Rear ended today. 3-4 month wait - parts not available.

[Daniel in SD]

Hmmmm. I don't think I will bow to gauge crashes based on insurance company greed.

Do you really believe "insurance companies" are being honest with their pricing?

I've got some nice swamp land for sale in Florida if you are interested.

I believe that insurance is a competitive market and that insurance companies are not conspiring with each other.
Tesla brand insurance does not seem to be any cheaper either. You’d think that knowing that their cars get into 4-6 times fewer accidents they would charge significantly less and take the whole Tesla market and still make huge profits.

 

[Garlan Garner]

I believe that insurance is a competitive market and that insurance companies are not conspiring with each other.
Tesla brand insurance does not seem to be any cheaper either. You’d think that knowing that their cars get into 4-6 times fewer accidents they would charge significantly less and take the whole Tesla market and still make huge profits.

I agree..."You'd thing so". But..

I believe their quote is " If everyone else is charging a gazillion for insurance on a Tesla....then why don't we ". Which insurance company do you think will subscribe to accurate "You'd think" pricing?

That's why we can't gauge safety on insurance prices. That's apples and oranges to me.

 

[dingyibvs]

I agree..."You'd thing so". But..

I believe their quote is " If everyone else is charging a gazillion for insurance on a Tesla....then why don't we ". Which insurance company do you think will subscribe to accurate "You'd think" pricing?

That's why we can't gauge safety on insurance prices. That's apples and oranges to me.

Because they can steal everyone's business by charging less. That's how a free market without a monopoly works. If it works as you described then every pencil manufacturer or [insert any other product or service] would charge a gazillion dollars for a pencil because hey, everyone else does it so why don't we?

 

[Garlan Garner]

Because they can steal everyone's business by charging less. That's how a free market without a monopoly works. If it works as you described then every pencil manufacturer or [insert any other product or service] would charge a gazillion dollars for a pencil because hey, everyone else does it so why don't we?

Bottom line. This issue is not about insurance. Period. Its about safety.

I am not here right now to bash Insurance companies. Insurance is covered in another thread.

 

[Mjb407]

Diminished value claim settled for $5000 for my 6 month old Model 3 Standard Range Plus (about 14% of new car sale price excluding tax).

Great update and sorry about your accident.

I just had my vehicle backed into while we were not in the vehicle. 14 days old, front drivers side quarter-panel, rim damage, frunk hood damage. Needless to say I'm not thrilled. Any insights into the Diminished Value Claim? What to do vs. what not to do? This is a first for me and I know that my state (Pennsylvania) is a diminished value state with a 2 year window for making claim.

Would really appreciate the insight from a fellow TMC'er!

 

[PNWLeccy]

I'll admit I did not read through 24 pages of this thread but I was just rear-ended the other day and was really worried about a long repair time.

The car was still operable so a little different than OP but I had a mobile service appointment for another issue and asked the guy what the likely wait time was for a repair/replacement of rear bumper. He said they used to refer this out to auto-body shops and it took some folks a long time to get their cars done but that at least here (in Seattle area) they have "brought those repairs/replacements in house at Service Centers so it should only be a couple of hours to complete fix".

He said that it may take them some time to receive part but they will call you when it has been received and they can install it. I asked him about paint and he said the bumpers they have are already painted so it is an easy install. I'll have this done shortly as soon as I hear back from insurance so i'll report back on how it goes.

 

[Vegaforce]

I absolutely LOVE Tesla, but I can't recommend them in my current state.

That's EXACTLY what I was complaining about. Tesla is only pushing to sell cars, and totally dropped the ball on good customer service and support.

I hope it does not come around and bite them back in the future if it continued like this.

 

[SSonnentag]

Yeah...ok.

Tesla isn't ready yet.

They just aren't ready to be a mass produced. Its not just about how many cars you can make. Its also about how many can be maintained if they break.

I completely agree. Tesla should not have started the China plant or spent cash on the pickup or roadster, or even the semi until the service issue with existing products was under control. Elon has repeatedly stated that Tesla could be profitable if they quit expanding into new markets and products. That's what should have happened in order to get customer service up to par before moving ahead with expansion plans.

 

[youngmcdonald]

Great update and sorry about your accident.

I just had my vehicle backed into while we were not in the vehicle. 14 days old, front drivers side quarter-panel, rim damage, frunk hood damage. Needless to say I'm not thrilled. Any insights into the Diminished Value Claim? What to do vs. what not to do? This is a first for me and I know that my state (Pennsylvania) is a diminished value state with a 2 year window for making claim.

Would really appreciate the insight from a fellow TMC'er!

PA is a no fault state so you’re right. Unfortunately it’s not always good news with diminished value as there are no set rules insurance companies must abide by. States have dropped the ball on that one. Hiring an attorney is worthless in my opinion.



Get insurance settled and have them tell you that they’ll process DV claim. Then get the vehicle repaired. I’m guessing it’ll be about $12k in repairs. Parts have been much quicker to shop these days but make sure that you find a Tesla/ approved bodyshop. It’ll be about a month wait before the parts arrive and another month for everything repaired.

Once the final bill is available, let the insurance company know that you’d like the DV to be evaluated. They’ll do so within a month and come back to you with an amount - negotiate. About 10% of your new car’s value is more than enough to account for diminished value (I mean, if you were in another state it’d have been $0 so be reasonable about it). Do not threaten the insurance agent. They probably get threatened twenty times a day. Not going to work. Negotiate with words and not emotions (e.g. structural / frame damage is more or less permanent, and I’d expect at least 10% loss in resale etc.).

Your MAIN concern is making sure that the vehicle is repaired to look and function like new. Don’t focus too much on diminished value payout at first.

 

[Garlan Garner]

I completely agree. Tesla should not have started the China plant or spent cash on the pickup or roadster, or even the semi until the service issue with existing products was under control. Elon has repeatedly stated that Tesla could be profitable if they quit expanding into new markets and products. That's what should have happened in order to get customer service up to par before moving ahead with expansion plans.

I agree and disagree.

I agree with the premise of service, however disagree with the profitability.

Profitability isn't the primary goal of an emerging company ( which Tesla is ). True....Tesla would be profitable if it stopped innovating, however the lack of innovation would be the demise of Tesla.

They have to keep on producing more and better products to meet their overall goal of jumpstarting the planet into sustainable transport. That costs money and may keep them spending until the goal is reached.

What other company is doing that right now? None that I can think of.

 

[SSonnentag]

I agree and disagree.

I agree with the premise of service, however disagree with the profitability.

Profitability isn't the primary goal of an emerging company ( which Tesla is ). True....Tesla would be profitable if it stopped innovating, however the lack of innovation would be the demise of Tesla.

They have to keep on producing more and better products to meet their overall goal of jumpstarting the planet into sustainable transport. That costs money and may keep them spending until the goal is reached.

What other company is doing that right now? None that I can think of.

I don't disagree with this at all, only that Tesla should have taken a 1-2 year break from innovating in order to ramp up sustainability (maintenance and repairs) of existing products. Once that was in place they could move on to innovating again. As things stand now, I foresee Tesla losing repeat customers due to lack of support for their products.

I assume that most of us can't just run out and buy a new Tesla on a whim should something happen to our existing car. And being down a vehicle for 3-4 months can get very expensive unless you have a spare car sitting around.

 

[Garlan Garner]

I don't disagree with this at all, only that Tesla should have taken a 1-2 year break from innovating in order to ramp up sustainability (maintenance and repairs) of existing products. Once that was in place they could move on to innovating again. As things stand now, I foresee Tesla losing repeat customers due to lack of support for their products.

I assume that most of us can't just run out and buy a new Tesla on a whim should something happen to our existing car.

We will have to agree to disagree on this one.

I have never heard of anyone not willing to be a repeat customer of Tesla. I don't know what other car they would be more included to own.

 

[Mjb407]

PA is a no fault state so you’re right. Unfortunately it’s not always good news with diminished value as there are no set rules insurance companies must abide by. States have dropped the ball on that one. Hiring an attorney is worthless in my opinion.



Get insurance settled and have them tell you that they’ll process DV claim. Then get the vehicle repaired. I’m guessing it’ll be about $12k in repairs. Parts have been much quicker to shop these days but make sure that you find a Tesla/ approved bodyshop. It’ll be about a month wait before the parts arrive and another month for everything repaired.

Once the final bill is available, let the insurance company know that you’d like the DV to be evaluated. They’ll do so within a month and come back to you with an amount - negotiate. About 10% of your new car’s value is more than enough to account for diminished value (I mean, if you were in another state it’d have been $0 so be reasonable about it). Do not threaten the insurance agent. They probably get threatened twenty times a day. Not going to work. Negotiate with words and not emotions (e.g. structural / frame damage is more or less permanent, and I’d expect at least 10% loss in resale etc.).

Your MAIN concern is making sure that the vehicle is repaired to look and function like new. Don’t focus too much on diminished value payout at first.

Thanks for the additional insights. I was finding the same information online that there really is no real standard aside from the 17C formula, and even that seems to be hit and miss.

100% aligned with your thoughts on only utilizing Tesla-Approved External Body Shop Network repair centers (Body Shop Support). The insurance company of the person liable for the accident was trying to steer me to someone in their network (none of which part of Tesla's network) but I confirmed ahead with my insurer that I get to pick where. Good news is the repair center I chose is in the approved network of my insurer (State Farm).

Going for my estimate on Wednesday. Probably going to be eye-watering...

I'll continue to add to this post (might create my own) to detail the process start to finish.

 

[youngmcdonald]

Thanks for the additional insights. I was finding the same information online that there really is no real standard aside from the 17C formula, and even that seems to be hit and miss.

100% aligned with your thoughts on only utilizing Tesla-Approved External Body Shop Network repair centers (Body Shop Support). The insurance company of the person liable for the accident was trying to steer me to someone in their network (none of which part of Tesla's network) but I confirmed ahead with my insurer that I get to pick where. Good news is the repair center I chose is in the approved network of my insurer (State Farm).

Going for my estimate on Wednesday. Probably going to be eye-watering...

I'll continue to add to this post (might create my own) to detail the process start to finish.

Who is at fault?

 

[MXMS]

Indeed their insurance is covering every single day of car rental. No court at all.

Over $2000 in car rental fees alone.

Most insurance companies net over $2billion dollars per year.....my accident was nothing to them.

Keep in mind though....that I filed the insurance claim with the insurance company of the lady who hit me. They HAVE to cover my rental for however long the repair takes.

MY insurance company only covered me for 30 days.

It sounds like you were paid for rental fees for the days waiting for parts not just repair days. I was in an accident but the other insurance company states they will not pay me LOU for the 55 days that I had to wait for parts. The insurance company advised me to seek recovery from Tesla for those 55 days since Tesla does not keep parts in stock.