Got hit and run, have the guy's plate and a witness. Should I call Tesla insurance or just eat it? (California)

[cptmew]

Been reading a lot of conflicting info. I got hit and run while parked, fortunately a witness saw everything and took a picture of the guy's license plate. No picture of the driver but witness remembers description. I filed a police report but police seem uninterested in such an undramatic incident. This is in California.

Repair estimate is $1500. I have Tesla insurance, deductibles are $1000.

Should I contact insurance? Should I file a claim? Can they get the other guy to pay better than the police can?

Appreciate any help. Seems crazy how easy it is to get away with a hit and run, if I have to foot the whole bill.

Aside: I had Sentry on but no dashcam clip was saved. The witness told me more than an hour after the fact, so I could not recover a Sentry recording. If anyone knows a way to possibly recover the recording, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[Spalding]

Accident like this would probably be covered under your comprehensive coverage rather than collision. So check to see what your deductible might be for comp. to see if it's worth the effort. Claims under comp. are usually not counted against your record - but ask your insurance agent to confirm this is so under your particular policy and insurer. When you ask be sure to make it clear you're not making a claim - yet. And absolutely give insurer the police report and information & photo re: the other driver. It'll help prove that you really were hit while parked, making it fall within comprehensive rather than an "unexplained" or at-fault accident. Although this claim might end up being too small, the insurer is often able to track down that car's owner or its insurer to make an indemnity claim.

 

[shahryaran]

Been reading a lot of conflicting info. I got hit and run while parked, fortunately a witness saw everything and took a picture of the guy's license plate. No picture of the driver but witness remembers description. I filed a police report but police seem uninterested in such an undramatic incident. This is in California.

Repair estimate is $1500. I have Tesla insurance, deductibles are $1000.

Should I contact insurance? Should I file a claim? Can they get the other guy to pay better than the police can?

Appreciate any help. Seems crazy how easy it is to get away with a hit and run, if I have to foot the whole bill.

Aside: I had Sentry on but no dashcam clip was saved. The witness told me more than an hour after the fact, so I could not recover a Sentry recording. If anyone knows a way to possibly recover the recording, I'd really appreciate it.

If you connect your USB/ drive directly to your phone or God forbid a PC, you can search all the fragmented clips

 

[Spalding]

I didn't read carefully enough to mentally note the "Tesla insurance" reference - so you almost certainly don't have an "agent" you could call for off-the-record practical advice. I doubt that whoever picks up the Tesla 800 number will have any authority to go off script and let you know what they think Tesla insurance will do if you submit a claim for the $500 difference, but you could give it a try.

 

[cptmew]

I didn't read carefully enough to mentally note the "Tesla insurance" reference - so you almost certainly don't have an "agent" you could call for off-the-record practical advice. I doubt that whoever picks up the Tesla 800 number will have any authority to go off script and let you know what they think Tesla insurance will do if you submit a claim for the $500 difference, but you could give it a try.

Yeah, thanks for the advice :') I called for hours yesterday, no one picked up.

 

[patrick40363]

I would eat the cost and then take the driver to small claims court.

 

[Big Dog]

Definitely file a claim with your insurance. That is what you pay them for.

Under CA law, they cannot raise your rates when the other guy is at fault. Plus, they should work with local law enforcement to track the guy down and make him cover your deductible (and reimburse them for the repairs).

btw: is the repair estimate from a Tesla-approved shop? Did they pull the bumper to see if any electronics were damaged? (Happened to my daughter's Audi which was hit in a parking lot. Original estimate, $1800, final tally, once they pulled everything apart - $11k.)

 

[AdamAnt]

Had the same happen while out one evening, Was in my vehicle when it happened, so Sentry did not capture it. I pushed the dashcam button instead to save the video from all the cameras.

I had the other driver's plates when I backed into my parking space, had him and his friend on the cameras walking in front of my car to get to his, left camera showed him getting into his car to the left of mine, left camera showed him turning right while in his parking spot and clipping my front bumper with the side of his car, front camera shows him stopping, and then pulling forward making the damage worse to his and my car, and then driving off. He ended up gouging and scraping the driver side bumper, busting some proximity sensors, (and my tearing the XPEL Ultimate PPF film)

Definitely file a police report - it was a Hit and Run.

For me, I showed the police officer the dashcam video, they took the plates from the video, looked up the driver, and drove to the driver's house at 2 AM in the morning. Driver tried to get his wife to talk with the officer. Officer told her to get her husband ASAP.

Now driver has a hit and run. GEICO is covering all damage repairs and LM deductible, rental vehicle, and XPEL Ultimate PPF replacement for the bumper. New bumper, new sensors on left side, 3 layer paint with clearcoat, all testing/calibration needed for sensors, wheel alignment, and replacement PPF. Anything else found when they pull the bumper and check underneath for damage will be submitted as supplemental and covered by GEICO as well. Other driver has a hit and run charge, repair cost to his vehicle (entire passenger side of his vehicle, and around $5-6K of repair parts/labor costs on mine.)

Also, most insurance companies and some DMVs require reporting if damage exceeds a certain dollar amount. Not doing so can jeopardize future coverage of damage.

Good luck with your repairs, make the other douche bag pay for the hit and run to prevent them from doing it to someone else.

 

[Jiver]

Thanks @AdamAnt for posting your story. My car got hit in an airport parking lot on Saturday (10/21) while it was legally parked. No one was in my car. Sentry caught the whole thing. The license plate of the hit and run vehicle is clearly visible as he backed up into me. At this point in time I have contacted my insurance company and opened up a police report. The video has been uploaded to the police evidence system. I am still waiting to hear about an outcome from both my insurance company and the police. I hope that my outcome matches yours.