Need a new vehicle (probably).....

Well, some idiot pulled a left in front of me this morning on my way to our daughter's First Communion lunch at a great restaraunt as I was driving through an intersection. It was one of those things where he turned in front of me so close that there was no time to react except for standing on the brakes. I hit him right at his right front wheel and nearly rolled him. I thought his back wheel was gonna come through the windshield. He apparently was a genius. He put his seatbelt on AFTER the crash where he took out his rearview mirror with his head....and his passenger ran away from the accident. He was driving an older Pathfinder. Glad I was driving my '05 Durango, and not my Impala. Wife and I spent most of the day in the ER and missed our daughter's party. Thankfully we are ok, though a it banged up, and both of my girls are just fine. I think the truck is totaled, but should find out in a day or so. I might be in the market for a replacement. My sister is selling her 99 4Runner that's in great condition, and she's owned it since it was new. Might be a reasonable way to go until we figure out what to get to replace the Dodge. I loved it, but it was a bit big for everyday use and a bit of a gas hog. I'm 6'2" and 250#, so something small is out of the question. Need something for hauling family camping gear, canoe, etc. but don;t want something huge. Any suggestions?

Sorry to hear that! So glad to hear that everyone's okay.

A friend of mine has a '97 4Runner that's been through hell and back and has been great...just keeps running. I wouldn't hesitate.

Glad to hear that you're ok. Its a bummer, but idiot drivers happen.

I'd say go for the 4-Runner, I have great faith in Toyotas despite all the recent hype.

Sorry to hear about your accident but glad that everyone is ok. I've actually been looking for a nice 99'-00' 4Runner (preferably a limited but I'm not all that picky). They're great trucks and will really run forever if you take care of them. That definitely would not be a bad choice for you as a temp or even a permanent vehicle, and heck, if you decided it wasn't what you wanted you could always let me know as I'd be interested.

I don't have any vehicle suggestions for you, but the same thing happened to me ~7 months ago. Brand new Tacoma was totalled and my foot was broken in 7 places because some dumb 17 year old on her way to high school turned left right in front of me.

Got a new truck and my foot is mostly healed, but I get pains now and then. I'd recommend getting an attorney. (I did.) The insurance companies will only pay the bare minimum.

I was wondering about the attorney thing. We didn't have any serious injuries, and I don't want to seem like a gold digger, but this guy took a day away from my family that we won't get back. The fact that the passenger ran from the scene tells me that there was something fishy going on in his vehicle...Also sucks on the money end for my Dodge. She was in great shape, and I had just done tires and front brakes - there was over $1000 in those things alone.

My sister's 4Runner is a '99 and she's asking $3500 for it. Way below book value, and I know that she's done all the maintenance on it since it was new. It's been bashed a few times but always repaired by a great shop that really takes care of her. My dad is a financial planner and the shop owner is one of his customers. I also have a buddy that has a similar 4Runner and does a lot of his own work, so he's already versed in break jobs, etc. Seems like a no brainer for the time being. To top it off, my folks are driving from NY to Boston to visit her this week and could deliver it to my door.

Sounds like an excellent solution. I almost T-boned a car last week. Three lanes in my direction. I'm in the left lane. Idiot makes a left turn from the middle lane, right in front of me! Very lucky it was in a 25 zone and I was already braking for a red light. ABS tested sat.

RIBeer said:

I was wondering about the attorney thing. We didn't have any serious injuries, and I don't want to seem like a gold digger, but this guy took a day away from my family that we won't get back. The fact that the passenger ran from the scene tells me that there was something fishy going on in his vehicle...Also sucks on the money end for my Dodge. She was in great shape, and I had just done tires and front brakes - there was over $1000 in those things alone.

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You're not being a gold digger by getting an attorney. I felt the same way when I was deciding on getting mine. It's just against my nature because I know everyone makes mistakes. But I felt better about it when I came to know that their insurance company would pay for everything... the other driver wouldn't pay personally, except maybe higher insurance premiums.

My situation sounds a bit worse than yours with my injuries and family situation (wife was 3 weeks from having our first baby), but you should be compensated for EVERYTHING that you lost since it was no fault of your own. And you could have injuries that come back to haunt you later in life (e.g., whiplash/back problems). Anyway, it would be worth at least talking to an attorney. Most accident attorneys work on contingency and take 1/3 of the compensation, which doesn't include medical costs and the replacement of material items such as your vehicle and any damaged personal effects. At this point, without an attorney, it sounds like you'll only only get your medical bills and vehicle paid for.