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Owning a Tesla is awesome, until you get into an accident...

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#141
yobigd20 said:
Another data point. There is a local owner here in NJ whose MS60 just got whacked by someone who backed into the other day in a parking garage. I have permission from the owner to post his photos and repair quote. This one is actually reasonable given some of the other recent quotes we've seen.

The repair is being done by Peotter's in NJ and yes it's a certified Tesla repair shop.

Replacing:

  • front bumper,
  • left fender,
  • left head lamp assembly due to crack;
  • paint, including blending of the left front driver side door ,
  • labor

The estimate is $6700. This one is actually good. Is it possible Tesla is taking control of the repair estimates now??
Click to expand...


You do know this is the place from that article you posted right?



yobigd20 said:
maybe we can get the media to start picking up on this. that'll escalate the problem. you'll want to read this: Testing Tesla Certification - FenderBender - March 2014

- his shop has seen four or five Tesla vehicles each week
- these are high-ticket jobs
- average ticket has been roughly $10,000 per Tesla vehicle (and Peotter says he has yet to have a “hard hit” on one yet)
- “I mean, you put a quarter panel on a Model S, and that’s going to be an $18,000 job, compared to, what, $5,000 for the average [domestic] vehicle?

That just proves these shops are making a killing with the insane prices. $10k for little dings and scratches. "lucrative investment" BS - it's lucrative because YOU ARE PRICE GOUGING OWNERS.
Click to expand...
 
#142
There may be hope! While still more expensive than other luxury cars for the same amount of damage, at least it's in the correct ballpark. For most cars that fender would be repairable as the damage is limited. Is aluminum that difficult to reshape that it must be completely replaced? Or the cost of the replacement actually is reasonable and the repair labor is near or exceeds the replacement cost? I know aluminum is more difficult/expensive to work with, but if your just replacing complete body panels, there should be zero difference in labor costs compared to steel.

It seems as these stories of insane repair costs are a combination of the higher cost of parts, but mostly due to the honesty of the repair shop. As I mentioned before, Tesla needs to smack around any of their certified shops that try to gouge customers. Possibly these threads are causing this to happen.

I have had similar repairs on our BMW, requiring paint blending into the door. I knew where the work was done and I still could not tell once the job was completed.
 
#145
yobigd20 said:
Yea I know. That article was from much earlier this year (March I think) and now Peotters gave a reasonable quote(yesterday). That's why I was wondering whether or not Tesla started smacking around these shops to harness them back to legitimate business practices.
Click to expand...


Did we ever determine the root cause of the sky high repair costs?

I suspect it is mainly the high costs of parts, and longer than average labor times to chart unfamiliar territory, gouging somewhere after those two. I wonder if part process have gone down or if the shop has gotten better about working on Tesla's or both?

It would be great if your friend could ask the body shop about the part prices.
 
#146
3mp_kwh said:
Really? I'd wait to have a quote on a quarter panel, before thinking the 18k is all price gouging. It makes perfect sense that no aftermarket competes with Tesla, yet. You don't think that could be leaving Tesla in a position to name its price?

Has anyone got a receipt, for a quarter panel and door? Can anyone comment on body fillers and aluminum working together, or if that's a whole new ballgame, too? A body shop that has worked with aluminum, and our own sell-insuring, could be a friend in the future. It's not the compulsory costs that are going up.
Click to expand...

From my accident a year ago (Raleigh: Body Shop), the aluminum bits from Tesla weren't astronomical:
Front headlamp: $1200
Front fender: $500
Driver's door shell: $950
Driver's handle: $800
Door regulator: $220

Another couple hundred for random clips and bits, and the total repair was just under $9,500:
Parts: $4,100
Labor: $3,800
Other: $1,300 (shop supplies and having the PPF reinstalled)
 
#147
Our cars must of been built around the same time. My VIN is 26297 and its almost been a year since I picked up my car (Jan 4th).

I didn't read this entire thread but it sounds like that body shop is taking you for a ride. I just visited a Tesla approved body shop here in LA and got the tour of their facility. They had 5 or 6 Tesla's having various body damage repaired. The worst one was missing its ENTIRE front end AND the side was damaged too. Apparently they hit a center divider traveling over 60MPH. Ouch!

I thought that car was totaled for sure, but they said the insurance company decided to repair it because the cost of the repair was UNDER $30,000. They said it's cheap to fix Tesla's because there's no engine in the front. As long as the frame is good they can replace just about anything. They said its actually one of the easiest cars to fix because of its design. I think if you found another body shop you'll get a much better quote

Here's a picture of the wreck car I was talking about, if fixing that cost less then $30k then yours should cost less then $30k too:
Wrecked Tesla.jpg


 
#148
I stopped at the Tesla store on El Camino Real in Sunnyvale yesterday, and asked them about this high priced repair phenomena. A youthful Tesla employee referred me over to a 'veteran' Tesla employee, who answered most of my questions.

I knew that several key points would be brought up by him, such as the Tesla factory does NOT do any bodywork repairs, the same as Mercedes, etc; that Tesla doesn't set the prices they charge (but admitted they do set the prices on parts, and do not sell certain frame related parts (but he was unclear if a Tesla certified shop might be able to get them.

He pointed out that the Tesla is built to protect the occupants, to the detriment of the vehicle structure, but also pointed out that the front of the Tesla is fairly modular, and it and the fenders are not too difficult to replace. He did not state whether they are priced close to industry pricing, and did not comment on Tesla Certified shop's labor rates. He also pointed out that in the SF Bay area, there's 2 Tesla Certified shops, one in San Carlos and one in Oakland.

As I expected, he basically toed the company line when he said any determination about repair costs vs total loss is the sole function of the insurance companies, and not Tesla or the Tesla Certified shop. He seemed reluctant to voice any opinion as to Tesla replacement parts pricing.

I am hoping to hear of more reasonable quotes as the collision / comprehensive quotes and repairs are posted here, and as they move more to mainstream. IMHO, the media would love to report further on the highest rated sedan and infer that we are foolish when we buy one, and we will be screwed when it has a fender bender. This probably will cause some of the business reviewers to launch into a further tizzy about foolish investors, and I told you so.

BTW, I'm reminded of a guy my sister dated in the mid 70's who owned a 1953 Jaguar. He had the one he was driving, and a parts one in storage, for when he needed a part. What's the similarity between a 50's Jag and my MS? Can't go to Pep Boys to order a part. Parts will be expensive if available, and might be difficult or impossible to locate or fabricate. To quote Kevin Kline in 'A Fish Named Wanda' ... Wait a Moment! !!

Ok, I'm warming up my TIG welder, and plasma cutter; maybe I'll have to buy a salvage Tesla for parts.
 
#153
We only have ONE Tesla certified repair shop in Indianapolis. And given all the posts, I consider $1,900 this a great deal I got from Connan's.
PS, they generally only do high end cars. Here's my post from a few months ago.

Replacing body panels is cheaper than fixing them on the model S and better, if possible.
I had both parts of the bumper replaced with the top part painted to match car. It was $1900 paid by her insurance Co. (All State). Really not bad with parts and labor.

Oh BTW, I was tapped from behind while cleaning off my windshield at a GAS station! That'll teach me. The lady thought she had her car in park.
Maybe she thought D stood for " Don't go!" And P meant pass.
 
#154
lolachampcar said:
The above repair is surprising as a RR quarter on my wife's car and a similar repair on another car locally ran (or would have run for my wife's car had I fixed it) about $24K.
Click to expand...

I think the Model S is a little more exotic out there on the east coast then it is here on the west coast. Maybe that's what's driving the crazy repair costs.

I say that because the same body shop where I took that picture (see above post) also quoted me $4,113.64 to replace AND paint my front bumper, rear bumper and rear diffuser. And it wasn't some back ally repair shop either, Tesla referred me to them, they're Tesla Certified, and fixing Tesla's wasn't its traditional business. They repair body damage to Lamborghini's, Bentley's, Rolls Royce's, etc... so if any body shop could jack up the prices this one certainly could. But I think they don't because we have a lot more Tesla's here then anywhere else, so they repair them much more often.

Here's the quote for my car:

Quotepg1.jpg
Quotepg2.jpg
 
#155
For Ontario, Canada Tesla drivers, this coverage is called the "OEF # 43 Limited Waiver of Depreciation "or "Removing Depreciation Deduction" ...practically all Auto Insurance companies in Ontario offer this endorsement...it is not a replacement cost endorsement, it just guarantees that if the insured car is a total loss, than the insurance company will not apply any depreciation to the original purchase price of the vehicle...depending on the Insurance company you are with, this endorsement will cover the car for the first 24 to 48 months from the new car's purchase date...most insurance companies will only allow this endorsement to be added to your policy if you are the original owner of the vehicle (you bought it or leased it "brand new"), only to private passenger style vehicles (no stake trucks or work vans or RV's)...demonstrator vehicles are generally allowed if the vehicle has under 5,000 kms on it at the time of purchase...the cost of buying this coverage varies, but is usually in the $35.00 / yr to $130.00 / yr.

The bottom line on this endorsement is, for anyone buying ANY new vehicle (not just a Tesla), you would be nuts not to add it to your policy...it could be the best money you ever spent!

Again, this information only applies to vehicles registered in the Province of Ontario.
 
#159
HankLloydRight said:
Yes, it's called "Agreed Value" as I mentioned before. You and the insurance co agree to the value paid on the totalled car. Just agree that it's new car replacement value.
Click to expand...

breser said:
Beyond just agreed value several insurance companies offer new car replacement. The difference of this to agreed value is that it's usually only available for the first year or two of the ownership of the car. Even that isn't uniformly available. Not all carriers offer it.
Click to expand...

Do you know which insurance company in the US offer a "new car replacement" policy? I asked State Farm, but they had no idea what I was talking about.
 
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