totally reasonable seeing how limited they were

When was this? Because I read an article today about a Detroit shopping mall fixing to sue over the excess Cybertruck parked in their lot.

“At this point I think I know more about manufacturing than…”

Yeah, I’ve been on the other side of that, but sideswiped by a scooter? I get that they aren’t worth as much as they were, but still…

I read the article hoping to find out how being sideswiped by an e-scooter could total a truck, but I was left unsatisfied.

Cybertrucks are really, really bad for repairability. Consider the fact that on a normal car you can fix a dent by getting the panel most of the way back to the correct shape and then fairing it the rest of the way with Bondo before painting it. But with a Cybertruck, you’d have to metalwork the panel all the way back to perfect and then somehow figure out how to match the surface finish. It’s a lot more labor, if it’s even possible.

It could be that the insurance doubts that the vehicle can be completely restored to its pre-loss condition at any price.

metalwork the panel all the way back to perfect

My dude, have you ever seen a Swastikkkar? Those panels ain’t even perfect when they leave the factory.

I’m with you. How fast was that scooter going?!

Alternatively, it means that the car purchase was done without enough money for the down payment and therefore maybe the buyer couldn’t actually afford the car. With a solid down payment, you should never have to be underwater on the auto loan in the first place. You can plan to stay ahead of the depreciation over the life of the loan because you already paid for the drop in value.

With too little down though, gap coverage is a must.

Thats the hard part, how would a bodyshop mimic the shittyness of the factory look

I read the article hoping to find out how being sideswiped by an e-scooter could total a truck, but I was left unsatisfied.

What the fuck is wrong with US insurance?! This person’s poor vehicle choices aside, when I insure my vehicle in Australia, we (the insurance company and I) agree an insured value when I take out the insurance. They set the cost based on that agreed value and a few other things. Then if my car is written off they pay me the agreed value plus any other costs covered. What’s this agreed market value nonsense? Why would anyone agree to that for a financed vehicle?

I read the article hoping to find out how being sideswiped by an e-scooter could total a truck, but I was left unsatisfied.

Just some free finance advice. Vehicles are a money sink, they only lose you value. If you aren’t comfortable with the concept of losing money, DO NOT buy an expensive vehicle. But the cheapest used car you can with cash on hand. Now, that’s not possible for everyone. And it’s not practical for everyone, it might be in your best interest to lease a vehicle for a monthly fee. Your lease should be with a reputable car dealer that has some kind of agreement to regularly maintain the car, and to trade it in often for another car without increasing your fees. The goal here is to pay as little as you can, and trade in often so you don’t ever reach the point of needing serious repairs to the vehicle. Different situations have different needs, no one size solution works. But I’d HIGHLY discourage taking out a large debt in order to buy a new car. Your losing money you don’t have. That’s a bad idea. Then again, bankruptcy has few downsides when you are already poor.

I suspect his story is bullshit. His truck was sideswiped by an e-scooter with enough force to damage the doors, wheels, deploy the airbags, and render the vehicle immobile? How fast/massive was this e-scooter? Did the e-scooter rider survive this incredible impact? None of this passes the sniff test unless there is some misalignment in the understanding of what constitutes an e-scooter or he was hit with a glancing blow by a magnetically launched scooter with a rather large rider.