Damaged trunk, need advise

[ezevphl]

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!

I had a trunk and bumper replaced at a local tesla certified shop. and all the paintwork. Total was about 3k and the the work was done in under a week.

Similar situation to you. I was hit by a Ford Expedition.. I told hte guy he's on camera and asked him to admit fault at scene. He did taht quickly and insurance processed it quickly.

 

[ezevphl]

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 trunk lid at the Tesla repair shop with an outrageous repair bill.

Thats it? Mine was way worse...

 

[Kevy Baby]

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.

You're both missing my point. I pay for insurance to not only cover damage to my car and the other car (and hopefully never needed, but to cover medical expenses) but to also handle taking care of making things right to all parties. I trust them to make good to any wronged parties. I have used the same agent with the same reputable insurance company (State Farm) for close to 30 years. As part of making good on any rightful claims, they also protect me from unscrupulous individuals who might try to take advantage of a situation. The reason you don't claim responsibility (and I'll I am talking about are the words "it was my fault" or similar) is because I let my insurance company sort out the legal details - it is what I pay them for! When the accident first occurred and we pulled over to the side of the road, my first concern was for the other driver. I checked to make sure she was okay and didn't need anything. She was a bit shaken and when I offered to call an ambulance or CHP, she said no to the ambulance but wanted the CHP, so I called them (even though I felt it unnecessary). When the office took my report, I simply stated the facts: I was looking over my shoulder to make a lane change and ended up running into her. I made no claims of "not my fault" or try to get out of responsibility in any way - I simply stated the facts. By attempting to assign blame, even to one's self and even when it is obvious, it is a legal distinction that frankly I don't understand but that I have heard from multiple professionals.

I never shirked responsibility, "kept quiet" (I made sure she and the CHP had all my info) or left anyone hanging - I simply let the people I pay to take care of these things do their jobs. Whether one choses to go to the person at fault's insurance yourself or let your insurance company do it for you, it should have no impact on anyone's recovery, claims, or insurance rates. When someone hit me a few years ago, 100% their fault, I reported it to my insurance company and let them handle the claim. Why would you want to go through all the hassle yourself?

 

[VRUNNER]

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".

So I learned something new with this accident. Most people who rear end someone immediately admit fault. Once they do filing a claim through their insurance is easy. However, denying or not admitting to the accident changes everything, while some may find it dishonest insurance companies and attorneys both recommend not admitting anything at the scene of an accident. There are times fault is obvious, but in small accidents and fender benders it’s not always clear, your insurance company will defend you if you don’t admit fault. Not admitting fault forces both parties back to their “corners” and file a claim with your insurance. Then they will subrogate to recover payouts and deductibles against the other insurer.

Most of the time the person who is rear ended prevails, but not always, it is also based on time, damage, costs and such. apparently the will negotiate to speed the process.

Ultimately any payout from your insurance will have an impact on your rates. For me since I was able to repair it for 700.00 and wasn’t worth my time or risk to pursue a claim. If it had been a few thousand I would have let it go through insurance.

I now have the cameras set up, one of the best features of the car. I will not be in this position again.

 

[vjason]

Did you get it from a yard in Virginia? They (also?) part out cars tested by IIHS.

Just bought one from a yard myself because my garage door slipped out of the track, stopped, and I was focused on the side mirrors while backing up. Minor dent (to car and door) and I didn't feel like submitting a claim given the small difference between the part cost and my deductible. I have all the tools, I just need to drive 8 hours round trip to pick it up.

My trunk lid is coming off a side impact test car.

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

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

FYI:

@VRUNNER let me know that loosening a couple bolts was all that was needed for me to fix my trunk lid alignment. (Thank you!)

The comparison pictures below aren't the best for seeing the improvement, but trust me, it is much improved (though I could continue tweaking it and lower it another fraction of a mm if I wanted to to make it "perfect"). It took about 5 minutes so far.

So if anyone has this particular issue with their trunk lid, you can just loosen the two obvious (13mm I think) bolts slightly (you may want to protect the paint on the bolt with a little thin tape first, but it doesn't really matter), then while the lid is fully open, pull the lid slightly towards/away from you. Mine actually appeared to have slipped at some time after it was painted, based on the paint outlines.

I did not even have to take off the gas struts to make the adjustment (though it was close).

Before:

After:

 

[JavEv]

Wait! How do I find a salvage truck lid? I may need that option. Mine is black with a dent right on the top crease on the trunk lid

 

[JavEv]

How to find a used trunk lid? I haven’t even seen any junkyards where I live. Where to start searching for a used tr7nk lid? Thanks

 

[gaswalla]

Ebay, offer up. There are folks that specialize in Tesla dismantling