Major damage to my new Lightning (T-bone collision) - now what?

[Ostrichsak]

By the way, it's important to understand what the insurance coverage is before anyone can tell you what your insurance will pay/cover. All policies differ and some have replacement cost differences. Even then, they may try to tell you it's worth less than you paid now due to depreciation and you may have to dispute with a few examples of "if I buy a replacement today" but this all depends on the type of coverage you pay your premiums for.

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[broncoaz]

That sucks! It shouldn’t total with that kind of damage, but if they can’t get parts for the next 6-8 months you might wish it had. There were a couple Bronco owners waiting months for parts. Most things in the Lightning are standard F-150, but that front fender is Lightning only.

 

[bg226]

Hurts to see. Sorry and I hope everything works out for you.

 

[sotek2345]

Well that is the question. Would the insurance pay out enough to get one of the few on the lot with huge markups.

 

[sen7inel]

Hate to see this happen but do keep us posted regarding the process as it may be useful to those unlucky ones that will inevitably find themselves in similar circumstances. I do hope the truck won't be totaled and all is fixed as good as new.

 

[FordLightningMan]

Hope frame is not damaged and only the cab as that determines if the truck will be totalled...

I had a week old vehicle parked in a lot with about 200 miles on it smashed worse than this truck. Due to the brand new nature of the vehicle, the insurance company wouldn't call it totalled. Instead, it was put on a machine where the metal of the frame was pulled slowly back in place and then the body panels were replaced. This saved the insurance company about $10k, as this was a $25k car in about 2002.

I'm not sure if the battery changes things or it insurance works differently in 2022, but trust me the insurance company will do anything to save $$$.

Best of luck to you.

 

[blpublic]

Think I saw on tik tok you just use a plunger to pull the dent and then buff it out
Sorry to see this- hope everything works out for you

We actually had a body shop do this just to make the door open/close for now.

 

[metroshot]

We actually had a body shop do this just to make the door open/close for now.

Ouch!

If the truck does get fixed by the insurance company, make sure you file for "diminished value" because it will hurt you big time when you try to resell her.

 

[Theo1000]

Sorry to see this, glad all walked away. That looks violent, well over 30 mph collision looks like.

The nice thing is Lightning shares a ton of components with the ICE F-150 so parts should be readily available. I see this getting fixed. Other than the B pillar the main crumple zone/box is intact. For a 70k-100k+ vehicle, they will fix it.

You can see why EV's get such stellar side impact crash ratings. That reinforced bottom makes it impossible to intrude into passenger compartment, esp. low down. 17 year old kid died on my street last year, from that exact collision at 45 mph when crush zone intrusion shattered his legs and arteries and he bled out in under 10 minutes. Count you self real lucky truck did its job.

 

[lancersrock]

I had a week old vehicle parked in a lot with about 200 miles on it smashed worse than this truck. Due to the brand new nature of the vehicle, the insurance company wouldn't call it totalled. Instead, it was put on a machine where the metal of the frame was pulled slowly back in place and then the body panels were replaced. This saved the insurance company about $10k, as this was a $25k car in about 2002.

I'm not sure if the battery changes things or it insurance works differently in 2022, but trust me the insurance company will do anything to save $$$.

Best of luck to you.

So I live in Iowa and we have a law requires any vehicle damage exceeding 50% the vehicles value requires the insurance company to total it. Recently a family member hit a deer and the insurance claimed the damage was only 48% of the value. After the 4th insurance approved repair shop refused to fix it the insurance company finally approved the total out. Fight for what's right and find a shop you can trust.

 

[RickLightning]

As you can see, I was T-boned. It’s drivable still. What certifications should body shops have to do this repair? The first one said they may have to remove the battery pack first.
Suggestions on how to proceed?

Your insurance company should be able to give you a list of qualified shops. They should also have shops that if you use them the insurance company will guarantee the work for life.

Always work through YOUR insurance company, not the other driver's company. Let your company fight for you, you pay them.

You will need a full EV systems check by a Ford dealer as part of the estimate.

 

[BeeLightning]

Hope everyone is okay.

This truck is to new and valuable to leave to any old body shop. Stick with the dealer!! Work will be under warranty.

 

[rdr854]

I had a week old vehicle parked in a lot with about 200 miles on it smashed worse than this truck. Due to the brand new nature of the vehicle, the insurance company wouldn't call it totalled. Instead, it was put on a machine where the metal of the frame was pulled slowly back in place and then the body panels were replaced. This saved the insurance company about $10k, as this was a $25k car in about 2002.

I'm not sure if the battery changes things or it insurance works differently in 2022, but trust me the insurance company will do anything to save $$$.

Best of luck to you.

My 2019 Ford Fusion Hybrid with 140 miles on it was totaled by a deer strike. The issue for the insurance company was not the fact that the car was brand new, but rather the dollar figure to repair the car vs it’s actual cash value.

For determining the ACV, the insurance carrier looked at what it would cost to purchase a new car and then deducted the 140 miles on the odometer.

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