SMAlset
Well-Known Member
I saw this thread title pop up again and thought oh no. Vern so sorry to see your damage, looks extensive and deep. As someone who had our car's rear window broken into by a vandal looking for anything of value in our hatch area (had our parcel shelf installed), I completely understand the anger. We had nothing back there to take so he walked away with nothing. Somehow that hurt even more as it was pointless.
FWIW we had our Blackvue 650S-2 ch running in parking mode and caught it on video. Unlike Ruddy (Nice going! One for our side! Sadly too few of those) the cops didn't care about the video since the sun was shining directly into our rear camera and aside from watching the guy come to the car and smash the window, walk past the liftgate empty handed and on to his next target--saw him in profile--there was no readible license plate of the car he came in or way to ID him. Parked right behind us too, our luck, bad time of day. Expensive repair. Anyway still a proponent for dashcams but people shouldn't always think they will "get the guy" in these situations. More times probably not from the stories I've read on here. A better use for recording car accidents really.
As for your damage Vern, check out a really good detailer in your area. If you were up here I would refer you to our guys that did our car wrap. Sent a guy to him when his kid used a stone to draw on the side of his car and they did a fabulous job. Wouldn't even know, just like Reddy's experience. Speaking of wraps, we spent the extra bucks and did a full body wrap on our car and can't say if it would have helped in your particular case but it does help protect from car door dings, shopping carts, etc. Not sure about your car insurance but don't believe vandalism will count against you when you file a claim for the repair. A good detailer who's worked on a lot of Teslas might even be less expensive than a Tesla partnered body shop. I personally couldn't live with our baby scratched up but that's me. Better to see it "disappear" and the experience and feelings dissipate.
And FWIW the most expensive car we've owned between the two of us was our fully loaded 2001 Avalon, think we paid $34-36 maybe. We also keep our cars for a long time so decided the Expel ultimate was a good investment long term. Do think it protected our paint from the broken glass during the breakin. When we were waiting for our car delivery I routinely looked at the TMC production/delivery spreadsheet and was surprised at how many orders were from people like us going from a car like a Honda or Toyota at trade in for their new Tesla. Probably a good indication at least among members what they were driving before.
FWIW we had our Blackvue 650S-2 ch running in parking mode and caught it on video. Unlike Ruddy (Nice going! One for our side! Sadly too few of those) the cops didn't care about the video since the sun was shining directly into our rear camera and aside from watching the guy come to the car and smash the window, walk past the liftgate empty handed and on to his next target--saw him in profile--there was no readible license plate of the car he came in or way to ID him. Parked right behind us too, our luck, bad time of day. Expensive repair. Anyway still a proponent for dashcams but people shouldn't always think they will "get the guy" in these situations. More times probably not from the stories I've read on here. A better use for recording car accidents really.
As for your damage Vern, check out a really good detailer in your area. If you were up here I would refer you to our guys that did our car wrap. Sent a guy to him when his kid used a stone to draw on the side of his car and they did a fabulous job. Wouldn't even know, just like Reddy's experience. Speaking of wraps, we spent the extra bucks and did a full body wrap on our car and can't say if it would have helped in your particular case but it does help protect from car door dings, shopping carts, etc. Not sure about your car insurance but don't believe vandalism will count against you when you file a claim for the repair. A good detailer who's worked on a lot of Teslas might even be less expensive than a Tesla partnered body shop. I personally couldn't live with our baby scratched up but that's me. Better to see it "disappear" and the experience and feelings dissipate.
And FWIW the most expensive car we've owned between the two of us was our fully loaded 2001 Avalon, think we paid $34-36 maybe. We also keep our cars for a long time so decided the Expel ultimate was a good investment long term. Do think it protected our paint from the broken glass during the breakin. When we were waiting for our car delivery I routinely looked at the TMC production/delivery spreadsheet and was surprised at how many orders were from people like us going from a car like a Honda or Toyota at trade in for their new Tesla. Probably a good indication at least among members what they were driving before.
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