Got hit by another car, how bad is this kind of damage?

[vww12x]

so, a quick update

The other driver's insurance company accepted full liability on Friday, and their adjuster went to check the car today, waiting to hear from them.

I went to the auto storage to check on the car myself as well, and found the damage to be more seriously than I previously mentioned.

new discoveries: broken side camera cable, bent/damaged A-pillar bottom, scratch on rear passenger side door, dent/damage on rear passenger side quarter panel...


As you can see on:

first picture, bottom part of the A-pillar is damaged/bent, not sure if any internal damaged

second picture, the welding/riveting point of the panel attachment area on the main chassis/body got teared out, possibly some torn there too

last picture, the support beam or whatever behind front bumper is completely damaged, some other stuff too I bet

 

[afadeev]

You cannot get a perfect paint match by just following the formula... the shop needs to adjust for UV fade and other environmental factors.

Even if the paint is matched perfectly and is applied with OEM-level of orange peel (not easy, but can be done), it will still age differently than the original paint.

I did a US port of entry tour of BMW facility a few years ago, where they perform all off-the-boat prep and shipping damage repairs on the cars. Lots of interesting observations, but relevant to this thread:

• For MINIs, they just touch up the scratches, unless entire panel respray is required.
• For BMWs, they repaint the entire side of the car where damage was observed, to properly blend in the repairs.
• For Rolls Royces, they always repaint the entire car. Because, in time, the customer will be able to detect which panels were repainted. And they don't ever want to upset a RR customer.

Had the Model 3 LR RWD for a little over a year now, front passenger side got hit by another driver [...]I went to the auto storage to check on the car myself as well, and found the damage to be more seriously than I previously mentioned.

Assuming your TM3 LR was ~$45K new and is ~$35K now, you may be getting pretty close to the 60% threshold where the cars get totaled.

I know it sounds absurd for a nearly brand new car, but if your repair estimate gets over $20K (which is not hard to do on a jig-saw Tesla body), you may want to warm up to the idea of shopping for a new car!

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[IdaX]

My wild guess is $25000

My guess is same based on parallel damage to my Model 3 last year.

 

[vww12x]

Even if the paint is matched perfectly and is applied with OEM-level of orange peel (not easy, but can be done), it will still age differently than the original paint.

I did a US port of entry tour of BMW facility a few years ago, where they perform all off-the-boat prep and shipping damage repairs on the cars. Lots of interesting observations, but relevant to this thread:

• For MINIs, they just touch up the scratches, unless entire panel respray is required.
• For BMWs, they repaint the entire side of the car where damage was observed, to properly blend in the repairs.
• For Rolls Royces, they always repaint the entire car. Because, in time, the customer will be able to detect which panels were repainted. And they don't ever want to upset a RR customer.

Assuming your TM3 LR was ~$45K new and is ~$35K now, you may be getting pretty close to the 60% threshold where the cars get totaled.

I know it sounds absurd for a nearly brand new car, but if your repair estimate gets over $20K (which is not hard to do on a jig-saw Tesla body), you may want to warm up to the idea of shopping for a new car!

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I don't think I will be happy with a new BMW or RR with repainted body (especially if it were an Individual color M car lol), since I believe the POE most likely won't be able to 100% duplicate the process and factory baking temperature when repainting the car (considering cars already have the interior and electronics installed)

Very interesting info tho, haven't seen anything like that on Bimmerpost before and did not expect to see it on TMC for sure

Talking about the Model 3, mine was an earlier LR RWD with premium package so it was $50K new, most 2018 LR on Cars.com are listed around 43-45K right now...guess just have to wait and see what happens

 

[SoCalDriver]

My advice: Push for a total on that unless they offer it up front.

 

[Ken43]

vww12x ,
Sorry to hear of your loss. I am a fellow 2018 LR RWD owner. I was sideswiped Nov 2018, and did not get my car back till JUN2019 (7 months ! ) , due to line of Tesla's waiting for repair, parts delays, hidden damage, shortage of body shops, shortage of techs, etc.

May I suggest trying to use a body shop that is both Tesla Certified and a preferred provider on the insurance.

Suggest starting a dated and timestamped log of the whole process. My google document is currently 24 pages long and not done!

I would guess, based on your revised photos that you are looking at least $20K of repair plus diminished value (? 5K). The salvage value of your car may fetch $20K.

I agree with SoCalDrive, push for total if you can to save yourself months and months of agony.

Good luck.

 

[vww12x]

vww12x ,
Sorry to hear of your loss. I am a fellow 2018 LR RWD owner. I was sideswiped Nov 2018, and did not get my car back till JUN2019 (7 months ! ) , due to line of Tesla's waiting for repair, parts delays, hidden damage, shortage of body shops, shortage of techs, etc.

May I suggest trying to use a body shop that is both Tesla Certified and a preferred provider on the insurance.

Suggest starting a dated and timestamped log of the whole process. My google document is currently 24 pages long and not done!

I would guess, based on your revised photos that you are looking at least $20K of repair plus diminished value (? 5K). The salvage value of your car may fetch $20K.

I agree with SoCalDrive, push for total if you can to save yourself months and months of agony.

Good luck.

Wow, that's pretty crazy, 7 months...do you have any pics of the damage on your car?

Depends on what I hear from the other party's insurance company, I may start looking into diminish value and loss of use claims in Texas. Personally I don't care about rental if it's just a few days since it will be a hassle, but if they want to repair my car they will have to provide a comparable vehicle for sure.

I think total will make it easier for me and make the expenses more predictable for them too.

 

[Ken43]

Wow, that's pretty crazy, 7 months...do you have any pics of the damage on your car?

/QUOTE]
This is $18K of just repair expense.

 

[youngmcdonald]

1. Try to push for a total loss if possible.

2. It’ll be about $20,000 to repair and repaint. And you likely have structural damage.

3. About 2 months of waiting on parts and 2 months of repair and probably another 1 month wait time to get in. So you’re looking at around 4 months without the car. At least.

Good luck.

 

[vww12x]

That's kinda of the opposite of mine, driver side, serious damage in the back and lighter damage in the back, mine's passenger side and serious in the front and lighter in the back...

 

[vww12x]

1. Try to push for a total loss if possible.

2. It’ll be about $20,000 to repair and repaint. And you likely have structural damage.

3. About 2 months of waiting on parts and 2 months of repair and probably another 1 month wait time to get in. So you’re looking at around 4 months without the car. At least.

Good luck.

I suspect it has more hidden damage if the panels and bumper are off

you can see the support beam behind front bumper pretty torn up already, so more internal damages around the front bumper area and front fender area is basically inevitable...

Any recommendations on how to further inspect structural damage?

 

[SMAlset]

....As you can see on:
first picture, bottom part of the A-pillar is damaged/bent, not sure if any internal damaged
second picture, the welding/riveting point of the panel attachment area on the main chassis/body got teared out, possibly some torn there too
last picture, the support beam or whatever behind front bumper is completely damaged, some other stuff too I bet

View attachment 435496

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Ouch, that's like looking at open heart surgery. Hard to look at exposed damaged body parts and not feel the pain. Will be interested to see how the estimate comes out and how the claim gets resolved. Best of luck in any event.

 

[BLKMDL3]

And then don’t forget diminished value and similar rental car. If there’s $25k in damage+$5-10k diminished value+ rental car for four months $50/day=$31,000-$36,000 total.

Just push for total. Car will never be the same no matter how perfect repair is. You can’t uncrunch a coke can perfectly. Same goes for structural damage.

 

[vww12x]

Another update

Initial damage estimate came in, not from the insurance company adjuster but another inspector or something

Based on non-Tesla repair rate (only $46/hr for labor lol), we are looking at $7K worth of damage.

A Tesla certified shop, even with the same amount of hours, will add at least $2.5K worth of labor (body only, not using Tesla rate for paint), factor in the additional hours for Tesla repair method, it will probably be 1.5x of that if not double.

And I can already see a few things missing from that estimate, such as the riveting spots torn off from main body, support beams/frames and structures behind front bumper that are severely damage, broken cable and sensors, rear quarter panel damage. Also the A-pillar bottom bent/damage, I don't think they will be able to bend back and make it look the same cosmetically, plus there is the structural/strength factor. Also suspension related damage.

Considering many have mentioned that actual Tesla repair will cost significantly higher than insurance or standard estimate (I believe one mentioned insurance quoted 1.5K and Tesla cost $7K), the actual cost will probably be at least $20K+ minimum, not including the things missing from the estimate.

 

[youngmcdonald]

That's kinda of the opposite of mine, driver side, serious damage in the back and lighter damage in the back, mine's passenger side and serious in the front and lighter in the back...

Quarter panel is the worst when it is hit. Otherwise it’s not going to be that bad unless of course the suspension is crushed

 

[vww12x]

Quarter panel is the worst when it is hit. Otherwise it’s not going to be that bad unless of course the suspension is crushed

I have seen BMWs with quarter panel damages that are nightmareish to repair...
Well, also got a sharp dent on mine, don’t think they will be able to use the paint less dent removal on it...

 

[EA40]

boy would I like to see what the $7k estimate includes. I'm by no means an expert but i don't see any car on the road with a hit like that (regardless of body/paint labor rates) being under $10k.

 

[voip-ninja]

Another update

Initial damage estimate came in, not from the insurance company adjuster but another inspector or something

Based on non-Tesla repair rate (only $46/hr for labor lol), we are looking at $7K worth of damage.

A Tesla certified shop, even with the same amount of hours, will add at least $2.5K worth of labor (body only, not using Tesla rate for paint), factor in the additional hours for Tesla repair method, it will probably be 1.5x of that if not double.

And I can already see a few things missing from that estimate, such as the riveting spots torn off from main body, support beams/frames and structures behind front bumper that are severely damage, broken cable and sensors, rear quarter panel damage. Also the A-pillar bottom bent/damage, I don't think they will be able to bend back and make it look the same cosmetically, plus there is the structural/strength factor. Also suspension related damage.

Considering many have mentioned that actual Tesla repair will cost significantly higher than insurance or standard estimate (I believe one mentioned insurance quoted 1.5K and Tesla cost $7K), the actual cost will probably be at least $20K+ minimum, not including the things missing from the estimate.

Something that hasn't yet been pointed out in this thread is that many shops, even insurance preferred one, routinely low-ball their estimates and then the actual repair cost balloons once the car is in for repair.

My wife's Cooper got rear-ended and the initial repair estimate was $1700 and the final repair bill was closer to $4,000.

Whenever possible the shop wants to repair your car rather than have it totalled... they get zero dollars if the car is totalled... so keep that in mind. You might really have to push to get the car totalled with a "reasonable" repair estimate so it's going to take a lot of effort on your part to make it happen... but it might be worth it since the repair cost will likely skyrocket after repairs start and as mentioned the car will likely be out of service for many months, up to a 1/2 year, over this incident.

 

[voip-ninja]

I don't think I will be happy with a new BMW or RR with repainted body (especially if it were an Individual color M car lol), since I believe the POE most likely won't be able to 100% duplicate the process and factory baking temperature when repainting the car (considering cars already have the interior and electronics installed)

Very interesting info tho, haven't seen anything like that on Bimmerpost before and did not expect to see it on TMC for sure

Talking about the Model 3, mine was an earlier LR RWD with premium package so it was $50K new, most 2018 LR on Cars.com are listed around 43-45K right now...guess just have to wait and see what happens

Doing repairs at port of entry usually gets the company off the hook for having to disclose the repairs to the customer, which would almost always result in some kind of discounting of the damaged and repaired vehicle.

Some states possibly have consumer protection laws forcing them to reveal even these port repairs but I'm not currently aware of any.

From the manufacturer's point of view, they aren't going to take a $120,000 RR and throw it in a woodchipper because the paint on it got scraped while it was being unloaded from the boat.... the reality though is that unless the port facility has a full factory paint booth the paint is not going to be the same.

We needed to retire a nearly 11 year old SUV that is used to haul our kids around and bought a new Honda for the job. At prep they discovered a couple of small chips on the tailgate that likely happened when the car went through the wash line (speculation is that something got stuck on one of the wash line machines and it struck the car.

We got a due bill for the repairs and I assumed that they would just have a high end touch up guy fix it since normally there is one highly skilled touch up person who can do these repairs to where they are almost unnoticeable.

What they did instead was send the car to an actual body shop for a week and they sanded and resprayed the tailgate. I was furious (I didn't find out what they were doing until after they had picked the car up and dropped off a loaner). The service manager was apologetic but couldn't understand what I was upset about until I explained that I would likely keep the car for a minimum of 8-9 years and more than likely the repair would become noticeable over time.... he offered to extend the factory paint warranty for the repair to seven years and ended up installing the tow hitch package for the SUV at about $600 off so that squared things up.

Whenever possible you don't want a body shop touching a brand new car they will never replicate the factory work.

 

[vww12x]

boy would I like to see what the $7k estimate includes. I'm by no means an expert but i don't see any car on the road with a hit like that (regardless of body/paint labor rates) being under $10k.

Since it's still an ongoing claim I won't post the actual estimate but here is some ball park figures from the sheet

Front bumper: $700
Bumper cover, two brackets, about $350, and aother $350 in labor

Headlight: $1000
Headlight, brackets, signal light, about $1000 parts and labor

Hood: $150
Only repaint (since the front bumper is done it's hard to check for hood alignment right now), about $150 in labor

Fender: $1150 (yup, that major damage and estimating only $1150)
Fender part, lots of brackets and rail, liner, about $600 in parts, and $550 in labor

Pillar: $350
No replacement parts, $350 of labor

Front door: $1650
Outer shell, mirror parts, $1200 parts and $450 labor

Rear door: $150
No parts, only $150 for paint labor.

Then about $600 for 1 wheel, tire, mount, alignment. And a few hundreds more for other charges.


As you can see, there are lots of damages to the mounting rails, beams, and other parts behind the bumper cover, which none are covered here. Rear quarter panel, sharp dent, nothing here. Damage to the joint points between body and fender, nothing here.

Also willing to bet some suspension damage and other damages in the front bumper/fender area. The actual impact was probably more or less similar to the IIHS small overlap testing, which is pretty harsh on the car, so this list is definitely not covering some of the damage underneath the skin, and potential structural damage...

Basically, a good repair to this kind of damage with a non-Tesla vehicle would still be significantly more than this if done anywhere close to right..