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breser
AutoPilot Nostradamus
Wow. That's probably the lowest estimate I've ever seen from a tesla certified shop and for a good whack too (well, this is what repairs SHOULD cost). There was a local owner around me who got a few inch scratch and was quoted $8k for that repair. DOES. NOT. COMPUTE. lol $8k for a scratch....if that's not insurance fraud then I don't know what is.
Jus how many people do you think have actually experienced the price gouging first hand (or second hand)? Most people don't even know Tesla exists or what they produce. But when word DOES get out, the reputation is there to stay, regardless of how quickly Tesla "reacts" after the fact. When they have to "react" due to customers abandoning the brand, it will be to late. It will take them years to recover from such a reputation in the best case and you can bet the auto dealer will not stop harping on that point ever.
Tesla need to do something about the price gouging RIGHT NOW!!!
artsci
Sponsor
There is absolutely no reason to go to a Tesla certified body shop for cosmetic damage (learned that when I damaged my front end in an accident). Just select a high quality shop with a good reputation among premium car owners and that has experience working with aluminum. You'll likely save a lot of money.
Structural damage is another thing altogether. For that I wouldn't go to any place but a Tesla certified shop.
Structural damage is another thing altogether. For that I wouldn't go to any place but a Tesla certified shop.
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kevincwelch
Active Member
This.
As far as the price gouging goes, I don't think it's going to change unless Tesla becomes proactive or insurance companies go after shops. I doubt the latter will happen because the shops are many. Because the damaged are few, I don't think Tesla is going to be proactive. I hope they will be, however.
Ven Rala
Member
I am using Europros in Gaithersburg. I have to use a Tesla certified body shop since I am going through my insurance. My insurance will guarantee the work if done by the approved body shop.
Yeah I was upset at the hit and run, but it's fixable and no one was hurt. I am annoyed at having to pay for my deductible but that's the way it goes.
Euro pros is waiting to get the part in, so once they do, I can get my baby fixed up.
I also felt better about my damage when I saw one of the other poor Teslas at the shop. My heart goes out to that guy or girl.
Yeah I was upset at the hit and run, but it's fixable and no one was hurt. I am annoyed at having to pay for my deductible but that's the way it goes.
Euro pros is waiting to get the part in, so once they do, I can get my baby fixed up.
I also felt better about my damage when I saw one of the other poor Teslas at the shop. My heart goes out to that guy or girl.
Todd Burch
14-Year Member
Yikes, especially since that looks like a sig! No doubt that's totalled.
Kevin, I don't think the damage to sales has happened yet. At least, it's not visible since demand already far exceeds supply. But it could easily damage future sales. For instance, what if Consumer Reports does a study on vehicle repair costs, rating the Model S among the highest? That will certainly weigh on future sales. All I'm saying is Tesla should nip this before it becomes a reputation.
Kevin, I don't think the damage to sales has happened yet. At least, it's not visible since demand already far exceeds supply. But it could easily damage future sales. For instance, what if Consumer Reports does a study on vehicle repair costs, rating the Model S among the highest? That will certainly weigh on future sales. All I'm saying is Tesla should nip this before it becomes a reputation.
islandbayy
Active Member
Ive had experience with the Tesla Certified shop price gouging myself. Now, some background:
I work at a Custom Body shop. We do just about anything, aluminum, carbon fiber etc... anything you can dream up. Though a bit too small to become a "Tesla Certified" Shop.
I had been hearing a lot about the gouging at these shops, so I thought I would see if it was true first hand.
I have a gouge on my back PLASTIC bumper (See attached picture). no structural damage (I've had the bumper off to install my ECO hitch, so I can verify it's just 100% cosmetic!!!).
So, basically, all that needs to be done, is my rear bumper sanded down, filled, primed and painted/blended. I have the Piano Black, so the easiest color to paint match and blend.
Now, while I work at a body shop, I have not yet had my guys fix my bumper for one reason, I don't stop driving my car long enough for it to get fixed!!!!!! (A good problem I guess...)
Anyways, for the heck of it, I stopped in a Tesla Certified shop to get a estimate for schlits and Giggles. I was in the area. First off, I will say, as some people will think due to my location, that it was Marshall Auto Body. It was NOT Marshall. They are (one of the few) HONEST shops and I would not hesitate to take my Model S to them for Certified Repairs!!! So please don't think it was them. However, due to good business practices, I will not publicly name the dis-honest shop.
So, my Plastic bumper with the zinger on it, needing a sand and repait only, no different then ANY other plastic bumper car, you'd think, say, $500-$1000 would be a decent range? No parts need replacement at all. My Estimate came in at $5,000. I did ask if that included a new factory bumper. I was told no. A new bumper would be a extra $2,000
I was quoted directly by tesla that they would sell me the unpainted plastic bumper only (as it was non structural) for around $900ish (Some variation in price). That is over a 100% increase, let alone the cost for paint. That should be a 5 hour project at most + Cure time in the paint booth.....
I was astonished!. I wish my shop was a bit bigger, get Tesla Certified, and your set for life! Can you say early retirement! Disappointing.
[EDIT] Please don't take this like I'm saying all Certified shops are bad. The one I went to for a estimate, disappointing. But like I said, guys like Marshall Auto body in Brookfield (I have no affiliation other then hearing about the service and reasonable pricing from their customers, as well as meeting them a hand full of times at events) are in the honest category.
I work at a Custom Body shop. We do just about anything, aluminum, carbon fiber etc... anything you can dream up. Though a bit too small to become a "Tesla Certified" Shop.
I had been hearing a lot about the gouging at these shops, so I thought I would see if it was true first hand.
I have a gouge on my back PLASTIC bumper (See attached picture). no structural damage (I've had the bumper off to install my ECO hitch, so I can verify it's just 100% cosmetic!!!).
So, basically, all that needs to be done, is my rear bumper sanded down, filled, primed and painted/blended. I have the Piano Black, so the easiest color to paint match and blend.
Now, while I work at a body shop, I have not yet had my guys fix my bumper for one reason, I don't stop driving my car long enough for it to get fixed!!!!!! (A good problem I guess...)
Anyways, for the heck of it, I stopped in a Tesla Certified shop to get a estimate for schlits and Giggles. I was in the area. First off, I will say, as some people will think due to my location, that it was Marshall Auto Body. It was NOT Marshall. They are (one of the few) HONEST shops and I would not hesitate to take my Model S to them for Certified Repairs!!! So please don't think it was them. However, due to good business practices, I will not publicly name the dis-honest shop.
So, my Plastic bumper with the zinger on it, needing a sand and repait only, no different then ANY other plastic bumper car, you'd think, say, $500-$1000 would be a decent range? No parts need replacement at all. My Estimate came in at $5,000. I did ask if that included a new factory bumper. I was told no. A new bumper would be a extra $2,000
I was quoted directly by tesla that they would sell me the unpainted plastic bumper only (as it was non structural) for around $900ish (Some variation in price). That is over a 100% increase, let alone the cost for paint. That should be a 5 hour project at most + Cure time in the paint booth.....
I was astonished!. I wish my shop was a bit bigger, get Tesla Certified, and your set for life! Can you say early retirement! Disappointing.
[EDIT] Please don't take this like I'm saying all Certified shops are bad. The one I went to for a estimate, disappointing. But like I said, guys like Marshall Auto body in Brookfield (I have no affiliation other then hearing about the service and reasonable pricing from their customers, as well as meeting them a hand full of times at events) are in the honest category.
kevincwelch
Active Member
Let's perform a little gendankenexperiment here:
1. Assume you're an insurance company, and at Time X the price you set for insuring Model Ss is $A.
2. Now assume over a period of time, you receive claims such as those mentioned in this thread.
WHAT is going to be your response with respect to premiums for Model Ss?
I can guaran-d*m-tee you that every Tesla owner will have his and her premiums rise. It behooves every one of us to ensure that repair rates are in the appropriate range. If not, each of us - not the one whose vehicle gets scraped, not the insurance companies, not the non-Tesla clients of such companies - will be shouldering the inequitous iniquity.
1. Assume you're an insurance company, and at Time X the price you set for insuring Model Ss is $A.
2. Now assume over a period of time, you receive claims such as those mentioned in this thread.
WHAT is going to be your response with respect to premiums for Model Ss?
I can guaran-d*m-tee you that every Tesla owner will have his and her premiums rise. It behooves every one of us to ensure that repair rates are in the appropriate range. If not, each of us - not the one whose vehicle gets scraped, not the insurance companies, not the non-Tesla clients of such companies - will be shouldering the inequitous iniquity.
WRT aluminum being so difficult to repair, high cost, etc. My NSX is aluminum and the one bump I've had was repaired for under $2000 (I can't remember exactly) at a local shop that I chose just because it had a good reputation. A contractor working on my house hit it :crying: with his pickup and created a pretty shallow dent about 6" in diameter above the fuel port and messed up the paint as well. I can only find the spot now by very careful inspection and because I know where it was.
MoeMistry
Former Vendor
Can someone bring this topic, and especially Islandbayy's post, to the attention of someone high up the ladder at Tesla, preferably Elon himself? This problem requires immediate action from Tesla, before it blows up in Tesla's face. I do not know how to reach them, but maybe someone does.
MoeMistry
Former Vendor
I'm pretty sure this thread, and those like it, are already on Tesla's radar.
I work with 2 local Tesla Authorized Repair Facilities. They're, between the two of them, also Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Porsche, Audi Aluminum, certified. To get those accreditations, the manufacturer makes them go through extensive training, tooling, shop modifications, etc. These investments can be in the hundreds of thousands of $$ per accreditation. To my understanding, the shops "Certified" by Tesla are asked to carry out repairs to "Tesla's" specs, not their own. For minor things, I think you can use your judgement and carry out repairs where you deem fit. But for major repairs, I'm not sure any body shop has access to Tesla manuals and repair procedures that an authorized body shop would. I wouldn't take the chance.
Tesla seems to be unique in how they are selling their cars, why not do the same in how repairs are carried out. In the end, I believe they're looking after the owners and their cars. Being in the automotive industry, a lot of shady stuff happens that the owner never sees or knows of. It doesn't hurt, as others have mentioned, to always get two or three estimates and see why they differ from shop to shop. Do a walk through of the facility and see the work being done on other Teslas. That usually is a great way to see if a sop is worth what its asking.
this is exactly what I'm talking about. just add these experience to one of the many verified price gouging estimates. just because they've had training doesn't justify a 300% price markup. It's even more shocking that the quote wasn't even for a new bumper either. Tesla really needs to fix this. They don't want this price gouging thing to stick to their reputation. That could definitely be a deal-breaker for many future Gen 3 owners. What are they doing to do about that? A $35k car that gets a $7k repair estimate for a ding in a bumper? If you think the price gouging is considered bad for the MS and insurance companies deeming total loss for minor cosmetic damange, what do you think is going to occur with Gen 3? If cosmetic damage is enough to deem a $100k a total loss, man...just wait for how many total losses start to rack up for Gen 3. I can see it now - get a rock chip in your hood? total loss. get a door ding from someone that parked next to you? total loss. headlight out? total loss. keyed by an a-hole? total loss. kid puke in your back seat? total loss. bird poop on your windshield? total loss. well, you get the point. if Tesla doesn't correct this now, this COULD potentially be a showstopper for the company. there must be reasonable non-price gouging repair costs for Tesla to survive....
Agreed. Another "tell" can be the fog lights, which -- if absent -- pretty much implies non-sig. I can't tell the fog lights from that picture though.
The only way Tesla is going to truly know about it and do anything is for people to report offending shops to Tesla directly (maybe send the info to Jerome). Posting on this forum while getting the word out doesn't necessarily get the info to Tesla even though we know they read these forums. Plus many times the actual name of the body shop isn't even in the post to begin with (like the OP and islandbayy's account).
