Extremely long body shop times for Model S

[asgard]

My Model S is in the Tesla body shop in the Bay Area for repairs after an accident. Tesla can't even look at the vehicle until April and beyond that they are warning me that parts are in short supply so the repair could take months.
Insurance will only cover me for 30 days of rental. Beyond that, I am on my own according to insurance.
Anyone else having this problem?
If so, how have you dealt with this? It seems unacceptable for a luxury vehicle at this price range.

 

[dipper]

Too bad only Tesla approved shop can do this.

If 3rd party shop can source used parts, you could be driving in less than 2 weeks.

 

[KyleDay]

It is unacceptable. But it is reality. It's a huge black eye on tesla for failing to make enough part inventory (all to keep cash flow up and costs down).

Unfortunately this forum is riddled with similar experiences.

 

[ucmndd]

1) Yes, it's unacceptable.

2) Stop considering Tesla a luxury car. You'll be much happier in the end.

 

[asgard]

1) Yes, it's unacceptable.

2) Stop considering Tesla a luxury car. You'll be much happier in the end.

Ok, I'll drop "luxury" from the description. The point is still that I won't have a car for months, will be paying for it to sit in a repair shop and will be paying out of pocket for a rental on top of that. Are there any legal options worth considering?

 

[ucmndd]

Ok, I'll drop "luxury" from the description. The point is still that I won't have a car for months, will be paying for it to sit in a repair shop and will be paying out of pocket for a rental on top of that. Are there any legal options worth considering?

My single biggest fear in terms of ownership of this car. It's bad.

But no, I can't imagine any legal remedies or obligations on the part of Tesla that will be fruitful for you in the end.

 

[sorka]

My Model S is in the Tesla body shop in the Bay Area for repairs after an accident. Tesla can't even look at the vehicle until April and beyond that they are warning me that parts are in short supply so the repair could take months.
Insurance will only cover me for 30 days of rental. Beyond that, I am on my own according to insurance.
Anyone else having this problem?
If so, how have you dealt with this? It seems unacceptable for a luxury vehicle at this price range.

What parts are they saying will take a long time?

 

[Ken7]

I think one question is why they can’t even look at the car until April.

 

[asgard]

What parts are they saying will take a long time?

They said pretty much all parts.

 

[asgard]

I think one question is why they can’t even look at the car until April.

Apparently there is a long line of cars waiting to be repaired. More likely, they sent the technicians to work on producing cars, and fixing them is lower margin.

 

[sorka]

They said pretty much all parts.

They're wrong. Get a different body shop.

Brooks Motor Cars in Fremont will fix you up quickly.

 

[Rockster]

Is the car driveable? If so, spend some time with the insurance company explaining the benefit to paying for the body shop to reassemble the car so you can drive it in the interim. An additional hour or two of labor to reassemble the car and then dismantle it again is way cheaper than keeping you in a rental car for months. I've successfully done this with my Tesla. It just takes reaching someone at the insurance company with a brain and with the authority to use it.

If your car isn't driveable then obviously this advice is useless to you.

 

[RogerHScott]

Is the car driveable? If so, spend some time with the insurance company explaining the benefit to paying for the body shop to reassemble the car so you can drive it in the interim. An additional hour or two of labor to reassemble the car and then dismantle it again is way cheaper than keeping you in a rental car for months. I've successfully done this with my Tesla. It just takes reaching someone at the insurance company with a brain and with the authority to use it.

If your car isn't driveable then obviously this advice is useless to you.

If he only has 30 days rental coverage why would his insurance company care what his costs are after those 30 days are up?

I was able to shame Tesla into compensating me for my beyond-covered rental costs in the form of a credit toward my next service. Way better than nothing.

 

[RogerHScott]

Welcome to this grim club. My car was in the shop for more than three months in late 2017

 

[dbldwn02]

Yea, it sucks. I'm not surprised though. Luckily mine was driveable after someone ran into my car in a parking lot. Took 4 months to get parts, insurance, body shop to get off their ass, etc. All for a quarter panel and a bumper. If your damage is more than that I would expect you'll be waiting at least that long.

 

[trm2]

Was the accident your fault? If not, that "30 days of rental coverage" mean nothing, the at-fault party needs to make you whole. If it was your fault, then yeah, you are going to have a dollar limit/time limit that you paid for in your policy.

 

[Rockster]

Was the accident your fault? If not, that "30 days of rental coverage" mean nothing, the at-fault party needs to make you whole. If it was your fault, then yeah, you are going to have a dollar limit/time limit that you paid for in your policy.

This.

 

[Dan Baldwin]

Is the Tesla parts shortage a result of Tesla just not considering it a priority ? The shortage is becoming common knowledge these days and yet it doesn't prevent people from buying Teslas. Luxury car or not, the parts shortage makes Teslas kind of risky.

 

[Guy1]

My Model S is in the Tesla body shop in the Bay Area for repairs after an accident. Tesla can't even look at the vehicle until April and beyond that they are warning me that parts are in short supply so the repair could take months.
Insurance will only cover me for 30 days of rental. Beyond that, I am on my own according to insurance.
Anyone else having this problem?
If so, how have you dealt with this? It seems unacceptable for a luxury vehicle at this price range.

Yes I have a model S in repairs for a fender/bender since Nov 4, 2018.... Parts are part of the problem. The body shop is the other part major issue. If the body shop had ordered all the parts they needed initially they would have finished the work a month ago. But no...It currently takes 5 to 7 business days to get a part. So every time they discover they forgot something the work gets pushed. Very frustration
Tesla part service have been of some help in identifying the problem but there is only so much they can do.

 

[Naekuh]

Its tesla's master plan especially if the car is leased.

Make care undriveable when it has a collision on file, so they can get the money back on lower miles when you have to return it.


No but seriously, it really sucks especially when you still need to make payments on a non derivable car, and the reason is because parts are on back-ordered til idontknowhen.