I was rear-ended on the freeway the other day. I was at a stand still as the exit ramp was backed up. The car behind me was also stopped and a car came in going around 70mph and hit him into me. My Model 3 completely shut down and I couldn't get it to even go to the shoulder. I called tesla support and the guy told me my car should drive even after running a diagnostic on it and seemed surprised that even after holding the brake for 30 seconds like I was told it still wouldn't drive. The damage on my car doesn't look bad but the guys car who hit me was pretty messed up. I guess what im wondering is if my car is totaled. What do you think?
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EVRider-FL
Active Member
Doesn’t matter what we think, your insurance company will decide.
Bummer but like EVRider-FL said, it's up to insurance to figure it out. Don't listen to anyone on the internet as to what will happen, no way they could know. Just go get your rental car and then stay on top of your insurance company throughout the process, they'll drag their feet if you don't bug them. Good luck!
AlanSubie4Life
Efficiency Obsessed Member
Seems like the pyrofuse probably blew.
No idea on the total (I'd guess ~$10-$15k of damage, but it depends on how many pieces they have to replace...very hard to know), but remember if it is repaired to claim diminished value (you make this claim after the car is returned to you completely repaired). Not sure exactly what your car is (year model), but the diminished value will likely be over $3k. There are calculators online to figure it out - typically diminished value amounts cap out at around $10k (beyond that the car is likely a total loss). So it'll probably be in the range of $3k to $6k. It's calculated by the amount of damage to the vehicle, etc.
You can only claim this if you are 100% not at fault (the apparent situation here, since you didn't hit anyone else after getting hit).
Again, after the car is 100% repaired, you do this. There's no need to rush it or even mention it earlier (the claim is not closed after your car is repaired). You just write a nice letter saying you have to disclose the accident to future buyers, etc., etc. Common sense stuff, and the insured's company will just give it to you, though of course they will try to negotiate (otherwise you take their insured to court, which is not a good look for them).
Of course, this will only work if the person who hit you has a high enough property damage limit. (In California the minimum allowed is $5k!!!). So hopefully you're good there (talk to the insured's company).
In general, for the damage, whether you go through your insurance or the insured's is up to you - my insurance company has a "interim" state where you can get counsel from them about the best course of action prior to actually opening a claim. It can depend on what you have on your policy, the at-fault insured's policy, rental reimbursement rates and limits, etc. There are a lot of factors which differ in every case, but in the case of not being at fault it can be nice to go through the insured's because you won't be out-of-pocket for your deductible (you'll get it back through your insurance through subrogation (since you're not at fault) eventually, but you'll be temporarily out of pocket). Anyway, talk to your insurance company.
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Of course, but It doesnt get looked at till June 1st and I just wanted opinions.
Snowball316
Member
I just saw your post after I posted a question regarding this.
would you be able to provide your experience on this topic, if applicable ?
teslamotorsclub.com
would you be able to provide your experience on this topic, if applicable ?
Brake Hold - How does it work if hit from behind?
Just thought of this while driving through bay area traffic. Coming from only driving manual transmissions before my model 3 LRAWD. I have regen standard and brake hold turned on. If a driver behind me where to slam into me from behind will the car continue to roll or will it slow/stop after a...
teslamotorsclub.com
Absolutely. My car didnt roll a whole lot and I was hit pretty hard. the car that hit me actually rolled in front of me. The car in front of my was stopped maybe a car length in front of me and I didn't get hit into it.I just saw your post after I posted a question regarding this.
would you be able to provide your experience on this topic, if applicable ?
Brake Hold - How does it work if hit from behind?
Just thought of this while driving through bay area traffic. Coming from only driving manual transmissions before my model 3 LRAWD. I have regen standard and brake hold turned on. If a driver behind me where to slam into me from behind will the car continue to roll or will it slow/stop after a...
JetFalcon
Member
I wonder if I ever see a freeway coming to a stop, is there any way to look behind you and decide if that car behind you is gonna stop? I wish I could just pull over to the side, and let that car hit the other car in front of me.
I had that happen to me, where an empty freeway going 80mph at 11pm-12am suddenly came to a stop and I had to brake really hard. And I was on autopilot, so it was kinda scary because I assumed the car can drive and the freeway were empty. I did see something on my GPS or Apple Maps that said there was a huge accident, or red lines. Then few minutes later I did see why. Thankfully I was paying attention enough that I was able to stop my car, but it could be so easy to have not been paying attention and crash. When the freeway started moving, there were like 3-5 cars in a huge mangled wrecked probably all crashed at high speeds.
I had that happen to me, where an empty freeway going 80mph at 11pm-12am suddenly came to a stop and I had to brake really hard. And I was on autopilot, so it was kinda scary because I assumed the car can drive and the freeway were empty. I did see something on my GPS or Apple Maps that said there was a huge accident, or red lines. Then few minutes later I did see why. Thankfully I was paying attention enough that I was able to stop my car, but it could be so easy to have not been paying attention and crash. When the freeway started moving, there were like 3-5 cars in a huge mangled wrecked probably all crashed at high speeds.
Snowball316
Member
When traveling at speed limit+ and then notice a complete stop at the end all we can do is hope the car behind us will slow down or give some space. However to be proactive and drivers maintain some drivers etiquette, from prior experience I recommend just turning on your hazard lights if possible to warn the cars behind you.
absolutely spot on - that's why the at-fault party's insurance company will always try to call you before you get an atty to do a recorded statement. If they can twist your words any at all, they will pin just a bit of the blame on you and it saves them thousands of $ or more.
which is absolutely ludicrous when you think about getting rear ended and them blaming you for a small portion, but insurance companies are not your friends and they give less than two sh!ts about you or your welfare. All that matters to them are numbers on a spreadsheet.
JetFalcon
Member
Good idea, maybe I'll do that. Maybe all cars should turn on hazard lights if they are at a complete stop on the freeway.
Absolutely.
It also encourages people who pull up behind you to put their hazards on.
Then if the car behind me puts their hazards on, I'll turn mine off.
AlanSubie4Life
Efficiency Obsessed Member
Haha. I think the base price here is $10k. Could be $15-$20k - depends on underlying damage and how much of the trunk area they have to rivet back together. Could also be totaled. All depends on exactly what got damaged (how hard the hit really was). We’ll see, maybe! We cannot see whether the rear quarter panel areas are bent at all, etc. If not, could come in lower. If both damaged, could be a total.
SaintMickey®
Closed
I would hope it was totaled...in my experience (from others) cars that damaged are never quite the same after repair.
