What should I be looking for dealing with insurance with this car damage?

[dude28]

Hi,
I am first time poster here and had a question for you all. I am from FL and two days ago while driving on a rural road in Central Florida, a big adult bear charged towards my 2022 Model 3 LR while i was doing 65mph from the side (passenger side) and damaged the car. Claim has been opened and the car is with a Tesla certified collision center. I have not had any accidents before so wanted to check to see what all should I be looking out for? I know the collision center will probably work closely with the insurance company in getting the car fixed but how would I know if there has been any structural damage to the car? I would appreciate if someone can please tell me what I should be looking out for.

thanks
Pavan

 

[RedModel3]

Minimum of $5K and several months for repair. I had similar damage from a parking lot accident with another car. Is your car drivable? I can see that the plastic (?) part over the wheel might scrape, and the metal can be bent back. If it's drivable, then speak with the insurance adjuster and go to the body shop for an estimate. They will pre-order the parts that they are immediately aware of, and that might take several months. Then when you finally take it to the shop for the work, expect a month minimum. If you're lucky, it'll be less.

As for the structural damage, in my case I had none. The alignment wasn't even affected, and my accident was with a car which weighs more than an adult bear.

What happened to the bear?

 

[afadeev]

I am from FL and two days ago while driving on a rural road in Central Florida, a big adult bear charged towards my 2022 Model 3 LR while i was doing 65mph from the side (passenger side) and damaged the car. Claim has been opened and the car is with a Tesla certified collision center. I have not had any accidents before so wanted to check to see what all should I be looking out for?

So far, you are on the right track.
The exact $$ amount of repairs is irrelevant, since it will be all covered by insurance (minus the deductible).

With any other automotive OEM, you will be back on the road in under a week.
With Tesla, there are too few authorized repair shops, are most of those are overloaded. Simplest repairs have been known to stretch into months (1-4 months). In the meantime, you may run out of the insurance rental coverage!

I would call the body shop, and ask them to share an estimate as to when they think they will start working on your car.
Ask for a start date. End date is harder to estimate with certainty, and they will be cagey about giving you a precise answer.

I know the collision center will probably work closely with the insurance company in getting the car fixed but how would I know if there has been any structural damage to the car? I would appreciate if someone can please tell me what I should be looking out for.

The body shop has the same incentives are you - identify and repair all the damage. They get reimbursed by the insurance company for all the work they can find.
Don't overthink it.

 

[nate704]

skin the bear and sell the fur for profit!

 

[Rottenapplr]

Lol my wife just said, referencing negative attitude directed at Tesla due to Musk antics in twitter, “jeeez even the bear hates Tesla.”

 

[dude28]

Minimum of $5K and several months for repair. I had similar damage from a parking lot accident with another car. Is your car drivable? I can see that the plastic (?) part over the wheel might scrape, and the metal can be bent back. If it's drivable, then speak with the insurance adjuster and go to the body shop for an estimate. They will pre-order the parts that they are immediately aware of, and that might take several months. Then when you finally take it to the shop for the work, expect a month minimum. If you're lucky, it'll be less.

As for the structural damage, in my case I had none. The alignment wasn't even affected, and my accident was with a car which weighs more than an adult bear.

What happened to the bear?

Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, the plastic is scraping against the tire. The tow truck guy was able to drive straight onto the truck but when he tried to turn the steering, it was not smooth.. We had 3 kids in the back seat, so didnt want to stop and check to see what happened to the bear! drove a mile and pulled into a gas station. I wonder if it would have been any different had i been on Auto steer. I wonder if M3 would have taken any evasive action since the bear jumped out from the side of the vehcile and not straight.

 

[dude28]

So far, you are on the right track.
The exact $$ amount of repairs is irrelevant, since it will be all covered by insurance (minus the deductible).

With any other automotive OEM, you will be back on the road in under a week.
With Tesla, there are too few authorized repair shops, are most of those are overloaded. Simplest repairs have been known to stretch into months (1-4 months). In the meantime, you may run out of the insurance rental coverage!

I would call the body shop, and ask them to share an estimate as to when they think they will start working on your car.
Ask for a start date. End date is harder to estimate with certainty, and they will be cagey about giving you a precise answer.



The body shop has the same incentives are you - identify and repair all the damage. They get reimbursed by the insurance company for all the work they can find.
Don't overthink it.

thanks for your response. What i meant regarding the body shop was if there is anyway I would know if there was any structural damage. Is the Collision center liable to report that damage and not just fix the car superficially.

 

[afadeev]

What i meant regarding the body shop was if there is anyway I would know if there was any structural damage.

It is HIGHLY unlikely there is any frame or battery tray damage based on the pics you shared.

Is the Collision center liable to report that damage and not just fix the car superficially.

Collision center will share the repair estimates and final bill with you, if you ask them. The bill will go to your insurance company, but you can get a copy.
On it, it will itemize all the replacement parts that were required, down to each nut, washer, and bolt. From there, you can deduce the magnitude of repairs. Or just ask them - most shops are happy to chat to customers.

Either way, I would worry less about structural damage, and more about the time to repair delays.

a

 

[davewill]

The collision center will dismantle the car specifically to inspect and identify any internal damage. expect to see the estimate rise as they find more parts that need replacement or repair.

 

[sealbeach100d]

I'm betting that bear wasn't insured....

 

[Kairide]

Did the bear stop, or was it a hit and run?

 

[dude28]

I'm betting that bear wasn't insured....

Florida anyways is a "No-Fault" state so the bear probably would have said not my fault

 

[dude28]

Did the bear stop, or was it a hit and run?

We had 3 children in the car that were shaken up pretty bad and started crying. I did not stop but drove on to pull into a gas station a mile from the accident. Talking to the gas station owner, he said, "oh that bear again" sounding like we were not the first one's to have that encounter.

 

[Kairide]

We had 3 children in the car that were shaken up pretty bad and started crying. I did not stop but drove on to pull into a gas station a mile from the accident. Talking to the gas station owner, he said, "oh that bear again" sounding like we were not the first one's to have that encounter.

Oh, so you hit and run. Should have stayed at the scene and exchanged info with the bear. Better hope he/she didn’t get your plate number.