4 Months and Waiting Model 3 Repair... Frustrating

[DatatheGenius]

Our Model 3 repair has been very frustrating to say the least and we're really thinking about selling it when we get the car back:

Early October: 18 year old kid rear-ends the car at ~45 MPH.

Mid October: Insurance appraiser sees the car and appointment is set for mid-December with the shop (they ordered the initial parts).

Mid December: Drop off the car, they give me an estimated completion date of early/mid January.

Early January: The shop tells me the car has significantly more damage than initially identified and it needs an additional supplement. They also said that since it needs to put on a lift due to structural damage they cannot tell me when it will be finished due to a significant queue.

Now: Finally get approval for the supplement and still no estimate of completion can be given.


I picked this shop because it was the best in my area based on many reviews from other Tesla owners, otherwise I would have taken it to a Service King. If I knew about Tesla's internal body shops sooner I would have taken it there, but I did not think this would be dragging out like this.

The shop has also lied to me a few times saying parts are already ordered for the supplement when Tesla tells me otherwise... I don't even know why they were telling me this since they didn't even get approval for the supplement yet...

Tesla's body shop support can't do much for me either since it is not a parts issue...

Now the car is $14,000 in the hole and it has been damaged and MIA for ~4 months with no end in sight.

Is this really acceptable? We got the car in mid June and it got hit in early October... It will soon be damaged and waiting/being repaired longer than we've had the car! I don't care if they're rebuilding the car from scratch, Tesla builds thousands of these per week now, this is beyond ridiculous!


Sorry about this rant post, I needed to get it off my chest. I see a bunch of Model 3s in my area everyday and it just twists the knife.

 

[Tam]

...the shop...

Are you trying to protect this nameless "the shop" in CA?

...it needs to put on a lift...

I hoped they put it on a lift when they first inspected the car and not waiting for months for a lift!

...Sorry about this rant post...

I feel for you! Hopefully, Tesla will open full-service body shops near you some day too.

 

[DatatheGenius]

Are you trying to protect this nameless "the shop" in CA?



I hoped they put it on a lift when they first inspected the car and not waiting for months for a lift!



I feel for you! Hopefully, Tesla will open full-service body shops near you some day too.

I don't want to disclose the name since the car is still in the shop... But the initial wait was just just "get started" apparently... And they're telling me once it goes on the lift that holds the structure they might find even more damage!

There actually is a full-service shop about an hour from me, I just didn't realize it until after the insurance issued the check and thought it'd be a hassle to move it... If I knew it'd become an unknown completion time I definitely would have pushed hard to move it.

 

[C141medic]

I’d take a look at this:

https://service.teslamotors.com/sit...pair_Program_Operating_Standards_20180205.pdf

 

[DatatheGenius]

I’d take a look at this:

https://service.teslamotors.com/sit...pair_Program_Operating_Standards_20180205.pdf

That was very interesting to read, I definitely saw some things which raise alarm bells! I just don't understand because the shop is supposed to be one of the best in my area...

Also I made a mistake calling the frame rack a lift.

 

[Hummingbrd_PDX]

I feel your pain. In the same predicament since M3 being rear-ended at about 35 MPH on 12/31 (had 2800 miles). All the local shops have about a 4 month wait. Considering trucking it to Seattle to have it repaired sooner.

 

[Big Dog]

it may not necessarily be Tesla's issue.

My daughter's Audi A3 was hit Thanksgiving nite in a parking lot. Rear bumper cover damaged and needs replacement. Insurance claim. Taken into body shop a couple of days later. The car is still at at the shop....hopefully, it'll be done next week, but not official word yet.

 

[M3_RBN]

My m3 rear ended by an uninsured within a month of me buying it and 500 miles. Damage worth 4.5k. Was lucky enough to get a slot at nearby Serviceking and they fixed it in 3 weeks. Did a pretty good job as well. Had to replace trunk lid, bumper, impact bar and sensors. But i feel your pain. For no fault of ours we got to suffer the consequences.

 

[IdaX]

I feel your pain. In the same predicament since M3 being rear-ended at about 35 MPH on 12/31 (had 2800 miles). All the local shops have about a 4 month wait. Considering trucking it to Seattle to have it repaired sooner.

Ha — mine’s been in the shop in Seattle since September 28. No faster there!

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

The most unusual thing about this post is it doesn't seem to be Tesla's fault.

It's usually always Tesla's fault. Where they can't get parts to a shop fast enough.

I also don't think Tesla's body shop is at a point yet where they can repair significant rear end damage.

 

[DatatheGenius]

I feel your pain. In the same predicament since M3 being rear-ended at about 35 MPH on 12/31 (had 2800 miles). All the local shops have about a 4 month wait. Considering trucking it to Seattle to have it repaired sooner.

Did you try the Tesla Internal Body Shop in Pomona? They were going to give me a slot 2 months away when I initially checked, but my insurance check was already issued.

 

[DatatheGenius]

My m3 rear ended by an uninsured within a month of me buying it and 500 miles. Damage worth 4.5k. Was lucky enough to get a slot at nearby Serviceking and they fixed it in 3 weeks. Did a pretty good job as well. Had to replace trunk lid, bumper, impact bar and sensors. But i feel your pain. For no fault of ours we got to suffer the consequences.

My initial estimate was similar to that, until they found the structural damage. Glad you were able to get your car back! 500 miles really hurts...

 

[DatatheGenius]

Ha — mine’s been in the shop in Seattle since September 28. No faster there!

Why are you not raising hell with everyone? haha

That's ridiculous, and I'm afraid I'm heading that route too!

 

[C141medic]

Why are you not raising hell with everyone? haha

That's ridiculous, and I'm afraid I'm heading that route too!

That is totally nuts. Few years ago my Subaru sustained about 16K worth of damage and was repaired in about 3 weeks. I know you can’t compare the two but almost 4 months in the shop is just not right. My rental coverage ended after a month. Can’t imagine what I’d do if the Model 3 was my main or only vehicle. Good luck to getting all repairs taken care of sooner than later.

 

[MP3Mike]

I know you can’t compare the two but almost 4 months in the shop is just not right.

It hasn't been in the shop for 4 months. He said he took it in to the shop mid-December. So just about a month at this point.

 

[C141medic]

It hasn't been in the shop for 4 months. He said he took it in to the shop mid-December. So just about a month at this point.

Yeah, I know. I was referring to ldaX.

 

[TeeEmCee]

Our Model 3 repair has been very frustrating to say the least and we're really thinking about selling it when we get the car back:

Early October: 18 year old kid rear-ends the car at ~45 MPH.

Mid October: Insurance appraiser sees the car and appointment is set for mid-December with the shop (they ordered the initial parts).

Mid December: Drop off the car, they give me an estimated completion date of early/mid January.

Early January: The shop tells me the car has significantly more damage than initially identified and it needs an additional supplement. They also said that since it needs to put on a lift due to structural damage they cannot tell me when it will be finished due to a significant queue.

Now: Finally get approval for the supplement and still no estimate of completion can be given.


I picked this shop because it was the best in my area based on many reviews from other Tesla owners, otherwise I would have taken it to a Service King. If I knew about Tesla's internal body shops sooner I would have taken it there, but I did not think this would be dragging out like this.

The shop has also lied to me a few times saying parts are already ordered for the supplement when Tesla tells me otherwise... I don't even know why they were telling me this since they didn't even get approval for the supplement yet...

Tesla's body shop support can't do much for me either since it is not a parts issue...

Now the car is $14,000 in the hole and it has been damaged and MIA for ~4 months with no end in sight.

Is this really acceptable? We got the car in mid June and it got hit in early October... It will soon be damaged and waiting/being repaired longer than we've had the car! I don't care if they're rebuilding the car from scratch, Tesla builds thousands of these per week now, this is beyond ridiculous!


Sorry about this rant post, I needed to get it off my chest. I see a bunch of Model 3s in my area everyday and it just twists the knife.

This may be a good opportunity to sell it and also put in a diminished value claim (which would be as well substantiated as possible by the eventual sale).

I find very little about Tesla to be much above laughable these days, and have little hope for things getting better, under this leadership.

Any one issue will be eventually resolved (typically with one order of magnitude higher effort and time spent vs. what one would normally expect) but then the next one will appear and then the next ...

Like you, I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with more of this, just too much wasted time and disappointment. At some point, one must let go ...