Need advise - was hit by someone and quarter panel needs replacement

[TSIA]

I was going straight and there was this car stopped on the right side of road, waiting to get into my lane from a gas station.
I slowed down just to be pre-cautious but I did not come to a full stop nor letting the other car go first since I have the right of way, the other car was in complete stop. I drove pass by until I felt a hit on the passenger side, right rear QP was damaged.

Made two mistakes, did not record on dashcam, so there is no footage, tried to recover but was not successful. Did not call the police, thinking no one was hurt and my car is still drivable, thinking that its pretty straight forward, no doubt that the other driver is at fault, the other driver came out apologizing, and we exchanged info, I did not think they will be denying liability afterwards.

Anyways, been dealing with their insurance Geico for 2 days now, they seem to be dragging their feet, and today I got some updates Geico is saying they receive a different statement from their insured than my statement.
Can they just make something up and deny the lability ? Fact is I was hit on the right side like straight on by her front bumper, and I had the right of way! how can they get away of this??
I'm going to give them till next Monday then let my insurance to deal with Geico because Im done wasting my time on this and talking to them over the phone. I just feel super annoyed, that they are trying to get away when its obvious they are at fault.

Also pretty upset that my car is brand new 2000miles.
Last question, do you think this is repairable? or must be replaced? I get different stories I asked about 4 shops so far.
is repairing better than replacing it?

Anyone experienced with filing DV in New York?

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

[jjrandorin]

Without dashcam or a police statement, who is at fault or not is "they said, they said".

Diminished value is only able to be claimed against another persons insurance, not your own.

 

[TSIA]

Without dashcam or a police statement, who is at fault or not is "they said, they said".

Diminished value is only able to be claimed against another persons insurance, not your own.

Right, but I called the police later they said they will not show up at the scene if there is no person injured.

 

[Perscitus]

Odd, they do show up, even if to take a statement and file a police report.
This happens for hit and runs, etc as well.

The damage above, if done by the book, and by a Tesla certified repair shop, will easily be $10-12K. Quarter panel goes bye bye, lots of welding, lots of interior removal, triangle window gets replaced, etc etc.

Be glad this isnt on the chargeport side... that one is far more expensive to repair.
And that you were not rear-ended with trunk hatch and aluminium chassis damage. That too is a pricey repair.

 

[TSIA]

Odd, they do show up, even if to take a statement and file a police report.
This happens for hit and runs, etc as well.

The damage above, if done by the book, and by a Tesla certified repair shop, will easily be $10-12K. Quarter panel goes bye bye, lots of welding, lots of interior removal, triangle window gets replaced, etc etc.

Be glad this isnt on the chargeport side... that one is far more expensive to repair.
And that you were not rear-ended with trunk hatch and aluminium chassis damage. That too is a pricey repair.

I find that super odd too when I heard that.. and you are correct, I called a few and the quotes I got were around that range 10-15K which was expected after reading few posts in here about QP replacement..

 

[jay1122]

I find that super odd too when I heard that.. and you are correct, I called a few and the quotes I got were around that range 10-15K which was expected after reading few posts in here about QP replacement..

is it NYC? NYC cops won't come out unless it involves injury. Unfortunately, going back on the word is very common. I even had a situation where the cop did an untruthful biased report leaning on the other driver. Luckily there was a Dunkin donut camera footage that I was able to obtain. Had to go through arbitration between the two insurances because the other side is playing hardball. At the end, got the other side at 100% fault because the footage clearly showing the other driver merging into the lane without checking. That is why I have a dash cam on all my cars now. Not even police report can work if the other driver just lie in the statement.

Anyway, if the other side's insurance denies liability. They simply won't pay for it and reject your claim. In that case you will have to file with your own insurance. Your insurance will then work with the other side to determine who is at fault. Do you have any photos of the scene? You should always take photos after accident. Showing the other car is exiting a gas station, and you are on the main road with right of way. With the proper photo showing the road setting and impact angle, it may be enough to put the fault on the other driver.

 

[jay1122]

I find that super odd too when I heard that.. and you are correct, I called a few and the quotes I got were around that range 10-15K which was expected after reading few posts in here about QP replacement..

Oh, since you said the car came out of a gas station. You should ask the gas station for surveillance footage. Worth a try, will save you a lot of hassle if you can obtain it.

 

[afadeev]

I felt a hit on the passenger side, right rear QP was damaged.

Sorry to hear that.

Made two mistakes, did not record on dashcam, so there is no footage, tried to recover but was not successful. Did not call the police, thinking no one was hurt and my car is still drivable, [...] I called the police later they said they will not show up at the scene if there is no person injured.
Anyways, been dealing with their insurance Geico for 2 days now, they seem to be dragging their feet, and today I got some updates Geico is saying they receive a different statement from their insured than my statement.

You only made one (1) mistake - not filing a claim with your insurance company, and letting it take over the negotiations. Their interests are perfectly aligned with yours (in this caser), and they will fight for you!

Geico is one of the WORST insurance companies out there, whose normal approach to processing all claims is the 3Ds: Deny, Delay, Deflect.
BTDT (my wife was once rear ended by a Geico insurer, who claimed she backed into her, on a highway. No kidding ).

Without dashcam or a police statement, who is at fault or not is "they said, they said".
Diminished value is only able to be claimed against another persons insurance, not your own.

That's not true - in many states police will not come out to file an accident report without ambulance on scene, and dashcams are rarely utilized in accident investigations.
The damage to both vehicles can usually tell 95% of the story (who rear ended, T-boned, or side-swiped who).
Documenting the accident damage with pictures is the most useful thing you can do to assist with accident fault assignment between the two insurance companies!

Can they just make something up and deny the lability ? Fact is I was hit on the right side like straight on by her front bumper, and I had the right of way! how can they get away of this??

Well, you are asking GEICO to pay claims out to you. You did not think they will open their wallet without first exhausting all other eventualities, did you?
Make your insurance company work on your behalf to get them to cooperate, and provide both with as much factual evidence (pictures, written testimony, accident scene diagrams, etc), as you can!

I'm going to give them till next Monday then let my insurance to deal with Geico because Im done wasting my time on this and talking to them over the phone. I just feel super annoyed, that they are trying to get away when its obvious they are at fault.

STOP wasting time, and do that now!
The longer you wait, the more suspicious your report will raise with your own insurance company.

Also pretty upset that my car is brand new 2000miles.
Last question, do you think this is repairable? or must be replaced? I get different stories I asked about 4 shops so far.
is repairing better than replacing it?

It can be repaired, but given that it's a Tesla, the process will be needlessly slow (months) and exorbitantly expansive. There is nothing you can do about either.
The choice of repairing vs. totaling (aka replacing) is not up to you. It's up to the insurance company. Don't fret something that you can't change!

Find out the nearest Tesla-certified body shop, and book a date with them NOW. It will like be months into the future, so it's in your best interest to get the clock started ASAP.

HTH,
a

 

[eCharcoal]

I had a similar incident back in 2019. Quarter panel got replaced and door repaired. Spent 1.5 months in the shop mainly waiting for parts. Body shop invoice showed $7000. Luckily I got everything on camera and the other party admitted fault.