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Dented the passengers side rocker panel pretty badly, any idea what I’m looking at cost wise?

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Went over a curb and dented the rocker panel pretty badly. Took it in to get an estimate and was quoted a whopping 10k. Mechanic said that it can’t be pulled out due to how deep it’s pushed in, so it needs to be welded. He also said that since it’s aluminum it’s more tricky to fix. Is this a fair quote?
I had similar damage and took it to a Tesla approved body shop (Exotic Auto Repair in Bellevue, WA), and estimate was over $13k. I took the car to a Telsa Body Shop and the estimate was $2,250. I was told the difference (by the Tesla shop), was that they can pull some dents whereas the Tesla "Approved" shops have to cut it out and replace it with a new part. Needless to say I went with the Tesla Body Shop and they did a beautiful job. Part of that cost was the cost of a new 20" wheel ($715) because the original wheel has a very small scrape on it. They said if any material is missing off the wheel, it has to be replaced. I had them give me the old wheel which I touched up and have as a spare.
 
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Thank you "KenC" for the information. This may helps a few us us out.

I'm finding out that non tesla certified body shops (around here) are all afraid to touch even a small "repair". I've been to 4 different local shops and called a few others asking and nobody will touch it. One reasons is if they are not tesla certified, tesla will not sell them parts. I finally may have found a tesla certified shop that agreed the 14k and even my 2nd 10k estimate is BS. Still wish I could visit your shop in Maine and not even use my insurance.
For $1000k, I'd just put on the carbon rocker panel, since your car is already black!
 
I don't see how this is a 13k job. Normally the rocker is attached to the inner rocker at the bottom of the door opening and attached to the inner rocker at the bottom of the rocker panel. If you lift up the weather-strip or remove the door sill you should be able to see the seam where the pinch welds are
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I don't see how this is a 13k job. Normally the rocker is attached to the inner rocker at the bottom of the door opening and attached to the inner rocker at the bottom of the rocker panel. If you lift up the weather-strip or remove the door sill you should be able to see the seam where the pinch welds are
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Tesla requires traction pack removal for chassis / welding work to be done by the book.
 
I had similar damage and took it to a Tesla approved body shop (Exotic Auto Repair in Bellevue, WA), and estimate was over $13k. I took the car to a Telsa Body Shop and the estimate was $2,250. I was told the difference (by the Tesla shop), was that they can pull some dents whereas the Tesla "Approved" shops have to cut it out and replace it with a new part. Needless to say I went with the Tesla Body Shop and they did a beautiful job. Part of that cost was the cost of a new 20" wheel ($715) because the original wheel has a very small scrape on it. They said if any material is missing off the wheel, it has to be replaced. I had them give me the old wheel which I touched up and have as a spare.
Thanks Stanwood Steve, was the Tesla shop you went to in Bellevue also? Thanks
 
Insured thru Liberty Mutual.
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Since my car recorded when it got moved to the paint shop, I think I recall it took only 2 hrs to do the paint, not 10.5hrs. The shop said it'd be no problem to massage the dent out. He thought it was aluminum, but it's clearly steel, as it will hold a magnet.

No change to my insurance policy rates from 9 months ago.

$49/hr !?!? My gardener charges more than that for a mow and blow!

/cry… feels sad now…
 
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I have had the same experience. Got a pretty big dent on the passenger side rocker panel. Took it to the Tesla service center in Seattle SODO and they recommended the Pacific Auto Body. The guy gave me an estimate of 7k. Party because of the same reason everyone is giving , which is that they have to order the entire side panel from Tesla, cut the rocker panel and then weld it to the damaged area, repaint and all the good stuff. I then went to the Tesla body shop in Bellevue and they said they can’t do anything has the job required is pretty big, they recommended the exotic auto shop in Bellevue, which gave me
a quote for 10k. At this point, I’m just gonna go with the side skirt that tsportline sells for 1.4K and call it a day. I blame the Seattle rain for this mess 😀
 
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Wow, thats alot worse than mine was. Its alot longer. My damage was 8" and was 3k at Bellevue. It was at the very back just in front of the rear tire. I'm definitely not an expert but that 7k at Pacific may be reasonable if its an accurate quote. My quote from them was over 10k to replace the entire quarter panel. To bad Tesla body in Bellevue couldn't help you, that's surprising. I would be looking at the side skirts too if I was in your shoes. On a positive note, them side skirts look awesome. I even thought of getting them after mine was repaired. Just wish they were a bit cheaper.
Good luck to ya.
 
It’s steel, not aluminum. I’d have figured over 15 with the battery needing to be pulled and reinstalled after replacing the rocker.

battery i dont think has to come out. but replacing the rocker panel is not possible. its a designflaw of tesla model 3s. I have heard that newer ones have a slightly different panel which is easier to replace. In an actual car you have to take the windscreen out and the rear screen. You then have to weld the affected bit off the chassis and replace it with a new one. comes to around 9k usd. Battery pack afaik can stay in.

If only the plastic bit is damaged (happened to me hitting the underside of a driveway), thats actually quite cheap to replace. Like 300 USD with labour.


What is the flat rate of removing and replacing the pack

Around 2000 usd. And then like 15000 usd for the pack.
In the model 3 the battery pack is screwed into the bottom of the car and to access those bolts you have to remove the interior of the car. stupid design. not sure why the bolts cant be secured from the battery pack side rather than the cabin side.