Two of my partner’s friends came over yesterday, both with their kids. I’ve never been much of a kid person—too noisy and restless for someone who likes quiet. Having my own child has softened that feeling, so after they hung out at our place for a while, we drove out for dinner and then took the kids to the mall. One friend rode in our car with her boy, who looked about five or six. He insisted on eating snacks in the back seat. My partner told him not to, but it had no effect, and his mother didn’t step in either. He sat there eating something that shed crumbs everywhere, and soon the seat, armrest, and door panel were covered in biscuit bits. I didn’t feel I could say much.
Our own kid is never allowed to eat in the car, let alone in someone else’s. I’m fairly particular about cleanliness, especially inside the car, and I clean it regularly. After we dropped everyone off in the afternoon, I went down to deal with the mess. The seats have ventilation and heating, so the leather is perforated, and the crumbs had worked into all those tiny holes. It was a nightmare to remove. I wished I had a handheld vacuum. I spent more than half an hour and still couldn’t get everywhere. To me, it was a clear case of a child not being taught basic boundaries.
Then came the mirror. I’ve driven this car long enough that it feels second nature, and yesterday while reversing I trusted myself too much. I thought I had plenty of room, but the mirror caught a pillar. Reversing at idle never feels fast, yet this time it did. I heard a crunch, something came off, and I knew I’d done damage. The plastic housing around the turn signal had cracked. I’d heard that new-energy cars are expensive to repair, but I figured a clear plastic cover couldn’t be much—maybe a hundred yuan or so. I was naive.
At the dealership, they said there was no separate plastic part. The only option was to replace the entire assembly. I could cover it with waterproof tape for now, but if I didn’t go through insurance and something failed later, I’d have to pay for it myself. I asked what it would cost. They said 2,800 yuan, with the final amount depending on the damage assessment. I expected a bit of a rip-off, but not this much. They explained that for this mirror, the manufacturer only supplies the glass and the front plastic piece; everything else comes as an assembly, so any damage means replacing the whole thing. I decided to replace it. Tape might hold, but it would look bad, and I didn’t want to risk water getting in and causing a short. This is exactly what insurance is for.
I contacted PICC, and the claim process moved quickly. I drove to the dealership for the assessment; the damage estimate came to just over a thousand yuan. The person handling the claim and after-sales at the dealership said the new mirror comes unpainted by default, so they would reuse my original shell. That stopped me. I was paying for a whole mirror, and they still wanted my old shell? Was the dealership going to swap in a single plastic part and claim they’d replaced the assembly? I don’t like assuming the worst, but given how dealerships can operate, it seemed entirely possible.
All that for a small broken piece of plastic, and the answer was a full assembly. I had nothing to say.
I’ve always considered myself a steady driver. More than eight years on the road, no accidents, not even a minor scrape. This was a foolish slip. My partner teased me that I shouldn’t get too cocky and should take it easy.
It also has to be said that parking spaces are too narrow now. At malls, parking is a pain. Even a standard space is almost completely filled by the car. With another car beside you, the door barely opens, so in most cases passengers have to get out first. And if one car is parked badly, the space next to it is effectively dead.