Possible to self solve?

[Rooney1000]

Hi all and happy new year.

So yesterday I get a notification from sentry that the alarm is going off and when returning to my car, in a car park, find this nice dent / panel pushed in.

Sentry did an amazing job, crystal clear video of the car that did it including the passenger in the car getting out, checking the damage and then just driving off !

My question is, anyone think it is possible to self solve this. Of course I can go through insurance but it doesn't look like any damage, just that the panel has been pushed in and needs pulling out. I have tried with a sucker tool but no joy.

Would a Tesla garage solve for me quickly or are they not that helpful ?

I can go through insurance, just seems a lot of effort for something that I am sure is a 2 minute fix for the right person!

Thanks all.

 

[Rooney1000]

Hi all and happy new year.

So yesterday I get a notification from sentry that the alarm is going off and when returning to my car, in a car park, find this nice dent / panel pushed in.

Sentry did an amazing job, crystal clear video of the car that did it including the passenger in the car getting out, checking the damage and then just driving off !

My question is, anyone think it is possible to self solve this. Of course I can go through insurance but it doesn't look like any damage, just that the panel has been pushed in and needs pulling out. I have tried with a sucker tool but no joy.

Would a Tesla garage solve for me quickly or are they not that helpful ?

I can go through insurance, just seems a lot of effort for something that I am sure is a 2 minute fix for the right person!

Thanks all.

Should add, this is above the drivers side rear wheel.

 

[NedH]

You aren't going after the a**hole who hit and ran?

 

[Rooney1000]

HI

Yes, have reported, but honestly what is going to happen ? Not much I guess, a long drawn out process before anything gets agreed so wondering if I can just solve the car whilst that rumbles on in the background.

 

[Shelburne]

The driver is guilty of a hit and run. If your cameras caught his license plate it's slam dunk. If it didn't, then at least you have an image of the passenger and perhaps the police can find him using facial recognition software. He may even be in their data base of known criminals. Hell, he should be, he is complicity in the crime!

 

[rpiotro]

If you get insurance involved it will be on CarFux and the value will be diminished. I wish I had just spent the $800 out of pocket on my last car. I would have been ahead by a couple hundred at trade-in time.

 

[SalisburySam]

If you get insurance involved it will be on CarFux and the value will be diminished. I wish I had just spent the $800 out of pocket on my last car. I would have been ahead by a couple hundred at trade-in time.

So, you’d have rather spent $800 to get $200 higher trade-in? Don’t quite get the math goodness here.

 

[one2many]

I think its more like spending $800, to get $1000

 

[SalisburySam]

I think its more like spending $800, to get $1000

That would be much better.

 

[804son]

I had a dent from a car backing into me in a parking lot, Looked alot like yours. The final bill was over $2,500.
I would contact your insurance and the police.

 

[one2many]

I think there was a show home improvement,
maybe on utube. Anyway these never go cheap or
good. Let the experts do it.

 

[afadeev]

So yesterday I get a notification from sentry that the alarm is going off and when returning to my car, in a car park, find this nice dent / panel pushed in.
Sentry did an amazing job, crystal clear video of the car that did it including the passenger in the car getting out, checking the damage and then just driving off !

Did Sentry also collect cash from the car that hit you?
If not, what good did it actually do?

My question is, anyone think it is possible to self solve this. Of course I can go through insurance but it doesn't look like any damage, just that the panel has been pushed in and needs pulling out. I have tried with a sucker tool but no joy.

You can google for local Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) guys in your area.
This looks like something right down PDR repair alley.
Select 1-2 providers with highest customer feedback ratings, and send them your picture. You should hear back with an estimate.

Would a Tesla garage solve for me quickly or are they not that helpful ?

Absolutely not.
They make more money swapping panels, and that is precisely what they will do.

I can go through insurance, just seems a lot of effort for something that I am sure is a 2 minute fix for the right person!

It will take a bit more than 2-minutes to fix.
Working on the aluminum body panels is much trickier than on steel. I remember going to a PDR demonstration session with a local car club. PDR guys do excellent work (check YouTube if infested), but it does take time, patience, and skill.
Expect to pay $250-350 to get aluminum back to as good as new shape (about 1/2 that for steel panels).

Not exactly free, but still way quicker and cheaper than deductible + going through insurance + accident damage hit to your vehicle's history.
Your call on how to proceed.

The driver is guilty of a hit and run. If your cameras caught his license plate it's slam dunk. If it didn't, then at least you have an image of the passenger and perhaps the police can find him using facial recognition software.

Hilarious.
No police department is going to bother with an insurance claim dispute. As plain and simple as that.
This is a 100% insurance matter. You may file a police report, if that makes you feel better (or insurance requires), but that's as far as police engagement will ever go.

He may even be in their data base of known criminals. Hell, he should be, he is complicity in the crime!

And all of that doesn't mean a thing, and has ZERO value to the OP.

a

 

[brkaus]

Check with some pointless dent repair places. They can be pretty cost effective.

 

[afadeev]

So, you’d have rather spent $800 to get $200 higher trade-in? Don’t quite get the math goodness here.

Accident damage on car's history usually produces a 10-15% used car value hit.
Thus the entire industry of extracting "Diminished Value" claims from the insurance companies after a not-at-fault accidents.

 

[Shelburne]

Hey Afadeev, you wrote:
"Hilarious.
No police department is going to bother with an insurance claim dispute. As plain and simple as that.
This is a 100% insurance matter. You may file a police report, if that makes you feel better (or insurance requires), but that's as far as police engagement will ever go."

That may be true in NYC, but where I live, if the car can be identified the police will track them down. I speak from experience. In 1996 someone saw a car back into my car. He wrote down the plate and left the info under my wipers with his name and phone number. My local police department talked to him and then tracked the driver down. The guy's insurance had to pay all the costs and he got points on his license and his insurance company dropped him.

 

[KenC]

I'd wash it clean to see the possible damage clearly, then make a decision. But, based on the photo, I'd think PDR and possibly a detailer can make that right, with little effort and minimal cost.

 

[one2many]

If no electronics have been busted. Tesla can make
homeimprovement costly to the point they
will not touch it. FYI

 

[father_of_6]

If no electronics have been busted. Tesla can make
homeimprovement costly to the point they
will not touch it. FYI

Yeah, maybe the panel comes out looking perfect, but there's underlying damage that you have to own in the long run.

I understand the concern of diminished value, insurance hassle, etc. too though. Would be nice if the other driver would take responsibility.

Ideally, you could use the license plate number to contact the driver and arrange for them to pay for PDR out-of-pocket.

 

[focher]

Just have the police look up the car owner info, get their insurance, and file a claim with them. It will take an hour.

I had a “hit and run” caught on Sentry. That’s what I did and the insurance company didn’t debate a thing.

 

[rpiotro]

So, you’d have rather spent $800 to get $200 higher trade-in? Don’t quite get the math goodness here.

You apparently didn't get the part where I said I would be ahead by $200. The trade-in value of the car went down by at least $1,000 dollars because of it being reported as an "accident" by CarFux. The damage was just a nick in the rear bumper fascia requiring refinishing. $1,000 - $800 = $200.

Got rear ended in a McDonald's drive through. It takes a special kind of stupid rear end someone in a McDonald's drive through. I guess he did not have his morning coffee.