I had a coffee date with an uncle this morning in St-Hubert only 3KM from the dealership in Brossard that might have been able to handle Miranda. Slight problem: they’re under renovation! Amusingly enough, there was a canteen truck parked out from with ads for a number of businesses and the first one was a frame straightening specialist located only about 1KM away. I went but they only do cars and had no idea where to send me.

So I came home and called Ford Canada. I got through the main and then sub-menus to reach a live person. I said something along the lines of, “I need help finding a place to have service done on my motorhome that’s on a Ford chassis” and was told, “You called the right place. I can help you with that.”

The technician asked me for a bunch of info about Miranda and was vexed that he couldn’t locate her by her VIN number but moved on to the details of my needs. He put me on hold for about a minute and came back to say that he would be unable to find me a place to take Miranda but that if I was willing to hold for about five minutes or so he would be able to find me a place that would know where to take her.

I held the line and he came back on to tell me that the Ford dealership in Richelieu, Ostiguy, would be calling me shortly. We hung up and less than two minutes later, the phone rang. It was Ostiguy Ford! The very sympathetic person I spoke to said that he was angry for me that Aviva wasn’t doing this research for me, but I explained that there is a language barrier. That out of the way, he asked me what I needed done. He replied that Boisvert Ford in Boucherville could do the entire insurance-covered repair! He gave me their number.

Next, I called Boisvert Ford and spoke to a few people until I was transferred to the right person, the head of the body work department. He said that, yes, he could get the frame straightened, replace the hitch, and do the fiberglass, but that the technician was going on holidays next Wednesday. He suggested I come right over. If it was a three-day job, he’d start immediately, if not I’d have to wait till the guy came back. I had a bit of work to make Miranda road ready, so I told him I’d have her there by about two.

Boucherville is an area I don’t know very well and there is a lot of construction along the 20. My mother gave me really good directions, but I wound up taking one wrong turn, so getting there was a little frustrating and nerve wracking. Boisvert Ford has a sprawling complex and I was very intimidated since I had no idea where to go. No problem, there was someone waiting at the gate to direct me!!!

This angel in overalls guided me around the building, told me where to park so that I could easily leave, and indicated which door to go into. The service manager was waiting for me and I was able to immediately speak with him!

He came out, confirmed that the work to be done matches what the idiots said needed to be done, but he couldn’t give me an exact price because he is going to have custom parts made, though it should be in the ballpark of $2,500. He said that he doesn’t want me to even think about the insurance at this point beyond having them call him. Skipping ahead a little, Aviva Vancouver now has a French person on staff, so he was put in charge of dealing with Boisvert Ford and I shouldn’t have to speak to Aviva about this claim again. *knocks on wood*

So good news. I found a place that can do the job properly and in one piece and my insurance company can deal with it. They can also replace my windshield. Hiccup: it’s a five-day job. No time to do it before the tech goes on holidays. I decided then that I would wait and I booked an appointment for August 20th. That will be more than enough time to make it worth my while to move back home while not so late as to not leave room for contingencies. Since I know how long the rig will be in the shop, I can plan for that week to be my holidays from transcription so I don’t have to dismantle my office again.

The service manager suggested I drop off the rig on August 17th, a Friday, late in the day. This way, I will be able to pull directly into the bay and they can start at 7AM Monday. Great!

As for the repairs on the house, I am postponing them. I am going to make sure my corner is well sealed and I will have the work done in the States this winter where I am going to pay less. I’ll take my time and look for a shop where they would be okay with the cats remaining in the rig while I sleep in the yard in my truck, or something along those lines.

I asked the guy if he could do the tow set up on my Ranger. He said no and that there’s a place in St-Jean that could do it, but he wouldn’t recommend going there and that I should got a little further afield to a place he knows in Ville Lemoyne. Yes, the place he wouldn’t recommend is They Who Shall Not Be Named. I should have really done my research back in June. 🙁 I am going to look into ordering my parts and having them shipped to New York or Vermont and then just have the installation done here.

I’ll be moving back in over the weekend, but my cats are probably going to stay in the garage. It’ll be way too hot for them in the rig these days and they are very happy where they are.

Needless to say, all is much better with my world tonight!