FRUSTRATION AT MY OWN IGNORANCE.

I have a tendency to drive vehicles until they leave me stranded and repairs would cost more than the car. I have sold many cars and trucks to scrap yards. When they get to a certain point, I drop all of the insurance except for liability.

My last vehicle was a 2005 Nissan Murano with just over 230,000 miles on it. On Tuesday, it decided that it had enough of me. I had it towed to my usual repair shop after they had already closed.

On Wednesday, the shop called and informed me that it was time to pull the plug on its life support because the cost of the new CVT transmission would “out value” the car. Before the day was over, I drove off a car lot with my new vehicle with only 23,000 miles on it. I am excited about the new car, but not about having to pay a car note again.

On Thursday morning, I called the insurance company to swap the insurance over from the Murano. The agent asked me if I wanted the same amount of coverage. I thought that was an odd question since I only held liability insurance. She informed me that I had full coverage on the Murano. I questioned her since I know that I dropped all but liability. After further review, I had never dropped the coverage on this vehicle. How did I not know I was fully covered?

Several years ago, someone cut me off on the interstate and then slammed on his brakes. I swerved to miss him and ended up with a blowout. It caused me to spin across three lanes of traffic hit the guardrail and spin me in the other direction until I sat facing oncoming traffic. The car that cut me off continued on its route.

I had a big dent in the rear bumper with obvious damage to its support and the transaxle broke along with a few other things. The tow truck brought my Murano to a shop, and I had the shop fix only what would make the vehicle road worthy. Any repairs of the cosmetic damage, like the bumper, I put on hold since I had to pay for the repairs out of pocket. This of course was because I THOUGHT I only had liability.

It pays to know. I drove about four years with a dented bumper and spent much more on repairs than had I paid the deductible.  How frustrating to know my ignorance cost me so much?

Many times in life, we think we know things, but sometimes we think incorrectly. We should verify what we know and believe. The older I get, the harder it is to remember certain details.  I cannot take things for granted. I need to continue to learn and review. I want to know not only what I believe but also why I believe it. Maybe we all can learn a lesson and review so that forgetting or being ignorant will not cost us more than it should. The cost can be more than money. It can be stress, undue hardships or worse.

People say the truth will set you free, but you must know what the truth is for it to do its job.