Slammin'SAM
Never a flatbelly
I live in a cul-de-sac, the first house in a court. My neighbor has a corner lot, so his back yard borders my driveway. My wife parks her car in the driveway. Earlier this year the neighbors thankfully removed an unsightly overgrown diseased hedge that for over 25 years had separated our properties, and the ground at the back edge of their yard is still bare.
Thursday morning I walked the dog and passed the car getting the paper at the top of the driveway - nothing was amiss. Then the neighbor came out to mow on his Deere rider. My wife remarked to me that he was mowing in the opposite direction from usual, discharging toward our property. Just after he finished, the mail came and my wife walked up to the mailbox - and came back in fuming. The mower had thrown rocks from the bare area and cracked her driver side front window, and put a dime sized chip in the rear door window. Still angry, she called the neighbor and told him about it, and asked that he either mow in the other direction in the future or to call her when he planned to mow so she could move her car.
Mortified and totally unaware he had damaged her car, he immediately offered to pay for the damage. He told her to call one of the places that come to your home and repair it right there.
I went on-line and quickly got 2 prices from such companies, $598 and $610. I thought that was way high, so I talked to two local nearby glass firms, and got prices of $336 and $332 if we bring it to them (both within 5 miles and 1.5 hrs for the work). I lined up the job with the $332 firm.
THE QUESTION The cost of this job would a burden but not a crusher on our finances, and I know it would be no worse than that for the neighbor. Should I just 1) eat the cost, 2) let him pay for his damage, or 3) perhaps split the cost with the neighbor?
I would appreciate all input from THP'ers, who I know to be morally and ethically grounded - after all we are all golfers, right? (The neighbor is a golfer too).
Thursday morning I walked the dog and passed the car getting the paper at the top of the driveway - nothing was amiss. Then the neighbor came out to mow on his Deere rider. My wife remarked to me that he was mowing in the opposite direction from usual, discharging toward our property. Just after he finished, the mail came and my wife walked up to the mailbox - and came back in fuming. The mower had thrown rocks from the bare area and cracked her driver side front window, and put a dime sized chip in the rear door window. Still angry, she called the neighbor and told him about it, and asked that he either mow in the other direction in the future or to call her when he planned to mow so she could move her car.
Mortified and totally unaware he had damaged her car, he immediately offered to pay for the damage. He told her to call one of the places that come to your home and repair it right there.
I went on-line and quickly got 2 prices from such companies, $598 and $610. I thought that was way high, so I talked to two local nearby glass firms, and got prices of $336 and $332 if we bring it to them (both within 5 miles and 1.5 hrs for the work). I lined up the job with the $332 firm.
THE QUESTION The cost of this job would a burden but not a crusher on our finances, and I know it would be no worse than that for the neighbor. Should I just 1) eat the cost, 2) let him pay for his damage, or 3) perhaps split the cost with the neighbor?
I would appreciate all input from THP'ers, who I know to be morally and ethically grounded - after all we are all golfers, right? (The neighbor is a golfer too).
