Dent and scratch in back bumper and panel while backing

[lauderek]

Hello everyone,

It's my first time posting here. Unfortuntely, I just backed into a pillar in a tight underground parking yesterday, and scratched my back left bumper and dented my back left panel. The charging port opens fine and the car charges fine. The trunk opens and the back light works fine as well. However, I have a few questions:

1) Based on your understanding of the car, if I'm fine with the aesthetics of the dents and scratches, does it looks like it must be fixed? Or there will be some safety or long term issues if I don't fix it? For example, is it safe to go to gas station touchless car washes? Will there be any damage to the electrical components long term? Because if safety is fine and there are no long-term issues, I don't want to spend a lot of money to fix it after just one accident, in case I damage the same bumper and/or the panel sometime later again.
2) If the car only requires body work, do I have to fix it with Tesla approved body shops? I'm afraid they are very pricey.
3) If I go with non-Tesla approved body shops, does it void my car's warranty?
4) Can someone recommend some good body shops around North York area?

Thank you everyone!

Derek

 

[Randy-12]

I think that for some minor amount of money a body shop can push out most of that and clip the bumper back in.
If it was myself I'd remove the lining inside the car and try and tap it back myself. Won't be perfect but it would not be as pronounced and a bit of rubbing compound can work wonders.

 

[Vawlkus]

It’s highly unlikely that a dent like that will lead to any electrical issues. Worst case is you might get some spurious readings from the ultrasonic sensor on that corner if it’s misaligned (can’t tell from the pic).

Tesla certified shops are the better choice for repairs, if only because they’re trained how to work on these cars. Going to a non-certified shop is still possible, but while it won’t completely invalidate your warranty, it gives Tesla an out of warranty coverage if a problem turn up that’s related to what the non-certified shop did.
Example: if your headlight stops working, Tesla can’t say the repair on the back of the car caused the problem. If the taillight on that side goes, then Tesla CAN legit say it could have been something the other shop did. FYI.

Edit: where the damage is close to the charging system, I would NOT recommend going to a non-certified shop: it’s just asking for trouble down the road.

 

[lauderek]

It’s highly unlikely that a dent like that will lead to any electrical issues. Worst case is you might get some spurious readings from the ultrasonic sensor on that corner if it’s misaligned (can’t tell from the pic).

Tesla certified shops are the better choice for repairs, if only because they’re trained how to work on these cars. Going to a non-certified shop is still possible, but while it won’t completely invalidate your warranty, it gives Tesla an out of warranty coverage if a problem turn up that’s related to what the non-certified shop did.
Example: if your headlight stops working, Tesla can’t say the repair on the back of the car caused the problem. If the taillight on that side goes, then Tesla CAN legit say it could have been something the other shop did. FYI.

Edit: where the damage is close to the charging system, I would NOT recommend going to a non-certified shop: it’s just asking for trouble down the road.

Thank you Vawlkus.

I have driven the car for the whole day today, and I didn't see any sensor or anything wrong with the car so far. I did go to a Tesla-certified body shop, and their quote to fix it is $6800 (tax included). I can't recall exactly what he said, but he did say they have to do it "properly", and will order a new side panel while saving the bumper. I find that quote way out of my price range, so I doubt I will fix it. I will ask another certified body shop but I doubt the price will be much different, as it seems that they had to fix it "properly" as a certified body shop.

I did ask him if the car has any safety issue if I don't fix it, and he said it is just a vent behind the dented part and he doesn't think there is any safety or long-term issues based on how it looks.

Afterwards, I dropped by an actual Tesla service center and asked for a check up (I want to confirm if there is any safety issue with the car). The staff told me a check up is around $800? I might have remembered it wrong, and even he doesn't recommend me paying that to check the car. I showed him the photos and he basically said he thinks the car is safe to drive, and just fix it when the screen shows any warning signs.

Like you said, the Tesla service center staff is opened to the idea of finding a non-Tesla certified body shop, but there are charging cables on that side and if the body guy is not careful enough, he will blow the fuse and I will have to tow ($) the car back to Tesla coz only they can replace ($) and restart it.

At the end, I might just leave it until, if and when, a warning sign shows up like the Tesla staff said. Because $6800 is too much for me and I'm not sure if I want to use my insurance's first time accident protection yet. I will definitely fix it, if and when, I sell the car. It doesn't really bother me that my car looks like that.

PS. I wonder if Tesla's fixing price will go down when the shipping / COVID is back to normal, or if more body shops are certified in the future.

Thank you!

 

[Soul Surfer]

Accidents happen. I am surprised that you have not indicated filing an insurance claim? Even the deductible would be better than the full pay-out-of-pocket?

 

[sokhangoo]

How about just claiming it as a hit-and-run and pay the deductible? Your insurance won’t get affected.

 

[Vawlkus]

How about just claiming it as a hit-and-run and pay the deductible? Your insurance won’t get affected.

I think he’d need to file a police report to go that route, and as it’s a crime to make a false police report, it’s highly not recommended

 

[drift]

I think he’d need to file a police report to go that route, and as it’s a crime to make a false police report, it’s highly not recommended

The rear fender is steel and any competent body shop can fix it for you.

 

[Vawlkus]

The rear fender is steel and any competent body shop can fix it for you.

The fender is not the problem. His rear quarter panel is mangled, and that’s aluminum

 

[03DSG]

Hello everyone,

Can someone recommend some good body shops around North York area?

Derek

I was gently rear ended in June 2018 when my 3 was 9 days old. After a terrific experience at Excellence Auto on Midwest in Scarborough, an authorized Tesla repair shop, I would never personally go anywhere else. After 45 years of poor to mediocre experiences dealing with body shops this one was truly excellent. Removed, repaired and repainted the rear bumper cover and the paint match is perfect.

Excellence Auto Collision

Certified collision auto body repair for luxury brands Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Porsche, Tesla and Volkswagen in the GTA.

www.excellenceauto.ca

 

[Cookie71]

I read this with great interest…and FEAR. I thought there would be a warning and automatic braking to prevent this from happening.

 

[Vawlkus]

I read this with great interest…and FEAR. I thought there would be a warning and automatic braking to prevent this from happening.

There likely be as the standard chimes, but auto-braking is still subject to user overriding, as per NHTSA directives

 

[brkaus]

I think the model 3 is mild steel in the rear quarter.

The recommendation will be to cut it out and replace it. Someone might be able to do a reasonable looking job for much less.

 

[Eric W]

If you are not an expert, i would recommend to pay more to get it fixed at the certified shop. Cheap shops with usually comes with nightmares.