Rear Ended :-(

[MP3Mike]

I got hit two weeks ago while trying to get my son. The officer admitted to accelerating into my bumper. I decided to go through my own insurance to minimize the headache with dealing with the city. The car is supposed to be on its way to a Tesla authorized body shop. No ETA on return.

Wow! Your Model 3 gave that police car a real beat down. (Unless it was already damaged.)

 

[Vines]

Seriously! Looking at the police cars reinforced bumper compared to your rear bumper I am glad to be in a model 3!

 

[Jaywlker]

I got hit two weeks ago while trying to get my son. The officer admitted to accelerating into my bumper. I decided to go through my own insurance to minimize the headache with dealing with the city. The car is supposed to be on its way to a Tesla authorized body shop. No ETA on return.

That police car looks like it ran into a telephone pole!! Was your Tesla even scratched? What a difference between the two cars!

 

[SMAlset]

I got hit two weeks ago while trying to get my son. The officer admitted to accelerating into my bumper. I decided to go through my own insurance to minimize the headache with dealing with the city. The car is supposed to be on its way to a Tesla authorized body shop. No ETA on return.

A case of unintended acceleration?!

 

[diamond.g]

That police car looks like it ran into a telephone pole!! Was your Tesla even scratched? What a difference between the two cars!

Yeah there was some damage for me. So far the insurance company thinks it is around 10K worth of damage. the lower trunk has some intrusion so there is more bodywork than the local shop is able to do.

A case of unintended acceleration?!

lol, so true though.

 

[narayan]

Yesterday morning while driving my son to school I was rear ended in my Model 3. I was waiting for traffic to clear to make a right on red. I was the first car at the light. Looking left for a break in traffic when.... Bang! It was loud and jarring. I didn't realize what happened for second and then it hit me... just got rear ended!

I too got rear ended about 5 weeks ago in a chain reaction accident. I was able to stop without the emergency assist, but the car at the last second also applied the emergency brake assist even when there was sufficient clearance with the car ahead. The driver/car behind couldn't handle that very hard braking and ran into me. Had emergency braking not occurred, I would have rolled further ahead and the car behind might have not run into me. There was still quite a bit of clearance with the car ahead. I am not sure what the algorithms of criteria it uses on when to use emergency brake assist. I am not sure I want to turn it off since other situations could be different.

Minimal external damage except some scratches and one sensor got pushed in. Unfortunately Tesla not very timely with parts and communication with the shop (Tesla authorized shop). It's been 3 weeks since I took it in, most of the time sitting in the shop waiting for a couple of parts. I am expecting to get my car back tomorrow.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

That police car looks like it ran into a telephone pole!! Was your Tesla even scratched? What a difference between the two cars!

The Tesla bumper cover has no foam filling and deforms quite easily. In this case it just deformed and the aluminum bumper reinforcement bar was damaged, as well as the trunk well it sounds like. Sadly, the Tesla is not magic. Typical rear end collisions that leave the other car looking that way often result in 10k+ damage to the Tesla. It’s a ton of work to get all that stuff bent back to where it should be.

Don’t get in an accident in a Tesla. I always keep an eye on my rear view so I have a chance to power out of rear end collisions. Been successful once...

 

[diamond.g]

The Tesla bumper cover has no foam filling and deforms quite easily. In this case it just deformed and the aluminum bumper reinforcement bar was damaged, as well as the trunk well it sounds like. Sadly, the Tesla is not magic. Typical rear end collisions that leave the other car looking that way often result in 10k+ damage to the Tesla. It’s a ton of work to get all that stuff bent back to where it should be.

Don’t get in an accident in a Tesla. I always keep an eye on my rear view so I have a chance to power out of rear end collisions. Been successful once...

This, is sage advice, lol. Progressive is totaling Serinity. So now I am waiting on the check so I can order another 3.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

This, is sage advice, lol. Progressive is totaling Serinity. So now I am waiting on the check so I can order another 3.

You are very lucky it was totalled. Glad you are ok. Salvage values are nice and high on these Model 3s in North Carolina I guess. Makes declaring the car a total loss quite easy. In addition repair costs on Teslas are extremely high due to Tesla’s onerous certification programs for body work. Not sure exactly what people are doing with the salvage cars - it’s possible that with the shortage of spare parts from Tesla they get parted out, or of course they may also get repaired to non-Tesla approved standards.

 

[Vines]

Damn, that was totaled ? I guess like Alan says, the damage under the cover must have been quite severe.
Good thing you are safe, hopefully not feeling too beat up several days later.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Damn, that was totaled ? I guess like Alan says, the damage under the cover must have been quite severe.
Good thing you are safe, hopefully not feeling too beat up several days later.

It’s not just a question of damage severity.

If the insurance company can cut you a check, and then get a bunch of money back at salvage auction, so that their net outlay is less than the cost of repairs, they will total the vehicle. So, the salvage auction value is a key factor here, and for Teslas right now they tend to be quite high (apparently...). In addition repair costs are high (as evidenced by typical insurance rates on Teslas) - so total loss is not that uncommon! Keep in mind in this case they would have also been paying for diminishment of value. All adds up.

It’s also usually a win for the customer to get the car totalled, as long as the ACV amount is pretty fair.

 

[Glamisduner]

ddd

This, is sage advice, lol. Progressive is totaling Serinity. So now I am waiting on the check so I can order another 3.

Wow no way! I can't believe they totaled it. It looks like you could have just kept driving it.

 

[diamond.g]

ddd

Wow no way! I can't believe they totaled it. It looks like you could have just kept driving it.

I did. For like a week. Honestly I was thinking they would fix it. Clearly I was wrong.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I did. For like a week. Honestly I was thinking they would fix it. Clearly I was wrong.

Seems like the best possible situation for you. I guess there wasn't a way to continue driving it right up until you took delivery of your new vehicle? Then turn the old vehicle in for your agreed-upon check amount? I guess there are some risks & financial exposure with that approach.

 

[diamond.g]

Seems like the best possible situation for you. I guess there wasn't a way to continue driving it right up until you took delivery of your new vehicle? Then turn the old vehicle in for your agreed-upon check amount? I guess there are some risks & financial exposure with that approach.

Sadly no, I am back in my Volt for the time being. Sheesh the acceleration difference, lol. They were quick to take it to salvage too, lol. My local mobile tech was sad that they moved it so fast cause I think he was going to see if he could buy it. They valued the car at 55k which is more than I thought it was going to be, so with an estimated 25k in damage... To be honest, after the adjuster walked me through it, I am glad they totaled her. The DV would have been epic if they had fixed her.

So six months/12k miles for like 5k in "insurance depreciation" isn't a bad trade.

 

[vikefan]

So other drivers can learn from my experience, here are a few post accident tips.

1. Call the police. Teslas are expensive to repair, so any accident will probably cause more the $1,000 in damages. A police report makes it much easier to file insurance claims.

Feel free to disregard this advice if u want, but I used to also be one of the people who thought “always call the police in any accident” was a good rule of thumb...until the day finally came where I was in an accident. The person who hit me from behind did a fair amount of damage but nothing too crazy ...~$2K worth of work.

However, I called a cop to take a report thinking it was just the standard procedure I should follow because insurance companies always say you should. Well, fast forward a couple years later when I find out my car was now worth $6K less on trade-in to the dealer because it has that g*damn accident on its record because of the damn police report.

The truth is that insurance companies are looking out for themselves first and foremost, not you. The recommendation to get a report isn’t because you need one to file a claim. It’s to help them avoid any possibility of paying out when they shouldn’t. In almost all fender-bender type minor accidents, police reports aren’t necessary.

 

[MP3Mike]

However, I called a cop to take a report thinking it was just the standard procedure I should follow because insurance companies always say you should. Well, fast forward a couple years later when I find out my car was now worth $6K less on trade-in to the dealer because it has that g*damn accident on its record because of the damn police report.

The report for your car likely would have had the accident on it even if you didn't call the police. Insurance companies almost always report it, and some body shops even report it for non-insurance claims.

But that is why you need to claim the Diminished Value anytime you are in an accident and there are repairs.

 

[vikefan]

The report for your car likely would have had the accident on it even if you didn't call the police. Insurance companies almost always report it, and some body shops even report it for non-insurance claims.

But that is why you need to claim the Diminished Value anytime you are in an accident and there are repairs.

Exactly the opposite is true. Insurance companies do not usually report accidents to the dmv.
Does your car insurance company report accidents to the DMV?

 

[MP3Mike]

Exactly the opposite is true. Insurance companies do not usually report accidents to the dmv.
Does your car insurance company report accidents to the DMV?

They don't necessarily report them to the DMV but they report them to a national insurance database (including the claim amount) and Carfax gets data from them as well as the DMV.

Carfax also gets reports directly from dealers/body shops. (I would guess that they pay for the data.)