The Toyota

I've talked about my lady friend, Nuria, from Costa Rica, so now I'm going to tell you a story about her.

When Nuria moved to the USA to live with me in Virginia, she did not have a driver's license. She also didn't have a car. But you know how people are always asking to see your driver's license whenever they need to verify your identity, such as when you cash a check. So I suggested that we go to the DMV and get an identity card for her. It's like a driver's license—same size and shape, and it has a photo of the cardholder, but it's not a driver's license. It's just proof that you are who you say you are.

So Nuria and I went to the DMV. We got there 15 minutes before they opened for business. I, of course, being who I am, went up to the front door and tried to open it, and guess what—it opened. So Nuria and I walked in. There were two young ladies at one of the "stations" (for lack of a better word) and we walked over to them.

"My friend wants to get an identity card," I said. They went straight to work. They took a photo of her and got her name and address and examined her passport. Then one of the ladies asked Nuria, "Do you want a driver's license?" Nuria, of course, said, "Yes!" while I nodded vigorously in support. 

To this day, I don't know why Nuria was offered a driver's license. Was it a mistake? Was it some kind of DMV rule that neither of us knew about? Regardless, we left the DMV office with Nuria clutching a brand new driver's license.

Perhaps I should mention that Nuria had previously held a Virginia driver's license. But that was years ago and it was expired. But her name was still in the DMV computer system, so maybe that is why she was offered a new license, but I really don't know.

The next step was to get Nuria a vehicle. For that, we visited some used car lots in Richmond. Nuria examined a number of vehicles while I did manly things like kick the tires and tried to pretend I knew what I was doing. Nuria found a vehicle she liked. It was a 2009 Toyota Camry. Nuria seemed to love it.

Six months later, Nuria was driving her Camry to Walmart. She was stopped in a left turn lane waiting for oncoming traffic to pass by before she could turn into the parking lot. Suddenly a minivan slammed into the back of her car. Eyewitnesses said the driver made no attempt to slow down. He drove into Nuria's car at about 35 mph, the speed limit on that road. The impact spun the minivan around and off the road, while Nuria's Camry ended up in the middle of the road.

Nuria phoned me and told me she had been in an accident. I asked her if she was hurt. She said her back and neck were somewhat sore, but otherwise she was okay. I drove to Walmart to get her. The police were there, a wrecker was there, and a fire truck was there. The man in the minivan appeared to be stunned. Nuria appeared to be fine, although minus her Camry, which was totaled.

The auto insurance company (Progressive) would not compensate Nuria for the full cost of her vehicle. The Toyota had cost $14,345.61. Nuria had paid $1800 and I had paid 

$12,545.61. Progressive said the car was worth $10,812.70, so I got most of the cash, which went toward another Toyota Camry, The new Camry was a 2010 model (12 years old at that time) with about 38,000 miles, so I think Nuria got a good deal.

The new Camry looks almost identical to the wrecked Camry. While we were car-shopping, Nuria's insurance paid for a rental car—an almost new Nissan—that I really liked. I don't know about its performance or reliability, but it was loaded with some cool gadgets, like a remote control starter. Of course, my own car, a Jeep, was built in 1995, and there has been some amount of progress in automobiles in the past 29 years. But if I'm in a wreck, I'd prefer to be in the Jeep. If you run into the back of my Jeep, you'll hit a trailer hitch that is bolted to the frame and rear axle, so you won't get far after hitting that. I hope.