Accident in Model 3

[yeahhtrue]

So I've had my M3 for about 2.5 months, and someone just hit me. I was on a fairly wide two lane road, about to make a right into my parents driveway. I put my blinker on to make the right turn into the driveway, and as I turned someone flew up from behind me and tried to pass me on the right. How bad does this damage look? And is there anything specific I should know about repairing a Tesla through insurance? Can any body shop fix this or do I need to go through Tesla directly?

 

[rmh9]

Sorry to hear that! I'd contact Tesla if I were you. They will be able to recommend the next steps, and they will know which body shops are reputable. I unfortunately had a paint defect on mine at time of delivery, but Tesla set me up with a body shop that did a perfect repair.

Good luck!

 

[jjrandorin]

Here are some threads about model 3s involved in accidents. Maybe you can get some insight from these?

Tesla model 3 accident
Here we go, my accident journey
Accident - Got hit from behind
My experience with Tesla Insurance after destroying my leased Model 3 in a freeway accident
Model 3 LR AWD - involved in accident -- can it be repaired?
Car Accident 2 months with car
Got in accident and at-fault insurance company denies claim

 

[LionXng]

Sorry about your car! The very few times I have done an insurance claim I was given options for where to take it first by the insurance company. Then I could get it fixed where ever I wanted after the insurance company's place inspected it.

(and of course insurance wants you to take some cash and run, so the first estimate from their guys will ALWAYS be low.)

 

[UncertainTimes]

You will have to go to either a Tesla Collision center or a Tesla Certified Body Shop. Regular service centers can’t repair collision damage. Go to Tesla's webpage to find a certified body shop. Be prepared to wait like 2 weeks for parts.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Sorry, but that's totaled. With rocker and suspension damage the frame is bent and insurance will write it off. You could keep the car and use the insurance check to fix it, you might find a shop willing to do a cash repair for $10K or so, but you'll be left with a low-value car that's blacklisted from many Tesla updates/recalls/chargers/etc..

 

[rmh9]

Sorry, but that's totaled. With rocker and suspension damage the frame is bent and insurance will write it off. You could keep the car and use the insurance check to fix it, you might find a shop willing to do a cash repair for $10K or so, but you'll be left with a low-value car that's blacklisted from many Tesla updates/recalls/chargers/etc..

I doubt that it's totaled. You can't tell from that picture and it's astonishing what a good body shop can fix. Don't be discouraged @yeahhtrue. I've seen cars that look much worse in body shops.

 

[MP3Mike]

I doubt that it's totaled. You can't tell from that picture and it's astonishing what a good body shop can fix. Don't be discouraged @yeahhtrue. I've seen cars that look much worse in body shops.

I would need to see more pictures to be sure, but I'd say that has a 75% chance of being totaled.

Damage that can be seen in that picture:

• Bumper cover
• Fender
• Tire
• Wheel
• Suspension
• Front passenger door
• Rear passenger door
• Passenger side-view mirror
• Passenger rocker panel

Most likely also damaged:

• Steering rack
• Half-shaft (assuming AWD)
• Front motor (assuming AWD)
• Hood
• Passenger headlight
• Is the rear quarter panel damaged?

And that doesn't even get into the hidden damage...

Given that most insurance will now only replace parts and re-paint, vs. re-shaping and re-painting, that is likely going to be an expensive/long repair and with the cost of a vehicle rental and diminished value that is likely to be a write-off.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Sorry, but that's totaled. With rocker and suspension damage the frame is bent and insurance will write it off. You could keep the car and use the insurance check to fix it, you might find a shop willing to do a cash repair for $10K or so, but you'll be left with a low-value car that's blacklisted from many Tesla updates/recalls/chargers/etc..

That would be the best news ever if they total it.

You will be a broken man by the time you go through the process and waiting of getting that car repaired, and then trying to get them to fix the things they screwed up after 2 months of waiting and then fighting about diminished value. And then the fun will really begin when it's trade in time, or you try to privately sell it.

Do what you can to get a check, and pick up a brand new Model 3 with some more hardware updates.

 

[Whitehawk]

Sorry, but that's totaled. With rocker and suspension damage the frame is bent and insurance will write it off. You could keep the car and use the insurance check to fix it, you might find a shop willing to do a cash repair for $10K or so, but you'll be left with a low-value car that's blacklisted from many Tesla updates/recalls/chargers/etc..

I tend to agree. There is far more damage than evidenced by body damage. The front suspension and support elements are toast...and that stuff can be very difficult to repair properly.

 

[axar]

Tesla in canada won't fix anything that deals with insurance unless you get it fixed out of pocket and bill insurance. They do however suggest we go to an authorized body shop. Repairs usually turn out more than you think so better to go with insurance. Just to give you an idea. I had driver side front/back wheels/tires, arms, knuckles, alignment replaced for about 7000 CAD all in.

 

[Needsdecaf]

Guys, a total requires the potential repair to come in somewhere between 70 to 75% of the car's present value. This of course depends on your individual insurance companies. And they DON'T like to just total cars for the hell of it. Then it's there problem to auction and dispose of it. They would much rather write you a check and be on their way. Given this is a brand new, presumably low mileage car, that amount is still quite high. Unless the battery has been touched, this very much doesn't seem like a total to me.

My car was totaled. It was 15 months old and had 34k miles on it. I had a front end collision with some road debris that took out the front subframe, front fascia, wheel and tire. And that was the initial estimate. There could have been more, however the battery was impacted. Tesla indicated that alone was almost $20k.

This accident above? Less than $20k in repairs for sure. I'm guessing $12k to $15k. Certainly far less than 70% of the car's present value.

 

[yeahhtrue]

Totaling sounds good for an older car, but considering I've only made a single payment on this one so far, I'm going to be out some money I'm sure. And I won't be able to get the $5k EV rebate from NJ a second time if I buy a new car which sucks.

I'll be sure to update this thread once I have a verdict. Add it to the list of accident reference threads.

 

[dmurphy]

Totaling sounds good for an older car, but considering I've only made a single payment on this one so far, I'm going to be out some money I'm sure. And I won't be able to get the $5k EV rebate from NJ a second time if I buy a new car which sucks.

I'll be sure to update this thread once I have a verdict. Add it to the list of accident reference threads.

Where are you in NJ? If you're anywhere in the area, I'd take that immediately to Collision Restoration in Fairfield. Excellent body shop, Tesla experts, and super friendly folks. They have a great adjuster on staff (Eric) who will let you know right away what it needs and whether it's totaled.

I'm going to guess it's not ... and if my details above are any indication, you realize I've been through something like this recently as well. It was a deer and a Buick, but similar-ish situation. Kudos to CR for doing a great job putting Humpty Dumpty back together again, but it's serving someone else now... decided to sell it for a Model X instead.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Sorry, but that's totaled. With rocker and suspension damage the frame is bent and insurance will write it off. You could keep the car and use the insurance check to fix it, you might find a shop willing to do a cash repair for $10K or so, but you'll be left with a low-value car that's blacklisted from many Tesla updates/recalls/chargers/etc..

Nah, I had similar and quite a bit worse damage in a Model S back in 2015 and they didn't total it.

This will involve a lot of the suspension, steering, and drive train components in the front end, but the lack of body panel damage goes a long way. I don't see any airbag deployment either.

I think this is very repairable.

 

[sktn77a]

No way it's totaled. Door, fender, some suspension work and maybe the rocker. $10k-$12k tops, including hidden damage. The car will be good as new.

Now, get a trade in estimate, disclosing the damage, and compare that to the trade in value before the accident. This is the "diminished value" of your car because of the accident. Claim this on your (ie the other guy's) insurance, too.

 

[Needsdecaf]

No way it's totaled. Door, fender, some suspension work and maybe the rocker. $10k-$12k tops, including hidden damage. The car will be good as new.

Now, get a trade in estimate, disclosing the damage, and compare that to the trade in value before the accident. This is the "diminished value" of your car because of the accident. Claim this on your (ie the other guy's) insurance, too.

Good advice.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

The car will be good as new.

You have supreme confidence in body shops, don't you? In reality, they do a good job about 10% of the time. Does the OP feel lucky?

 

[Reborn]

So I've had my M3 for about 2.5 months, and someone just hit me. I was on a fairly wide two lane road, about to make a right into my parents driveway. I put my blinker on to make the right turn into the driveway, and as I turned someone flew up from behind me and tried to pass me on the right. How bad does this damage look? And is there anything specific I should know about repairing a Tesla through insurance? Can any body shop fix this or do I need to go through Tesla directly?

If repairable, make sure you use a Tesla-approved body shop. Don’t listen to the insurance company about alternatives. You can find it on the website or google it.

If totaled,
-Insurance will try to get you the lowest amount..esp if you have Geico..fight them till the end. Your car is within a year so they have to give you equivalent of a new car. Go to NADA.com and put in your options . Btw even if your state doesn’t requite you to pay taxes on electric cars, the insurance company have to give you money for taxes and other fees. Even after their depreciation, I ended up getting more money that the cost for a new car cos Jersey is tax free.AND DON’T SAY A WORD ABOUT NJ REBATE or TAX FREE TO THEM. That’s additional money in your pocket.

Mine was “totaled” but I got a notification a year later that my car has been assigned a new owner so I guess it’s not totaled after all. The shop said 40k cost so oh well.

See attached. They tried to give me 50k, see what I sent them with attachments of my original bill of sale, upload from NADA and cost of new car. They ended up giving me $60 after removing about 11% depreciation and adding back taxes and other fees. Luckily for me, a new car came in 10k cheaper....Tesla dropped the price and NJ Rebate came in. So I made 10k on an accident.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Here's a great video to show why you're always better to get your car totaled if you have major damage, and why, rightfully, you will lose a lot of value in the car come resale time.

Look at all the hidden bad work this guy had to fix. Unless you were there every minute they work on your car (you won't be), you'll never know what shortcuts they took that could cause problems very shortly after getting the car back, or down the road.