Darn drunk drivers

[piller]

Well, I do not get to see my car get to 400,000 miles. Drunk driver in a pickup hit me and sped off. Insurance says the car was worth $200. He crossed 4 lanes to do it, and I was boxed in.

[GunnyMack]

I hope you are unscathed!
Shame about the 400k mark.
Let's hope the police look around at the body shops and catch that guy and throw the book at him!

I knew a guy that totaled his truck while drunk. Judge pulled his license for 6 months. Next day the guy goes and buys another truck, few months later he totals the second truck, buys a third truck and totals that one all while on the revoked list. Finally the judge revoked him for life.

[200yearstoolate]

The boss and I were stopped behind a vehicle trying to turn left on a busy 2 lane road, and 3 people passed us both using the right shoulder. No manners, no sense, not much of nothing in their heads. I asked the wife when was the last time she saw a car pulled over and getting a ticket for ANYTHING, and neither of us could remember seeing that in recent memory. We have some of the highest insurance rates in the country and that is certainly a contributing factor. People bitch about the cops and say they need to be solving crimes and saving lives but if tossing drunk drivers in jail isn't saving lives, then what is? Sadly even when they do the courts let them go, but that is another rant entirely.

Sorry for the loss of your rig and I have been there before

[Walt]

Pretty good $200 car that can make it to almost 400,000 miles. Insurance companies are abominations, almost as bad as drunk drivers.

What kind of car did you have?

[AJMD429]

.
I remember a Pharmacy tech that worked with me many years ago when I was still in Pharmacy school, and he’d love to talk about how loopy he would get, and he would just barely make it home, sometimes parking his car up on the sidewalk or trying to go in the wrong apartment or whatever. He said one time he remembers hitting a mailbox and running over it but the next morning when he drove down the street he couldn’t figure out which one it was because there were two or three knocked over and he was pretty sure he only knocked over one. Fortunately, for him, he had a buddy who Would always unbend his bumper or do whatever was needed. He was also very anti-gun.

So one day I came to work and got to talking about how I had gone out to celebrate Fourth of July and was shooting up in the air, but I had had so many beers I couldn’t really tell what direction I was shooting and I think I shot a couple windows out of somebody’s apartment.

He got on his high horse and told me how that was completely dangerous and irresponsible, and somebody could’ve been killed and that was just another example of why people shouldn’t even be allowed to own guns, especially if they were gonna get drunk when in possession of a gun. Most of the other employees saw things more my way than his way so I just let the conversation pause for a minute for dramatic effect and then said “Well, the way you talk, it sounds like you make a good case for why some people shouldn’t own cars…”

[piller]

Pretty good $200 car that can make it to almost 400,000 miles. Insurance companies are abominations, almost as bad as drunk drivers.

What kind of car did you have?

2009 Camry.

[piller]

Darn it, it was at 375,000 miles. It started perfectly. No, I was not injured. I wanted to hit 400,000 miles, and then see where it went.

[Bill in Oregon]

Sorry about your accident, Brian, and glad you are okay. You sure got your money's worth out of that Camry. Dad just loved his.
I remember when the first boxy Toyota Coronas started showing up in the parking lot at the First Christian Church in Tacoma in the mid-1960s. Folks tended to point and snicker a little, as in those days "Made in Japan" could still mean an inferior product. Toyota, Sony and Nikon sure changed that perspective!

[piller]

That car did not owe me a single red cent. Being shook up about it is not helping, but I really did hope to see 400,000 miles. I remember back in the late 60s when my Dad said that you could spit on the roat, a Japanese car could drive over it, and there would be a pile of rust in the owner's driveway 2 days later. Yes, they improved to where I will get another Toyota because I trust the brand.

[samsi]

When you mentioned 400k miles I guessed it was a Toyota. A friend of mine had a Corolla he got in the 80's that was still going strong when he passed away in 2012. I would still see it around town with some kid driving it until recently.

Glad you're okay.

[Walt]

Brian, I've had Toyotas for decades. Before I retired I used to drive 2 wheel drive, standard cab pickups for around 800 miles per week. They worked incredibly well for my needs; the 4 cylinder trucks got 28 to 32 miles per gallon depending where in the state I was working. I ended up with 441,000 miles on one, with the next one I wanted to see just how far it would go and it reached 501,000 before I sold it. My entire family switched to Toyotas and there have been no regrets. They're great vehicles, built with quality and pride.

[Old No7]

Darn it, it was at 375,000 miles. It started perfectly. No, I was not injured. I wanted to hit 400,000 miles, and then see where it went.

First of all -- glad you & yours were not hurt!

My son ran my old 2009 Camry to 385,000 miles -- he said he "wanted a commercial by Toyota" -- and he actually called them; I guess it wasn't that unusual... All we did was change tires, 1 fuel pump, do the brakes, battery, and the exhaust. Never changed the plugs EVER and she ran great (until she didn't...).

Old No7

[Mark in MO]

Wow, so glad you escaped unhurt. I had a 2008 Tacoma 4x4 that I bought new and was arguably the best vehicle I ever owned. Summer of 2024 a semi lost a wheel and tire on the interstate which hit me in the driver's door. According to the patrol the tire exploded on impact, blowing all the windows out of and nearly removing my door. Despite looked like I'd been hit by a load of birdshot and some pretty wicked bruising I thankfully escaped unscathed. Interestingly, I sort of knew the patrolman who responded and despite searching they never found the trucker. He just kept right on going. What hurt was my truck was nearly 17 years old and darn near bulletproof. No issues other than the usual, tires, batteries, servicing, etc. I loved it and had planned to run the wheels off of it. Insurance of course totaled it.

[earlmck]

Glad you're OK Brian.

Dang, if your 09 Camry is only worth 200 dollars I wonder what my 06 Corolla is worth. Probably have to pay somebody to haul it to the junkyard. But goes 7k between oil changes without needing any added and seems to run flawlessly plus it was so loved by my late wife that she got it a special paint job, so has sentimental value to go along with running great.