Curb Rash-- it's so humiliating

[r1200gs4ok]

I

I call my wife's car the "trash truck".

My wife's car is a rolling Nordstroms......she is afraid of the next "BIG ONE"...5 gal water and 25 pairs of underwear and clothes......

 

[AustinP]

First I’d say you should not feel humiliated.
You did not mean to have this happen and were in fact careful as you described. But accidents happen.
If this is cause for braking the marriage, then imho it’s good that you learn now than latter that a car is more precious than you.

Anyway, I’m sure he’ll see that too and just have it fixed somehow. Plenty of options presented already.

Wishing you that it turns out right and you both laugh about it later. Though it might indeed be a forced laugh at first

 

[Silicon Desert]

Can this marriage be saved? I have lost all cred with him. How can I ask to drive the car again?

Blame it on Auto-Park, and then quickly call the minister Happy marriage

 

[kimvellore]

Tesla needs this text on the screen
"Warning the rims in the car are wider than they appear"

 

[alstoralset]

I find posting before and after photos therapeutic. The Kubler-Ross stages went by quickly.

 

[maximizese]

I'd say don't worry about. Mistakes and miscalculations happen all the time, just learn from it and try not to repeat them. The Tesla Model S body is a lot wider than our other cars and took some getting use to before my wife and I felt confident with its perimeter. Fortunately for us, we bought our Tesla used from Arizona so it already had it's share of curb rash on the wheels, sand scars on the front end, and a few nicks around the rear bumper cover. This really takes the edge off because you really don't care about the exterior the way you would about a new car. I believe Sheryl Crow made quite some money singing, "the first cut is the deepest."

As for the curb rash, I ended buying some pristine take-offs from a local TMC member that I plan to swap when our tires are spent. I hope your fiancé gets some perspective and doesn't badger or give you the passive-aggressive treatment. My wife's a litigator so I know peace and harmony is worth much more than engaging in an argument that I will never win...even when you win, you lose

 

[bishoppeak]

I'm so glad I'm not married anymore!

 

[FatherTo1]

These are truly great stories. I especially like the lesson of being able to enjoy the car more after the first blemish, but that is so wrong how someone keyed the car. Just noticed my first dimple dent left by someone swinging their door open. Sigh. I usually park super far away but someone always manages to park next to me. Sentry Mode videos probably got overwritten as I couldn't find record of what happened. Of course it is a public parking lot, but is it too much to ask for some common courtesy? I feel like it's similar to personal space:

My wife has not driven our S yet. All the sensors, warning, alerts, and alarms make her nervous. She prefers her 15-year-old Lexus with small screen, no backup camera, and no parking sensors, yet she has been guilty of:

-closing garage on her car's bumper
-backing into someone at Trader Joe's (actually her and the other lady both backed into each other at the same time, then got out of their respective cars and proceeded to share a laugh and both go on their merry way)
-a truck was parked in a 90-degree parking spot and she clipped its tow-hitch...as she was moving foward...which means she should have seen it!

She still claims she's a great driver. She is allowed to drive the S but I think she knows it's best she doesn't. No curb rash yet.

 

[Spacey73]

21inch rims on UK tiny cattle roads would make you Americans cry trying to do the school run in a tiny country village.

I curbed the rims again today having to reverse because some mum absolutely has to drop darling Tarquin right at very front of the school gates (and they wonder why they are overweight), and does not understand what right of way means.

Very high curbs and tiny roads make for curbed rims.

Don’t use alloygators as they scratch the rims during fitting and all of mine have come off whilst driving....they look ‘Ghey’ anyway.

 

[Serfchick]

Thanks all for the great suggestions! I'm going to show him these posts and let him take it all in. (Then I'm going to let him decide how I should take care of it You're all invited to the wedding!

 

[Zer0t]

@Serfchick
Relax, even Baba Booey from Howard Stern did it to a friends Model 3. I'm sure he'll get over it and I hope he likes you more than the car. . Get the rim repaired by a qualified repair person (there are so many) and should be unnoticeable. My wife had a 2012 CLS 63 AMG P series and rashed the rims so many times that the insurance I bought dropped us. BTW, which rims?

 

[MountainRatMat]

Auto parable:

Long ago, my wife and I saved up for a truly bad-arse sportscar. We were so gentle with it; we were terrified of it. One day she drove it to a shopping center to get some office supplies. She was only gone 20 minutes, and somebody keyed it all down one side. It is fiberglass, so it cut into the body through the hand polished metallic paint job.

We were angry. We were depressed.

But... it broke the car's cherry. Now we were free to really enjoy the car. That simple gouge turned a garage queen into a track demon. That's when we really learned to love the car. We still have it, and it still has the scratch. It still puts a grin on my face everytime I drift it around a corner.

If you worry about curbing a rim, or getting a door ding, you will never get the maximum enjoyment out of the car. Freedom has a price.

You can't give that story and not tell us what kind of car it is...

So what kind of car is it and do you have pictures of it?

 

[Chaserr]

I've done the touch up paint thing from the Tesla shop and it makes a world of difference all by itself.

 

[maximizese]

You can't give that story and not tell us what kind of car it is...

So what kind of car is it and do you have pictures of it?

I'd assume it was a Corvette or Lotus, but there were many one-off fiberglass cars like Ferrari & McLaren though many have moved on to carbon fiber. One thing they don't do is use magnesium like they once did; lightweight, but explosive car fires and tragedies were the result.

 

[P100D_Me]

Sigh. I usually park super far away but someone always manages to park next to me.

Then you can relate to this guy...

 

[Naekuh]

Well parking far would be a good idea, if "Come to Me" worked as intended.
But yeah... they did say the first year of tesla ownership the average person loses 10lbs, and gains leg muscle from the "park far away" bug you get trying to avoid door dings that first year.

 

[PhilDavid]

Thanks all for the great suggestions! I'm going to show him these posts and let him take it all in. (Then I'm going to let him decide how I should take care of it You're all invited to the wedding!

How are the parking arrangements for your wedding?

Can you promise no valets and double wide parking spaces for everyone?

 

[Serfchick]

very funny... it's such an important aspect of the event that we're only allowing my mom to park the guests' cars!

 

[PhilDavid]

Well parking far would be a good idea, if "Come to Me" worked as intended.
But yeah... they did say the first year of tesla ownership the average person loses 10lbs, and gains leg muscle from the "park far away" bug you get trying to avoid door dings that first year.

Yeah it's crazy how I no longer go to certain places because I'm not comfortable with the parking situation!

I would love it if the car can automatically move one spot over if you are parked far away and someone parks right next to you!

 

[GoBlue88]

I took possession of my MS 85 in May of 2014 and by June I had curbed both wheels on the right side because I wasn't used to the car's width. A year later I had a wheel guy fix them. Of course within a year I had curbed them again, and I've also now curbed the left side. Figure it isn't worth fixing them now and just live with it.

When I eventually get a new one, first thing I will do is install the wheel protectors.