I pity the textin-foo in the Tesla who barrels into a R1T...

[FuzzyBeanBag]

His insurance is GEICO? Oh you are in for a ride. Turn it over to your insurance and let them deal with GEICO. You don't want to deal with them directly. They will try to pull any and all shenanigans at their disposal.

Before I got the T, the previous car was rear-ended on the 405 by a kid, at more than 30 mph during rush hour, near SNA. The kid claimed he never saw my alpine white X5 stopped along with all lanes of traffic. He also said he couldn't find his phone—because it flew out of his hands during the collision. For months GEICO kept calling me telling me the kid was only insured upto X amount, which is less than damages on my car. I kept telling them, "that's GEICO's problem to solve, not mine". Then, after months of that, they had audacity to send me release papers to sign, without even offering a settlement. I ignored it, of course, since I had turned everything over to my insurance (State Farm) to deal with. Very early on State Farm told me to go ahead and get the car fixed. But, in all, he whole thing took close to two years to wrap up. GEICO's premiums are among the lowest for a reason.

The hilarious part is that as I got to my office and sat down, my phone range and it was Geico saying their insured called, admitted fault etc etc. This is not my first time dealing with them, but also wont be my first rodeo if i have to subrogate as I've done that before.

I took a closer look tonight and I think the left side of the truck is tweaked. The tailgate is pushed more in on the left, and so is the left rear qtr panel as compared to the other side; you can see the edge of the gear tunnel door stick out vs being flush on the right side...

Sponsored

 

[CrazyOne]

These are strong vehicles, fantastic for passenger safety. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Tesla is repaired while Rivian is totalled.

 

[Rivian Owner]

As a service to our fellow drivers, when you see someone paying more attention to their phone than their driving, you should get in front of them and randomly brake and drag the brakes (flash the brake lights) to scare the living S#!^ out of them! If enough people were to do this the texter would have to pull over to change their diaper and wouldn't be on the road! If everyone just slowed way down in front of texters, the texter's vehicle with adaptive cruise would slow down and it would take them forever to get to their destination, heck maybe another texter would rear-end them.

 

[TTedP]

It's unreal how much damage the other car always seems to get. Almost like a FU from the Rivian for hitting it.

 

[nbet28]

I think insurance has started low balling initial quotes in hopes that people just take the cash and run rather than offering a much larger amount. Our Y recently got into a bit of a winter fender bender that we were offered like 1k and the final bill was like 8k

 

[loqueid]

Has similar within the last month. But I was at the front of a 3-car so I get to enjoy the drama of one insurance company going after the other...
Normally I wouldn't care that much, but since I'm still on a lease, I need them to take care of it all. Also, I have dumbinsurance so I don't want to file a claim through my company because they'll probably raise my rates just for the claim, regardless of fault. Maybe -- I'm new to this.

 

[blturner]

I barely got clipped by a trash truck, could have been a bicycle for no more damage than was done. Over $5000. They replaced the whole rear side of the vehicle for an 8 inch scratch. I tried to find a body shop that would old school it but they declined because the truck's electronics might get mad when you pull the bumper off to fix it.

 

[Megavolt]

You may have got away relatively unscathed. But time will tell…
I thought my R1T held up well considering a 40 mph impact from a Silverado while stopped at a traffic light… but alas, was totaled. They are tough trucks, but expensive to repair. Full replacement car insurance - best $28 annually that I ever spent. New R1T for me.

That's 40MPH? Hot damn

 

[ksumnole]

Personally, I've repaired our old Model 3 on two different instances due to the other drives’ faults. A rear end by someone with AAA. We went directly to our repair shop and let them file with AAA. No problems or delay. The second one was a side-swipe, and the other driver has Tesla insurance. We let USAA subrogate that one. Two years past, it's still dragging on.

In both instances, I post the video from internal cameras on YouTube and send a public link to other drivers’ insurance. Let them be the judge.

I do believe the repair industry is part of the problem. They are absolutely taking the insurance companies out for a ride with these extreme repair costs. Neither Tesla nor Rivian is brand new, and there is no shortage of parts or technical service information, etc. Something has to give.....

 

[Rivian Owner]

I think insurance has started low balling initial quotes in hopes that people just take the cash and run rather than offering a much larger amount. Our Y recently got into a bit of a winter fender bender that we were offered like 1k and the final bill was like 8k

"started" ha ha ha, the low ball behavior has always been my experience with insurance companies. I have never met an adjuster that was hired to give the company's money away. Thanks for the laugh!

 

[Rivian Owner]

Personally, I've repaired our old Model 3 on two different instances due to the other drives’ faults. A rear end by someone with AAA. We went directly to our repair shop and let them file with AAA. No problems or delay. The second one was a side-swipe, and the other driver has Tesla insurance. We let USAA subrogate that one. Two years past, it's still dragging on.

In both instances, I post the video from internal cameras on YouTube and send a public link to other drivers’ insurance. Let them be the judge.

I do believe the repair industry is part of the problem. They are absolutely taking the insurance companies out for a ride with these extreme repair costs. Neither Tesla nor Rivian is brand new, and there is no shortage of parts or technical service information, etc. Something has to give.....

Have you checked the prices for some of the parts from the manufacturers? This isn't a matter of a shortage of parts or a scarcity of body repair shops; our vehicles are getting more sophisticated which requires more expensive parts (check the price of a backup sensor for example, something quite easily damaged when the rear bumper is hit) and require more sophisticated repair tools and techniques. Insurance companies have plenty of repair history to know what a repair will cost, so they aren't being bamboozled by some body shop. When a tail light with radar sensors costs a few thousand dollars instead of thirty dollars for a plastic lens repairs are going to be more expensive.

Insurance companies drag their feet because they don't like paying for claims. In a lot of cases it doesn't cost them much of anything to delay as long as possible which means money in the bank for a longer period of time.

 

[nbet28]

"started" ha ha ha, the low ball behavior has always been my experience with insurance companies. I have never met an adjuster that was hired to give the company's money away. Thanks for the laugh!

Haha, well it was low even before the shop took anything off the car. But I am naive and haven't gotten in an accident in years (*aggressively knocks on wood*)

 

[ksumnole]

Have you checked the prices for some of the parts from the manufacturers? This isn't a matter of a shortage of parts or a scarcity of body repair shops; our vehicles are getting more sophisticated which requires more expensive parts (check the price of a backup sensor for example, something quite easily damaged when the rear bumper is hit) and require more sophisticated repair tools and techniques. Insurance companies have plenty of repair history to know what a repair will cost, so they aren't being bamboozled by some body shop. When a tail light with radar sensors costs a few thousand dollars instead of thirty dollars for a plastic lens repairs are going to be more expensive.

Insurance companies drag their feet because they don't like paying for claims. In a lot of cases it doesn't cost them much of anything to delay as long as possible which means money in the bank for a longer period of time.

I have not checked the price of a backup sensor. How much is it? A simple search shows $45-80. How much did you find? Are backup sensors new in the automotive industry? I think this is exactly the kind of conversation that is generated from the repair industry. But it's not always grounded in truth as it relates to cost.

 

[Luvolbikes]

The Tesla looks all frunked up. Glad you are okay though BA Baracus.

 

[Rivian Owner]

I have not checked the price of a backup sensor. How much is it? A simple search shows $45-80. How much did you find? Are backup sensors new in the automotive industry? I think this is exactly the kind of conversation that is generated from the repair industry. But it's not always grounded in truth as it relates to cost.

No I suggested the backup sensor as I had some for my FJ that were close to $1000 each when I went to purchase them a couple of years ago. I probably should have looked for a better example before posting instead of using my older history, my bad. At the same time, I've run across plenty of very expensive parts with vehicle repairs I've done myself. A better example of cost to repair, I needed a trim piece unpainted on the side of a door for a GM vehicle that was over $200 - about 24" long, probably urethane material with plastic studs for attachment, no technology involved and this was back in the early 2000s directly from GM. I recently spent over $400 for materials to paint two small trailer fenders as another example, and this doesn't include my time to prep, go to buy product, and paint the fenders.

Let's not forget that insurance companies have millions of vehicle repair histories from around the country, so it isn't as though the insurance companies are blind to the cost of repair. When the vehicle costs $100,000 it isn't hard to see how a "minor" repair cost thousands of dollars. Another thing to consider......a Ford Mustang new in 1964 was a little over $2000.

Sponsored