Do people hate your car?

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It is just kind of crazy because I have pretty much always parked out in the boonies and didn't have this happen before with other vehicles I have owned. So it led me to the conclusion that maybe there is something that people don't like about this car that compels them to do something like this.

The most maddening thing is there isn't anything you can do about it. So now I have started avoiding driving my car because of the damage that is getting inflicted on it. Makes it kinda pointless to own a car I am afraid to drive because of what is happening to it.
 
+1, my father always likes to park as far away from other cars as he can......and inevitably has someone park next to him or comes out to find a ding, or worse :x
I used to do that too but found I was still getting dings, now I just park as close to the front as I can, not that I circle around the parking lot looking for a prime spot and I guess if I saw an old rusty wreck or someone parked on the line or even over into the open spot, I'd probably look for another spot.
I do truly believe some people see a nice car away from others and think to themselves, do they think their special, don't want their door dinged, and may indeed go out of their way to cause a problem :(
AFA people not liking my Leaf, personally I wish it looked more mainstream, basically like many ICE vehicles, I don't particularly like how it stands out. I've also had a few people remind me that my Leaf isn't truly emmision free as the power plant that produces the power the Leaf uses produces emissions.......I don't even want to get into the debate that solar doesn't really produce any emissions, then they'd probably counter, well producing the solar cells produce emmisions :roll: best to just say oh and move on :)
 
I can only assume you are right that the car stands out as unusual, I am parking in an unusual place, my car is a brighter color being blue so it is noticeable, and some people are just spiteful no matter what. That is all I can think it can be at this point. I am glad to hear this is not happening to other people. It just makes you sick when you come back out to your baby and see someone parked right up next to your car so close you don't know how they could get out of the car and they have left a big door ding in the side of your car. Or you come back out to find your car still sitting all by itself and see it has a new door ding... :twisted:

I think the people that want to argue that electric is just as dirty as petroleum powered cars change their tune with the price of gas.... Get gas prices back up to $5+ a gallon and suddenly something economical or even that "dirty electric" suddenly becomes "interesting".

I don't even try to talk to people any more other than to say with my car I only go to the gas station to get the car washed! I refuel at home. Electric is nice, quiet, and even fun... Oh and that electrical grid is actually getting cleaner. The cost to buy renewable energy is getting more affordable every day. The excuses are vanishing.

The strongest argument against electric cars is the lack of charging infrastructure. Once that is available at a comparable price to gasoline refueling then the excuses really are gone against electric vehicles.
 
MalcolmReynolds said:
.....I don't even try to talk to people any more other than to say with my car I only go to the gas station to get the car washed! I refuel at home. Electric is nice, quiet, and even fun... Oh and that electrical grid is actually getting cleaner. The cost to buy renewable energy is getting more affordable every day. The excuses are vanishing.
I live in the most red county in WA State and have not experienced what you've described. However, I rarely go to the mall (perhaps years ago, I cannot remember) or big parking lot stores. I do park slightly away, and usually hugging an island or curb to give more space for the next vehicle. Until recently, 99.9% of the population didn't know it was an electric car (or even if there were any EVs), unless it was plugged in. Initially, I was surrounded with people almost every time I plugged in, which wasn't very often since there were essentially zero stations in my community. Now, in the past two years, I've added signs on each back window that say "Powered by 100% Local American Electricity". I've always downplayed the environmental aspect of the EV, even with 95+% hydro, but everyone agrees with EVs when discuss US electricity, security and not funding governments like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Venezuela,
 
MalcolmReynolds said:
I live in Colorado. I have never had an issue before either that I can recall. So I find this very odd that I am having this issue with the Leaf. The fact that the people that are doing this are going out of there way to park out in boonies just to park next to my car is equally strange. Sometimes that happens that would happen before, but not a lot.

My Leaf lives in Colorado too and is also subjected to abuse.

In the decade plus I've had my Prius, I've had one person ninja-kick the front passenger door. I was inside, but with the engine off I guess they thought they were doing it anonymously to an empty car. The PoPo sorted that one out and I got all the damages paid for. Other than the normal rock dings a Colorado vehicle gets, it is otherwise pristine and now ignored on the road.

In the 4.5 years I've had the Leaf I've had numerous door dings, front and back. I've had someone back out of a space and make a crease mark all the way down from the front passenger door, rear passenger door, rear quarter panel, tire/wheel, and bumper. That took 3 months to repair because all the aluminum panels had to be ordered in. Car still had temp tags on it. Shortly thereafter someone hit it again in a parking lot puncturing the rear bumper through the license plate area. Had that fixed, but because it was a bumper I was able to drive it all except the few days it took to install and paint the bumper. The Leaf has been keyed at least twice. Huge scratches 3 fingers wide from the rear hatch over the LED lights, rear quarter panel and into rear driver door. Then last month someone rammed into it while parked and destroyed the rear bumper putting a tail hitch sized punch hole into it and cracked all the way up to the hatch door.

I'm pretty sick of it. I take care of my cars, people hate (my) Leaf for no reason. I've decided it's a jalopy, I'm not spending any more money to fix it. Full coverage but still at $250 a pop for a deductible and a ding on the history and a ding on my insurance, I just don't care anymore. Pretty soon it will be left under a bridge with the keyfob on the seat and I'll go find something better that people respect. I hate driving a non-mint car.
 
Wow, and I thought they had it out for my car... Holy smokes... I don't know what sets people off like this. All I know is that for some reason out of all the vehicles I have owned in my lifetime none have gotten so much negative attention as the Leaf has. I have never seen anything like it. I am afraid to drive it at this point because of the damage that gets inflicted.

I would have probably been better off with a Prius. They are everywhere and I doubt that people give them a second thought. I absolutely would not want to be the owner of a Tesla. No way I could park in those lots and not expect the damage to begin if it has anything do to with being an "odd or unusual" vehicle. Maybe people with other unusual or appeal vehicles experience the same thing. I don't know. The most unusual thing I ever owned was the first gen Honda Insight which I loved. I never had any problem with that car and people attacking it. I had a lot of people ask me what it was. I loved that car, but it was taken in a massive hailstorm and the Leaf was the car I decided to replace it with.
 
MalcolmReynolds said:
Wow, and I thought they had it out for my car... Holy smokes... I don't know what sets people off like this. All I know is that for some reason out of all the vehicles I have owned in my lifetime none have gotten so much negative attention as the Leaf has. I have never seen anything like it. I am afraid to drive it at this point because of the damage that gets inflicted.

You might try de-badging the car. I think it's the "zero emission" badges in particular that trigger some folks. Quite easy to remove with some dental floss or fishing line.
 
My blue 2011 Leaf (with the big Zero Emission decal option on each side) has only been keyed once ( 8 feet long -- passenger side).
 
MikeD said:
My blue 2011 Leaf (with the big Zero Emission decal option on each side) has only been keyed once ( 8 feet long -- passenger side).

My car was keyed once too. Driver side and only about one foot. I took that as a clear message someone noticed my car in a negative way. For me, the political statement of buying it was a prime driver. At the time, I told friends I half expected a mob of angry CC deniers to roll it over, so a keying after 4 years seemed almost disappointingly mild :lol:. I do think drivers sometime angrily pass me on the highway but it's hard to separate the normally aggressive drivers from the EV haters.

The strangest thing that has happened to my car is two parking lot accidents where the other drivers seemed either brain dead or out to get my car. One came flying out of a space right into my rear door. Another came out at normal speed and was obvious to the blasting horn from my car. I have never had a accident like this before this in a long driving history. More likely cell phones were the cause than my tongue-in-cheek theory that the K-brothers are paying people to take out EVs :eek:
 
Well that stinks that people would do any damage to a car.

I've only had my new Leaf for a day and a half, but have already had several people come up to me to ask what it is and more info about it. They think it looks good.

Hope this continues....
 
Jeeze, this post is concerning. I pick up my new Leaf within the next week. I live in an agricultural community. Most people drive trucks...diesel trucks.

My current car is a 2001 PT Cruiser (I like to keep cars for a long time). I always park way out in a parking lot. Never got a ding in a parking lot. The only ding on my car is from a bear that knocked over a metal trash can at my house. She put a 3" scratch at the bottom of the door. I don't mind that scratch. It's kinda fun telling people where it came from.

I'd like to keep to zero emissions label on the car but I appreciate a car that hasn't been damaged.
 
I suggest you take a hammer to your knees and get a handicapped placard or plate, ASAP. ;-) Parking my Leaf is the only time I'm a little grateful for the trouble I have walking. Those spaces are a bit short, but they have plenty of side clearance.
 
Wow new Leaf owner here in Florida, never would I think that someone would mess with someone's cars just b/c it was 0 emissions, I park far away in the parking lots for two reasons, so my car doesn't get dinged and for the exercise. If anyone should be dinging cars, should be us to the "gas guzzlers". :lol: . I used to get a chuckle out of Hummer owners. :lol:
 
We've had our Leaf for a couple of months now and our experience has been slightly different. There's a pervasive public air of "EVs are for dolphin-hugging hippies" in New Zealand, but a surprising number of people have a whole lot of questions once they know we have one. It's kind of like being the first guy in the street who eats mountain oysters and isn't afraid to admit it - suddenly everyone's curious to know what it's really like. The idea grosses them out, but maybe...juuuust maybe...

By the same token I've found I have a Jekyll and Hyde personality when driving. If i'm just out and about in light traffic I tend to hypermile, but if I have to drive during rush hour I just can't resist demonstrating that the car has no problem at all diving into gaps, leaping away from the lights, briskly accelerating to higher speed limits etc.

I have issues. :oops:
 
Someone mentioned earlier about battle lines being drawn by the most trivial of things these days. I think he was spot on. I live in Saint Louis so I’ve experienced some of the negative reactions(I.e. people telling me that to discard of my battery is far dirtier than gas cars blah,blah, blah, being asked if I’m “some kind of tree hugger”, etc), but fortunately I haven’t experienced any deliberate damage on the part of an electric vehicle hater. That is just insane to me.

A week or so after I bought the car a kid in a giant truck pulled up behind me and yelled “your car is gay”. I had to laugh it was so silly. I just waved and smiled. I suppose a car purchase in this day and age is a political statement. What a strange world.
 
I sort of remember President Obama saying something to the effect of in 20 years he’d like to see all electric vehicles on the roadways. Maybe some people’s dislike for Obama influences their opinions on Evs.
 
Those would have been perfect responses. I was just in shock when it happened. All I could do was smile and wave. I should’ve asked how he likes paying for gas and oil changes.
 
A week or so after I bought the car a kid in a giant truck pulled up behind me and yelled “your car is gay”.

As you drive buy while he is filling up "Giant Truck" with 2+to 3+ dollar gas, thank you very much. :lol:
 
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