Concerns regarding Tesla's approved partners

[skboston]

There is a fundamental problem when replacing a panel and a door and repainting costs $20000+ no matter how you look at it. It's well known that Tesla's are expensive to work with just because it's made mostly of aluminum and it's an expensive EV.
If you generally hear $20k for a repair bill, it most likely cost the shop $5000 in labor and parts and the rest is profit, it's not always the case but profit margins in most repairs are well above 50% from my observations and friends working in this industry.

 

[Electricfan]

Nancy, thanks so much for posting. So glad you were able to find an electrician to do a good job and charge a reasonable fee. The word Tesla usually increases the price 4x what it should be, and the only way we can defeat this practice is to share experiences and encourage all that they don't have to get ripped off. Your post was excellent! Thanks again!

 

[brucet999]

If you generally hear $20k for a repair bill, it most likely cost the shop $5000 in labor and parts and the rest is profit, it's not always the case but profit margins in most repairs are well above 50% from my observations and friends working in this industry.

To be fair, the amount above parts and labor cost is not all profit. There is also overhead - lease, business taxes, utilities, insurance, administrative staff salaries, payroll taxes, hazardous waste costs, etc. So even if the markup is 50%, the profit is much less than that.

 

[Electricfan]

I'm only saying that until we know the work done, it's impossible to say it was a complete rip-off, exorbitant, 'seems excessive', reasonable, or a bargain.

Disagree completely. It was exorbitant, excessive, unreasonable and definitely not a bargain. You only need to see the original damage, and the final repair bill. Nothing more. That's my opinion - you have a right to yours - I have a right to mine and to post it just like you post yours. Have a nice day!

Oh, and Nancy, again thanks for posting - this is great information to spread to all existing and potential future owners!

 

[bonnie]

Disagree completely. It was exorbitant, excessive, unreasonable and definitely not a bargain. You only need to see the original damage, and the final repair bill. Nothing more. That's my opinion - you have a right to yours - I have a right to mine and to post it just like you post yours. Have a nice day!

Settle. No one is attacking anyone. I didn't say it wasn't excessive. I said there didn't appear to be enough facts to judge. I saw only one photo & a post that said that after going what appeared to be the easiest route to repair, it wasn't acceptable. So that leaves some question in my mind (obviously not yours) as to the extent of the damage.

(Did anyone imply you didn't have a right to your opinion?)

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added thank you to Nancy, who is finding out it's tough to post anything negative about Tesla on TMC

Seriously? I'm missing where that happened.

If there is anything negative, it's about the authorized repair center potentially gouging.

 

[Bj Clean]

Nancy, for future reference, Tesla will sell parts to non-authorized body shops if no structural damage (beneath the sheetmetal) is involved. This would certainly have applied to your situation. A good rule of thumb is to seek out a body shop that can handle an Audi A8—another all-aluminum car. Your area Audi dealer should be able to direct you to one.

There's no question that authorized body shops are charging unusually high prices for repairs. Part of the reason for this is that Tesla requires authorized shops to make a substantial investment in equipment specific to the Tesla—in the neighborhood of $250K. With relatively few Tesla's on the road (outside of California) it will take awhile to recover that investment.

The quarter panel of the model S is considered structural and can only be sold to a Tesla Approved Shop. Just like in the case of an Alluminum Audi or Aluminum Jaguar. Mercedes too has some aluminum quarter panels so I assume the same goes for the new SL as well. I've heard the investment for Audi is just as much or more than Tesla.

 

[Spidy]

To be fair, the amount above parts and labor cost is not all profit. There is also overhead - lease, business taxes, utilities, insurance, administrative staff salaries, payroll taxes, hazardous waste costs, etc. So even if the markup is 50%, the profit is much less than that.

Didn't Tesla also have pretty expensive training and tools these shops need to get? When there are only a few cars in your area that could be a pretty big investment.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Some will point to the "right to repair" law in MA, but as written, it doesn't apply to Tesla.

Are you sure about that? It's funny, then, that Tesla elected to make the Model S service manual available only to residents of MA.

service.teslamotors.com

 

[skboston]

To be fair, the amount above parts and labor cost is not all profit. There is also overhead - lease, business taxes, utilities, insurance, administrative staff salaries, payroll taxes, hazardous waste costs, etc. So even if the markup is 50%, the profit is much less than that.

I'm well aware of the overhead expenses and they were included in the markup I suggested, just didn't mention them.

My point is still valid even if the profit from all of the repair is slightly below 50%, when a small fender-bender type of damage costs as much as 1/4 of the price for the whole car, there is a serious underlying fundamental problem.
Tesla is meant to be mainstream EV, not a luxury vehicle for the super rich and shouldn't have the repair costs this high and comparable to Ferrari ones for example.

I'm sure the material isn't some special aluminum space alloy and tools used aren't rocket science and are generally the same/similar as the aluminum ones other body shops work with.

I find all these arguments to be a let's defend Tesla in everything they do, as they don't make mistakes and know what they are doing 100% of the time and we should follow them blindly and agree with everything they say.

Nevertheless it's not a great news for future owners that are debating to buy the car and is an argument for insurance rate hikes, regardless that the car is safe and protect the passengers better than most cars.

 

[30seconds]

This may be an interesting comparison. Edmunds took a sledgehammer to the rear of a new F-150 to see how much aluminum repair is

Aluminum Body Repairs Part 3 (With Video) - 2015 Ford F-150 Long-Term Road Test

 

[markb1]

Actually, if you go back and read the original post, the authorized shop attempted to repair her car without replacing the panel. It was only after that turned out badly that the cost rose.

I know, but from everything I've heard, the original repair doesn't sound like it was done per Tesla's requirements. Of course, it's possible that I've been lied to by the body shop that worked on my car, and other people have been lied to, as well. These body shops certainly have some incentive to say this.

BTW, my quarter panel looked a lot like the OP's. My total repair was $17k. While that included replacing the door shell, the quarter panel was the bulk of the price. They quoted 22.5 hours of labor to remove and replace the quarter panel.

 

[bonnie]

I know, but from everything I've heard, the original repair doesn't sound like it was done per Tesla's requirements. Of course, it's possible that I've been lied to by the body shop that worked on my car, and other people have been lied to, as well. These body shops certainly have some incentive to say this.

BTW, my quarter panel looked a lot like the OP's. My total repair was $17k. While that included replacing the door shell, the quarter panel was the bulk of the price. They quoted 22.5 hours of labor to remove and replace the quarter panel.

Ouch. I'm still shocked over the Prius repair bill for what was basically a small dent that looked like it should pop back out. Well, not as shocked as my ex was. Considering he picked up the tab.

 

[AB4EJ]

Nancy, thanks so much for posting. So glad you were able to find an electrician to do a good job and charge a reasonable fee. The word Tesla usually increases the price 4x what it should be, and the only way we can defeat this practice is to share experiences and encourage all that they don't have to get ripped off. Your post was excellent! Thanks again!

An additional thought: high costs for Tesla related work (thinking electrician work now) is not necessarily due to the Tesla name. I had a new 125A circuit put in which feeds 2 things from a new panel in my garage - a hot tub (60A) and a new 14-50 outlet (for next year's Tesla). Total cost was $5250. High? Yes. However, we have found that electricians quote high for any work in our neighborhood - because they can. There is this little building that looks like a guard house at entrance to neighborhood (never staffed by anyone, neighborhood association uses it to store things). When skilled trades pass that little guard shack, their eyes light up ($$)($$). In this case, electricians didn't know what type of car the 14-50 outlet was for; but they must figure people in our neighborhood could afford anything. Not necessarily true! There are a few wealthy people here, but that's not most of us (certainly not me).

So high prices for electrical work are not unusual at all - depending on the market and how many electricians there are in the area (supply & demand). Still - any licensed electrician can put in a circuit for a Tesla - it doesn't have to be a Tesla partner - so it pays to get 3 competitive quotes for the work. If you elect to simply specify the outlet and circuit (so electrician doesn't know type of car), be sure to tell them to de-rate the current because it will be on for hours at a time- i.e., you need an honest 50 A circuit with #6 copper to provide the 40 A (other values for HPWC). If all quotes are high, that may indeed be the going rate in your area.

 

[Gizmotoy]

View attachment 81244
Seriously? I'm missing where that happened.
If there is anything negative, it's about the authorized repair center potentially gouging.

Exactly. I'd be surprised if anyone here is truly happy with the current repair situation and its associated costs. Nancy has literally dozens (hundreds?) of us on here in the same boat, and essentially the entire rest of the site to sympathize with her.

 

[veryannoyingname]

Now I know why my previous Nissan was written off by insurer for what I thought was minor damage when I slid sideward on some at leaves at 20mph and kerbed my front alloy wheel and bent some part around the wheel and it pressed on the door. I was furious they wrote off the car without even attempting to get full estimate on repair bill and told me it wasn't worth extra cost of getting estimate! I usually keep my vehicles in best possible state of repair and had spent £2000 on service and other things just the month before and it was in mint condition otherwise.
But looks like I will have to seriously reconsider my wish for Tesla car. Hope my wallet / head can over rule my heart on this. Am not showing this thread or the other repair related threads to my wife or my Tesla dreams will go poof!