Does this quarter panel look repairable?

[calvinl0724]

Sorry guys to bring you a depressing image as my first post on a pleasant Friday evening. Basically I scratched my right side quarter panel against a wall, and below is the result. I am bringing this to a Tesla certified shop tomorrow to take a look, and there is a chance that they will recommend a (costly) replacement that will probably take a few weeks if not more.

I've been looking around for aluminum body repair information, but cannot reach a confident conclusion on whether this damage is repairable or not, since it kind of falls outside of both the minor and serious damage range. You see there are dents across a long area on the panel although they are all pretty shallow.

What do you guys think? If they indeed recommend a replacement should I even bother bringing this to a non certified repair shop to take a look? If so, any recommended shops around the Greenwich, CT or upper state New York area?

Thanks guys.

 

[Skione65]

Sorry guys to bring you a depressing image as my first post on a pleasant Friday evening. Basically I scratched my right side quarter panel against a wall, and below is the result. I am bringing this to a Tesla certified shop tomorrow to take a look, and there is a chance that they will recommend a (costly) replacement that will probably take a few weeks if not more.

I've been looking around for aluminum body repair information, but cannot reach a confident conclusion on whether this damage is repairable or not, since it kind of falls outside of both the minor and serious damage range. You see there are dents across a long area on the panel although they are all pretty shallow.

What do you guys think? If they indeed recommend a replacement should I even bother bringing this to a non certified repair shop to take a look? If so, any recommended shops around the Greenwich, CT or upper state New York area?

Thanks guys.

View attachment 193861

@calvinl0724,

Hard to tell from that image. Do you have afew more photos at different angles and distances from the car? That would definitely help in determination and seriousness of the dent and/or scratches from the impact.

Ski

 

[RDoc]

My advice would be to not take the Tesla Certified bodyshop's comments / estimates as the last word. Most good bodyshops can work with aluminum panels very well. We had a somewhat less extreme dent and associated scratches from hitting a wall fixed very well at a local shop for about $900.

 

[SDRick]

It looks repairable, but hard to tell from one picture. What did the service center tell you?

 

[ArtInCT]

Ouch.... Passenger Rear Quarter eh?
Sad first post dude.....

For body shops.... in our area that know how to work on aluminum and Tesla's....

North State Custom
Bedford Hills, NY
914-241-1234

also

Airport Road Body Shop
80 Airport Rd, Hartford, CT
860-296-2639

Good Luck Amigo
Art

 

[Tdriver]

Check with a local dent repair guy. If he can do it, it will be hundreds instead of thousands of dollars.

 

[calvinl0724]

More pictures.
View attachment 193912
View attachment 193917
View attachment 193918

 

[calvinl0724]

Weird somehow I cannot open the pictures I uploaded. Trying again:

 

[ArtInCT]

Ok, now that I see the extent of the damage, I would venture to say that the body shop may want to replace the rear quarter panel. There is some ins and outs and stretching in the wheel arch area. Not just a dent that can be pulled or popped. You probably would not want a body filler build up job done? Is the rear passenger door 100% OK? How is the joint line on that side with the rear hatch? Rear suspension OK? Very sorry to see this damage. Keep us informed with your progress and choices.

Oh, a buddy of mine down your way said to me that a shop in Stamford, called Angelos does very nice work and is worth looking into. He had a rear quarter panel done on his Porsche and the work was perfectly executed.

 

[mmccord]

North state will definitely want to replace that. I don't know if someone else will be able to fix it without replacement.

Unfortunately, the car will never be quite the same once a qp is cut off it and replaced, so I highly recommend avoiding it if possible.

 

[nuevodesi]

@calvinl0724 - Sorry to hear about the damage. Hope only the MS was damaged and everyone else is ok.

My recommendation is to get it checked out thru a Tesla certified body shop for the very same questions that @ArtInCT is asking as well as others that may be missed.

In my first of three experiences, a popular national chain body shop did not do a great job with the paint. Since then, I've had 2 of my German ICEs in dealer recommended body shops and have come out very impressed not just with the work, but also with the color matching and like.

Fortunately, my out-of-pocket expenses were limited to the comprehensive insurance deductible. You may already be aware, that even though the insurance may strongly recommend a body shop of their choice, you are permitted to take the car to any body shop of you choose.

Good luck and keep us posted on the repairs. Before you know it, your MS will come back as good as new.

 

[Chickenlittle]

Sorry guys to bring you a depressing image as my first post on a pleasant Friday evening. Basically I scratched my right side quarter panel against a wall, and below is the result. I am bringing this to a Tesla certified shop tomorrow to take a look, and there is a chance that they will recommend a (costly) replacement that will probably take a few weeks if not more.

I've been looking around for aluminum body repair information, but cannot reach a confident conclusion on whether this damage is repairable or not, since it kind of falls outside of both the minor and serious damage range. You see there are dents across a long area on the panel although they are all pretty shallow.

What do you guys think? If they indeed recommend a replacement should I even bother bringing this to a non certified repair shop to take a look? If so, any recommended shops around the Greenwich, CT or upper state New York area?

Thanks guys.

View attachment 193861

Don't feel too bad. These cars are wide. I did the same to mine, it was only 2 weeks old at the time. Parking sensors were not available at that time. I remember someone in 2013 posting that a body shop told him the most common model S repair by far was damage from garage doors. When I was home shopping I could eliminate half the homes by first measuring the garage door widths and not even having to enter to cross them off the list

 

[calvinl0724]

Thank you all for your input, very helpful.
Just a quick update, the certified shop I went to suggested a replacement, and an estimated cost of >10k.... almost all of which being labor cost.
There was no damage on the suspension and I was lucky enough to just miss the passenger door by an inch.
From what you guys said I guess a repair might not be possible without risking a poor quality result. However, I'm going to bring this to a couple shops nearby to get some more opinions. After all, 10k for a cosmetic damage sounds like a last resort to me.

 

[calvinl0724]

Ok, now that I see the extent of the damage, I would venture to say that the body shop may want to replace the rear quarter panel. There is some ins and outs and stretching in the wheel arch area. Not just a dent that can be pulled or popped. You probably would not want a body filler build up job done? Is the rear passenger door 100% OK? How is the joint line on that side with the rear hatch? Rear suspension OK? Very sorry to see this damage. Keep us informed with your progress and choices.

Oh, a buddy of mine down your way said to me that a shop in Stamford, called Angelos does very nice work and is worth looking into. He had a rear quarter panel done on his Porsche and the work was perfectly executed.

Thanks a lot. I will definitely take it to the shop your buddy recommended for a look.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Check out Port Chester Auto Body.. Auto Repairs Contractor Port Chester, NY - Port Chester Auto Body Inc.

It looks like the proverbial "hole in the wall" but Mike and his crew do great work. He's removed some deep scratches from my Model S and has rebuilt the bumpers on two other cars. I don't know if he does aluminum repair or not, but I think he does. If you go there, be sure to tell him you're paying cash and not going through your insurance.

 

[SDRick]

$10,000 for a repair like this is absurd. $10,000 to repair a dent on what is in this case a "$60k" car! These high repair cost stories do not help the Tesla cause or future insurance premiums.

Hopefully a guy good with aluminum could spend eight hours on it and make it look new for $1000.

 

[dpodoll]

I had similar damage, but on left rear quarter. It was north of $10.6k. Certified TESLA shop said they tried to repair one a while back, but had to give up and replace it. Ours took a couple of weeks to repair.

 

[jfoxny]

I have a similar dent in my rear driver side door / rear quarter panel. A woman opened her door into my car as I passed by on a narrow street I got the estimate today from a certified Tesla shop: $6k.

 

[SDRick]

I am curious. How much would similar repairs cost in cars that are not named Tesla?

 

[nuevodesi]

I am curious. How much would similar repairs cost in cars that are not named Tesla?

The Aluminum door of my 2016 German ICE was replaced [it was unrepairable] a couple of months ago with a similar damage as @jfoxny, and it cost the insurance company ~$2.5k.