I posted about my 2017 Prius Prime being damaged by a parking space berm on my way back from the Missouri Department of Conservation Partners Roundtable. It is now fixed and looking great again – nothing dragging, no shredded plastic tire well. My insurance provided a rental car for the 5 days it was in the shop.

It has been a very long time (maybe 20 years) since I had a car repair that required replacing part of the body and paint. It seems that this time was more efficient and a shorter time in the shop. Of course, the online claim to my insurance and text messages providing status were something new. We are paying more for insurance now, but the out-of-pocket expense was probably about the same.

As I was driving the rental car, I realized that don’t drive rental cars as often as it did pre-Covid (when I would sometimes fly to Dallas and rent a car to visit my parents) and certainly not as often as during the later part of my career when I was traveling frequently for work. The rental car felt awkward to me – about the same size as my Prius Prime but without the same power; I didn’t get used to it in the short time I had it!

In the end – I am relieved that my car is back in the garage and ready for my next road trip to Dallas.