Car got scratched at the airport

[wangweixun]

Hi,

Someone at the airport scratched my Model Y with his luggage when squeezing through in the parking lot. Sentry mode recorded him (including clear face picture). It looked like unintentional.

Several questions -- appreciate any tips!

1. What can I do about this? Is reporting to the police useful?
2. Is it worth to talk to my insurance company?
3. Should I take it to Tesla service center or body shop?

Thanks!!!

 

[Yelobird]

No to all three questions. Any body shop will be able to buff that out for much less than Tesla. And the police will likely just laugh at your request.

 

[wangweixun]

Thanks. That's what I figured as well. Hope these are just clear-coat scratches. The picture shows the worst part but there are 2 other parts that has lighter ones. That due literally dragged his luggage through... :-(((

 

[andaconda]

First of all - check with your fingernail to see if it is gouged. If it isn't gouged - try a little fine polishing compound first. In my opinion, that is down to the base coat. Something similar happened to me - a tool fell off a truck going the opposite direction on a two lane highway going about 70mph. Put a mark in the rear door similar to yours (no dent though.) I had to use the red paint repair kit that I got from Tesla. It took several filling coats but managed to come out not too visible from a few feet away. Still dull where it was filled, but I can live it.

 

[Mateo83]

Looks very minor. Most detailers can buff it out.

 

[AJ..]

Hi,

Someone at the airport scratched my Model Y with his luggage when squeezing through in the parking lot. Sentry mode recorded him (including clear face picture). It looked like unintentional.

Several questions -- appreciate any tips!

1. What can I do about this? Is reporting to the police useful?
2. Is it worth to talk to my insurance company?
3. Should I take it to Tesla service center or body shop?

Thanks!!!


View attachment 936010

Sorry for the incident. That sucks
I feel like spending time figuring this out - is not your fault. I would at least talk to insurance folks and give them proof.

I’m not sure if it’s a ‘minor’ scratch. You are not a paint/body shop person. Any oddity will show (or at least it will be fully in your notice). May be Tesla approved body shop can fix it (buff it or actually fix the thing).

Writing cause this is quite common (I feel like around where we are, sooner or later someone would do this to our cars - esp. shopping carts). Given the camera and proof and skilled folks in this area - this should be covered.

 

[Pianewman]

wangweixun: It looks superficial to me, but if you can't tell the difference in person, take it to a detail shop before you do anything. An inexperienced person rubbing/buffing might make it worse.

 

[jcanoe]

A car wax such as Meguiar's Cleaner Wax would cover the scratch and make it mostly invisible. You would have to periodically reapply the wax.

 

[wangweixun]

Thanks for the advises. Just to save me some trips to Tesla service center -- for this kind of job will they charge more than 3rd party body shops?

 

[wangweixun]

Damn the 3rd party body shop has been booked through September...

Called a detailer who asked me to do the fingernail test and when I move across the scratch, I can feel a little dent. I guess polishing won't cut it, right? Would it be a good idea to fix with paint fix kit and then polish the whole car?

 

[Evpowerdan]

Agree with the rest. Skip insurance and a body shop for now. Call a few good auto detailers who can look at the scratch, buff it out with the least abrasive compound, polish and that May do the trick. Doing it by hand will not produce the results you are looking for. Buffing to polish a car is easy, buffing to remove mild to deep scratches takes experience not to make it worse.

If the scratch comes out and some imperfections in the metal, a PDR (Paintless Dent Removal) specialist can get that out easily.

Then if that’s not to your liking, you’d have to have that panel painted and faded into match the rest. Not a biggie - stuff happens.

 

[andaconda]

Called a detailer who asked me to do the fingernail test and when I move across the scratch, I can feel a little dent. I guess polishing won't cut it, right? Would it be a good idea to fix with paint fix kit and then polish the whole car?

Same thing happened to me that’s what I had to do. I had to fill it several times with the Tesla repair kit!

 

[wangweixun]

Same thing happened to me that’s what I had to do. I had to fill it several times with the Tesla repair kit!

Did you polish the whole car after that?

 

[ucmndd]

Thanks for the advises. Just to save me some trips to Tesla service center -- for this kind of job will they charge more than 3rd party body shops?

The service center will do absolutely nothing for you as they don’t do paint and body work.

This is a surface scratch. Take it to a detailer for an evaluation. Starting with the service center or a collision center is like swatting a fly with a cannon.

 

[Iron]

If I'm reading right, you haven't even tried to buff it out. Get some scratch remover and try it on a soft cloth. The paint may not be damaged at all.

 

[Pianewman]

If I'm reading right, you haven't even tried to buff it out. Get some scratch remover and try it on a soft cloth. The paint may not be damaged at all.

I'm thinking that since the OP is asking for detailed info, they don't have any experience with this sort of thing.

I strongly recommend dropping by a detail shop and having them address it for you.

 

[andaconda]

Did you polish the whole car after that?

The kit comes with a blending solution. Fill, blend, air dry for a while - repeat several times. Then I did use a ceramic wax around the area but was careful NOT to get it on the filled scratch. Left it cure for about a month and then went over the whole door with the same ceramic wax again covering the affected area. It's still a little dull at the damaged site, but you have to look very closely to see it. YMMV -- Just my experience.

 

[Evpowerdan]

I'm thinking that since the OP is asking for detailed info, they don't have any experience with this sort of thing.

I strongly recommend dropping by a detail shop and having them address it for you.

Agree. Hard to tell from the photos how deep those marks are.

OP - A good professional detailer could easily access the damage and a few quick passes with an orbital buffer, high quality compound and polish may take most if not all of it out. This is a great example, where if you don't have the skills and tools to DIY - get a professional to do it. Can't cost that much - I know that would take me more than 20 minutes to do that one area.

Yes - I would do a quick polish pass on the entire vehicle to remove the normal day-day swirl marks (especially on dark colors) after paint correcting that one area. Less abrasive mythology is best, as you want to leave as much clear coat as possible for the future.

 

[mgberry]

Hi,

Someone at the airport scratched my Model Y with his luggage when squeezing through in the parking lot. Sentry mode recorded him (including clear face picture). It looked like unintentional.

Several questions -- appreciate any tips!

1. What can I do about this? Is reporting to the police useful?
2. Is it worth to talk to my insurance company?
3. Should I take it to Tesla service center or body shop?

Thanks!!!


View attachment 936010

Looking at the picture, it doesn't appear to go all the way into the metal but just the primer under the paint. Most likely you'll be able to buff the majority of the if not all of it out. If you want to tackle it yourself, go talk to someone at an automotive car care place like griot's garage if you have them near you. They should have what you need and will recommend products accordingly. The other option is to take it to a car detailing shop, most of those will buff out light scratches if possible. Both of those options will avoid insurance claims, but if both say they can't be buffed out, go get a quote from a shop and see what they would charge to repair / repaint. Based on the cost, deductible, and rate adjustments of insurance premiums, you can decide on the best course of action.

 

[Iron]

I'm thinking that since the OP is asking for detailed info, they don't have any experience with this sort of thing.

I strongly recommend dropping by a detail shop and having them address it for you.

I realize that. I think I provided decent advice. Sometimes plastic leaves a deposit that looks like a scrape. Rubbing by hand with a little scratch remover might be all that is needed, before wasting time and money taking it somewhere.