BMW tries to fight my Model S - somewhat successful...

[46&2]

It's been a week now since this has happened to me:

Short description: A BMW i3 crashed into my right front wheel. This happened next to the BMW Switzerland headquarters, where a ("working") driver was driving the i3 off one area/building complex, via a public road, heading for a different area. He did not stop at the exit (as he should have), trying to turn left into the road, where I was approaching. The exit was about 4 cars width, but he decided to drive very close to the left side, where foliage makes for a slightly less-open view. Still, he should have seen me, when driving slow or stopping.

I could not see him. I only realized what happened AFTER the crash, I had no chance to do anything. Front of my car is intact, a 100% side hit. Police clearly stated there's ONE guilty guy - not me. He must have been to fast, left without checking, or what ever...


One week has passed now, and I'm still waiting for the insurance company to check what's broken...


Oh damn, I'm pissed. Still. A lot. :crying:

- - - Updated - - -

Damages, as far as I could see:

- front right wheel/rim, maybe tire
- axle
- suspension (air)
- front fender
- front door
- rear door
- rear fender
- the beam inside the front door has dents where the pressure went through the door

Additional stuff:
- the (argh!!!) guy lifting the car onto the flatbed might have scratched the fenders even more with his method. And if so, on the left side as well...
- mirror seems intact, funny
- maybe the frunk hood is bent as well, where the fender was pushed upwards.

... more to see...


4 months and 3 weeks old, 13'500 km

Most important info: no one was injured!

 

[ecarfan]

Sorry to hear about your accident. Was the i3 driver a BMW employee?

 

[46&2]

Sorry to hear about your accident. Was the i3 driver a BMW employee?

Yes. They often move cars around, in that area. Off one parking, into the next, then to the gas station they have, then to the used car area, then back to the show room, then to the washing lot... And all of that is driven digitally: "engine off, or full throttle" They just don't f...ing care/think.

 

[Electricfan]

Did it show any diagnostic messages on the dash? I wonder if the battery was damaged. So sorry this happened to you. Good luck.

 

[46&2]

Did it show any diagnostic messages on the dash? I wonder if the battery was damaged. So sorry this happened to you. Good luck.

No, there where no messages on the dash. First, still sitting in, I wanted to drive the car out of the way - which was impossible due to the wheel hanging around, loose. But still, the car's electric parts seemed to work as normal. I could switch to tow mode, switch from rear/forward/neutral to P...

 

[MassModel3]

What a terrible thing to have happened to a beautiful car. :scared:

I wouldn't think the method the tow driver used would have been great on the rear wheels and axles, either.

Are you waiting on your insurance company or BMW's? My experience with auto insurance companies is that mine does the evaluating and repair estimates (fairly quickly), then they go after the other guy's insurance to get reimbursed.

 

[unnoho]

Why would the tow driver lift it up instead of dragging? I would have been concerned with the damaged front right separating when lifting.

 

[Gizmotoy]

- the (argh!!!) guy lifting the car onto the flatbed might have scratched the fenders even more with his method. And if so, on the left side as well...

That's the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture. Those straps look like they're touching those $20k (each!) rear quarter panels. Practically all Model S that damage both rear quarters are totaled. I know some replacement part cost has come down within the past 6 months or so, maybe that's no longer the case, but certainly that's a scary way to hoist the car. Hopefully they weren't dented or damaged. It would've probably been better to drag it up onto the bed. :frown:

Sorry that happened. Sad to see damage like that.

 

[46&2]

What a terrible thing to have happened to a beautiful car. :scared:

I wouldn't think the method the tow driver used would have been great on the rear wheels and axles, either.

Are you waiting on your insurance company or BMW's? My experience with auto insurance companies is that mine does the evaluating and repair estimates (fairly quickly), then they go after the other guy's insurance to get reimbursed.

You can feel with me


The car was brought to a contractual Tesla partner who does body and chassis work for them to estimate the damage. My insurance company will organize repair (or 'the case'), and then go after the other guy's insurance, as you said. They started examining on Monday, but haven't finished yet. Maybe they have to ask back at Tesla for a quote of repair necessary to the drive train. That is what takes long.

As you said, that's how they do it.

The contractual partner, where I got a back up car (not a Tesla, of course...), said lifting would not damage axles or wheels... Well, that's what he said. Not sure about that either, I called the insurance company last Friday, sent the picture, and asked whether that was a normal way to lift a car.

I'm about SURE he must have bent the left fenders - I mean, look at those straps

 

[brantse]

Why would the tow driver lift it up instead of dragging? I would have been concerned with the damaged front right separating when lifting.

My exact initial thought. Amazing! Probably because it was easier than trying to figure out how to put it into tow mode.

 

[46&2]

That's the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture. Those straps look like they're touching those $20k (each!) rear quarter panels. Practically all Model S that damage both rear quarters are totaled. I know some replacement part cost has come down within the past 6 months or so, maybe that's no longer the case, but certainly that's a scary way to hoist the car. Hopefully they weren't dented or damaged. It would've probably been better to drag it up onto the bed. :frown:

Sorry that happened. Sad to see damage like that.

ARGH! Yes, that's gonna be expensive, if bent. Any chance of leaving them intact, doing such a thing? I'll have to go back to my Tesla and check myself...

 

[mkretman]

Any pictures of the BMW i3?

 

[Gizmotoy]

ARGH! Yes, that's gonna be expensive, if bent. Any chance of leaving them intact, doing such a thing? I'll have to go back to my Tesla and check myself...

Hard to say. It depends how wide those straps were aligned. There's a chance they weren't actually even touching and it's just an artifact of the camera angle. Scratching, while terrible, won't be a huge problem to fix, a crease certainly would.

Just something to keep in mind. Hopefully all is well and the guy knew what he was doing and didn't cause further damage.

 

[46&2]

Any pictures of the BMW i3?

No, I forgot to do that - sorry. Everybody wants me to show some, but I can't - stupid me was not smart enough to picture that one, then...

 

[doug]

On the plus side, the flat underside makes it look like a hover car flying away.

 

[MassModel3]

The outer edge of the rear tires is most definitely inside the forward lip of the fender on a Model S. There was definitely stress applied to the rear panels, but was it enough to cause damage???

 

[46&2]

Yes


More car horror... front, intact:

Here, for the experts, all the body parts damaged around the right front wheel, and the suspension - looks like about every metal part around the wheel, the whole wheel-arch, is bent:

- - - Updated - - -

The side, as it looked before lifting:

- - - Updated - - -

And then, that guy in action:

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

So sorry to see this. Going by past reports (and my own personal experience), this car appears to be too far gone to be repaired.

 

[Gizmotoy]

The outer edge of the rear tires is most definitely inside the forward lip of the fender on a Model S. There was definitely stress applied to the rear panels, but was it enough to cause damage???

View attachment 99505

Not necessarily. The rail those straps attach to on the tow truck are wider than the vehicle. If it's wide enough where they connect it's possible the straps could have cleared the quarter panels. Tough to say from those pics, though, even with the new ones just posted.

 

[perkiset]

Man, what a nasty story. Almost turns my stomach, seeing such a beautiful car that way (one of ours is black as well, so it hits too close to home)

I guess I'm confused about one thing - even if they did damage the fenders during towing, wouldn't that then also get covered? I mean, the car is already going to need a lot of work, wouldn't they just add that in to the job? I'd not think that you would be returned a car in any less shape than perfect when you got it back. Am I missing something?