arcus
Active Member
Any damage that happens to the car while it is not in my possession (being in Tesla's hands). In vice versa, I would be responsible if anything happens to the loaner while it is lent to me.
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Dallas Service Center damage while in-service >$30k, Tesla won't cover diminished value!
- Thread starter vrykolas
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- Model S Model X Tesla Inc. USA
I doubt it. Have you dealt with an insurance company after an accident? Will they give you a Model X as a loaner? If I were the OP, I would let Tesla deal with this also.
Oh Tesla has skin in the game alright as this is very much their problem to solve. I have every confidence that they will make this right.
I don't disagree with you that the OP COULD have gone after the at fault party but let me ask you this question, if you drive a Tesla loaner and someone runs a red light, would Tesla go after you or the at fault party? Tesla would go after your insurance company as their agreement to return their car is with you, not a third party. Same applies here.
Personally I would not go through the hassle of pursuing a third party but you may decide otherwise and there is no right or wrong here.
Drone Flyer
Active Member
Canuck
Well-Known Member
Yes, it matters from a legal and insurance perspective. Tesla may owe a duty to the OP as a bailee depending on contractual and statutory requirements (and also has a non-legal requirement of acting in goodwill esp in circumstances like this), but Tesla may have a claim over for contribution and indemnity from the tortfeasor's insurer. That's why I asked. The OP should be pursuing both Tesla and the tortfeasor's insurer -- the more at the negotiating and settlement table the better -- and both are proper defendants in this situation should he not be satisfied with settlement offers and pursues litigation.
Isn't the $5000 for covering diminished value? I found the formula for insurance company to calculate diminished value for Texas on this URL:
How insurance companies calculate diminished value claims by Dallas labor lawyer Adam Kielich • Fort Worth and Dallas Employment Lawyers | The Kielich Law Firm
So if you 2016/17 MX is worth about $80,000 currently without accident records. And you have about 20,000 miles on it. The damage to it is considered as "major damage to structure and panels". The formula will be
Diminished Value = $80000 x 0.10 (cap) x 0.75 (damage multiplier) x 0.80 (mileage multiplier) = $4800
How insurance companies calculate diminished value claims by Dallas labor lawyer Adam Kielich • Fort Worth and Dallas Employment Lawyers | The Kielich Law Firm
So if you 2016/17 MX is worth about $80,000 currently without accident records. And you have about 20,000 miles on it. The damage to it is considered as "major damage to structure and panels". The formula will be
Diminished Value = $80000 x 0.10 (cap) x 0.75 (damage multiplier) x 0.80 (mileage multiplier) = $4800
I wouldn't want to deal with the 3P insurance. Minimum liability is is 25K in property damage. Unless the 3P has extra coverage or the OP has under insured coverage the max that he would get is $25K to cover costs of repairs, he'd then have to go after the 3P personally to reclaim the rest of the money. I'd be interested to know what the 3P insurance coverage actually was and what the police report says.
hill
high fiber member
we in the Aerospace industry (covers a lot of automotive elements) have to regularly go through random drug tests. If it were the Tesla driver? And Tesla hadn't been testing their drivers? Oh yeah, whole different ballgame. That's why it pisses me off when they disconnect are blackvue dashcam. who's to say Tesla isn't covering stuff up. How long did they deny there was such a thing as windshields ghosting? ... how long ago was it Tesla said AP2 would be as smooth as silk?? just sayin'
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Your friend having an accident and Tesla employee having an accident while in their care are two totally different scenarios. I would demand a replacement bc of frame damage. If it hadn’t had frame damage I would go after diminished value and call it a day but the frame damage would be a deal breaker. I would co Tunis to escalate this until your taken care of.
RVD98072
Member
fwiw, i would take the tesla offer.
while it would be great to be 100% made whole, this is basically just an unfortunate accident that happens and is part of the risk involved when taking your car to service, valet parking a car, etc. i'm actually kind of surprised that tesla even gave $5k and the extended warranty and service. i would think they would simply just fix it and give you a loaner for the time that it's getting fixed and you'd be out the diminished value but maybe i just have low expectations.
while it would be great to be 100% made whole, this is basically just an unfortunate accident that happens and is part of the risk involved when taking your car to service, valet parking a car, etc. i'm actually kind of surprised that tesla even gave $5k and the extended warranty and service. i would think they would simply just fix it and give you a loaner for the time that it's getting fixed and you'd be out the diminished value but maybe i just have low expectations.
hill
high fiber member
Tough situation that is a 3rd person's fault, though Telsa should have done better. Under Texas law, the 3rd party is responsible to pay the diminished value of a vehicle. However, your own insurance is not
American Manufacturers Mutual Ins. Co. v. Schafer, 124 S.W.3d 154 (Tex. 2003) . Weird quirk of the law that hopefully will get fixed. I point this out because Tesla is really neither a 1st or 3rd party, but bailor of your vehicle. They are supposed to get you your car back as good as when you dropped it, but, I've never seen a case where there was a battle over Dim Val in a bailor bailee situation and I'm not sure which way a court would go, like a 3rd party or like a 1st party?
I can tell you that DV is a somewhat subjective damage in my experience. A vehicle is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. Some might buy your car and never even ask if it was in a wreck before, others might say if it was in a wreck, they won't touch it. The market value for a previously damaged model X is not nearly as established it would be for say an F150 or a Camry. With those cars, you can probably project a DV figure with a grand or two. In your case, you've gotten to a stand off between $11k and $5k. That's not a huge chasm in a $100k car. Keep pushing, see if you can get a compromise and be done with it, even though you will not get your $11k. They are not going to pay $11k short of a jury verdict telling them to in all likelihood. Also...how long have you been without the car? Did they give you a loaner? If not, you also have a loss of use claim that you could assert to up what they owe you.
That said, you have the right to go after the 3rd party's insurance. I'm guessing Tesla will do that. Find out and if not closed, assert your DV claim against the 3rd party liability insurance and see if you can make up your difference there. I wouldn't do that without notifying Tesla though because they may have already cut a deal with the 3rd party insurer. If so, find out the terms of that deal. Good luck!
American Manufacturers Mutual Ins. Co. v. Schafer, 124 S.W.3d 154 (Tex. 2003) . Weird quirk of the law that hopefully will get fixed. I point this out because Tesla is really neither a 1st or 3rd party, but bailor of your vehicle. They are supposed to get you your car back as good as when you dropped it, but, I've never seen a case where there was a battle over Dim Val in a bailor bailee situation and I'm not sure which way a court would go, like a 3rd party or like a 1st party?
I can tell you that DV is a somewhat subjective damage in my experience. A vehicle is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. Some might buy your car and never even ask if it was in a wreck before, others might say if it was in a wreck, they won't touch it. The market value for a previously damaged model X is not nearly as established it would be for say an F150 or a Camry. With those cars, you can probably project a DV figure with a grand or two. In your case, you've gotten to a stand off between $11k and $5k. That's not a huge chasm in a $100k car. Keep pushing, see if you can get a compromise and be done with it, even though you will not get your $11k. They are not going to pay $11k short of a jury verdict telling them to in all likelihood. Also...how long have you been without the car? Did they give you a loaner? If not, you also have a loss of use claim that you could assert to up what they owe you.
That said, you have the right to go after the 3rd party's insurance. I'm guessing Tesla will do that. Find out and if not closed, assert your DV claim against the 3rd party liability insurance and see if you can make up your difference there. I wouldn't do that without notifying Tesla though because they may have already cut a deal with the 3rd party insurer. If so, find out the terms of that deal. Good luck!
@Xcelerator
Thanks for the useful feedback & details.
It's been 5 months without our car. Luckily they had Tesla loaners in stock.
I can't imagine paying on our auto loan for that long and being in a non-Tesla rental. (yes, I realize this is #FirstWorldProblems)
Thanks for the useful feedback & details.
It's been 5 months without our car. Luckily they had Tesla loaners in stock.
I can't imagine paying on our auto loan for that long and being in a non-Tesla rental. (yes, I realize this is #FirstWorldProblems)
silverwolfe08
Member
Tesla repaired your car, extended your bumper to bumper warranty 4-years, gave you a 4-year service plan, provided you a loaner that was better than your actual car and paid you $5k cash. Is that correct?
I get that it's a crappy situation, but *sugar* happens. Seems like they took care of you better than I would have expected. Sucks that you had to push them to provide some of that, but that sounds like a good deal to me. Heck, now I kinda hope they crash mine next time I need service.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
Sounds like Tesla has already done more than they are legally obligated. In many states the diminished value is a pretty grey area.
They gave you Tesla loaners while yours was being repaired. This means all those miles were put on their cars instead of yours. That plus $5,000 and extended coverages seems to be a pretty good deal, however you want even more...
They gave you Tesla loaners while yours was being repaired. This means all those miles were put on their cars instead of yours. That plus $5,000 and extended coverages seems to be a pretty good deal, however you want even more...
Xtek
Member
OP, sorry you're in this situation. Hpnestly, I would be pretty upset if there was frame damage. I think of course they would say they will fix it up and it will be fine.. The structural integrity to me is more important than the cash and extra warranty and service plan.
I love my model X but things like this make me worried to have such an expensive car, seems there is so much at stake.
Good luck, at this point the only thing i can think of is to tweet Elon and to escalate the concern in the tesla app.
I love my model X but things like this make me worried to have such an expensive car, seems there is so much at stake.
Good luck, at this point the only thing i can think of is to tweet Elon and to escalate the concern in the tesla app.
