Long time lurker, 1st Accident

[bmil03]

Driving home from work in the rain this evening when an RST Suburban braked suddenly due to a car in front of them slamming on the brakes to turn without signaling. Between the rain and speed I couldn’t stopped fast enough and I hit his rear bumper going about 5mph. No air bags deployed or injuries, other than my pride.

We traded information and went our separate ways. No police report file as neither of us had been in an accident before and honestly it seemed unnecessary at the time (hope this doesn’t come back to bite me). Both vehicles operable with little concern about making it home. Nice guy and his is a company car, which means he’s also on their corporate insurance policy as insured. My M3P is a lease due for early turn in on July 26th (target date) because I’ve ordered a Highland M3P replacement.

Damage wise it appears mostly surface level on the Suburban, and I’d argue it is close to the same on M3P. Yes the bumper and hood likely need to be replaced, maybe driver side fender too. In reading various accident threads over the years I realize that much more is probably lurking below the surface. I’m left wondering what options, if any, I might have and/or thinking about due to the surprise of this happening.

In no particular order:
1) Call my insurance company and make a claim, providing all of his information at the same time
2) See if the other party really insists on getting his fixed since it’s a company car. And either a) Work directly with body shop to get quote for fixing my car or b) Turn my car in as-is and see what they hit me for on damages
3) Other options or opinions?

 

[Kairide]

Start by reporting to your insurance company. If the other party reports the accident to their insurance, their insurance would contact yours. Never admit fault.
As for your repairs, it may be cheaper to see if you can get the repairs fixed via dent repair since it’s a lease return. As long as you return it in a condition that looks acceptable to Tesla, that’s all you need. If you can pay out of pocket for dent repair instead of going through your insurance, you’ll save your rates from going up. Of course that is also if the other party doesn’t report the accident to their insurance.

 

[Transformer]

Do check the laws in your state about cases where you're required to report the accident to the police, DMV, or insurance company.

 

[KenC]

Looks totally cosmetic. I hope it's not too expensive.

 

[Birdsfan]

The company that owns the car will want it fixed why wouldn't they? I would guess the driver has already reported it. You will need to report this to your insurance company unless you have fairly deep pockets and wish to pay for theirs and yours out of pocket. Once you report the incident to your company you have two choices, you can lie about what happened or tell the truth, that's a you question. Based on your OP you rear ended the car, it is your fault plain and simple. If you lie to your insurance company and they speak with the other driver and his story is different than yours, you still rear ended him at the end of the day and will be found at fault. Now your carrier can drop you for lying to them. My best advice is to give yourself more room when driving so if the car in front of you stops short you will have enough time to stop, 2 seconds would be enough, onethousandone, onethousandtwo.

 

[The Other Dan]

Just remember, you've got video of the entire event, for better or worse.

 

[mborkow]

I’d guess he needs a new bumper cover and repair any damage they find when the remove the damaged cover. And you need a new bumper cover (and possibly damage underneath), hood, and repaint the front half of your car…not cheap. In your place, I’d just call my insurance carrier and let them deal with this but I’d expect a rate-up (since they’ll decide this is at least 51% your fault).

 

[Apprunner]

Way more often than not, it will be blamed on the car that does the rear ending. Their fault for not keeping distance. It is what it is...

 

[rpiotro]

Driving home from work in the rain this evening when an RST Suburban braked suddenly due to a car in front of them slamming on the brakes to turn without signaling. Between the rain and speed I couldn’t stopped fast enough and I hit his rear bumper going about 5mph. No air bags deployed or injuries, other than my pride.

We traded information and went our separate ways. No police report file as neither of us had been in an accident before and honestly it seemed unnecessary at the time (hope this doesn’t come back to bite me). Both vehicles operable with little concern about making it home. Nice guy and his is a company car, which means he’s also on their corporate insurance policy as insured. My M3P is a lease due for early turn in on July 26th (target date) because I’ve ordered a Highland M3P replacement.

Damage wise it appears mostly surface level on the Suburban, and I’d argue it is close to the same on M3P. Yes the bumper and hood likely need to be replaced, maybe driver side fender too. In reading various accident threads over the years I realize that much more is probably lurking below the surface. I’m left wondering what options, if any, I might have and/or thinking about due to the surprise of this happening.

In no particular order:
1) Call my insurance company and make a claim, providing all of his information at the same time
2) See if the other party really insists on getting his fixed since it’s a company car. And either a) Work directly with body shop to get quote for fixing my car or b) Turn my car in as-is and see what they hit me for on damages
3) Other options or opinions?

I would think twice about reporting it to your insurance company. First of all, as you rear ended the other car you are liable.

First get estimate of repairs. Depending on the cost you might prefer to just eat it instead of making a claim. Remember, any claims made on your insurance will show up as the car having been in an accident on CarFax. Without any explanation of the damages. Come trade-in time you will take a big hit. Ask me how I know.

As far as notifying the police that depends. Some jurisdictions will require a report depending on the amount of damage. You can usually get the form from any LEO agency and fill it out and file it yourself. If it is not required there is no reason to get the police involved. I avoid such actions wherever possible.

I am not an attorney but I slept at a Holiday Inn last night. Also have 55 years experience in the retail automotive business.

 

[Sorny]

You have insurance, use it. You should always involve the cops in an accident with damage. Even when you're 100% at fault, like this case.

 

[rpiotro]

You have insurance, use it. You should always involve the cops in an accident with damage. Even when you're 100% at fault, like this case.

The cops may not want to be involved. If no-one was injured they may just tell you to file a report. Unless you live in a small town where cops have nothing better to do.

 

[Transformer]

The cops may not want to be involved. If no-one was injured they may just tell you to file a report. Unless you live in a small town where cops have nothing better to do.

Some states require reporting some cases to law enforcement and the DMV. Insurance contracts often require reporting accidents as well.

https://isp.illinois.gov/CrashReports:

Each driver involved in an Illinois traffic crash must file a crash report if the crash caused a death, bodily injury, or more than $1,500 of property damage when all drivers are insured. If any driver does not have insurance, the threshold is $500. If a police officer does not appear on the scene, you need to file a report with the Illinois State Police as soon as possible, within 10 days.