Got rear-ended. Minor. Need some advice

[phaduman]

Need some advice here.

Got hit on stop and go freeway commute by a Subaru, tech employee who was distracted. Couple of links (my rear has a tint 5% (pretty dark), so even a 1080p rear cam (thinkware 770) can only catch so much. In any case, identification wasn't issue, driver cooperated and we talked. Video clearly captures the accident, and both Dashcam's two beeps, and Tesla's longer beeps. I was on Autopilot and car had stopped due to traffic ahead had stopped.

Amazingly, the scratches on the rear bumper came off with a simple wet cloth wipe because I had paint protection film on. There is a pretty clear depression of the other car's front license plate screw head on the bumper (2nd pic).

My question at this point:
* The bumper looks ok, except for the permanent screw hole/depression (see pic)
* the car had a pretty clear beep indicating it recognized a crash, so likely it is stored somewhere.
* The sensors look ok to me so far, but not sure if anything is damaged.
* behind the plastic bumber, there is the real metal bumper crossbar - the one that is absorbing the impact actually. I don't know what damage has happened to it.

If I take to a repair center, they would open everything up - which is both good and also likely bad.
Good:
* I would know if there are any internal damage and get them fixed. Would there be any wheel/brake impact as my car had applied the brakes and the impact made the car move just a slight bit forward?
Bad (likely many):
* Once touched by a repair center, there could be fit/finish issues, rattles etc of their own introduced.
* time lost sitting in garage (we know how Teslas take weeks to months for any kind of work)
* my film cost would likely be my cost - as a bumper repair would require them to remove it.

What would you do? Do I want to settle this out of insurance and get cash for my damage (both visible on bumper and potential crossbar member damage)? It would help this young man not get an accident history (but hopefully learn to pay attention on road at all times).

Pissed that this happened to my 9month old car - but amazed how well the car is built to handle this impact (likely 10mph?) and nothing seemed to have gone wrong - not even a crack on the bumper.

 

[Tam]

How much did the other car suffer the damage?

It looks like a minor collision which did not trigger an airbag and did not trigger any sensor errors...

Because you wish to settle this with cash and I am fine with that option.

 

[artsci]

I suggest you have the bumper removed to see it there's is any damage that's not visible. Removing the bumper is an easy 15 minute job.

Also, you're being too kind to the driver who hit you. Distracted for sure. It's hard for me to imagine how he hit you in those circumstances. Must have been texting or something. The only way he'll learn is to suffer consequences -- you're insuring that he won't.

 

[HumanGenome]

File an insurance claim with his company so you don't have to pay a deductible. It's going to be more complex than you are thinking.

Some of the body is double walled and paintless dent repair is pricey and only some shops can do it.

Going through the same thing. Xpel got the markings on the paint off easily. Very minor dent on rear passenger wheel well (hardly noticeable). Thought, oh no big deal, very simple fix. Wrong. Get insurance involved.

 

[BLKMDL3]

Ugh. So sorry, know how that feels
That X mark is a battle scar

 

[kev1n]

whether you choose to get this resolved with insurance or not, I would get a quote from a respectable bodyshop, this is most likely going to be a replacement bumper + paint. i would also get a quote to see how much it cost to get the rear bumper clear bra'd again

if you were to go through insurance, they should cover the replacement clear bra.

it looks minor and i doubt anything is damaged behind it.

honestly if that X mark doesnt bother you, i would just pocket the money.

 

[BLKMDL3]

honestly if that X mark doesnt bother you, i would just pocket the money.

It would bother me a little but not after insurance gives me a check

 

[navinsiri]

Similar thing happened to me except a little slower. I took the car to an authorized body shop and I would recommend you do the same. The driver that hit me ended up paying out of pocket. About $1580 for the bumper + paint and another couple hundred to replace my xpel. I would think that if you went through insurance that they would not cover the clear bra, but they would be able to provide a rental car which might be more valuable to you. Since your damage is more visible than mine, I would think that you'd want it to be fixed. In my case I accepted the out of pocket payment because I was not going fix the car since I needed to get down on the ground to see the damage. Instead I took the money and did the 60-75 kWh upgrade.
Also being just a rear bumper and some paint I wouldn't think the repair time would be too long. My body shop estimated about 3-4 days.

 

[Hota]

Similar thing happened to me except a little slower. I took the car to an authorized body shop and I would recommend you do the same. The driver that hit me ended up paying out of pocket. About $1580 for the bumper + paint and another couple hundred to replace my xpel. I would think that if you went through insurance that they would not cover the clear bra, but they would be able to provide a rental car which might be more valuable to you. Since your damage is more visible than mine, I would think that you'd want it to be fixed. In my case I accepted the out of pocket payment because I was not going fix the car since I needed to get down on the ground to see the damage. Instead I took the money and did the 60-75 kWh upgrade.
Also being just a rear bumper and some paint I wouldn't think the repair time would be too long. My body shop estimated about 3-4 days.

Insurance will cover the clear bra no problem.

 

[Shock-On-T]

I love how the guy's body language show's he's angry, like it's your fault.
He needs to look where he's driving.

 

[SMAlset]

Sorry to hear about it and gee watching the video is even more frustrating to see. Like what the heck was the guy doing to just basically ram the car from a dead stop not that many feet ahead. Given how his body bounced around in his car when he hit you, I would definitely get the car checked out. You're only 9 months into owning it and hate to see something missed that you could end up regretting later. I had a lady in a Honda Pilot do kind of the same thing to me in my ICE while we were waiting to exit from a shopping center, and while my car was pretty old the amount of repairs to the bumper area and the trunk frame area which was askew nearly totalled my car. Didn't know about Loss Value claims (can't think what's its called) but we both had the same insurance and my agent didn't say anything about such a thing so if I go to trade in my car now, I loose several thousand dollars I otherwise would have since my car had not been in any accidents before and could have brought in a higer trade-in or resell value. I think you only can get it under certain claims (like maybe not going through your insurance?) so check it out if you decide to pursue.

I know you want to be a nice guy about this, but look out for yourself. You might regret it if you trade or sell your car later.

Good thing your autopilot was set for a few car lengths so you didn't also have to deal with hitting the car in front of you. Was nice to see the front and rear views of the accident. We have a dashcam installed too and just hope we never need it but sure comes in handy if you do.