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Minor bumper scratch and...

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My wife hit the driver's side bumper and scratch the left corner of bumper on our 3 days old Model S while backing out of the garage. :-(There is some separation of the bumper from the body but it looks minor and the garage door was not even damaged. However, the repair estimate was shocking...

The Tesla certified body shop gave me a $2600 estimate but there is a possibility that the magnesium plate behind the bumper is bend and it cannot be repaired and must be replaced. If that is the case, the replacement cost will be ~$3000. Before I got the car, I knew it is expensive to repair the body work but ~$6000 for a < 5mph bump is an eye opener and this is not even involving any aluminum repair. The insurance I have for the Tesla is actually the lowest of the 3 cars I owned but I wonder how much longer it will last before the insurance company catches on.
 
Most expensive car to repair of all cars. They don't tell you this when you buy the car. I've seen repair bills as high as $48k for repair work. And that was not even a major accident. Lots of shops charge as high as possible just under the "totaled" amount so they can keep the job and all the profit and laugh all the way to the bank bc they know there are no other tesla certified repair shops.
 
It would be $2600 if only the bumper needs to be repainted and rebuffed. But he is concerned that the magnesium piece may need replacement which will add $3000 to the bill and they won't know until they take off the bumper. I was surprised that the underlying Mg piece can be some fragile though. It was quite literally a scuff on the bumper although it did separate from the body a little.

I and several others paid a lot less for this sort of damage. Less than half of this. Plastic bumper replaced and painted. No picture thus can't say for sure.
 
Can you share some photos?

Sure. Here is photo but bad lighting so had to bump up ISO and use f 2/8 so only one of the holes is in focus. Hazards of living in big city with parallel parking. The person who did this had to know it happened and just left.

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An update. We took the car in on 7/21 for repair and the good news is that the magnesium plate was fine. (I just learned that the radiator (??) is actually mounted on this plate and that's why there is a>$2k labor associated with removing/installing this plate) However, the bumper cover cannot be repaired due to the crack's location so a new bumper is needed. The new bill is about $3200. And I may get the car back tomorrow.
 
Can you take a picture of the damage llngoc?

- - - Updated - - -

Sure. Here is photo but bad lighting so had to bump up ISO and use f 2/8 so only one of the holes is in focus. Hazards of living in big city with parallel parking. The person who did this had to know it happened and just left.

View attachment 53099

Any decent body shop can repair that very easily, no need to be "Tesla certified."
 

ouch $3200? it looks so minor like you could just reattach it and buff out the fender scrapes. the missing paint could just be touched up. someone on a bicycle hit my lexus once and gauged up the bumper in several places and i had a mobile paint person come and do his magic and it was good as new. perhaps yours has some body alignment issues with that pin coming out of the bumper, but man that is an expensive repair.

just out of curiosity, why didn't the parking sensors save the car from being hit while backing out?
 
Unfortunately, I have another update on my string of bad luck. We picked up the car about 2 weeks ago and decided to drive down to Disneyland and test out the SuperCharger network. And in my foolishness, I have decided to visit a nice little bistro in Anaheim for dinner on Friday even though it is located in a seedy part of town. Well, after dinner when we came out, this is what I found:

photo.JPG


We got our estimate and is planning to take it in this coming Monday. And the estimate is yet another surprise. The first estimate came out to be about $5000 but if the aluminum panel cannot be repaired, it will be an extra $5500 to be replaced. And if it needs to be replaced, it will take another 3 weeks. It seems like out of my 7-8 weeks of ownership, I can potentially have the car in the body shop for over 4 weeks. :-(
 
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The first estimate came out to be about $5000 but if the aluminum panel cannot be repaired, it will be an extra $5500

I get the impression body shops are just out to milk the system.

If insurance weren't involved, you could get that touched up for 5x less. Sure, it wouldn't be perfect, but fine for an urban environment where dings are common.

Sorry for the string of bad luck. Otherwise, how did the SpC trip go?
 
The SuperCharger trip was actually much better than expected. It kinda breaks up the long drive to make it more tolerable as I used to drive straight 5-6 hours without even a water break. We ended up spending more time at Harris Ranch for dinner and at Tejon Ranch for snacks. (Frozen yogurt) But it was not too bad since we were doing something "productive". :wink:

I get the impression body shops are just out to milk the system.

If insurance weren't involved, you could get that touched up for 5x less. Sure, it wouldn't be perfect, but fine for an urban environment where dings are common.

Sorry for the string of bad luck. Otherwise, how did the SpC trip go?
 
More photos would help, but it looks like something a good dent guy and a good detailer can fix. First get that area polished to remove scuffs and paint transfer. Then take it to a dent guy that knows how to work aluminum. Should cost 1/10 of the price you were quoted. Then clear bra the whole car.