Please Help (if Able) · 8:10am Nov 19th, 2021
Hey gang.
Sorry to make a long story short but, seeing how all I have us a phone without a power cable, brevity is forced on me.
Things have been tough. I've been quiet about it, but shit has been really bad, lately. My grandparents moved out of their house of 25 years to a new one that, after a month of living, burnt down to electric fire.
They lost nearly everything.
Thankfully, we could help them at the time, and insurance covered most things. Though the important stuff, like a wine casket with photos of my Grandpa's German friends before they split for different countries, or the items carried down by generations that marked a bulk of our childhoods.
I'd decided to see a friend in the States to cheer them up. I couldn't go as nearly as I would have liked due to money being tight. Both from the house to buy my current car.
You might have seen I spanned cheaper commissions across the site a week ago; I did so I could afford the trip, as well as do something nice while I was there.
Halfway there, I floated close to the line, and a truck clipped and tore through my car from the left headlight.
The car turns on, but will not start.
I got it towed to a random body shop as there are no Honda dealers with body shops in them nearby. It's unknown the extent of the damage. If parts will need to be ordered—or when, or if, they can get here.
I'm now at a motel, in bed, typing this. I can't go back home, even on a plane, until I get a negative covid test. These take at least 1-2 days to have the results done for travel back into Canada.
I don't know what insurance is going to be like—and I sank most of what I brought on towing and taxi and motel alone.
Please do not help me if you're tight or struggling yourself. Many of you wonderful people helped me out of a bad spot before.
But I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Some support, even a little, will help when I open my eyes again.
Life has been tough, lately.
But I hope it's been more gentle to you.
So sorry to hear you're going through such things.
Again, always here if you need a friend or someone to chat up. ✊
So sorry to hear that. At least you weren't hurt, but I hope things work out for you okay.
I’m not sure how I could help you. If you were nearby, I could get you some food and if you needed to get somewhere, I could drive you. You probably aren’t close though. What state are you in?
Money is what you need, I can’t help with that though.
Hope it's just some minor damage or even cosmetic and a tripped inertia sensor that is keeping it from running. At least your safe.
Oh lil bro... I'm so glad you're safe! But holy heck what a raw deal. I'll send on what I can, though it may not be much.
Would it be okay if I signal-boost this?
Glad you’re safe. Take care and good luck, B!
Still okay. Panic attacks kept me awake.
I'll be in the States for some time. Stuck in a small town. At least it gives me to explore on a sore leg.
I'll take pictures
5609051
It's okay if you do. I don't find out from insurance until Monday. Any help, helps.
5609060
*nods and hugs*
Passed some off to you and gave ya a boost. If you're in a small town, I doubt you're near me— otherwise I'd offer more help. Good luck!
hope things get better
Yikes
. I’ll repost this and keep
my fingers crossed
Couldn’t spare much but I hope this little bit helps. Stay safe
Oh dear, how awful. I'll pass this on and hope you get help soon.
Stay safe B!
That's rough. I can't send any cash, but would a prayer be as good?
How much will it take, bud? 😠💸💞
EDIT: hope the $50 helped some. 😌
Hope the lil tidbit helps!
You wouldn't happen to be anywhere near the Cleveland Ohio area, would you? I'm having my own slew of issues with my bank and can't really do online payments, but all the restaurants around here take cash and I'd be happy to treat you. I also have a couch nobody's using at the moment.
5609060
"The hell you are!"
> drives 6 hours
> rescues B
> now he's stuck in a different small town
Hey, Gang! So things are still fucked in a couple of ways—insurances closes on weekends, service centers are unavailable for months, and breaking down in another country during covid is a really bad idea—but, overall, the situation has improved.
I have a safe place to stay with Mr. Shakes, and raised enough money, thankfully, to cover the costs of flight, sending the car home, and whatever bullshit that is to arise.
Thank you, everyone.
This would have been so much worse if not for the warmth and support of you all.
Thank you.
5609014
Always appreciate your kindness!
5609017
I've got a sore leg but, for how much worse that could have went, I'll take that limp with glee!
Thanks again for helping out this stranger; you've spotted me in the two toughest times of my life (so far!).
I hope that you are well. That, and you take to writing words when the time is right and the desire is ripe!
5609018
Please don't worry about it! The concern and the kindness got me over the colder side of all this!
Feeling cared about is nice! You don't get that so much, later in life.
Thankfully, though, Mr. Shakes picked me up from the streets, and I'm safely held hostage as his place.
5609034
Sorta! The left headlight is caved in and the car, overall, endured a tough jostle.
But in terms of damages, really, the car got off extremely well. It'll be able to drive and be its car caring self. But... it might need one hell of an eyepatch!
5609052
Thanks, Olden! And thank you for the support!
5609077
They have, thankfully! And the 'thank' in 'thankfully' is in thanks to this site!
5609067
Not at all! Every dollar and every word has helped me through the pain! Shakes stole me from the streets so, for now, I'm (mostly) safe! One hell of a tidal wave is coming for me at home but, once I'm up and or through it, all should (mostly) settle to where it was before.
Thank you for the help!
5609087
All has improved immensely, thanks!
5609138
Safe and sound with friends! And long time no see! Thanks for posting and worrying about me!
5609102
All of it helps for more than one reason!
Thank you, again, for helping me.
5609140
Of course, it would! You must have done so because my luck has gone a little up since last night!
5609144
Thanks you!
5609179
Immensely! Thanks for the messages and help! It warmed up the cold that night.
5609192
Of course it does! Thank you for the support!
5609193
That would have been one hell of a time! I'd almost break down in Ohio for it!
Thankfully, Shakes saved me from the streets, and won't send me back for some time.
Thanks for checking in on me, El. It seems like you're always there for issues—like when Trick Question was going through a rough time.
Thanks for always caring for us!
5609446
H O N E S T ! !
To All
~ Yr. Slight Less Stranded Pal, B
5609528
Really, what happened?
5609528
Of course, dude. Happy to help!
5609528
That's really good to hear. If I'm on your way home or you're ever in the neighborhood, though, it's an open offer.
If anything else comes up with the car, too, I know of several exceptionally talented mechanics. Including one guy who recently did repair work on the big light-up semi truck Coca-Cola set up for a TV commercial, of all things.
Safe travels, and speedy return home to you.
I'm terribly sorry for what has transpired in your life. Hopefully things will get better for you, and for your family. Really sucks knowing how this virus has disrupted a lot of stuff that people do these days.
5609612
I might have to take you up on that within the coming week.
I won't hear back from Insurance until sometime during the week. They're closed on weekends, apparently! It's at the point now that every auto shop is backed by a month. Even my Honda program—which includes free tolling to a dealership within 500KM—can't do anything because no shop can even take the car for storage.
With the lack of available mechanics, I either have to get mine shipped home out of my wallet, or wait over for a month for the current shop to maybe be able to fix it. I'll write back to you later in the week to see how insurance goes. If any of those people are available to work on a Civic, then I might take you up on that offer.
Regardless of what happens, thank you for being there for me!
5609695
That's... hard for me to imagine. Do you have any idea what all needs done to it? Also, not entirely sure where you're at beyond probably east of the Mississippi just based on what I know of Canadian population distribution (and the fact you're even considering this as an option), but I don't think things are as dire here. I haven't reached out to any of my people yet, so it's possible shops in Ohio are backed up to the same degree, but depending on the severity of repairs we're talking about I probably know a couple people who can at least get you roadworthy and home within the month, even if it'll need further work once you're back.
Seriously, one perk of owning a bar is that I meet just about every single type of person imaginable and I am on a first-name basis with everything from landscapers to news anchors, so, despite my outward asocial facade I actually can make a fair amount of shit happen when pressed. Tell me what you need that you can't easily get where you're at, and I can probably at least get you started in the right direction.
5609764
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Long story short is that in New York, within 100 Miles, all auto shops are booked; I couldn't even get the one it was tolled to do an estimate on it. My Honda program tows within 100 miles—and no shops, Honda or not, could even take the car for space. Basically, I paid into that program for nothing.
Insurance can't look into it until Monday. But then it'll be changed to a USA agent. That'll be a few more days. Then, later in the week, I can find out what was covered and what was not. I have full coverage for the car, thankfully, but I don't know much that extends in the states. Most likely, I would have to pay for it to be transported back to Canada, and the payment for that is looking to be 1.5 to 2K.
It's doubtful if insurance will cover that.
So if it means towing it to Ohio, which will be discounted, then all the money back to Canada—I'll consider it. Just a matter of what options Insurance gives me.
The headlight is caved in. Thankfully, the engine was jostled, however, nothing was severely damaged within it. I don't know the full extent of the damages, however. The rest of the car is okay. It turns on.
And it's sick you own a bar! That must be one hell of a cool life.
5609828
That really doesn't look like that much damage. I don't know where the starter is in that model but my first guess would be that it's on that side of the car somewhere and the impact knocked it loose or damaged it. See if a part that looks like this is anywhere near that impact site - it's sometimes near the bottom of the engine block but every car is different.
breakerlink.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/starter-motor-1500.jpg
Replacing a starter is one of the easier tasks you can do on most cars, unless it's in a super ridiculously hard to get to location. Plenty of guides online explaining how to do it. If your electrics all come on when you turn the key but it fails on ignition, that's a strong indicator of something wrong with the starter. I can all but guarantee that even somebody with zero technical know-how or inclination could figure out how to swap a starter in a shorter time frame than a month, and for a lot cheaper than whatever a tow out my way would cost you. You could probably walk into any brick-and-mortar auto parts store, grab one, and have it installed within a day.
Also - see if it'll start from a set of jumpers. Sometimes that works even with a dead starter. If the starter's bad but everything else is operable (and there's nothing intruding in the wheel well that'll puncture your tire) then as long as the engine stays running you can drive it, it'll just need a jump to get started. They also sell jump boxes that eliminate the need for another vehicle, usually for a couple hundred bucks. Handy to have, and a lot cheaper than an international tow.
5609846
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I'm away from the town, currently, but I can see what can be done afterward.
The car starts but the engine does not. It could be the starter, or it could be a bunch of other warnings preventing it from starting. It had a transmission issue mostly.
Come Monday, hopefully, I can get the person there to take a better look at it.
5609865
Yeah, that's probably the best move. It's impossible to diagnose anything from these pictures, since it really does look like just the headlight took the hit. Also looking closer at the first picture, it almost looks like the engine block itself is offset towards the passenger side, which kind of shoots my starter theory up a bit, but it's definitely possible I'm looking at this all wrong. I'm not a mechanic by any means, and I don't know how this model is set up off the top of my head.
If you come out my way, I can at least offer a free spot to drop the car for as long as you need, since I've got a whole entire parking lot and all. There's also a huge Honda dealer not too far away from me, which insurance might look on as more reputable than the other people I know. I guess it does depend on what parts actually need replacing and how much of New York's issues are actually due to parts shortages vs labor. I was just at autozone a couple days ago for new wiper blades and they seemed stocked to the gills with the basics, but if some weird specialized Honda part is sitting on a ship somewhere, maybe I can't speed things up at all. It all depends on how exactly a smashed headlight has totally bricked a Japanese car; that shouldn't be possible.
5609880
Agreed! In either case, thanks for the kindness and support, Eldorado.
5609880
Thankfully, it appears that the car can be towed back home.
Thank you for the offer of this nonetheless. It, at the time, at least let me knew I had options in case everything came to the worst that it could,
5610124
Glad to hear it. If you ever need anything else or are ever in the area, let me know.
5610134
When the world has settled for me, and you're still willing to grab a coffee or something, that sounds like a terrific time!