Minor Accident: Advice please!

[OneTinyFish]

Hello everyone!

It's been a while. I was last active around a year ago when I was buying Christine, my red model 3. In the last 12 months we've covered 9,600 miles together on the island. She's been attacked by a loose dog (Forum link), also attacked by a peacock (YouTube) and now - she's been attacked by an old man who reversed into her and didn't know his name or phone number or insurance company when I spoke to him!

I was not in the car, and sentry mode caught the accident:

The tailgate (non-powered 2020 model) has been damaged beyond the point that a body shop could repair, I think.

The rear bumper is scratched, so would need a respray (and our local body shop quoted me over £2k to respray the front bonnet after peacock-gate) and that won't be cheap. So, in my opinion, it's a new tailgate and a rear bumper respray. Everything else seems fine.

The police attended, and I have contact details and insurance details of the other party. (Who is currently insisting that he pay for the repairs via local shipbuilders lol).

Those that know me know I'm on the Isle of Man and we have no local service centre. Christine is booked in for the first service visit to fix a few delivery niggles and I wonder if this repair job might complicate matters.

She's also had the front PPF'd with XPEL Ultimate, and ceramic coating all round.

I'm insured with Churchill and just about to make a claim.

Could I ask the community for advice on;

* What should I mention when making the claim as I have never in over 20 years made an insurance claim
* How do insurers establish fault? This should be straightforward as I have sentry footage, but is it?
* Do Tesla do bodywork repair, or do they use third-party body shops in the UK? (This would be a colossal pain in the ass as I'd have to take a ferry across).
* Is there anything that I should check or be concerned about re; functionality of the car?

Thanks in advance!

Mike

 

[OneTinyFish]

 

[OneTinyFish]

 

[Alan J]

Generally Tesla don't do Bodywork themselves and your Insurance Co will have a preferred and Tesla certified repairer hopefully local to you. Parts are a pain in the butt as I discovered when I hit a Deer a few months ago so sorry to be negative but get ready for a delay measurable in weeks or months not days.

 

[Js1977]

Its a cut and shut case in your case. Save yourself the hassle and let the insurance company deal with it. They will/should collect the car, take it away and give you a loaner. Sometimes they can write a car off just for the loan car costs alone, although, I doubt it in your case. Insurance companies are like water and will take the easiest path they find in order to resolve.

As for the extras you applied to the car, If you declared them, you should be covered (ppf at least) if not, best keep your mouth shut (or open) and take the pill.

Not great great when this happens and im sorry to hear it. Its a damn hassle whether its your fault or not im afraid!

 

[Irata]

I've had something similar in a previous car.

If the other side is so awkward and the damage significant, as in this case then let your insurer do all the work. It will overall be best.

You have done all the right things, so hand over all you have to your insurer ASAP. I presume the police gave you a reference number as well, if not ask for it. And that video basically explains everything, you are not at fault as you never moved! Tell the insurer you have a video of the whole incident.

Phone them up and they'll talk you through the process.

You can use a body shop you know of, or let the insurer decide. The latter is easier as you don't need to get quotes yourself.

You are entitled to the car being returned to the exact condition it was just before the incident.

Sorry to hear about this, I always hate hearing of any accidents and in this case the other driver clearly demonstrated very poor driving skills.

The insurer does ask a number of questions to assess if the claim is truthful, so just be honest and don't worry. They tend to also ask things like, who was in the car, any child seats, etc.

 

[Fred2]

I made a claim last year after someone scuffed my bumper pulling into the parking space adjacent to me. They immediately admitted liability and were very cooperative, so I can’t enlighten you much in that area. It did still take a good 3 months for all the wheels to turn and for them to tell me that they’d recovered all the costs, no impact on my no claims etc. Someone I spoke to in the first few weeks said they don’t even really try to speak to the other insurer until about a month in. It took about 8 weeks from the point of the accident until my car was fixed.

I’m also with Churchill and while they have their own network of repairers, they were unable to work on a Tesla and so I was told to find one myself (service centres don’t do body shop work any more, although in the tesla “find us” page there is one solitary tesla body shop that is at the dartford service centre location). The body shop I found did an assessment, the insurance company approved it & then they did the work (this part has nothing to do with liability - it’s just whether they think the estimate is reasonable). The tesla website had a list of approved body shops somewhere, I also cross checked with a list on the tesla owners group ( Tesla Approved Supplier Directory - Tesla Owners' UK )

It took about 8 weeks from the accident until my car was fixed. Some of that was down to my schedule (it was best part of an hour’s drive to the repairer), some of it was the repairer’s availability and some of it a miscommunication where the insurer had approved the estimate and told the repairer but no one had told me.


In the end it was a bit more complicated to fix than the estimate - it wasn’t just a respray; there was also some hidden damage (maybe the bracket the bumper connects to? I don’t recall) so the amount they charged the insurance company was double the initial estimate.

 

[M3noob]

Hello everyone!

It's been a while. I was last active around a year ago when I was buying Christine, my red model 3. In the last 12 months we've covered 9,600 miles together on the island. She's been attacked by a loose dog (Forum link), also attacked by a peacock (YouTube) and now - she's been attacked by an old man who reversed into her and didn't know his name or phone number or insurance company when I spoke to him!

I was not in the car, and sentry mode caught the accident:

The tailgate (non-powered 2020 model) has been damaged beyond the point that a body shop could repair, I think.

The rear bumper is scratched, so would need a respray (and our local body shop quoted me over £2k to respray the front bonnet after peacock-gate) and that won't be cheap. So, in my opinion, it's a new tailgate and a rear bumper respray. Everything else seems fine.

The police attended, and I have contact details and insurance details of the other party. (Who is currently insisting that he pay for the repairs via local shipbuilders lol).

Those that know me know I'm on the Isle of Man and we have no local service centre. Christine is booked in for the first service visit to fix a few delivery niggles and I wonder if this repair job might complicate matters.

She's also had the front PPF'd with XPEL Ultimate, and ceramic coating all round.

I'm insured with Churchill and just about to make a claim.

Could I ask the community for advice on;

* What should I mention when making the claim as I have never in over 20 years made an insurance claim
* How do insurers establish fault? This should be straightforward as I have sentry footage, but is it?
* Do Tesla do bodywork repair, or do they use third-party body shops in the UK? (This would be a colossal pain in the ass as I'd have to take a ferry across).
* Is there anything that I should check or be concerned about re; functionality of the car?

Thanks in advance!

Mike

How distressing even if you were driving s banger. Go "official" all the way. Cut no corners as you are surely dealing with an odd egg.

Wasn't Joe Biden by any chance?

 

[NewbieT]

Ouch.

You may want to go down the SC route to make sure the warranty isn’t voided by a 3rd party garage. Insurers will make all of the promises in the world but that won’t stop Tesla disabling Superchargering if they’re not satisfied the car is safe. It could be more hassle but gives peace of mind. You’d have to do more co-ordination and possibly pay Tesla and wait for repayment. Insurance might cover the ferry cost if there are no Tesla approved garages on the island.

Chester SC will soon be getting a paint shop but in the meantime they do have a relationship with a body shop. They took mine in for a delivery fault and did a good job on the paint. If you log a job for Christine the SC should be able to quote remotely- I’d do that before making a decision. Get the insurers to agree to the quote before accepting.

You can now get a train from Chester direct to Liverpool South Parkway if you need to.

Whichever route you choose expect it to take some time (if it’s a new boot lid, I’d guess 2 months).

I’m leaving IOM on Sunday if Christine needs a chauffeur.

 

[MrBadger]

I would think you are up for a new boot lid. If it was me, I would make some enquiries on the availability of new boot lids. With a bit of luck and cooperation from various parties, you can get ahead of the game and get in the boot lid queue earlier than perhaps you might if you left it for the cogs to turn by themselves.

 

[OneTinyFish]

Thanks all for your very helpful replies.

I've decided to file a claim with Churchill, which I've done just now. I've also sent a text to Tesla on 07403 301535 (I've had correspondence from them on this number before) to enquire about the availability of a new boot lid).

Generally Tesla don't do Bodywork themselves and your Insurance Co will have a preferred and Tesla certified repairer hopefully local to you. Parts are a pain in the butt as I discovered when I hit a Deer a few months ago so sorry to be negative but get ready for a delay measurable in weeks or months not days.

How did your deer accident work out in the end? Did you get it resolved via a Tesla approved body shop?

Its a cut and shut case in your case. Save yourself the hassle and let the insurance company deal with it. They will/should collect the car, take it away and give you a loaner. Sometimes they can write a car off just for the loan car costs alone, although, I doubt it in your case. Insurance companies are like water and will take the easiest path they find in order to resolve.

Done, thank you. The complication here was that I had the option of using my own repairer or using Churchills. The claim form tries to warn you off using your own. I clicked to use theirs. And in any case, it's their problem as they don't have any Tesla approved body shops apparently!

As for the extras you applied to the car, If you declared them, you should be covered (ppf at least) if not, best keep your mouth shut (or open) and take the pill.

Churchill know about the PPF, although there isn't any on the rear boot lid or rear bumper! (Although PPF works wonders, I don't think it's this good!.

I've had something similar in a previous car.

If the other side is so awkward and the damage significant, as in this case then let your insurer do all the work. It will overall be best.

You have done all the right things, so hand over all you have to your insurer ASAP. I presume the police gave you a reference number as well, if not ask for it. And that video basically explains everything, you are not at fault as you never moved! Tell the insurer you have a video of the whole incident.

Done. Thank you. I've filled in the form to say I have loads of sentry footage that makes this very straightforward to assess. But there was no option to provide it (not even the police reference number) on the claim form.

You can use a body shop you know of, or let the insurer decide. The latter is easier as you don't need to get quotes yourself.

My local body shop that did a great job on the dog bite needing a respray - are fully booked till next year. They're not Tesla approved.

The insurer does ask a number of questions to assess if the claim is truthful, so just be honest and don't worry. They tend to also ask things like, who was in the car, any child seats, etc.

They did ask those questions, and the only one that's interesting is that they asked me a question about whether I had a car door open at the time, which I had to say yes to (they'd see it in the sentry footage anyhow). I was putting drinks into the drivers' side when the car was hit. So, technically my head was in the car lol.

I made a claim last year after someone scuffed my bumper pulling into the parking space adjacent to me. They immediately admitted liability and were very cooperative, so I can’t enlighten you much in that area. It did still take a good 3 months for all the wheels to turn and for them to tell me that they’d recovered all the costs, no impact on my no claims etc. Someone I spoke to in the first few weeks said they don’t even really try to speak to the other insurer until about a month in. It took about 8 weeks from the point of the accident until my car was fixed.

That's very interesting. My situation is similar, except for the other party who on reflection I think was pretending to be confused and slow. Googling him, he's a retired union chairman, so there's that!

I've been told by friends on Facebook to expect higher premiums ~£100+ from next year in any case.

I’m also with Churchill and while they have their own network of repairers, thy shops somewhere, I also cross checked with a list on the tesla owners group ( Tesla Approved Supplier Directory - Tesla Owners' UK )ey were unable to work on a Tesla and so I was told to find one myself (service centres don’t do body shop work any more, although in the tesla “find us” page there is one solitary tesla body shop that is at the dartford service centre location). The body shop I found did an assessment, the insurance company approved it & then they did the work (this part has nothing to do with liability - it’s just whether they think the estimate is reasonable). The tesla website had a list of approved bod

It took about 8 weeks from the accident until my car was fixed. Some of that was down to my schedule (it was best part of an hour’s drive to the repairer), some of it was the repairer’s availability and some of it a miscommunication where the insurer had approved the estimate and told the repairer but no one had told me.

In the end it was a bit more complicated to fix than the estimate - it wasn’t just a respray; there was also some hidden damage (maybe the bracket the bumper connects to? I don’t recall) so the amount they charged the insurance company was double the initial estimate.

That's really interesting. I suppose you could say, "Why should you find a body shop when it's up to the insurers do to the runaround admin work?". Was the body shop you used a Tesla approved one?

I would think you are up for a new boot lid. If it was me, I would make some enquiries on the availability of new boot lids. With a bit of luck and cooperation from various parties, you can get ahead of the game and get in the boot lid queue earlier than perhaps you might if you left it for the cogs to turn by themselves.

I've texted but I don't expect a reply. I'm not sure what the correct channels are to obtain parts. I remember that video from Rich Rebuilds on YouTube where he struggled to obtain plastic wheel lug nut covers from Tesla. It's funny if you haven't seen it!

Ouch.

You may want to go down the SC route to make sure the warranty isn’t voided by a 3rd party garage. Insurers will make all of the promises in the world but that won’t stop Tesla disabling Superchargering if they’re not satisfied the car is safe. It could be more hassle but gives peace of mind. You’d have to do more co-ordination and possibly pay Tesla and wait for repayment. Insurance might cover the ferry cost if there are no Tesla approved garages on the island.

This is the bit that worries me.

Chester SC will soon be getting a paint shop but in the meantime they do have a relationship with a body shop. They took mine in for a delivery fault and did a good job on the paint. If you log a job for Christine the SC should be able to quote remotely- I’d do that before making a decision. Get the insurers to agree to the quote before accepting.

That's great news - and I've switched my currently outstanding service request from Manchester to Chester. It's great that there are more options (I don't think Chester was an option previously).

You can now get a train from Chester direct to Liverpool South Parkway if you need to.

Whichever route you choose expect it to take some time (if it’s a new boot lid, I’d guess 2 months).

I’m leaving IOM on Sunday if Christine needs a chauffeur.

Haha, I didn't realise that you were on the island? We should do a Tesla meetup. How was your trip? Did you see the few hundred classic cars?

Best,

Mike

 

[Fred2]

That's very interesting. My situation is similar, except for the other party who on reflection I think was pretending to be confused and slow. Googling him, he's a retired union chairman, so there's that!

I've been told by friends on Facebook to expect higher premiums ~£100+ from next year in any case.

That's really interesting. I suppose you could say, "Why should you find a body shop when it's up to the insurers do to the runaround admin work?". Was the body shop you used a Tesla approved one?

Yes it was (frosts, near Milton Keynes). My insurance premiums haven’t gone up although I don’t know if they would have gone down more without it.

 

[init6]

I was putting drinks into the drivers' side when the car was hit. So, technically my head was in the car lol.

Whiplash claim

 

[OneTinyFish]

Whiplash claim

I like your thinking!

We don't have any tesla approved body-shops on the island, so it might be a case of going off-island to find one. The boot lid looks like it can be simply replaced with new but who knows if it's more complex than that. The rear bumper needs a respray.

Best,

Mike

 

[GRiLLA]

Right, so from recent experience your insurer will likely have very little to do with a no fault claim, and will hand it off to a claims management company, there's nothing then left in it for them to be part of the process. You will also find that the other parties insurance will offer to perform the repair though a claims manager as well.

Having tried both ways, I would now only use the other parties claims company, avoids any future debate about settling the claim with the other party. Using a claims management company on your side for us was hopeless, they had no incentive to do anything but inflate costs for the other party which in no way benefits you.

I would also trust no one, particularly Enterprise providing a loan car. Also, if it's not too late I would get a burner phone number as you'll never stop getting calls from people offering dodgy personal injury claims.

 

[OneTinyFish]

Right, so from recent experience your insurer will likely have very little to do with a no fault claim, and will hand it off to a claims management company, there's nothing then left in it for them to be part of the process. You will also find that the other parties insurance will offer to perform the repair though a claims manager as well.

Having tried both ways, I would now only use the other parties claims company, avoids any future debate about settling the claim with the other party. Using a claims management company on your side for us was hopeless, they had no incentive to do anything but inflate costs for the other party which in no way benefits you.

I would also trust no one, particularly Enterprise providing a loan car. Also, if it's not too late I would get a burner phone number as you'll never stop getting calls from people offering dodgy personal injury claims.

Thanks, GRiLLA,

I might have made a mistake then by contacting my insurance company and raising a claim with them rather than approaching a claims management company directly?

And I think it might be too late to avoid the GDPR-non-compliant data sell-on - but hopefully not.

Best,

Mike

 

[OneTinyFish]

I'm going to have a chat with a few claims management companies; this does seem to be a preferential way to proceed rather than via my own insurer, Churchill.

The first - Crystal Claims Management (www.crystalcm.co.uk) [good online reviews]

The next - Road to Recovery (https://accidentmanagementcompany.com/) [better website lol].

 

[GRiLLA]

Thanks, GRiLLA,

I might have made a mistake then by contacting my insurance company and raising a claim with them rather than approaching a claims management company directly?

And I think it might be too late to avoid the GDPR-non-compliant data sell-on - but hopefully not.

Best,

Mike

No, you need to report it to your insurance promptly. Your insurance will contact theirs, they will accept blame and the claims management companies get involved. It can happen as quickly as a couple of days, more likely a week.

 

[Fred2]

Yup, you need to tell your insurance company, even if you don’t intend to make a claim ( Vehicle insurance )

 

[HenryT]

I'm going to have a chat with a few claims management companies; this does seem to be a preferential way to proceed rather than via my own insurer, Churchill.

The first - Crystal Claims Management (www.crystalcm.co.uk) [good online reviews]

The next - Road to Recovery (https://accidentmanagementcompany.com/) [better website lol].

Sadly, you probably can't avoid having a claims management co involved as most insurers hand-off their customer facing role to them anyway. The downside is that despite GDPR, you can expect 2 or 3 years of cold calls to follow 'about your injury claim'. I had the same when my car was hit in a carpark while I was away walking the dog. I was a couple of miles away from the car when it was hit but the claims firms insisted I would still have a claim.

On the future premiums point, I once asked my (then) insurer about why 'no fault' claims impacted premiums, despite no loss of NCB - their 'explanation' was that "...if you are the sort of person who has a claim, even a no-fault one, then you are statistically likely to be involved in future claims"

(It didn't make any sense to me either).

Good luck with yours.