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

[Doug Darby]

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...

 

[Shaggy]

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

 

[green1]

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.

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.

 

[3mp_kwh]

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.

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.

 

[green1]

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.

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.

 

[MP3Mike]

My guess would be that anyone showing up at an SC, after having successfully replaced a handle, would likely get the software assistance free.

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.

 

[qwk]

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.

Most SC's will sell body parts, just not structural ones.

 

[green1]

Most SC's will sell body parts, just not structural ones.

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.

 

[Dollartile]

Understood and I agree but I think the costs will come down with time.

keep dreaming. nothing will go down, everything is going up. cany beleive you live in bc.

 

[sorka]

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.

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?

- - - Updated - - -

Understood and I agree but I think the costs will come down with time.

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.

 

[Ulmo]

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.

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.

- - - Updated - - -

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.

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.

- - - Updated - - -

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.

This also needs to be fixed.

- - - Updated - - -

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.

And this. If software is too difficult, it should be debugged/written better.

 

[cdf3]

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.

 

[gavinwang]

This is $20,000 in damage.

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.

 

[JST]

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...

 

[Barry]

Lucky you. For me:
2 month wait for a quarter panel, and now the shop is waiting 2+ weeks for rivets!
Pathetic.

 

[JST]

Lucky you. For me:
2 month wait for a quarter panel, and now the shop is waiting 2+ weeks for rivets!
Pathetic.

Sorry to hear that. That's rough.

 

[theslimshadyist]

This is $20,000 in damage.

$20K for this scrape?? You have got to be $hitting me??

 

[KenN]

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.

 

[mobe]

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.

 

[ElectricTundra]

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.

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.