If I could give you a piece of advice

I would suggest that you check your car insurance's coverage for rentals.

Yes, that is one valuable piece of advice that not many will give. Well, "many" only includes those who have not experienced my recent and enduring predicament.

You see, thanks to the weather as of late, I had a little but nasty car accident. That's right, a car accident. In my new car. That I've only had for 3 months.

And I am slowly and painfully learning a very big lesson, that which I advise you of today.

DO NOT BUY CAR INSURANCE WITHOUT RENTAL COVERAGE. PERIOD. FINITO.

When you have a car accident, and the repair facility learns you have full coverage, they decide that everything is.... well, covered. They take their time in assessing damage. They order parts three days AFTER the insurance guys have cut the check. They DO NOT work on the weekend... heaven forbid something get done on Saturday. And most of all, and don't miss this one, the repair facilities are not used to working with people who do not have rental coverage.

$*&%?!!$%$!?!

That's right, boys and girls. If you have a car accident and need to continue your day to day life, you'll need a rental car. And if you're paying out of pocket for said rental, do not expect the repair facility to know what to do with you. They're used to taking their ever loving time, soaking up the benefits of having cash in hand, while you, who work to have a life and a car and then money to pay for the accident that happened in your car while living your life, are left to pay $16.49 a day plus 10% tax. On top of the ever increasing cost of gas.

Are you picking up on my frustration? Maybe you will NOW heed my advice and be sure that you have rental coverage. Even if it's on the cheap side ($20/day versus $35/day), you'll be much better off than paying out of pocket. Like me. The idiot who chose to live life on the wild side and opt for the less expensive option for full coverage car insurance.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!