Damaged trunk, need advise

[Vegas m3d]

Looks like you made the right choice

 

[VRUNNER]

Looks like you made the right choice

That’s what I am thinking but will reserve final judgment in the morning. The night lighting under the LED tends to show the most. If I park the car nose in I can see a sublet shade difference on my front front bumper against the fender but don’t notice it during the day.

 

[KenC]

So to answer some questions, he didn’t receive a ticket, he said I backed up and I said he bumped me. History dictates he should be found responsible, however there are no guarantees, it was a busy intersection, the cop couldn’t care less as the damage was minimal.

The Tesla repair shop would be acceptable IF I could simply file a claim with his insurance but since he stated it wasn’t his fault and no ticket was issued I will have to go though my insurance, then they will go after his. If the repair amount is excessive, and 9-10k is excessive, it will be debated and eventually lead to higher premiums. When I got the quote he seemed giddy like he just struck pay dirt.

I did pick up the trunk lid and put it on, pics below. Looks fantastic at night, under direct light and LEDS. I will see what it looks like in the morning. If it works then I retained the factory paint, no filler, no respray and no 2-3 months waiting for Tesla replacement bumper at the Tesla repair shop with an outrageous repair bill.

You shoulda hipchecked that dude. Glad your trunklid looks great.

 

[mswlogo]

So to answer some questions, he didn’t receive a ticket, he said I backed up and I said he bumped me. History dictates he should be found responsible, however there are no guarantees, it was a busy intersection, the cop couldn’t care less as the damage was minimal.

The Tesla repair shop would be acceptable IF I could simply file a claim with his insurance but since he stated it wasn’t his fault and no ticket was issued I will have to go though my insurance, then they will go after his. If the repair amount is excessive, and 9-10k is excessive, it will be debated and eventually lead to higher premiums. When I got the quote he seemed giddy like he just struck pay dirt.

I did pick up the trunk lid and put it on, pics below. Looks fantastic at night, under direct light and LEDS. I will see what it looks like in the morning. If it works then I retained the factory paint, no filler, no respray and no 2-3 months waiting for Tesla replacement bumper at the Tesla repair shop with an outrageous repair bill.

Wow that was fast, looks great. What did the trunk lid cost (uninstalled and installed)? Do you install it?

 

[VRUNNER]

Wow that was fast, looks great. What did the trunk lid cost (uninstalled and installed)? Do you install it?

687.00 with tax. I had to act fast, someone else wanted the lid too so I had to choose to ship it for 250 or go pick it up. I wanted to see it in person so I bit the bullet and picked it up. It was like finding a unicorn... the car was made in July, mine was in August, chances of finding another one like that were slim to none.

I installed it, took about 60 minutes with most of the time spent on adjusting panel gap.

 

[mswlogo]

687.00 with tax. I had to act fast, someone else wanted the lid too so I had to choose to ship it for 250 or go pick it up. I wanted to see it in person so I bit the bullet and picked it up. It was like finding a unicorn... the car was made in July, mine was in August, chances of finding another one like that were slim to none.

I installed it, took about 60 minutes with most of the time spent on adjusting panel gap.

With it that cheap. I know it’s hard to suck it up, but you may be better off making no claim. But if a police report was filed it may be to late. You may end up with a CarFax and if you want to sell or trade it, it can be costly.

The guy that hit you should just pay you $1000.00 and you will both better better off. The idiot probably won’t go for it. But his insurance will go up more in total if you put in a claim against his insurance. And you might get hit with a CarFax accident report.

If you do make a claim, you have to go for diminished value too. Right now, with no claim, you have essentially no diminished value.

Good job though !!!

 

[VRUNNER]

With it that cheap. I know it’s hard to suck it up, but you may be better off making no claim. But if a police report was filed it may be to late. You may end up with a CarFax and if you want to sell or trade it, it can be costly.

The guy that hit you should just pay you $1000.00 and you will both better better off. The idiot probably won’t go for it. But his insurance will go up more in total if you put in a claim against his insurance. And you might get hit with a CarFax accident report.

If you do make a claim, you have to go for diminished value too. Right now, with no claim, you have essentially no diminished value.

Good job though !!!

Agreed... the police report was filed so it will show up on Carfax at some point. Which is exactly why I wanted to go this route. Minimal cost and impact that I can prove. I Got an estimate through my insurance company for about 2500.00 for repairing it. I plan on reaching out to his insurance and trying to settle this based on a reduced cost and a better outcome for everyone. As far as diminished value it will be related to the Carfax report since the car is now technically “factory” so I don’t think I will get anything. I plan to make copies of the pictures, both before and after the repair along with the receipts for the trunk lid so if I do sell or trade it I can show exactly what was done.

 

[VRUNNER]

Sorry for the delays, it was raining all week. Here are daytime photos. It really is spot on. I stopped by the body shop to get their opinion, they were shocked. He said he wouldn’t touch it. With parts hard to find it may be worth a shot sourcing Salvaged parts for minor repairs.

 

[ivy_]

for the delays, it was raining all week. Here are daytime photos. It really is spot on. I stopped by the body shop to get their opinion, they were shocked. He said he wouldn’t touch it. With parts hard to find it may be worth a shot sourcing Salvaged parts for minor repairs.

Glad it worked out for you so well. As good as new with only an afternoon or so of inconvenience.

 

[Kevy Baby]

so just to get this right.... a modified Jeep (lifted + brush guard... wonder if his insurance knows about that...) doesn't pay attention and rear-ends you - damaging your trunk..... and you want to go "cheap", drive 5hrs to pick up salvage parts to do a budget repair?

sorry - his insurance has to pay. with rear ending the guilt question is pretty obviously answered... TeslaCam or not.

Already touched on, but in an accident like this, short of having video or witnesses, it almost always becomes a split decision on fault.

The other driver did the right thing: NEVER accept blame in an accident, even if it is obvious it is your fault. Talk to your insurance agent - they will you the same thing. I was recently in an accident where I rear-ended someone on the freeway, but I never said it was my fault. My insurance agent asked me if I had and said it was good that I didn't.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

View attachment 472378 View attachment 472381 View attachment 472377 View attachment 472378 View attachment 472379 View attachment 472380 View attachment 472381 View attachment 472377 View attachment 472378 View attachment 472380 Sorry for the delays, it was raining all week. Here are daytime photos. It really is spot on. I stopped by the body shop to get their opinion, they were shocked. He said he wouldn’t touch it. With parts hard to find it may be worth a shot sourcing Salvaged parts for minor repairs.

Nice job. Glad you were actually able to get something out of the salvage yard. Did you have to pull it off the vehicle in the yard yourself?

 

[VT_EE]

So after only having my car 3 weeks someone bumped my car. He was driving a lifted Jeep with a brush guard so instead of hitting my bumper he hit the edge of the trunk putting two creases on the edge... Ironically he denied hitting me... it was very obvious he did.

So after some research I have three options:

Tesla approved body shop: he looked at it and said the trunk will need to replaced and the whole back of the car needs to be repainted, up to the back doors, removing glass and such, shutting the car down, recalibrating sensors... all at a cost of about 9k to 10k... at first I thought he was joking, no joke.

Local body shop: unfortunately over the past 20 years I have been hit 3 other times. Fortunately I have always used the same body shop for repairs and they do very nice work. They are a certified Audi, BMW, etc. I also had to go there for my insurance estimate, they operate from this shop. I know the manger and asked his opinion. He agreed the first estimate was excessive and said I will have a fight on my hands with the insurance companies, while they may ultimately pay for it, I will pay for it later at renewal. He said the best option was to fix the existing trunk, pull out the dents, keeping the original is better and would allow for less color blending, Estimated cost of 2000-2500.00.
The insurance adjuster also gave about the same amount for repairs.

Or...

Replace trunk lid with new one off another Tesla (salvage). so knowing parts can be a bitch to get from Tesla I was looking to see availability of salvaged parts, just in case. I came across another 2019 red Tesla that had front end damage, 400 miles on it, but trunk lid is perfect. I would have to drive to pick it up, obliviously it’s a gamble as far as color match. It’s a 5 hour ride. I am thinking I should just go, worst case is it doesn’t match and I fall back on the repairs. Maybe it’s a pipe dream...

Accidents happen but 9k is crazy and seemed very excessive. It’s pricing like this that causes rates on Tesla’s to be high... 2500.00 from my local shop is reasonable given the damage. No need to mess with any sensors or Tesla tech, so I am not concerned about them doing the work. I am a bit concerned about color matching regardless of who does it after reading some horror stories with color matching red paint.

But it would be awesome if the salvage lid matched, unfortunately no way to know unless I go pick it up.

So looking to see what others would do. Thanks!

$9k is nuts. I had my rear quarter panel and bumper replaced/painted for $10k at a Tesla certified body shop. There was also a lot of paint blending going on.

 

[VT_EE]

Wait, what, Tesla paint durable... NOT! Paint from the factory has to be some of the cheapest and thinnest paint I've ever seen on a car. Same paint/color from the factory but applied by a Tesla authorized body shop might be better.

I can't comment on the "cheapest" accusation, but the paint on my Model 3 is average for the industry according to my diminished value appraiser. He used a special tool to measure the thickness at numerous points.

 

[VRUNNER]

Already touched on, but in an accident like this, short of having video or witnesses, it almost always becomes a split decision on fault.

The other driver did the right thing: NEVER accept blame in an accident, even if it is obvious it is your fault. Talk to your insurance agent - they will you the same thing. I was recently in an accident where I rear-ended someone on the freeway, but I never said it was my fault. My insurance agent asked me if I had and said it was good that I didn't.

That’s how it went down, Split decision. I just let it go, no point in following through with the claim for 700.00...

 

[VRUNNER]

Nice job. Glad you were actually able to get something out of the salvage yard. Did you have to pull it off the vehicle in the yard yourself?

I looked at it before they pulled it. It came off the IIHS test crash car.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I looked at it before they pulled it. It came off the IIHS test crash car.

Cool. Now your car is partially famous. This may actually add value to the vehicle.

 

[davewill]

Already touched on, but in an accident like this, short of having video or witnesses, it almost always becomes a split decision on fault.

The other driver did the right thing: NEVER accept blame in an accident, even if it is obvious it is your fault. Talk to your insurance agent - they will you the same thing. I was recently in an accident where I rear-ended someone on the freeway, but I never said it was my fault. My insurance agent asked me if I had and said it was good that I didn't.

I guess it's "right" if you don't care about things like decency and honesty. You basically cheated the other driver, sticking him with higher insurance rates you know he didn't deserve.

 

[Kevy Baby]

I guess it's "right" if you don't care about things like decency and honesty. You basically cheated the other driver, sticking him with higher insurance rates you know he didn't deserve.

I has nothing to do with cheating anyone, it has to do with liability. I never said I wasn't at fault or tried to blame anyone else. It is a basic liability matter - you can actually open yourself up to MORE by admitting blame the spot. In the case of my accident, I knew it was going to be ruled as my responsibility and I didn't say otherwise.

Again - ask your own insurance agent. They will tell you the same thing: don't admit to liability on the spot - let them sort things out.

 

[davewill]

I has nothing to do with cheating anyone, it has to do with liability. I never said I wasn't at fault or tried to blame anyone else. It is a basic liability matter - you can actually open yourself up to MORE by admitting blame the spot. In the case of my accident, I knew it was going to be ruled as my responsibility and I didn't say otherwise.

Again - ask your own insurance agent. They will tell you the same thing: don't admit to liability on the spot - let them sort things out.

Bullpucky. Tell yourself whatever you want to make yourself feel better, but you let that guy take part of the fault he didn't deserve. Keeping quiet is no better than lying. I don't care what your insurance agent or lawyer told you.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

Bullpucky. Tell yourself whatever you want to make yourself feel better, but you let that guy take part of the fault he didn't deserve. Keeping quiet is no better than lying. I don't care what your insurance agent or lawyer told you.

i wonder if he made the other person go thru their insurance to sort it out with his insurance... because frankly - when someone obviously rear-ends me ... i prefer to go directly thru their insurance without ever talking to mine. fault or not ... you still get stuck with a claim on your policy and they can hike premiums.

Btw. if you rear-end someone ... it's your fault by default in nearly all cases... saying "not my fault" and forcing the other person to have their insurer battle it out with yours ... just inconveniences everybody. also: liability isn't touched either way... if you rear end someone they can come after you all day regardless if you claim "it's not my fault".