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$1200 to repair?

Discussion in 'Model 3' started by Chris350, Mar 3, 2021 at 7:55 AM.

  1. Chris350

    Chris350 Member

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    Jupiter, Fla

    It finally happened...

    After almost 2 years of ownership, I finally got hit...

    Person just back into the car.....

    Insurance quotes $1200 in damage..... But body shop claims that won't even come close to covering the labor to repair.

    The fun now begins..... Hope to see it back in 2 weeks.....
     
  2. father_of_6

    father_of_6 Member

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    I'm no expert, but $1200 does sound low compared to other threads I've read about collision repair on a Tesla. I hope you'll update as the story unfolds.
     
  3. HelixSpiral

    HelixSpiral Member

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    Cincinnati
    Is it just the fender damage right behind the door? Or is there more damage behind the wheel? I had almost identical damage to the same location when I hit the side of my garage. Tesla repaired it (the local service center does some body repair) for $800.
     
    • Informative x 1
  4. Sam1

    Sam1 Member

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    Insurance estimates are always lower, because they want it to be as low as possible.

    The body shop doesn't care about keeping claims low, so they estimate it more accurately.
     
  5. richrootes

    richrootes Member

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    I think they might have left off a zero
     
    • Funny x 2
    • Like x 1
    • Disagree x 1
  6. AGARubberDuck

    AGARubberDuck Member

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    I don't see how that is fixed for $1200. Labor to straighten it + paint will definitely be more. Cutting and replacing would be more still.
    Beyond that, tesla tax puts porsche tax to shame.
     
  7. Perscitus

    Perscitus Member

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    Depends how this is fixed.

    An all too common area for damage on the Model 3.

    Non-certified shop of choice:
    If they just hammer it out, use filler and repaint - might be a fairly inexpensive fix.
    Can be as little as 1-2K, probably 3K if done well.

    Tesla certified shop of choice:
    Going by the book, they will need to cut and replace a section of the quarter panel with a new part, then weld it in, repaint.
    This will easily bring the labor costs north of 5K, with another 1-2K in parts. Conservative estimate.
     
  8. Watts_Up

    Watts_Up Active Member

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    The issue is the aluminum difficult to stretch back, not like steel.

    I had a rear quarter panel replaced and the full rear side was cut from the middle of the bottom of the rear door to the roof.

    The glass roof had to be removed,,,, and get cracked !!!
     
  9. Darmie

    Darmie Supporting Member

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    Wow, sorry to hear that. Hope it works out for you. My wife, a while back did a little garage door rubbing. I was able to buff most all of it out with just a little damage above the wheel. I felt I got lucky. Your damage will require a bit more body work.
     
  10. Sam1

    Sam1 Member

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    Yep, a lot of people don't understand how much more work is required for aluminum than the same work on steel.
     
  11. Zextraterrestrial

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    this is a steel part. my racing numbers stick to the 1/4 panels. trunk hood and doors are aluminum.
    S is 'all' aluminum skin
     
    • Like x 2
    • Informative x 1
  12. Chris350

    Chris350 Member

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    Most of the damage is behind the rear door.... The door appears to open fine...

    Not sure if there are any sensors around this area.... I did get a strange alert when I started to back up.... The car sounded an alarm like there was something behind me.... I did stop the car and got out to look but nothing there...

    There is mild scratching on the door also...

    Tesla certified shop doing the work.... They are doing the teardown today which means removing the tire and the wheel well panel to see what it looks like under it...

    The main concern from the shop was that there appears to be a seam in this area of the car.... Damage to that seal means major bucks to get fixed....

    They claim 2 weeks to repair as they didn't need any parts.... Guess I will know tomorrow....

    Car is in service mode currently which means I can't check on it....
     
  13. gaswalla

    gaswalla Model S,3,X.. CT with Austin delivery

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    you were hit by another party
    take it to a certified shop - have the other party's insurance handle the bill
    be sure you get a nice loaner (it'll suck to buy gas though)
    pick up your car when ready
    no need for any emotional concern besides the awfulness of buying gas in a loaner
     
  14. kpedraja

    kpedraja Member

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    Location:
    Seattle
    I had an old guy hit my Model 3 while it was sitting in a parking lot (the Sentry cam video of him just completely misjudging the trajectory into the parking space next to me, hitting my car, then getting out of his to rub the damage and literally doddering off – is almost funny). Mostly paint damage on the bumper bleeding into the rear quarter panel. Ended up being well over $2K by a Tesla certified shop. They are expensive to fix and the labor rates are higher.
     
  15. TLLMRRJ

    TLLMRRJ Active Member

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    Call this guy. Your dent is child's play to him:

     
    • Like x 1
  16. focher

    focher Member

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    Oct 15, 2013
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    Bay Area
    There's no aluminum in a Model 3 body panel. The use of aluminum is significantly less than the S/X and almost exclusively used in the body framing but not in any panels. You can see it here.

    That being said, I would tell the insurance company (which I assume is the insurance company of the at-fault driver) that I don't care about their estimate. I'd get two estimates from certified body shops and tell the insurance company to write the check.
     
  17. tkizzy

    tkizzy Member

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    Napa, CA
    It’s a combination of insurance trying to minimize their payouts but the body shops aren’t all innocent - lot of exploitation of indirect customer situation where they milk the insurance companies. You can generally find someone who will do it for half or less of what a prestigious body shop might charge. Once had a golf rear door quoted at ~2300 by insurance, ~5500 by an in-demand body shop (and then insurance agreed to almost their number but still limited it and I ended up basically having to pay out of pocket for a rental for several days because the offending party had minimum liability, and insurance didn’t take that into account so I ended up getting it fixed for ~1500 by a guy who knew a guy. Probably wouldn’t go such a route for our Tesla though.
     

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