Proof once again that nothing good happens after midnight

[ShopVac]

Grandfather always told me that nothing good happens after midnight, here's proof of that statement.

Daughter woke up to a loud bang outside her house at 2:00AM. Apparently driver of a Tesla tried to put itself through her car. Driver of the Tesla did not seem impaired....she was just really, really bad at driving. So much for all those safety features. Guessing she was doing a little more than the posted 25 MPH speed limit at the time of impact.

Hyundai's a 2017 - but only had 26,000 miles on it. Happy to note that I just put on a fresh set of Michelin Pilot AS4's for her a couple days ago too.

Guessing that since the Tesla pushed the car into a wall and there's damage to the driver's side too...this will be a total loss.

Hate to see it.

[colo3Kid]

Driver had Tesla in auto mode?

[colo3Kid]

Driver had Tesla in auto mode?

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by colo3Kid

Driver had Tesla in auto mode?

We're doomed if it was.

If I had to guess - she made a left on to this street and instead of hitting the brakes coming down the hill, she hit the gas and panicked. There was a car behind my daughters that was missed.

[aa2033]

Glad your daughter wasn't in the car and is OK, and that the Tesla driver is ok. Cars can be replaced.

The Hyundai is definitely totaled. With the damage to only the passenger side it would have likely totaled it.

[Soul_Glo]

Property can be replaced. People cannot not be. Glad your daughter was not outside when it happened.

It’s a shame if bad drivers are buying Tesla’s thinking they can make it anywhere without driving skills.

[Esteban]

Don't know if it had to do with this accident but Tesla is currently having a recall regarding vehicles equipped with ‘Full Self-Driving.’

[HondaRC51]

If you have a receipt for the tires the insurance company will refund you for any work done before the accident. I think its within 30 days before but I could be wrong on the timeline.

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by HondaRC51

If you have a receipt for the tires the insurance company will refund you for any work done before the accident. I think its within 30 days before but I could be wrong on the timeline.

Never heard of this...I'll need to see if I can get it to go. It'd be nice, they were $800 after the rebate.

[HondaRC51]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

Never heard of this...I'll need to see if I can get it to go. It'd be nice, they were $800 after the rebate.

My buddy just got into an accident 2 weeks ago (other driver blew through a red and hit my friend on passenger headlight area, both are ok, buddy car totaled) and I told him to do this with his radiator that was replaced less than a week before the hit. Insurance gave him a "sublet" check for the receipt total. I learned it years ago from a Geico adjuster I had good standings with for work. Any maintenance or accessories installed within X-days before the accident would get refunded IF the vehicle is a total loss as long as there is receipts to prove it.

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

Never heard of this...I'll need to see if I can get it to go. It'd be nice, they were $800 after the rebate.

There is truth to the statement. You may have to push a little bit to get it but they owe for upgrades and items that make the vehicle worth more. DO NOT. Take the insurance companies first offer. Especially since the vehicle had low mileage and obviously you took care of it.
Do yourself some homework. They owe you to replace that same condition and approx mileage car plus sales tax. THEY ARE going to lowball you out of the gate but get some online similar vehicles and have your number, stick to it.

Glad everyone is OK and looks like your daughters getting a new car!

[cfm56d7b]

Originally Posted by Soul_Glo

Property can be replaced. People cannot not be. Glad your daughter was not outside when it happened.

It’s a shame if bad drivers are buying Tesla’s thinking they can make it anywhere without driving skills.

Wish I could add more but this is the wisest observation. Property can be replaced. So glad your daughter is OK and has to shop for a new car now.

[ShopVac]

So - insurance continues to be a battle. Needed to pay $40 for the police report, because the driver of the Tesla did not have their insurance cards with them...I could only obtain their insurance from the police report once they provided.

Great news though [sarcastic tone] - while the driver has insurance this time (daughter was hit in 2019, no insurance by offender - totaled car). The Tesla is insured with Safe Auto shit show insurance that only covers $5000 in other property damages. (PA required minimum)...so once again. My insurance gets to pay for this.

I sent the receipts for my tires as advised. Progressive is giving me $250 towards the $800 that I just paid for these. Guess it's better than nothing...

With the $250, Progressive's first offer was $18,400, minus my $500 deductible (which is questionable if I'll get back), and PA is only required to pay the sales tax of the new purchase, which is $1288, so not coverage for other incidentals.

I did not accept this offer, as the only comparable car in the area (60 miles away) is selling for $20,697 (has 2000 more miles than mine). Another in the state (200 miles away) is $21,999 (has 20,000 less miles than mine).

If I were to accept the offer as is and buy the one pictured below...I'd be out $2300 for the price of the car, ~$500 in title, document and notary fees, an additional $170 in taxes, and the $500 deductible, so about ~$3470 for a car that was hit while parked (not counting the additional $550 in tires and $40 for the police report).

[ShopVac]

In digging a little more into replacements, apparently the Elantra Limited was last sold in 2017...they did not have this in 2018 or 2019. Which may be the reason this year is so expensive. Also happens to be the last Hyundai with heated rear seats...this is no longer offered on any Hyundai.

Carmax has a couple of these as well - all sitting in the 20K range.

So - while I wait for insurance to get off the pot, I found a 2020 Limited in Columbus, OH (Hyundai started making them again in 2020) with 22K miles in it for $20,900 (out the door/no taxes paid). Paid cash for it while I wait the outcome from Progressive. I'll need to pay the taxes once the title gets here ~$1450 + AAA documentation fees of $80. Then I'll need to get a State and Emission test for ~$170

My costs:
$20,900 for the car and Ohio doc fees
$1530 for the taxes and PA doc fees
$170 Inspection
$40 police fee
Total $22,640

Needless, here's the replacement. Daughter apparently hated the red.

[Tommy-G]

Keep pushing, you have all the right information and its just a matter of being persistent. There is also something called the appraisal clause that you can invoke. It will tie the claim up for a while but you'll no doubt come out better.

The appraisal clause can be utilized when there is a dispute over the cost to repair your vehicle, the value of your vehicle in a total loss claim or the diminished value of your vehicle if you reside in a state where you can make a 1st party claim for diminished value.

https://www.collisionclaims.com/info...nished%20value.

[tcphoto]

Sorry to hear about your experience, it looks like you found a good replacement. I too had a hit and run while parked in my own driveway. The former (alcoholic that just smoked a little weed) roommate, who's SUV wasn't running had walked to a convenience store and was offered a ride by an impaired driver. It was about noon and he ran inside to tell me that my car had been hit. I ran out and the guy was speeding away but I got a photo of his license plate and called the police only to learn that they don't respond to accidents on private property.

Long story short, the rear bumper and one tire was damaged so it cost me my $500 deductible plus $175 with the prorated tire. It's been eight months and the other party denied being there and my former roommate isn't considered a "neutral" witness so it doesn't look like State Farm will be returning my deductible. I upgraded to the bumper and am now waiting on a Sport front bumper. Lesson learned, work the system to avoid accountability.

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by Tommy-G

Keep pushing, you have all the right information and its just a matter of being persistent. There is also something called the appraisal clause that you can invoke. It will tie the claim up for a while but you'll no doubt come out better.

The appraisal clause can be utilized when there is a dispute over the cost to repair your vehicle, the value of your vehicle in a total loss claim or the diminished value of your vehicle if you reside in a state where you can make a 1st party claim for diminished value.

https://www.collisionclaims.com/info...nished%20value.

Appreciate this - I'm digging into this now this now. Insurance just called me a few minutes after I hit the enter button (who knows, maybe they're reading this thread).

They said that their adjusters call two dealerships in my area (neither of which have the replacement for the car damaged) - and both stated that they would sell the car for less that what Progressive originally offered...at some value of $16,500. I thought for sure they would call one of the places that actually had a comparable car???

They said their offer stands, $18,172 for the vehicle (This includes the $250 extra for the new Michelin Pilot AS4 tires) - so with tax, they are offering $19,444.06, but then take out my $500 deductible - writing the check for $18,944.06. I dropped some F-bombs (which typically I do not do) and requested his supervisor (awesome...now I'm the F-ing Karen).

Why they would not call the dealer in the area that has the car is beyond me. Unless they did - not liking the results. Calling factiously to dealers on 'what if you had this car in your lot' does absolutely nothing for me.

If I accept their offer, I'm out $3700. While this will not break my bank...if my daughter was going at this on her own, there would be nothing she could do to recover.

[JMcLellan]

Will you be taking a long term hit on insurance premium increases as you say your insurance has to cover costs over $5K? There should be a special place in hell for people like the person that hit your daughter's car; crappy driver and buys crap insurance....

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by JMcLellan

Will you be taking a long term hit on insurance premium increases as you say your insurance has to cover costs over $5K? There should be a special place in hell for people like the person that hit your daughter's car; crappy driver and buys crap insurance....

Technically (can't state if it's 100% true) - but Progressive is to list this as 'not at fault' and not increase our rates. Not sure I really believe this...but that's what they say. This is the 2nd time it's happened in 3 years (actually bought the red Hyundai when the Kia was totaled by an uninsured - had dashcam proof too). I carry 'underinsured / noninsured' coverage specifically for this, as sadly, if they can't cover the cost of a Kia/Hyundai...you know they're not handling the cost of the Bimmer.

Do agree there should be a special place in hell for them though. Hot, humid, and no water for eternity.

[Watching The World Burn]

So I think I get why your insurance doesn't particularly want to make you a generous offer. What I'm having trouble understanding is why doesn't the guilty party have to pay up the difference?

How is it that you can take out the bare minimum insurance and then shrug and walk away from the thing without facing personal consequences (ie. taking your house, etc). Maybe your insurance is planning on going after them personally to cover their offer, I have no idea, but that just is strange to me. Canada I think has a mandatory minimum of $200K (but that also covers injury or death), but often people take out higher coverage.

Its an unfair situation for you to be in. Outside of insurance, do you have any recourse?

[Tommy-G]

ShopVac there is another option albeit a P.I.T.A. You can take the Tesla owner to small claims court for the loss and court fees. Looks like PA is $12k or under.
Figure if they own a Tesla they should have $4k accessible even though they realized they dont need to have good insurance coverage

Just another option.

[spazzyfry123]

Someone totaled my M3 entirely at their fault. It took nearly a year to settle and still wasn’t made whole on the car.

Best of luck!