Good Body Shop for Hood and Front End Damage

AnitaToronto · Dec 24, 2015

Hello,

My husband rear-ended someone in my Model S yesterday and the hood is buckled and won't open. I also have scratches all over the nose cone and a deformed licence plate

I went to Auto Magicians for an assessment and it looks like I'll need a new hood, grill and a lot of paint blending, which will be difficult since my colour is Multi-Coat Red. I'm likely going to go through insurance as the cost will be more than a couple grand.
Has anyone needed body work on their Tesla in the Toronto/Mississauga area and is happy with the work? I wanted to get a couple of recommendations before committing to one company.

Thanks,
Anita

iKhalid · Dec 24, 2015

AnitaToronto said:
Hello,

My husband rear-ended someone in my Model S yesterday and the hood is buckled and won't open. I also have scratches all over the nose cone and a deformed licence plate
I went to Auto Magicians for an assessment and it looks like I'll need a new hood, grill and a lot of paint blending, which will be difficult since my colour is Multi-Coat Red. I'm likely going to go through insurance as the cost will be more than a couple grand.
Has anyone needed body work on their Tesla in the Toronto/Mississauga area and is happy with the work? I wanted to get a couple of recommendations before committing to one company.

Thanks,
Anita

What's you deductible? Honestly, for the CarFax/CarProof record alone, in addition to the increase in premium, I would pay for the repairs if I were in your shoes.

mrElbe · Dec 24, 2015

I had my hood buckled earlier this year and my car is multi colour red also. I also needed a new hood and paint blending. The only place I trusted was the authorized Tesla shop - Excellence Auto. Their Scarborough shop is factory trained and they know what they are doing with aluminum. My cost was $ 2200.- . I also opted to pay for it myself because my deductible is quite high.
Hit and Run

Jgdixon · Dec 24, 2015

Yes I hit a deer last year with my old Signature Red S. 10K in damage. Excellence Auto did a great job. I wouldn't trust anyone else. They were actually trained in Freemont.

redox · Dec 24, 2015

iKhalid said:
What's you deductible? Honestly, for the CarFax/CarProof record alone, in addition to the increase in premium, I would pay for the repairs if I were in your shoes.

Be careful about estimates...
I stupidly collided with the wall at the end of my garage (super low speed). Damage invisible to the non trained eye, car worked fine. Drivable. Looked only cosmetic.
Went to the body shop, initial estimate around $1,300. After disassembly and finding more issues, it ballooned to over $4,300 (and it's not over). With my $1,000 deductible (and for all the reasons you mention), I was hesitant to go through the insurance process, but everyone I talked to told me that nothing ends up that cheap with that car, no matter how little damage seems to have occurred. They were right.

AnitaToronto · Dec 24, 2015

Thanks for the help.

I might as well go through insurance since the other party already did, and so the at-fault is already going to be charged against us. Both of us have accident free driving records and a free accident claim each, so our premium won't go up with just this one.
My deductible is $2000 and the parts alone are going to be that much. I might as well charge the labour to insurance and get the free rental car while it's being worked on.
Plus I agree with the above poster. Since I can't open the hood, I have no idea what else is damaged inside so it will likely cost several grand.
I will call Excellence Auto on Monday.

Anita

AnitaToronto · Dec 25, 2015

Another question for those who have used Excellence already: It may seem trivial, but I already have a prescheduled detailing appointment on Tuesday, and was wondering whether to keep it or postpone it. I want to know if Excellence will fully clean the car for you after their body work or if I should keep the detailing appointment for the interior cleaning aspect. Lexus used to do a free full detailing after any service or body work but this is my first time bringing anything into Excellence. Since it's the holidays, I can't call them to ask and I want to cancel my detailing appointment with sufficient notice.

mrElbe · Dec 25, 2015

Can't really tell because my car was clean before I gave it to Excellence. It certainly was returned in a clean state. Since you have only front damage I would suspect that they do not touch the interior.

green1 · Dec 25, 2015

Go with the Tesla authorized shop, you almost have no choice. Keep in mind Tesla often refuses to sell parts to anyone else, and it'll be difficult to do a paint match on MC red without Tesla's blessing.

If insurance is involved anyway, you're not really trying for the lowest bidder, so ask Tesla where to take it and don't go anywhere else.

3s-a-charm · Dec 26, 2015

iKhalid said:
What's you deductible? Honestly, for the CarFax/CarProof record alone, in addition to the increase in premium, I would pay for the repairs if I were in your shoes.

I understand that the CarFax must be reported regardless of if it is an insurance claim. Body shops are legally obligated to report body work (non-cosmetic) to the registry (or something like that).

green1 · Dec 26, 2015

3s-a-charm said:
I understand that the CarFax must be reported regardless of if it is an insurance claim. Body shops are legally obligated to report body work (non-cosmetic) to the registry (or something like that).

Not exactly, it's that the body shop is not legally allowed to do repairs over a certain dollar value without a police report having been filed (In Alberta I believe they recently raised the limit to $2000, so basically EVERYTHING) . When you file the police report they give you a sticker to put on the car that allows the repairs.

That said, there are a LOT of body shops willing to bend/break that law...

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Good Body Shop for Hood and Front End Damage

AnitaToronto

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redox

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