I'm probably in the market for another car; Update: being repaired

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jlv

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2014
Messages
2,005
Location
Massachusetts
At just over 4.5 yrs and 51K miles, The BlueS may have played it's last song.

Crash.50.jpg

The other car was making a left out of a driveway and pulled out right in front of me without looking (it's really clear on the TeslaCam video). I hit his front driver's side and turned him 90 degrees. You can see the front tire on the Rogue is not right. For my car, all the airbags deployed, including both side curtains. I was able to get up and walk away. The other driver was taken away, but today I was told they are fine.

It's too early to know if it's totaled or not. It's a lousy time to get another car. If it is repairable, at least Massachusetts just passed diminished value into law.

If I do need another new car, I don't know what it would be. I shy away from another Model S because of (1) the yoke wheel and (2) no pano roof. Not to mention that the wait for a non-Plaid is 7 months. And I always thought I might consider something new when the next range improvement comes (4680 batteries?). Of course, the "next range improvement" is a sliding scale, and next year will always be better. Maybe a Model 3.

If my car was totaled, I might have considered getting a used LEAF to hold me over for a year... but not with the crazy used car market.

FWIW, the range loss on this car is just about 10%.
 
I've always wondered how Tesla owners know what SOH the battery is in without using a hack tool like LeafSpy, though I have seen that you can wire up a plug and use TeslaSpy on the same interface?

In this used car market, it might worth the expensive repair option provided the frame isn't all out of wack. Was it a really high speed collision or a "in the neighborhood" type hit (maybe less than 25 mph)? Glad to hear you were able to walk away. :D

Have you considered a used "beater" Leaf or is the mileage requirements too high for a really old one?

jlv said:
At just over 4.5 yrs and 51K miles, The BlueS may have played it's last song.

The other car was making a left out of a driveway and pulled out right in front of me without looking (it's really clear on the TeslaCam video). I hit his front driver's side and turned him 90 degrees. You can see the front tire on the Rogue is not right. For my car, all the airbags deployed, including both side curtains. I was able to get up and walk away. The other driver was taken away, but today I was told they are fine.

It's too early to know if it's totaled or not. It's a lousy time to get another car. If it is repairable, at least Massachusetts just passed diminished value into law.

If I do need another new car, I don't know what it would be. I shy away from another Model S because of (1) the yoke wheel and (2) no pano roof. Not to mention that the wait for a non-Plaid is 7 months. And I always thought I might consider something new when the next range improvement comes (4680 batteries?). Of course, the "next range improvement" is a sliding scale, and next year will always be better. Maybe a Model 3.

If my car was totaled, I might have considered getting a used LEAF to hold me over for a year... but not with the crazy used car market.

FWIW, the range loss on this car is just about 10%.
 
jlv said:
It's too early to know if it's totaled or not. It's a lousy time to get another car. If it is repairable, at least Massachusetts just passed diminished value into law.

If I do need another new car, I don't know what it would be. I shy away from another Model S because of (1) the yoke wheel and (2) no pano roof. Not to mention that the wait for a non-Plaid is 7 months. And I always thought I might consider something new when the next range improvement comes (4680 batteries?). Of course, the "next range improvement" is a sliding scale, and next year will always be better. Maybe a Model 3.

If my car was totaled, I might have considered getting a used LEAF to hold me over for a year... but not with the crazy used car market.

FWIW, the range loss on this car is just about 10%.

I presume that a total loss will have to take current replacement car values into account. If you can figure out how to wait for a new car, you come out of this money wise smelling like a rose. This is what is happening (for different reasons) with me: I sold my Tesla Model 3 to CarMax for a fairly outlandish price, and we are making do with our LEAF until a new Model Y is delivered.

By the way, I've gotten to the point where I don't want to drive a car without sentry mode. It is worth its weight in latinum. Regarding whether the car is totaled or not, just make sure the insurance company knows they will be paying for a Tesla rental for months should they think about car repair.
 
SageBrush said:
Regarding whether the car is totaled or not, just make sure the insurance company knows they will be paying for a Tesla rental for months should they think about car repair.
I'm always amused by quotes like these: insurance companies only do/pay what they want...regardless of what you want.
Sorry for the OP's loss and glad everyone is (physically) OK.
 
Stanton said:
I'm always amused by quotes like these: insurance companies only do/pay what they want...regardless of what you want.
Sorry for the OP's loss and glad everyone is (physically) OK.
No ... they pay the minimum they can get away with within the confines of the contract. OP can demand a rental of similar vehicle to the one out of commission. It is part and parcel of being made whole.

I'm not sure about MA though ... isn't it a 'no-fault' state ?
 
knightmb said:
Have you considered a used "beater" Leaf or is the mileage requirements too high for a really old one?
Did you read all the way through my post? In fact, I did (but for the insane increase in used car prices).

Just for fun, I sent an email to the person I sold my 2013 to.
 
jlv said:
knightmb said:
Have you considered a used "beater" Leaf or is the mileage requirements too high for a really old one?
Did you read all the way through my post? In fact, I did (but for the insane increase in used car prices).

Just for fun, I sent an email to the person I sold my 2013 to.
It was more of a "beater" question in the sense of low mileage due to advanced battery degradation versus having to pony up some money for a plus version of a Leaf if your daily mileage was much higher.
 
These are interesting times. The BBB legislation that recently passed in congress and is being debated in the Senate has a $4k refundable tax credit for used EVs. I'm having visions of my 70 mile LEAF being worth more than I paid for it 5 years ago.

I may have to change the car name to Fata Morgana
 
knightmb said:
It was more of a "beater" question in the sense of low mileage due to advanced battery degradation versus having to pony up some money for a plus version of a Leaf if your daily mileage was much higher.
Yes, I probably would consider one for a short time (a year or two). In fact, when I mentioned a used LEAF, I was thinking of a 24kWh one.
 
The comments about "being made whole" really depend upon case law and interpretation in the state (jurisdiction) where the crash happened. I found out in Arizona that I would have had a much better case if I had gone to a doctor even though I was not injured. I am glad JLV is OK.
 
GerryAZ said:
I found out in Arizona that I would have had a much better case if I had gone to a doctor even though I was not injured.
I cannot say I am surprised. I'm willing to wager that the per capita lawyer population in AZ is 'impressive.'

Addendum: ... And I was wrong. This site
https://www.lawyersofdistinction.com/lawyers-by-capita-per-state/
says AZ is one of the lowest. I'd still want to to count the personal injury sub-group but that data is harder to come by.
 
SageBrush said:
GerryAZ said:
I found out in Arizona that I would have had a much better case if I had gone to a doctor even though I was not injured.
I cannot say I am surprised. I'm willing to wager that the per capita lawyer population in AZ is 'impressive.'

Addendum: ... And I was wrong. This site
https://www.lawyersofdistinction.com/lawyers-by-capita-per-state/
says AZ is one of the lowest. I'd still want to to count the personal injury sub-group but that data is harder to come by.

I wonder if the US average number takes DC into account? if so I'd think its extraordinarily large number could skew the US numbers. I'm guessing DC doesn't actually have that many actively practicing lawyers in DC but rather they just live there? Regardless I'd think to get a true US average they should omit DC.
 
Thanksgiving delayed everything. The adjuster isn't even going to look at the car until Wednesday. I'm still in limbo, expecting the car to totaled.

I was slightly in shock afterwards, so I didn't think to turn off the emergency blinkers. With the HV battery disconnected, the 12V died overnight. I foolishly didn't get everything out the car the day of the accident, and am unable to get the car to open up. There are just a few things in there that matter (e.g., the Tesla umbrella that I got in the goodie bag when I picked up the car - Tesla no longer does goodie bags). I need to wait until the disposition of the car is determined before trying to get the door opened via the tow company.

I started thinking about replacement cars. Picking up a Model 3 overnight loaner today. Making appointments to drive a number of other EVs. However, I have a Tesla wall connector, and getting any other model EV would require a replacement EVSE. Not to mention dealing with other charging networks on long trips. The SuperCharger network makes all our trips so very trivial, so I will be hard pressed to buy a new EV that doesn't use it.

Which is why I'm thinking of used EVs, specifically a LEAF. There don't seem to be many around.
 
Meanwhile, last night my son told me he's sold his 15 year old Accord (to his sister) and is looking at a longer-range EV to supplement his LEAF, so that he doesn't need to take the pickup on long trips. He's considering the Niro EV and the ID.4. So we're going to compare notes on test drives.

(I actually suggested he wait until summer and consider the Ariya)

For me, my Model S was a 75D with 350V battery, so it topped out SuperCharging at 120kW. When I bought it, that speed was originally 100kW, until Tesla uprated the v2 SuperChargers from 120kW to 150kW. I see the Niro EV maxes out at 77kW on CCS, and the ID.4 tops out at 125kW. Those speeds pretty much rules out me buying either of those as a new car. I was thinking if I have to get a new car I'd have much faster DC charging - e.g., 250kW on any new Tesla.
 
jlv said:
However, I have a Tesla wall connector, and getting any other model EV would require a replacement EVSE.
My understanding is that the only difference between Tesla's EVSE and a standard one is mechanical. Electrically they are both J1772. So you could just change the cord to one with a standard J1772 plug instead of the Tesla plug, or get a mechanical adapter. Not sure if there are any high qualify options available for the latter, though.

Cheers, Wayne
 
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