No problem. Being unemployed, I don't go anywhere except to interviews and my next is for Thursday (today as I write this).

Come Wednesday I call to see if the car is ready and they mention that they kind of broke something. Sorry! Replacement parts were on the way and they would get me a rental car. They'll take care of everything.

OK, fine. Rental car. This morning I get picked up by the rental agency and get driven to their office. Forms, forms, forms and now the car. P.O.S. Ford Focus.

I had asked for a mid-size since I have to shlep three kids around but the mechanic wouldn't cover the additonal cost. Well, I didn't want to pay anything so the P.O.S. was it. Gimme the keys...

But, wait, you have to sign these forms. Do you want insurance?

Pause right here.

If a company screws up and admits it - that's a good thing.
If a company screws up and wants to make things right by you - that's a good thing.
If a company screws up and does the above two things yet you still have to pay something, anything - that's not a good thing.

The car is a cheap P.O.S.. The insurance would costs more so I declined. I'm risky. I'm hopefully covered by my AAA policy. But, the guy told, this insurance would cover everything - no deductible.

But I still declined. If the mechanic offered to take care of things. That should include "necessary options" like insurance. Why should I have to bear any burden for his screw-up?

And on that note let me segue to insurance. In California you have to have car insurance. It's mandatory. Get caught without insurance? You get a ticket, lose your license and your lunch, and receive a full body cavity search by Office Hamfist. But, unless you have a business, you can't deduct the cost. It's kind of like a tax but yet it isn't. What worries me is that the Government will make other similar "optional" non-taxes mandatory, like life insurance or health insurance.