85D Damaged during Annual Servicing

[jdw]

I took my car to the service centre for its annual service appointment and at some point in the service, the passenger side rear quarter panel was scraped and dented. The SC tried to repair it, removing the taillight to gain access to push out the dent, but was unsuccessful. I had XPEL and cQuartz on the car, which saved the paint, but prevented the initial attempts at dent removal. While removing or re-installing the taillight to gain access for the attempted repair, the tail light was damaged and no longer mounts correctly - it is loose and rattles in addition to being cracked.

The car was then taken to a body shop to have them remove the XPEL, fix the dent and re-apply the XPEL. This was done, but the repaired dent is still visible, the XPEL is not well applied and the taillight, although installed better than at the SC and with a few parts replaced, is still loose and rattles.

They only real fix I am aware of would be to replace the entire rear quarter panel and as this involves dis-assembling the rear half of the car and cutting/glueing/riveting a major body panel, plus a re-paint of a major portion of the car, plus weeks of loss of use, plus resale value/CPO disqualification losses, this doesn’t seem to be a great option.

However, the damage is visible from 100 feet away and would definitely affect the value to any future buyer, so it seems no matter what happens I face a significant hit to the value and enjoyment of the car.

I am unsure how to proceed at this point and would appreciate any advice or experience from any of you who may have had a similar experience.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Well, you appear to be handling this a lot better than I would... I would be livid.

 

[sandpiper]

I can't imagine that they would fight this, if it's clear that they did it. They should be able to take care of the repair, and provide an equal of better loaner for the intervening period.

 

[Nosken]

I would be surprised if they paintless dent repair expert couldn't fix this. Always better, since your paint is not disturbed, because afterwords the paint match may not be perfect. XPel saved the paint in this case

 

[number12]

Arguement for new car could be made

 

[jdw]

Well, aside from letting me discover the damage rather than telling me about it, the SC has been as nice as possible about it, attempting to repair, loaners etc., so I haven't seen an upside in being upset. After two attempts at repair this week though, I thought it might be good to get a few opinions here before my next stop there. Thanks for the reply!

 

[jdw]

I would be surprised if they paintless dent repair expert couldn't fix this. Always better, since your paint is not disturbed, because afterwords the paint match may not be perfect. XPel saved the paint in this case

That's what I thought as well, but after two paintless dent repair attempts, the damage is still visible.

 

[sandpiper]

Well, aside from letting me discover the damage rather than telling me about it, the SC has been as nice as possible about it, attempting to repair, loaners etc., so I haven't seen an upside in being upset. After two attempts at repair this week though, I thought it might be good to get a few opinions here before my next stop there. Thanks for the reply!

If the relationship is still positive, then I would definitely try to keep it as such. Stuff happens. I'm sure the mechanic who did this is kicking himself hard. But at the end, it's 100% reasonable that the car come out in the same condition that it went in. If that's what you're asking, I wouldn't be happy with the outcome that you have there.

If you need to drive a loaner for a couple of months while they fix it properly, that's not so bad.

 

[ABC2D]

The way I look at it is this - can you leave it as it is now? The answer is probably - no, because, as you said, the damage is still visible from 100 ft away. So, it needs to be fixed. Letting Tesla internally fix the damage shouldn't trigger an insurance claim, nor reporting it to carfax - would it? If that's the case, you wouldn't have diminished value when selling it. Letting the buyer know about the damage or not is another issue.

 

[jdw]

If the relationship is still positive, then I would definitely try to keep it as such. Stuff happens. I'm sure the mechanic who did this is kicking himself hard. But at the end, it's 100% reasonable that the car come out in the same condition that it went in. If that's what you're asking, I wouldn't be happy with the outcome that you have there.

If you need to drive a loaner for a couple of months while they fix it properly, that's not so bad.

Thanks for the reply, and I agree - I'm just struggling with how to proceed from here, as if it can't be fixed by a paintless dent guy or needs a new quarter panel, either situation is not good for resale value.

 

[jdw]

The way I look at it is this - can you leave it as it is now? The answer is probably - no, because, as you said, the damage is still visible from 100 ft away. So, it needs to be fixed. Letting Tesla internally fix the damage shouldn't trigger an insurance claim, nor reporting it to carfax - would it? If that's the case, you wouldn't have diminished value when selling it. Letting the buyer know about the damage or not is another issue.

I would likely want to trade the car to Tesla at some point, and as far as I know, they will not accept a car into their CPO program with a replaced quarter panel and/or may devalue the car due to the repair. Perhaps this is not so?

 

[ABC2D]

I would likely want to trade the car to Tesla at some point, and as far as I know, they will not accept a car into their CPO program with a replaced quarter panel and/or may devalue the car due to the repair. Perhaps this is not so?

Wow. If that's true, I would get an attorney involved to negotiate something at this point - either diminished value settlement now, or commitment from tesla to buy back this car without regard to this particular damage (if they cant take it into their CPO program, they can sell it at action, or do whatever they please, but the price should be comparable to similar cars with no damage)

 

[croman]

Wow. If that's true, I would get an attorney involved to negotiate something at this point - either diminished value settlement now, or commitment from tesla to buy back this car without regard to this particular damage (if they cant take it into their CPO program, they can sell it at action, or do whatever they please, but the price should be comparable to similar cars with no damage)

I've heard of them agreeing internally not to ding a trade in but I also am unsure of what happens when the time comes for a trade in. What if the agreement is not reduced to writing and someone else balks? I think it is best to get the car fixed, if he can, without disassembly and, failing that, ask Tesla to provide options.

@JonMc -- Any ideas on how to help this owner out with a tough situation?

 

[MeTooFull]

Thanks for the reply, and I agree - I'm just struggling with how to proceed from here, as if it can't be fixed by a paintless dent guy or needs a new quarter panel, either situation is not good for resale value.

We had a similar dent from a garage hit and run accident, our dent also right on the wheel well arch but was not as bad as yours, I talked to a few PDR guys and they didn't think it's fixable because they can't get behind the dent. But I finally found someone who wanted to give it a try and he was able to fixed it from outside. It almost back to original and I will have to tell someone that there was a dent there before and it's still very difficult to tell. So don't give up as there may be someone in your area who may be able to fix yours.

 

[ABC2D]

I've heard of them agreeing internally not to ding a trade in but I also am unsure of what happens when the time comes for a trade in

It has to be in writing. Maybe even accompanied by NDA, but I would not accept any verbal commitment.

 

[sandpiper]

You've got some good points. I would start with a friendly discussion about all of these things. And, I agree that any work that they do internally should not trigger outside reporting.

Optionally, I suppose, you can discuss a trade right now. I assume that they would be willing to take it in, without penalizing you for the damage that they caused!

If they do end up fixing the car, I would definitely get it in writing that they would take it in as a future trade without diminished value.

 

[DrComputer]

I had a very similar incident happen to my Model X. The valet damaged my car while picking it up for an appointment. My service writer immediately called me and apologized. They sent me pictures and sent it to the body shop for repair. They went above and beyond in offering me compensation for the accident (in free services and other add-ons to the car). If you don't feel you are getting a good solution to your problem, I'd speak with the service manager or the regional manager.

 

[Boourns]

I would likely want to trade the car to Tesla at some point, and as far as I know, they will not accept a car into their CPO program with a replaced quarter panel and/or may devalue the car due to the repair. Perhaps this is not so?

They do offer some CPOs with "minor" damage. But it is disclosed (or supposed to be) to the potential CPO buyer, and it doesn't affect the CPO warranty. They are discounted from a comparable non-repaired CPO, though.

The best route may be to get something in writing from Tesla acknowledging that they caused the damage and won't hold it against you on trade in.

 

[ABC2D]

offering me compensation for the accident (in free services and other add-ons to the car)

What was the compensation worth? More than a tradein reduction for the accident as Tesla will have records of it?

 

[jdw]

They do offer some CPOs with "minor" damage. But it is disclosed (or supposed to be) to the potential CPO buyer, and it doesn't affect the CPO warranty. They are discounted from a comparable non-repaired CPO, though.

The best route may be to get something in writing from Tesla acknowledging that they caused the damage and won't hold it against you on trade in.

Quite likely the route I would go, if it is possible. The car has minor damage that would require major repairs to fix - the cure might be worse than the disease.

I will hold out for the tail light and the XPEL job though, and so far the SC has been really good to deal with regarding this issue.