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For the world to come after me, I have decided to record the following both hilarious and sad story.
A friend of mine had decided to lend his car to a friend for christmas, while he was traveling abroad.
Upon returning, he was told that he could not have his car back immediately. The friend who he had lend his car to did not have a driver's license and had been caught by the police while driving my friend's car.
More specifically, not only did she not have a driver's license, she had been caught on the Golden Gate Bridge, heading north on 101, one of the major highway's of the region. She had been stopped by the police, because she had been driving too slowly.
According to my friend's soon-not-to-be-a friend anymore, she had been reading the map trying to figure out where she had left the safe neighborhood of Palo Alto's side streets and ended up on 101 North, passing San Francisco (a 1h drive from Palo Alto).
My friend was to receive his car back from the police only two weeks later, so he was negotiating with her on getting a rental car for the interim time period. An attempt by her to borrow another car some place else was only met with contempt, because she used the usually suspected well-known mailing lists.
While my friend was still trying to get a car, he started receiving parking and speeding tickets, sent to his address, since he was the holder of the car. Worse, one day, when he opened a letter, he was informed that his car was to be auctioned off in a few days because he had failed to pay the towing fee. Only through some emergency calls did he manage to prevent loosing his car.
Finally, the two weeks were over, and he could pick up his car. While still in his car on his way back home, he got a call from the "friend", telling him that she had forgotten to tell him that she had scratched the car "a little". By then, he had not been able to overlook the situation: The whole front fender had been demolished in an accident. Fortunately, the car could still drive.
Upon returning home with his car, my friend left on a ski trip for the weekend. After the trip, he tried to start his car the next morning, only to see it stall. After having it towed to the nearest mechanic, he faced a bill of several hundred dollars to get it back in shape.
A few days later, I got a call from another friend, complaining about an obnoxious GSB student he had been trying to help. She had asked him for a ride, and when he showed up on time, she made him wait for 20min, when it was clear that they would be late because of this. Obviously my friend's friend and the obnoxious GSB person where one and the same.
In the meantime the troublemaker was looking to find herself a new car. The email she send out to su.markets is so hilarious that I record it (almost) in its entirety:
I need a car for the remaining 4/5 months at Stanford and am looking to rent a nice car or buy a BMW or Merc.
Requirements:
- Automatic transmission
- Leather seats
- Great mechanical and aesthetic condition
- Current on maintenance and no major maintenance needed over next 6 months
I'd also like one with a CD system (not in trunk).
NB: Your car insurance must cover me if I rent your car; I can pay the incremental coverage.
Pls e-mail me with details of your car (mileage, etc), your ask price and photos of the exterior and interior. I'm looking to wrap this up in 1 week so look forward to hearing from you soon!
I don't know whether she found someone to lend her a car... I think it is unlikely, though, that a Stanford student has a BMW as a second car that meets her meticulously defined requirements. But at least she had enough sense to ask for insurance.
What I do know, unfortunately, is that about a month after he had got is car back, my friend's car was diagnosed as terminally ill. Driving on the highway, so the mechanic, was too dangerous, so my friend is using it for simple tasks around Palo Alto only these days. Let's hope it doesn't die on him in a bad way.
This is such a sad story, I'm unhappy to say, that I find it absolutely hilarious.
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