I was driving to work (late) yesterday and some guy bumped me from behind with his car. It was hard enough to notice but not severe enough to call the police, etc. I hopped out of my car while he sat in his literally pulling his hair like some sort of crack addict.I looked at my bumper, no dents, just one scratch that measures about 2 inches in length…hardly noticeable. BUT, I notice it, AND it wasn’t there before he hit me AND I want it fixed.
As I looked at the scratch, the perpetrator stayed in his car, pulling his hair and showed no indication of taking official responsibility for it. He leaned out of his window and said “im so sorry. Glad there’s no damage”. Then he said that he was having a really bad day, there was some incoherent babble about a death, etc. The entire time im thinking to myself, but there is damage, there’s a scratch.
Before I go further, I must say something in my defense. All 2005 E-Class Mercedes were still made in Stuttgart. They aren’t the plasticy, Chrystler USA built lower end C-Class models that have interchangeable snap on/off parts. It’s much more expensive to have repairs done on my model and yes even scratches can cost you $1000 to fix.
So I was at this point where I had to make a decision. Do I pull this guy out of his car and get his insurance details over a small scratch at the risk of sounding like some sort of neurotic OCD junkie, or do I just wave at him and say “no problem” and go….So I had to decide if I become the Asshole?
I decided that I wasn’t dressed well enough for the Asshole part and just let it go. Now I have a small scratch on my bumper that no one can see unless I point it out. BUT I know its there and im going to get it fixed. “Gertie” deserves it. She’s been good to me these last 7 months.
2 comments:
If he were in the fault, and I can think of no case in which a rear-end collision is not the fault of the follower, then you should have gotten his insurance information. Now you are stuck with getting it repaired on your dollar, because just because you did not want to be an A-hole, you are still OCD enough to be on pins and needles until it is fixed...which, by the way, I would handle with one of those little bottles of touch-up paint from my friendly local auto supply store, $10.00 max.
I'm proud of you that you did not get his insurance card, go to a Chiropracter with "Whip lash", don a cervical collar, and take him to court. Now that would be an A-hole thing to do.
If someone hit my car it would be a scene in the middle of the street, no matter how insignificant the damage.
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