visit.
Comment by Rachel February 2, 2009 @ 10:54 amdid you give up on blogging? I hope not! You write so well, I see where your daughter gets it from, the desire to write. 🙂
Comment by Barb March 12, 2009 @ 10:02 am