Diminished value claim on my Tesla model Y

I was rear-ended by a driver insured with GEICO in October 2025. My 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range had about $8,186 in repairs. There was no structural damage and no airbags deployed, but obviously the accident now shows up on the vehicle history.

When I filed a diminished value claim, GEICO offered me $1,200 to close the case. The frustrating part is they are not accepting any documentation I try to submit, and they refuse to give me an email address to send evidence—they only want to talk over the phone.

To understand the real market impact, I went to four dealers for quotes. Eventually I sold the car to a third party for $25,250. However, similar cars on KBB are listed around $29k–$31k for similar mileage (~42k miles) and condition.

So realistically the accident reduced my car’s value by about $4k–$6k compared to clean-title market value.

My questions:

- Is it worth fighting GEICO for a higher diminished value payout?

- Has anyone successfully negotiated more after an initial low offer?

- Does selling the car already hurt my chances of getting more?

Right now they want me to accept $1,200 to close the claim, but that feels low given the price difference.

Any advice from people who have gone through this would be really helpful.