Yesterday’s snow storm, which doubled down this morning with several hours of freezing rain, is a blessing for the region’s auto body shops. Snow and ice cause wrecks. Ironically, my 1999 Toyota Tacoma is at Bremerton’s Trew Auto Body this week for repair from a non-snow-related accident. I’m in no hurry to get it back. Trew can put some of the storm’s victims ahead of it as far as I’m concerned.
The accident occurred a couple of weeks ago in Belfair in the QFC parking lot. The other driver was at fault as she backed into me. At first glance it looked like a classic fender bender—some scrapes on my front bumper and a crease in the fender above the front tire on the driver’s side. Her insurance company’s adjustor found a bit more damage though and estimated the job at $800. As part of the coverage, they are paying for a rental car while my truck is being fixed.
Last Monday I dropped my truck off at Trew and picked up the rental, a 2011 Dodge Caliber. (The Caliber looks like a small crossover SUV, but it’s classified as an entry-level compact four-door hatchback. Still it has a lot of standard features that I wish were in my 13-year-old truck. Time for new one?) I ran a few errands around town in the Caliber and parked it in my garage on Tuesday night. It’s been there ever since as I’m snowed in—big time.
I deliberately didn’t park it at the top of my hill because I don’t want to be tempted to drive it before the roads are reasonably clear. When the storm hit yesterday, Friday looked like a safe bet for that. Now I’m thinking Saturday at the earliest. Meanwhile there are 6 inches of snow on my driveway. Without chains even a front-wheel-drive car like the Caliber isn’t going to make it up the hill until there is some major melting.
So I’m hoping Trew doesn’t call me anytime soon to say my truck is ready. The insurance company stops paying for the rental as soon as the repair job is done. Trew is closed on weekends. If I don’t hear from them by tomorrow, I should be able to keep the rental at no cost until Monday. By then our January weather will be back to normal—cold, wet, and dark, but no snow, at least at sea level. Besides, I don’t want to tempt karma by driving my newly repaired truck in the snow.
Mud Bay Blog 
Seems to be taking a long time. Maybe you should call before they call you on Friday and tell them you can’t get there until Monday but you are just wondering what the status is. Maybe they’ll read your Blog because they troll for their name.