Cracked Windshield... no replacement... no communication... WTF

[cwellsatl]

Thanks all for your replys. I just wanted to update you on the status.

My experience was very good with the service department. Far and above that of your normal automotive service department. I dropped the car off on Friday afternoon for the windshield replacement and annual service. Went very smoothly on the drop off. They gave me a Model S 75D and told me it might be Monday before the car is ready. I was maybe at the dealership 10-15 minutes. So I got a loaded AP2 car to play with for the weekend.

Monday morning rolls around and i got a courtesy call to tell me that windshield had been replaced and they were waiting 24 hours so they could "water test" it. That way i would not be expecting to get the car and to plan my day accordingly. Which was very helpful as i am out driving form customer to customer most days. And the Service Center is kinda out of the way for me.

They called the next day to tell me it was ready. But i was unable to get to the dealership so i picked up the following day. The car was charged up and ready. My service advisor was great and took the time to explain most of what they did. (Plus they also did the break caliper recall that i was expecting to have done in Sept/Oct.) He also walked out to the car with me and we checked to make sure everything was perfect. And talked about some of the customizations i had done and planned to do. I was maybe there 20 minutes.

I would say my in-person experience with the Service Dept was far better that the phone/email experience. That line of communication was very lacking. But in the end i am a happy customer.

Oh and by the way the breakdown on the windshield was: $725 for the Windshield. $137.60 for the Module, Sensor, Light/Rain w/ HUD, $3.78 for six Ergo Clips and $217.50 for the labor. Totaling $1083.88. Which is pretty good compared to some of the prices i have seen people post on TMC.

 

[BroadRippleSun]

When I had my windshield replaced by State Farm earlier this year I just took it to my local service center and paid for it out of pocket and then State Farm reimbursed me in full. I think the main issue here that you may not be in the loop about is that the service centers do not accept payments from insurance companies. State Farm should have told you that if they are the ones talking to the service center.

Same outcome here as well, Tesla will NOT "bill" YOUR insurance company! The insurance company Will reimburse YOU AS the Tesla customer. I found that out first hand. I cannot recommend strongly enough that you get to a service center, KNOW and BRING them donuts or something and get to know them on a first name basis. That way when situations like that arise you can give them a call and you know who you're speaking with.

 

[BroadRippleSun]

About 6 weeks for me. Work done at a Tesla authorized independent Body Shop. Window replacement only takes overnight, it's the wait for the windshield and other parts that take much longer than getting the check from State Farm.

OUCH

 

[Spidy]

Contact Executive Team via MyTesla

 

[BroadRippleSun]

Tesla will NOT "bill" YOUR insurance company! The insurance company Will reimburse YOU AS the Tesla customer. I found that out first hand. I cannot recommend strongly enough that you get to a service center, KNOW and BRING them donuts or something and get to know them on a first name basis. That way when situations like that arise you can give them a call and you know who you're speaking with.

 

[jelloslug]

Same outcome here as well, Tesla will NOT "bill" YOUR insurance company! The insurance company Will reimburse YOU AS the Tesla customer. I found that out first hand. I cannot recommend strongly enough that you get to a service center, KNOW and BRING them donuts or something and get to know them on a first name basis. That way when situations like that arise you can give them a call and you know who you're speaking with.

Yep, I have a service adviser that I have worked with for the entire time I have owned the car and that helps a lot.

 

[JasonA-EV]

my insurance company is liberty mutual and i have not been able to get them to pay it yet. still trying. initially they forwarded me to their 3rd party provider who basically couldn't help. insurance companies are the WORST.

no.. just yours. USAA took care of me no questions asked. $250 deductible on a $1300 windshield and it was a done deal. I love them.

Also about some saying you HAVE to have the AP calibrated or redone??? It sounds like some of you had $hit glass techs with glue running out all over the place, etc

Yes, my Safelite contract said (and I asked my Tesla guy about this) that the AP could stop working or become "WONKY" after a new windshield.

Best thing to do is to take your care to a SC and say "My AP isn't working anymore can you look at it" and DON'T MENTION the windshield. They will re calibrate it for you and whatever it needs.

Mine didn't though, worked fine after the new glass. Good luck everyone!

 

[andyaycw]

my insurance company is liberty mutual and i have not been able to get them to pay it yet. still trying. initially they forwarded me to their 3rd party provider who basically couldn't help. insurance companies are the WORST.

Sorry to hear of your experience with Liberty Mutual. As with every company, some have good experiences, others, not so much.

I'm with Allied, and my experience was great. They initially referred me to Safelite as their 3rd party vendor who conducts windshield replacements. I said no, I don't want Safelite doing it. So they said okay, but they'll only pay $770 if I choose my own repair shop. So, I emailed their pricing department asking for a higher amount to be authorized, stating that only Tesla can properly recalibrate all the safety sensors (forward-facing radar, camera, AEB, FCW, 2-car ahead monitoring, etc.), and that their quote of $770 didn't even cover the cost of the part itself (I had an email quote from a Tesla SC as proof).

I emphasized the importance of the safe operation of the vehicle and was prepared to follow-up with another email about California insurance regulations regarding the use of aftermarket parts, how the windshield provided a substantial amount of structural integrity in a crash, that an aftermarket part may not be as safe as a Tesla OEM windshield, etc. etc.

In the end, they responded with a simple "Approved" email for the full cost of windshield replacement of ~$900 or so, and I received the check within 1-2 weeks.

I cannot recommend strongly enough that you get to a service center, KNOW and BRING them donuts or something and get to know them on a first name basis. That way when situations like that arise you can give them a call and you know who you're speaking with.

This. When I had my windshield replaced a few months ago, I ended up buying the entire Service Center lunch from Chipotle as a thank you. Ironically, I'm probably never going to be down to that service center again since I've just accepted a new job elsewhere, but I still think it's nice for us customers to show appreciation every now and then beyond just a "thank you" or a good survey rating.

 

[abasile]

We've been waiting for a replacement windshield for our "classic" Model S.

Just to follow up, we finally did get our windshield replaced earlier this month, and although the long wait was a little annoying, I was pleasantly surprised at the cost as it seemed roughly in line with other vehicle windshields.

Our receipt from Safelite shows that the windshield from Tesla, for our 2012 Model S, was $557 and the total cost was $750 including labor and sales tax. (The cost to us was only $100 because we have glass coverage on our auto insurance.)

The only negative is that Safelite couldn't offer mobile service and we had to drop off our Model S at their nearest shop. They indicated that their experience with Teslas is limited and that they felt safest doing the job in their shop. It seems that they did a great job. The vehicle was ready about two hours after we dropped it off.