Owning a classic car is a commitment to preserving beauty and history, but it does come with its challenges.

When a fender bender threatened the classic car he had worked so hard to save for, one teenager found himself navigating not just the road, but also the courtroom!

Read on for the full story.

You don’t want to pay for repair, I guess I’ll see you in court.

I have always loved classic cars.

My first car was a 1979 Dodge Magnum GT, but it died on me, and I couldn’t get it to work again.

I sold it for scrap in late October 2017 and saved every penny I could to get another classic car.

I went without eating during my lunches at work.

I was dedicated to getting a classic car.

I was in 11th grade at the time, so I could only work 24 hours a week at $9.50 an hour.

Finally, his hard work paid off.

By the time I had saved $3,000, I was ready to find a car.

I found a 1974 Pontiac Catalina in late March 2018.

It was a Pontiac 400 cubic-inch V8, de-restricted (removing emission control systems—it’s legal in Michigan) and outfitted with performance parts like an Edelbrock carburetor.

It had been paraded around as a show car across the state.

I was in love, with everything from the maroon paint and white vinyl roof to the aftermarket police hubcaps.

I bought it, and it became my crowning achievement so far in life.

So he plans to take it out for a road trip to celebrate.

Fast forward a few months.

I had been driving the Catalina daily since I bought it and was planning a road trip around Lake Michigan later in the summer.

It was the last summer break of high school, and I wanted to celebrate with this grand road trip.

It was the day before my 18th birthday.

It was a nice day for cruising around in a ’70s land yacht.

The trip started off pretty routine.

I pulled up to an intersection close to my house. Both of my parents were in the car with me.

We stopped at the intersection at a green light because an early 2000s F150 was attempting an illegal turn.

(Michigan has a weird road design thing called the Michigan turnaround.)

This wasn’t the first time I saw someone do this, so I didn’t think twice.

I looked up and saw the light turn yellow.

But then life decided to throw a curveball.

I said aloud, “I’m going to wait this light out. I don’t want to get out there when the light turns red.”

Then the entire car lurched forward. I immediately shifted it into park and got out.

A red ’02 or ’03 Pontiac Montana (undamaged) had bumped into my Catalina (damaged).

We pulled into a Denny’s and waited for the police to arrive.

The teen begins to weigh his options with his family.

I chatted with my mom about what I could do. She told me about a mini-tort claim.

It was the only thing I could do with PLPD insurance.

I could only go after the other driver if I had over $1,000 in damages to my car.

It turns out fixing the car would be crazy expensive.

I went around my hometown and found a single shop willing to work on my Catalina.

Their estimate was $1,675!

I couldn’t believe it, and the mechanic even knocked $200 off because I knew him.

With this, I was able to start a mini-tort claim.

Then he gets more bad news from the insurance company.

A week later, I got a call from an unknown number. (I like to mess with phone scammers who say my warranty is out of date.)

I answered while taking a break before heading to work. The call went something like this:

Insurance company rep: “Hello, is this [OP]?”
Me: “Yeah, why?”
Insurance company rep: “I see you issued a claim about an accident involving a Catalina.”
Me: “Yes, I did.”
Insurance company rep: “Well, the person who hit you doesn’t have that on his policy.”
Me: “What does that mean? Will I get any money from him?”
Insurance company rep: “Nope. Have a great day.” *Hangs up.*

He’s encouraged to take the matter to court.

I panicked and was nearly late to work trying to figure out what was going on.

I called my insurance company, and they told me to sue.

I had a cut-and-dry case, and I would get the same amount of money if I sued, so that’s what I did.

I gathered everything I needed and filed the claim with small claims court.

A month and a half later, it was court date time.

This was the first chance I had to talk to him directly instead of through insurance companies.

He meets the other driver and his girlfriend, face-to-face.

The judge asked me, my parents (P), the other driver (D), and his girlfriend (DG) to step into a small room to see if we could settle privately.

His girlfriend started the conversation, directing it at me.

All parties begin pointing fingers at one another.

DG: “You were in the intersection when we hit you. You should have gone through the light.”
D: “And where did you get the $1,675 figure? I hit a tree going 40 when I was your age, and it only cost me $800.”
P: “The age of the vehicle is the reason the repair cost is so high!”
Me: “You also made the bumper cut through fiberglass moldings on both sides. You bent the frame and the entire bumper up. Not only is it an outdated platform, but I need to get 1974 parts because they’re the only body panels that will fit. The age and rarity of the parts are why the prices are higher in this case!”
DG: “Well, you shouldn’t have been driving a car that old.”
Me: “You shouldn’t have assumed I would have gone through the yellow light.”

The teen braces for the worst.

We didn’t come to an agreement before the trial.

I went into the courtroom expecting a long and heated legal battle.

The case didn’t even last five minutes.

Then the judge surprised everyone with a quick decision.

The judge said to D: “You both saw the truck do the illegal turn, and you both saw the yellow light. D should have slowed due to an obstruction, and OP stopped because of it.

It is law in the state of Michigan to stop at a yellow light if it is safe to do so. The case goes to the plaintiff (me). The court is adjourned.”

D is still paying me his installment checks to this day.

In the end, this teen was tough as steel, and it paid off!

What did Reddit have to say?

This commenter is curious how the other driver’s insurance could miraculously refuse to cover the very thing insurance is designed for.

This commenter believes this young driver deserves some serious street cred.

Luckily this judge was one of the good ones.

The journey wasn’t totally smooth, but this young driver still steered his way to victory.

Like the open road, some battles are all about staying the course.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.