Dented Front-Right Fender -- To Claim or Not to Claim

[NorthStar7]

We have a very narrow (18') two-car garage that is about 100 years old and probably built for a Model T. My wife pulls in frontward and I back in so both driver doors can swing open to the center.

Anyway, long story short, I clipped the garage pillar backing in and dented the front-right fender, as well as some scrapes that my PPF tried to ward off, but not sure if it was 100% successful. You can see the grey paint transfer from the garage pillar to the fender and the PPF scuffs.

I took it to a local Tesla-authorized shop: $6300 to fix, with my car in the shop for a month! Mentally, I figured it would be about ~$2K and I'd pay out of pocket. When I got the $6300 non-binding estimate (they said it could go up), I was shocked. They basically piled everything on...diagnostics, new wheel, etc. etc.

I called a different non-Tesla Authorized body shop I have used in the past for our BMW and they wouldn't even look at it. I called another shop that I trust and they said they would fix the dent and sand/paint for $3K (minus new PPF) and have the car for less than a week. Originally, he had said that if it needs any parts from Tesla, they probably wouldn't do it because Tesla makes it so difficult to get (and return) parts.

As everyone here is aware, we already pay a ton for insurance on Teslas. I really don't want a claim to hike my rates further for 3-5 years for something so silly.

Questions:
1) Tesla has a body shop in our area. Is there any downside to taking it there to get a quote?
2) Would you guys claim it and be out of a car for a month or pay $3K+PPF out of pocket for this?
3) Can Tesla withhold potential warranty work in the future if they find that I had a dent repaired by a non-Tesla Authorized shop?

Thanks for any input!

 

[Soul Surfer]

I’d probably bite-the-bullet and not claim it.

 

[Tam]

We have a very narrow (18') two-car garage that is about 100 years old and probably built for a Model T. My wife pulls in frontward and I back in so both driver doors can swing open to the center.

Anyway, long story short, I clipped the garage pillar backing in and dented the front-right fender, as well as some scrapes that my PPF tried to ward off, but not sure if it was 100% successful. You can see the grey paint transfer from the garage pillar to the fender and the PPF scuffs.

I took it to a local Tesla-authorized shop: $6300 to fix, with my car in the shop for a month! Mentally, I figured it would be about ~$2K and I'd pay out of pocket. When I got the $6300 non-binding estimate (they said it could go up), I was shocked. They basically piled everything on...diagnostics, new wheel, etc. etc.

I called a different non-Tesla Authorized body shop I have used in the past for our BMW and they wouldn't even look at it. I called another shop that I trust and they said they would fix the dent and sand/paint for $3K (minus new PPF) and have the car for less than a week. Originally, he had said that if it needs any parts from Tesla, they probably wouldn't do it because Tesla makes it so difficult to get (and return) parts.

As everyone here is aware, we already pay a ton for insurance on Teslas. I really don't want a claim to hike my rates further for 3-5 years for something so silly.

Questions:
1) Tesla has a body shop in our area. Is there any downside to taking it there to get a quote?
2) Would you guys claim it and be out of a car for a month or pay $3K+PPF out of pocket for this?
3) Can Tesla withhold potential warranty work in the future if they find that I had a dent repaired by a non-Tesla Authorized shop?

Thanks for any input!


View attachment 1011819

Functionally, it's not bad at all. If you don't mind the look, drive as is. If luck happens, you might hit your garage again after the repair!

Depending on your budget, any decision is fine with me.

 

[fholbert]

The good news is @Soul Surfer doesn’t think it’s a total. Fix it yourself, in the long run it will be cheaper than an insurance claim.

 

[Soul Surfer]

The good news is @Soul Surfer doesn’t think it’s a total. Fix it yourself, in the long run it will be cheaper than an insurance claim.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’m no estimator but I sure do my CBA (Cost Benefit Analysis) with regards to insurance costs.

 

[Shelburne]

Here in MA and with my insurance, the rule of thumb according to my agent is that if a repair is going to cost more than $5000, have your insurance cover it. Under $5000, it's cheaper in the long run to pay for it yourself. You might want to check with your insurance agent to see where the break even point is where you live.. But, really, that looks like a relatively simple fix that may not even require any parts from Tesla (other than paint). If I were you, I'd go with a non-Tesla body shop if you're going to get it fixed

 

[Avid]

Get on the local auto grapevine and find the best paintless dent removal business. They'll be able to say if they can fix it or not. If they can it'll be way less than what you have been quoted. What do you have to loose?

 

[rpiotro]

Don't forget. As I have mentioned elsewhere here, If you file a claim with your insurance company it will appear on CarFax as an accident. That may profoundly affect the resale.

Weigh the costs of just having it repaired and paying out of pocket vs having an insurance claim and still paying the deductible to what the possible diminished value would be with a CarFax report hanging over your head.

I'm not sure if a PDR would restore it. I looks like the paint is already damaged. Am I right?

 

[gaswalla]

pdr, paint on the fender only, and ppf on the fender only... it shouldn't be more than 1500 and prob less in the midwest

 

[PianoAl]

Try some more shops. I had a local non-Tesla-approved shop repair a door even though they needed to buy a door from Tesla.

 

[stopcrazypp]

We have a very narrow (18') two-car garage that is about 100 years old and probably built for a Model T. My wife pulls in frontward and I back in so both driver doors can swing open to the center.

Anyway, long story short, I clipped the garage pillar backing in and dented the front-right fender, as well as some scrapes that my PPF tried to ward off, but not sure if it was 100% successful. You can see the grey paint transfer from the garage pillar to the fender and the PPF scuffs.

I took it to a local Tesla-authorized shop: $6300 to fix, with my car in the shop for a month! Mentally, I figured it would be about ~$2K and I'd pay out of pocket. When I got the $6300 non-binding estimate (they said it could go up), I was shocked. They basically piled everything on...diagnostics, new wheel, etc. etc.

I called a different non-Tesla Authorized body shop I have used in the past for our BMW and they wouldn't even look at it. I called another shop that I trust and they said they would fix the dent and sand/paint for $3K (minus new PPF) and have the car for less than a week. Originally, he had said that if it needs any parts from Tesla, they probably wouldn't do it because Tesla makes it so difficult to get (and return) parts.

As everyone here is aware, we already pay a ton for insurance on Teslas. I really don't want a claim to hike my rates further for 3-5 years for something so silly.

Questions:
1) Tesla has a body shop in our area. Is there any downside to taking it there to get a quote?
2) Would you guys claim it and be out of a car for a month or pay $3K+PPF out of pocket for this?
3) Can Tesla withhold potential warranty work in the future if they find that I had a dent repaired by a non-Tesla Authorized shop?

Thanks for any input!


View attachment 1011819

Here's another similar thread. Note as per that thread, an unpainted fender from Tesla is about $300, a prepainted one is about $1300. You should be able to buy it directly from Tesla from the app by making a service request (although the OP seemed to have trouble).
Bumped garage door frame, $5k repair

The OP in that thread ended up doing their own PDR and did a great job for a DIY job with no experience.

Your dent looks less serious even though it may have gone through the paint. Maybe try to ask for quotes for PDR and then optionally getting it painted afterwards.

 

[NorthStar7]

Don't forget. As I have mentioned elsewhere here, If you file a claim with your insurance company it will appear on CarFax as an accident. That may profoundly affect the resale.

Weigh the costs of just having it repaired and paying out of pocket vs having an insurance claim and still paying the deductible to what the possible diminished value would be with a CarFax report hanging over your head.

I'm not sure if a PDR would restore it. I looks like the paint is already damaged. Am I right?

Good point on the CarFax.

You are correct, there is some paint work. The $3K quote I got from a non-Tesla shop was to remove the fender, straighten it out, sand it, and paint it.

One thing that is odd is that I feel a little alignment issue that just came on the last week or so. Since it has been a couple months since I dented the fender, I don't think it is related...but it does make me a little more concerned of whether there could be other damage (sensors, alignment, etc). The non-Tesla body shop guys said he highly doubted that little damage could have caused any/much other damage.

 

[CCopperpot]

Good lord, 6300 for that? I understand that pearl coat is difficult to match 100% but I'd rather buy a used white fender off ebay/a scrap yard (or even buy a new painted fender from Tesla) and just replace it myself and save myself a bucket of money.

 

[ODWms]

For me, that’d be the only way to go.

 

[NorthStar7]

For me, that’d be the only way to go.

Which way?

 

[EatsShoots]

Good lord, 6300 for that? I understand that pearl coat is difficult to match 100% but I'd rather buy a used white fender off ebay/a scrap yard (or even buy a new painted fender from Tesla) and just replace it myself and save myself a bucket of money.

See post #11 in this thread. I was quoted $10k for almost exactly the same thing, with just a trivial touch more damage on my end.

This is why these cars are outrageous to insure. The tesla repair shops will bend you over a barrel, knowing that virtually nobody else will dare touch the cars.

Knowing what I know now if this was my car I would jack the front up, take the inside wheel well cover off, and use the ding/dent kit thing I got from harbor freight and within a couple of hours or less of hammering, the dent would be almost perfect. Then I'd just find some random local place willing to do the paint with it still on the car. The end result would be imperfect but good enough that you'd have to be looking for it to to see it, and save a ton of money as well.