Got rear ended. Looking for suggestions on how to proceed!

[gardenofeden]

Hi all,

I just got hit when I was stopped at a red light in San Diego. It is a 6 week old 2020 Model 3, my first car after graduation.

The lights and the bumper needs to be replaced. So I got an estimate from two different Tesla body shops.

1. First one gave an estimate of $14k as they believe there is irreparable damage to the rear quarter panel as it is slightly buckled and bowed out and needs to be replaced completely. I am not sure if it is that bad based on the images below

They said it will take close to 30 to 45 days to fix up completely

2. Second place gave an estimate of $4.5k to replace the bumper, lights and potentially reworking the aluminium bar behind the rear bumper. And they said that it will take 10 days to complete the job. I am not sure if the person who inspected the car noticed the slight bump on the rear quarter panel when they gave this estimate.


I asked both of them if it is safe to drive meanwhile. They said since no one of joints/rivets are damaged it should be safe.

So my question is, how should I proceed? Is this so bad that it has to be at the service center for almost 6 weeks and spending 14k (although I am hoping my Tesla Insurance will cover at least partially). I don't feel any difference while driving, for what it is worth.

Very confused, appreciate any help on this.

Thanks!

 

[jjrandorin]

Hopefully you exchanged information with the person who hit you, as ultimately they are likely the at fault party unless there are some special circumstances which made them hit you from behind.

Still have the temp plates on too.... sucks. Sounds like you are ok, so the car appears to have done its job in protecting you. You want to go to the place that you will will fix it RIGHT, not the one that was the lease (or necessarily the most) expensive.

Who made you feel like they knew what they were talking about? If the answer is "neither" you likely want to keep looking. In your case, I would likely want it fixed by a shop that does lots of teslas (a tesla certified body shop, or one that had a bunch of teslas in it and confirmed that they do teslas all the time). Did either of those fit that description?

 

[IronCoffee_Max]

Talk to the insurance company of the person that hit you. Make sure you get a rental that is a Tesla - they should be required to get you the same type of vehicle you had before.

 

[Perscitus]

Hard to say without pulling the bumper skin and rear splash shields off and inspecting whats under there.

However, it looks superficial and if you ignore the bump or get it PDRed, then the rest is easy to deal with by a competent shop or even a good detailer and service center approved/partnered lease return restorer.

The 4-6K estimate seems realistic based on what we see here.

 

[6thDAY]

Dang sorry this happened to you. I'm always a bit nervous sitting at a red light and constantly look in my rear view mirror in case someone is not paying attention from behind.

I'm in SD also, where was this?

 

[adrianp89]

I’m confused why you even got quotes. Get the other insurance company to get you a new car.

 

[gardenofeden]

Hopefully you exchanged information with the person who hit you, as ultimately they are likely the at fault party unless there are some special circumstances which made them hit you from behind.

Still have the temp plates on too.... sucks. Sounds like you are ok, so the car appears to have done its job in protecting you. You want to go to the place that you will will fix it RIGHT, not the one that was the lease (or necessarily the most) expensive.

Who made you feel like they knew what they were talking about? If the answer is "neither" you likely want to keep looking. In your case, I would likely want it fixed by a shop that does lots of teslas (a tesla certified body shop, or one that had a bunch of teslas in it and confirmed that they do teslas all the time). Did either of those fit that description?

Yeah, the car did an excellent job and to be honest I was expecting worse as I was getting out to check. Both the places seemed to know what they were talking about although I felt the first one was better. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[gardenofeden]

Talk to the insurance company of the person that hit you. Make sure you get a rental that is a Tesla - they should be required to get you the same type of vehicle you had before.

That's a problem. The person who hit me was in a rental car from out of the state. They did not have liability insurance. I am waiting for the adjuster from Tesla insurance to get back to me. But have a bad feeling that I might end up paying for it.

 

[gardenofeden]

Hard to say without pulling the bumper skin and rear splash shields off and inspecting whats under there.

However, it looks superficial and if you ignore the bump or get it PDRed, then the rest is easy to deal with by a competent shop or even a good detailer and service center approved/partnered lease return restorer.

The 4-6K estimate seems realistic based on what we see here.

Yeah it does look that way! Thanks.

 

[gardenofeden]

Dang sorry this happened to you. I'm always a bit nervous sitting at a red light and constantly look in my rear view mirror in case someone is not paying attention from behind.

I'm in SD also, where was this?

It was on Mira Mesa, near Qualcomm HQ.

 

[gardenofeden]

I’m confused why you even got quotes. Get the other insurance company to get you a new car.

There is no other insurance company. The person did not have a liability insurance. So the best I thought I can do here is to get Tesla Insurance involved.

 

[adrianp89]

That's a problem. The person who hit me was in a rental car from out of the state. They did not have liability insurance. I am waiting for the adjuster from Tesla insurance to get back to me. But have a bad feeling that I might end up paying for it.

Pretty sure you can go after the rental company. I would definitely speak to a lawyer at minimum.

 

[smatthew]

Pretty sure you can go after the rental company. I would definitely speak to a lawyer at minimum.

Lawyers are expensive. Let your insurance company do their job. They want to recover that money. Their lawyers will sue the person who hit you if they think it's fiscally worthwhile.

 

[gardenofeden]

I also had a question about the insurance and how it will work in this case; was just curious till the adjuster reaches out, if anyone has any idea.


1. Does this mean the Tesla insurance will cover the total cost of repair minus $1000 deductible?

2. I have this Uninsured Motorist Damage worth $3500. Will that be useful here?

 

[gaswalla]

For a new Tesla, you really only have a couple of options.. plan for the $14k approach.
If you are willing to go to a great non-certified place, message me.. I can vouch for these guys' ability to work with aluminum on Tesla's.. just not worth it if insurance is covering

 

[acarney]

I’m almost certain any legitimate rental place requires you to carry your own private insurance or pay for insurance from them when you rent the car. I suspect the person that hit you either played dumb because they didn’t want it to hit their insurance or lied to the rental company saying they had private insurance and was declining the rental companies policy.

I mean think about it, otherwise we would be having hundreds of thousands if not millions of people on the road every day without insurance... that doesn’t add up.

Do you have the plate number and company the car was rented from? Any Tesla cam footage that might have those details? You shouldn’t be ok the hook for a penny in this case.

Also, it very well could be the $14k repair; I’ve seen a lot of rear end damage that looks surprisingly light but actually has damaged/bent stuff under the body panels and requires a lot of work to fix...

 

[Deep Purple]

I also had a question about the insurance and how it will work in this case; was just curious till the adjuster reaches out, if anyone has any idea.


1. Does this mean the Tesla insurance will cover the total cost of repair minus $1000 deductible?
View attachment 575213



2. I have this Uninsured Motorist Damage worth $3500. Will that be useful here?
View attachment 575214

My guess is you're likely not at fault, your insurance company will go after the other driver's rental car company, and you're unlikely to have to pay anything.

If it's a rental car, it's insured. More than likely, the insurance through the driver is through something like a credit card.

 

[Sam1]

Pretty sure you can go after the rental company. I would definitely speak to a lawyer at minimum.

Bingo! Vehicle owner is responsible. I'm in the middle of a case myself where someone was driving another person's car, and that person was specifically exempted from the insurance policy. The vehicle owner thought that would relieve him of any liability. He recently discovered that was a bad idea.

 

[Sam1]

I also had a question about the insurance and how it will work in this case; was just curious till the adjuster reaches out, if anyone has any idea.


1. Does this mean the Tesla insurance will cover the total cost of repair minus $1000 deductible?
View attachment 575213



2. I have this Uninsured Motorist Damage worth $3500. Will that be useful here?
View attachment 575214

Insurance is extremely complex and it really depends on your state and local laws along with your policy. But from my experience if you are not at fault and you have uninsured underinsured coverage, you should not even have to pay the deductible. But the adjuster will explain all of that

 

[Reborn]

I also had a question about the insurance and how it will work in this case; was just curious till the adjuster reaches out, if anyone has any idea.


1. Does this mean the Tesla insurance will cover the total cost of repair minus $1000 deductible?
View attachment 575213



2. I have this Uninsured Motorist Damage worth $3500. Will that be useful here?
View attachment 575214

You’ll need to verify with your insurance but to me this means, if it’s your fault, you pay $1000. If not, you pay nothing. Your insurance should take care of everything including reaching out to the other insurance. You should ensure they use a certified Tesla body shop though. The most important thing is to have a police report stating who’s at fault.