Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Independence Day: taking a turn for the worst

Independence Day started off well enough: worked (who says no to time and a half?!), took a good nap, picked the boy up from work and headed to Fiesta Island for festivities.









Fiesta Island is big and it was crowded, but since I knew the whereabouts of where SeaWorld's fireworks take place we luckily got to sit right under them, on the edge of the water. The show was great and we managed to see 4 other shows from where we were sitting!





As we were walking back to the car we noticed a fight happening. Since this is a large island with only a one way lane of traffic there were no police around. The fight turned into a full on brawl including a bunch of people and weapons. Innocent bystanders were in their cars inching into the line of other backed up traffic trying to get out, honking repeatedly and calling 911.

Unfortunately my car was in the line of fire and hit with two large rocks. The first hit shattered my driver side mirror and as I turned around to see how close they were to my vehicle another hit the top of my car. I saw who threw it and as they jumped into their car to speed off on the dirt shoulder, I grabbed the plate number. 911 was flooding with calls, but eventually I gave my statement over the phone along with the plate number. Luckily the cops got word and nabbed the car before they could get off the island. An hour later, we finally reached the end of the island where the police were. A jeep with a busted back window was also in the vicinity of the accident and waiting. The cop took our statements and information again, made us identify the person who did it (scary!) and proceeded to tell us that since the rocks were thrown from the individual and not physically hit with the car that their insurance would not cover the damage.

I have the bare minimum of insurance so it looks like I'll be paying for this out of pocket. My only option thereafter is to take them to small claims court, which I'm not entirely sure is worth it. It amazes me that someone could do something like this, get caught and leave scot-free. 'MERICA!

This is what freedom looks like:





Has anyone ever changed the complete side mirror on a vehicle? If so, I would appreciate any input.

14 comments:

  1. Ugh. That's awful. We have had a series of violent muggins in my neighborhood--which is regarded as "safe"--recently. It makes you wonder what the world is coming to...

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  2. i looove your tats! so badass x

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  3. Doug did, on his ex's vw golf. he bought the mirror aftermarket and installed it himself. he said it's not super easy to do, but it's possible and if you need help, just let us know. sorry that happened, it got crazy in OB too, but there were cops everywhere.

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  4. I'm so sorry that happened to you guys. And I just love how the person that did it has no repercussions.. gotta love how the law works sometimes, huh?

    In my old apartment on a college campus we had to parallel park out on the street and things were *always* happening to the cars by drunk college kids. My side mirror got broken off one night but I just never put one back on. Haha. Maybe there's a YouTube video showing how to reattach one?

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  5. Carly Anne, right? My mirror and roof got damaged because someone called someone else the N word. Absurd! Be careful walking around your neighborhood :-/

    Beca, thanks! I'll keep it in mind :)

    Joanna, thanks girl, I hope I figure it out soon too, driving to and frpm work yesterday was a nightmare. So scary! I didn't realize just how much I relied on that mirror.

    Anastasia, luckily my grandfather got me a book a while back that tells you how to install/take apart everything on my VW. I've been reading all about it and though it seems difficult, I'm going to try to replace it myself... That sucks about your college, I can imagine that happening though. Why can't people control themselves when they drink?! Ugh.

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  6. it is relatively easy to fix. just buy the mirror off ebay and ask if they can expedite the shipping/or buy the mirror off any used car parts vendor online. make sure it is for the make of your car. i've had it happen before and it's easy, just reapply with a strong adhesive. it could have been a lot worse -- my car got broken into/windows smashed two months ago. good luck.

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  7. a stupid ex boyfriend of mine went downtown on my car and broke BOTH mirrors off of my car, so i feel your pain.

    i watched the body shop attach them and it is easy to attach em, but what about the mirror adjusting mechanism thingy? there are cables that come out of the side of your car into the back of the mirror.

    that part sounds more complicated.
    =(
    good luck!

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  8. Ew that's SO annoying! I'm sorry you have to deal with that bullshit. My mom's car mirror was hit by someone in our neighborhood and no one confessed. I believe she only had to pay about $200 to get it repaired. I hope that helps!

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  9. I love the photos! 4th of July is one of my favorite event.

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  10. Aww Ainsley, I'm so sorry :( that's so horrible. Especially because it looks like it was such a great day. I can't believe the guy who did it doesn't have to pay for it at all. wtf.

    ps - I freaking missed your blog. I haven't been blogging much lately/reading blogs. I've been catching up on yours today!!

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  11. i love your pictures of the fireworks!

    so sorry to here what happened to your car.
    :(

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  12. Wow - they really did whack your car hard! I can't even imagine the size of the rock they must've thrown [I guess in my head I'd assumed small stones.]

    It is sick that the person who damaged your car wasn't held accountable. You're right though - it probably is best to fix it yourself and avoid the hassle and fees of small claims court. It's too bad. At least the fireworks were really pretty though.

    Hope all is easily resolved!

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  13. Janet, ugh, that sucks. I don't understand why people have to be so vindictive toward each other. What's done is done, get over it! I'm sorry that you had to go through that... And it isn't about replacing the mirror that I'm worried about, as it is that I had to take the whole side panel of my car off because there is a speaker in the way of taking my mirror out and I have to take that off first :-/ I'm going to try to fix it tomorrow, wish me luck!

    Vanessa, I paid almost $60 for a new mirror, I'm just going to try to install it myself... we'll see how it goes!

    Jihee, I've missed you too! Come back soon my dear...

    Jessica, Thanks! The first photo was taken with Jon's Canon (I love that you can see the reflection of the fireworks in the water) and the second one was just with my iphone.

    Caroline, The rock was bigger than my fist. If there wasn;t numerous rocks flying around and my adrenaline wasn't running so high, I would have grabbed the rock because it was right next to my car with all the pieces of my mirror when all was said and done.

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