Took my car to the body shop for the second time in six months in what I am calling stupidity number two.
Stupidity number one was about 6 months ago when I backed into the garage too fast and whacked the mirror against the side. It cost about $350 for a new mirror, and I resolved to be more careful.
Stupidity number two was recently when I cut somebody off while making a U-turn, and he tapped me in the back. There was no structural damage fortunately, just a small cosmetic dent. I give the other guy a lot of credit, he had a huge F-150, and did a good job of almost stopping. If he hadn't, his big truck could have easily totaled my small car, which is a big fear I have since they aren't making our cars anymore.
The purpose of the U-turn would have been to save about two minutes by going onto a less busy road. At this point the minor dent has probably cost me at least 10 hours checking out paintless dent repair and getting two estimates from body shops, not to mention about $800 out of pocket.
Needless to say, I am resolving again to be more careful, being grateful that the damage is only cosmetic and fixable, and hoping that I actually learned the lesson this time.