15 August 2009

I Channel Jack Benny



I've been driving my old Maxwell for almost 100 years now. What a great old car! Puttering around town with the infrequent trip down the Interstate at a blazing 45 miles an hour, I put about 5,000 miles per year on the old "Maxie".
Let's do the math-

93 years times 5,000 miles per year equals 465,000 miles, right?
(I have no idea how many miles are actually on the car... the speedometer/odometer quit functioning 50 years ago!)


But here's the problem. The old car is an antique and is worth a fortune to collectors. It's my daily driver, and insurance companies cringe at the idea someone could collide with me and do serious damage to this old gem. Insuring it has become a huge burden.

And parts? Oh, don't get me started! I mentioned the broken speedo... where do you think I'm gonna find a speedo cable for a 1916 Maxwell, for heaven's sakes? When parts break I'm having to fabricate replacements these days, Do you have any idea how much that costs?! (Insurance companies do, that's why my insurance premiums are absolutely through the roof!)

But here's the deal-
How fair is it that I have to pay a fortune to drive my car? Is it fair that I have to pay so much more for parts than my neighbors? I don't think so!

I want our legislators to resolve my problem. I want them to pass a law to help me continue to drive my old Maxwell-
I want affordable insurance!
I want an affordable extended warranty to fix anything that breaks on the old gal, and I want that warranty to include all "pre-existing conditions" like my old speedometer cable!

Is this too much to ask? After all, it's my RIGHT to drive my old car and if I cannot afford it myself, the American taxpayer should subsidize me, right?

Power to the people!

2 comments:

CJ said...

Love the analogy, GB... and the photo's great, too.

cjh

the golden horse said...

If they could just come up with a plan so that honest hard working people that carry car insurance like responsible people do, do not have to purchase insurance for the under insured and the non-insured.
Like maybe pulling their plates when they renew their car plates without insurance, then the insurace companies notifies the DMV.
Call me crazy, but I am so tired carrying the burden for those that take advantage of us.