Rained upon, but life goes on…
“Into each life some rain must fall” said a poet once, and may I add that when it rains, it indeed pours. At times, things get to such a point where even a pair of clean boxers is not enough to wipe down a cars rained upon interior. The image above is from a thread on the UK S2000 Community. This post is not about that thread, but inspired by the irony of life that was summed up to me in that image. So with a tip of my hat to our member Wobbly and my wish that his precious Monte Carlo Blue S2000 never ever sees rain again, I shall go forth and lament.
It was not too long ago that I was preparing my S2000 for a drive. I had that magic spray-on vinyl elixir, commonly referred to as 303, and was working my way around the soft top. As I made my way all along the seams I noticed a tear on the right rear of the top where the fabric rubbed against the frame rail upon trips back and forth. I stood there aghast for a moment as visions of presenting my car at a Honda Concours some 50 years in the future began to fade away. Reality sank in and with it, the realization that my Honda bumper-to-bumper warranty had expired but 14 days ago. Anyways after driving my heart out, I began my inquiries into Honda upon my return home. I called my trusted service advisor Matt over at Keeler Honda, and at his suggestion drove the car in so he could inspect it armed with the Technical Service Bulletin. Handing Matt the TSB, I started telling him how much I cared for the car and how it was parked at all times within a garage with the top unlatched and with regular 303 wipedowns. I told him I barely had 1400 miles on it this season (Don’t you take potshots at me Akuma 😉 ). Matt, the ever patient service advisor that he is, listened carefully and knowingly, only adding at the end that he’d put in a request to Honda for goodwill consideration. He said Honda may pay for the whole repair or have me pay for a part of it.
Honda answered the next day, and Matt was pleased to inform me that Honda would cover 80% of the expenditure involved with replacing the top, which was all very good, except that such repairs are priced at Maximum price. I would have to pay $600.00 (of a total repair cost estimated at $2700.00) out of pocket for a new top and a 12 month warranty. Faced with a conundrum of such proportions, I then did what any smart, intelligent auto enthusiast would do and pitched the question to my fellow forum members. In the course of discussion, I started leaning towards patching the hole and driving the car after all, as one of my friends said – who was I saving it for?
And then came the downpour that I was referring to in the first paragraph. Wasn’t raining actually, but was overcast as I was headed home. Less than a mile from home, I was rear ended by a lady in a red BMW 335xi. I was driving my other car, the Civic Si, and the BMW had very cleanly imprinted its kidney grille design on my rear bumper. Within the span of 48 hours I’d gone from having two perfect cars, to two cars somewhat messed up by random acts of god, or defective Honda workmanship, you decide, and a bruised mind. To further add insult to injury, I walked out a boating supply store with a vinyl repair kit the next day, to discover someone had struck the damaged bumper and added yet another scuff to an already damaged bumper. Life had thrown me a googly and a curve ball catching me unawares.
Like our friend Wobbly, I was rained upon and seemed to have the equivalent of a pair of clean underwear with which to resolve my affair. As I went through the usual routines of patching the soft-top and talking to a litany of insurance representatives while also heeding the words of my forum buddies, it came home to me. A realization that I loved my cars and that they loved me back in the same way unconditionally. We had gone through a relatively minor incident, considering the consequences could have been worse, and had emerged somewhat bruised but still resolute, and wanting to stick together. We may be less than perfect in others eyes, but we existed to enjoy each others company and the company of friends for as long as it lasts.
With that, I put the incident behind me. The only tell tale sign of the anguish encountered was a little spill of vinyl sealant that I could not successfully eliminate. Life moves on and I look forward to the remaining events of the season.
So tell me, is your car any less perfect because of a minor ding or scratch? and do cars have feelings or is it just us?
-A2
Images courtesy of Wobbly and A2
NOTE: S2KI welcomes the opinions of its members on the S2000 and on all topics related to the S. Should you feel the creative urge to pen a few words then by all means do so and PM Energetic, Aashish2 or Onehots2k OR send us links to what you would like us to write about and we will feature you (or your community) on the S2KI Home Page.