We have been having high winds off and on for the past month and a half or so here on the East Side. During a particularly bad windstorm with ~80 mile per hour gusts, my 2003 XKR Convertible was assaulted by a tarp with ratcheting tie downs and hooks, cement pavers meant to hold it down wrapped around in the tarp, plus a branch or two that it picked up along the way.

I did not see it occur, but heard it as it hit my patio roof as well. By the time I got outside, I saw the tarp spiral through the air and out of sight leaving behind the cement pavers and branches and scuffing and scratching every panel on my car. The worst of it is where the cement dropped onto the trunk lid leaving a few tiny divits along with a couple of deep scratches where it slid off, which is the worst of the damage. I believe most of it can be buffed out and I am not too worried about it after fully inspecting the damage.

The Insurance paid out $6,799.74, and considered the incident an 'act of God' with no liability on my part. Since I still owed over ~14,403.96 over the next 3 years with interest, and I believe I can have it fixed for much less, allot of the scuffing ended up being the tarp material itself and pealed off. I decided to take the check to the bank yesterday, since their name was on it as well, and apply it towards the principle on my loan which was only $8,711.61. This left me with a total of $1,927.36 with a days interest, out of pocket, which I payed today and printed out my loan payoff confirmation. I now own my 2003 XKR outright, the damage is hardly noticeable after removing the tarp material, I have to point it out to people, and I saved over ~$5,692.35 in interest payments over the next three years, plus the elimination of a $400.11 monthly car payment.

 

When I started reading, I thought this is going to end very badly. Good to hear you turned a disaster to your advantage.

Graham

 

 

Good for you, now set aside that $400 a month and in 10 months you can pay for a nice new paint job. It will start to bug you as soon as the excitement of paying off the car subsides!

 

Exactly what I was thinking; although I have a smallish signature loan that I would like to knock off the list as well that I pay $300 per month towards. I have been thinking about taking the extra $400, or at least half, combined with the $300, and end the other loan as well.

I have always paid quite a bit more than the actual monthly payment due on loans, and I routinely receive a 'skip a payment' or 'payment holiday' notice on my billing statements. They do not seem to appreciate, or encourage paying more than the monthly amount due. The payment websites discourage me each month while making my 'over payment' all the way up to the point of smashing the 'submit payment' button.

 

As soon as I heard the BANG on the patio roof, and came out just in time to see the tarp flying off into the distance in search of it's next victim, not to mention the chunks of cement on the ground in front of my car (and behind), I almost could not proceed around the corner to check the car for damage as I had a pretty good idea of what had just happened.

However, I am surprised and happy that I did not lose any glass and the damage is not as bad as it looked at the time. The tarp was a beige/tan fitted type of tarp, probably for an RV, which there are tons of in my neighborhood. The tarp left behind a fibrous material that appeared as deep and large swathes of scratches to the paint when it was drug over the car with the weight of the cement and other debris it had picked up along the way, but luckily, it just pealed off.

When I compared the Insurance check amount to the amount owed at the time, and the amount I would pay after three more years of payments plus interest, the choice was clear, as it took little out of pocket after applying the Insurance check, to pay in full and get my Title.

 

03 XKR.....

Never Bitch again when they raise your rates!

Billy Clyde in Houston

 

Actually, they considered this 'an act of God', and completely not my fault, and does not count against my Insurance, in fact, my monthly Insurance payment went down to $94.50 after the incident for full coverage plus glass and zero deductible, from $119.50 per month. This happened and was reported several days before my Insurance Renewal.

 

Welcome to the forum Auni Sauda,

You must have read that somewhere else because it isn't mentioned in this thread?

I didn't refit my XK8 with 20 inch. The Sepang split rim alloys (Front - 8Jx20; Rear - 10Jx20) were standard specification for the 2005 XK8/XKR 4.2-S Final Series.

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some information about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham