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My model 3 got rear ended (journey)

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drifterxe

Member
Jan 11, 2018
14
3
San Francisco
#1
Just got my model 3 AWD- non P llast week 8/4/18 and under 200 miles. This happened in San Francisco Golden Gate Park and I was stopped stationary at a stop sign and this fool with his 2003 BMW wagon trying to make a right turn or whatever hits me with his front left bumper. So angry... I called my State Farm insurance company and they told me to call his insurance company (AAA) first to file a claim. I called to file a claim and am suppose to hear back from a claims adjuster on Monday.


. MVIMG_20180810_134857.jpgMVIMG_20180810_13513.jpg

Is this a good way to go about this or should I let my insurance fight for me? I'm afraid AAA might low ball me, sending me to any Joe Schmoe body shop. I'm also afraid some of the sensors might be damaged. Also I'm not sure if I can file for diminishing value??
 
#2
drifterxe said:
Just got my model 3 AWD- non P llast week 8/4/18 and under 200 miles. This happened in San Francisco Golden Gate Park and I was stopped stationary at a stop sign and this fool with his 2003 BMW wagon trying to make a right turn or whatever hits me with his front left bumper. So angry... I called my State Farm insurance company and they told me to call his insurance company (AAA) first to file a claim. I called to file a claim and am suppose to hear back from a claims adjuster on Monday.


.View attachment 324912View attachment 324923

Is this a good way to go about this or should I let my insurance fight for me? I'm afraid AAA might low ball me, sending me to any Joe Schmoe body shop. I'm also afraid some of the sensors might be damaged. Also I'm not sure if I can file for diminishing value??
Click to expand...

They may suggest a particular repair shop, and it's often easier to use one that works more closely with the insurance company, but you're not required to use that shop. See: Auto Body Repairs and Replacement Parts
 
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#3
Just went through this... you are not at fault you insurance needs to take the claim and get their money from the other party.... hell thats what we pay premiums for. As far as the shops, you'll have to go to tesla authorized shop... damage doesn't look that bad, mine was way worse took 2.5 months to complete just got it back last week so pretty much all summer which was awesome :)

DM me if you wanna chat more while all this stuff is fresh in my head
 
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#4
You might want to check out whether you can file a diminished claim if you choose to go through your own insurance. I thought from reading the posts here over time that you couldn't, only could claim if you went through the other company's insurance. Assuming that's true might be why your insurance company suggested that route to you if you brought up diminshed claim. Only get the work done through a Tesla authorized shop, you don't have to accept their shop. It also might be that they work with Tesla authorized shops too.

I thought at one time on the Tesla.com site they listed authorized shops -- here it is: Tesla At one time I recall seeing on some of the body shop websites what insurance companies they work with but that was a while ago when I had looked.

Gosh I'm so sorry this happened to your new car. :( But I guess at least the guy had insurance...

BTW you're car is exactly what I ordered, pearl white, AWD, non-P, so can really empathize with your situation and feelings. Still waiting for mine to be delivered. Hope your wait won't be long. See if you can drive it until all the parts come in to make your time out of it as short as possible. Hopefully the sensors are okay.
 
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#5
Had a similar incident happen to me last week and funny enough I have State Farm and the other guy has AAA. My 3 is RWD, though.

I was sitting at a red light and a guy rolled into me while eating breakfast instead of paying attention. Left some light scuffs and a small dent in the bumper from his front plate - just enough damage that it needs a new bumper skin.

Filed claim through AAA, they are working their end and I already picked a Tesla approved shop to do the work. Shop tells me it'll be a month before the bumper gets in, so have that lined up while AAA processes their end.

Pissed - damage is minor enough that if I did it I'd just buff it out as best as possible and hit it with a bit of touch-up paint. But since it's not and it's the first blemish I'm going to get it fixed. Such a pain in the rear....
 
#6
Diminished value is worthwhile if damage is greater than 6k that doesn’t look like to me ..it doesn’t matter what company the OP files original claim under as long as other party assumes liability he can file a DV claim ...he just can’t file a DV claim against his own insurance company it must be filed against other parties ..considering that is a surface level scratch from what I can tell ..may want to settle this outside of insurance as once they are involved an insurance record is filed which will show on OP carfax if he decides to sell at later date ..
 
#7
I would go through his insurance. My insurance company would pay for repairs and get recouped, however I still had to pay my deductible. They would try to get it back for me, but I suspect they wouldn't be overly incentivised to fight for it. If you go through the fault party's insurance there's no need to pay a deductible, at least in VA .
 
#8
If you want to go through the process to get diminished value, you have to go through THEIR insurance carrier. If you go through yours, your insurance carrier could even settle on your behalf in such a way it is hard to unravel to get the diminished value.

See the many Model S and X threads about insurance collection, especially the better threads.
 
#9
Fudd said:
I would go through his insurance. My insurance company would pay for repairs and get recouped, however I still had to pay my deductible. They would try to get it back for me, but I suspect they wouldn't be overly incentivised to fight for it. If you go through the fault party's insurance there's no need to pay a deductible, at least in VA .
Click to expand...

If other party accepted liability no reason why OP shouldn’t just continue with his insurance they would actually be friendlier as he is their customer ..subrogation will happen in background regardless and OP wouldn’t pay deductible ..my only recommendation is this not worth insurance claim more downside for having that in car fax for future resell ..get a quote and settle offline
 
#10
Ulmo said:
If you want to go through the process to get diminished value, you have to go through THEIR insurance carrier.
Click to expand...


Not correct you claim DV against other parties insurance ONLY if they accepted liability ..the initial claim can be handled by either company DV comes later ..the last thing OP wants to do is go to other parties insurance and say “oh by the way I’m also going to claim DV from you” as it is getting DV is a fight ..
 
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#11
From my experience going through a similar situation:

-your insurance company should take the lead
-definitely take to Tesla Authorized repair shop (Tesla will recommend the closest one)
-DVC is to compensate you for the fact this accident will now be attached to your VIN/CarFax report, thereby making your car less valuable, vs one that has never been in an accident, even if repaired to pristine original condition (my Tesla repair shop generally only worked on high-end cars and when I asked if they knew anything about DVC, they had a brochure for a local guy; or look online for someone in your area)
-the car has to first be repaired to file DMC
-the other ins co may have a blanket statement they don't do DMV. BS - get a DVC adjuster
-make sure the other ins co covers a rental while it's being repaired
 
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#15
Update:

So I called AAA and filed a claim. Their claim adjuster kept trying to get hold of the person for over 2 weeks but the person would not pick up the phone or respond back with any means. Because AAA couldn't get their side of the story, I cannot get a claim, so I had to go through my insurance State Farm and pay my deductible. State Farm will go into subjugation with AAA. If all goes well, I should be getting back my deductible.

Just brought my car to Aliato's Garage which is a Tesla certified. Got an estimate around $2100 to fix the damages, and most of the cost is for the labor. Hope everything goes well and I'll keep you guys updated.
 
#17
drifterxe said:
Update:

So I called AAA and filed a claim. Their claim adjuster kept trying to get hold of the person for over 2 weeks but the person would not pick up the phone or respond back with any means. Because AAA couldn't get their side of the story, I cannot get a claim, so I had to go through my insurance State Farm and pay my deductible. State Farm will go into subjugation with AAA. If all goes well, I should be getting back my deductible.

Just brought my car to Aliato's Garage which is a Tesla certified. Got an estimate around $2100 to fix the damages, and most of the cost is for the labor. Hope everything goes well and I'll keep you guys updated.
Click to expand...
I got rear-ended couple days ago in san Francisco. Also thinking to go to Aliato's since they are Tesla certified. The damage on my car looks similar to yours if not worse. Just wondering if there were any damages to the sensors? Did they change the bumper cover? How long did the repair take? Thanks.
 
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