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Someone ran into my new Model 3

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Mostly yeah. Accidents happen. If someone does everything right, accepts fault, and works to make their mistake right then yeah, I’m generally happy.

Claiming “people suck”, calling in favors to pull law enforcement off of actual important work, and hyperbolically bemoaning great personal loss to my anthropomorphized possession because someone scuffed “her” paint protection film is not my general approach to life.

You're strawmanning the OP which also sucks and if I'm less charitable, this isn't an honest way to deal with this issue. You are creating this narrative that is uncharitable to the OP and this also sucks. He never bemoaned it as 'great personal loss'. That's your strawman mischaracterization and a hyperbolic narrative, which you knocked down like the great champion of stoicism.

Stoicism is great, but empathy is too. It's possible to have both.

Everyone's going to call in favors in a fashion unique to their social network. This is also just human behavior. You would too (if you're smart). Calling in favors is as old as humanity itself.

Lots of people anthropomorphize vehicles and other objects. This is nothing new. Attacking the OP for this is not germane to the story, but it sounds like this bothers you. I am unbothered by this. Why does it bother you? I don't do this with vehicles, but I become very attached to them in ways others find absurd. Then again, I think driving around in a dilapidated, dirty, neglected vehicle isn't ideal. There's a fundamental difference here in value systems. Some people who become bonded with their vehicles also name them. I don't do this, but I understand it.

You assume it's just a PPF scuff, and it could be. I would not assume as much. Either way, there's time and cost to making the car whole, and the incident *itself* causes some minor trauma. No, it's not the worst accident one has reported, but accidents do have a lasting impression and they generally are not associated with positive emotions. With my accidents, I've been kind and generous to those at-fault (even when they screwed me over later by lying to their insurance companies) and I would STILL prefer the accidents never happened. I still suffered some minor trauma, mental or physical, as a result. As a long-time motorcycle rider, perhaps I take the mistakes of others more seriously because the actions of others have almost killed me...several times.

It's noted that you wrote 'mostly'. when asked if you'd be happy having your car smashed for no fault of your own. This means that you're arguing degree of disappointment. Why would you expect others to be exactly as disappointed as you when it comes to mistakes that cause accidents? Not everyone is in your position, mentally or financially. Certainly you must know this. Not everyone is equally able to deal with time away from a car, and some people might just be a little more attached to the well-being of their vehicles than yourself. A brand new owner might react differently than a grizzled Tesla veteran on his 4th Tesla. Someone who had to scrimp and save for years to get a base model Tesla might be more upset by an incident than someone of prodigious means.

In any case, I think a little empathy goes a long way my friend. When you come back to report an accident or incident or some disappointment over the stock performance or whatever it is, I hope you find more empathy than you've offered here.
 
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if you try for DV, you have to go to the other company anyway. If they are “friendly” it’s just easier to go direct.
Agree this accident is very minor. Might be just PPF, but either way those components are all bolt on. Very different from the back.
Start with the people that did the PPF.
I think DV (Diminished Value) is the major concern because you lost your clean title.

As soon as you mention 'Involved in an accident' you lose at least $5,000 to $10,000 when you try to sell your car.

How Carfax works, and why you should take it with a grain of salt
Carfax is only as good as the sources sending them information.
Not every accident is reported, and if reported there is no indication of the damages.

Carvana - Peace of mind comes certified
We won't sell you a car that we wouldn't sell to someone in our family.
Everyone says this. We actually mean it.
We'll give you every important detail about our cars - all features,
imperfections, and whether it's subject to an open safety recall.

NO REPORTED ACCIDENTS
We do not sell cars that have been in a reported accident or have frame or structural damage.​
 
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I think DV (Diminished Value) is the major concern because you lost your clean title.

As soon as you mention 'Involved in an accident' you lose at least $5,000 to $10,000 when you try to sell your car.

How Carfax works, and why you should take it with a grain of salt
Carfax is only as good as the sources sending them information.
Not every accident is reported, and if reported there is no indication of the damages.

Carvana - Peace of mind comes certified
We won't sell you a car that we wouldn't sell to someone in our family.
Everyone says this. We actually mean it.
We'll give you every important detail about our cars - all features,
imperfections, and whether it's subject to an open safety recall.

NO REPORTED ACCIDENTS
We do not sell cars that have been in a reported accident or have frame or structural damage.​


Great point. This is reason enough to be annoyed at the accident with insurance claim, no matter how minor it may seem to others.
 
My dad is insisting that all patrol need to stop what they're doing and report to the freeway onramp, immediately. Agree, people suck.

I'm praying that any accident I'm ever in goes as smoothly as yours.

I had something sarcastic written, but instead I'll just suggest that you read the OP's post again with the understanding that not all collisions require the police to be called.
 
Allow me to rant. I have had Elektra for less than a week. On my way home from getting PPF and tint done today, I was sideswiped on an entrance ramp to an interstate. It was a 2 lane left turn on to the ramp. He swerved into my lane and hit me. He admitted to me and the deputy who came out (I insisted and my son who was a dispatcher on duty today got the officer out right away) that the accident was all his fault. He was cited by the officer. His insurance (Progressive) has already called me and accepted responsibility, set me up with a rental and notified a Tesla network body shop I will be there on Monday. I hope I can get this all fixed by them with no cost to me. Oh, and I had unplugged my sentry SSD prior to the accident because I was getting a 'Autopilot cameras not available' message after leaving the shop. /rant

Should I go through with this or allow my insurance (USAA) to handle all the issues? It was clearly his fault so shouldn't affect anything with my insurance cost. I hope.

Anyone know why my right camera is not working? This sucks.

We call them Floridiots, every time we go to Florida we see stupid drivers do stuff like this all the time. Be glad you weren't on a motorcycle or you might be driving a different electric vehicle for the rest of your life, if you survived. Floridiots are only trumped by Maryland drivers, known as Idiotsinacar, which happen to have won the slot for worst in the nation, or Baltimore did anyway.
 
Sorry to hear that man. Hope you’re ok and glad you’re safe.

I haven’t posted in a long while but I logged in to tell you this. If the fault has already been accepted by the other party, just directly deal with the other party’s insurance. Do NOT use your own for subrogation. Trust me.

Depends on your state law. In CA there is NO reason to not use your own insurance carrier. They cannot raise your rates by law. And USAA will be a whole lot easier to deal with than Progressive. (Surprised someone from SoCal would rather deal with the other carrier.)

Make sure you get a nice rental/loaner four-door sedan, not some cheap Corrolla.
 
Great point. This is reason enough to be annoyed at the accident with insurance claim, no matter how minor it may seem to others.


Your missing @ucmndd 's whole point, though.

I will paraphrase....

Sometimes, people DO "suck".... 2020 sure shows this is the case, HOWEVER...

Someone having what is basically a fender bender, stopping like they are supposed to, admitting fault, having the proper insurance to cover it, admitting fault to their insurance, their insurance already re admitting fault of their client and setting up to cover it is in no way, shape or form an example of "sucky people".

The situation may be frustrating to the OP, but it is NOT an example of "sucky people". Even OP knows this, as they admitted that the thread title was bad.

OP is just angry that their new car that they care about a lot was damaged, and was ranting. Thats totally understandable, but when people rant, they sometimes say things they dont mean, or things that dont make sense.
 
Was expecting something entirely different from the title. I've had people admit fault to me and lie to the police and insurance, and i've had people try to do a hit and run. Never have I ever had a good experience after an accident, I think if someone damaged my car, took responsibility, and everything worked out without any lies, I would call that guy up and buy him a beer.
 
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We call them Floridiots, every time we go to Florida we see stupid drivers do stuff like this all the time.
Be glad you weren't on a motorcycle or you might be driving a different electric vehicle for the rest of your life,
if you survived. Floridiots are only trumped by Maryland drivers, known as Idiotsinacar,
which happen to have won the slot for worst in the nation, or Baltimore did anyway.
What you describe is more typical of 'Uber' drivers who think because 'time is money' that have all the rights.

In particular 'Uber' drivers don't hesitate to block a full lane when stopped in front of a customer home.
Also they often make dangerous left turn if front of a coming car, or pass you and immediately stop in front of you to pickup a customer.

I read that 'Uber' drivers use two phones, one phone is their own phone where they receive requests for a ride.
And they have a second phone to pretend to be a customer, so they can see the other taxis waiting around.
If one of the taxi suddenly start moving, they try to move in the same direction ahead of it, to localize first a customer and steal the ride.

This crazy driving behavior is more typical in business areas, near hospitals, and restaurants or movie theaters.
 
What you describe is more typical of 'Uber' drivers who think because 'time is money' that have all the rights.

In particular 'Uber' drivers don't hesitate to block a full lane when stopped in front of a customer home.
Also they often make dangerous left turn if front of a coming car, or pass you and immediately stop in front of you to pickup a customer.

I read that 'Uber' drivers use two phones, one phone is their own phone where they receive requests for a ride.
And they have a second phone to pretend to be a customer, so they can see the other taxis waiting around.
If one of the taxi suddenly start moving, they try to move in the same direction ahead of it, to localize first a customer and steal the ride.

This crazy driving behavior is more typical in business areas, near hospitals, and restaurants or movie theaters.


Pretty much any time someone lumps a whole group of ANYONE together ("uber drivers do..." "mustang drivers do..." Tesla drivers do.." They are wrong.
 
Your missing @ucmndd 's whole point, though.

I will paraphrase....

Sometimes, people DO "suck".... 2020 sure shows this is the case, HOWEVER...

Someone having what is basically a fender bender, stopping like they are supposed to, admitting fault, having the proper insurance to cover it, admitting fault to their insurance, their insurance already re admitting fault of their client and setting up to cover it is in no way, shape or form an example of "sucky people".

The situation may be frustrating to the OP, but it is NOT an example of "sucky people". Even OP knows this, as they admitted that the thread title was bad.

OP is just angry that their new car that they care about a lot was damaged, and was ranting. Thats totally understandable, but when people rant, they sometimes say things they dont mean, or things that dont make sense.

Hi jjrandorin,

What we're actually debating here is our perception of what sucks in degree, not kind. You are correct in that this could have sucked worse. I maintain that it could have sucked less. Either way, I think a lack of empathy in these situations sucks more than it should.

Contributors to this thread could have been more empathetic instead of trying to shame the OP for his actions, especially where ucmndd was strawmanning the OP's behavior to be more dramatic than it was.

Let's break it down simply, and I'll be as charitable as I can to yours and ucmndd's points;

1. It sucks when someone else's mistake costs us aggravation, time, energy, and money. Time is money too. I don't think there's much disagreement here. Perception varies. Some people are more neurotic. Some are more attached to their cars and with higher standards of protection (hence the PPF). Some are more or less equipped to handle downtime for a constellation of reasons. A lot of our debate here is about perception.

2. The Sideswiper was a good and honest person and stopped and admitted fault. This is a great thing, and he deserves full credit for this. This could have sucked WAY more. I did note this in my initial response in that the post-accident events were beneficial to the OP. However, it would have sucked less for the Sideswiper to not have made the mistake in the first place, especially after the OP just had tint and PPF installed. The timing of it all raises the stakes for the OP, even for a minor scuff. Why are first-time parents so paranoid? Why does it 'hurt' more when something gets your car dirty just minutes after a 3-hour detail job vs. a week later?

3. Venting is okay. I would vent too, with full props for honest people who admit guilt. Obviously, many of us have encountered post-incident behavior that sucks so much worse than this; hit and run, people lying to everyone (cops and insurance) about what happened, physical attacks coming from the person who was at-fault, road-rage from the at-fault driver, etc. The mindset where one thinks 'people suck' is obviously something the OP was feeling vs. us with our intact cars as we type on a forum. Still, we have our varying perceptions of what sucks and we all feel that a little differently.

4. Empathy is good. Shaming the OP is not something I wanted to sit and watch without some opposition. Was this event a terrible tragedy? No, not in the grand scheme of things, but it would have sucked less if it never happened at all. Honest people deserve credit, and of course I agree there. I think it sucks to shame someone for venting because they're not in the same state-of-mind as us, and empathy costs us nothing...especially for fellow Teslarati on the same board.

I haven't misunderstood a word of the people I'm responding to, nor have I misunderstood their intent. I just disagree with how I would respond to someone clearly frustrated and venting.
 
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Pretty much any time someone lumps a whole group of ANYONE together ("uber drivers do..." "mustang drivers do..." Tesla drivers do.." They are wrong.

Yes and no. It's fine and a function of intelligence to notice behavioral trends. It's pretty much part of the human experience, as noticing trends directly helps our survival—especially in the pre-modern epoch. Speaking in absolutes of course is absurd and should be avoided. There are always outliers, exceptions, with overlap. It's good to notice the trend, but query the individual too.

Exceptionalism is certainly not a good way to go either because the exception proves the rule. Noticing trends with a sufficiently large sample size is a pragmatic baseline to work from.
 
Hi jjrandorin,

What we're actually debating here is our perception of what sucks in degree, not kind. You are correct in that this could have sucked worse. I maintain that it could have sucked less. Either way, I think a lack of empathy in these situations sucks more than it should.

Contributors to this thread could have been more empathetic instead of trying to shame the OP for his actions, especially where ucmndd was strawmanning the OP's behavior to be more dramatic than it was.

Let's break it down simply, and I'll be as charitable as I can to yours and ucmndd's points;

1. It sucks when someone else's mistake costs us aggravation, time, energy, and money. Time is money too. I don't think there's much disagreement here. Perception varies. Some people are more neurotic. Some are more attached to their cars and with higher standards of protection (hence the PPF). Some are more or less equipped to handle downtime for a constellation of reasons. A lot of our debate here is about perception.

2. The Sideswiper was a good and honest person and stopped and admitted fault. This is a great thing, and he deserves full credit for this. This could have sucked WAY more. I did note this in my initial response in that the post-accident events were beneficial to the OP. However, it would have sucked less for the Sideswiper to not have made the mistake in the first place, especially after the OP just had tint and PPF installed. The timing of it all raises the stakes for the OP, even for a minor scuff. Why are first-time parents so paranoid? Why does it 'hurt' more when something gets your car dirty just minutes after a 3-hour detail job vs. a week later?

3. Venting is okay. I would vent too, with full props for honest people who admit guilt. Obviously, many of us have encountered post-incident behavior that sucks so much worse than this; hit and run, people lying to everyone (cops and insurance) about what happened, physical attacks coming from the person who was at-fault, road-rage from the at-fault driver, etc. The mindset where one thinks 'people suck' is obviously something the OP was feeling vs. us with our intact cars as we type on a forum. Still, we have our varying perceptions of what sucks and we all feel that a little differently.

4. Empathy is good. Shaming the OP is not something I wanted to sit and watch without some opposition. Was this event a terrible tragedy? No, not in the grand scheme of things, but it would have sucked less if it never happened at all. Honest people deserve credit, and of course I agree there. I think it sucks to shame someone for venting because they're not in the same state-of-mind as us, and empathy costs us nothing...especially for fellow Teslarati on the same board.

I haven't misunderstood a word of the people I'm responding to, nor have I misunderstood their intent. I just disagree with how I would respond to someone clearly frustrated and venting.
What does “it sucks”, “the situation sucks”, “relative degrees of suck”, or “could have sucked less” have to do with what the OP actually said - “people suck”?

I’ll maintain my original point, which is that the people in this situation seem to be doing everything they’re supposed to and acting with integrity. Perhaps excluding OP himself who insisted on involving law enforcement in a situation which, per the provided picture, can’t even be accurately described as a “fender bender”.