...or, at least it was the night before. That'* how all good stories start off, isn't it?

Well, at any rate, the first 2 miles of my 10 mile commute are on a county road. The speed limit is 40mph, and there are often areas on one side (that I happen to drive on heading out) that often have puddles across less than half of the lane, not more than a few inches deep, with the exception of one spot that can cover just about the entire lane, and be about six inches deep at the deepest point near the right shoulder. This road also never has pot holes, and debris is extremely rare.

What does all of this mean? High yield puddles with very low risk of problems.

So, while others are tip-toeing around the puddles, I lock speed to 40mph, and destroy them. Makes for quite a fun time, if you are in to that sort of thing, which I happen to be.

This last Friday morning was no different, or so I thought.

Water was flying, the road was clear ahead, I was having a blast making quite the splash. Then, while blasting "the big one", I heard a noise in the right front of the car. It sounded like a light to medium 'pop'. Notable enough to warrant a brief look when I get to work, but not substantial enough to warrant an immediate stop. I also didn't feel any kind of impact, aside from the bog of the water. No jolts, nothing. My guess was that something got kicked up, I would get to work, see nothing (or maybe a little something), laugh about it, and move on. The rest of the drive went without a hitch.

I got to work, and realized I was sorely mistaken when I saw this:


The water force was so great, it blasted the outer skin away from the support and mounting structure at the bottom, going halfway up the fender, and then blowing out across the surface of the fender.

I was shocked, but so amazed I couldn't even be upset about it.

I was also extremely grateful at this point that this car was fully insured with a $100 comprehensive deductible.

For those wondering, this would have likely totaled the car if repaired properly

A straight fender replacement painted (but not blended) is in the neighborhood of $800.

Add in to that the necessary work to properly blend adjacent panels (Hood, door), and it starts going up from there.

After settling on a couple of appearance allowances (the insurance equivalent to 'deal with it'), the final estimate rang in at $1008.

So I plan to lay off on the right side puddles for a while, at least until I can get this sorted out. I need to have a look, see what'* holding what together, and what'* blocking what from what and doing what where.

If the fender gets completely replaced, it will not be painted.

Another scar is added, bringing another story to tell.

Except for the ones that start off "Space, the final frontier"

Me too. Especially with a new set of tires with tread oh-so deep.

Wow! Even in plastic that'* hard to believe.

Amazing how much this type of thing costs.

The puddles will miss your roughhousing. Maybe just lay off the big one a bit? We don't want sad puddles.

What?

Part of why we're all here. Thanks for the anecdote! . . . and the cautionary tale included.