Boucherville

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Rear End Repair Work By Boisvert Ford, Boucherville

I called Boisvert Ford at 7:45 this morning to put in a request to have the passenger side of the bumper bolted and was told that the paint was drying! WOW, what amazing service yet again!

My mother and I drove out right after lunch to pick her up. The guy who did the work told me, in case I want to touch up other parts of the rig (um, yeah) that the white paint used is standard pure white Ford paint that is available in spray cans at Canadian Tire. Thanks for the tip!

He also said that he had some extra time and noticed that I was in the middle of a destriping project, so he thought I’d appreciate a hand. I am convinced that he saved me about 10 hours of work.

While the fiberglass portion of the rig looked pretty good with the stripes gone, the metal part looked terrible. I don’t think I ever got a picture of it. I got the stripes off the doors and hood, but there was grey glue left after. I haven’t yet found the project to get that stuff off without completely ruining my paint job. Mr. Boisvert Paint Guy did:

A non-cracked windshield is always lovely:

Now, this is what the rear of the passenger side looks like:

Bumper repair on the passenger side:

And this is the shiny rear of the driver’s side:

Now, the bumper. You can go visit the accident page to relive all the gory details of the damage, but here’s a good shot showing how bad the bumper and rear end looked:

The rear end now:

They even cleaned the front dash inside the cab. It has never looked this clean!

Another tech came to give me my keys and I asked him if he could drive the rig around to the front for me. Certainly! So getting out of Boisvert Ford was easy peasy and the traffic coming back to Chambly was almost a non-issue.

I found a dump station right here in Chambly that wasn’t, but is now on the Sanidumps site, at the Shell station. So I dumped the black tank before returning to my mother’s house.

Before parking, I Poliglowed the passenger side and then got into the driveway. My mother will help me level when she gets back from running errands.

I am thrilled with the work Boisvert Ford did on my RV and the level of service. My out of pocket costs were $388 for the windshield plus about $60 (!!!!!!!!!) for an oil change, plus tax, for a total of $512.

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Miranda Has a Screw Loose

As the hour for picking up Miranda approached today, I felt sicker and sicker. It’s the same feeling I’ve gotten before having accidents or other nasty events. I’ve always believed after the fact that the feeling would have dissipated had I changed my plans. Tonight, I decided that if I had an excuse to not retrieve Miranda, however small, I would accept it. Sure enough, something did, and as soon as I made the decision to retrieve her tomorrow, the knot in my stomach loosened. I am convinced that I avoided an accident on the perilous drive from Boucherville to Chambly.

Pictures of the repairs will wait till tomorrow since I did not have my camera, but I will give a major spoiler: she looks AMAZING. Boisvert did, at no extra cost, one job on the exterior that I have been delaying and delaying and delaying, and which makes a major difference. The only disappointment is that the left rear lower panel on the driver’s side looks brand new while the passenger side is, well, not lovely. I am going to ask them for details on the paint they used and see if I can spray the other panel myself before it gets cold out.

The bumper is being held with nuts and bolts and washers on the driver’s side, but there were only two screws used on the passenger side. One of them is loose and one disappeared. The body guy wasn’t there tonight, but the mechanic on duty said that even he can tell that the bumper will need to be bolted from the inside like the driver’s side and that there will be a smidgen of painting involved. He said that he would call the body guy tonight and that I should call first thing in the morning to confirm that the message got through. I am hoping that I can pick the rig up before noon to avoid the Friday afternoon traffic from Boucherville. The Thursday afternoon traffic was scary enough.

If I can get Miranda early tomorrow, I want to rePoliglow the driver’s side before parking (as I’m parked against a hedge), then do the rest of the rig over the weekend, including some work on the damn passenger side overcab corner that keeps leaking and looking like hell.

I doubt I’ll do any work on the electrical project, then, but I did receive the fuse I need and I’m pretty sure that the longest 1AWG cables from Canadian Tire will work with my project, so I am considering that I have found all the necessary parts. The exterior is a more pressing priority right now. Note to self: find a window frame for the house door.

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Miranda’s Back In the Shop

Well, the day I’ve been dreading for five weeks (already!!!) is here: Miranda is back at the shop. At least, her return will quickly bring a measure of serenity since the interior is perfectly squared away. I’ll be able to set up home in mere minutes when she gets back.

The drive to Boucherville was a nightmare I don’t feel like reliving. I am beyond sick and tired of driving in such a populated area. 🙁

My contact at Boisvert Ford is on holidays, but his replacement was up to speed on everything, bless them. The new windshield will cost $388 (installed). I also asked for an oil change. I didn’t get the price for that, but am expecting it to be between $100 and $200.

The filing cabinet didn’t budge an inch on the trip, yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

I had thought to go on holidays next week to Toronto, but the budget is way too tight for that right now. Even if it wasn’t, there is too much going on for me to have been able to unwind and enjoy time off. I’m hoping to make the trip in September instead.

The shop budgeted a solid week, including a full day of painting, for the repairs. They said they are cognizant that Miranda is my home and they are going to do their best to have her ready by the end of the day next Friday. But if anything derails their schedule, the repairs could extend into the following Monday. All appendages are crossed for my being homeless only one week!

The shop pre-invoiced Aviva and Aviva sent me a cheque. So as long as there are no changes, payment will not be an issue, I just have to countersign the cheque. One less stress is good!

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I Think I Owe Ford an Apology

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!