Hanging Loose

The mechanic came to estimate the damage to my car this morning. I was really glad that he came because I was kind of anxious just waiting to find out how badly the car was hit.

After taking a couple of photos of the car, he asked, "Hey, you still driving the car?"

"Errmm...yeah, I am," I replied.

"Right ok. Do you know that it is fairly dangerous to do so?"

"Oh is it? How come?"

"Well, as the result of the impact, your exhaust pipe is actually hanging down quite loosely...so it could fall off very easily. Secondly, even if it doesn't do that, because the exhaust is loose, it leads to an increase in tension at the front part of your car....leading to even more damage to your car. So be really careful when you drive up the humps on the road," Mr Mechanic explained to me.

To be honest, all I had in my mind was how unsightly the bumper was....It never occurred to me that the exhaust was also involved in the minor accident. How ignorant of me!

I was curious to find out how much the repair would cost (although, I know the money was not coming out from my pocket...).

"Hmm....probably at least 1000 pounds minimum, and the repair may take up to 2 weeks,"he said.

Wow....that is very dear....and 2 weeks in the garage???!! man...that is long. Oh well, I guess they have to adjust the bodywork, re-spray the paint, etc.

He will be picking my car up tomorrow to get it into the garage. My courtesy car will be arriving around the same time too. I really just want my wee car sorted asap.