Blending the paint on the door is to make sure the light reflects correctly. Normaly on a horizontal panel, it just means wet sanding the adjacent panel back to base coat and reapplying the clear. Sometimes you will have to apply new base coat depending on age of paint. Dont forget to the the shop know if you have paint protection on the pannels. As it will have to be redone after repair
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Blending the paint on the door is to make sure the light reflects correctly. Normaly on a horizontal panel, it just means wet sanding the adjacent panel back to base coat and reapplying the clear. Sometimes you will have to apply new base coat depending on age of paint. Dont forget to the the shop know if you have paint protection on the pannels. As it will have to be redone after repair
For sure. My rental is a Ford Fiesta (which should be called the Piñata
, which is a total piece of junk and would be very dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced driver. Serious problem with bump steer and rock n' roll over undulations in the road. Regrettably insurance won't pay for anything better and given that it will be two months I didn't want to spring for a more costly POS, which is what all ICE cars are IMHO.I have about a 15 inch long deep scratch in upper left rear quarter panel. My damage (from when I was at an industrial park kind of place) happened when I was backing up and turning around a trailer and couldn't see their hitch -- it got me in my blind spot.
I just visited Criswell Collision today -- really nice facility. I'm going to use them. They came in about 1K cheaper (1.9K total) on their estimate than Severn Auto Body (3K). I emailed Euro Pro and they are on vacation -- sorry, you lose
I didn't realize they have to "blend" the quarter panel with the door (which was undamaged) and will have to remove rear tail light and charge port.... hence the need for a Tesla Certified Shop. It all seems a little excessive to me, but... what are you going to do
That is one scratch. Blending is quite routine -- necessary to ensure a color match between panels.
I think I spoke too soon about Criswell. Yes, they provide repair updates on a regular basis but now it appear they're just like any other Tesla approved shop -- slow as molasses and they don't give a damn. By the time they finish the structural work they will have had my car for more than 5 weeks; parts do not seem to be a problem -- they're the problem.
Got this message today:
The projected delivery date for your 2013 Tesla Model S has been changed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Your vehicle's new estimated delivery date is 08/25/2017. Please confirm your vehicle is ready for pick up before coming by the shop.
If you have questions regarding your repairs, please contact your repair shop at:
Criswell Collision Center Annapolis
181 Defense Highway
443-837-0700
[email protected]
So there's now a week's delay on top of four weeks with no explanation whatsoever.
Got this message today:
The projected delivery date for your 2013 Tesla Model S has been changed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Your vehicle's new estimated delivery date is 08/25/2017. Please confirm your vehicle is ready for pick up before coming by the shop.
If you have questions regarding your repairs, please contact your repair shop at:
Criswell Collision Center Annapolis
181 Defense Highway
443-837-0700
[email protected]
So there's now a week's delay on top of four weeks with no explanation whatsoever.
The plot thickens. This is the reply I received from Criswell when I complained about the delay:
In addition to Tesla sending us a severely damaged new rear body panel for your car; it was also the incorrect rear body panel. We’ve been waiting for a correct, undamaged part for more than a week. I have 3 other Tesla’s, an Audi S7 and two CT6 Cadillac’s waiting to get on the fixture bench that is occupied by your car while we wait for Tesla to get us the correct part. Nothing would make me happier than to get your car back to SDR as soon as possible.
I hope this clears up some of your confusion.
Kevin Marvin / Body Shop Manager
[email protected]
So this appear to be another Tesla screw-up after all.
In addition to Tesla sending us a severely damaged new rear body panel for your car; it was also the incorrect rear body panel. We’ve been waiting for a correct, undamaged part for more than a week. I have 3 other Tesla’s, an Audi S7 and two CT6 Cadillac’s waiting to get on the fixture bench that is occupied by your car while we wait for Tesla to get us the correct part. Nothing would make me happier than to get your car back to SDR as soon as possible.
I hope this clears up some of your confusion.
Kevin Marvin / Body Shop Manager
[email protected]
So this appear to be another Tesla screw-up after all.
jeffro01
Active Member
They are involved but it's hard to know, given Tesla's screw-up, if and how they've provided any help at all.
Just got another message from Criswell.
I wanted to show you the issue we’re having with the Tesla provided rear body panel. As you can see, the holes are completely different than the ones on the original Tesla. If we put this one on the car, putting on the rear panel trim will be a nightmare. We want to put the correct part on this car and get it back to you A.S.A.P. I have sent multiple emails (Tesla’s preferred method of communication) but have not been given an ETA of a new one.
I called and left a message but again, no response. We will stay on top of them every day until it comes in or we get an answer back. Sorry for the delay.
Here are the photos that were sent.
jelloslug
Active Member
I'm failing to see what is so different about the new panel that it will not work with your parts.They are involved but it's hard to know, given Tesla's screw-up, if and how they've provided any help at all.
Just got another message from Criswell.
I wanted to show you the issue we’re having with the Tesla provided rear body panel. As you can see, the holes are completely different than the ones on the original Tesla. If we put this one on the car, putting on the rear panel trim will be a nightmare. We want to put the correct part on this car and get it back to you A.S.A.P. I have sent multiple emails (Tesla’s preferred method of communication) but have not been given an ETA of a new one.
I called and left a message but again, no response. We will stay on top of them every day until it comes in or we get an answer back. Sorry for the delay.
Here are the photos that were sent.
It is hard to tell given the different size and perspective. It looks to me like it would work, but I'm not their and can't make actual measurements.
Here's what Criswell says.
"That lower piece clamped in pace is the incorrect piece. We repaired the shipping damage in order to try and use it. Shortly after, we noticed some differences and found out it was the incorrect part number. We have modified these panels in the past (due to them being sent incorrectly), in order to expedite repairs. However, SDR won’t be able to install your interior parts if we do that in your case, and they won’t know what to modify to make it work. We have documented repeated attempts at expediting the part order with Tesla."
So this is a total screw up by Tesla. So much for the "team." What do they actually do? Certainly they don't make sure things go right- like the correct part gets shipped. I'm totally pissed. I'm quick to give credit to Tesla when its due but I should also be quick to say that that in this case Tesla is totally FUBAR.
"That lower piece clamped in pace is the incorrect piece. We repaired the shipping damage in order to try and use it. Shortly after, we noticed some differences and found out it was the incorrect part number. We have modified these panels in the past (due to them being sent incorrectly), in order to expedite repairs. However, SDR won’t be able to install your interior parts if we do that in your case, and they won’t know what to modify to make it work. We have documented repeated attempts at expediting the part order with Tesla."
So this is a total screw up by Tesla. So much for the "team." What do they actually do? Certainly they don't make sure things go right- like the correct part gets shipped. I'm totally pissed. I'm quick to give credit to Tesla when its due but I should also be quick to say that that in this case Tesla is totally FUBAR.
Last edited:
Ulmo
Active Member
I wish I was actually some type of omnipotent magical God and could go look at the various aspects to this at corporate and process flow pipeline levels at Tesla and see what the bottlenecks are, the costs are, etc. But, alas, I am not, and I strongly assume that I'm not a "fit" with the Tesla Team nor Elon to become such as a plain human.
Sir Guacamolaf
The good kind of fat
No chance -- it's a flat out screw-up. The parts that were needed were clear from the beginning and my mods had nothing to do with anything in that part of the car.
Tesla shipped the wrong part and, worse yet, it was badly damaged in shipping. So the body shop (Criswell) had to repair a new part that was needed for repairs to my damaged car. This is Catch 22! It's quite clear that there are some knuckleheads in Tesla's parts dept. Criswell tells me that this has happened several times before -- that is, Tesla ships the wrong parts.
So while I appreciate what Jon is trying to do it terms of management structures, it appears that Tesla also has to deal with some incompetent staff in the parts department. My guess is that they didn't have the part needed for my 2013 so they substituted a newer part that fits but has different mounting points for the interior trunk trim. The two photos make it clear that while the parts look very similar the mount points for the interior trim clips are in different places and have different shapes.
Rear ending someone while on phone should be an immediate 6-month loss of driver's license.
Again the weak link in the chain emerges. It's not the body shops, it's not the service team's. It's the supply chain for spare parts being weak coupled with the arrogant "model years be damned" attitude.
A phrase I heard at work yesterday clearly from an employee who either doesn't own a tesla or hasn't had to get a spare part for a 4 year old Tesla.
Until that mindset changes spare parts will remain the Achilles heel of Tesla
A phrase I heard at work yesterday clearly from an employee who either doesn't own a tesla or hasn't had to get a spare part for a 4 year old Tesla.
Until that mindset changes spare parts will remain the Achilles heel of Tesla
SeminoleFSU
Voluntaryist
Yeah I'm starting to wonder if the constant change mantra and "over X # of improvements per week" is the issue here... Perhaps they don't even have that part in stock and don't make them anymore as the design has been changed. To get one they have to make it by hand, which is very costly so they "ship the wrong one" to buy themselves time in the hope that the repair shops just "make it work" and cover up this Achilles heel
I thought I'd test the depth of the supply chain by asking the Body Shop Team to identify the correct part Monday and overnight it to Criswell for delivery Tuesday. I bet it will not happen as the part is probably not available.
Akikiki
A'-Lo-HA ! y'all
Well said. I too am a big fan, but gonna fuss at them when the clearly can do better for more than just me.I hate that these stories are still going on
This was understandable for the first year. We are five years in now. Now its really unacceptable.
There's no bigger fan than me but this time they stretched my loyalty way too far.
