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Cost of repair crazy high

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I look at these forms as a way for current and potential owner to share information. Prospective owners should understand the pros and the cons of this car.

I posted this on the TM form and it was removed in less than 24 hours.

I was also attacked by a number of Tesla religious zealot who if you say anything against tesla you are considered blasphemy and start their own Jehad against you.

First I love my tesla model S. It is the best driving car I have ever had the pleasure to drive. I was a reservation holder ~3 years ago and have 16k miles on it.

I happened to have what I would consider a minor collision after the recent storm which has resulted in a $20k bill where ~1/2 of the costs are parts.No air bags, I was able to drive away, front left fender, lights and the corner of the hood. While I know all companies are looking to make a profit, if such minor issues cost so much to fix they will not be able to sell many cars due to the high cost of insurance people will end up paying. For this much $ I could purchase a very nice new car!

I would be very interested to hear how much it cost to fix an Aluminum Audi and if it is comparable or not.
I would also presume that as more cars are built out of Aluminum finding qualified repair centers will be easier and the cost should go down.

I hope that Tesla address this high cost of parts before it bites them.

I have attempted to attach the line items but will not know if it worked until after I post this. I was unable to convert the PFD into text for easy posting.

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The missing link:

http://www.teslamotors.com/sv_SE/forum/forums/cost-repairs-crazy-high
and the new one
http://www.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/cost-repair-crazy-high

Censorship is un-American!
 
Replaced hood, wiring harness, front quarterpanel, both struts, the storage compartment, various fluids, and 3M clear shield (whole car? 11375 is pretty high). 24 hours of repainting and almost 70 hours of body repairs...

This doesn't sound like "minor damage" to me.

Or you got jacked by the repair shop.
 
Hello and welcome,

Perhaps you could post a picture of the damage to help us get a better idea of what was being repaired? There are quite a few accident pictures on the forums already and a good bit of talk of how expensive repairs are. I think the general consensus is that aluminum repair is not common, and it's expensive because the shops that specialize in repairing aluminum tend to make sure to do a slow, quality job, and usually work on very high end cars where high prices are the norm.

Peter
 
During the chaos of the event I failed to take a picture of the car but it truly did not look all that bad. I was thinking at most a couple of thousand to fix but not $20k this is almost the cost of a new Leaf.
 
During the chaos of the event I failed to take a picture of the car but it truly did not look all that bad. I was thinking at most a couple of thousand to fix but not $20k this is almost the cost of a new Leaf.
Have you had cars repaired in the last 5 years? Nothing is a couple thousand. It costs 750-1000 just to repair a blemish on a bumper. If you've got a dented fender, it's $5k minimum.

Unless you're driving a huge mass market car like a Hyundai Excel or something, repair costs are crazy high on all cars.
 
Murray, thank you for the details.
I really don't see how you would call that 'minor'. Either the body shop is ripping you off or the amount of work required is extensive.
If you ca get a copy of the photo taken by the shop or your insurance that would be very helpful.

Also, opening your post with insults is a poor way to ask for objective input.
 
Labor is expensive -- at Hollis Auto, which is the authorized Tesla repair shop in New England, they charge $125/hr for work on Tesla vehicles. This is higher than the rate for other aluminum cars (Audi A8, etc.) because they are amortizing the cost of training and special tooling. Fortunately, my insurance covered this repair. (I also managed to get upgraded fog lights as a result of this accident :)
 
hmmm so for those Sig Owners with 'A' type batteries, if they run over a tow hitch and manage to damage their front fog light simultaneously, they could get upgraded to 120kWh supercharging AND get the new fog lights? Interesting....

Presumably, if the fog lights failed for whatever reason they would get the new fog lights.
 
hmmm so for those Sig Owners with 'A' type batteries, if they run over a tow hitch and manage to damage their front fog light simultaneously, they could get upgraded to 120kWh supercharging AND get the new fog lights? Interesting....

:p

Actually you could just get Tesla to replace it as they have stated they will cover damaged batteries under warranty as long as it was not intentional damage. However, they may just replace it with another "A" type!! :wink:
 
Just going through some of the parts replaced and finding A6 equivalent (also aluminum based):

hood: $1045
2013 Audi A6 Quattro Parts - Audi Genuine Parts & Accessories eStore

Grille (plastic part): $420-712
2013 Audi A6 Quattro Parts - Audi Genuine Parts & Accessories eStore

Left Fender: $468
2013 Audi A6 Quattro Parts - Audi Genuine Parts & Accessories eStore

Headlamp: $470-980
2013 Audi A6 Quattro Parts - Audi Genuine Parts & Accessories eStore

Radiator support: $433.40
2013 Audi A6 Quattro Parts - Audi Genuine Parts & Accessories eStore

Condenser fan: $310.00
2013 Audi A6 Quattro Parts - Audi Genuine Parts & Accessories eStore

I get about $3000-4000 right there (there are some parts like braces/rails and other components I haven't looked at yet). So the $6k parts cost from Tesla doesn't look too out of ordinary assuming they actually replaced those parts.
 
During the chaos of the event I failed to take a picture of the car but it truly did not look all that bad. I was thinking at most a couple of thousand to fix but not $20k this is almost the cost of a new Leaf.

My ex managed to back into a Prius I owned (okay, that was funny) and dented in a side panel. Both he and I thought it would be a fairly minor repair, possibly even able to pop the door back out.

Three estimates and over $12k later, he found out that wasn't the case. I felt sorry for him, but that was the cost once they had to line up trim, match paint, had another panel impacted, etc. I let him pick the places for the estimates and talk directly to the folks, he knew he wasn't getting ripped off. But yeah, it sure seemed high for something that looked so minor.
 
I own an authorized Tesla collision repair facility and a P85+ as well. Yes, aluminum cars are costly to repair and will be for some time at least until they become more common and quicker and easier repair methods are developed. The specialized welders and straightening equipment and Tesla factory training is expensive too. Tesla has us send them data on each repair. They expect timeliness and will not tolerate overcharging. If your car was not structurally damaged you could have gone to any other shop you were comfortable with as long as they had aluminum repair expertise. The list of parts and labor indicates this job did have structural displcement and had to be done by an authorized facility. They are the only ones allowed to purchase structural parts from Tesla. Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Porsche and other aluminum cars have the same policy. Someone not factory trained and equipped is unlikely to be able to fix these cars properly. The other shop owners we've met that work on the Model S are fine craftsmen and honest. If you have concerns about your repair you should speak with the shop and someone from Tesla first.
I've always enjoyed helping others to understand the collision repair process and hope this is helpful and you won't feel the need to go about things in this way again.
 
I own an authorized Tesla collision repair facility and a P85+ as well. Yes, aluminum cars are costly to repair and will be for some time at least until they become more common and quicker and easier repair methods are developed. The specialized welders and straightening equipment and Tesla factory training is expensive too. Tesla has us send them data on each repair. They expect timeliness and will not tolerate overcharging. If your car was not structurally damaged you could have gone to any other shop you were comfortable with as long as they had aluminum repair expertise. The list of parts and labor indicates this job did have structural displcement and had to be done by an authorized facility. They are the only ones allowed to purchase structural parts from Tesla. Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Porsche and other aluminum cars have the same policy. Someone not factory trained and equipped is unlikely to be able to fix these cars properly. The other shop owners we've met that work on the Model S are fine craftsmen and honest. If you have concerns about your repair you should speak with the shop and someone from Tesla first.
I've always enjoyed helping others to understand the collision repair process and hope this is helpful and you won't feel the need to go about things in this way again.

Great info, thanks for this contribution.
 
This year, the best selling vehicle in the United States is switching to aluminum-intensive construction (and according to press reports shedding 750 lbs in the process).

The F150 isn't directly comparable when it comes to structural issues, since it will still use a body on (steel) frame design. But I have to think that this is going to rapidly expand the pool of body shops with aluminum expertise, and move that from a semi-exotic to mass-market issue.
 
Scott2613,

Thank you for the information. Informed input like yours is greatly appreciated. Do centers like your own make a profit on the parts or just pass the factory cost through? Is this what you see in my bill?

Thanks