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> In reality, Tesla is doing you a favor by making their body panels so expensive because that means it's easier for your car to get declared a total write off

> In reality, Tesla is doing you a favor by making their body panels so expensive because that means it's easier for your car to get declared a total write off in an accident and you can get a new car I think the chance of getting new value for your totalled car is pretty slim, unless it was written off in the first year or you're paying extra for GAP insurance. My car got written off by an insurance company last year after someone drove into me. I ended up taking a settlement and getting the car fixed myself, there was no way their write off settlement would by me anything like the car I was about to lose. I also hate "throwing away" something mechanically sound over a few body panels, some panel beating, and some paint. And it is certainly not the 'green' choice either!

ebbv 10y ago
If your car gets hit to the point where you have to replace body panels it's not as mechanically sound any more as you might think. Only weird, edge case accidents can result in a body panel being destroyed to the point of replacement where the actual structure of the car hasn't been bent or warped in ways that will permanently alter the handling and behavior of the car. As for being green; when you write off a car it's not like it just gets buried in the ground whole. It gets parted out and the parts all get sold. It's actually quite green. :P Your insurance will give you replacement value for the car that was destroyed. No that's not original MSRP but it's what the destroyed car is worth. If you're really intent on repairing it, you usually use that money to buy the written off car from whoever the insurance company ends up selling it to (usually whatever mechanic or storage place the totaled vehicle is physically located) and then pay to have it repaired. If the total of that procedure is higher than what the insurance company gave you, then it's a bad idea to do that. :)

ebbv 10y ago

If your car gets hit to the point where you have to replace body panels it's not as mechanically sound any more as you might think. Only weird, edge case accidents can result in a body panel being destroyed to the point of replacement where the actual structure of the car hasn't been bent or warped in ways that will permanently alter the handling and behavior of the car. As for being green; when you write off a car it's not like it just gets buried in the ground whole. It gets parted out and the parts all get sold. It's actually quite green. :P Your insurance will give you replacement value for the car that was destroyed. No that's not original MSRP but it's what the destroyed car is worth. If you're really intent on repairing it, you usually use that money to buy the written off car from whoever the insurance company ends up selling it to (usually whatever mechanic or storage place the totaled vehicle is physically located) and then pay to have it repaired. If the total of that procedure is higher than what the insurance company gave you, then it's a bad idea to do that. :)