What hail hath wrought

wdb · #1 06-23-2014, 04:35 PM

I recently took my happy little Honda Fit to the dealer, for the very first time in its entire life since new, to have them do some service. The car was nearing its first 'birthday' (100K miles). There are things due at that point such as valve adjustment (no really, the car has solid cam followers), fresh fluids, and a couple of recalls, all of which added up to enough reason for me to let the dealer work on the car. Basically I was getting it all ready for its second 100,000 miles.

The dealer I took the car to was Piazza Honda of Reading. The day I took it to the shop was May 22, 2014. On that day a hailstorm went through Reading and demolished every car on that dealer's lot, including mine. The pictures do not do justice to the damage. Every panel was dented at least a half dozen times, most of them much more. The windshield was shattered. The metal trim was smashed. The dents were big and deep, way too much for PDR; panels would have to be repaired or replaced. It looked like a fastball pitcher had used the car for target practice.

The insurance adjuster was only partway through the write-up when the "ENOUGH!" light lit up on his screen and the car was totaled. We negotiated on a final figure, including the fact that I had just had $700 worth of services performed, and they cut me a check.

And I bought this. 2012, v6, 4wd. Silver with gray interior. A plain jane as Tacos go; tow package and not much else. But it's my first ever pickup truck and I have to say it puts a smile on my face. Maybe not as much as the Fit did - that car was a full hoot to drive on back roads, nimble and tossable and eager to please - but, well, it's a truck.

bwb3 · #2 06-23-2014, 05:21 PM

I am sorry for your loss but, with all due respect, your driving experience and utility have just gone up several notches. I am sure the reliability level is also equal or better.
Congrats.
I hope we will never have hail like that. I wouldn't know how to handle it.

Gene

Crazy_pilot · #3 06-23-2014, 08:09 PM

Ouch... We had a hail storm roll through my home town a few years back. Fortunately my neighbourhood was out of it's path, but my coworker's brand new Legacy wagon took a beating. I think the bill came out to $7500 or so. Fortunately it was worth the repair and he drives cars into the ground and doesn't care about resale.

Enjoy the Taco! I was seriously considering one for a while but just wouldn't put it to good enough use. They're basically indestructible: See Top Gear's "To Kill a Toyota".

wdb · #4 06-24-2014, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwb3

I am sorry for your loss but, with all due respect, your driving experience and utility have just gone up several notches. I am sure the reliability level is also equal or better.
Congrats.
I hope we will never have hail like that. I wouldn't know how to handle it.

Gene

Thanks. The Fit was an awful lot of fun to drive but I did have to mod the heck out of it to make it tolerable for my long commute. The truck is a completely different sort of experience; less 'fun' but much more relaxing, quieter. The Fit was also dead reliable; the only thing I ever did was oil and brakes, wash out the engine air filter (aFe dry, water washable filter), and replace the cabin air filter. If the truck treats me as well I'll be thrilled. And then there is the small matter of going from ~40MPG to ~20MPG. Fortunately I do not put the miles on like I used to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy_pilot

Ouch... We had a hail storm roll through my home town a few years back. Fortunately my neighbourhood was out of it's path, but my coworker's brand new Legacy wagon took a beating. I think the bill came out to $7500 or so. Fortunately it was worth the repair and he drives cars into the ground and doesn't care about resale.

Enjoy the Taco! I was seriously considering one for a while but just wouldn't put it to good enough use. They're basically indestructible: See Top Gear's "To Kill a Toyota".

Seen it - twice

It didn't hurt that it was a diesel. If you're not in a hurry, Ford is rumored to be coming out with a new Ranger soon that will have a diesel option. Last new Ranger was 2011, and the upcoming F150 body+bed is all aluminum, so people are anxious to see what Ford might come up with.

I'm honestly not sure how much I'll actually use the truck as a truck, versus how much it will just drive me places. But at least now when I need a truck I won't have to improvise!

subeman90 · #5 06-25-2014, 04:23 AM

my wife's uncle lost his car in that same hail storm wdb. He had a fairly new Ford of some sort. I also know of a crv that had 3500 in dents and a broken windshield. (I'm so glad my cars were in the garage and I was thousands of miles away when the storm came)