# Car Wreck and a Few Railroads



## Maglev (May 13, 2021)

As a lifelong island boy, I do not like driving on interstate highways. I wish trains were an option for travel to Seattle from my area, but alas even if the schedules did work out they're not running due to the Canadian border closure. So it was with some trepidation that we headed out for SeaTac in our Tacoma. There was rain along the way, and I had to do some of that 70-mph driving through truck spray that I find terrifying. But past Seattle, in heavy somewhat slow traffic, a man test driving a private individual's Miata lost control at an on-ramp and slid across three lanes to hit our truck. All the airbags deployed, but neither my wife nor I were hurt at all. The other driver was okay too, no other vehicles were involved, and with the help of a passerby, we were able to push his car off the road. My truck was barely drivable. The Washington State Patrol was on the scene within minutes, and we were in a tow truck headed for our hotel within a half hour (our flight was the next morning). Except for having to rent and return a car at the end of our trip, the accident did not impact our vacation. I have not heard from my insurance company with a decision yet, but it sounds as if the truck is a total loss. It was a 2016 with 24k mi.

I had estimated that it would cost $8,000 to travel Seattle to Kissimmee by train ($2,000 for _EB, _$1,000 for _CL, _and $1,000 for _SM/SS _for edrooms each way), and add about ten days to the trip. After buying the plane tickets, I checked on Amtrak to see what it would really cost to travel by train, and Bedrooms were not even available on the _EB _in either direction, yet it would still cost $6,600. I simply could not afford to spend that much time or money, so we bought first-class plane tickets right to Melbourne. We flew A321's between Seattle and Charlotte, and CRJ900's between Charlotte and Melbourne. Our outbound flight was diverted to Knoxville due to thunderstorms, and due to equipment and crew shortages, our connecting flight to Melbourne was delayed five hours . 

We spent a week at the Doubletree Suites Melbourne Beach Oceanfront, and it was a fine hotel. Some of the room fixtures were a bit worn (notably the sliding glass balcony door was very hard to open and close), but the room had a nice layout and the hotel restaurant was decent. Our AARP rate was $170 a night, but we upgraded to a high floor room for an extra $36 per night (and our room was on the top, or ninth, floor). We also made an overnight trip to St. Augustine.

I did see some railroads on this trip. There was construction of Seattle's light rail system visible along I-5 north of Seattle, and I saw where Brightline is going to cross I-95 in Florida. There were no "High Speed Trains Coming Soon" signs at any of the grade crossings in Melbourne.


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## jiml (May 13, 2021)

Sorry to hear about your vehicle, but glad you were able to complete your trip.


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## Bob Dylan (May 13, 2021)

Maglev said:


> As a lifelong island boy, I do not like driving on interstate highways. I wish trains were an option for travel to Seattle from my area, but alas even if the schedules did work out they're not running due to the Canadian border closure. So it was with some trepidation that we headed out for SeaTac in our Tacoma. There was rain along the way, and I had to do some of that 70-mph driving through truck spray that I find terrifying. But past Seattle, in heavy somewhat slow traffic, a man test driving a private individual's Miata lost control at an on-ramp and slid across three lanes to hit our truck.  All the airbags deployed, but neither my wife nor I were hurt at all. The other driver was okay too, no other vehicles were involved, and with the help of a passerby, we were able to push his car off the road. My truck was barely drivable. The Washington State Patrol was on the scene within minutes, and we were in a tow truck headed for our hotel within a half hour (our flight was the next morning). Except for having to rent and return a car at the end of our trip, the accident did not impact our vacation. I have not heard from my insurance company with a decision yet, but it sounds as if the truck is a total loss. It was a 2016 with 24k mi.
> 
> I had estimated that it would cost $8,000 to travel Seattle to Kissimmee by train ($2,000 for _EB, _$1,000 for _CL, _and $1,000 for _SM/SS _for edrooms each way), and add about ten days to the trip. After buying the plane tickets, I checked on Amtrak to see what it would really cost to travel by train, and Bedrooms were not even available on the _EB _in either direction, yet it would still cost $6,600. I simply could not afford to spend that much time or money, so we bought first-class plane tickets right to Melbourne. We flew A321's between Seattle and Charlotte, and CRJ900's between Charlotte and Melbourne. Our outbound flight was diverted to Knoxville due to thunderstorms, and due to equipment and crew shortages, our connecting flight to Melbourne was delayed five hours .
> 
> ...


Ditto for me about your accident, and the nice trip!

I used the Pass you so kindly sent me @ the New Metro Lounge in Moynihan Train Hall, thanks again!

Hopefully your trip home goes well and your Insurance Co. will take good care you you .

Keep us posted! Jim


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## Dakota 400 (May 13, 2021)

Maglev said:


> There was rain along the way, and I had to do some of that 70-mph driving through truck spray that I find terrifying.



I am glad that your wife and you were not injured and hope that your insurance company will do what you have been paying them to do. 

Why were you driving 70 mph in that kind of weather/road conditions?


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## Maglev (May 15, 2021)

Dakota 400 said:


> Why were you driving 70 mph in that kind of weather/road conditions?



I guess the best answer I can come up with is that I wanted to keep up with the flow of traffic. We had similar experiences in Florida through thunderstorms on I-95, and at one point we waited out a storm at a rest area.

The insurance company has declared the vehicle a total loss, and will cut us a check for $34k. We paid $38k for the truck; similar used vehicles are selling for $27k.


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## Maglev (Jun 10, 2021)

Exactly one month after the collision, we picked up a new Tacoma from a Toyota dealer. We had ordered the previous vehicle custom-built, and waited three months for it, but the vehicle we have now was on order for the dealer already. Our salesperson made a special trip on the ferry out to Orcas Island so we could sign the purchase papers in May and get a rebate that was expiring in June. The new truck has highway tires and no off-road suspension, which so far I like because mileage is up from 18 to 21 mpg, and the ride is smoother on the poorly-paved roads we have here.


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## Bob Dylan (Jun 10, 2021)

Maglev said:


> Exactly one month after the collision, we picked up a new Tacoma form a Toyota dealer. We had ordered the previous vehicle custom-built, and waited three months for it, but the vehicle we have now was on order for the dealer already. Our salesperson made a special trip on the ferry out to Orcas Island so we could sign the purchase papers in May and get a rebate that was expiring in June. The new truck has highway tires and no off-road suspension, which so far I like because mileage is up from 18 to 21 mpg, and the ride is smoother on the poorly-paved roads we have here.


Glad to hear you like the New Ride, Toyotas are in Big Demand, especially Trucks,Hybrids and SUVs.

Sounds like your Dealer and Salesperson went "above and beyond" to help yall!

How are things out in the San Juans, are the Tourists coming back in droves like Pre-Pandemic, and is the Ferry Service back to Normal??


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## Maglev (Jun 10, 2021)

Things are pretty busy here in the San Juans. The ferry service is more or less back to normal, with the exception of the international route to Sidney, BC, which will remain suspended at least until the border reopens.

All the customer service on our trip was outstanding. The Washington State Patrol officer at the crash scene was kind and helpful. In Melbourne, the Enterprise car rental agent stayed two hours beyond his normal quitting time because our flight was delayed, and then found a car for me even though I had postponed my reservation because I thought the counter would be closed. And all the attendants on our flights were courteous and efficient.


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## Maglev (Jul 20, 2021)

After a month with the new Tacoma, I have put only 300 miles on it. It is made in Mexico--my previous model was built in Texas. The new vehicle has no rattles (the old one had a few), but the doors don't close as easily (I'll see if the dealer can adjust them when I take it in for its first service).

The new technology, or lack thereof, on the new model is interesting. It doesn't have the same keyless ignition, but there are still buttons on the keys to lock and unlock the doors, as well as a panic button. Unlike the old truck, the map app. wasn't installed; the dealer told me to sync. my phone with the truck and use my phone's app. and the map will appear on the truck screen.

In other train news, I have yet to ask my wife if I can take a train trip in the fall. The new truck had an impact on our disposable savings, and we have yet to pay for the $2,400 camper top--about the cost of the trip I want to take. I know I won't be getting any Bedrooms, as they're all north of $2,000 for a two-night trip.


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## Bob Dylan (Jul 20, 2021)

Maglev said:


> After a month with the new Tacoma, I have put only 300 miles on it. It is made in Mexico--my previous model was built in Texas. The new vehicle has no rattles (the old one had a few), but the doors don't close as easily (I'll see if the dealer can adjust them when I take it in for its first service).
> 
> The new technology, or lack thereof, on the new model is interesting. It doesn't have the same keyless ignition, but there's still buttons on the keys to lock and unlock the doors, as well as a panic button. Unlike the old truck, the map app. wasn't installed; the dealer told me to sync. my phone with the truck and use my phone's app. and the map will appear on the truck screen.
> 
> In other train news, I have yet to ask my wife if I can take a train trip in the fall. The new truck had an impact on our disposable savings, and we have yet to pay for the $2,400 camper top--about the cost of the trip I want to take. I know I won't be getting any Bedrooms, as they're all north of $2,000 for a two-night trip.


My Hyundai ( 2018) was made in Mexico and is just as good a Car as the Previous 2009 Model( made in Korea) I had for 150,000 miles.( of course there no.longer any " Pure" American or Foriegn Cars since they are Assembled, not Manufactured, from parts from all over the World)

Toyota generally makes Excellent products( I've had 3), but Hyundai/Kia has really caught up in the past few years.( I looked @ a Corolla when I bought my Hyundai, but it was $25,000 and the Hyundai Acceent was $17,000 for a Comparable Vehicle with a 10 year Warranty and Free Dealer Maintaince Service for 5 years)

Know what you mean about the Sleeper Prices, I'll be Flying on any LD Travel I do this year, even to the Gathering.


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## Dakota 400 (Jul 21, 2021)

Bob Dylan said:


> Toyota generally makes Excellent products( I've had 3),



Automobile quality and reliability have been interesting to observe over the past decades. I have owned 5 Buicks since 1982. Each one built and more reliable than the others (with all of them being what I would call dependable, good vehicles until it became time for something new). My current Buick is a 2020 Envision AWD Trim II SUV. Made and assembled in China. The car has been to see the dealer's service department once since I took delivery in November, 2019. That was for scheduled maintenance: an oil change, rotate the tires, etc. Minor stuff. 

Knowing that it was made/assembled in China, I bought an Extended Warranty Plan knowing that with all this new "tech" stuff on the car, if some of that goes haywire, it could cost major $$$ to get it fixed. Now, I am wondering if I should have done that. (But, a "gambler" at heart? I am not.)


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## Maglev (Feb 27, 2022)

The tailgate of my Tacoma, which was stuck shut for three months, is finally openable. After heavy rains in November, I shoveled some gravel into my truck to move from one end of the property to another. Well, apparently I got some dirt somewhere I shouldn't have, and after unloading the gravel, the tailgate would not unlatch on one side.

We happened to have an appointment the next day at Toyota for a regular service, so we asked them to look at it. They said they couldn't fix it right there, so we would need to bring it back. The dealer is on the mainland, and it is a whole day trip to go there and back. Well, we took it back, and after waiting an hour and a half, they said that they couldn't fix it because we had a camper shell. We would need to have the camper shell removed for them to access the jammed latch.

I had been procrastinating on getting this done. I pried open the composite panel covering the latch, but all I could see was a very small, fragile-looking mechanism with no hint as to why it was jammed. While I had access, I vacuumed out the gravel which had gotten in there (note: use a tarp when carrying dirt). I tried shooting a pressure washer at the latch. But finally I relented, coordinated getting the canopy removed by the canopy dealer (for $75.00) with getting Toyota to work on the latch, and got ferry reservations to make the trip to the mainland and back.

The Toyota mechanics were finally able to get the tailgate open, but destroyed the latch in the process. At least they said they couldn't tell if it was defective or not, so I wouldn't have to pay. But they didn't have the latch in stock, so now we need to go back yet again to get it installed. At least the tailgate works with just a latch on one side.

I've had Tacomas since 2005, and never had any trouble with the latches. I've put all kinds of crap in the bed. From what I found on Google, the tailgates do get stuck, but it is usually easily remedied. I'll be careful now!


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## Asher (Feb 28, 2022)

Maglev said:


> The tailgate of my Tacoma, which was stuck shut for three months, is finally openable. After heavy rains in November, I shoveled some gravel into my truck to move from one end of the property to another. Well, apparently I got some dirt somewhere I shouldn't have, and after unloading the gravel, the tailgate would not unlatch on one side.
> 
> We happened to have an appointment the next day at Toyota for a regular service, so we asked them to look at it. They said they couldn't fix it right there, so we would need to bring it back. The dealer is on the mainland, and it is a whole day trip to go there and back. Well, we took it back, and after waiting an hour and a half, they said that they couldn't fix it because we had a camper shell. We would need to have the camper shell removed for them to access the jammed latch.
> 
> ...



Toyota tailgates are a popular target for thieves here. Hard to unlatch but easy to steal.


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## George Harris (Mar 1, 2022)

While talking cars: I have a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe which is a replacement for a 2014 the same which was declared totaled after a wreck with a person with no insurance and no driver's license who made a fat left turn into my left turn, being done on a turn arrow. Why the same model? Aside from I like the size and other points, it is made in the US, in Alabama, and for me personally, since my wife is in a wheelchair, I can put the wheelchair in the back without having to fold it up at all nor put down the back seat. That saves a lot of time and hassle.


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