Advice on Tesla collision repair center issues

[humbleridder]

There was a parking lot accident and my 2020 M3 Lr took a hit. The claim consisted of minor fender, wheel, mirror, and slight door damage. I drove the car for over a week before I dropped it off for repair and not once did the car show any sign of steering damage or displacement. The car drove straight even with 5psi short on the drivers side front wheel (I normally drive with 40PSI though I think they recommend 42PSI for cold, but I distinctly remember dropping the car off with 35PSI on the driver front wheel). If it were to show any sign of steering issues upon the accident happening or subsequent driving, I would've gladly mentioned it for repair, but there was none! I got the call a few days back stating the car is ready for pickup. I arrived onsite and was happy with the body work. Everything looked great. However, when I drove the car off the lot, the car immediately showed signs of what I thought were alignment issues. Anything more than 45mph and the wheel pulled hard to the right, and it felt like it wanted to pull more, very dangerous. I thought, ok, must be alignment. I brought it back and confronted the tech working it. He states it passed the alignment test and basically lied to my face. Not only did they not do the alignment, but they clearly did not test drive it. I then told him if you do an alignment, the first step is making sure the tires are all set to standard PSI. At which point he could not explain how the front tire was still showing 35PSI, which is what I brought it in with. So, I caught him in his lie. I now have a conflict of interest with these guys doing work on my car and I want to ensure with 100% positivity that it's being done by a preferred specialist. I then would like an explanation from anyone at Tesla or who might know as to why my car drove straight before dropping it off to now needing a new steering rack. It doesn't make sense how a 3mph parking lot accident would cause this much damage. So, I think they made a mistake and broke something upon disassembly or repair and are trying to cover for it. As you can see, I'm not happy and would like reassurance from anyone online whose had this kind of experience or who works on Tesla's and has body work experience. I talked with the manager and regional and all they've offered is to fix the steering rack and get me a loaner tesla in the meantime.

 

[afadeev]

There was a parking lot accident and my 2020 M3 Lr took a hit. The claim consisted of minor fender, wheel, mirror, and slight door damage. [...] The car drove straight even with 5psi short on the drivers side front wheel [...] If it were to show any sign of steering issues upon the accident happening or subsequent driving, I would've gladly mentioned it for repair, but there was none!

Question #1 - what exactly was the nature of the accident?
Question #2 - why where you driving the car with 5psi difference in tire inflation across an axle?
That could have been masking all sorts of issues!

Every time a wheel is damaged, the suspension geometry automatically becomes suspect. Just because you did not detect it at that time, doesn't mean there was no damage from the accident.

I got the call a few days back stating the car is ready for pickup. [...] when I drove the car off the lot, the car immediately showed signs of what I thought were alignment issues. Anything more than 45mph and the wheel pulled hard to the right, and it felt like it wanted to pull more, very dangerous.

A bent suspension or misalignment would show itself at any speed.
And if a car pulls to one side, a driver would instinctively adjust the steering wheel angle to compensate. Did you do that?
How much of a steering wheel input does it take to track straight?

I thought, ok, must be alignment. I brought it back and confronted the tech working it. He states it passed the alignment test and basically lied to my face. Not only did they not do the alignment, but they clearly did not test drive it.

That's a strong claim to make. Did he show you alignment print out?
If the car only pulls to one side at highway speeds, as you claim, it could be as simple as the tech not driving fast enough to detect the issue.

I caught him in his lie. I now have a conflict of interest with these guys doing work on my car and I want to ensure with 100% positivity that it's being done by a preferred specialist. I then would like an explanation from anyone at Tesla or who might know as to why my car drove straight before dropping it off to now needing a new steering rack. It doesn't make sense how a 3mph parking lot accident would cause this much damage. So, I think they made a mistake and broke something upon disassembly or repair and are trying to cover for it. As you can see, I'm not happy and would like reassurance from anyone online whose had this kind of experience or who works on Tesla's and has body work experience.

I really don't know what you want, but it's pretty clear you are proficient at burning bridges with the people on whom you still depend for critical services. Conflict of interest has nothing to do with it.
Your approached to dealing with an issue does.
Your demands are pretty obnoxious. I would not want you as a customer, at any price.

I talked with the manager and regional and all they've offered is to fix the steering rack and get me a loaner tesla in the meantime.

The shop's offer sounds entirely reasonable.
You can accept their offer, or reject it, and look for another shop.

What else is there to talk about?