Got rear-ended, what's the best body shop in OC to get an estimate?

[stevenm3]

My 2-week old M3P with less than 300 miles just got rear-ended on the highway by a 2008 Accord .

Now, what are the best body shops in OC/Irvine area to get a damage estimate? The Costa Mesa service center has partnered with Diamond Hills Collision and they come to the service center every morning to do the estimate. I don't know how much equipment they have and how accurate their estimation will be. The other option is the Tesla Body Repair Center at Pomona, but that's kind of far from south OC and I don't know how long I will have to leave my car there.

Or what other body shop would you guys recommend?

Does the body shop do a through inspection? The hit speed is pretty high and I don't know what kind of damages are hidden inside - frame, battery, rear motor, onboard charger, etc... This sounds like a real headache as I have heard many horror stories about it.

Also, I probably need to claim the diminished value, anyone have experience with this?

One last question - is it still safe to charge the car with 240V or supercharger? I hope the battery unit and the onboard charger has some damage protection design built-in. I don't want this thing to cause a fire.

Thanks

 

[Sweet OJ]

People seem to like European Motor Car Works which is literally next door to Tesla in Costa Mesa. I am about to take my car there for an estimate so I personally endorse them yet, but they seem to be much more acclaimed than Spectrum who is the only other one that's close to you and I.

 

[dennisvab]

I can’t help about where to get an estimate. But based on this picture there is most likely no damage to the battery, charger, or motor. Did your seat belts lock up or any airbags deploy? If they did you won’t be able to drive the car, and it will not charge via 240v or supercharger.

 

[SD_Engnr]

That's likely going to need only a bumper cover, and the styrofoam-like impact absorbing material underneath. Should be perfectly safe to drive/charge etc.

Good luck, and please keep us posted with how it goes!

 

[Big Dog]

have you called the Tesla body shop in Pomona?


Body Shop Support

 

[AEdennis]

I've used Spectrum on our Model S... they were pretty good, but I believe Tesla now does bodywork as well...

 

[stevenm3]

People seem to like European Motor Car Works which is literally next door to Tesla in Costa Mesa. I am about to take my car there for an estimate so I personally endorse them yet, but they seem to be much more acclaimed than Spectrum who is the only other one that's close to you and I.

Just checked with European Motor Car Works today, pretty decent shop. However, I heard they don't work with my insurance company nor the other driver's insurance company, don't really know how to handle this kind of situation if I insist to get my car fixed here...

 

[Big Dog]

^^Cal law says that you can use any body shop that you want. You do not have to accept the insurer's recommended body shop. (Of course, then, it becomes a negotiation.)

Importantly, you can tell the other carrier to go pound sand. it matters not who they have contracts with. Their customer damaged your car. They have to fix it and pay for a comparable ride while yours is in the shop. You are not their customer and have no reason to even talk to them. Let your insurer do the talking.

 

[ecarfan]

Moderator note: at the request of the OP, the photo shown in his first post, and a later post with a video, have been removed.

This is a reminder that it is not always a wise idea to post images on social media of accident damage, for legal reasons. Such images are publicly available and can be found by, well, anyone.

 

[JosephIshak]

My Model 3 was hit while parked over a year ago. The other guy left a note and State Farm (his insurance) had asked me to go to Caliber Collision. Caliber has a location in Costa Mesa where they do all their Tesla work for Orange County. They also have agreements with State Farm, AAA, and two other Insurance companies. They work with Tesla for Pre Inspection before they start work to verify no damage to ev components and then again and the end of work to make sure all ev stuff is working correctly as well as have autopilot stuff calibrated. Here is the address:

Caliber Collision
7 Oldfield,
Irvine, CA 92618

They did good work but at the time it took 3 weeks due to parts shortages. I am guessing they are quicker now depending on the work.