Rear ended. First accident..ever advice?

[youngmcdonald]

Easy for a billionaire to say..also the person who hit me asked for the police, not me.

Ah, the “ID must represent the person” syndrome. Lol.

Anyway, trust me, I’m still recovering from shock. Mine went through $18k in repairs on a 3 month old Tesla. It wasn’t even my fault. Even a scrape hurts I get it, but seeing something as minor as this? Consider yourself lucky. It’s going to be under $1500 ordeal (not a big deal at all, given it’a not your fault) and you won’t be able to even guess if there was ever any damage after repairs/replacement. Just make sure your sensors are working okay.

 

[holmgang]

what in the 7 hells was that idiot volvo doing?

 

[mswlogo]

As soon as you called the police your car had diminished value (from the call not the damage). It didn’t until you did. I had a similar accident where someone hit my side mirror (both traveling at round 30 mph). I called the police they admitted texting. Their insurance covered everything no problem. $1200 damage.

Ended up costing me about $8k

Lost about $5k when I went to trade it the next year (car was only 6 mo old when I hit my mirror). Then when I change insurance company (for Model 3) they raised my premium a ton because I had a recent claim (another $3k) It does not matter why or who’s fault.

It was the police report that did me in. Even though the report was in my favor. Unbelievable how the “system” works.

I would have been better off thanking the gentleman for hitting me and saying I’ll take care of it. He was fully head on seconds earlier and I pulled as far to the right as I could before hitting a guard rail and at the last second he pulled back towards his lane and “only” caught my mirror. He was a full size suburban too. I thought he might be drunk so called police.

Police didn’t even want to file a report because they thought it was less than $1000 and I insisted because it had blind spot in the mirror and I had no idea what it might cost. The police report saved me because with the other party insurance because the other party started to blame me for the accident. Luckily he was dumb enough to admit texting and was in the report.

If he didn’t admit fault I would have saved money. If I didn’t call the police I would have saved money.

 

[SageBrush]

The best way to answer that question is to have a diminished value appraisal. Our Model S was rear ended similarly, causing damage to the bumper cover and a total repair coast of about $1200 to replace the bumper cover and repaint. The diminished value estimate from Petty Details in north Texas was $5900, which is what we ended u

This post deserves to be a sticky. It will save reams of discussion why Tesla insurance is expensive.

 

[Rockster]

This post deserves to be a sticky. It will save reams of discussion why Tesla insurance is expensive.

Diminish value claims are actually pretty rare. Most people have never heard of the concept. Of course, the insurance companies love that fact. At the time of the wreck, our S was low mileage and had a sale price of $104k, so a $6k diminished value estimate was very reasonable.

As for the $1200 repair, it may seem high for a minor bumper hit but the repair process first involved dismantling the bumper to make sure of the scope of the damage and then reassembling the car so that we could drive it while parts were on order. I was able to show the obtuse insurance company, after some effort, that paying for an extra disassembly and reassembly was cheaper than paying for five weeks of a rental car.

When the parts came in, the repairs entailed replacing the bumper cover and painting the bumper, blending with the adjacent body panels. And then replacing the clear wrap on the rear fenders. All that for $1200 wasn’t as pricey as one might initially think.

 

[tomas]

Buff out or replace the bumper. This is very minor. Don’t bother with the diminished value. You won’t get more than a couple hundred if that.

It’ll be on CarFax because you filed a police report. Otherwise it wouldn’t have been.

Agree but keep All the documentation and pix so you can prove it was minor at sale. Car fax just says accident. It doesn’t say what. Buyers assume the worst.

 

[RC2785]

Can I just have her insurance pay to have a pre painted bumper installed at Tesla?

Yes, it's a $40k+ car, I would get it fixed if the other drivers insurance is paying for it.

 

[mswlogo]

Agree but keep All the documentation and pix so you can prove it was minor at sale. Car fax just says accident. It doesn’t say what. Buyers assume the worst.

Prove it minor to whom?

If you trade it, the dealer won’t give a hoot about documents showing it was minor. Can you imagine a dealer reselling the car to a buyer and showing them that proof it was minor. And buyer believing it. It was Grandma on Sunday going to church that she backed into her rose bush.

If you list it on some site like say cars.com his car will show 1 CarFax ding and probably move on to the next. Or filter it out and never see it, in the first place. It’s automatic the car will have less value.

Possibly if sold on Craigslist or similar and they ask in person and you can show them. They might believe you, might not. Might use it to negotiate the price down.

Not saying to not keep records. But it’s doubtful they will ever be useful. You need to be realistic, not logical in this world.

 

[mswlogo]

One way to think of it.

Your car is immediately “black balled” for life the moment a police report is called in on it or an insurance claim to either party insurance regardless of who’s at fault or the severity. So yeah, get diminished value if you can.

One thing I think CarFax should do is put the dollar amount. I think they do have minor vs major accident now.

 

[dmurphy]

One way to think of it.

Your car is immediately “black balled” for life the moment a police report is called in on it or an insurance claim to either party insurance regardless of who’s at fault or the severity. So yeah, get diminished value if you can.

One thing I think CarFax should do is put the dollar amount. I think they do have minor vs major accident now.

... and if you don’t sell the vehicle in the first 3-4 years, it’s meaningless.

 

[tomas]

Prove it minor to whom?

If you trade it, the dealer won’t give a hoot about documents showing it was minor. Can you imagine a dealer reselling the car to a buyer and showing them that proof it was minor. And buyer believing it. It was Grandma on Sunday going to church that she backed into her rose bush.

If you list it on some site like say cars.com his car will show 1 CarFax ding and probably move on to the next. Or filter it out and never see it, in the first place. It’s automatic the car will have less value.

Possibly if sold on Craigslist or similar and they ask in person and you can show them. They might believe you, might not. Might use it to negotiate the price down.

Not saying to not keep records. But it’s doubtful they will ever be useful. You need to be realistic, not logical in this world.

Dealer will try to screw you on trade, but if they want the car, they will relent to evidence. if you show private buyer corroboration and specifics, including photos and dated repair records, most will accept it. I’ve also been able to negate impact of repair records with documentation at carmax.

 

[mswlogo]

Dealer will try to screw you on trade, but if they want the car, they will relent to evidence. if you show private buyer corroboration and specifics, including photos and dated repair records, most will accept it. I’ve also been able to negate impact of repair records with documentation at carmax.

I was in this situation, they didn’t care. It was even the same dealer that replaced the mirror.

Time is money. If you have time to go argue with CarMax go for it. Just because you think you can lessen the financial hit with your time, doesn’t “fix it”.

It’s a hit on your wallet, and my time is more valuable than fighting with folks.

There was no fighting on my premium I had to pay with a new insurance company either.

I’m just saying small incidents are not worth calling the police for or putting a claim in for. I learned my lesson the hard way.

My threshold is anything below $5000 is shut up and pay for it out of pocket. No matter what the situation.

 

[Socal3XXXX]

Understood, but on a previous minor incident maybe 4-5 years back where it was claimed through insurance, I didn’t see my premium go up after the payout.

 

[Burrito]

So my insurance company just called me, they said it’s 100% not my fault, obviously, and won’t impact my insurance although like msw said another provider might raise rates.

about the car fax report, my insurance guy said it’s not the claim or the police report but the body shop/dealer that the repair is done. He mentioned I can try and talk to the shop and ask they don’t add anything to car fax and that might help.
Diminished value claim needs to be initiated by me to the other person insurance and my insurance will help if needed.

lastly he said given the cost it might be best to not even file a claim and pay for it. Because of the car fax bullshit

 

[tomas]

I was in this situation, they didn’t care. It was even the same dealer that replaced the mirror.

Time is money. If you have time to go argue with CarMax go for it. Just because you think you can lessen the financial hit with your time, doesn’t “fix it”.

It’s a hit on your wallet, and my time is more valuable than fighting with folks.

There was no fighting on my premium I had to pay with a new insurance company either.

I’m just saying small incidents are not worth calling the police for or putting a claim in for. I learned my lesson the hard way.

My threshold is anything below $5000 is shut up and pay for it out of pocket. No matter what the situation.

1) Agree small accidents not worth it.
2) Agree that something in CarFax is indelible
3) Disagree that there aren't reasonable buyers out there. I've sold 3 cars with reported fender damage without significant impairment, but got hit big time on 1 trade in of a car with cosmetic (keying) repair. It can go either way.

But for goodness sakes, I was trying to advise someone on how to best salvage a situation where they DID already report the accident. It is a big fight to get impaired value, people can have a go at it, but good luck. I don't think my advice to save copious evidence is EVER bad advice in this situation.

 

[mswlogo]

1) Agree small accidents not worth it.
2) Agree that something in CarFax is indelible
3) Disagree that there aren't reasonable buyers out there. I've sold 3 cars with reported fender damage without significant impairment, but got hit big time on 1 trade in of a car with cosmetic (keying) repair. It can go either way.

But for goodness sakes, I was trying to advise someone on how to best salvage a situation where they DID already report the accident. It is a big fight to get impaired value, people can have a go at it, but good luck. I don't think my advice to save copious evidence is EVER bad advice in this situation.

I never said to not save it. But don’t pitch it like it’s gonna save you. More than likely it won’t.

 

[PNWLeccy]

The reason I’m going after DV is because my plan all along was to trade my M3 in for Model Y which means I will for sure be dinged in value as they always check carfax on trade-ins.

I understand some people think it’s not worth the time/effort but I will give it a go and decide how much time I’m willing to put into it. If insurance comes back with half my expected payout then maybe I’ll take it.

I know the damage seems extremely minor, as was mine, but a good way to see how it will effect the value of your car is use Vroom, carvana, etc. to see what they will give you for your car with and without an accident. You can even take a quick trip to carmax to get a trade in estimate and ask them to specify how much the accident has devalued the amount they are willing to pay you.

My damage cost about $1200 to fix. My trade in value decreased $4-5k based on trade-in estimates so that’s what I’ll go after work th insurance and see how it goes

 

[mswlogo]

The reason I’m going after DV is because my plan all along was to trade my M3 in for Model Y which means I will for sure be dinged in value as they always check carfax on trade-ins.

I understand some people think it’s not worth the time/effort but I will give it a go and decide how much time I’m willing to put into it. If insurance comes back with half my expected payout then maybe I’ll take it.

I know the damage seems extremely minor, as was mine, but a good way to see how it will effect the value of your car is use Vroom, carvana, etc. to see what they will give you for your car with and without an accident. You can even take a quick trip to carmax to get a trade in estimate and ask them to specify how much the accident has devalued the amount they are willing to pay you.

My damage cost about $1200 to fix. My trade in value decreased $4-5k based on trade-in estimates so that’s what I’ll go after work th insurance and see how it goes

If you can get DV, great. I think it varies by state and insurance companies how easy the process is.

Curious how it goes.

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

Hey Dennis, thanks and your correct on location.

it happened yesterday leaving work (was another vz employee too who hit me), so I haven’t had a chance to deal with it yet.

body shop recommendations in central NJ? Does the Springfield Tesla do repairs?

Go to Tesla on this one.

They'll replace the bumper with a pre-painted one from inventory. My cost was $1,125 and it took 50 minutes.
I'll repeat that: 50 minutes. They could literally do it while I waited.

If you have some damage underneath, that'll go up, but the guy said the most common from typical rear-enders is a cross bar getting dented, which would have cost an extra $300 to replace.

I doubt if there's any diminished value issues here.

 

[dmurphy]

lastly he said given the cost it might be best to not even file a claim and pay for it. Because of the car fax bullshit

I had a contractor doing work on my house bang up my parked Cadillac. They didn’t latch the swing gate on their truck correctly and it swung upon .. into my liftgate.

Their insurance company paid for it, no problem. Took the car to my dealership’s body shop and they did the work.

When I sold the car a year and a half later, it never came up. Had no problem getting full trade-in value. Same dealership that did the work. When they listed it for sale on their website, the carfax said “1 owner, no accidents” ..... no worries.

so no, getting a little touch up isn’t automatically the end of the world ...