Soon to be new owner ?: Experiences with leaving car unattended

[roblab]

Hi Everyone! I live in a happy little community but I have a little concern with places I travel.

Hey, Fast. I love your avatar pic, and assume you are the one with shorter hair. Other than that, you know there is a thread or multiples that discuss various dash cams, installations, etc., etc. Pain in the rear to have to stoop to that, but they do record inci"dents" and acci"dents". Having driven many miles over 4 years (almost), all my dents were mostly my own fault. No one ever scraped or scratched me but once, and that was covered by insurance for near $10K. Lotsa witnesses.
I guess you just have to trust to luck, or do like some of the less giddy people here, and repeat over and over, "It's just a car, it's just a car...."

 

[bmah]

It's the internet forum effect.

Before joining TMC I parked my cars wherever/whenever. Then I joined, got a Tesla, started worrying about rock chips, considered xpel/opticoat (though I've never heard of them before TMC), started worrying about curbing my wheels, started worrying about parking far away because what if I get a door ding! The horror :gasp:

Then I came back to reality. While it's great that there are people out there that worry about these things, and hand wash their cars, it's not for me. A car is a tool for me, I like to drive it, but I'm not going to hand wash it, I'm not going to spend tons of money on xpel/etc.,

I'm not going to park a mile away from people. If there's two parking spaces, about the same distance from the store, and one has no cars, I'll take it. If I need to walk a lot more, nah, not a huge deal.

I'm mostly with you on this, Max*. I hadn't even heard of X-Pel before joining this forum. (Though I do hand-wash my Tesla, and I probably clean my car more often than any other car I've owned before, much to my wife's amusement.) I'm pragmatic about parking far away in carparks (though I do avoid tight spaces where possible).

I have a feeling that those people who are more particular about their car care will be more vocal on TMC, about what products and techniques they use, how far out they park, and so on. I think there's a silent majority of people who are more casual about these matters. There's room in the world for a whole spectrum of owners, and I would never criticize the people who are more- or less-obsessive than I am. (OK, if someone feels the need to detail their car once an hour, I might smirk.)

Bruce.

 

[fasteddie7]

Hey, Fast. I love your avatar pic, and assume you are the one with shorter hair. Other than that, you know there is a thread or multiples that discuss various dash cams, installations, etc., etc. Pain in the rear to have to stoop to that, but they do record inci"dents" and acci"dents". Having driven many miles over 4 years (almost), all my dents were mostly my own fault. No one ever scraped or scratched me but once, and that was covered by insurance for near $10K. Lotsa witnesses.
I guess you just have to trust to luck, or do like some of the less giddy people here, and repeat over and over, "It's just a car, it's just a car...."

thank you! A dash can might be a good idea, question though, can the rear view camera be accessed from the app when not in the vehicle?

 

[bmah]

thank you! A dash can might be a good idea, question though, can the rear view camera be accessed from the app when not in the vehicle?

No, the rear view camera only displays on the CID (the picture goes more-or-less directly to the screen, the on-board computers don't even get to process it).

Bruce.

 

[Patrick W]

Have had my S for a bit over a year. Where I park depends on the location. And sometimes on my mood.

At Walmart I park in the furthest (and usually deserted) parking spot from the door. But at the "Mom n' Pop" restaurant in my neighborhood I park close but in a spot where I can keep an eye on the car.

 

[int32_t]

I installed a dash cam. Whether or not it will really help in the event of some sort of minor vandalism/accident, is doubtful, but it provides a little piece of mind. It annoys my wife and we fight about it all the time (she usually wins), but I often try to park out far enough in parking lots to avoid door dings. Unfortunately, in certain parking lots that sometimes puts you front and center, which could invite other kinds of concerns.

The wife is more important than the car. Suffer the chance of a ding (yes, even to a Tesla!), park a bit closer, and open the door for her. Maybe add a wrap too.

 

[fasteddie7]

I don't worry too much about dings, as they will inevitably happen, I worry about a camera or sensor getting whacked and then i'm out of a vehicle for a while (and a deductible)!

 

[Ashkenaz]

Camera or sensor? Should I be worrying about that too? Lol

I did a full wrap. Beacoup bucks, but I've already noticed some saves on front when I (yep) HAND washed it this week. My simple take is to enjoy the car whatever way makes you happy, be it pampering and weekly heavy petting, or driving it like you stole it.

 

[Owner]

I've been driving Teslas for many years now. The Roadster never got a ding.

The Model S is really wide and I used to worry about it. In the last year, I just park wherever I can fit, and I've been lucky - no dings.

 

[William13]

Four years, drop off my wife at mall, park far far away. Exercise.
Restaurants, park away and we exercise together.
Parking in middle of spot between four door cars or edge of spot where one side is protected.
No dings yet.

Three times more expensive than any prior car.

 

[ATQuoteService]

I have come to realize that the more you try to baby your vehicle you'll notice more things wrong with the vehicle. It is a beautiful car, but just drive and park like a normal person and most people will not even pay attention to your vehicle.

Welcome to the Tesla Club!!!

 

[Max*]

I don't worry too much about dings, as they will inevitably happen, I worry about a camera or sensor getting whacked and then i'm out of a vehicle for a while (and a deductible)!

Camera or sensor? Should I be worrying about that too? Lol

See the internet forum effect!

 

[Chopr147]

A car has never been just a car to me. My wife is the total opposite. The only time her car gets cleaned is when I can't stand to look at it any longer She has bickered with me for 26 years about parking too far away Sometimes I will drop her off at the mall entrance and then look for a "safe" spot to park. I still do this and I have an 8 year old Yukon so, I don't think anything will change with the S

 

[WannabeOwner]

I still do this and I have an 8 year old Yukon so, I don't think anything will change with the S

You'll take the Yukon instead of the S if you have to park anywhere?

I'll get my coat

 

[Chopr147]

Yukon is my trade-in. So a GMC Yukon XL to a Tesla Model S will be a big change! Can't wait to try it out on country roads

 

[HankLloydRight]

When I took my Delorean out to public places like a mall, I'd always park in a remote, empty part of the lot and walk the extra distance. I wasn't worried too much about door dings, but rather people hitting the car or messing with it if I parked in with the masses.

But way more than 50% of the time, I'd park way way far away from everyone else. And when I'd come back, some ass-hat would park RIGHT NEXT TO ME. No, not one or two spots away -- INCHES away from my car. Really? I'm trying to stay away from you people. Why do people suck?

 

[FloridaGary]

When I took my Delorean out to public places like a mall, I'd always park in a remote, empty part of the lot and walk the extra distance. I wasn't worried too much about door dings, but rather people hitting the car or messing with it if I parked in with the masses.

But way more than 50% of the time, I'd park way way far away from everyone else. And when I'd come back, some ass-hat would park RIGHT NEXT TO ME. No, not one or two spots away -- INCHES away from my car. Really? I'm trying to stay away from you people. Why do people suck?

I never understood this either. I once parked in a hotel parking garage 4th level and not one car anywhere on this level. I come back and someone parks right next to me, but the owner was parking when I was returning to my car and I asked him why here of all places. He said the same reason I am parked here and assumed I am avoiding door dings. He was right. It still made me crazy though.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

FWIW, I don't think I have ever seen a Model S with a door ding . . . anyone else notice this trend as well? Did Elon spec some extra hard, extra thick aluminum for our cars?

Regardless, I still park at the end of the row about 98% of the time, and if there's a "beater-mobile" parked nearby I'm not taking the spot next to it.

 

[CHG-ON]

I park as far away as I can and I always look for a spot where I will only have one car next to me. I then give a wide berth. So far, so good.

Fingers crossed.

 

[TaoJones]

A Blackvue dr650gw-2ch dashcam gives me peace of mind, along with selective parking. Corner spots are great in parking garages.

Agreed.

I liked a post I read here some time back, when Summon was introduced ... it suggested that all Tesla drivers would park at the end of the parking lot with a one-inch gap so noone else could get in / out, as all the drivers would be able to retrieve that cars using Summon

Would love to see this in action at the next rally or car show.

True but my house is just a house but I have pride of ownership and keeping it looking nice is part of the enjoyment. Same philosophy with my cars, sports equipment and me!

Absolutely.

While I somewhat agree with those "It's a car" "Just drive it" etc....it's not just a car to most. It's 2-4 times more than we've ever spent before on a vehicle. One of the major factors that I bought it is because of how it looks. If I just didn't care and let it get beat up, it would drive me crazy.

Not only that, but getting those types of things fixed in a Tesla is about thousand times more of a hassle than a regular ICE. In my old Tahoe, if someone scrapped or backed into my car...I could take it to the nearby body shop and have them fix it, no big deal. It would take probably 1-2 days and $500. When someone backed into my Tesla (with all of 100 miles on it), it was out of commission for 5 weeks and over $1,000 in rental car fees because of the hassle of Tesla certified body shops, waiting on replacement parts, etc.

So I see both sides of the argument. I'll say this, before my Tesla...I parked wherever I could find a space. My Tahoe had a few dings and door dents. When I got my Tesla, I'm the guy that gets WAY too excited when I see an isolated parking spot that is protected on both sides.

Yeppers. We don't get to choose where those "door dings" are. Catch one on a fender and you're not getting that out with some dentless repair equipment. The cost is disproportionately high to repair these cars. Not exactly hard to understand why those who care about such things park far away.

The *only* times my car is parked between two others is either at SCs or at SvCs. I always take "before" pictures at the latter, and occasional at the former. And I don't care who sees me do it. When they pay my deductible, then maybe I'll care.

There are degrees and edge cases of course. Bought a 2013 with a peppered front end in snow country? Knock yourself out - off-road that baby. Bought new in SoCal? If you don't wash that thing at least every 2 weeks and park far away, you're just not getting the full experience.