05-22-2009, 08:46 PM
A brief preface of this topic can be found in the recent "timing belt failure" thread ( for those of you who have not yet seen the related posts ); in essence, what I proposed is that we explore the feasibility of establishing a mechanism via which our forum members can help others among us who may experience catastrophic mechanical failures and are facing major financial challenges as a result of such, but that we do so with a bit more than just a post or two expressing empathy. This is a unique, small knit community and I think all of us have a common bond which transcends more than just the fact that we own the same model car. Not sure what exactly that is, or how to articulate it , but I assume most of you know what I mean. So I'm relying on that sentiment in thinking the following concept could be a feasible initiative:
What I would like to do here is open this subject for ideas and discussion so we can eventually reach a conclusion as to what criteria, what parameters, what rules should apply and how to best attain this goal.
The fundamental principle is this: one of our members suffers a disastrous mechanical failure which results in a multi-thousand dollar repair nightmare, at which point we as individuals may choose to contribute ( let's say for now a reasonable amount would be $ 50 each ) to the owner who has experienced this tragic occurrence, on an anonymous basis of course.. They key word here is " choose" - there is no ( and there should not be any ) expectations that contributions WILL be made, but rather that they MAY be made by those of us who are in a position and inclined to do so. What may be a relatively small, arguably an insignificant individual contribution could in aggregate make a world of difference to one of our own - imagine if 100 members send $ 50 each to someone who has just learned he/she needs a $ 5,000 rebuild job, or some other major repair because their timing belt broke, or the pinion bearing gave up, or some other uncommon failure happened resulting in disastrous damage. I use the word uncommon because the scope is not to come to the aid of those of us that may incur expensive repair bills by reason of oil leaks, or water pump failures, or PS rack problems, or old suspension components that break down , or a variety of other common wear and tear items which may indeed cost a thousand or two to repair, but rather to provide as much relief as we can for those rare but catastrophic events where the owner is blindsided by a horrible mechanical breakdown.
( This is not meant to mitigate the costs from traffic accidents where your car sustains major damage - everyone should have insurance for that.. strictly mechanical issues of a catastrophic nature )
This does not happen with nearly enough frequency where any of us have to worry that we'll end up spending $ 50 every single month to bail out various members in dyer need. And again, this can easily be set up where no one knows who contributes and who does not, so there's no opportunity for questioning anyone's generosity, or lack thereof.
That said, I think we definitely need some ground rules before enacting this support system, to establish sensible parameters and a reasonable criteria under which we can make this work. Not to imply that anyone might take advantage of the group's benevolence, and /or act dishonestly, but we must be fair and ethical.
We also need to keep the forum independent of any monetary transactions and use it simply as a communication tool to facilitate awareness of an incident and who the individual is. What takes place after that is strictly up to each individual member who may wish to send in his/her contribution directly to the owner who suffered the loss. There cannot be a fund that is established prior to any incident taking place. The car ownercan post their PayPal account
information, or the address he or she otherwise indicates, or some other means of enabling receipt of the contributions, TBD, that makes sense and that preserves the privacy / anonymity of the contributors. Also it is entirely up to that individual to determine any tax liabilities they may have and/or similar rules and regs that apply to receipt of funds from anonymous sources.
So if you feel this is a good concept ( or if you don't , please do let us know what you think the downside may be ) please chime in with your suggestion for what criteria and parameters we should establish.
My initial, sketchy thoughts are as follows:
Examples of loss : timing belt failure, pinion bearing failure, coolant leaking into the the oil causing major engine damage, cracked block, variocam failure, main seal failure / sudden loss of all your oil.. and things along those lines.
( not loss of your coolant from the HCV breaking and you decide that you'll take a chance and just drive home 50 miles home without anything in your radiator .. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img] )
Anyway, we need to come to a consensus regarding what is to be specifically included and then decide to exclude
everything else.
Also, for the the owner who suffers the loss:
You're the owner of the 968 for at least one year ( welcoming any suggestions for another appropriate timeframe ) before the incident.
You're a member of this forum for _TBD__ before the incident. ( waiting for suggestions here as well )
You provide proof of the car's title as well as a copy of the paid repair invoice.
You agree to ( though not sure how we can assure this other than just going on good faith and trust in one another ) send any overage you get from contributions to the next poor 968 soul that has the misfortune of a loss.
Provide a PayPal account or another account to which anonymous contributions can be made.
Expect NOTHING, but be pleasantly surprised at what may come in [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]
So if you guys think of ways we can make this work, please start posting and let's discuss..
Dan
What I would like to do here is open this subject for ideas and discussion so we can eventually reach a conclusion as to what criteria, what parameters, what rules should apply and how to best attain this goal.
The fundamental principle is this: one of our members suffers a disastrous mechanical failure which results in a multi-thousand dollar repair nightmare, at which point we as individuals may choose to contribute ( let's say for now a reasonable amount would be $ 50 each ) to the owner who has experienced this tragic occurrence, on an anonymous basis of course.. They key word here is " choose" - there is no ( and there should not be any ) expectations that contributions WILL be made, but rather that they MAY be made by those of us who are in a position and inclined to do so. What may be a relatively small, arguably an insignificant individual contribution could in aggregate make a world of difference to one of our own - imagine if 100 members send $ 50 each to someone who has just learned he/she needs a $ 5,000 rebuild job, or some other major repair because their timing belt broke, or the pinion bearing gave up, or some other uncommon failure happened resulting in disastrous damage. I use the word uncommon because the scope is not to come to the aid of those of us that may incur expensive repair bills by reason of oil leaks, or water pump failures, or PS rack problems, or old suspension components that break down , or a variety of other common wear and tear items which may indeed cost a thousand or two to repair, but rather to provide as much relief as we can for those rare but catastrophic events where the owner is blindsided by a horrible mechanical breakdown.
( This is not meant to mitigate the costs from traffic accidents where your car sustains major damage - everyone should have insurance for that.. strictly mechanical issues of a catastrophic nature )
This does not happen with nearly enough frequency where any of us have to worry that we'll end up spending $ 50 every single month to bail out various members in dyer need. And again, this can easily be set up where no one knows who contributes and who does not, so there's no opportunity for questioning anyone's generosity, or lack thereof.
That said, I think we definitely need some ground rules before enacting this support system, to establish sensible parameters and a reasonable criteria under which we can make this work. Not to imply that anyone might take advantage of the group's benevolence, and /or act dishonestly, but we must be fair and ethical.
We also need to keep the forum independent of any monetary transactions and use it simply as a communication tool to facilitate awareness of an incident and who the individual is. What takes place after that is strictly up to each individual member who may wish to send in his/her contribution directly to the owner who suffered the loss. There cannot be a fund that is established prior to any incident taking place. The car ownercan post their PayPal account
information, or the address he or she otherwise indicates, or some other means of enabling receipt of the contributions, TBD, that makes sense and that preserves the privacy / anonymity of the contributors. Also it is entirely up to that individual to determine any tax liabilities they may have and/or similar rules and regs that apply to receipt of funds from anonymous sources.
So if you feel this is a good concept ( or if you don't , please do let us know what you think the downside may be ) please chime in with your suggestion for what criteria and parameters we should establish.
My initial, sketchy thoughts are as follows:
Examples of loss : timing belt failure, pinion bearing failure, coolant leaking into the the oil causing major engine damage, cracked block, variocam failure, main seal failure / sudden loss of all your oil.. and things along those lines.
( not loss of your coolant from the HCV breaking and you decide that you'll take a chance and just drive home 50 miles home without anything in your radiator .. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img] )
Anyway, we need to come to a consensus regarding what is to be specifically included and then decide to exclude
everything else.
Also, for the the owner who suffers the loss:
You're the owner of the 968 for at least one year ( welcoming any suggestions for another appropriate timeframe ) before the incident.
You're a member of this forum for _TBD__ before the incident. ( waiting for suggestions here as well )
You provide proof of the car's title as well as a copy of the paid repair invoice.
You agree to ( though not sure how we can assure this other than just going on good faith and trust in one another ) send any overage you get from contributions to the next poor 968 soul that has the misfortune of a loss.
Provide a PayPal account or another account to which anonymous contributions can be made.
Expect NOTHING, but be pleasantly surprised at what may come in [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]
So if you guys think of ways we can make this work, please start posting and let's discuss..
Dan
