How much will this carbon fiber repair cost?

[S-2000 Roadster]

I was at the bank handling business, parked right in front of the door in the right-most space, and some guy in a big van backed right into my roadster from the opposite side of the lot. I didn't see it happen, but he was kind enough to leave his name and number under the wiper.

What's he/his insurance going to have to pay to fix this?

 

[7racer]

that SUCKS!!! It should be the cost from his insurance company to get the repair. You are suppose to get a quote then your insurance company will contact his to cover the claim

 

[bonnie]

That's just nasty. Glad he was decent enough to leave his contact information. Let us know how it works out.

 

[Jaff]

I think you should contact TM right away...they'll be able to direct you to their preferred repair shop to get an assessment done about repair / replacement of the damage.

You'll want to know the name of the TM preferred shop before your insurance company tries to send you to one of their preferred shops (which may be new to or have little to nil experience in carbon fibre repair or replacement).

CF cannot be repaired under certain circumstances...I ran over some object on the road at 60-70 mph a couple of months ago...the object hit my quarter panel below the drivers side door and cut right through the CF...a brand new panel had to be installed...the total repair cost was about $14,000 CAD.

My damage looked far worse than yours though.

Sorry for your bad luck.

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I was at the bank handling business, parked right in front of the door in the right-most space, and some guy in a big van backed right into my roadster from the opposite side of the lot. I didn't see it happen, but he was kind enough to leave his name and number under the wiper.

What's he/his insurance going to have to pay to fix this?

 

[Fabrizio]

I had the nose and crash box replaced after someone backed into me. It cost his insurance $15K. Although there was no Tesla approved repair shop near me, there are shops that work on exotic cars and carbon fiber in the area. After identifying a couple to Tesla, they called to interview the shops and then recommended one to me. Definitely have the shop that is going to do the repairs do the estimate, but there are some points to be aware of:
1) There is no standard repair cost that an insurance company can look up like they can for other mass produced vehicles.
2) There is no catalog of replacement parts that a repair shop can pull up online
3) The body panels come from England and are custom made - i.e. there will be a long wait for parts (it took a month to get the needed parts identified, ordered and delivered before repairs could start on mine).

So in my case, the repair shop worked with the insurance adjuster to get an initial estimate of $700. Then as the parts were identified and ordered, the initial estimate was adjusted several times until the final cost was $15K and I had my Roadster back two months later.

However, since the other driver admitted fault, his insurance company assured me they would pay whatever the cost would be to repair my Roadster to it's pre-collision condition. Just be prepared to deal with some people who know nothing about Tesla and do not realize how it made. But you may also deal with someone who knows everything about Tesla and will be very helpful. I was fortunate that the insurance adjuster and the repair shop knew about Tesla's.

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

Thanks guys. I have contact information for the preferred body shop. Personally, I won't be satisfied to have anyone else do the work, so this poor guy who had the accident with my parked Roadster is probably going to be shocked to hear the cost. Then again, he has insurance, so they'll pay if it's above his deductible.

It's good to hear the numbers, because I've heard about how expensive it is to repair a fiberglass Corvette. I also anticipated that there wouldn't be any standard estimate schedules for the Roadster yet, so, again, I appreciate the numbers.

The local Tesla Store has been great in explaining what they've gone through with other damaged Roadsters, so I know I'll be in good hands.

I'll keep you posted. If he's lucky, it can be repaired.

 

[dsm363]

That sucks. Hope you get it fixed correctly. That's great the guy left his information. I'm sure some people would have just taken off so it's nice he was honest and left his contact information.

 

[bolosky]

Then again, he has insurance, so they'll pay if it's above his deductible.

Is there usually a deductable on liability coverage? I think I've only ever had it on collision and comprehensive.

 

[dwegmull]

If you need any new carbon fiber parts, be prepared to wait for a long time. My car suffered major damage in a stupidity induced accident (a.k.a. solo spinout) and it took four months to fix, mainly due to lack of parts. Apparently, the supplier has very little spare capacity above what's needed for production of new cars...

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

Is there usually a deductable on liability coverage? I think I've only ever had it on collision and comprehensive.

Good question. I was a bit confused by the guy's comments about no deductible. I guess that's because I've been lucky and have never caused an accident such that I would know what's normal with liability. I've only ever had to deal with the rare solo accident or vandalism and outright theft.

I still haven't had time away from work this week to get an estimate, but the perp' is traveling in Alaska without a cell phone so there's apparently no hurry. Not to mention the comments that I'll probably have to wait for months to get it fixed. Maybe I should do some serious auto-cross in the interim? :wink:

 

[Jaff]

Generally not, unless you live in a state with a no fault insurance scheme that includes physical damage to your vehicle under the no fault scheme ...then, there may be the option to lower your premium by opting for a "liability" deductible.

In Ontario, you had the option to buy a $300 / $500 deductible...the premium savings were negligible so most folks jut ignored the option...

Is there usually a deductable on liability coverage? I think I've only ever had it on collision and comprehensive.

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

Let us know how it works out.

So far, the estimate is $10,979.51
That doesn't include the loss of value when you consider that this is a brand new, two month old car that previously had nothing on its car facts.

 

[Fabrizio]

I'm currently fighting with the other guy's insurance regarding my diminished value claim. I got an estimate of a diminished value of $17,500. The other insurance claimed no diminished value. Try findng Blue Book prices for a Tesla.

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

I'm currently fighting with the other guy's insurance regarding my diminished value claim. I got an estimate of a diminished value of $17,500. The other insurance claimed no diminished value. Try findng Blue Book prices for a Tesla.

Sorry that you're having to fight, but thanks for sharing.

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

I'm currently fighting with the other guy's insurance regarding my diminished value claim. I got an estimate of a diminished value of $17,500. The other insurance claimed no diminished value. Try findng Blue Book prices for a Tesla.

Just to clarify: The $17,500 was separate from the repair costs?
What were the repair costs? i.e., what was your total settlement?
Also, in what country/state are you located?

I'm mostly seeing much lower DV estimates, but I did hear one wild figure of double that! It's really hard to know what's 'fair' and I particularly have no idea how the diminished value will be affected by the end of Roadster production. Will scarcity mean that there is effectively no loss in value? Will the mass migration from Roadster to Model S cause a glut in the market and thus amplify my diminished value?

One annoying thing is that the Pemco agent is trying to claim that there is no DV unless I actually sell the car. Does that mean that if the other driver had severed my arm then there would be no value assessed for my loss unless I could actually buy a replacement arm? I don't know if that analogy makes any sense, but I do know that I'm equally pissed about having my 2-month-old car seriously damaged whether I end up selling it or not. I sure hope that Pemco doesn't think they don't owe me anything at all just because I choose to try to keep the car as long as possible...