Quarter panel, plastic clips, bumper cover, paint and labor. Wow! No wonder so many cars just keep their dents.
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This is what a $6,100 dent looks like...
- Thread starter SSonnentag
- Start date
jebinc
Well-Known Member
All new parts. Apparently aluminum stretches and tears once bent beyond a certain point, so repairing isn't an option.
I was impressed by how well the paint held up though. No cracks, flaking or anything, even when creased beyond 90 degrees. The bumper cover got a couple of holes punched in it from the minor impact though, so it had to be replaced too.
I'm in a rental Mercedes now. Yuck! At least the control stalks are the same.
I'm doing my best to remember to not use my turn signal too, in keeping with Mercedes tradition.
I'm in a rental Mercedes now. Yuck! At least the control stalks are the same.
I'm doing my best to remember to not use my turn signal too, in keeping with Mercedes tradition.
jebinc
Well-Known Member
I was impressed by how well the paint held up though. No cracks, flaking or anything, even when creased beyond 90 degrees. The bumper cover got a couple of holes punched in it from the minor impact though, so it had to be replaced too.
I'm in a rental Mercedes now. Yuck! At least the control stalks are the same.
Did they say how long you will be without your Tesla, and stuck in that MB? Sorry to hear of the accident.
Accident was April 12. Some parts arrived in about 1 month, the quarter panel took 9 weeks.
The car was driveable without any issues, so I just dropped it off last Friday. They're estimating 2 weeks to complete the repairs.
jebinc
Well-Known Member
2 weeks is the estimate for repairs once they got the skin off to look beneath. All the parts were ordered back in April based upon what they could see and their past experience with Tesla repairs. So the $6100 is their estimate as of yesterday after starting to work on the car.
On virtually all cars on sale, the rear corner body work is part of the rear bumper or a small separate piece.
You can see this on the Model 3 where the rear bumper kicks up to the lights at the corners and the quarter panel ends on the side.
If the S was designed like this it would probably be a $1000 repair.
Hopefully this is something that will be fixed eventually, but it is unusual to change metal body panels even in a facelift. It shows Tesla's lack of experience when the S and X were designed, allthough I have never build a car in my life, but I know that this is a sensible piece of design.
Another reason for it may be the lack of fleet sales. Fleets pay close attention to repair costs and the insurance industry tries to estimate the cost of the most likely repairs. They would have spotted this on the S and X and it would seriously impair their sales into fleets if Tesla cared. This is of course one of the reasons that Teslas are expensive to insure.
Just for an example here is a BMW 3 Series rear three quarter, the bumper area is enormous.
You can see this on the Model 3 where the rear bumper kicks up to the lights at the corners and the quarter panel ends on the side.
If the S was designed like this it would probably be a $1000 repair.
Hopefully this is something that will be fixed eventually, but it is unusual to change metal body panels even in a facelift. It shows Tesla's lack of experience when the S and X were designed, allthough I have never build a car in my life, but I know that this is a sensible piece of design.
Another reason for it may be the lack of fleet sales. Fleets pay close attention to repair costs and the insurance industry tries to estimate the cost of the most likely repairs. They would have spotted this on the S and X and it would seriously impair their sales into fleets if Tesla cared. This is of course one of the reasons that Teslas are expensive to insure.
Just for an example here is a BMW 3 Series rear three quarter, the bumper area is enormous.
I'll take expensive repairs over ugly. S is timeless beauty.
If the area between the rear light and the bumper was part of the bumper and not the rear quarter panel the car would look exactly the same just be much cheaper to repair in certain instances.
I agree. The horizontal seam between the plastic bumper cover and the aluminum skin would be gone and replaced by a shorter seam in line with the front edge of the tail light assembly. It would look just as good in my opinion and, as MrAliG said, it would likely be much less money to repair and replace.
It might be quite a bit easier to manufacture too, having the extra bend eliminated from the aluminum panel.
timvracer
Member
Wow, that is nicely done actually... maybe it's not so ugly afterall, actually that downward sloped seam adds some 'fast' to the look of the car
JPoldo
Member
My ms rear passenger door, interior, and hinge cost $17,100 to repair after catching it while backing out of the garage. While it was my stupidity, the vehicle should not move when a door is open. Tesla repair costs are about triple that of an luxury ICE vehicle.
Similar damage in my Model 3. Over $10k to fix. The rear quarter panel is a b!tch. It’ll finally be ready on Monday after 4 weeks in the shop.
Bill Foster
I'm going home!
Buy an aluminum car, be surprised when it’s expensive to repair lmao
Dinged by someone backing into the parked car in a parking lot. Pictures sent to an insurance adjuster with an initial estimate of $800+. Actual repair by Tesla approved body shop $3200+. Front quarter panel repaired and repainted, not replaced.
