Will this Model 3 be totaled by insurance?

[Prince777]

Hello all, I'm new to the community and was looking to get a few points of view on if this is repairable. I was involved in an accident that did some damage to the front end. The fender and suspension look ok, but the airbags deployed and the front bumper and frunk were pushed in. Luckily, all the glass was intact. I'm hoping it gets repaired because it's hard to find new ones in my area. The car is barely 2 weeks old and I'm still awaiting a decision from my insurance. I recently registered with them so they're still trying to find the info they need to move forward with processing the claim.

Any thoughts from those who have experienced something similar would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[gaswalla]

Ouch. Two weeks old.
I’ve seen teslas totaled for less damage. And I’ve seen non Teslas totaled with similar damage. So, I’d say it’s totaled

 

[JimBob 909]

I imagine air bags deployed. If so it's totaled. You don't want it fixed and returned to you. It will never be the same.

 

[android04]

Hello all, I'm new to the community and was looking to get a few points of view on if this is repairable. I was involved in an accident that did some damage to the front end. The fender and suspension look ok, but the airbags deployed and the front bumper and frunk were pushed in. Luckily, all the glass was intact. I'm hoping it gets repaired because it's hard to find new ones in my area. The car is barely 2 weeks old and I'm still awaiting a decision from my insurance. I recently registered with them so they're still trying to find the info they need to move forward with processing the claim.

Any thoughts from those who have experienced something similar would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

View attachment 810940

This definitely looks repairable to me. It looks like whatever you hit was high enough to barely miss the two metal square tube crush cans to both sides of the car (the passenger side one looks just a little bit crushed and scraped on the top). Those crush cans are replaceable, and they bolt onto the rest of the frame. So most of the damage seems to be to non-structural components that can just be swapped out. Air bags and seat belt tensioners can also be swapped out. Availability of some of those replacement parts is the unknown to me, as well as the cost of the parts.

I wouldn't hesitate to get that car fixed and keep driving it based on the damage that I can see in your pictures. Of course, totaling it or not will depend on your insurance company and the state you live in.

 

[Thomas7]

Well it looks like the airbags is deployed. So I would say no.

 

[Bestie_n_Tessi]

Airbags deployed =yes

 

[Gulfcoaster]

Hope you are alright!! Yes, that's totaled

 

[Prince777]

Thanks for all of your thoughts! I'm still waiting to hear back from my insurance, but this has helped me mentally prepare for the bad news. I'll update when I hear more.

 

[dmurphy]

Airbags deployed =yes

That’s very much not the case. It all depends on the damage done. Airbags are replaceable; I’ve had insurance choose to repair even with airbag deployment. Cost of repair was less than cost to total, so that’s what they chose. You have no real input into that equation, unfortunately.

 

[Bestie_n_Tessi]

That’s very much not the case. It all depends on the damage done. Airbags are replaceable; I’ve had insurance choose to repair even with airbag deployment. Cost of repair was less than cost to total, so that’s what they chose. You have no real input into that equation, unfortunately.

Airbags are super expensive to replace and labor is even worse. In this “shortage of almost everything”. Good luck with getting those replace, now…..

 

[dmurphy]

Airbags are super expensive to replace and labor is even worse. In this “shortage of almost everything”. Good luck with getting those replace, now…..

... not really.

~$800 or so for a new OEM airbag. It's not as expensive as one would think. Labor isn't all that difficult either. Especially driver airbag. Side curtain a little more, but still under $2k all in.

Supply chain sucks across all industries and all segments right now, so that's always a concern... not the insurance company's concern though, unfortunately, and not something that they will choose to total the vehicle over.

 

[T4M3]

This looks like a major damage so my guess is that it is totaled. Glad you are safe, that is the most important thing.

 

[Thomas7]

Thanks for all of your thoughts! I'm still waiting to hear back from my insurance, but this has helped me mentally prepare for the bad news. I'll update when I hear more.

It could be a good thing since now you can buy a new Tesla I’m trying to make this unfortunate situation some what better. Well I hope it does lol

 

[SlimJim]

Totaled for sure.
Because of inflation and stock market crash, they will total the car.

 

[Anothergeek]

Totaled for sure.
Because of inflation and stock market crash, they will total the car.

Inflation would make them LESS likely to total it. The car is worth more than it was just a year ago, too.

Stock market has nothing to do with it.

It’s simply a matter of which option is cheaper for them: repair, or total it. Since it’s now worth more, they are more likely to repair it.

It’s not rocket science.

I’m seeing really bizarre comments here.

 

[Anothergeek]

Airbags are super expensive to replace and labor is even worse. In this “shortage of almost everything”. Good luck with getting those replace, now…..

The deployment of an airbag is not the deciding factor for whether or not a car is totaled. Never.

 

[Anothergeek]

Hope you are alright!! Yes, that's totaled

Doubtful.

Looks like maybe $15,000 or so to repair.

Totaling it might cost $50,000.

Not a difficult choice.

 

[dmurphy]

The deployment of an airbag is not the deciding factor for whether or not a car is totaled. Never.

I have no idea where this myth started, but it’s really a non-factor. It’s just another part that enters the value equation, like any other.

 

[3sr+buyer]

I have no idea where this myth started, but it’s really a non-factor. It’s just another part that enters the value equation, like any other.

Probably because the airbag itself is expensive (along with any interior parts that need replacement), and (perhaps more significantly) deployment is seen as a proxy for a hard hit that is more likely to have caused other expensive damage.

If not totaled, it is also commonly necessary to replace seat belts that were in use during a hard crash. Seat belts stretch somewhat to absorb the crash energy, and some have single use tensioner mechanisms that activate in a hard enough crash.

 

[dmurphy]

Probably because the airbag itself is expensive (along with any interior parts that need replacement), and (perhaps more significantly) deployment is seen as a proxy for a hard hit that is more likely to have caused other expensive damage.

If not totaled, it is also commonly necessary to replace seat belts that were in use during a hard crash. Seat belts stretch somewhat to absorb the crash energy, and some have single use tensioner mechanisms that activate in a hard enough crash.

Absolutely; but crush cans and other front end parts are just as — if not more - expensive than the airbags.

In fact, in our deer-vs-car repair, the most expensive part by far were the headlights. $1100/ea, whereas the airbag was $750.

Seatbelt tensioner was $153, and seatbelt itself was $163.

Certainly adds to the cost but that’s really all it is - just another part in the equation …