How well do Teslas handle parking lot door dings?

[aesculus]

My wife gets "punished" for only 2 things. One is asking a technical question where I bury her with data and details - like you must have. The second is sending me to the grocery store. I go waaaaay off the list, and bring back junk food. I am amazed she still does either, but she still does.

Pro tip: Offer to do the laundry and then put clothes in the wrong batch, bleach something that should not have bleach etc. You will never be asked to do laundry again.

Extra points for ruining delicate lingerie or something that should be dry cleaned.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

"Theoretical parking". I very much like that term. That fits what I do perfectly. Sometimes I circle a parking lot like a old fashion wagon wheel round up, cowboy style, looking for that perfect spot. Wife is very supportive. When I am forced at times to park in a crapy spot, we both worry which kinda ruins the mood. And sadly, ALL valet parking only venues are off limits basically. I simply will not. I did a long time ago and they damaged my car and denied and refused to accept/fix; no more. We take wife's car OR, I sometimes say I'm in security and have accessible firearms in the car thus I am only one that can be in car and park. That has never failed...

My wife would kill me if I did that. Maybe I need a new wife?

 

[dandelot]

Speaking of dings...Tesla allows the powered hatch to open to a maximum when the car is delivered. If not careful, the hatch will slam up against an opened overhead garage door at a height of about 7ft. .

We got a new, modern garage door and specified it had to be
retracted up near the ceiling. The old single (redwood!) panel door was a horror in that it intruded a lot
when opening and was not at all near the ceiling when retracted. Expensive, but not worrying about
hitting the garage door is so great...

 

[gabeincal]

Take reasonable precautions like not parking next to an obvious beater and not parking between two cars, especially if one or both are close to being over the line etc. It's interesting to hear some of the more extreme suggestions (e.g., I've never worried about uphill vs downhill in store parking lots) but, IMO, going overboard to avoid dings reduces the utility of the car. Everyone needs to find their own sweet spot in terms of how much you are willing to inconvenience yourself to avoid door dings. After all, the car will age (as we do ourselves) and a door ding or two isn't going to be that big a deal in the long run.

So what I learnt with my previous cars is if you then leave more space between you and the other parked car by moving your car to the edge of your space, they then get more space to SWING their door and damage your car even more. You can't win!!

 

[theslimshadyist]

I've gone 3 years in my current vehicle without a single ding, scratch, etc. and always park towards the rear of the lot or next to an island curb. I actually enjoy the nice walk by doing so.

 

[gabeincal]

I've gone 3 years in my current vehicle without a single ding, scratch, etc. and always park towards the rear of the lot or next to an island curb. I actually enjoy the nice walk by doing so.

And you're a little healthier by doing so. But taking on a slightly bigger risk by walking through a dangerous parking lot

 

[gabeincal]

Attached shows my best attempt to avoid dings.. if somebody parks very close to me, I still have summon!

 

[Mknac]

Morons are everywhere so you can't...

I've parked away from everyone and always some rust bucket parks next me... it happened to me yesterday I'm 50 feet from car in the pack of a parking a lot and a person parks right next to me.

I'm doing the "damn the torpedos" and at least choosing nice BMW, Audi and Mercedes to park next to in the theory they have the same concerns and will treat my car with some respect.

 

[Mknac]

I also have a Blackvue so if someone dings my car badly hopefully I'll have video. Uncertain if I would show the video to the police or my insurance in the event something like that happened.

 

[Saghost]

View attachment 198654

Attached shows my best attempt to avoid dings.. if somebody parks very close to me, I still have summon!

Not bad. Most folks park nose in, and most are driving alone, so if it was available it'd be better to do this on the other end, so you'd be likely to get their passenger side towards you.

 

[Mknac]

Agree. I always back in. If there is a end spot that protects one side I usually take it.

 

[int32_t]

...
However, I did drop the charger and it landed on the driver's door and created a ding. No scratch but a nice little dent that drove me nuts since my eyes always went right to it. ...

I did the exact same thing to my dad's MacBook with the AC end of the charging cable. (And it reminds me of the incident every time I see it.)

 

[BriansBucketList]

It's so interesting how many people park far from the nearest car, and find someone next to them. I see it also. If anyone here feels compelled to do that please explain ?

My strategies: try to find spot with curb on one side, preferably drivers side so rims aren't scratched. Park next to 4 door cars, preferably nice cars with no dents. Try to park on passenger side of next car, after you see them pull in with no passenger. It's not easy, but may take a few trips around lot. I avoid certain places with crowded lots and narrow stalls, and sometimes park on the street or outside the lot.

Worst nightmare: 2 door car with kids in the back that kick door open with feet.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

I've parked away from everyone and always some rust bucket parks next me... it happened to me yesterday I'm 50 feet from car in the pack of a parking a lot and a person parks right next to me.

I'm doing the "damn the torpedos" and at least choosing nice BMW, Audi and Mercedes to park next to in the theory they have the same concerns and will treat my car with some respect.

I think maybe they are just messing with you. My wife and I squeeze our Honda and Lexus in wherever we want and we don't have any door dings. Maybe the lesson is to just not be so paranoid. I think I'll just leave my Tesla in the garage and walk and ride my bike everywhere. Only the paranoid survive!

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

It's so interesting how many people park far from the nearest car, and find someone next to them. I see it also. If anyone here feels compelled to do that please explain ?

My strategies: try to find spot with curb on one side, preferably drivers side so rims aren't scratched. Park next to 4 door cars, preferably nice cars with no dents. Try to park on passenger side of next car, after you see them pull in with no passenger. It's not easy, but may take a few trips around lot. I avoid certain places with crowded lots and narrow stalls, and sometimes park on the street or outside the lot.

Worst nightmare: 2 door car with kids in the back that kick door open with feet.

You will survive forever.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

The paint is definitely not resistant to human stupidity.

I swear I've accidently scratched my Tesla more times than any other car I've ever owned.

The first was the rear bumper when I was unloading a bicycle.
The next was the rear lid when I accidently pushed for the trunk to open in my garage instead of the frunk. It hit a piece of metal on my garage door.
The last one I pulled into my garage and opened the door without realizing that I hadn't moved my bike out of the way. So of course the door hit the bike pedal, and it left a small scratch. I almost caught that one in time, and it just barely hit the bike pedal.

What makes it worse is I have the new blue (which is fairly old now), and there still isn't touch up paint.

None of them are really visible unless you take a flash light to look for them, but they still piss me off. I don't even have kids to blame.

I really wish the paint was more resistant. I probably should have gotten some fancy paint protection. I did get the partial wrap for the front which protects it.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

I heard you can plastidip your car for less than a $1000. Just do that every couple of years and put away your flashlight.

 

[gabeincal]

I think maybe they are just messing with you. My wife and I squeeze our Honda and Lexus in wherever we want and we don't have any door dings. Maybe the lesson is to just not be so paranoid. I think I'll just leave my Tesla in the garage and walk and ride my bike everywhere. Only the paranoid survive!

I agree. It's hard not to be paranoid but at the end of the day, there is not much you can do about random people...

 

[Knightowl]

Found out yesterday, see for yourself.

Not only scratched but dented to, pretty bummed.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Lame. How old is your car? I have a feeling I'm going to be way too paranoid when I get my car. I want to keep it really nice for at least a year. I hope my wife doesn't want to drive it. My 15 year old already asked if should could drive it to school.