teslamotorclub: Body Shop Repair Costs--for me, a deal killer? part 1

I really like my car. I've been taken with the Tesla driving experience since May of 2013, when I went for a test drive on a whim and came away convinced that the world was changing.

I've been uncomfortable, though, with the idea of owning the car out of warranty, for the reasons we've all discussed, and so had been thinking that I'd take advantage of the RVG and maybe order another one in December, when it will be 3 years old.

A few weeks ago I scraped the side of the car on the wall of my parking garage on the way out of the building. Not sure why--I've done that drive every night for 2+ years in the car. Call it a momentary brain freeze, or a misguided attempt to clip the apex.

The scrape is entirely cosmetic, but is sadly on the rear quarter, right behind the rear door.

Long story short, it looks like (consistent with what others have posted), I am going to need a new rear quarter panel, and that this is going to cost about $20,000.

That's. Crazy.

C-r-a-z-y.

Insurance has authorized the repair, so now it's just a matter of waiting for it to be completed. But as much as I love this car, I can't deal with daily driving the equivalent of a mobile Faberge egg.

It's also hard to get excited about the "social responsibility" of having a car like this when a scrape on the side leads to burning $20,000 in resources that could be used better for almost literally anything else. How much permanent supportive housing could you buy for local homeless folk with that kind of cash, for example? How many solar panels could I buy? Instead it will go toward fixing my fancy luxury car. Jesus.

If it weren't for the RVG and the fact that I've been planning on giving the car back in December, I'd probably just leave it. But I can't do that, so I suppose I will have it fixed.

But the chances that I'll buy another just went down significantly. Tesla really needs to address this cost-of-repair issue, and do it quickly.
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This is $20,000 in damage.
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I agree these aren't cheap to fix, but let's wait for the final report before worrying too much.

There's plenty we can worry about mean time
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Get another estimate!
My "Tesla Authorized Repair Shop" estimate was 4x the cost of the repair I ended up going with. (which ended up looking flawless!) And it, the damage was on the rear quarter panel, just like yours.

Make sure you find a shop with extensive experience with aluminum.
I suspect your shop is insisting on replacing the back bumper, which my "TARS" wanted to do, which was completely unnecessary.
Good luck!
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Yes, a new quarter panel is very expensive. Some body shops assume that insurance is going to cover it for you and so expense is not an option.

A couple of decades ago, I had a situation with the Chevy Corsica. As it turns out the oil cap was a tall monstrosity, and I laid it upside-down on top of the flat engine intake as I was changing oil. It was a very sturdy cap, as I found when I pulled the hood's prop rod and dropped the hood. As there was no room between the top of the intake and the hood, it created a huge round welt in the hood.

We didn't have coverage for that on the car, but I didn't want to drive it around with an ugly mosquito bite. Most body shops just wanted to order a new hood and paint/replace. But the guy at my local shop said he thought he could do something with it. He managed to get it hammered reasonably flat again, and blended some paint in, and fixed it up for an amount 1/4 that of the full-hood replacement.

Ask around!
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JST said: ?

It's also hard to get excited about the "social responsibility" of having a car like this when a scrape on the side leads to burning $20,000 in resources that could be used better for almost literally anything else. How much permanent supportive housing could you buy for local homeless folk with that kind of cash, for example? How many solar panels could I buy? Instead it will go toward fixing my fancy luxury car. Jesus.
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I would at least look at where the money is going. If its $20k because the body shop needs like 300 hours to remove and replace the panel, then keep in mind your creating a job for a skilled worker.

Course that's rather unlikley... If its $20k because there is a $15k Tesla factor that the body shop owner is pocketing because of Tesla's ridiculous certified body shop policies, then yes, that's crazy and Tesla needs to wake up before our insurance rates sky-rocket.

That does look like it would require a new panel to get back to new condition though. There are severe creases and dents in it, thats gonna be nigh impossible to fix.
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Haven't seen the detailed estimate, but the insurance company has authorized the work to proceed. To be clear, the bodyshop and insurance company have been great about it, and it looks like it's going to get fixed with no out of pocket on my part (other than the deductible).

I'm just generally appalled at the cost, on philosophical grounds more than anything else.
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jaguar36 said: ?

I would at least look at where the money is going. If its $20k because the body shop needs like 300 hours to remove and replace the panel, then keep in mind your creating a job for a skilled worker.

Course that's rather unlikley... If its $20k because there is a $15k Tesla factor that the body shop owner is pocketing because of Tesla's ridiculous certified body shop policies, then yes, that's crazy and Tesla needs to wake up before our insurance rates sky-rocket.

That does look like it would require a new panel to get back to new condition though. There are severe creases and dents in it, thats gonna be nigh impossible to fix.
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Good point. I saw the "$20,000 in resources" in the OP and was going to mention that just because they are charging $20,000 doesn't mean that's what is really "costs".

Sorry for your scrape, JST.
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This is a major concern for us, too.
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JST said: ?

I'm just generally appalled at the cost, on philosophical grounds more than anything else.
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I agree the repair costs are insane but I don't understand your "philosophical grounds" objection. Do you feel someone is being cheated? If so, who? The only one I can think of is the insurer and, if that's your objection, you're a very rare person to be concerned about the bottom line of an insurance company. I'm guessing though that I've misunderstood you. I just can't see anything else "philosophical" in this. I guess if the repair was cheaper the money could be better spent feeding the homeless, but we all know insurers won't use a savings on vehicle repairs to do that, nor will they lower premiums.
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I just did pretty much the same thing. Backed out, turned too early, scratched the rear quarter panel. I went to different body shops. None of them wanted to touch a Tesla. Only the ones officially recommended by Tesla. The estimate to replace the entire panel was 9k. Once I went ahead and dropped off the car, they talked to the insurance directly and all of a sudden the repair was 20k. When I asked about the difference they said, the $9k is when I pay myself, the $20k is when it goes through insurance. Are you freaking kidding me? And we wonder why the insurance premium is so high for a Tesla. I'm considering opening a body shop now...
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I actually do care about the bottom lines of insurance companies, insofar as the amount of claims paid invariably will impact premiums.

But by "philosophical," I meant something more like I am bothered by the needless extravagance of it. One of the ways you get exited about Tesla is the social responsibility angle--it's better for the planet, etc. But like I said above, it's hard to square that with repair costs that are in the neighborhood of "New Ford Focus" when you scrape a body panel.
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Understood and I agree but I think the costs will come down with time.
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David99 said: ?

I just did pretty much the same thing. Backed out, turned too early, scratched the rear quarter panel. I went to different body shops. None of them wanted to touch a Tesla. Only the ones officially recommended by Tesla. The estimate to replace the entire panel was 9k. Once I went ahead and dropped off the car, they talked to the insurance directly and all of a sudden the repair was 20k. When I asked about the difference they said, the $9k is when I pay myself, the $20k is when it goes through insurance. Are you freaking kidding me? And we wonder why the insurance premium is so high for a Tesla. I'm considering opening a body shop now...
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This is why I've always taken the payout from my insurance company and then I go somewhere else and get a self pay quote and then pocket the difference.
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Canuck said: ?

Understood and I agree but I think the costs will come down with time.
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I strongly disagree.
How many times does an insurance company pay for $20,000 repairs before they realize that they need to significantly increase the premiums charged on these cars?

This will not change as long as Tesla continues their insane practice of restricting who is, and is not, allowed to work on these vehicles.
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green1 said: ?

I strongly disagree.
How many times does an insurance company pay for $20,000 repairs before they realize that they need to significantly increase the premiums charged on these cars?

This will not change as long as Tesla continues their insane practice of restricting who is, and is not, allowed to work on these vehicles.
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It's already been proven.

Geico was the most popular Tesla insurer until a year ago. After paying so many high claims they dramatically raised their rates. I am now with Nationwide and just waiting for them to do the same.
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I was referring to the repair costs coming down with time. In fact, it's already happening:

Tesla Model S replacement parts getting cheaper
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Canuck said: ?

I was referring to the repair costs coming down with time. In fact, it's already happening:

Tesla Model S replacement parts getting cheaper
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The parts are only a small part of the cost. If you look at David99's example, the parts were probably only a few k, the body shop is making a killing on the insurance funded repair. What needs to happen for the cost to come down is for Tesla to stop their ridiculous certified body shop policy. Until that happens body shops are going to keep on charging a ridiculous amount because they can.
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I am glad there is a certification process as there is someone checking after the body shop and there are specific repair procedures to follow to rebuild vehicles. Gouging, however, is a separate matter. As many of the newer vehicles have new methods, equipment, and procedures, Tesla won't be alone. The costs for repairing the aluminum in a Bolt or the CFRP on an i3 won't be cheap either. So hopefully there will be more shops willing to be Tesla certified and we get competition, or, Tesla sets maximums for repair procedures, at least in terms of hours.
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Wow, $20k to fix a little scrape like that--what a joke, those guys are laughing all the way to the bank. Body shops are looking at tesla repairs like picking up fat chicks in a bar--it's open season and there's no limit...
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That is a very high estimate. My car was sideswiped and needed front fender and 2 doors, and rear fender body work and new wheel and hub. Our Toronto certified repair shop did it for CAD$ 15,500 on other party's insurance claim. They did a fabulous job. They also explained to me the training they went through.
Picture here - http://www.teslazoom.com/Accident/acc1.jpg
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I have no problem with tesla offering certified shops. I think that's great. The problem i have us with their policy to only sell certain parts to these shops. A certified shop will naturally be able to command a small premium over a non-certified shop, however without an absolute monopoly they won't be able to gouge.
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Like others said it is Insurance Pricing vs paying out of pocket. My wife just went through a bunch of estimates for a 4runner 'nose' and it was 2X the price for an 'insurance' repair vs her paying. Some places wouldn't even do an estimate when she said she wasn't using insurance.
If my S gets some damage like this I will probably just do the same to the other side to make it match
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Zextraterrestrial said: ?

...
If my S gets some damage like this I will probably just do the same to the other side to make it match
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lol--that reminds me of body shop class in tech school, we would take a sledge hammer to the fenders then pull the dent out and fix it, then after it passed, we would smack it again...
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Zextraterrestrial said: ?

Like others said it is Insurance Pricing vs paying out of pocket. My wife just went through a bunch of estimates for a 4runner 'nose' and it was 2X the price for an 'insurance' repair vs her paying. Some places wouldn't even do an estimate when she said she wasn't using insurance.
If my S gets some damage like this I will probably just do the same to the other side to make it match
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Part of me wants to hit with some primer and make it into a rat rod.
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I wonder how Tesla is going to mitigate repair costs like these on the Model 3. Clearly they would have problems selling a $35k car in volume that required $20k fender scrape repairs. Makes me think they will go with old school bolt-on steel body panels instead of aluminum. But that adds weight and reduces range. Will be interesting to see their engineering choices when it comes out.
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NSXROX said: ?

I wonder how Tesla is going to mitigate repair costs like these on the Model 3. Clearly they would have problems selling a $35k car in volume that required $20k fender scrape repairs. Makes me think they will go with old school bolt-on steel body panels instead of aluminum. But that adds weight and reduces range. Will be interesting to see their engineering choices when it comes out.
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Plastic body panels ala the Fiero and Saturn.

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Based on what I have read re: the unfortunate ones who have had to deal with this, parts are not readily available + high cost of parts + high costs of Tesla-approved body shops = poor overall experiences. I would agree that it seems the costs are high but after having to have minor body repair on an Audi A6, sticker shock there too! Also aluminum parts, metallic paint, etc. I don't have the facts yet but any high-end body shop that is OK with aluminum body panels & high quality metallic paint should be OK with minor repairs--unless there is welding etc since mine were bolt on.
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Spyder14 said: ?

I don't have the facts yet but any high-end body shop that is OK with aluminum body panels & high quality metallic paint should be OK with minor repairs--unless there is welding etc since mine were bolt on.
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Most decent body shops these days can handle aluminum repairs, its not that uncommon anymore. Even a minor repair might still require a new clip or trim piece and the problem is unless you're Telsa certified you can't get new parts so the skill of the body shop doesn't matter.
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Spyder14 said: ?

any high-end body shop that is OK with aluminum body panels & high quality metallic paint should be OK with minor repairs--
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They should be, yes, but Tesla has other ideas, and there is a long list of parts that only authorized shops are permitted to buy, this means only authorized shops are really allowed to do the work, and they know it, so they exploit this to their advantage.
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From reading the posts I got the feeling that body shops charge the high price because they can. Probably the same as they would with any high end or exotic cars.
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jaguar36 said: ?

Most decent body shops these days can handle aluminum repairs, its not that uncommon anymore. Even a minor repair might still require a new clip or trim piece and the problem is unless you're Telsa certified you can't get new parts so the skill of the body shop doesn't matter.
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Seriously--they won't sell parts to a body shop unless it's officially approved/certified? That sounds like ANOTHER issue that needs to be addressed before Model 3 & it's "high volume" arrives.
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Canuck said: ?

I agree the repair costs are insane but I don't understand your "philosophical grounds" objection. Do you feel someone is being cheated? If so, who? The only one I can think of is the insurer and, if that's your objection, you're a very rare person to be concerned about the bottom line of an insurance company. I'm guessing though that I've misunderstood you. I just can't see anything else "philosophical" in this. I guess if the repair was cheaper the money could be better spent feeding the homeless, but we all know insurers won't use a savings on vehicle repairs to do that, nor will they lower premiums.
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This fails to see the bigger picture. Excessive costs to insurance companies will come right back around eventually into much higher insurance premiums, at which point good drivers will be further subsidizing bad drivers who wreck their cars a lot. Yes good drivers have lower premiums, but I've had exactly 0 claims on car insurance in my life and all that money I've paid into it has to be going somewhere. (PS -- I hate insurance companies, they have *#*$&# me over many times in my life despite the fact that I have never cost them a single dime; I have a very poor opinion of insurance companies in general and do not want to give them reasons to charge me more money for their bad attitudes, unethical discriminatory policies, and complete lack of service).
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Spyder14 said: ?

Seriously--they won't sell parts to a body shop unless it's officially approved/certified? That sounds like ANOTHER issue that needs to be addressed before Model 3 & it's "high volume" arrives.
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They can get parts that aren't "restricted" parts with a VIN number. They cannot get "restricted" parts.
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Spyder14 said: ?

Seriously--they won't sell parts to a body shop unless it's officially approved/certified? That sounds like ANOTHER issue that needs to be addressed before Model 3 & it's "high volume" arrives.
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Some parts they'll sell, others they won't, it's quite arbitrary really. I would say this definitely needs to be changed.
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The skillset and equipment costs to do bodywork is expensive. Costs are similarly high for any car with aluminum skin. I'm dreading the bill for my upcoming repair. Wife turned early and ripped it open on a curb.
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green1 said: ?

Some parts they'll sell, others they won't, it's quite arbitrary really. I would say this definitely needs to be changed.
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What's worse, this varies from SC to SC. Some SC's won't even sell you a 12V battery...
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I think MrElbe's post #21 shows the Tesla repairs can be "realistic". I would certainly get another estimate and dig deeper into what is going on.
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Skotty said: ?

This fails to see the bigger picture. Excessive costs to insurance companies will come right back around eventually into much higher insurance premiums, at which point good drivers will be further subsidizing bad drivers who wreck their cars a lot.
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This is very true...every single time a body shop gouges the insurance companies and asks for alarming high cost of repair...it will come back with higher insurance premium in the future for all Tesla owners.
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I have two marble sized dents, barely perceptible. I decided not to do anything about it. Dents and scratches are inevitable. My take home lesson from my Lexus is if you get insurance involved, you save money on the short end but pay a premium when you try to sell the car. Any insurance claim is listed as an accident and the car value goes down. I would try a body shop or as a do it yourself project or drive with the dent. Who cares, if the car performs good!
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A good paintless dent repair guy can easily fix your marble size dents... I got one singe hail stone dent in my frunk and $50 later even I could not see it... Interestingly enough the tech said that the quality of the paint job on the Tesla was excellent... He said it rivaled some high end hand painted cars he has worked on. And this guy travels all over the Southern US removing dents...
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Everyone should keep in mind what Ford just did. The F150 (world's best selling truck for like 30 years) is now Aluminum bodied so there should be more and more shop willing and able over time to work on it.

There was a YouTube video where Edmunds took a sledgehammer to a new F150 and fixed as an exercise (for cost and demonstrate the process). So maybe there is hope after all.

Part 1
Edmunds.com Editors Hit Aluminum 2015 Ford F-150 With Sledgehammer - YouTube

Part 2
Edmunds.com Editors Sledgehammer Aluminum 2015 Ford F-150 | PART 2 - YouTube
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Shaggy said: ?

Everyone should keep in mind what Ford just did. The F150 (world's best selling truck for like 30 years) is now Aluminum bodied so there should be more and more shop willing and able over time to work on it.
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Unfortunately willing and able is completely irrelevant if Tesla won't sell them parts, and won't give them access to the software needed to do even simple things like replace a door handle.
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green1 said: ?

Unfortunately willing and able is completely irrelevant if Tesla won't sell them parts, and won't give them access to the software needed to do even simple things like replace a door handle.
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Not claiming to know otherwise, but are you sure it takes software to replace a handle? I've seen them available, and presume lots of parts like that could be sourced from after-market/salvage. My guess would be that anyone showing up at an SC, after having successfully replaced a handle, would likely get the software assistance free.
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3mp_kwh said: ?

Not claiming to know otherwise, but are you sure it takes software to replace a handle? I've seen them available, and presume lots of parts like that could be sourced from after-market/salvage. My guess would be that anyone showing up at an SC, after having successfully replaced a handle, would likely get the software assistance free.
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There are many posts on this forum stating that almost anything needs a software push, it's a ridiculous design, but that's what they've done.
There are also lots of posts stating that showing up and asking for a software push is NOT free, and in many cases, not allowed AT ALL.
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3mp_kwh said: ?

My guess would be that anyone showing up at an SC, after having successfully replaced a handle, would likely get the software assistance free.
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Doubtful. For one thing they won't even touch a rebuilt "salvage" car unless it goes through, and passes, their "expensive" re-certification process.

I'm pretty sure that someone said that they had to have the firmware reflashed on their car when a door handle was changed, and that it failed a few times, so it isn't always an easy/quick process.
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green1 said: ?

Unfortunately willing and able is completely irrelevant if Tesla won't sell them parts, and won't give them access to the software needed to do even simple things like replace a door handle.
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Most SC's will sell body parts, just not structural ones.
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qwk said: ?

Most SC's will sell body parts, just not structural ones.
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Or certain electronic parts, or batteries, probably not motors or inverters, or various other bits and pieces. Unless they sell everything, and unless they allow anyone access to any software necessary to use them, then they maintain a monopoly.
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Canuck said: ?

Understood and I agree but I think the costs will come down with time.
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keep dreaming. nothing will go down, everything is going up. cany beleive you live in bc.
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3mp_kwh said: ?

Not claiming to know otherwise, but are you sure it takes software to replace a handle? I've seen them available, and presume lots of parts like that could be sourced from after-market/salvage. My guess would be that anyone showing up at an SC, after having successfully replaced a handle, would likely get the software assistance free.
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if the handle motor/mechanism is self contained with the controller and if that controller is talked to over the CANBUS and if that controller has a unique address that needs to be programmed in and doesn't have self adding feature, then it would require their tools. If the motor fails and it can be replaced from a salvage unit then it wouldn't need to be reprogrammed. If it could only be replaced as an entire unit and does't require an address change, then it wouldn't need special tools either.

At some point, some DIY type is going to post a how to fix this on fixya or something.

Any pictures of the door handle unit anywhere?

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Canuck said: ?

Understood and I agree but I think the costs will come down with time.
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Why? Tesla has a monopoly. They've somehow gotten around the laws that require manufacturers to provide parts under various right to fix laws.

A year ago or so I was like how dare those american manufacturers for trying to block Tesla from running their own non franchised stores in this or that state.

A year later, I'm completely on the other side of the fence as I now see just how bad it can be when there's no competition.
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jaguar36 said: ?

The parts are only a small part of the cost. If you look at David99's example, the parts were probably only a few k, the body shop is making a killing on the insurance funded repair. What needs to happen for the cost to come down is for Tesla to stop their ridiculous certified body shop policy. Until that happens body shops are going to keep on charging a ridiculous amount because they can.
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Or simply certify a competitive number of shops rather than so few. That requires certification management, Tesla eating most the cost of certification process if necessary to get competitive rates for good repair.

Tesla is doing something else. I'd like to know Tesla's goals regarding this cost inflation.

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green1 said: ?

They should be, yes, but Tesla has other ideas, and there is a long list of parts that only authorized shops are permitted to buy, this means only authorized shops are really allowed to do the work, and they know it, so they exploit this to their advantage.
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If I were Tesla, I'd stock parts and sell them to anyone at little over cost, and give specs for third party sources and manufacture.

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green1 said: ?

There are many posts on this forum stating that almost anything needs a software push, it's a ridiculous design, but that's what they've done.
There are also lots of posts stating that showing up and asking for a software push is NOT free, and in many cases, not allowed AT ALL.
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This also needs to be fixed.

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MP3Mike said: ?

Doubtful. For one thing they won't even touch a rebuilt "salvage" car unless it goes through, and passes, their "expensive" re-certification process.

I'm pretty sure that someone said that they had to have the firmware reflashed on their car when a door handle was changed, and that it failed a few times, so it isn't always an easy/quick process.
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And this. If software is too difficult, it should be debugged/written better.
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20K for a rear quarter panel seems a bit steep. I had my quarter panel replaced, as well as the back of my Model S due to a rear end collision. It was a lot cheaper than 20K.
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JST said: ?

This is $20,000 in damage.
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I recently had a very similar scrape/ding on exactly the same spot on my car, which also happens to be MC Red. Took it to a TSLA authorized body shop, no need for a new panel, just simple repair and repaint that took less than a week and set me back by 700 USD. Now good as new. I'm in Hong Kong, so not apple with apple. But the point is it would cost about the same to fix the same problem on any luxury sedans in Hong Kong, so there is no fundamental reason for body work on a Tesla to be significantly more expensive, even considering its aluminum shell.
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Update--car is back, good as new. Total bill for insurance was 18k, of which c. 4K was parts and the rest labor.

The body shop (Dorn's in Mechanicsville) was fast and very responsive, and kudos to the Tyson's Corner service team for coordinating pick up and drop off so that I didn't have to take the car to Richmond.

It legitimately was the best and most painless repair experience I've had with any car, so I can wholeheartedly recommend the shop and the Tyson's service center.

I'm still really put off by the cost, though--we'll see what happens to my insurance...
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Lucky you. For me:
2 month wait for a quarter panel, and now the shop is waiting 2+ weeks for rivets!
Pathetic.
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Barry said: ?

Lucky you. For me:
2 month wait for a quarter panel, and now the shop is waiting 2+ weeks for rivets!
Pathetic.
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Sorry to hear that. That's rough.
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JST said: ?

This is $20,000 in damage.
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$20K for this scrape?? You have got to be $hitting me??
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No, 20k for complete replacement of the quarter panel, plus some door repairs and repainting. Once the quarter panel needs to be replaced, it doesn't matter if it's a small scrape or completely ripped open, cost is the same.
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There is no way they should have required that quarter panel to be replaced. That is very minor body work and aluminum is no big deal to repair. The FRP panels on the Corvette and several new cars is a lot harder to fix. Aluminum body parts have been around for a long long time. Back in the day when I used to work on these, ( aluminum panels ), it did require a specific primer in order for the paint to adhere but I think that the primers available now are more aluminum friendly.
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Ulmo said: ?

Or simply certify a competitive number of shops rather than so few. That requires certification management, Tesla eating most the cost of certification process if necessary to get competitive rates for good repair.
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This. And given the uniqueness of these cars I'm all for the certification program. We just need many more certified shops.

$18k is not out of line compared to doing something similar on a McLaren or other high end car. The difference being that it takes 6 months or more to get parts for the others vs faster (and getting better) from Tesla. To some extent this is the price you pay to drive a higher end car.

I do think it will get much better. We've got to keep in mind that Tesla is still a very new company. In these early days they do need to keep things fairly controlled. Hopefully in the next year or two with many more cars rolling off the line and many more in service they'll begin to open things up a bit both for getting many more certified shops to lessen monopolization and making parts available for people doing stuff on their own like the guy doing the flooded S.
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So.. in... let's say 2025, when this car is worth... $18k on a good day... and sustains $18k in damage... we end up with a lot of good used parts?
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Body shops take advantage when they work with Tesla's, there are many areas where there is only 1 authorized shop to work on Tesla's and that allows them to gouge and play with the customers in any possible way.

Part are expensive, labor is insane and sometimes it feels I'm in the wrong business.

My insurance didn't renew after they paid ~$20000 for a minor repair with no aluminum damage, still took 6 weeks and it could have taken longer if I didn't call Tesla and the body shop almost every day to speed up the work and parts. Now I'm paying almost double the insurance rate and no insurance company wants to insure me as I'm considered high risk (damage wasn't my fault, hit a coyote head on).
Body shop tried to cheat and increase price by charging for parts that shouldn't have been replaced (left headlight and few others) and not actually replacing them. I went onto pick my car and noticed it and kept quiet (took pictures of the old supposedly replaced headlight) as I wanted to notify the insurance company of the that and when they showed no interest in my findings, I confronted them and they gave me the stupidest excuse in the book that they actually forgot to replace the headlight before returning the car to me.
I can only imagine what else was inflated on that invoice that the insurance company had to pay. I've notified Tesla a bunch of times about the experience, they simply can't do much.

If I could have bought the parts myself, I'm quite sure the bill would have been no more than $3-4000 for both parts and labor.

When a scratch like yours cost almost as to what a new entry level car costs, something is terribly wrong on every level.

Tesla repairs and service is the N1 thing to consider when my next car will be purchased, despite the fact that I want to leave gas in the past, I can't afford to pay $3000 per year for insurance and be blacklisted by insurers, because I own a Tesla.
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I was in a "not at fault" collision - my insurance went up. Insurance is such a scam.
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SabrToothSqrl said: ?

I was in a "not at fault" collision - my insurance went up. Insurance is such a scam.
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Agreed, very messed up.

I was rear-ended, the other party took full responsibility, while my insurance did not go up, when I tried to switch every insurance carier told me that since I was in an accident (even though I was not at fault) my new rates would be higher...
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SabrToothSqrl said: ?

I was in a "not at fault" collision - my insurance went up. Insurance is such a scam.
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That's because you had the audacity to be in such a location at that time that put the insurance company's assets at risk. How dare you???

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Front fenders on the new Porsche GT3 RS are $15K each - just for parts...
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I also have damage to my rear 1/4 panel. The tesla recommended repair shop quoted me $4800 for the fix. They said that the panel can be repaired and repainted. It does not need to be replaced. The Geico estimate was only $1500 for the repair at a much cheaper labor rate of $40/hr vs $125/hr at the tesla recommended repair shop.

I am considering paying for it myself rather than claiming it thru Geico. I AM SCARED OF A LARGE PRICE HIKE (eg >$600/yr) TO MY AUTO INSURANCE. Currently I pay $2000/yr for 3 cars with very good coverage.

I'd like to get opinions if I should pay out of pocket for it or let Geico handle it ?
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Bubbletips said: ?

I also have damage to my rear 1/4 panel. The tesla recommended repair shop quoted me $4800 for the fix. They said that the panel can be repaired and repainted. It does not need to be replaced. The Geico estimate was only $1500 for the repair at a much cheaper labor rate of $40/hr vs $125/hr at the tesla recommended repair shop.

I am considering paying for it myself rather than claiming it thru Geico. I AM SCARED OF A LARGE PRICE HIKE (eg >$600/yr) TO MY AUTO INSURANCE. Currently I pay $2000/yr for 3 cars with very good coverage.

I'd like to get opinions if I should pay out of pocket for it or let Geico handle it ?
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Pay out of pocket. If you let Geico handle it it will show up as a claim when you try to switch companies. No matter if it's your fault or not if an insurance company has a hefty pay out it's counted against you.
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DougH said: ?

Pay out of pocket. If you let Geico handle it it will show up as a claim when you try to switch companies. No matter if it's your fault or not if an insurance company has a hefty pay out it's counted against you.
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Often times even just getting a quote through an insurance company is enough for it to get marked as an accident on your record and increase your rates.
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Had same experience

Bubbletips said: ?

I also have damage to my rear 1/4 panel. The tesla recommended repair shop quoted me $4800 for the fix. They said that the panel can be repaired and repainted. It does not need to be replaced. The Geico estimate was only $1500 for the repair at a much cheaper labor rate of $40/hr vs $125/hr at the tesla recommended repair shop.

I am considering paying for it myself rather than claiming it thru Geico. I AM SCARED OF A LARGE PRICE HIKE (eg >$600/yr) TO MY AUTO INSURANCE. Currently I pay $2000/yr for 3 cars with very good coverage.

I'd like to get opinions if I should pay out of pocket for it or let Geico handle it ?
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I had the same thing happen. Damaged rear quarter panel in late Dec. Tesla shop said they could work with me to repair it - $3800. They said, if they went through insurance, typically the insurance company would want the panel replaced, and then the cost would be in the $9k range. I paid out of pocket. My logic was I'd save the insurance for something more major which hopefully won't happen. And there are places I don't drive the car now because I don't want to take the risk. Btw, the shop did an excellent job. Also I did look around for other shops, but gave up after a few (unsuccessful) tries
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So what I'm hearing here is that this one should only cost me like $4-5 hun, right?

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Reading this thread saddens me...again. This is potentially a huge issue for the Model 3. Mainstream America will be pushing their limits to afford it and its insurance costs.

I just finished dealing with a "hit and run" that involved my driver's side quarter panel. Luckily, a PDR team was able to restore it. The bill was $1380, including some labor from Tesla. I shudder to think of what it would have cost to have this repaired at an authorized repair shop. Since Illinois is a "no fault" state, my rates (21st C) would have gone up as well. I'm paying about $1600/y for two cars (Highlander, MS).
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KenN said: ?

So what I'm hearing here is that this one should only cost me like $4-5 hun, right?
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That'll buff out!

Some body shops will and can repair some dents, deforms, and deep scratches without buying a new chunk of sheet metal, as long as they know how to work with it. The problem is that some body shops really aren't body shops anymore -- they're "replace the panel and repaint" shops.

If the aluminum is physically torn, though, sorry Charlie - out of luck. It *can* be rewelded but the labor to remove, straighten everything out, weld the aluminum, shape it, reinstall, and repaint is almost always more expensive than new sheet metal.
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FlasherZ said: ?

The problem is that some body shops really aren't body shops anymore -- they're "replace the panel and repaint" shops.
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I have found the vast majority of shops are this way now. In fact, I have been completely unable to find any body shop in my area that does any metal work any more. There are now 2 classes of body shop around here, PDR (paintless dent repair) that can deal with very minor blemishes that don't need re-painting (they usually specialize in hail damage) and "body shops" that do nothing other than replace panels. All of the damage I have seen on this thread requires the later, and I doubt I'd ever find any shop around here that would do any of it without costing insane money.

My last vehicle was a mini-van and had a dent in the roof (mechanic hoisted it in to something on his shop ceiling!) it had cracked the paint so PDR wouldn't touch it, but it was still just a dent. No shop would do anything other than replace the roof (at roughly the same cost as the value of the vehicle). This made absolutely no sense whatsoever. I ended up doing it myself instead, but I'm not a body guy, so it was far from perfect, I just pounded it out from the inside until it was mostly flat, sanded off the paint cracks/creases, and found a spray can of about the same colour, I'm sure a skilled shop could have done a much better job, but with their refusal to do any metal work, they priced themselves out of the market.
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HankLloydRight said: ?

Plastic body panels ala the Fiero and Saturn.
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Honestly, this is the correct move for weight reduction. Except to the extent that body panels have a crash-safety element, they might as well be plastic. Replacing plastic parts can be pretty damn expensive too, but not this expensive.
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neroden said: ?

Honestly, this is the correct move for weight reduction. Except to the extent that body panels have a crash-safety element, they might as well be plastic. Replacing plastic parts can be pretty damn expensive too, but not this expensive.
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People always say plastic will be much more expensive because it can't be repaired and has to be replaced instead. But as long as that's what body shops are actually doing anyway, it's the way to go.
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KenN said: ?

So what I'm hearing here is that this one should only cost me like $4-5 hun, right?
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For the record ...

a) above comment was completely tongue in cheek - you know, just in case anyone thought otherwise.

b) wife has been given notice that she will not be driving the Tesla again, under any circumstances!
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FlasherZ said: ?

That'll buff out!

Some body shops will and can repair some dents, deforms, and deep scratches without buying a new chunk of sheet metal, as long as they know how to work with it. The problem is that some body shops really aren't body shops anymore -- they're "replace the panel and repaint" shops.

If the aluminum is physically torn, though, sorry Charlie - out of luck. It *can* be rewelded but the labor to remove, straighten everything out, weld the aluminum, shape it, reinstall, and repaint is almost always more expensive than new sheet metal.
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For whatever it's worth, in my case the body shop (at the insurance company's request) did first attempt to repair the dent without replacing the panel.

I didn't see the result (the body shop is 100 or so miles away), but apparently the adjuster agreed it was not satisfactory, because authorization to proceed with the more expensive repair was quickly given.
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KenN said: ?

So what I'm hearing here is that this one should only cost me like $4-5 hun, right?

View attachment 113181
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How did that happen?
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She was pulling onto a main road from a driveway. Turned too early and clipped a concrete curb. While that seems innocent enough, the part that really grinds my gears is that she continued forward after the first impact - you can see along the rear door where the scrub starts - and kept driving and turning until the rear wheel was buried into the curb and the car was suspended by that damaged bit of bodywork. In my world, when you hear a grinding sound from outside the car, you bloody well STOP!
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KenN said: ?

She was pulling onto a main road from a driveway. Turned too early and clipped a concrete curb. While that seems innocent enough, the part that really grinds my gears is that she continued forward after the first impact - you can see along the rear door where the scrub starts - and kept driving and turning until the rear wheel was buried into the curb and the car was suspended by that damaged bit of bodywork. In my world, when you hear a grinding sound from outside the car, you bloody well STOP!
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Ooof -- that sucks man. My gf does the same thing sometimes. Drives me crazy.
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"Just power through it, it'll be fine."
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KenN said: ?

For the record ...

a) above comment was completely tongue in cheek - you know, just in case anyone thought otherwise.
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I got it - hence the buff out comment.
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All these thoughts and concerns are very valid. And having suffered through the same I can 100% relate. The reason it won't affect Tesla's sales is because damages to car are not too common. The number of people that have the problems found in this thread are too small to make an impact.
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KenN said: ?

She was pulling onto a main road from a driveway. Turned too early and clipped a concrete curb. While that seems innocent enough, the part that really grinds my gears is that she continued forward after the first impact - you can see along the rear door where the scrub starts - and kept driving and turning until the rear wheel was buried into the curb and the car was suspended by that damaged bit of bodywork. In my world, when you hear a grinding sound from outside the car, you bloody well STOP!
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(Sorry had to put this)
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KenN said: ?

She was pulling onto a main road from a driveway. Turned too early and clipped a concrete curb. While that seems innocent enough, the part that really grinds my gears is that she continued forward after the first impact - you can see along the rear door where the scrub starts - and kept driving and turning until the rear wheel was buried into the curb and the car was suspended by that damaged bit of bodywork. In my world, when you hear a grinding sound from outside the car, you bloody well STOP!
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It will be interesting to hear how your repair goes in Vancouver. Please let us know.

And please go easy on your wife. Really, it's all your fault for letting her drive it in the first place. That's why god made the Nissan Leaf...
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Don't believe all the horror stories about crazy costs for minor repairs. Recently we scraped the front left fender on our S and had it repaired at a local shop I've done business with before.

This cost $893 to have repaired. They removed the fender, repaired and repainted it perfectly. I'm sure if we'd had to get replacement parts from Tesla it would have been another story though.
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RDoc said: ?

This cost $893 to have repaired. They removed the fender, repaired and repainted it perfectly. I'm sure if we'd had to get replacement parts from Tesla it would have been another story though.
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Sounds like you were charged a very reasonable amount. It pays to shop around!
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RDoc, it looks from the photo that most (if not all) of the damage was to the rubber/plastic bumper (which you called a fender) and not the Aluminum side panel. It looks from the photo like the Aluminum side panel only had minor paint damage but no dent or other physical damage. Had the Aluminum side panel been damaged, your repair cost would have been significantly more expensive, as the panel would likely have had to be replaced.
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IMO, this is the Achilles tendon of the Tesla. Recently, wife started to back out of garage with back hatch up. Minor dents to rear tailgate, but also cracked rear hatch window. I'm in San Diego and we have one TARS. No other body shops I contacted work on aluminum. But here's the kicker -- TARS said entire tailgate needed to be replaced, not repaired. Seems to me, setting aside the comfort factor of the TARS being familiar with working on Teslas and my belief they should be able to acquire parts from Tesla quicker, any competent body shop could make the repair. They are replacing the rear hatch and glass, not repairing it.

In any event, insurance covered and the TARS did a great job and completed the repair within a week after waiting about two weeks for parts.

The parts were $2,100. The labor was ~ $7,000! 50 hours at $130/hr for body work and 2 hours at $175/hr for mechanical. My plumber charges less. lol
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RMG007 said: ?

.......I'm in San Diego and we have one TARS. ......But here's the kicker -- TARS said entire tailgate needed to be replaced, not repaired. Seems to me, setting aside the comfort factor of the TARS being familiar with working on Teslas....

In any event, insurance covered and the TARS did a great job....
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This came to my mind when reading this...

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NSXROX said: ?

I wonder how Tesla is going to mitigate repair costs like these on the Model 3. Clearly they would have problems selling a $35k car in volume that required $20k fender scrape repairs. Makes me think they will go with old school bolt-on steel body panels instead of aluminum. But that adds weight and reduces range. Will be interesting to see their engineering choices when it comes out.
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I thought they already said they were going with steel as aluminum was too expensive.
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teslamotorclub

Chủ Nhật, 29 tháng 1, 2017

Body Shop Repair Costs--for me, a deal killer? part 1

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