Seeking Advices. Car got damaged at service center. :(

[KonanXi]

I have 2018 Model s fully wrapped in Xpel Stealth Matte finish, I have been extremely careful about driving my car around because I know any damage would be a nightmare to fix. But it happened last week. I went to service center last week due to a map mal-functioning error, got a call from service center at work in the morning telling me my car got hit by a vendor truck who took a tight turn while they were updating the car system. When I arrived at the scene my whole front bumper got ripped off and it was bad...
Tesla service did give a loaner to drive in the meantime as "goodwill" and mentioned they take no responsibility here and I should contact driver's insurance company directly. I did start a claim with truck driver's insurance company but does tesla really holds no responsibility at all? I felt like my vehicle was in their possession and they didn't take care of it.

Any pieces of advice here? Thanks a ton!

 

[ucmndd]

The last thing you want is Tesla acting as a broker between you and the responsible party. Yes, the person that hit your car is absolutely the responsible party, not Tesla.

Sounds like they feel at least somewhat responsible given the car was in their possession, which is why they gave you a loaner. That's pretty nice of them.

What else are you expecting, exactly? I'm not really clear what you think should be happening here that isn't.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Isn't this exactly why insurance exists? Tesla didn't damage your vehicle, and it sounds like they're not only giving you sound advice...but gave you a vehicle to drive in the interim.

 

[random155]

I totally understand how you feel about the car being in possession of Tesla when it was damaged. I would absolutely feel the same way. Just take a step back, though, and think about the issue at hand. The vehicle was unoccupied, not being operated by anyone at Tesla. It was, presumably parked in their parking lot when it was struck by a third party. Basically, same issue as if you were parked in the mall and someone backed into your parked car. I think that it was generous of Tesla to provide you a loaner, which could extend into weeks/months for this repair. At first thought, I felt the same way you did, after reading the story. Unfortunately, to wrap your head around this, you have to think big picture, and who is actually at fault. It would have been a lot easier if a Tesla employee damaged your car, but unfortunately thats not the case. I am very confident that you will have no issue getting the car fixed under the responsible driver's insurance.

 

[KonanXi]

Thanks for the all the advice and opinions. it was my very first time involved in any sort of car accident at all so really lack of experience here. You guys do make a good point.

 

[croman]

Read up on bailment laws in your state.

 

[Russell]

Thanks for the all the advice and opinions. it was my very first time involved in any sort of car accident at all so really lack of experience here. You guys do make a good point.

The driver's insurance company should pay for all repairs (from the body shop of your choice) and a rental car comparable to the car that was damaged. This means you do not have to accept a Toyota Yaris.

 

[aerodyne]

Ask for a new MS loaner with the Free Ludi upgrade...you may not want your old car back anytime soon....

 

[Ande]

Nice of them to give you a loaner.
No Tesla had no responsibility at all.
In Norway, we have actual consumer laws that work.
And still; the parked car, being at Tesla, is not Tesla's problem just like it wouldn't be the problem of a local grocery store, if it was hit there.

 

[tls]

I don't know how it works in Norway but what you describe sure isn't how it works in many (most?) parts of North America. Tesla had the car in their possession and were responsible for it, just as they would have been if they had a fire in their shop and it burned up.

OP should file a claim on his own insurance (assuming he has comprehensive coverage) and let them slug it out for him.

 

[croman]

I want to borrow everyone's cars who think Tesla isn't responsible and I'll park it in the hood and see what happens. It's not my fault though. Blame the hood.

 

[Ande]

Yes, if Tesla had a workshop fire, or some part of the building roof blew off and hit it, it would be their insurance.
If they parked in some bad neighborhood outside Oslo, their responsibility.
But a car that is just hit in a parking lot, is not automatically their responsibility, unless some reckless or strange action from their side.

 

[tls]

Again, I don't know how it works in Norway, but here once they take possession of the car, generally speaking, damage to it is their responsibility. They may be able to recover from someone _else_ but the responsibility to the owner would be theirs, not some third party's.

Particularly since they own the parking lot.

 

[Ande]

Ok

 

[KonanXi]

I am not really seeking any reimbursement here instead just trying to understand more. I parked my car in a standard spot and tesla moved my car to a different location ( next to their shop) to do the upgrade. I think this is different from getting hit in the shopping mall parking lot? Since no one would move your car in the first place.

 

[RAW84]

I totally understand how you feel about the car being in possession of Tesla when it was damaged. I would absolutely feel the same way. Just take a step back, though, and think about the issue at hand. The vehicle was unoccupied, not being operated by anyone at Tesla. It was, presumably parked in their parking lot when it was struck by a third party. Basically, same issue as if you were parked in the mall and someone backed into your parked car. I think that it was generous of Tesla to provide you a loaner, which could extend into weeks/months for this repair. At first thought, I felt the same way you did, after reading the story. Unfortunately, to wrap your head around this, you have to think big picture, and who is actually at fault. It would have been a lot easier if a Tesla employee damaged your car, but unfortunately thats not the case. I am very confident that you will have no issue getting the car fixed under the responsible driver's insurance.

I don't know how it works in Norway but what you describe sure isn't how it works in many (most?) parts of North America. Tesla had the car in their possession and were responsible for it, just as they would have been if they had a fire in their shop and it burned up.

OP should file a claim on his own insurance (assuming he has comprehensive coverage) and let them slug it out for him.

These two posts reflect my opinion on the matter. The car was in Tesla's possession, it is technically they're responsibility. Of course they did nothing wrong here, so ultimately it'll be the vendor's insurance who pays. But what if the vendor is underinsured? In that case Tesla should supplement to make you whole. Ultimately, you shouldn't have to deal with these details. File a claim with your insurance give them the vendor's info and Tesla's info and let them sort it out.

 

[Rockster]

This can vary from state to state. In some states, from the time you had them your "keys" to the time you pay/pick up your car, they are responsible, no matter the cause of the damage. In such states, the delivery driver's insurance would still be involved, but you would have no burden whatsoever. You would just drive the Tesla loaner until your car had been fixed and returned to you. The details of that process where Tesla and the delivery company slugged it out would be "behind the scenes," as far as you were concerned. In some states; however, you would have to deal with it yourself, going after the delivery truck's insurance company, making them give you a loaner, etc. Without research as to your specific juristiction's laws, nobody here can give you a correct answer.