Trade-In Offer/Valuation on Model S with Airbag Deployment?

[OrbiterTI4]

Previously my Model S was in a collision and had an airbag deployment. The repair estimate was not high enough to justify a total (my state requires 100% of FMV) so insurance repaired the vehicle. I have the car back in my possession with a confirmed accident and airbag deployment listed on the CarFax.

In the process of determining diminished value, an appraisal has been generated with a section calling out "post-repair values as determined by Tesla dealerships."

My limited reading on the forums had me believing you would only see a value from a Tesla store if you were getting a trade-in quote while researching a new purchase/upgrade. As such...

Has anyone had experience getting a valuation on a currently owned Tesla outside of a trade-in valuation?
and/or
Has anyone received a quote on a Tesla that has an accident (or more preferably) an airbag deployment on record?

If anyone can answer yes, I'd appreciate any insight provided. Thanks.

 

[democappy]

I will be following this post as I too will need to make a diminished value claim soon for my Tesla. In the past on another non-Tesla vehicles, my insurance company actually came up with the estimate themselves and then gave me the details on how they came up with it. They gave me an opportunity to make a case if that value did not seem fair. What they offered on that vehicle was seemed fair to me.

I don't know your specific vehicle info, but I would think a diminished value claim on it would have to be at least a few thousand.

 

[MyWifeandI]

Not sure what Tesla will offer but air bag deployment can reduce your vehicle's value by up to half in the open market.

 

[democappy]

Not sure what Tesla will offer but air bag deployment can reduce your vehicle's value by up to half in the open market.

I don't think there is any reasonable way he is going to get a diminished value claim for half of the vehicle value.

 

[MyWifeandI]

A good appraisal and persistence (and sometimes litigation - make sure that you can recover your expenses such as legal, appraiser, expert witness, etc.) will typically get the job done. There is no question that a large diminished value claim is something worth fighting for. Between that and loss of use, the combined claims can reach well over $50,000. Most people are also aware, or should be by now, that fighting an insurance company is not for the meek.

 

[OrbiterTI4]

While the issue is related to a DV appraisal in my case, I'm asking more about the Tesla policies...If I remember correctly, some major car location (CarMax?) in years past would decline to give a quote to buy on a vehicle with an airbag deployment.

Also the more general question that more people would have experience with - how have they gotten trade-in values from Tesla? Online only (after making a reservation) with/without photos? By phone (Ha)? At a Tesla store and after an inspection by staff, or just from Tesla pulling the VIN and mileage? Would the number be the same depending on which Tesla store you went to? I'm guessing this answer is yes, but the DV paperwork says no, which I find suspicious.

 

[dvguru]

As the owner of an appraisal service in Dallas Texas for more than 25 years and have performed several dozen post collision repair evaluations (what people are referring to as diminished value appraisal) on Tesla's; gave me cause to study this question in order to gain a greater knowledge of the conditions that effect the marketability of a used Tesla vehicle.
What I discovered was the following: If the vehicle was repaired, not requiring structural repairs, at an authorized Tesla auto body facility then they will not deduct any value do to the repair history.
A vehicle with structural damage repair history is another story, even of repaired at authorized facility. The offers for trade in by Tesla seem to fluctuate depending on whether you buy/lease new vehicle, but bid low end of market if your not. But they tend to get higher buy bids from other than Tesla dealers.
Vehicles that we've inspected for dv, we've also tracked the sale history's of those vehicle since 2013. At auction the vehicle with damage disclosure sold for less than the average of those sold without, in every case followed, ranging from 12% to 22%. Which is consistent in the resale prices too, when the damage history was fairly disclosed.
Airbag deployment is usually a result of structural movement, so you probably had structural damages.

 

[OrbiterTI4]

What I discovered was the following: If the vehicle was repaired, not requiring structural repairs, at an authorized Tesla auto body facility then they will not deduct any value do to the repair history.

A vehicle with structural damage repair history is another story, even of repaired at authorized facility. The offers for trade in by Tesla seem to fluctuate depending on whether you buy/lease new vehicle, but bid low end of market if your not. But they tend to get higher buy bids from other than Tesla dealers.

Can you clarify/confirm my understanding of your statement? I interpret the first point to be "Tesla makes no reduction to a trade-in quote if a vehicle was repaired at a Tesla approved repair center." For the second statement, were any of the quotes from Tesla, or only non-Tesla vehicle dealerships? Thanks.

 

[OrbiterTI4]

After speaking with one of my nearby stores and being told by default to visit tesla.com/tradein (despite a vehicle with a major accident on record not being eligible for an online quote), I'll open my post to a more generic question:

Has anyone received a trade-in quote from Tesla from a method OTHER than using tesla.com/tradein?