My Tesla Cybertruck Got Totaled After It Was Sideswiped by an E-Scooter. All-in, I paid $198K, but Insurance is Only Offering Me a “Fair Market Value” of $77K. I Still Owe the Bank $171,500
-
Did they not get Gap insurance for their loan?
A rational smart financial decision made from individuals who choose to buy a Tesla Truck? Oh, thou doth jest.
-
Wtf? They paid twice the price of the “value”?
The owner is figuring out what everyone else knew: the swastitruck isn’t worth half of the money Melon is asking for it.
-
There’s a point where the cheapest used car can end up costing more than a slightly more expensive one. While I agree with your advice generally, I’d instead recommend buying the most reliable used vehicle you can afford.
Having seen how expensive a cheap car can really be (that’s all my mom could afford as a kid, and did that come back to bite her regularly), I won’t go lower than CPO when doing a purchase. I bought used without a CPO exactly once, and I was very glad it got totaled before I had to put a bunch of money into it (and that insurance said it was worth more than I owed so I got a decent down payment on the next one).
-
This post did not contain any content.
This piece of shit costs $200k???
-
This post did not contain any content.
Gap insurance anyone?
-
Wtf? They paid twice the price of the “value”?
Im not sure how they paid that much. I didn’t think even the cyber beast was that expensive.
Read the article, he paid a broker $50k to buy one of the first ones. $150k is still crazy.
-
This post did not contain any content.
Breaks out world’s tiniest violin…
-
Right? I didn’t say anything contradicting this. They total your vehicle when the cost to repair the damage is greater than or equal to the fair market value. If the damage was $50k, the insurance company would pay to repair it instead of replacing it. Because they are giving him the FMV, the damage is more than $77k.
It’s a little more complicated than that. They also factor in salvage value, and what it’d be worth after repair. Basically, whatever is cheaper for them. I’m guessing the battery and motors are quite valuable as salvage parts, and the value of a repaired CT is substantially lower.
For instance- my 2017 2 door coupe, and my partners 2019 small SUV were both crushed in hurricane Helene. Adjusters stopped adding repair costs at $12k for my coupe, which they paid me $32k for. Her SUV was basically the same story- $11k in damage was enough to total it, and they paid her $24k.
-
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.
I feel like I have to address the airbag situation. Airbags don’t deploy upon impact (at least not directly), but rather upon any significant deceleration. Anytime the vehicle decelerates enough that your body is thrown forward with force is when an [front] airbag would deploy. You know the thing where your seatbelt locks up as you’re braking? Same principle, but a higher threshold.
So the father back up your point, I cannot see how an e-scooter, sideswiping or even being hit head-on, could cause enough deceleration that would deploy the airbags.
Then again, it’s the cyber truck, so from a “safety” perspective who knows.
-
I feel like I have to address the airbag situation. Airbags don’t deploy upon impact (at least not directly), but rather upon any significant deceleration. Anytime the vehicle decelerates enough that your body is thrown forward with force is when an [front] airbag would deploy. You know the thing where your seatbelt locks up as you’re braking? Same principle, but a higher threshold.
So the father back up your point, I cannot see how an e-scooter, sideswiping or even being hit head-on, could cause enough deceleration that would deploy the airbags.
Then again, it’s the cyber truck, so from a “safety” perspective who knows.
I was imagining the side airbags deploying if it was a sideswipe.
-
It’s a little more complicated than that. They also factor in salvage value, and what it’d be worth after repair. Basically, whatever is cheaper for them. I’m guessing the battery and motors are quite valuable as salvage parts, and the value of a repaired CT is substantially lower.
For instance- my 2017 2 door coupe, and my partners 2019 small SUV were both crushed in hurricane Helene. Adjusters stopped adding repair costs at $12k for my coupe, which they paid me $32k for. Her SUV was basically the same story- $11k in damage was enough to total it, and they paid her $24k.
I always assumed the motors and batteries are paired with the cars the same way iPhone screens and batteries are, making them valueless for scrap unless you’re Tesla and can put in the right code…
-
Google started recommending this site to me recently, and it’s garbage. It’s all unverified social media posts told in the first person. Shit is WILD.
I dunno how likely it is to find a peer-reviewed article about this. It’s not like “cybertruck owner made horribly bad financial decision” is breaking news, it’s just the status quo.
-
I always assumed the motors and batteries are paired with the cars the same way iPhone screens and batteries are, making them valueless for scrap unless you’re Tesla and can put in the right code…
The inverters and hvjb could implement those features but you can’t really DRM copper windings and nickel cell casings
-
I was imagining the side airbags deploying if it was a sideswipe.
A different set of forces would activate those to be sure. I know rollover forces deploy side airbags.
Again, it’s a cybertruck, so its poor craftsmanship is probably enough to blame.
-
How the hell did a scooter do 77k of damage (or more)? Was it fired out of a rail gun? Did the rider survive? Do they need help?
Most likely explanation: had to wait for the cop to do a police report and got caught out in the rain and forgot to activate car wash mode.
Perfectly reasonable and normal for a scooter to destroy a giant pickup. Was the scooter made by space x?
I’m not sure you could total my S10 with a scooter.
-
This piece of shit costs $200k???
No, he paid $200,000 for that piece of shit. Right now a new one should be about $70k, which is still $70k for a turd floating in a punch bowl, but is also $130,000 less than what he paid.
-
Gap insurance anyone?
You don’t need GAP insurance if you just buy a vehicle you can afford in the first place.
I like the moneyguy 20/3/8 rule. 20% down in cash, no more than 3 years on the loan, no more than 8% of gross monthly income as your monthly payment.
-
How the hell did a scooter do 77k of damage (or more)? Was it fired out of a rail gun? Did the rider survive? Do they need help?
Most likely explanation: had to wait for the cop to do a police report and got caught out in the rain and forgot to activate car wash mode.
Perfectly reasonable and normal for a scooter to destroy a giant pickup. Was the scooter made by space x?
Also the title could be misleading, was a scooter in the lane and he just crushed it against a wall or second lane of traffic? Maybe scooter crushed under the frame punctured battery pack?. A lot off driver vs cyclist collisions often get headlines like Cyclist hits car. When the reality is driver pulled into path of cyclist. Or Driver actually directly hit cyclist by not giving proper lane clearance.
-
This post did not contain any content.
Oh no! Anyways.
-
You don’t need GAP insurance if you just buy a vehicle you can afford in the first place.
I like the moneyguy 20/3/8 rule. 20% down in cash, no more than 3 years on the loan, no more than 8% of gross monthly income as your monthly payment.
Sure, and you don’t need homeowner’s insurance if you don’t buy a house.
