Tuesday, September 21, 2010

More evidence...

... of the superiority of bicycles to cars.

The missus bashed the front end of her car last week. She says that as she pulled into a parking space, she made a mental note of an obstacle she might hit as she exited. But then she forgot. (Can you imagine?!!? I can't fault her; I've forgotten about a bike on top of the car and driven into a carport before!)

For one thing - I've never bashed my bike into something I didn't see, unless I was riding at night without a light, in which case I deserved what I got. (Oh - and the carport! Du-uuuh!)

My non-expert assessment is that it would cost $1000 if fixed by a body shop. (So in this day and age, a VERY minor accident!)

I disassembled stuff and determined what was broken. I pounded on the backside of the plastic "bumper replica" and turned the large dent into a tiny dimple. (Sweeet!) I called the salvage yard; they have a similar vehicle if I'm willing to pull the parts. So - I'm hoping I can get away with $200 or less, plus maybe 3 hours of labor. (The parts will travel home via BOB trailer.)

A huge percentage of car parts are strictly cosmetic. By comparison, essentially everything on a bike is functional. Since I'm a "function over form" type of guy... bikes are beautiful!!

3 comments:

Clancy said...

Pretty brave bringing your wife into the arguement. She must not read your blog.

I bent my handlebars the other day and replaced them easily. Cause me not paying attention.

Bikeboy said...

Clancy, I only invoked by bride because I also included the explanation that I'm as prone to a "brain-disconnect mishap" as she is! (But I doubt she reads my BikeNazi rants...)

I visited the salvage yard and retrieved my parts. 20 bucks. (Hauled 'em home on the BOB, as planned.) I still need to get 15 little custom fasteners, and that'll set me back a few bucks. And I'll spend a couple hours putting the puzzle back together.

Bikeboy said...

UPDATE: As of Saturday 9/25, the car is back on the road, with everything working.
COST:
Parts - were $34 plus tax.
Labor - maybe 5 hours total. (A pro could've done it in half the time, most likely, charging a "professional fee.")