Hit and Run!

[Jeff32]

My baby was injured and I'm concerned she'll never be the same. Damage isn't bad, but sensors have been destroyed and steering is off center. Impact was left rear wheel and left rear quarter panel. No body shop evaluation yet (tomorrow).

It's a 2019 with 1,300 miles. So bummed. Tesla told me to take it to an authorized service center in my hometown. They apparently do not do body work. I live in Michigan and there are no service centers in this state anyway.

Any advice... anything I should know that from others who have needed crash repairs?
p.s.- police officer told me if this had been a full-on side impact, well, he said "Those people don't do well". I punched the accelerator a moment before impact and the jump forward moved the impact from driver's door to rear quarter panel. This car's acceleration definitely made a difference in my physical outcome from this crash.

 

[aliengar0]

Post needs video

 

[Jeff32]

.

It's not an impressive crash, to watch. I've watched enough youtube videos to know any impact on a wheel can cause quite severe, not outwardly recognizable damage.

 

[Super_Popular]

Post needs a video we can actually watch LOL

 

[Jeff32]

sorry. I've tried to indulge aliengr0 and joined Vimeo then uploaded a video, having never used this site prior. I'll give it a bit more effort, later today.

 

[Silicon Desert]

not news you want to hear, but assuming it can be repaired, you'll need another car for MONTHS ! It seems crazy that parts aren't always available, yet even the simplest repairs seems to take months.

 

[derotam]

My baby was injured and I'm concerned she'll never be the same. Damage isn't bad, but sensors have been destroyed and steering is off center. Impact was left rear wheel and left rear quarter panel. No body shop evaluation yet (tomorrow).

It's a 2019 with 1,300 miles. So bummed. Tesla told me to take it to an authorized service center in my hometown. They apparently do not do body work. I live in Michigan and there are no service centers in this state anyway.

Any advice... anything I should know that from others who have needed crash repairs?
p.s.- police officer told me if this had been a full-on side impact, well, he said "Those people don't do well". I punched the accelerator a moment before impact and the jump forward moved the impact from driver's door to rear quarter panel. This car's acceleration definitely made a difference in my physical outcome from this crash.

Glad to hear you are ok. I guess my only comment is that it sounds like the car probably isn't drivable, so you may be in a rental for a while waiting on some parts. Hopefully it doesn't take too long though.

We definitely want to see video!

 

[Jeff32]

Update:
$2,900 in parts, $11,000 in labor.
I'm three weeks into this. My Tesla certified auto body shop has told me "Sir, in our experience, we have waited 5-6 months for parts".

 

[mrau]

Wow, that's a hefty repair bill. Hope they can get the parts much quicker for you. Please keep us posted on which Michigan shop you used and how you liked their work.

Glad you are OK. Even though the car will be fixed, it just doesn't seem right to happen to a new car.

 

[Jeff32]

Thanks mrau.
The car is at Koenes Auto Body in Grand Rapids, MI. They have a great reputation locally. I do trust them.

Yes, when the car is repaired and returned to me, I will update this message board.

 

[youngmcdonald]

Thanks mrau.
The car is at Koenes Auto Body in Grand Rapids, MI. They have a great reputation locally. I do trust them.

Yes, when the car is repaired and returned to me, I will update this message board.

Sorry to hear that. I am in your shoes and just dropped my car off for the repairs to finally start; it’ll be about 10-15 days of waiting.

I needed 68 parts for rear quarter panel and bumper damage alone. It took exactly 40 days for all the parts to arrive. And the list is based on visual inspection. More damage could be found when they open the car, but it is less likely. The other concern is that your rear glass roof may need glass be replaced - a wonderful design that can crack the glass when dismantling the quarter panel, I recently learned on this forum.

Anyway, your quote is a bit on the higher side but it is possible that there’s a lot more damage (can’t open the video). My initial quote is $7500. It’s a hit and run so it’s going to be your loss, even though the insurance will cover it. Try to move on.

 

[Jeff32]

billionaiire, this stock image is a good angle to look at a rear quarter panel. The rear quarter panel does not touch the glass roof. The small, triangular window needs to be removed, as does the trunk lid, to replace a quarter panel, but why the glass roof? I am not doubting you. Matter of fact, I have heard the same thing.

 

[VT_EE]

billionaiire, this stock image is a good angle to look at a rear quarter panel. The rear quarter panel does not touch the glass roof. The small, triangular window needs to be removed, as does the trunk lid, to replace a quarter panel, but why the glass roof? I am not doubting you. Matter of fact, I have heard the same thing.

I am in the same situation as @billionaiire and am the one who provided the information on the rear window issue. To replace the rear quarter panel, you must cut out the entire side of the car from the back to around the rear of the front door. The rear glass absolutely has to come out. The rear quarter panel alone is a $1000 part. According to the body shop, they are actually replacing a section of the unibody. Major surgery and 2-3 weeks of work once they have all the parts.

 

[mongo]

billionaiire, this stock image is a good angle to look at a rear quarter panel. The rear quarter panel does not touch the glass roof. The small, triangular window needs to be removed, as does the trunk lid, to replace a quarter panel, but why the glass roof? I am not doubting you. Matter of fact, I have heard the same thing.

I think the issue is that the thin piece of the trunk hinge section hides the fact that the quarter panel extends under it to the rear glass.

 

[derotam]

billionaiire, this stock image is a good angle to look at a rear quarter panel. The rear quarter panel does not touch the glass roof. The small, triangular window needs to be removed, as does the trunk lid, to replace a quarter panel, but why the glass roof? I am not doubting you. Matter of fact, I have heard the same thing.

That panel that you see is not the structure of the car. The structure underneath that panel is the entire side of the car and goes up to the glass.

 

[youngmcdonald]

I am in the same situation as @billionaiire and am the one who provided the information on the rear window issue. To replace the rear quarter panel, you must cut out the entire side of the car from the back to around the rear of the front door. The rear glass absolutely has to come out. The rear quarter panel alone is a $1000 part. According to the body shop, they are actually replacing a section of the unibody. Major surgery and 2-3 weeks of work once they have all the parts.

At this point, they’ve started working on my car and they need 2 full weeks. All the parts are here. Except for the roof which may add delays if cracked. I don’t quite care anymore! Cut open the whole thing and weld it back! I just need it to be fixed so that I can get the diminished value claim going and end this rather long ordeal. And sell the damn thing.

 

[Jeff32]

Billionaiire,
On July 1st you said two weeks were needed and your car would be returned to you. Can you give us an update on how it looks and drives?

 

[VT_EE]

I just got my Model 3 back from a rear quarter panel/bumper replacement. It took 1 month at the body shop once they had all the parts. Some of that time was due to their high work load. Getting parts in was not a problem with parts showing up within 2-3 weeks of ordering.

 

[youngmcdonald]

Billionaiire,
On July 1st you said two weeks were needed and your car would be returned to you. Can you give us an update on how it looks and drives?

It was a misunderstanding. It was not two weeks but four. I dropped the car off on June 28.

I am at the four week mark this weekend but no car yet. Most of the repairs are done but the glass roof did crack while removing the quarter panel assembly, so they had to order it last week. They haven’t gotten it yet. My realistic guess is that I won’t get the car back until the end of August. There is zero suffering as my daily commute is negligible and their insurance is covering unlimited rental. The cost of repairs has now exceeded $10,000. Add to that the cost of XPEL re-wrapping and rear window tinting that I am going to bill the insurance for.

That said, I will duly post before/after photos here.

 

[Atari2600]

Higher than average insurance collision premiums for the Model 3 appears to be justified. I find these threads fascinating and hope I am never in an accident.