We are on week 8 since my car got in an accident. Yup, the first week and a half I just drove my sad damaged car. But, after that it was time to get into a rental car. So, what is life like in a rental car for that long? 
For about six weeks I was driving a Nissan Rogue. At first I wasn't a fan. The engine and transmission were a little less than great. I always felt the car was looking for the right gear and never finding it. I also thought the design of the car wasn't the nicest. The interior was also meh. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't great. The one thing that annoyed me was all the circular buttons. The heat, radio and start button were all in the same area and they were all circles of varying size. But, the more I drove the car I learned to appreciate it a bit. The tech features were nice. It had the swipe your foot and the hatch opens like magic. The radio stayed on when the car was off which my car doesn't do for very long. Overall however I'm not trading my car for a Nissan Rogue.
After about six weeks I got myself a Hyundai Elantra.  I hadn't been in a Hyundai in 15 maybe 20 years since I rented one in Atlanta for my cousin's wedding. Wow, they make a much nicer car now. The engine and transmission are fun. It isn't very fast from a start even in sport mode. But, it shifts at the right times and you can rev the rpm's a little bit in this car. The fuel economy is really good. I had it for two weeks and didn't even use a tank of gas. Yes, it is smaller than the Nissan. But, I like the ride. I like the technology in this car. It has lane assist. Meh, kinda not the most useful thing. It does have auto braking if you don't start slowing down it will. That's kinda fun. The backup camera is good and clear. The styling is nice. Overall minus the less than exciting interior I like this car. It's an adjustment crawling into a low car but I've always liked smaller cars.
Since I got the rental car I have just been covering the car under my auto insurance. That means I am not paying extra to the rental company's auto insurance. Now, not everyone has that option. There are several car insurance companies that will not cover you in a rental car. Make sure before you get the rental you ask your company if they cover you in the rental car. Two things I always like to remind people are that if you wreck the rental car you will have to pay your deductible. The other thing to know is that your insurance will not pay the rental car companies "loss of use". That means if they can't rent the car out the company can bill you for the amount of time it is in the shop and they can bill you depreciation on the value of the car if it is damaged. If you truly don't want to be out of pocket for an accident buy the rental car insurance.  
Now are either of my rentals better than my car. No, I really like my car. I like how it drives the styling and the comfort. But, my take away was that if my daughter ever starts driving, she's almost 17 now that the Hyundai would be a nice first car. Not a new one, but if I could find a nice used one sign me up. If you need a quote for some auto insurance give me a call at 951-395-0754!

Hopefully you all survived Valentine's Day without any major drama. Lord, talk about a day where we are set up to fail. All the pressure to do something on one day. I did see some "lucky" people in hot air balloons this morning. Actually, I've never seen so many in the sky at the same time. I'm assuming those were some residual weekend vacationers. I opted to get my kids some heart shaped donuts and call it a day.  The restaurant situation was scary on Friday. Combine a regular Friday night with this day and it made for long waits and full restaurants. I hope you didn't wait too long to make a reservation. Otherwise that's a tough conversation to have with your partner. 
The American Heart Association has chosen February to make the month heart awareness month. I'm imagining because it piggybacks on Valentine's Day.  Some important statistics to be aware of from their website included heart disease is the number one killer of women. That surpasses all cancers combined. That's a huge statistic. Things that you can do to help prevent a problem include: 
G: GET YOUR NUMBERS; Ask your doctor to check your blood pressure and cholesterol.
O: OWN YOUR LIFESTYLE: Stop smoking, lose weight, exercise, and eat healthy.
It’s up to you. No one can do it for you.
R: REALIZE YOUR RISK: We think it won’t happen to us, but heart disease kills one of three women.
E: EDUCATE YOUR FAMILY; Make healthy food choices for you and your family.
Teach your kids the importance of staying active.
D: DON’T BE SILENT: Tell every woman you know that heart disease is our No. 1 killer.
https://newsroom.heart.org/events/february-2020-american-heart-month-and-go-red-for-women

Along with staying healthy and being proactive you should also look into life insurance. It's a great time to review your current life insurance policies. And if you don't have any life insurance it is a great time to get a policy. There are so many options and ways to fit it into your budget. Call today to get your insurance quote. 951-395-0754

Teenagers are an interesting species. They aren't quite human and they aren't quite animals, they seem to fall somewhere into a grey zone between the two. Eventually, most turn into humans. Some sadly devolve into other unworldly creatures. In my mind it would be nice to have a quiet polite teen that is only interested in books and making sure they don't disappoint mom and dad? 
Well, that's not my teenager. I have a teenage daughter that always wants to have friends over and throw an occasional party. It seems like I am always hosting events, where are all the other parents willing to take a hit? Why am I always being asked to host these things? Am I the only sucker willing to have twenty rabid teenage kids to my house?
My 16 year old daughter really enjoys hosting parties. They run from a classy dinner party for Halloween where we served up black pasta, spider pizza and mummy hot dogs. The other extreme was a pretty loud dance party with lots of questionable music.
I got a little reprieve from the host duties this past weekend. It was the neighbors turn to host. Their son was turning 16 and of course my daughter was in charge of helping to set up and invite the girls. As I walked the dog past the party I could tell my daughter was the DJ. Uhm, her music is not exactly something that makes a parent proud. But, as I walked farther I thought about all the inherent risks we homeowners take when our teens invite people over. My neighbor put in a pool last year. Just adding a pool increases your home insurance liability risks. Then add 20 teenagers and all of a sudden your liability risks go up even further. I'd like to think that we all have good kids and we do... at least as far as I know. Trouble is mitigated by the type of kids that come into the home. Even with all the good kids inevitably a few bad ones do sneak in. When that happens it is up to the parents to make sure that things don't get out of control. You don't want to put yourself in a situation where you have a liability claim against you.
You do have home insurance to protect against liability claims. But, it is your duty as a home insurance policy holder to do what you can to keep things safe. In my case if I am hosting minors you can be sure I will not be serving alcohol. Don't be that "cool" parent because that can get you in a lot of trouble legally and if someone was to get injured in a fight on your property you could also be sued. Be your kids police.
Every year you should review your policy limits. Make sure they are up to date so when your teenager talks you into having her friends over you know that you are protected if anything were to go wrong. Call today to get a quote and to review your home insurance limits. 951-395-0754
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Have you ever spent any extended time away from your car? Most of us may spend a week or two away on a trip. Then waiting for you at the airport you find your car buddy. Well, it's been just about a month since I've seen my car. And guess what? I miss it. What does this mean? Do I have feeling, dare I say an attachment to my car? Or do I just not like my rental that much?
Let's not get carried away here. Yes, I do miss my car. Yes, spending time with this rental car has made me appreciate my car even more. I also get a little sad when I pass the same make and model of my car that is in the shop. Anyone have the number for an auto therapist?
Hopefully, this week I will finally get my car back. The estimated return date is on the sixth. I can't wait to see my car's smiling grill. I wonder if it misses me too? I'm not expecting a welcome like I get from my dog. But, it will be nice to see my car's shiny exterior and to wrap my hands around the heated steering wheel again. Maybe it will give me a cute beep from it's horn when I see it. That would be a nice gesture.
The claims process has been slow. I don't know if the shop I took it to is just busy. Or, if the approval process has been slow. Or if getting parts took awhile. Regardless, it should be over soon. 
Here's what I've learned so far during this claim. First, having a car accident stinks. Second, it will take longer to get your car back than you think it will. Third, it will be much more expensive to fix than you would imagine.
When I brought the car in just about a month ago you could see the damage. Mostly, because a good portion of the bumper had been removed by the car that hit me.  To my untrained eye I just needed a metal part welded that was bent down. Then slap another bumper on paint it and done. Off you go in a week. Uhm, yeah that's not how it's gone.
It took awhile to get the estimate for the repair. What I thought would take a day took a week. Then when the estimate came in it was so high, over 11,000 dollars the body shop had to run a valuation of my car. Just to make sure it didn't exceed the amount they would "total" the car out. After that was done the insurance company approved doing the repairs. Then they had to order the parts. If there is even a scratch on a perfectly usable part the insurance company is going to replace the part, not fix it. My parts total was over 9,000 dollars. That's a lot more than a bumper. 
Once the parts were in my car needed to get put on the list to get repaired. I needed a mechanic to disconnect the electronics. Then the body guy could start taking off the broken parts. They had to cradle my engine (I hope they sang a lullaby while this was happening) so that they engine mount could be replaced. Then they had to bolt everything back together. Apparently, I'm at the paint stage. 
This should be the home stretch for the car repair. It's been a long journey and if I was paying for the rental car or for the repair I could see getting frustrated. I'm just trying to be patient and hopefully, when I get my car back it will be as good as new.
​If you have any questions about your repair process you can always call your claims department. If you need a quote for some insurance give me a call at 951-395-0754