It was Thanksgiving. We'd had a nice meal, and while most of us were getting ready to sleep off the turkey dinner, Keaton was heading to the Nike store, for a pre-Black-Friday shift. It's not even a mile away ... and he didn't make it there without incident. There was an accident.
He was going straight, when a gal in the opposite left-hand turn lane turned in front of him. Keaton swerved, but was still hit on the front/right side, and the momentum pushed him into a truck that was sitting, waiting to turn right on the cross street. No one was seriously injured, but all three vehicles were definitely damaged. The other two needed to be towed. Grayson went to help out, and let Keaton take the Durango on to Nike, and he was able to drive the truck the short distance home.
Of course, the gal's insurance didn't step up immediately, wanting to wait for a police report, which was taking a long while. Weeks! The insurance finally agreed to accept responsibility and arranged for a rental car for us (Keaton and I had been sharing, with me driving him to/from work when I needed the car myself) and we got the truck in for repair.
While the body shop dismantled the truck, they found additional damage, which sent the claim back to the insurance to get approval to move forward, or a decision that it was totaled. We weren't even sure which we wanted to happen. On the one hand, we were sure that pre-accident, we would have been able to sell the truck for more than any insurance payout would be. Gray had put quite a few upgrades in. We weren't sure how the extensive repair would affect the value. A check might just be easier and a more fuel-efficient car would be better for Keaton. The insurance company did come back with the decision that it was totaled, and even though the payment was less than what we'd hoped, we didn't have much recourse. It was a month after the accident, it was time to move on.
Keaton went to the yard to clean out the truck ... and to say goodbye.
Then it was time for Keaton to go car shopping. That was a stressful and unpleasant experience for him. He just wanted it DONE, but wasn't really finding something he wanted. Car shopping isn't something he enjoys. Uncle Scott gave him the advice to take his time and test drive quite a few before making any decision ... and that went for car shopping AND marriage. He was able to get pre-approved for a loan without any issues, so that was good. Keaton had pretty much decided on a car, just to have it sell before he made his offer. So back to square one, looking at ads, going on test drives.
When he found a car/price that was acceptable, he was ready to be done, and plans were made to finalize the paperwork ... just to hit a snag there. It took hours, back and forth between the banks (Grayson was involved by this time), phone calls, but finally, January 28, 2020, Keaton was the proud owner of a little Toyota Corolla. Unfortunately, the struggles didn't wrap up there. The title never got transferred to our bank, so after weeks of waiting we had to put in for a replacement title. Keaton's temporary registration expired the end of March ... right as Covid came in and shut down the DMV. I think it was the end of April before he was able to finalize the paperwork, get his stickers and be completely legal and DONE.
Welcome to the driveway Keaton's Corolla. Welcome to adulthood and car payments Keaton (he had been giving us a payment on the truck each month, but financing this all himself it's a bit more).
