Some of you may recall that I was just fundraising to pay the property taxes to keep my friend Eli, their dog Ianto, and their grandmother Hazel in their home.
Well. Eli paid the property taxes. Hazel’s thank you was to (illegally) evict them.
Details here:
Eli, a disabled, mixed-race trans person, and their dog Ianto, have been … Kate Montgomery needs your support for Help Eli and Ianto Find a
As usual with my fundraisers, if you donate, and send me a screenshot (with your name and financial details cropped out!) I will write you fic.
If you can signal boost else-web, that’s even better : bsky and mastodon links are below.
TLDR
Grandma Hazel kicked Eli and Ianto out after Eli paid the property taxes for her.
For more details, click the GFM link below!
Operat
Remember how I was fundraising for a friend to pay their grandma’s property taxes so they and their dog could stay housed?
Grandma Hazel k
I will gladly write thank you fic for donations. #WeHelpUs rules apply
* send me a screenshot of donation (crop out your name and financial details!)
We used the last of this to take doggo to the vet and he has a mass they need to biopsy. They failed to aspirate once already, so they might have to sedate him and remove it. If anyone could help signal boost or donate, just the rest of his shots will be triple digits🙏🏾💜
Thank you to everyone who has shared and/or donated!
Here is a list of all the things you helped us with:
paid the summer and winter property taxes, meaning we won't be in violation of the mortgage terms and they won't try to repossess the house!
paid off grama's surgery bills from last summer before they got sent to collections!
renewed my driver's license before it expired today!
helped with groceries
helped with more of grama's medical expenses
(pending) taking ianto to the vet for the first time since 2023 and getting him as many shots as we can afford
I am really genuinely so grateful to have been able to pay off these things and to have a little bit of money to get some meds and grocery staples until payday on Wednesday, especially since grama had to go to urgent care today, which means copays and prescriptions.
As of right now donations are still being accepted, and that money is going into the vet bill fund, in case they find that Ianto needs more than just a checkup and standard shots.
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I’m a mixed-race disabled trans Michigander living with (and caring for) my retired elderly gra… Eli B needs your support for Fix a Disabled
It's been a little while since my last update, so to catch everyone up: I'm a trans disabled Michigander living with and caring for my elderly grandmother, and our car was damaged in a fender bender that seems to have resulted in water getting into the trunk and potentially damaging the hybrid battery, which is under the back seat.
The estimate currently sits at about $8,200, with a potential further $4,000 if the hybrid battery needs to be replaced. We live paycheck-to-paycheck: I don’t have that kind of money! But you can’t get around in my part of Michigan without a car.
Can you help me get my car fixed, so I can get groceries and get to the doctors’ and lawyers appointments for my SSDI appeal?
You can donate via my gofundme or my ko-fi, or see my cpap supply wishlist for tangible donation ideas.
In any event, I thank you simply for reading this, and even if you can't donate anything financially I would deeply appreciate if you could share this post or the gfm directly.
The original tumblr post can be found here or you can share on xitter or bsky as well.
If you want more details:
The photos in this post were taken just before we had it towed to the shop for an estimate, and you can clearly see several inches of water in the spare tire well and condensation going all the way up to the wiring that leads through to the cabin.
I spoke with the shop today and they've done as thorough an estimate as they can without taking the car apart, because once they start disassembling it they won't be able to put any damaged parts back. The estimate for the visible damage currently sits at about $8,200, just for what they can already tell needs to be repaired. Unfortunately they can't fully assess the hybrid battery without a teardown, so that amount is still currently unknown, but if it does need to be replaced it will be about $4,000 additionally. They did say the battery is no longer showing an error code, but due to the amount of water in the trunk it could be that things have dried out enough that they currently seem fine, but the problem may continue to happen intermittently.
I've gone ahead and updated the goal to accommodate this estimate (with a bit of space to cover what we've already spent on the tow, as well as room for the fees). I am deeply grateful for everyone who has shared and donated so far, and would very much appreciate if you could continue to share my campaign with as many people as possible.
Hello, everyone. This update is a little different from previous ones.
As far as the car repairs go, I got an email today that the shop couldn't figure out what is wrong, so they had it towed to a specialist. The rental is under my name, so I'll still have access to a vehicle for a while, although I still have no idea how I'm going to pay for it. The shop is heavily subsidizing it, so it works out to about $140/week plus taxes, but we've already had it two weeks, and who knows how long the specialist will need to diagnose and fix the problem.
And now, the twist: Those of you who saw the campaign I attempted last January will know that my grandmother can be incredibly difficult to live with, and it has finally reached the point where having a roof over my head is not worth the toll she is taking on my mental health. I've begun the process of finding alternative housing, which will likely be lengthy, but part of that means that they count all income I bring in, including the funds from this campaign.
Considering I'm not going to be able to keep the car when I leave, I don't really want to affect my chances of getting housing because I'm trying to help save a vehicle that I won't be able to use once it's finally repaired. In light of that, I'm going to be closing the ability to donate to the campaign, but if anyone wants to reach out you can still contact me via the main page, and I sincerely thank all of you for helping me get along to this point.
I wish you all good luck and joy in your lives, and I'll do my best to keep everyone updated even though we won't be collecting any more gfm donations just so we all have a chance at some narrative resolution.
I’m a mixed-race disabled trans Michigander living with (and caring for) my retired elderly gra… Eli B needs your support for Fix a Disabled
It's been a little while since my last update, so to catch everyone up: I'm a trans disabled Michigander living with and caring for my elderly grandmother, and our car was damaged in a fender bender that seems to have resulted in water getting into the trunk and potentially damaging the hybrid battery, which is under the back seat.
The estimate currently sits at about $8,200, with a potential further $4,000 if the hybrid battery needs to be replaced. We live paycheck-to-paycheck: I don’t have that kind of money! But you can’t get around in my part of Michigan without a car.
Can you help me get my car fixed, so I can get groceries and get to the doctors’ and lawyers appointments for my SSDI appeal?
You can donate via my gofundme or my ko-fi, or see my cpap supply wishlist for tangible donation ideas.
In any event, I thank you simply for reading this, and even if you can't donate anything financially I would deeply appreciate if you could share this post or the gfm directly.
The original tumblr post can be found here or you can share on xitter or bsky as well.
If you want more details:
The photos in this post were taken just before we had it towed to the shop for an estimate, and you can clearly see several inches of water in the spare tire well and condensation going all the way up to the wiring that leads through to the cabin.
I spoke with the shop today and they've done as thorough an estimate as they can without taking the car apart, because once they start disassembling it they won't be able to put any damaged parts back. The estimate for the visible damage currently sits at about $8,200, just for what they can already tell needs to be repaired. Unfortunately they can't fully assess the hybrid battery without a teardown, so that amount is still currently unknown, but if it does need to be replaced it will be about $4,000 additionally. They did say the battery is no longer showing an error code, but due to the amount of water in the trunk it could be that things have dried out enough that they currently seem fine, but the problem may continue to happen intermittently.
I've gone ahead and updated the goal to accommodate this estimate (with a bit of space to cover what we've already spent on the tow, as well as room for the fees). I am deeply grateful for everyone who has shared and donated so far, and would very much appreciate if you could continue to share my campaign with as many people as possible.
Hello everyone! Good news (and not great news)! They called and said the car was done today so I picked it up! It looks great, everything opens and closes as it should, and it felt normal when I drove home!
Unfortunately, while I was driving the maintenance lights came on and said that the Blind Spot Monitor (the sensor they had to completely replace) and the Rear Cross Traffic Monitor were both unavailable. I made several small stops on the way home in the name of science and celebration (gas, pharmacy, pizza) and the messages came back every time I turned the car back on. The shop closed quite soon after I picked her up, so I'll have to call them tomorrow and probably take her back for more work, which is really disappointing, but it was quite nice to drive even for a short while in the good weather we have today!
I will, of course, keep everyone apprised of what happens going forward, and thank you all for your support and patience!
Hello again. Last we left off I'd picked up the car, but two warning lights came on on the way home from the shop. Monday I took it back in, and they said they fixed it, so I picked it up on Wednesday and got about two and a half miles from the shop before both of the same lights (Rear Cross Traffic Monitoring Unavailable and Blind Spot Monitoring Unavailable) came on again. I tried to call the shop but their voicemail was full (???) so I emailed the manager, and he emailed me back yesterday afternoon saying that he was going to get in touch with the insurance company because the blind spot sensor that is erroring is the one on the passenger side, and they replaced the one on the driver's side and supposedly didn't touch the passenger side blind spot monitor or the rear cross traffic monitor. I was hoping he'd contact me sometime today, but they're now closed until Monday, so I don't really have anything constructive to share except that we're still in limbo with repairs.
The car is drivable, and I can turn off blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic monitoring so at least my dashboard isn't consumed by alternating warnings, but both those things were working before I took the car to the shop and they ought to still work now that I have it back. I'm getting pretty fatigued by all the back and forth, but I deserve to have the car with the features that I paid for, so I'm doing my best to stick to it, and I will, of course, keep you all in the loop as things progress.
We are currently on the third round of the car being back in the shop (I've had the ability to drive my own car less than a week since it broke down in January and we finally got it into a shop in March) while they test those sensors and try to figure out what's wrong with them. The shop is subsidizing a rental car so we can still go to the doctor's and get groceries etc, but we could still use help paying for it if you can spare anything, including sharing the campaign.
I've also started hearing back from various public assistance programs and so far it's not been good news, and none of the part time jobs I've applied for have so much as contacted me in the last few months. What this means is that, aside from the car, we've also hit the point where we're no longer able to keep up with the bills. If you can afford to donate any amount, or even just share this campaign around, my Grama and I would *deeply* appreciate your help. I also have P*yPal and c*shapp if anyone would prefer a link to donate to one of those.
Happy pride,
Eli
Support Eli On Ko-fi. Ko-fi lets you support the people and causes you love with small donations
I’m a mixed-race disabled trans Michigander living with (and caring for) my retired elderly gra… Eli B needs your support for Fix a Disabled
It's been a little while since my last update, so to catch everyone up: I'm a trans disabled Michigander living with and caring for my elderly grandmother, and our car was damaged in a fender bender that seems to have resulted in water getting into the trunk and potentially damaging the hybrid battery, which is under the back seat.
The estimate currently sits at about $8,200, with a potential further $4,000 if the hybrid battery needs to be replaced. We live paycheck-to-paycheck: I don’t have that kind of money! But you can’t get around in my part of Michigan without a car.
Can you help me get my car fixed, so I can get groceries and get to the doctors’ and lawyers appointments for my SSDI appeal?
You can donate via my gofundme or my ko-fi, or see my cpap supply wishlist for tangible donation ideas.
In any event, I thank you simply for reading this, and even if you can't donate anything financially I would deeply appreciate if you could share this post or the gfm directly.
The original tumblr post can be found here or you can share on xitter or bsky as well.
If you want more details:
The photos in this post were taken just before we had it towed to the shop for an estimate, and you can clearly see several inches of water in the spare tire well and condensation going all the way up to the wiring that leads through to the cabin.
I spoke with the shop today and they've done as thorough an estimate as they can without taking the car apart, because once they start disassembling it they won't be able to put any damaged parts back. The estimate for the visible damage currently sits at about $8,200, just for what they can already tell needs to be repaired. Unfortunately they can't fully assess the hybrid battery without a teardown, so that amount is still currently unknown, but if it does need to be replaced it will be about $4,000 additionally. They did say the battery is no longer showing an error code, but due to the amount of water in the trunk it could be that things have dried out enough that they currently seem fine, but the problem may continue to happen intermittently.
I've gone ahead and updated the goal to accommodate this estimate (with a bit of space to cover what we've already spent on the tow, as well as room for the fees). I am deeply grateful for everyone who has shared and donated so far, and would very much appreciate if you could continue to share my campaign with as many people as possible.
Hello everyone! Good news (and not great news)! They called and said the car was done today so I picked it up! It looks great, everything opens and closes as it should, and it felt normal when I drove home!
Unfortunately, while I was driving the maintenance lights came on and said that the Blind Spot Monitor (the sensor they had to completely replace) and the Rear Cross Traffic Monitor were both unavailable. I made several small stops on the way home in the name of science and celebration (gas, pharmacy, pizza) and the messages came back every time I turned the car back on. The shop closed quite soon after I picked her up, so I'll have to call them tomorrow and probably take her back for more work, which is really disappointing, but it was quite nice to drive even for a short while in the good weather we have today!
I will, of course, keep everyone apprised of what happens going forward, and thank you all for your support and patience!
Hello again. Last we left off I'd picked up the car, but two warning lights came on on the way home from the shop. Monday I took it back in, and they said they fixed it, so I picked it up on Wednesday and got about two and a half miles from the shop before both of the same lights (Rear Cross Traffic Monitoring Unavailable and Blind Spot Monitoring Unavailable) came on again. I tried to call the shop but their voicemail was full (???) so I emailed the manager, and he emailed me back yesterday afternoon saying that he was going to get in touch with the insurance company because the blind spot sensor that is erroring is the one on the passenger side, and they replaced the one on the driver's side and supposedly didn't touch the passenger side blind spot monitor or the rear cross traffic monitor. I was hoping he'd contact me sometime today, but they're now closed until Monday, so I don't really have anything constructive to share except that we're still in limbo with repairs.
The car is drivable, and I can turn off blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic monitoring so at least my dashboard isn't consumed by alternating warnings, but both those things were working before I took the car to the shop and they ought to still work now that I have it back. I'm getting pretty fatigued by all the back and forth, but I deserve to have the car with the features that I paid for, so I'm doing my best to stick to it, and I will, of course, keep you all in the loop as things progress.
Hi everyone, sorry for the delay in updating. Partly it's because we've had health and house stuff happening here in chez Eli & grama that's been rather pressing, and partly it's because I don't really have any real news and kind of kept hoping if I put it off another day that maybe I would. No such luck, unfortunately.
The car is currently in the shop for the third time, and thankfully they're sibsidizing another rental for us. They spoke with the insurance and some others and last I heard, they suspect that when they replaced the driver's side blind spot sensor they might have knocked the rear cross traffic and passenger blind spot sensors out of alignment, and apparently they're preposterously sensitive. They've had it since last Wednesday now, and the manager said that they might keep it a couple days longer than they normally would to give them more time to test it and make sure the issue has been resolved and I don't have to do this a *fourth* time.
I will be upping the goal again a bit, because all my disability and senior assistance irons are still in the fire atm, and while the shop *is* heavily subsiding the rental, we do still need some help covering the remainder, as well as gas, because we are not used to fueling nonhybrids and this hurts our wallet, even only driving for necessities. If anyone could pitch in even a little bit, it would be greatly appreciated. <3
Thank you all so much for your continued support and patience,
I’m a mixed-race disabled trans Michigander living with (and caring for) my retired elderly gra… Eli B needs your support for Fix a Disabled
It's been a little while since my last update, so to catch everyone up: I'm a trans disabled Michigander living with and caring for my elderly grandmother, and our car was damaged in a fender bender that seems to have resulted in water getting into the trunk and potentially damaging the hybrid battery, which is under the back seat.
The estimate currently sits at about $8,200, with a potential further $4,000 if the hybrid battery needs to be replaced. We live paycheck-to-paycheck: I don’t have that kind of money! But you can’t get around in my part of Michigan without a car.
Can you help me get my car fixed, so I can get groceries and get to the doctors’ and lawyers appointments for my SSDI appeal?
You can donate via my gofundme or my ko-fi, or see my cpap supply wishlist for tangible donation ideas.
In any event, I thank you simply for reading this, and even if you can't donate anything financially I would deeply appreciate if you could share this post or the gfm directly.
The original tumblr post can be found here or you can share on xitter or bsky as well.
If you want more details:
The photos in this post were taken just before we had it towed to the shop for an estimate, and you can clearly see several inches of water in the spare tire well and condensation going all the way up to the wiring that leads through to the cabin.
I spoke with the shop today and they've done as thorough an estimate as they can without taking the car apart, because once they start disassembling it they won't be able to put any damaged parts back. The estimate for the visible damage currently sits at about $8,200, just for what they can already tell needs to be repaired. Unfortunately they can't fully assess the hybrid battery without a teardown, so that amount is still currently unknown, but if it does need to be replaced it will be about $4,000 additionally. They did say the battery is no longer showing an error code, but due to the amount of water in the trunk it could be that things have dried out enough that they currently seem fine, but the problem may continue to happen intermittently.
I've gone ahead and updated the goal to accommodate this estimate (with a bit of space to cover what we've already spent on the tow, as well as room for the fees). I am deeply grateful for everyone who has shared and donated so far, and would very much appreciate if you could continue to share my campaign with as many people as possible.
Hello everyone! Good news (and not great news)! They called and said the car was done today so I picked it up! It looks great, everything opens and closes as it should, and it felt normal when I drove home!
Unfortunately, while I was driving the maintenance lights came on and said that the Blind Spot Monitor (the sensor they had to completely replace) and the Rear Cross Traffic Monitor were both unavailable. I made several small stops on the way home in the name of science and celebration (gas, pharmacy, pizza) and the messages came back every time I turned the car back on. The shop closed quite soon after I picked her up, so I'll have to call them tomorrow and probably take her back for more work, which is really disappointing, but it was quite nice to drive even for a short while in the good weather we have today!
I will, of course, keep everyone apprised of what happens going forward, and thank you all for your support and patience!
Hello again. Last we left off I'd picked up the car, but two warning lights came on on the way home from the shop. Monday I took it back in, and they said they fixed it, so I picked it up on Wednesday and got about two and a half miles from the shop before both of the same lights (Rear Cross Traffic Monitoring Unavailable and Blind Spot Monitoring Unavailable) came on again. I tried to call the shop but their voicemail was full (???) so I emailed the manager, and he emailed me back yesterday afternoon saying that he was going to get in touch with the insurance company because the blind spot sensor that is erroring is the one on the passenger side, and they replaced the one on the driver's side and supposedly didn't touch the passenger side blind spot monitor or the rear cross traffic monitor. I was hoping he'd contact me sometime today, but they're now closed until Monday, so I don't really have anything constructive to share except that we're still in limbo with repairs.
The car is drivable, and I can turn off blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic monitoring so at least my dashboard isn't consumed by alternating warnings, but both those things were working before I took the car to the shop and they ought to still work now that I have it back. I'm getting pretty fatigued by all the back and forth, but I deserve to have the car with the features that I paid for, so I'm doing my best to stick to it, and I will, of course, keep you all in the loop as things progress.
I’m a mixed-race disabled trans Michigander living with (and caring for) my retired elderly gra… Eli B needs your support for Fix a Disabled
It's been a little while since my last update, so to catch everyone up: I'm a trans disabled Michigander living with and caring for my elderly grandmother, and our car was damaged in a fender bender that seems to have resulted in water getting into the trunk and potentially damaging the hybrid battery, which is under the back seat.
The estimate currently sits at about $8,200, with a potential further $4,000 if the hybrid battery needs to be replaced. We live paycheck-to-paycheck: I don’t have that kind of money! But you can’t get around in my part of Michigan without a car.
Can you help me get my car fixed, so I can get groceries and get to the doctors’ and lawyers appointments for my SSDI appeal?
You can donate via my gofundme or my ko-fi, or see my cpap supply wishlist for tangible donation ideas.
In any event, I thank you simply for reading this, and even if you can't donate anything financially I would deeply appreciate if you could share this post or the gfm directly.
The original tumblr post can be found here or you can share on xitter or bsky as well.
If you want more details:
The photos in this post were taken just before we had it towed to the shop for an estimate, and you can clearly see several inches of water in the spare tire well and condensation going all the way up to the wiring that leads through to the cabin.
I spoke with the shop today and they've done as thorough an estimate as they can without taking the car apart, because once they start disassembling it they won't be able to put any damaged parts back. The estimate for the visible damage currently sits at about $8,200, just for what they can already tell needs to be repaired. Unfortunately they can't fully assess the hybrid battery without a teardown, so that amount is still currently unknown, but if it does need to be replaced it will be about $4,000 additionally. They did say the battery is no longer showing an error code, but due to the amount of water in the trunk it could be that things have dried out enough that they currently seem fine, but the problem may continue to happen intermittently.
I've gone ahead and updated the goal to accommodate this estimate (with a bit of space to cover what we've already spent on the tow, as well as room for the fees). I am deeply grateful for everyone who has shared and donated so far, and would very much appreciate if you could continue to share my campaign with as many people as possible.
Hello everyone! Good news (and not great news)! They called and said the car was done today so I picked it up! It looks great, everything opens and closes as it should, and it felt normal when I drove home!
Unfortunately, while I was driving the maintenance lights came on and said that the Blind Spot Monitor (the sensor they had to completely replace) and the Rear Cross Traffic Monitor were both unavailable. I made several small stops on the way home in the name of science and celebration (gas, pharmacy, pizza) and the messages came back every time I turned the car back on. The shop closed quite soon after I picked her up, so I'll have to call them tomorrow and probably take her back for more work, which is really disappointing, but it was quite nice to drive even for a short while in the good weather we have today!
I will, of course, keep everyone apprised of what happens going forward, and thank you all for your support and patience!
I’m a mixed-race disabled trans Michigander living with (and caring for) my retired elderly gra… Eli B needs your support for Fix a Disabled
It's been a little while since my last update, so to catch everyone up: I'm a trans disabled Michigander living with and caring for my elderly grandmother, and our car was damaged in a fender bender that seems to have resulted in water getting into the trunk and potentially damaging the hybrid battery, which is under the back seat.
The estimate currently sits at about $8,200, with a potential further $4,000 if the hybrid battery needs to be replaced. We live paycheck-to-paycheck: I don’t have that kind of money! But you can’t get around in my part of Michigan without a car.
Can you help me get my car fixed, so I can get groceries and get to the doctors’ and lawyers appointments for my SSDI appeal?
You can donate via my gofundme or my ko-fi, or see my cpap supply wishlist for tangible donation ideas.
In any event, I thank you simply for reading this, and even if you can't donate anything financially I would deeply appreciate if you could share this post or the gfm directly.
The original tumblr post can be found here or you can share on xitter or bsky as well.
If you want more details:
The photos in this post were taken just before we had it towed to the shop for an estimate, and you can clearly see several inches of water in the spare tire well and condensation going all the way up to the wiring that leads through to the cabin.
I spoke with the shop today and they've done as thorough an estimate as they can without taking the car apart, because once they start disassembling it they won't be able to put any damaged parts back. The estimate for the visible damage currently sits at about $8,200, just for what they can already tell needs to be repaired. Unfortunately they can't fully assess the hybrid battery without a teardown, so that amount is still currently unknown, but if it does need to be replaced it will be about $4,000 additionally. They did say the battery is no longer showing an error code, but due to the amount of water in the trunk it could be that things have dried out enough that they currently seem fine, but the problem may continue to happen intermittently.
I've gone ahead and updated the goal to accommodate this estimate (with a bit of space to cover what we've already spent on the tow, as well as room for the fees). I am deeply grateful for everyone who has shared and donated so far, and would very much appreciate if you could continue to share my campaign with as many people as possible.
Hello! Sorry this is so late (in the week and the day) but grama has been sick and I've been taking care of her! (we've been to the doctor and she's being treated, but it will be a few days yet before her symptoms should start to abate, in case anyone is concerned!) Anyway!
This week they replaced the quarterpanel and yesterday they said they were preparing for paint, and we're still on track for the 19th promise date! Assuming everything checks out when they examine the electricals, of course. (fingers crossed) Hopefully next week I will update with pics of my shiny fixed baby!
Thank you all again for coming on this journey with me and for all your help and support!
Hi everyone! Today is the promise date, but unfortunately the car isn't done yet. The shop said it will hopefully be done Tuesday, though! It's in paint right now, and the insurance came through on more than expected, so I've updated the final total!
We're only short a few hundred dollars at this point, so if you could boost and or donate it would be super appreciated! This total will cover the cost of the repairs and the rental car we've been using through today, because the insurance only subsidizes a certain timespan and the cost to rent from tomorrow to Tuesday is gonna go way up. So the rental will go back today, and I'll get a ride to the shop next week to pick up my car when it's done (hopefully).
Thank you all again so much for your help and support! We're almost at the finish line!
Hello again everyone. Not good news yet this time either, and I'm pretty disappointed about it. Last week they said they were finishing up the quarter panel and hoped to paint Tuesday. Tuesday they said they hoped to paint that day or the next, and changed the promise date (which was April 19, and already passed) to May 3, and said they could take over the rental from the insurance company, although I had already returned it last Friday. Yesterday they again said it was "almost ready for paint."
I'm not very happy to have been without a car again this week and probably for most of next, but luckily family are willing to help out with picking up groceries, getting grama to the doctor, and running errands for us while we're homebound (again). We were able to cover the cost of the rental (as well as the prior towing) with funds from this campaign, so I want to thank everyone for enabling me to have a rental for the month that I did. It was nice to do our own grocery shopping again, and I even returned recyclables! Hopefully next week I will be able to update with a picture of my beautiful, fully repaired Camry, but either way I'll check in again and let everyone know what's going on.
I’m a mixed-race disabled trans Michigander living with (and caring for) my retired elderly gra… Eli B needs your support for Fix a Disabled
It's been a little while since my last update, so to catch everyone up: I'm a trans disabled Michigander living with and caring for my elderly grandmother, and our car was damaged in a fender bender that seems to have resulted in water getting into the trunk and potentially damaging the hybrid battery, which is under the back seat.
The estimate currently sits at about $8,200, with a potential further $4,000 if the hybrid battery needs to be replaced. We live paycheck-to-paycheck: I don’t have that kind of money! But you can’t get around in my part of Michigan without a car.
Can you help me get my car fixed, so I can get groceries and get to the doctors’ and lawyers appointments for my SSDI appeal?
You can donate via my gofundme or my ko-fi, or see my cpap supply wishlist for tangible donation ideas.
In any event, I thank you simply for reading this, and even if you can't donate anything financially I would deeply appreciate if you could share this post or the gfm directly.
The original tumblr post can be found here or you can share on xitter or bsky as well.
If you want more details:
The photos in this post were taken just before we had it towed to the shop for an estimate, and you can clearly see several inches of water in the spare tire well and condensation going all the way up to the wiring that leads through to the cabin.
I spoke with the shop today and they've done as thorough an estimate as they can without taking the car apart, because once they start disassembling it they won't be able to put any damaged parts back. The estimate for the visible damage currently sits at about $8,200, just for what they can already tell needs to be repaired. Unfortunately they can't fully assess the hybrid battery without a teardown, so that amount is still currently unknown, but if it does need to be replaced it will be about $4,000 additionally. They did say the battery is no longer showing an error code, but due to the amount of water in the trunk it could be that things have dried out enough that they currently seem fine, but the problem may continue to happen intermittently.
I've gone ahead and updated the goal to accommodate this estimate (with a bit of space to cover what we've already spent on the tow, as well as room for the fees). I am deeply grateful for everyone who has shared and donated so far, and would very much appreciate if you could continue to share my campaign with as many people as possible.
Hello! Sorry this is so late (in the week and the day) but grama has been sick and I've been taking care of her! (we've been to the doctor and she's being treated, but it will be a few days yet before her symptoms should start to abate, in case anyone is concerned!) Anyway!
This week they replaced the quarterpanel and yesterday they said they were preparing for paint, and we're still on track for the 19th promise date! Assuming everything checks out when they examine the electricals, of course. (fingers crossed) Hopefully next week I will update with pics of my shiny fixed baby!
Thank you all again for coming on this journey with me and for all your help and support!
Hi everyone! Today is the promise date, but unfortunately the car isn't done yet. The shop said it will hopefully be done Tuesday, though! It's in paint right now, and the insurance came through on more than expected, so I've updated the final total!
We're only short a few hundred dollars at this point, so if you could boost and or donate it would be super appreciated! This total will cover the cost of the repairs and the rental car we've been using through today, because the insurance only subsidizes a certain timespan and the cost to rent from tomorrow to Tuesday is gonna go way up. So the rental will go back today, and I'll get a ride to the shop next week to pick up my car when it's done (hopefully).
Thank you all again so much for your help and support! We're almost at the finish line!
I’m a mixed-race disabled trans Michigander living with (and caring for) my retired elderly gra… Eli B needs your support for Fix a Disabled
It's been a little while since my last update, so to catch everyone up: I'm a trans disabled Michigander living with and caring for my elderly grandmother, and our car was damaged in a fender bender that seems to have resulted in water getting into the trunk and potentially damaging the hybrid battery, which is under the back seat.
The estimate currently sits at about $8,200, with a potential further $4,000 if the hybrid battery needs to be replaced. We live paycheck-to-paycheck: I don’t have that kind of money! But you can’t get around in my part of Michigan without a car.
Can you help me get my car fixed, so I can get groceries and get to the doctors’ and lawyers appointments for my SSDI appeal?
You can donate via my gofundme or my ko-fi, or see my cpap supply wishlist for tangible donation ideas.
In any event, I thank you simply for reading this, and even if you can't donate anything financially I would deeply appreciate if you could share this post or the gfm directly.
The original tumblr post can be found here or you can share on xitter or bsky as well.
If you want more details:
The photos in this post were taken just before we had it towed to the shop for an estimate, and you can clearly see several inches of water in the spare tire well and condensation going all the way up to the wiring that leads through to the cabin.
I spoke with the shop today and they've done as thorough an estimate as they can without taking the car apart, because once they start disassembling it they won't be able to put any damaged parts back. The estimate for the visible damage currently sits at about $8,200, just for what they can already tell needs to be repaired. Unfortunately they can't fully assess the hybrid battery without a teardown, so that amount is still currently unknown, but if it does need to be replaced it will be about $4,000 additionally. They did say the battery is no longer showing an error code, but due to the amount of water in the trunk it could be that things have dried out enough that they currently seem fine, but the problem may continue to happen intermittently.
I've gone ahead and updated the goal to accommodate this estimate (with a bit of space to cover what we've already spent on the tow, as well as room for the fees). I am deeply grateful for everyone who has shared and donated so far, and would very much appreciate if you could continue to share my campaign with as many people as possible.
Hello! Sorry this is so late (in the week and the day) but grama has been sick and I've been taking care of her! (we've been to the doctor and she's being treated, but it will be a few days yet before her symptoms should start to abate, in case anyone is concerned!) Anyway!
This week they replaced the quarterpanel and yesterday they said they were preparing for paint, and we're still on track for the 19th promise date! Assuming everything checks out when they examine the electricals, of course. (fingers crossed) Hopefully next week I will update with pics of my shiny fixed baby!
Thank you all again for coming on this journey with me and for all your help and support!
I’m a mixed-race disabled trans Michigander living with (and caring for) my retired elderly gra… Eli B needs your support for Fix a Disabled
It's been a little while since my last update, so to catch everyone up: I'm a trans disabled Michigander living with and caring for my elderly grandmother, and our car was damaged in a fender bender that seems to have resulted in water getting into the trunk and potentially damaging the hybrid battery, which is under the back seat.
The estimate currently sits at about $8,200, with a potential further $4,000 if the hybrid battery needs to be replaced. We live paycheck-to-paycheck: I don’t have that kind of money! But you can’t get around in my part of Michigan without a car.
Can you help me get my car fixed, so I can get groceries and get to the doctors’ and lawyers appointments for my SSDI appeal?
You can donate via my gofundme or my ko-fi, or see my cpap supply wishlist for tangible donation ideas.
In any event, I thank you simply for reading this, and even if you can't donate anything financially I would deeply appreciate if you could share this post or the gfm directly.
The original tumblr post can be found here or you can share on xitter or bsky as well.
If you want more details:
The photos in this post were taken just before we had it towed to the shop for an estimate, and you can clearly see several inches of water in the spare tire well and condensation going all the way up to the wiring that leads through to the cabin.
I spoke with the shop today and they've done as thorough an estimate as they can without taking the car apart, because once they start disassembling it they won't be able to put any damaged parts back. The estimate for the visible damage currently sits at about $8,200, just for what they can already tell needs to be repaired. Unfortunately they can't fully assess the hybrid battery without a teardown, so that amount is still currently unknown, but if it does need to be replaced it will be about $4,000 additionally. They did say the battery is no longer showing an error code, but due to the amount of water in the trunk it could be that things have dried out enough that they currently seem fine, but the problem may continue to happen intermittently.
I've gone ahead and updated the goal to accommodate this estimate (with a bit of space to cover what we've already spent on the tow, as well as room for the fees). I am deeply grateful for everyone who has shared and donated so far, and would very much appreciate if you could continue to share my campaign with as many people as possible.
Hello again, everyone! The car has been dropped off at the shop and insurance has subsidized a rental for the duration! The visible damage estimate was approved by the insurance, so the shop was able to order and receive the parts despite there currently being a shortage on many things, which is excellent! I did make *sure* to tell the person who checked me in (in addition to the one who did the initial estimate) about the suspected water damage to the hybrid battery, and he warned me that that might be tricky and to not expect a progress call until probably the middle of next week or so, but considering the guy who did the estimate told me to expect that they would have it around 3 weeks this lines up! Because if they do indeed need to do interior work as well that means they need to write up another estimate, send it to the insurance, have it approved (or not, and then contact me to cover them in cash upfront), order any parts they need, wait however long for those to arrive, and *then* they'll be able to complete the work.
I will, of course, remain transparent with the progress of how things are going, so as soon as I know anything else you all will too! Thank you once again for sharing and/or donating, and please keep us in your positive thoughts!
Hello hello! It's been one week since the car was dropped at the shop and I just heard back from them! Going forward we can anticipate updates every Tuesday and Thursday and they were very apologetic about missing this past Tuesday, but considering they said not to hear back until the end of this week I was perfectly okay with it!
Anyway, on to the important bit: We have a promise date for completion! The absolute outside estimate is April 19, end of day!
For a little more detail, they completed the teardown and full body inspection and discovered that the blind spot sensor was basically obliterated, so they had to order a new one, and once that comes in they'll be able to repair the body. Once the body repairs are done they'll do a full diagnostic to check all the electronics etc and that's the point at which they'll investigate the hybrid battery, which is part of why the promise date is so far out. If everything comes back clean once the body is repaired then we'll get it back sooner, but that date gives them time to potentially order and replace the hybrid battery if need be, so while I'm a little disappointed the timeline got extended I think it's also understandable, and I'd rather we get the car properly sorted the first time than rush things and potentially run into problems later on because of that.
Thank you all so much for your support and I will be back with an update next week!
Eli
p.s. I really wanted to make a barenaked ladies reference at the beginning of this, so if you did that in your head also, handshake emote!
It's that time again! I got a call on Tuesday that everything was proceeding apace, but since I was expecting another today I decided to combine updates. The shop says things are still going well, and it's currently getting the quarter panel removed, and they hope to have it ready for paint next week! After that it'll be on to testing the electronics and etc, and we're still on track for April 19 latest.
Also, if anyone wants to laugh with me, the rental I was given is a Chevrolet Spark, and boy is it Loaded with electronic features while compromising on the quality of the physical parts, and it's *so tiny* but also surprisingly spacious? It's an interesting experience, but we'll just say I'm glad this isn't actually my car, and that the rental is being heavily subsidized by the car insurance.
Thank you for all your help, and I'll be back next week!
