llavalle
Member
Wow, that's got to be the weirdest tow job I've seen in my life. One of the front ball joint is clearly sheared off and they still decide to pull the car using the wheel?!? Something I'm not seeing here?
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It usually doesn't work that way. If the OP can prove (and he can, since he has photos) that the tow truck company screwed up the fenders while towing, they should cover it.
Otherwise, the insurance company is only going to pay to get fixed what was damaged during the accident. My friend hit a deer a while back, insurance paid for everything related to the deer accident. He had a small dent not too far from where the deer hit was, but far enough that it was clearly not part of the accident -- the body shop refused to fix it as it was clearly not related to the deer accident (which makes perfect sense).
perkiset
... this one goes to 11
I am a bit surprised most people I show the pictures consider that a total loss. The car is like new, expensive... one could do a lot of repairing for the cost of a new one...
No. You do not miss anything. The truck was organised by my insurance company, and the guy started working while I still was talking with the police. I would not accept anything but a perfect car, sure.
No. You do not miss anything. The truck was organised by my insurance company, and the guy started working while I still was talking with the police. I would not accept anything but a perfect car, sure.
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SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
I'm not sure the car is a total loss. I had an accident with mine back on August 10. I won't go into details of the accident, but the net result was that the vehicle slid sideways into a curb.
Damaged parts included (all on left side): tires, wheels, hubs, brake rotors, brake calipers, upper and lower control arms, tie rods, trailing links, air suspension, drive shafts, and steering rack. Front left subframe was bent, causing drivers door to creak and stick when opening/closing, this required a body shop to fix. The lower control arm, upper control arm, and brake rotor on the left rear were fractured into pieces.
Took 10 weeks, but I got the car back last Thursday, good as new. Drives perfectly. Did about 300 miles of autopilot driving over the weekend with no problems.
The one thing with mine that may have saved the vehicle from being totaled was that there was no body damage: no panels needed to be replaced, repaired, or repainted.
Damaged parts included (all on left side): tires, wheels, hubs, brake rotors, brake calipers, upper and lower control arms, tie rods, trailing links, air suspension, drive shafts, and steering rack. Front left subframe was bent, causing drivers door to creak and stick when opening/closing, this required a body shop to fix. The lower control arm, upper control arm, and brake rotor on the left rear were fractured into pieces.
Took 10 weeks, but I got the car back last Thursday, good as new. Drives perfectly. Did about 300 miles of autopilot driving over the weekend with no problems.
The one thing with mine that may have saved the vehicle from being totaled was that there was no body damage: no panels needed to be replaced, repaired, or repainted.
Gizmotoy
Active Member
That's really the key. Those rear quarters are phenomenally expensive. If you go on the factory tour or check out body in white pictures online you'll see why, as they are the basis for practically the whole side of the car. And this poor vehicle may have one damaged by the accident. The rear door is bent pretty bad, and if it affected the rear quarter (essentially the entire interior of that door including B pillar mount points but not the B pillar itself), it'll need replaced. And given the way it was towed, one or both might have been damaged by the straps.
In the past damaging both nearly guaranteed the vehicle was totaled, as the just those parts gets you up over $40k in repairs. I really hope that's no longer the case, and Tesla's been working to bring repair costs down, but it's certainly a possibility.
jcaspar
Member
Ouch! Sorry to hear this. Hope you get it repaired soon..
While you didn't post any pictures of the i3, I suspect that the accident only made it better looking!:biggrin:
While you didn't post any pictures of the i3, I suspect that the accident only made it better looking!:biggrin:
davidc18
Active Member
Is picking up a +5000 vehicle via the tires really looks like a way to ensure even more damage is inflicted.
Having been fixing cars for 25 years-Doesn't look that bad to me. Need to check the wheel.
If the mechanical damage was confined to the lower ball joint, looks replacing that item would make the car drivable.
The lower ball joint could be part of a lower arm assembly, but really this is no big drama. It is almost a service item anyway.
Looks like a waste of a good car to write it off.
Tyre/wheel looks OK, doors bolt off an a couple of minutes new ones attach in a couple of minutes.
Shallow dent around the rear quarter? pull it out fill it and paint it. Same as fixing any other high end car.
Front fender? replace it.
Nothing like making a mountain out of a molehill.
Of course I could be completely wrong without standing next to it, but we know it was a low speed impact.
If the mechanical damage was confined to the lower ball joint, looks replacing that item would make the car drivable.
The lower ball joint could be part of a lower arm assembly, but really this is no big drama. It is almost a service item anyway.
Looks like a waste of a good car to write it off.
Tyre/wheel looks OK, doors bolt off an a couple of minutes new ones attach in a couple of minutes.
Shallow dent around the rear quarter? pull it out fill it and paint it. Same as fixing any other high end car.
Front fender? replace it.
Nothing like making a mountain out of a molehill.
Of course I could be completely wrong without standing next to it, but we know it was a low speed impact.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Yeah, this tow truck looks to be designed for lifting wrecked Formula 1 cars off the track!
Panoz
Member
Noooooo! Sorry for the t-bone you took. I'd be pissed too.
While fixing it, you could take the opportunity to do some personalization that Tesla doesn't offer! I would:
1) Zebra-pattern car seats
2) Jacks to make the car hop at car shows
3) Fuzzy dice or bikini bottoms on the rear-view mirror
4) One of those eardrum-crushing sub-woofers played so loud any words are impossible to understand
5) Flamethrower out the back (will need to install a tailpipe)
Whatcha think?
While fixing it, you could take the opportunity to do some personalization that Tesla doesn't offer! I would:
1) Zebra-pattern car seats
2) Jacks to make the car hop at car shows
3) Fuzzy dice or bikini bottoms on the rear-view mirror
4) One of those eardrum-crushing sub-woofers played so loud any words are impossible to understand
5) Flamethrower out the back (will need to install a tailpipe)
Whatcha think?
To keep you updated:
no news from the insurance company yet - still trying to find out what the repairs will cost.
no news from the insurance company yet - still trying to find out what the repairs will cost.
