Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Collision Repair Options

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Last week my model S was hit in the left front bumper while it was charging. The other driver took the fault. My bumper, headlamp, corner lamp, fender, and other stuff were damaged. Luckily the other driver left a note with a Geico claim number. An adjuster came over the next day, and she provided me an estimate of 1200$. I have not contacted my insurance company(Tesla Insurance) yet.

However, when I took my car to a Tesla service center, their solution was to replace the whole bumper and other damaged stuff, which is around 3000$. I thought it might be too much, so I went to another local authorized body shop. Surprisingly the body shop quoted me at almost 7000$ since they do not work with Geico anymore, and they have a higher labor rate.

I contacted Geico, and the adjuster said that they will not likely approve such amount repair cost, and recommended me to use another local body shop that they work with. So I went to this body shop, and it was apparently a low-end body shop which was full of honda and other old cars. I am afraid that my Tesla will not get a good quality fix here.
I am confused that is it my right to choose where to fix my car? or do I have to follow Geico's approval and settle my collision repair at a place just because it is cheap for Geico? What should I do?

Thank you for your time, and I appreciate every advice that you give to me!
 
It depends on what state you live in. Definitely push back on this and read the geico policy on what facilities you can use. I'm in Washington state and we have the right to chose what shop we use but your state might be different. For reference my S got backed into and it was 5,782 for the repair and 3800 for the rental fees which was all covered by usaa on the other guys insurance.
20191102_130433.jpg

It doesn't look like much but the hood is aluminium and not repairable. They replaced the whole grille assembly, hood latch assembly and front bumper cover and had to blend the fenders. It took 3 1/2 weeks for the repair due to parts delays.
 
You can call BS on the GEICO number - the headlamp by itself is $1200 (at least it was in my case). In the repair of my vehicle that had a front collision with airbag deployment, the single most expensive part out was each headlamp.
 
It depends on what state you live in. Definitely push back on this and read the geico policy on what facilities you can use. I'm in Washington state and we have the right to chose what shop we use but your state might be different. For reference my S got backed into and it was 5,782 for the repair and 3800 for the rental fees which was all covered by usaa on the other guys insurance. View attachment 484816
It doesn't look like much but the hood is aluminium and not repairable. They replaced the whole grille assembly, hood latch assembly and front bumper cover and had to blend the fenders. It took 3 1/2 weeks for the repair due to parts delays.

Thank you for your information. I live in CA, and I am pretty sure that I have the same law here. I will try to talk to them again tomorrow.
 
I agree with above. Don't let Geico try to push you around. You're definitely entitled to go to a Tesla-authorized body shop. I strongly advise doing so.

I just got my car back after a lengthy repair time of ~3 months after being rear-ended. Currently pursuing diminished value claim.

Good luck.
 
I agree with above. Don't let Geico try to push you around. You're definitely entitled to go to a Tesla-authorized body shop. I strongly advise doing so.

I just got my car back after a lengthy repair time of ~3 months after being rear-ended. Currently pursuing diminished value claim.

Good luck.

Thank you! All the local Tesla-authorized body shops do not work with Geico, so I will need to pay it at front. I am concerning that Geico will not reimburse me the whole amount. But I will try to call the Geico and give them some pressure to see how it goes. Good luck with your claim too!
 
You absolutely have the right to take it wherever you want. Geico absolutely has the right to pay reasonable rates (so don’t try to have your cousin’s bodyshop charge $1,000 an hour).

If you aren’t happy with the way Geico is handling it, do contact your insurance company as stated above and maybe file a complaint.

That said, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, the initial Geico was just that, initial, they will supplement the repairs and pay what is necessary.

but this could be a nice test of Tesla Insurance also.
 
If you do this and your insurance files a claim and goes after geico for reimbursement your rates can go up. Be cautious

Not if the other person's insurance has already accepted responsibility. This won't cost you a dime and since it they took responsibility already your insurance may not even hold your deductible out on the front end.

Bottom line, that person's coverage or policy means jack snap to you. You got hit and now you got inconvenienced. Get it fixed where YOU want and at the level that YOU are comfortable with. That guy's insurance is only there to protect him from being sued by you for damage repair costs so his policy and coverages mean nothing to you. If his insurance company won't service their client by paying you for the repairs you sue him in small claims court and then he has to go to them to ask why they're not covering him which is what he's paying for.

Good for you that you have full coverage though so you won't have to worry about any of this. Stop talking to his insurance and call your insurance immediately. File a claim. Your insurance is far more likely to make this better for you since you are their customer. They then go after that guy and/or his insurance for reimbursement and the most difficult aspect of that is getting them to accept responsibility. Most insurance will cut you a check for repairs less your deductible until they're able to get liability accepted from the other party's insurance or reimbursement. In this case, the hard part is done. Call your insurance and put this all behind you as quickly and easily as possible. That's why you pay those premiums and your insurance premiums will NOT go up moving forward as a result.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SoCal Buzz
Not if the other person's insurance has already accepted responsibility. This won't cost you a dime and since it they took responsibility already your insurance may not even hold your deductible out on the front end.

I just went thru a similar situation as the OP and from my own experience if I would have filed a claim on my S thru my insurance and then they have to go after the other insurance company for reimbursement it can effect your rates. There is absolutely no need to get your own insurance involved if the other parties insurance accepts responsibility for the damage/claim. I speak from experience from my wife's previous insurance claim even though the other insurance company was going to pay for all repairs it was much easier to just file a claim thru ours and have them go after the other insurance company. Our rates increased and it was put on her record as a no fault accident which also effects rate . No need to notify or even contact your insurance company. Geico has to fix the car to the condition it was in prior to the damage occurring.

Be very specific and ask for the wording in the policy to make sure you get treated as you should. Geico has a history of lowball initial estimates and then there will be higher supplemental addons that they will have to pay. Tesla parts cost what they cost and geico cannot cut corners. Ask for the list of approved body shops and if you find one you are confident in go for it but you are free to choose any shop you want and by law geico cannot dictate the repair facility that you use. They may push back on the rates the shop charges but a tesla is a tesla.
 
Two points:

If you file through your own coverage and go the subrogation route, ask if you will be covered for a rental for the full period of repair. In my case, they said they would only honor the rental reimbursement I had on my coverage, and not the (then unknown) time repairs would take.

Diminished value will have to be pursued against GEICO on your own anyway, your insurance will not cover this through subrogation (I expect, maybe this would be the first time a company did).
 
I just went thru a similar situation as the OP and from my own experience if I would have filed a claim on my S thru my insurance and then they have to go after the other insurance company for reimbursement it can effect your rates. There is absolutely no need to get your own insurance involved if the other parties insurance accepts responsibility for the damage/claim. I speak from experience from my wife's previous insurance claim even though the other insurance company was going to pay for all repairs it was much easier to just file a claim thru ours and have them go after the other insurance company. Our rates increased and it was put on her record as a no fault accident which also effects rate . No need to notify or even contact your insurance company. Geico has to fix the car to the condition it was in prior to the damage occurring.

Be very specific and ask for the wording in the policy to make sure you get treated as you should. Geico has a history of lowball initial estimates and then there will be higher supplemental addons that they will have to pay. Tesla parts cost what they cost and geico cannot cut corners. Ask for the list of approved body shops and if you find one you are confident in go for it but you are free to choose any shop you want and by law geico cannot dictate the repair facility that you use. They may push back on the rates the shop charges but a tesla is a tesla.

You need a new insurance company. It's called "subrogation" and is quite common and shouldn't affect your premium so long as you're not at fault. If you're found to be at fault then your premium is going to increase either way.

In your case, the key to your rates going up is that the accident was ruled no fault. If the other driver was found to be at fault then it wouldn't have affected your premium rates. A no fault accident claim is going to cause your premiums to go up (as it should) so that is completely separate from this conversation.

I had a similar situation a few months back and the other person's insurance was giving me the run around and was trying to call the shots. I cut off all communication with them, made one phone call to my own insurance company with the same info (to include quotes) I gave to the other insurance company and I was done. I was informed that my check would be sent less the deductible until they could get the other party to claim fault which I agreed to. I got another call before the check was issued saying they got the other party to accept fault before the check was cut and as a result they were sending me the full amount. No other efforts on my end and no affects to our premiums as a result. This is exactly why we pay for full coverage so why not use it? If you're with a company that wants to punish you for what they already collected more money for in premiums on the front end I'd find another insurance company.

For me, this is why I pay for insurance. My time is valuable and I also know that my insurance company has a vested stake in my happiness. I'm not going to read some random person's entire coverage declarations from some random insurance company to know what their coverages are. In short, I don't care because my car is fixed to my standards and whatever his insurance company doesn't want to cover my insurance company will just sue the other party forcing his insurance to step in and cover the entire bill. The best part is I don't have to trouble myself with any of that. I won't be stressing out over dealing with some other person's insurance company while trying to make my car right and having to fight for every dime to cover the costs.

In my decades of driving I can tell you that I've had a few claims, none of which were my fault. Early on before I knew any better I was also afraid to file with my insurance mostly out of ignorance. Now, I won't do it any other way. The difference in experience is night and day and the end result is absolutely no change to my premiums. It's like getting first class for free and not taking it because you think there's a "catch" because it sounds to good to be true.

Do your research. Call your insurance company and simply ask if there's any increase in premiums should you file for subrogation if the other party claims fault. No need to tell them you had an accident if you're worried. What you'll likely find is that you file a claim on the same phone call once your agent explains it to you. You'll wish you had made that call sooner.
 
You need a new insurance company. It's called "subrogation" and is quite common and shouldn't affect your premium so long as you're not at fault. If you're found to be at fault then your premium is going to increase either way.

In your case, the key to your rates going up is that the accident was ruled no fault. If the other driver was found to be at fault then it wouldn't have affected your premium rates. A no fault accident claim is going to cause your premiums to go up (as it should) so that is completely separate from this conversation.

I had a similar situation a few months back and the other person's insurance was giving me the run around and was trying to call the shots. I cut off all communication with them, made one phone call to my own insurance company with the same info (to include quotes) I gave to the other insurance company and I was done. I was informed that my check would be sent less the deductible until they could get the other party to claim fault which I agreed to. I got another call before the check was issued saying they got the other party to accept fault before the check was cut and as a result they were sending me the full amount. No other efforts on my end and no affects to our premiums as a result. This is exactly why we pay for full coverage so why not use it? If you're with a company that wants to punish you for what they already collected more money for in premiums on the front end I'd find another insurance company.

For me, this is why I pay for insurance. My time is valuable and I also know that my insurance company has a vested stake in my happiness. I'm not going to read some random person's entire coverage declarations from some random insurance company to know what their coverages are. In short, I don't care because my car is fixed to my standards and whatever his insurance company doesn't want to cover my insurance company will just sue the other party forcing his insurance to step in and cover the entire bill. The best part is I don't have to trouble myself with any of that. I won't be stressing out over dealing with some other person's insurance company while trying to make my car right and having to fight for every dime to cover the costs.

In my decades of driving I can tell you that I've had a few claims, none of which were my fault. Early on before I knew any better I was also afraid to file with my insurance mostly out of ignorance. Now, I won't do it any other way. The difference in experience is night and day and the end result is absolutely no change to my premiums. It's like getting first class for free and not taking it because you think there's a "catch" because it sounds to good to be true.

Do your research. Call your insurance company and simply ask if there's any increase in premiums should you file for subrogation if the other party claims fault. No need to tell them you had an accident if you're worried. What you'll likely find is that you file a claim on the same phone call once your agent explains it to you. You'll wish you had made that call sooner.

thank you so much for the information, I am calling the Tesla insurance now to see if there's any increase in premiums for subrogation if the other party claims fault.
 
I just went thru a similar situation as the OP and from my own experience if I would have filed a claim on my S thru my insurance and then they have to go after the other insurance company for reimbursement it can effect your rates. There is absolutely no need to get your own insurance involved if the other parties insurance accepts responsibility for the damage/claim. I speak from experience from my wife's previous insurance claim even though the other insurance company was going to pay for all repairs it was much easier to just file a claim thru ours and have them go after the other insurance company. Our rates increased and it was put on her record as a no fault accident which also effects rate . No need to notify or even contact your insurance company. Geico has to fix the car to the condition it was in prior to the damage occurring.

Be very specific and ask for the wording in the policy to make sure you get treated as you should. Geico has a history of lowball initial estimates and then there will be higher supplemental addons that they will have to pay. Tesla parts cost what they cost and geico cannot cut corners. Ask for the list of approved body shops and if you find one you are confident in go for it but you are free to choose any shop you want and by law geico cannot dictate the repair facility that you use. They may push back on the rates the shop charges but a tesla is a tesla.
I just went thru a similar situation as the OP and from my own experience if I would have filed a claim on my S thru my insurance and then they have to go after the other insurance company for reimbursement it can effect your rates. There is absolutely no need to get your own insurance involved if the other parties insurance accepts responsibility for the damage/claim. I speak from experience from my wife's previous insurance claim even though the other insurance company was going to pay for all repairs it was much easier to just file a claim thru ours and have them go after the other insurance company. Our rates increased and it was put on her record as a no fault accident which also effects rate . No need to notify or even contact your insurance company. Geico has to fix the car to the condition it was in prior to the damage occurring.

Be very specific and ask for the wording in the policy to make sure you get treated as you should. Geico has a history of lowball initial estimates and then there will be higher supplemental addons that they will have to pay. Tesla parts cost what they cost and geico cannot cut corners. Ask for the list of approved body shops and if you find one you are confident in go for it but you are free to choose any shop you want and by law geico cannot dictate the repair facility that you use. They may push back on the rates the shop charges but a tesla is a tesla.

This is what I concern about as well. But I will try to call me insurance to see how they respond. Thank you so much!
 
...
I had a similar situation a few months back and the other person's insurance was giving me the run around and was trying to call the shots. I cut off all communication with them, made one phone call to my own insurance company ...

Are you able to share - what was the timeline of repairs, and did your company offer a rental during that time? My company (Farmers) explicitly said they would not subrogate rental costs, and any rental would have to be part of the rental coverage I have on my policy. If other companies operate similarly, this might a case where rates increased - the subrogation didn't count as the claim that switched the actuarial tables used for underwriting, but rental reimbursement did.