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Collision - who wants to play guess the damages??

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Not trying to hi-jack, but I got my car back from a Tesla certified body shop... the repaired bumper/fender seem fine, but I have some serious concerns.

1. the clear bra they installed looks like ****. It has bubbles and wrinkles all over. I stopped counting at 8.
2. the clear protect they installed near the wheel doesn't curve like the OEM piece. It looks like someone cut it out with scissors, and did a crap job.
3. the wheel they put on to replace my damaged one does NOT look new. I can see moved wheel weights.
4. the tire they put on said wheel (or more likely came with) is USED. 5/32 while all my other tires are under a month old with 9/32.

I am NOT a happy camper. before naming the place I will allow them time to correct the issues, as they stated they would. But I am getting god damn sick of baby sitting the entire world.

The invoice doesn't even break down a parts/labor list. I have the list from the appraiser which includes a 'new' wheel. $500 (normal 19s"). If I don't get a "new" $500 wheel, what are my options? does this constitute insurance fraud? (them, not me) I just want my damn car fixed, CORRECTLY.

Next time, just total the car. It's less paper work and stress. More money I bet, but hey, new car.
*I had the OEM clear bra option from the factory when new.
 
I live with this worry that my Tesla will be in an accident and this sort of thing will happen. I'm sure not all body shops are this way, but I've heard way too many stories of these "certified" body shops taking advantage of their positions and insurance companies because no one else is able to get products from Tesla to repair. Your situation just sounds like severe incompetence, however.
 
Well, good news. I'm apparently the one needed baby sat.
Tesla called me this AM, to address the whole put a used tire on concerns.

The tire that was damaged in the collision was the front left. So, the front left is where I looked for the new tire/wheel to be.

Guess what. Tesla rotated the tires.

After the SC explained to me where each tire went and it's new location, I feel a LOT better. This was my mistake.
I was looking where the damage was, not where the new tire IS. Thankfully they didn't make me feel stupid.

They are working to schedule the clear bra now.

I can now say I'm more satisfied with ever with Tesla and their services
, and although not exactly happy with my trade-in estimate, will, without question, be buying another car from them as soon as I can :)
 
yobigd20 is no troll, he's just from New Jersey so you should understand. Or is it New York ? Once you get east of the Mississippi River, it's all the same ... how's THAT for trolling?! (I have been going to snippiness more than usual lately)

lol yes I'm jersey bred unfortunately. I spend my days crossing state lines NJ PA NY. Kind of a transitioning nomad haha. Eventually be permanently NY.
 
yobigd20 is no troll, he's just from New Jersey so you should understand. Or is it New York ? Once you get east of the Mississippi River, it's all the same ... how's THAT for trolling?! (I have been going to snippiness more than usual lately)

I remember the first time seeing yobigd20 P85 w/the Michelins, looked so good I was then hooked on these forums. I can't wait until TST comes out with the 20in turbines.
 
UPDATE: Spoke with the appraiser from my insurance company yesterday, who has taken an initial look at the vehicle, but is waiting for the body shop to come up with some numbers. He is centered in Austin, and has appraised about 10-15 Teslas at this point. His impression is that the damage is probably in the $15K range, and would be very unlikely to total the vehicle unless the rocker panel is damaged. Further, the damage to the suspension appears minimal. He did have a lot to say about Tesla however....

He said that he loves the car, and would love to have one at some point. From his end though, he views "Tesla the company" as pretty shady when it comes to repair practices. Since the vehicle is a new platform, he was amazed at how complex some repairs can get, given the minor degree of damage. He also echoed the issue with rocker panel damage that has been discussed in other threads - namely that if this/the battery casing is damaged, Tesla will not repair it and the vehicle is declared a loss. This led to further discussion of how Tesla has taken control of both appraisal and repair (through a very limited number of body shops), which he sees as a pretty clear conflict of interests. He did not use the F (fraud) word, but the conversation clearly went in that direction. Further, he added that the body shops are not required to submit an invoice for labor or parts to him, such that they could conceivably charge whatever they want and the insurance company just has to pay it. It was a VERY interesting conversation to say the least, but good news overall for my poor OHMar. The company that they are using for appraisal is ADP (which is one of three companies authorized by Tesla to do so, and from what he said, basically the only option in Austin).

Thanks everyone for your well-wishes; I am happy that my wife and 4-month-old were not in the car! That said, despite extensive exterior damage, there is absolutely no sign from the inside of any damage or airbag deployment - the aluminum really absorbed the impact well. More to come!
 
At some point insurance companies are going to understand this fully, and the insurance rates will skyrocket. At that point Tesla will be finally forced to end their monopolistic repair practices. Sadly at that point it will be to late for most of us owners and it will be years before insurance rates return to reasonable levels.
 
Bottom line is the insurance company wants to fix your car as cheap as possible. Telsa makes the safest car on the road, its not surprising that they have a high standard for repair work. Most insurance companies now have " in house " repair centers, so they can profit from the repair... from my experience, these in house places do the lowest quality of work and at the cheapest prices. So it pisses the insurance company off that they are forced to send the car to a Tesla authorized repair center.




UPDATE: Spoke with the appraiser from my insurance company yesterday, who has taken an initial look at the vehicle, but is waiting for the body shop to come up with some numbers. He is centered in Austin, and has appraised about 10-15 Teslas at this point. His impression is that the damage is probably in the $15K range, and would be very unlikely to total the vehicle unless the rocker panel is damaged. Further, the damage to the suspension appears minimal. He did have a lot to say about Tesla however....

He said that he loves the car, and would love to have one at some point. From his end though, he views "Tesla the company" as pretty shady when it comes to repair practices. Since the vehicle is a new platform, he was amazed at how complex some repairs can get, given the minor degree of damage. He also echoed the issue with rocker panel damage that has been discussed in other threads - namely that if this/the battery casing is damaged, Tesla will not repair it and the vehicle is declared a loss. This led to further discussion of how Tesla has taken control of both appraisal and repair (through a very limited number of body shops), which he sees as a pretty clear conflict of interests. He did not use the F (fraud) word, but the conversation clearly went in that direction. Further, he added that the body shops are not required to submit an invoice for labor or parts to him, such that they could conceivably charge whatever they want and the insurance company just has to pay it. It was a VERY interesting conversation to say the least, but good news overall for my poor OHMar. The company that they are using for appraisal is ADP (which is one of three companies authorized by Tesla to do so, and from what he said, basically the only option in Austin).

Thanks everyone for your well-wishes; I am happy that my wife and 4-month-old were not in the car! That said, despite extensive exterior damage, there is absolutely no sign from the inside of any damage or airbag deployment - the aluminum really absorbed the impact well. More to come!
 
He did not use the F (fraud) word, but the conversation clearly went in that direction. Further, he added that the body shops are not required to submit an invoice for labor or parts to him, such that they could conceivably charge whatever they want and the insurance company just has to pay it.

Not 100% true, they may not send it to him but it goes to the insurance company and goes through MANY MANY reviews at an administration level. The insurance company can tell the shop to "pound sand" any time they think the shops costs are too high. And shop WILL respect the insurance company's demand, else they lose the preferred business. It's a check and balance, and it's very real :)
 
No, Tesla doesn't profit from accidents (except for ports markup), but they *require* all repairs be done by a Tesla-authorized body shop, and apparently it's their policy to grant "authorized" status to only one shop in any given area, insuring a monopoly and encouraging the body shop to charge whatever they feel like. This is why so many Teslas end up totaled and up for insurance auction. Also, once totaled Tesla refuses to even sell parts to anyone for that particular car.

I disagree with both of these practices, and it's eventually going to result in a big lawsuit unless they change their ways, in addition it will definitely raise insurance rates and that then will affect resale value.
 
UPDATE:

The verdict is in – the total estimated cost of repairs is ~27,000. I was sent a copy of the itemized invoice, so I am assuming that the insurance parties have received it as well. As for the rear suspension, items listed include the knuckle, hub, crossmember, upper and lower control arms and links/bolts, but no indication of the axle itself being an issue.

Note: this excludes potentially proprietary information.
 
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UPDATE:

The verdict is in – the total estimated cost of repairs is $27,473.50. I was sent a copy of the itemized invoice, so I am assuming that the insurance parties have received it as well. This includes an estimated 108 hours of labor at $11,975, $12,924.98 for parts, and $1,057 for paint and materials. As for the rear suspension, items listed include the knuckle, hub, crossmember, upper and lower control arms and links/bolts, but no indication of the axle itself being an issue.

Ouch. And they didn't mark it as a total loss? Surprising.
 
Your estimate was pretty close then! I'm surprised this as cheap as it is. Can you post the itemized list, I'm especially curious to see the parts list. There seems to be a disturbing situation that Tesla parts costs very wildly. It almost seems like they just charge whatever they feel like, there seems to be little consistency from location to location
 
Your estimate was pretty close then! I'm surprised this as cheap as it is. Can you post the itemized list, I'm especially curious to see the parts list. There seems to be a disturbing situation that Tesla parts costs very wildly. It almost seems like they just charge whatever they feel like, there seems to be little consistency from location to location

Unfortunately, at the bottom of the invoice, there is this:
This report contains proprietary information of *** and may not be disclosed to any third party (other than
the insured, claimant and others on a need to know basis in order to effectuate the claims process) without
***'s prior written consent.

So outside of the overall totals (which I assume are not proprietary), I cannot really share further details.
 
Your estimate was pretty close then! I'm surprised this as cheap as it is. Can you post the itemized list, I'm especially curious to see the parts list. There seems to be a disturbing situation that Tesla parts costs very wildly. It almost seems like they just charge whatever they feel like, there seems to be little consistency from location to location

The cost of the parts is in line with the estimating software used. In OP's case, his insurer uses an estimating software that has a partnership with Tesla. While this means they COULD charge whatever they want, the reality is that they probably don't, because of the potential backlash. There would be a clear record of errant pricing and gouging as recorded by said estimating software, if ever audited or subpoena'd
 
Unfortunately, at the bottom of the invoice, there is this:
This report contains proprietary information of *** and may not be disclosed to any third party (other than
the insured, claimant and others on a need to know basis in order to effectuate the claims process) without
***'s prior written consent.
This tells me that they have a lot to hide! Why would an honest shop attempt to hide pricing?

- - - Updated - - -

The cost of the parts is in line with the estimating software used. In OP's case, his insurer uses an estimating software that has a partnership with Tesla. While this means they COULD charge whatever they want, the reality is that they probably don't, because of the potential backlash. There would be a clear record of errant pricing and gouging as recorded by said estimating software, if ever audited or subpoena'd

How do you know this?
 
As for the rear suspension, items listed include the knuckle, hub, crossmember, upper and lower control arms and links/bolts, but no indication of the axle itself being an issue.

<Pedantic>
Since the Model S has a double wishbone independent suspension geometry where each each wheel is held out from the car's chassis by a pair of control arms (upper and lower) connected to a hub behind the wheel, there is really no "Axle". There are driveshafts, which delivers rotational force from the differential to the wheels, but these do not carry any weight of the car.

The only "axle" I could think could possibly be considered would be the short stub axle (which may be part of the hub) the actual wheel attaches to. Or if the driver has a preference for Guns N Roses...

</Pedantic>