Got into a car accident. Front bumper and hood repaired by Tesla certified body shop in Orange County, CA.

[UCLA98]

I recently got into an automobile accident. The guy ran a red light and I couldn't hit brake on time. It happened on May 15th. I am in Orange County, CA. I booked an appointment (through the Tesla app) with the the Tesla's body shop in Pomona and the next available date that I could get in was not until June 10th. I couldn't wait that long with out a car. The car was drivable but it's illegal to drive it because one of the headlight was gone (see picture). So I looked at the list of the Tesla certified body shops near my house. And I found a place called Solesbee Auto Craft, which is only a mile from my house. The shop told me that I could bring the in right away. My insurance company (Mercury) also recommended me this shop. The insurance also gave me a rental car allowance of $100 per day......and we rented an Audi Q7.

 

[UCLA98]

Today, June 10th, we got our car back. Everything looks great. They only part that I am still waiting for Tesla to ship to the shop is the chrome piece on the front passenger door. Since they don't really know when this piece will be shipped to the shop, my insurance company instructed them to just use the old piece and old clips to reattach it back on. It looks pretty good. If they didn't tell me I wouldn't haven known that this was an old chrome piece. When the chrome piece arrives to the body shop, I will bring the car back to the shop for installment. Here is how it looks after the repair.

 

[fr100]

Looks good. What was replaced and what was repaired/reused?

 

[UCLA98]

Looks good. What was replaced and what was repaired/reused?

I am very happy. I was surprised by how fast Tesla shipped all the parts. I thought it would take several months. This is the list of parts that the body shop ordered from Tesla. The old chrome piece (shown by the red arrow) was reused but it's only temporary. When the new piece arrives, I will bring it in for installment.

 

[RiatGray]

Hi!
glad you are safe, and glad you got your car back!
Could you please tell me what did you tell insurance? What was the amount of damages?

 

[UCLA98]

Hi!
glad you are safe, and glad you got your car back!
Could you please tell me what did you tell insurance? What was the amount of damages?

Thanks. It wasn't a very hard hit. None of the airbag deployed. The total repair cost was 16,190.60 ($10,657.40 in parts + 4,168.50 in labor cost + $500 additional cost+ $864.7 tax) . I paid the $1000 deductible amount and Mercury insurance paid the rest.

Immediately after the accident, the driver of the other car and I pulled into the nearby parking lot. But then he drove off. I called the police and reported the incident as a hit and run. I gave Mercury insurance the police report number. Hopefully, my premium won't go up too much.

There is one minor issue after the repair. And that is the increase in wind noise. Hopefully, the new chrome piece and new clips will take care of this issue.

 

[mbp11]

Sorry to hear about the hit and run. I guess I should get my cell phone out and start taking pictures the moment we stop!

 

[whisperingshad]

Sorry to hear about the hit and run. I guess I should get my cell phone out and start taking pictures the moment we stop!

Soon as i got hit, i honked horn to save recording. Then pulled out phone, discreetly recording who conversation (him admitting fault). Then took pics of license plates, damages and his ID and insurance, and got his #.