Rear ended today at a stop light by a stupid driver

[artsci]

I stopped at a stop light this am for about 10 seconds. There were about six cars ahead of me and none behind. As I was waiting for the red light to change and traffic ahead to start moving forward, I was rear-ended by a Subaru Forrester. I jumped out to ask the driver what was wrong with her. I asked if she was on her phone. She said no and claimed she was staring at my license plate at got distracted. I said "distracted." The license plate is on the rear of the car you just rammed, fool.

Luckily the damage seems to be limited to the bumper, lift gate, and rear parking sensor system, which will have to replaced. There appears to be no frame damage or damage to any other panels.

Fortunately, I don't have to have this kind of damage repaired by an authorized Tesla shop, as that will take forever and cost almost twice as much. This appears to be a job for SDR, the folks that did my refresh bumper upgrade.

Some photos of the damage:

 

[Vip]

I'm sorry to see this. Hope you are back on the road soon.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

So.. it's like that time I walked into a pole when this blonde walked by..?

You should be flattered

 

[ig_epower]

Been there...done that. Such a pain in the a$$ to deal with and it takes forever to repair. I always keep one eye behind me when I come to a stop. On the highways, if I come to a sudden decrease in speed, I turn on my 4-way hazards momentarily - just to get noticed. Then I pray the driver is not texting.

 

[rcarpen22]

Just FYI, the Rockville service center sends body work stuff to EuroPros. I would strongly consider using them, as they are the best shop anywhere around here. They'll do it right. If you look on the link (posted below), there are a good many pics of Model S in the process of being repaired.

Home

 

[steve841]

Sucks ..

But worse yet, you have a hitch

Leave that nasty receiver ball in there.

 

[BrettS]

Clearly this is your opportunity to install the rear bumper from a refresh car. I await the saga eagerly.

 

[BLKMDL3]

Oof. That sucks. That happened to me in my X. Visit my thread. It sucks but don't let not put you in a bad mood. It sucks but luckily nobody was hurt.

 

[Mickie]

Clearly this is your opportunity to install the rear bumper from a refresh car. I await the saga eagerly.

Looks like he already installed a carbon fiber diffuser anyway.

 

[appleguru]

What hitch is that? Can you tow with it?

 

[Akikiki]

So very sorry to hear/see this. Makes me sick at my stomach. Even worse considering how you care for that car and the wonderful things you have done to it. I am so relieved for you though that it was not worse. I am glad that you are resourceful and can get that fixed easier than most. I hope you share with us when it back to on the road.

 

[SMAlset]

Glad to hear you are ok. Hurts to see any of our Teslas damaged and hope it's not too bad parts-wise, as you think. Did she have insurance and get a police report? On my ice vehicle I got rear ended with all of us stopped in traffic. She said she dropped her water bottle and reached to get it and hit the gas pedal with her foot. I wasn't that fortunate in that my rear panels and trunk were shifted. Best of luck.

 

[jlarmstr]

I hope she has good insurance, would you mind please coming back with what the estimate and final costs were for the damages?

 

[thefortunes]

As ridiculous as it sounds, be grateful it wasn't worse. Earlier this week we were waiting to turn left on a two-way highway when were rear-ended by someone who HAD to be texting - he never even touched his brakes or attempted to go around us in the right lane.

Estimated impact (by the LEOs on the scene) 60+mph.

Since we were spun around into oncoming traffic (second in line coming toward us was a semi), we are lucky to be alive.

P.S. No Teslas were hurt in the accident, I was driving a company car thank goodness. Both cars were totalled.

P.S.S. Good luck with the repairs.

 

[artsci]

Just FYI, the Rockville service center sends body work stuff to EuroPros. I would strongly consider using them, as they are the best shop anywhere around here. They'll do it right. If you look on the link (posted below), there are a good many pics of Model S in the process of being repaired.

Home

Thanks for all of the positive comments my Tesla friends.

BTW, EuroPros did work on my car a few years ago. They had it for six weeks and were not good about communication. SDR does work that's just as good and stays in touch with me every day.

Regrettably the driver at fault is insured by State Farm, the worst possible outcome. Fortunately I have USAA, IMHO the best. USAA told me that if I have any problems with State Farm to let them know and they'd take care of it.

Of course the problems with State Farm began to pile up immediately. First, they wanted me to drive across the city (about a 30 minute drive) to see their estimator but couldn't make an appt until July 5. When I complained that the estimator should come to me they used the old "policy" excuse. In other words, they wanted to put the onus on me for a problem their insured created.

So I called USAA and they took care of it. They'll send an estimator to the shop I prefer, arrange a rental car, pay for the repair costs, and then bill State Farm for it all.

 

[cgiGuy]

So.. it's like that time I walked into a pole when this blonde walked by..?

You should be flattered

No, this would be like the time you walked into a blonde, distracted by the blonde.

 

[berkeley_ecar]

So sorry to hear about this! You're right about USAA though, they are the best. This calls for a new (additional) mode in your rear applique -- when it detects a vehicle coming at you from behind at an unsafe speed, focus all the (higher-powered) LEDs on the oncoming vehicle's tires and blow them out.

 

[HankLloydRight]

when it detects a vehicle coming at you from behind at an unsafe speed, focus all the (higher-powered) LEDs on the oncoming vehicle's tires and blow them out

LASERS. We need LASERS.

So sorry, Rick! I'd loose my *sugar* if that happened to me.

 

[artsci]

LASERS. We need LASERS.

So sorry, Rick! I'd loose my *sugar* if that happened to me.

I did ask her how she could be so stupid. Then I said "this is going to cost you dearly." But when she handed me her insurance card her hands were shaking horribly and then I felt bad. Maybe I was a bit too hard on her.

 

[Akikiki]

No, you did her and the rest of us a favor because its likely she was on her phone or texting.