Hi all, just joined TMC, so cut me some slack please ;-)
Being fed up with lacking range of my e-Golf and having lusted for a Model S for years, I finally bought a used pristine 2014 S85 (2015 model with AP1) a couple of months ago. After decades of accident-free driving I promptly had a collision. AP was not involved! Human error. ;-) It wasn't bad, but enough to wreck the front plastics, damage the rim and knock the alignment off center. Other than a paint scuff on the right front fender there's no damage to metal body parts. Now I'm researching TMC to see if I can combine the repair with a 2017 facelift to at least get something good out of it. TMC quickly turned out to be a gold mine of info on this. Thanks to Victor P85, Adrenaline Rush, TheCharlesChen and other members for your selfless, informative and encouraging posts on the OEM facelift, repair experiences, etc.!!
Since the repair will likely take some time I first wanted to see if I can keep driving Tessie, rather than having her sit at a body shop for months.
Bumper is taped back into place with packaging tape from a helpful business near the crash site. I might upgrade to a solid and more retro looking duct tape repair if the packaging tape shows any weakness.
Les Schwab was a quick way to check for suspension damage (none visible) and align the wheels. Tessie is drive-able, but the sometimes sticky steering indicates that something is bent. Since at least one parking sensor broke, failure messages pop up for parking assist, stability control and emergency braking. Radar, cameras, AP and everything else still works. Keeping trips to a minimum and slow for now.
Next step is to have Tesla generate a repair estimate. First talk with the Seattle Tesla Body Shop revealed that they can only repair with the originally installed parts - no OEM refresh from them. Suspension damage will require work either by them or by a Tesla-certified body shop. Luckily there are several close by. Once I have Tesla's estimate, and assuming (and hoping) that Tessie isn't totalled due to hidden frame/body damage/bending, I'll check if one of the T-certified shops would fix the suspension and install a 2017 bumper. To keep Progressive happy I would either pay for the few small necessary mods for the facelift or take car and new bumper separately and finish the bumper facelift myself.
Based on sobering posts about part order and repair duration I expect that this will take months rather than weeks. Hopefully the outcome will make up for the hassle. Will keep you guys posted. If anyone has relevant experience I'd love to hear about it and learn. Cheers!
Being fed up with lacking range of my e-Golf and having lusted for a Model S for years, I finally bought a used pristine 2014 S85 (2015 model with AP1) a couple of months ago. After decades of accident-free driving I promptly had a collision. AP was not involved! Human error. ;-) It wasn't bad, but enough to wreck the front plastics, damage the rim and knock the alignment off center. Other than a paint scuff on the right front fender there's no damage to metal body parts. Now I'm researching TMC to see if I can combine the repair with a 2017 facelift to at least get something good out of it. TMC quickly turned out to be a gold mine of info on this. Thanks to Victor P85, Adrenaline Rush, TheCharlesChen and other members for your selfless, informative and encouraging posts on the OEM facelift, repair experiences, etc.!!
Since the repair will likely take some time I first wanted to see if I can keep driving Tessie, rather than having her sit at a body shop for months.
Bumper is taped back into place with packaging tape from a helpful business near the crash site. I might upgrade to a solid and more retro looking duct tape repair if the packaging tape shows any weakness.
Les Schwab was a quick way to check for suspension damage (none visible) and align the wheels. Tessie is drive-able, but the sometimes sticky steering indicates that something is bent. Since at least one parking sensor broke, failure messages pop up for parking assist, stability control and emergency braking. Radar, cameras, AP and everything else still works. Keeping trips to a minimum and slow for now.
Next step is to have Tesla generate a repair estimate. First talk with the Seattle Tesla Body Shop revealed that they can only repair with the originally installed parts - no OEM refresh from them. Suspension damage will require work either by them or by a Tesla-certified body shop. Luckily there are several close by. Once I have Tesla's estimate, and assuming (and hoping) that Tessie isn't totalled due to hidden frame/body damage/bending, I'll check if one of the T-certified shops would fix the suspension and install a 2017 bumper. To keep Progressive happy I would either pay for the few small necessary mods for the facelift or take car and new bumper separately and finish the bumper facelift myself.
Based on sobering posts about part order and repair duration I expect that this will take months rather than weeks. Hopefully the outcome will make up for the hassle. Will keep you guys posted. If anyone has relevant experience I'd love to hear about it and learn. Cheers!