Accident damaged Tesla Model 3

[Goke]

Hi guys,

I had an accident that damaged my Standard Range Model 3 (2019) badly but the interior of the car is still intact, everything inside still working but body work really damaged.

To cut the long story short, the Insurance Company denied my claim due to the tread of the tyres at the back of the car, worn below legal limit, my lawyer have written to them and they have denied the claim, the case is now with the Financial Ombudsman but not looking good for me.

This has put me in a big financial mess and struggling to find a way out.

Fixing the car at Tesla is very expensive and I can't afford it.

Want to know if you guys have an Idea what I can do here, somewhere to fix the car outside Tesla that won't be as expensive or if it's better to sell the car as damaged (If so, where and how much do you think I can get for it)?

Any informed advice or idea would be welcomed.

Thanks

 

[OfficialMark_H]

Cut your losses any get rid of your solicitor, he’s not going to be able to do anything if your tyres were illegal.

 

[pgkevet]

I'd hate to guess at the theoretical cost of fixing that, certainly at tesla prices and if there's any damage to subframes - probably the theoretical cost would be as much as a new car. The only saving grace may be within the details of the accident as such. If you managed to stop in time and were then hit from behind and pushed into the car in front then the guy that hit you is responsible. If you failed to stop in time and the guy behind hit you then he should be responsible for the rear end damage? Of course if you were parked then it wasn't your fault at all....
I was once in a motorway pile-up. I knew the brakes on my car were a tad dodgy and kept my distance from cars in front. However, an emergency situation happened and I managed to stop just short of the vehicle in front but saw in my rear-view that guy behind was too close. I took my foot off the brake to reduce the shock and got slammed into by another 6 cars and pushed into car in front.

The police were going to do me for the lot claiming I was tailgating, and it was only 'cos the guy who was actually tailgating me (and a vicar) got his conscience back that it turned out OK. Things looked bad when I discovered it was the firm's car and they’d forgotten to get the MOT.....

 

[NewbieT]

Blimey- that’s an expensive mistake. Let that be a warning to everyone.

Not sure anyone will give you a sensible fixed price for repairs or certainly not one without lots of caveats which makes repair a risky option for you. Cost could be more than it’s worth. Phone some specialist Tesla body shops/garages and gauge interest. A few names do get mentioned on here.

Could give a couple of auction houses a call too they might give you a guide price? Don’t know if BCA do damaged cars.

Worth mentioning Tesla warranty will be voided but they could also disable supercharging devaluing it further.

 

[Durzel]

Pretty much all you can do is either stick it on eBay or put it through Copart. Trying to repair it would be cost prohibitive if you aren’t in the trade.

I would also echo the point about it being a waste of time continuing to pay for a solicitor. Your insurance will certainly have had T&Cs saying that the car needed to be roadworthy (which obviously illegal tyres aren’t)

How dodgy were the tyres? Illegal across the tread or as the result of bad tracking?

 

[AndrewGR]

Interesting question as to whether the insurance is void because the tyres were illegal. I nderstand that the failure to have an MOT doesn’t void insurance regardless of what it says on the policy unless it can be shown that an MOT fault contributed to the accident and that this has been tested in court several times. Worn tyres will increase stopping distance - but only significantly if the road surface is wet. Did the worn tyres contribute to this accident? If not then I would think that the insurance should pay up.

 

[richrootes]

Interesting question as to whether the insurance is void because the tyres were illegal. I nderstand that the failure to have an MOT doesn’t void insurance regardless of what it says on the policy unless it can be shown that an MOT fault contributed to the accident and that this has been tested in court several times. Worn tyres will increase stopping distance - but only significantly if the road surface is wet. Did the worn tyres contribute to this accident? If not then I would think that the insurance should pay up.

Looks like that rear tyre blew out - otherwise seeing the threads like that is pretty unusual. The car easily looks like a write off I’m afraid - shame it didn’t catch fire, then the tyres would have burned/melted and tread depth wouldn’t have been visible

Sorry mate - what a balls up

 

[Dooo]

Hi guys,

I had an accident that damaged my Standard Range Model 3 (2019) badly but the interior of the car is still intact, everything inside still working but body work really damaged.

To cut the long story short, the Insurance Company denied my claim due to the tread of the tyres at the back of the car, worn below legal limit, my lawyer have written to them and they have denied the claim, the case is now with the Financial Ombudsman but not looking good for me.

This has put me in a big financial mess and struggling to find a way out.

Fixing the car at Tesla is very expensive and I can't afford it.

Want to know if you guys have an Idea what I can do here, somewhere to fix the car outside Tesla that won't be as expensive or if it's better to sell the car as damaged (If so, where and how much do you think I can get for it)?

Any informed advice or idea would be welcomed.

Thanks

View attachment 688796
View attachment 688811

Speak to bodyshop. You may still be able to salvage. Check ebay to gauge cost of parts. Good luck.

 

[Gatsojon]

Really sorry to hear about this situation.
Would breaking it up for spares be an option for you? The motor, drivetrain and batteries have decent value due to so many car conversions going on and Tesla being the drivetrain of choice. The interior will get some interest too. The control modules would due to chip shortage, though have to be coded to the new car.
I feel your pain though.

 

[OUTATIME1]

Anyone else immediately get booked in for all four tyres to be replaced after reading this? No? Just me then..! (this is the first really nice car I've owned, jeez getting the correct tyre is expensive!)

Really sorry this happened to you - awful.

 

[spooksman]

Anyone else immediately get booked in for all four tyres to be replaced

Crossed my mind...

However, I have screw number 3 (in three months!) sticking out of my front tyre today, so new tyre tomorrow and I'll get the others checked. I would agree, the price hurts...

 

[MB2MB2]

Sorry to hear about this. Do you have any photos of the tyre tread - wondering just how illegal they were ? Do you think they contributed to the accident ? It does seem rather harsh and probably an added risk for a Tesla due to the lack of routine service visits.

 

[m3p_uk]

Hi guys,

I had an accident that damaged my Standard Range Model 3 (2019) badly but the interior of the car is still intact, everything inside still working but body work really damaged.

To cut the long story short, the Insurance Company denied my claim due to the tread of the tyres at the back of the car, worn below legal limit, my lawyer have written to them and they have denied the claim, the case is now with the Financial Ombudsman but not looking good for me.

This has put me in a big financial mess and struggling to find a way out.

Fixing the car at Tesla is very expensive and I can't afford it.

Want to know if you guys have an Idea what I can do here, somewhere to fix the car outside Tesla that won't be as expensive or if it's better to sell the car as damaged (If so, where and how much do you think I can get for it)?

Any informed advice or idea would be welcomed.

Thanks

View attachment 688796
View attachment 688811

Sorry to hear, what happened to cause the accident and who are your insurance company?

 

[richrootes]

Sorry to hear about this. Do you have any photos of the tyre tread - wondering just how illegal they were ? Do you think they contributed to the accident ? It does seem rather harsh and probably an added risk for a Tesla due to the lack of routine service visits.

If you zoom in on the second image, the outside edge looks like there is very little tread left - and delamination might even have caused the loss of control

Only the OP knows though, so this is pure speculation

 

[MrT3]

Interesting question as to whether the insurance is void because the tyres were illegal. I nderstand that the failure to have an MOT doesn’t void insurance regardless of what it says on the policy unless it can be shown that an MOT fault contributed to the accident and that this has been tested in court several times.

Not having a valid MOT doesn't necessarily mean the vehicle is in an unroadworthy condition. Taking it for an MOT and it failing on a major issue but continuing to drive it is a different story.

Having tyres below the legal limit by definition means the vehicle is unroadworthy. Not only would your insurance be invalidated, and your claim rejected, but if a third party was involved (which your insurance is still legally obligated to settle) they are likely to come after you to recover those third-party costs.

 

[Cnixon]

Of course there is the possibility that the OP was in shock and pushed the accelerator down causing excessive rear wheel spin and burnout leading to the impression that the tyres where low on tread?

 

[impee]

One thing though, considering car #3 hit car #2 (OP) and pushed it into car #1 (range rover), shouldn't car #3's insurance pay for damage to #2 (front and back)?

...and insurance company of #2 only pays for damage to #1?

 

[drewpost]

Ouch. Well, for perspective, this damage was £12k to repair so you’re likely talking nearly at write off value I’d imagine.

 

[spooksman]

£12k - ouch

 

[drewpost]

£12k - ouch

Thankfully insured and third party was 100% at fault so all claimed off of him but there was a lot of damage under the bumper. It was a 35/40 MPH collision and we were nearly stationary. New bumper, boot lid and a few of the items underneath as well plus the labour. The £12k doesn’t even include the loan LR model 3 which was billed out at £235/day for the 1.5 months the repair took (parts took ages!).