Rear Ended today,

spentan · Feb 5, 2014

Hey everybody,

5 days after I pick up my Model S, I got rear-ended today :\

I was stopped at a red light, and it went green, the gentleman behind me jumped the gun and ploughed straight into my car.

The hatch still opens and closes (painfully) but has two major dents, as well as the bumper and the rear bar being bent in a bit.

Lets see what they say tomorrow. EMCW will give me a quote by tomorrow.

The person's insurance company (GEICO) called me, saying they'd take full responsibility for the repair.

I had a chat to Tesla Service in Costa Mesa (CA) and they recommended European Motor Car Works in Santa Ana CA.

GEICO want me to go to one of their local repair shops for an assessment. I will be going for that tomorrow at 10AM.

I clearly told them that I want all repairs to be done by a Tesla Approved Body Shop, and as Euro Motor Car Works is Tesla's recommended, Geico said that that shouldn't be a problem.

Any advice, comments?

islandbayy · Feb 5, 2014

spentan said:
Hey everybody,

5 days after I pick up my Model S, I got rear-ended today :\

I was stopped at a red light, and it went green, the gentleman behind me jumped the gun and ploughed straight into my car.

The hatch still opens and closes (painfully) but has two major dents, as well as the bumper and the rear bar being bent in a bit.

Lets see what they say tomorrow. EMCW will give me a quote by tomorrow.

The person's insurance company (GEICO) called me, saying they'd take full responsibility for the repair.

I had a chat to Tesla Service in Costa Mesa (CA) and they recommended European Motor Car Works in Santa Ana CA.

GEICO want me to go to one of their local repair shops for an assessment. I will be going for that tomorrow at 10AM.

I clearly told them that I want all repairs to be done by a Tesla Approved Body Shop, and as Euro Motor Car Works is Tesla's recommended, Geico said that that shouldn't be a problem.

Any advice, comments?

Lots of advice. My advice is coming from my experience managing a Body Shop.
For starters, DON'T GO TO GIECO's RECOMMENDED SHOP! That shop is a GEICO approved shop, and the reason they are "Approved" is because they do the repairs cheaper, thus saving the insurance company money. Second, Tesla WILL NOT SELL CERTAIN PARTS TO NON TESLA APPROVED BODY SHOPS! and I cannot stress that enough. Next, the Tesla approved shop will More accurately be able to give a quote for repairs. The GEICO approved shop will be mostly guesstimating based on "normal" cars. If your trunk hatch is damaged, this is going to be a MAJOR REPAIR! Especially being the car is 5 days old.....
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THEIR APPROVED SHOP! ONLY, AND I REPEAT, ONLY HAVE A TESLA APPROVED SHOP LOOK AT IT AND GIVE A ESTIMATE! By getting a Low Ball GEICO approved shop estimate, that gives GEICO a load of ammunition to fight you in repair costs down the road. Remember, THIS IS NOT A GEO METRO! THIS IS YOUR BRAND SPANKING NEW TESLA MODEL S, The most technology advanced production car in the world!

Also, MAKE SURE you have a INDEPENDENT AUTO APPRAISER come in and look at the vehicle, before AND after the repair (AND show repair receipts for the total cost of the repairs). Then follow up with GEICO for Diminished Value of the vehicle. You may even want to bring that up from the get go, as if the repair costs are high (The trunk lid is not going to be cheap, that will be a complete replacement, not repair on a 5 day old car), Plus the diminished value, may push the repairs too close to the "Totaled" mark, and you may be getting a new replacement vehicle. I know I would not settle for a repaired vehicle without A LOT of compensation (and I have personally been in this boat with my Nissan).
Just as a example on Diminished value, when my Nissan CUBE was 1 year and 4 days old, wife got rear ended at a stop light. Mind you I paid 15,400 for the car. I got $3k in diminished value, on top of the 6k they payed for repairs. Thats some good money, and that was a 1 year old econobox.

Just repeating again, DO NOT TAKE IT TO THE GEICO SHOP!

SCW-Greg · Feb 5, 2014

Seems to me Geico's agent/adjuster should come to you. They shouldn't be inconveniencing you by asking you to come to them.

brianman · Feb 5, 2014

SCW-Greg said:
Seems to me Geico's agent/adjuster should come to you. They shouldn't be inconveniencing you by asking you to come to them.

A summary of what Islandbayy is saying:

It's a trap!

- - - Updated - - -

spentan said:
Any advice, comments?

It can only help your case to also ask Tesla to give you a quote for trading in your vehicle on a loaner that they have in stock somewhere on the continent. Ask for a P85+ for example, so that it's an upgrade to what you just bought. Technically that makes it directly qualify for the trade-in program that was announced in conjunction with the loaner program when it was introduced.

You want that number in hand because [a] it's negotiating power, it's a legitimate option to push in Geico's face, and [c] you might actually want to consider that as your plan A -- that way you get an accident-clean car in the end.

spentan · Feb 5, 2014

islandbayy said:
Lots of advice. My advice is coming from my experience managing a Body Shop.
For starters, DON'T GO TO GIECO's RECOMMENDED SHOP! That shop is a GEICO approved shop, and the reason they are "Approved" is because they do the repairs cheaper, thus saving the insurance company money. Second, Tesla WILL NOT SELL CERTAIN PARTS TO NON TESLA APPROVED BODY SHOPS! and I cannot stress that enough. Next, the Tesla approved shop will More accurately be able to give a quote for repairs. The GEICO approved shop will be mostly guesstimating based on "normal" cars. If your trunk hatch is damaged, this is going to be a MAJOR REPAIR! Especially being the car is 5 days old.....
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THEIR APPROVED SHOP! ONLY, AND I REPEAT, ONLY HAVE A TESLA APPROVED SHOP LOOK AT IT AND GIVE A ESTIMATE! By getting a Low Ball GEICO approved shop estimate, that gives GEICO a load of ammunition to fight you in repair costs down the road. Remember, THIS IS NOT A GEO METRO! THIS IS YOUR BRAND SPANKING NEW TESLA MODEL S, The most technology advanced production car in the world!

Also, MAKE SURE you have a INDEPENDENT AUTO APPRAISER come in and look at the vehicle, before AND after the repair (AND show repair receipts for the total cost of the repairs). Then follow up with GEICO for Diminished Value of the vehicle. You may even want to bring that up from the get go, as if the repair costs are high (The trunk lid is not going to be cheap, that will be a complete replacement, not repair on a 5 day old car), Plus the diminished value, may push the repairs too close to the "Totaled" mark, and you may be getting a new replacement vehicle. I know I would not settle for a repaired vehicle without A LOT of compensation (and I have personally been in this boat with my Nissan).
Just as a example on Diminished value, when my Nissan CUBE was 1 year and 4 days old, wife got rear ended at a stop light. Mind you I paid 15,400 for the car. I got $3k in diminished value, on top of the 6k they payed for repairs. Thats some good money, and that was a 1 year old econobox.

Just repeating again, DO NOT TAKE IT TO THE GEICO SHOP!

Interesting, I will cancel my appointment tomorrow then, and will wait for the Tesla shop to provide me with their quote.

The car was used when I purchased it, and it didn't have a clean carfax. (It was involved in a minor front-end collision once before and repaired by a Tesla Approved Body Shop).

I'm just wondering about the auto appraiser, if this would still be relevant. If so, does anyone know a good Auto Appraiser in SoCal who would be able to provide me with an appraisal. (Or is google my friend in finding one?)

SCW-Greg said:
Seems to me Geico's agent/adjuster should come to you. They shouldn't be inconveniencing you by asking you to come to them.

I'm thinking I might call them about this tomorrow. The Tesla Body shop said it'd be fine for me to get it assessed at Geico's approved repairer, just as a point of reference. I'll call them about it tomorrow.

Thanks for your advice and comments, please keep them coming

- - - Updated - - -

brianman said:
A summary of what Islandbayy is saying:

- - - Updated - - -

It can only help your case to also ask Tesla to give you a quote for trading in your vehicle on a loaner that they have in stock somewhere on the continent. Ask for a P85+ for example, so that it's an upgrade to what you just bought. Technically that makes it directly qualify for the trade-in program that was announced in conjunction with the loaner program when it was introduced.

You want that number in hand because [a] it's negotiating power, it's a legitimate option to push in Geico's face, and [c] you might actually want to consider that as your plan A -- that way you get an accident-clean car in the end.

I will have a chat to my Tesla sales rep tomorrow and see if anything is available.

I have cancelled my appointment tomorrow and will wait to see what the quote says.

markb1 · Feb 5, 2014

There's a difference between taking it to a Geico-approved shop for repair, and taking it to a Geico adjuster for an estimate. Geico doesn't generally send their adjuster to you, if they can help it. It's just the way they work. But in my experience, their adjuster couldn't make an estimate, so they had me leave my car at the Tesla-approved shop for a day, and the adjuster went there and went over it with someone from the shop. I was actually quite happy with the way Geico handled things.

Just to prepare you, if there are any dents at all on either of the rear quarter panels, it's going to cost a small fortune.

maxjamie · Feb 6, 2014

I got rear ended 6 months ago; the truck behind me didn't stop in time in a rush hour - stop and go traffic. Sure felt like I was hit pretty "hard" when I felt the hit- it caused a small tear on the bumper, bowed the hatch slightly and a small crack inside the hatch itself. I had to speak to several people at my Insurance (USAA) to allow them to pay for it to be flat-bedded to a closest certified Tesla shop - in Atlanta- (400 miles away ). There was no way I would have any local shops where I live to try to repair it. - it cost about $7500 plus $2500 in flat bed towing both ways.

DriverOne · Feb 6, 2014

Your insurance will want to look at the car to appraise damage (normal, you'll have to allow this). During the appraisal tell your appraiser you're taking the car to the Tesla authorized shop for repair, and decline the insurance's own recommended place. They shouldn't have any trouble with this (you can explain there's only one shop in town that will receive parts from Tesla); it's within your rights to choose the shop. My insurer (Progressive) gave me no trouble with this. The appraiser continued to work with me and the Tesla shop while the repair was ongoing.

The Tesla shops undergo a lot of training, and they and Tesla are working hard to bring the length in time of repairs down. My rear-ending took 2 months to fix, so I hope they have improved things by now! The car was fixed really well, so I'm quite happy with the end result; there have been no residual issues. Total repair was in the low $20,000's. I managed to additionally retrieve a little over $10K in loss of value.

artsci · Feb 6, 2014

I feel for you having recently been through an accident and repairs myself. I highly recommend you use a Tesla-appproved shop. It may take longer but the quality of the work is assured.

Canuck · Feb 6, 2014

Sorry to hear of your crash, spentan. I've posted this a few times before but in case you missed it, here it is again:

How do I get full value for my crashed car? - The Globe and Mail

yobigd20 · Feb 6, 2014

spentan said:
The person's insurance company (GEICO) called me, saying they'd take full responsibility for the repair.

Gizmotoy · Feb 7, 2014

yobigd20 said:

Other parties' insurance companies are easy to deal with if their insured admits fault. My wife's been hit a number of times, and we always just deal directly with their insurance in those cases. There's not much room for them to wiggle out of paying when even the insured's own statement backs up your story. The only time we've found it's worth involving our own insurance is if there is some dispute.

spentan · Feb 7, 2014

Had a chat to a valuer today.

The car I bought (31Jan14) was a used (Service Loaner) and it didn't have a clean carfax (It was damaged in an accident May 2013, and repaired by a Tesla Approved Body Shop.

I spoke to the valuer regarding the value/diminishing value etc, he mentioned that since it wasn't an "accident-free" car to begin with, and this accident was "less major" than the previous accident, the value wouldn't change really, and therefore it wasn't worth pursuing diminished value claims.

This kinda puts my mind at ease, as I am getting it "assessed" by a Geico appointed "adjuster" next Thursday. I have received the quote from European Motor Car Works (Santa Ana CA) which is a Tesla approved Body shop, and its in the vicinity of 18k.

I will print this and take it to my appointment next Thursday. I only want Tesla body shops to work on my car, no-one else.

Thanks for all your advice peoples, I learnt a lot from this experience.

Crispix · Feb 7, 2014

I just went through a Geico claim and they were great. The Tesla approved shop did all the work and Geico was perfect and paid their higher rates without question. I still had to go to them at first for the initial inspection, no big deal.

spentan · Feb 7, 2014

Crispix said:
I just went through a Geico claim and they were great. The Tesla approved shop did all the work and Geico was perfect and paid their higher rates without question. I still had to go to them at first for the initial inspection, no big deal.

Did you get it repaired at Amato's in San Diego?

I am based out of Mission Viejo, so I'm going to the place in Santa Ana (Recommended by Tesla Service Costa Mesa),

but yeah, looking forward to getting everything fixed and all back to normal. Just a slow process it seems.

Crispix · Feb 9, 2014

Yes, Amatos. They did great work, car looks new. Good luck with your repairs, I'm sure it'll all be ok!

Herbys · Mar 10, 2014

spentan said:
Hey everybody,

5 days after I pick up my Model S, I got rear-ended today :\

I was stopped at a red light, and it went green, the gentleman behind me jumped the gun and ploughed straight into my car.

The hatch still opens and closes (painfully) but has two major dents, as well as the bumper and the rear bar being bent in a bit.

Lets see what they say tomorrow. EMCW will give me a quote by tomorrow.

The person's insurance company (GEICO) called me, saying they'd take full responsibility for the repair.

I had a chat to Tesla Service in Costa Mesa (CA) and they recommended European Motor Car Works in Santa Ana CA.

GEICO want me to go to one of their local repair shops for an assessment. I will be going for that tomorrow at 10AM.

I clearly told them that I want all repairs to be done by a Tesla Approved Body Shop, and as Euro Motor Car Works is Tesla's recommended, Geico said that that shouldn't be a problem.

Any advice, comments?

Your fault. If on a car with such instant torque anything other than a Bugatti can manage to rear end you on a red light, you are driving it wrong ;-).

spentan · Mar 10, 2014

Herbys said:
Your fault. If on a car with such instant torque anything other than a Bugatti can manage to rear end you on a red light, you are driving it wrong ;-).

Haha

The guy jumped the light unfortunately.

Car went into the shop today. Rental suburban is pretty average :/

Gizmotoy · Mar 10, 2014

spentan said:
Car went into the shop today. Rental suburban is pretty average :/

Rental... Suburban? Ouch.

EarlyAdopter · Mar 11, 2014

I'm curious, in cases like these where the other driver is clearly at fault aren't you entitled to a similar in-kind rental while your car is denied you?

Rear Ended today,

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