Just got rear ended

[Pinarello]

I was driving to work today and was rear ended while sitting at a red light (@#$%^&!). I'm guessing the kid that hit me was going no faster than 5 mph because there was no visible damage to my 3 month old 70D other than dents in the rear bumper from his front license plate screws. The damage to his front end was substantial in comparison. Of course, you never know what damage may not be visible.

Looking for advice on how to proceed. Based on what I've read, I should contact Tesla to get the name of an authorized repair shop. I suspect my rear bumper will need to be replaced because I doubt there is any way to patch the screw indentations. I live in the western suburbs of Chicago, so I presume there will be a nearby repair shop.

The teenage kid that hit me was driving on a suspended license (due to too many prior accidents) in a car without insurance (no surprise since he lost his license). As a result, I will likely get stuck with having to use my uninsured motorist insurance and that might impact my future insurance rates (@#$!%).

Thankfully, no one was hurt and the damage was minor.

 

[Lintrix]

Wow what a nightmare!! I had to deal with a minor body damage as well when I was hit by someone driving slowly, but it was all through insurance. I could suggest you to the place I went to to get my body work/paint done near the Bolingbrook area. Whoever you go to, make sure they are certified for aluminum body work.

Did you call the police/file a police report?

 

[Electricfan]

Sorry to hear this. I got rear-ended but she was going considerably faster that 5 mph. But it was in my old Jetta, not my Tesla. Not fun, and the resale value took a hit. Get a diminished value claim, as it will show up as an accident on carfax if you file it with your insurance (at least that's what I've read). Any pics of the accident?

 

[MsElectric]

I was driving to work today and was rear ended while sitting at a red light (@#$%^&!). I'm guessing the kid that hit me was going no faster than 5 mph because there was no visible damage to my 3 month old 70D other than dents in the rear bumper from his front license plate screws. The damage to his front end was substantial in comparison. Of course, you never know what damage may not be visible.

Looking for advice on how to proceed. Based on what I've read, I should contact Tesla to get the name of an authorized repair shop. I suspect my rear bumper will need to be replaced because I doubt there is any way to patch the screw indentations. I live in the western suburbs of Chicago, so I presume there will be a nearby repair shop.

The teenage kid that hit me was driving on a suspended license (due to too many prior accidents) in a car without insurance (no surprise since he lost his license). As a result, I will likely get stuck with having to use my uninsured motorist insurance and that might impact my future insurance rates (@#$!%).

Thankfully, no one was hurt and the damage was minor.

So sorry to hear this.

How old is this "kid?" Can you sue the kid's parents? Would be easier to do if the car was not under the kid's name as then you can go after the owner of the car and their insurance regardless of whether the kid had insurance. I hope you called the police. There should be mandatory jail time if you drive on a suspended license without insurance.

Thankfully it seems the damage was minor but they should definitely take that bumper off and check for internal damage.

 

[Rockster]

We've been rear ended twice under very similar circumstances, both with damage that was pretty much limited to the bumper only. A replacement bumper cover and repainting was all that was required the first time. The second also slightly affected the hatch edge and required one new parking sensor, which it sounds like yours did not. For replacing and repainting the bumper cover only, the cost was less than $1500 at the local Tesla authorized body shop. We brought the car in for the body shop and insurance adjustor to see it and then drove it while the parts were on order. When the parts came in, we took the car in for repair, which took a few days.

It sounds very doubtful that there was any damage to the mechanics under the bumper. Our second rear end collision was enough to knock our MS forward about 10 feet and there was no damage to the structures under the bumper.

Yes, it sucks, but it truly could be way worse.

 

[Max*]

So sorry to hear this.

How old is this "kid?" Can you sue the kid's parents? Would be easier to do if the car was not under the kid's name as then you can go after the owner of the car and their insurance regardless of whether the kid had insurance. I hope you called the police. There should be mandatory jail time if you drive on a suspended license without insurance.

Thankfully it seems the damage was minor but they should definitely take that bumper off and check for internal damage.

Why automatically sue the parents? Why not ask them to pay and see where it goes.

Suing doesn't have to be the be-all end-all.

 

[Pinarello]

Yes, I did call the police. They took a police report and took the kid away since he had no license to drive. That's how I found out his license was suspended due to too many prior accidents and that his insurance was not valid. Officer asked that I show up at the court date otherwise the charges will likely get dropped.

I don't see any damage other than the screw indentations. The seam between the bumper and rear panels is still perfect, rear hatch opens and closes fine.

 

[MsElectric]

Why automatically sue the parents? Why not ask them to pay and see where it goes.

Suing doesn't have to be the be-all end-all.

Suing in a situation with such negligence really is a request to pay. They can always pay up and settle.

If the car belonged to the kid's parents and they didn't take steps to prevent their uninsured reckless kid from getting a hold of the car keys and driving off to harm someone else, I think the parents certainly should be held accountable. Obviously with the prior reckless driving record, this kid is a menace on the road. Imagine if the kid had driven a bit faster and caused a severe injury to the OP or his family?

After the parents end up having to pay up several thousand dollars perhaps they will keep a better eye on their "bundle of joy."

 

[Vitold]

Why automatically sue the parents? Why not ask them to pay and see where it goes.

Suing doesn't have to be the be-all end-all.

That's how it's done in USA, you hire a lawyer to ask parents to cover all damages.

 

[PDFS]

Typically a parent is not responsible for the actions of their kid. However, in this case the owner of the car regardless of whether it is the parent , spouse, friend or whatever as long as it is not the kid that hit you, can be sued under the theory of negligent entrustment. Additionally, If the owner, (parent or whatever) of the car had insurance their insurance company will defendant and if need be pay for the damage to your car. Also you do want to go to court on the traffic ticket date because the court will dismiss the case if you are not there because the police officer did not witness the accident

 

[freeewilly]

So sorry to hear this, hopefully the damage is limited to the paint and bumper only.

 

[Super_Popular]

For minor touch ups you do not need to use a Tesla shop. You only should use a Tesla shop when it's major frame damage. I would also not use insurance for this unless it's over $2K. You can also take the kid to small claims if they do not pay. Just make sure you get a copy of the police report.

 

[garygid]

A friend told me he banged his left rear panel against an unseen fire hydrant ...
just minor damage, almost in the paintless dent removal category, but
apparently just a bit more severe.

So, a local estimate was $2000, because they needed to blend the red paint
into other surrounding panels, they said.

The Tesla-approved body shop estimated $10,000 ...

A third shop said (basically) that they could do a good job of paint matching,
so ... no need to paint more than a small area, thus about $1000.

Sort of makes one wonder a bit about who is doing what, and to whom.

 

[MrBigSmiles]

I was rear-ended about a month and a half back. It was a low speed impact and the driver left two dimples on my rear-bumper. I brought it into my insurance for an adjuster quote and it came out to be around ~$800. I then had to wait three weeks before I can bring the car to a certified Tesla bodyshop for repair. It took a little over a week and the final cost was ~$1K. Needless to say, it was an inconvenience for me since I had to get a new set of HOV stickers, get a rental car and buying gas for the damn thing!

After the repair was done, I had to check it and noticed some bubbling on the clear coat on the bumper. The shop had to redo it. They also left swirl marks all over my black car from their wash. Overall, it was not a good experience! I hope your shop will give you a better experience.

 

[kevincwelch]

Try to do it outside of insurance. Illinois is a "no fault" state, so if the damage exceeds. $500, your rates can (will?!) go up. Just looked into this issue with a hit and run. I paid for it myself.

 

[ElectricTundra]

A friend told me he banged his left rear panel against an unseen fire hydrant ...
just minor damage, almost in the paintless dent removal category, but
apparently just a bit more severe.

So, a local estimate was $2000, because they needed to blend the red paint
into other surrounding panels, they said.

The Tesla-approved body shop estimated $10,000 ...

A third shop said (basically) that they could do a good job of paint matching,
so ... no need to paint more than a small area, thus about $1000.

Sort of makes one wonder a bit about who is doing what, and to whom.

The $10k is likely taking advantage of the Tesla monopoly. Between the other two there could certainly be a huge quality difference. The lessor not matching exactly, orange peel in one or more layers, swirls, adhesion problems from poor prep, and a long list of other issues. Worse some problems may not show until some time later requiring a bit of hassle to deal with. A quality shop is well worth what they charge.

 

[CuriousG]

I was rear ended almost 4yrs ago in another car at a stop light with about 5-6 cars in front of me. It wasn't like the light turned red suddenly and I had to slam on the brakes either. I actually saw the car coming at me in the rear view mirror and thinking it's going quite fast so I was prepared for the impact. I saw what I initially thought was smoke turned out to be the air bags deploying because of the force of impact.

After I got her insurance information she asked if she could get going. I insisted on filing a police report and she had the nerve to tell me that she had to get her kids to school. She had two girl passengers with her. I don't know what elementary school starts class after 9:30am.

After waiting another 40 minutes or so for a police officer to show up, to add insult to injury it turns out that it was my next door neighbor (CHP) that takes the report.

This is/was the car she was driving. And no the bumper didn't just fall off from the impact. The girl was 20yrs old at the time so I suspect she was either distracted with the two kids or the more likely scenario is she was texting while driving. USAA took care of everything after they tried to chase down the insurer and had no luck getting a hold of them and was reimbursed my deductible eventually.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Try to do it outside of insurance. Illinois is a "no fault" state, so if the damage exceeds. $500, your rates can (will?!) go up. Just looked into this issue with a hit and run. I paid for it myself.

It's technically a "modified comparative negligence" state. What you found is correct for a hit and run, but if you know the party that hit you, the relative amount of fault between the two of you is what determines payout. Technically this requires a civil case, but the insurance companies take it into account by default when performing their adjustments process.

My wife was hit while at a standstill in downtown Chicago (less than 12 hours before we moved to California :cursing: ). The other party, clearly at fault, covered the repairs 100%. Our insurance company didn't even need to be involved.

Unfortunately for OP, I suspect invoking your own policy's Uninsured Motorist Protection will look more like your hit and run example than our experience. :frown:

 

[kevincwelch]

Good to know. Glad we're not entirely screwed in IL.

 

[David99]

I had a lady rear end me. Sounds like very similar damage. You could hardly see anything but the indent from the other person's license plate screw head. For some reason they still ended up replacing the bumper and it came out to around $1600 or so. Not a huge amount. The really painful part is the time it takes the body shop to do it. Every day not having my Model S is a PITA and you have to drive in a crappy rental. My car is in the shop for almost two months now for rear bumper and rear quarter panel.