Body Revival

About a month ago Sara and I decided to take the collision insurance off our 1997 Mazda. According to those who know much better than I, the engine ought still to give us another 80,000 miles. But the car's value has depreciated enough that it's no longer worth the body work. So we had made the decision, but Sara had not yet called the insurance company. Thank God.

'Cause the next week someone hit the Mazda in the post office parking lot.

(And then he drove away. Let me take a moment of personal privilege and say that I think leaving the scene of an accident is perhaps one of the most heinous "minor" sins in human life. I try not to dwell on it anymore, and imagine that the guy with the trailer hitch who backed into our hood was so high up in his pickup that he didn't even know what happened. But it still peeves me.)

Here's what I found when I came out from dropping off my mail:

Our insurance company wanted to total the car, but gave us a choice. And we wrestled with it for about a week. Do we pay almost what the car is worth to get the hood fixed, and pray to get that 80,000 miles before it's hit again? Or do we go through the hassle of buying another vehicle?

It's amazing to me, by the way, that damaging one part of a vehicle (that still runs just fine) can make it worthy of the scrap heap. Sick and twisted, I tell you. Sick and twisted.

Thanks to the services of Hilltop Auto Repair, whose owner does high quality work at a reasonable price, we were presented with a way to keep the ol' Mazda. Here's the car after Dave replaced and repainted the hood:

If you look closely at the before and after photos, you'll notice that our headlights are clear of the moisture they had before. Thanks, Dave, for the TLC you gave to our Mazda!

And thanks for replacing some of our old plastic grille with chrome!

~emrys