Holy crap, repairs are insanely expensive, beware!!

[voltaren]

I initially read this thread and thought the repair was excessive. A couple grand would be more appropriate.

Then I remembered a coworker who did the same thing in a Land Rover Discovery a handful of years ago. He was in a parking lot, slid on ice and both passenger side tires hit the curb. No mechanical damage; however, it did set off the side airbags which totaled his $30,000 Land Rover. The interior trim pieces and seats were damaged from the airbags.

Then I also remembered when someone threw a brick into my BMW M6 convertible (I guess out of kicks), and the leather dashboard - THE DASHBOARD - was $12,000 to replace.

I suppose it's all relative. If I had that S out of warranty, I would have just replaced the control arm and inspected for any visible damage.

 

[voltaren]

well KIA are a good example everything fits perfectly and pretty much never break down everthing is functional and a 7 year UNLIMITED warranty to boot.

Thanks for this. I needed a good laugh this Sunday morning!

 

[busaman]

Thanks for this. I needed a good laugh this Sunday morning!

i dont understand whats so funny when tesla offer 7 years uncondittional warranty they will likely go bust kia on the other hand actually just dont break. and if they do need parts they are on hand within a day.

Discover the all-new Kia Optima | Kia Motors UK

not a bad car for 1/5 the price of a top ms

 

[voltaren]

i dont understand whats so funny when tesla offer 7 years uncondittional warranty they will likely go bust kia on the other hand actually just dont break. and if they do need parts they are on hand within a day.

You have a point with parts.

Other than the general nonsensical nature of your posts (seriously I'm having a hard time understanding what you're getting at), I was laughing at your position with Kia being a good example of "everything fits perfectly and pretty much never break down."

 

[voltaren]

i dont understand whats so funny when tesla offer 7 years uncondittional warranty they will likely go bust kia on the other hand actually just dont break. and if they do need parts they are on hand within a day

"I like cooking my family and my dog."

Use commas; don't be a psycho.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

^^ ref the conversation between @busaman and unnamed,

a) Busaman does have a point. Kias and Hyundais are actually very well made cars. Much more so than Tesla.
b) Perhaps you should listen
c) I'm not a mod, and neither am I your mama. But damn dude, why are you being insulting, condescending and rude? If you disagree, can't you respectfully disagree?

PS: I felt compelled to reply after observing this nonsense for many days in a row now.

 

[busaman]

You have a point with parts.

Other than the general nonsensical nature of your posts (seriously I'm having a hard time understanding what you're getting at), I was laughing at your position with Kia being a good example of "everything fits perfectly and pretty much never break down."

Its not to hard to understand... in general KIA,s dont break, thier doors etc fit properly, parts are relativly cheap and available..

where as teslas break quite readily, parts are made of unobtainium , and very expensive.

like i said earlier in the posts the only thing special about a MS is the propulsion system nothing else, considering it has 90% less moving parts than a conventional ICE it doesnt stack up in good reliabilty odds..

 

[seclinton]

But in truth, Kia and others aren't innovating but churnin out parts using decades old technology. Yes I know this is true as I've worked for Johnson Controls and walked the factory where items like door panels and headliners are made. Some DOE's on new materials such as injection molded resins of carbon fiber, but only incremental innovation. So I give Tesla some strong leeway to get better

For me my Tesla has been pretty rock solid except a minor battery issue. And at 80k miles that's been about it.

For spare parts and repairs however, Tesla is still a boutique car maker akin to Lotus, McClaren, or better Ferrari. Single sourced on unique parts and little captical investment for aftermarket service. Not broken, but just not up to par with the larger well established car companies with a multi plant footprint.

3 months waiting for parts sucks for me and my accident, but I like the confidence from my repair center that the car will be like new when finished and certified by Tesla.

 

[FlatSix911]

Just did a quick search on eBay and found the front control arm for the Model S readily available for $250.
A good automotive tech could replace this part and check the suspension specs with a few hours labor.

2012-2015 Tesla Model S Left Front Control Arm 1048951-00-B | eBay

TESLA MODEL S CONTROL ARM FRONT LEFT 2012 2013 2014 2015 1048951-00-B AWD OEM | eBay

 

[voltaren]

^^ ref the conversation between @busaman and unnamed,

a) Busaman does have a point. Kias and Hyundais are actually very well made cars. Much more so than Tesla.
b) Perhaps you should listen
c) I'm not a mod, and neither am I your mama. But damn dude, why are you being insulting, condescending and rude? If you disagree, can't you respectfully disagree?

PS: I felt compelled to reply after observing this nonsense for many days in a row now.

You need to chill out buddy. It was sarcasm and his/her posts were difficult to understand. The only direct insult made was by you. And this nonsense was this morning, not many days.

I should add that I suspect busaman is trolling. He claims a 2016 P85D (which I didn't even think they produced - but they did in very small numbers) but he claimed on a BMW forum that he has a P90D. I'm no amateur sleuth (simple google search), but coupled with a healthy love of Kia and a misunderstanding of Tesla's actual 7 year warranty (not unconditional), it just came off as suspicious. swapping my i3 for a tesla model s - BMW i3 Forum

 

[busaman]

You need to chill out buddy. It was sarcasm and his/her posts were difficult to understand. The only direct insult made was by you. And this nonsense was this morning, not many days.

I should add that I suspect busaman is trolling. He claims a 2016 P85D (which I didn't even think they produced - but they did in very small numbers) but he claimed on a BMW forum that he has a P90D. I'm no amateur sleuth (simple google search), but coupled with a healthy love of Kia and a misunderstanding of Tesla's actual 7 year warranty (not unconditional), it just came off as suspicious. swapping my i3 for a tesla model s - BMW i3 Forum

proof enough......

 

[Btr_ftw]

Its not to hard to understand... in general KIA,s dont break, thier doors etc fit properly, parts are relativly cheap and available..

where as teslas break quite readily, parts are made of unobtainium , and very expensive.

like i said earlier in the posts the only thing special about a MS is the propulsion system nothing else, considering it has 90% less moving parts than a conventional ICE it doesnt stack up in good reliabilty odds..

Unfortunately Tesla needs more time to establish itself.

When Kia was as young as tesla it was the same thing, they broke, their doors didn't fit etc..., its only in recent history that Kia started to establish themselves as a somewhat reliable automobile.

Kia's first car in the usa in the late 90s was the spectra, I tried to find a spectra today, and they don't exist, because quite frankly they all fell apart.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

well KIA are a good example everything fits perfectly and pretty much never break down everthing is functional and a 7 year UNLIMITED warranty to boot.

 

[mattr2]

Hmm the same thing happened to our vehicle but on the passenger side. I ended up towing it to Tesla where they repaired the damage. The bill came out to be around $2600 and insurance covered it.

Alas, this is what I expected from the start in the worse case scenario. Tesla would have had no problem fixing this issue efficiently and at a lower cost, but they will not work on collision cars, or at least that's what they told me.

* for some reason, notifications quit working so I quit replying to the thread. Good news is, all the parts came in and the vehicle is now being repaired, maybe just about a week to go.

 

[mattr2]

Just did a quick search on eBay and found the front control arm for the Model S readily available for $250.
A good automotive tech could replace this part and check the suspension specs with a few hours labor.

2012-2015 Tesla Model S Left Front Control Arm 1048951-00-B | eBay

TESLA MODEL S CONTROL ARM FRONT LEFT 2012 2013 2014 2015 1048951-00-B AWD OEM | eBay

View attachment 216437

Nice find, except I have insurance and would rather pay my $500 deductible and have a perfect car. There was also a steering gear that was damaged when the wheel came out of socket. I'd rather be safe and have it repaired 100% correctly given I paid big bucks for the vehicle.

 

[henderrj]

I drive a Kia Soul EV. Nice car. Everything is fine. And I do love the car. But if I had three of them and somebody offered me a Model S in trade, I'd do it in a heartbeat!

( Gotta Love Google Voice to Text. That first sentence came out "The gravity is so easy")

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

This article seems to be relevant and seems to be on top of Reddit Repairing My Tesla Model S Has Been an Utter Nightmare -- and It's Mostly Tesla's Fault -- The Motley Fool

Interestingly if you read the comments, people are saying that months of wait is quite typical. People have reached out to tesla and tesla hasn't done anything to make the picture better.

To be honest, this pretty much wipes my EV smile off. I was going to keep the car for 8 years, I'm at the 2 year mark.
I've brought my 8 down to 4. But if things don't get better, I'll probably be selling mine. It's too much of a liability to drive around in given the current situation.

 

[N5329K]

See the thread, Hartford Insurance Company not writing any new Teslas.
Robin

 

[TRON]

on Jan 19, 2016 I slid on ice in a parking lot in my new P90D. I hit a patch of ice in a slight downhill slope resulting in me hitting a curb. After hitting the curb, I check out the car, no visible damage. Parked the car, went into my office. All seemed fine.

When backing out of the parking stall, heard a crack and the drivers side front wheel tilted, I knew I was screwed. The Tesla was kaput.

Looking under the wheel, here's what I see:

View attachment 215865

The bolt securing the steering tie to the wheel chassis is broken.

I call the tow, they take it to the only certified Tesla shop in the area. The insurance company estimates the repair to be $2,000. The body shop estimates it at $13,500.

Knowing I'm getting fleeced,I call tesla, the replacement part runs about $375. But Tesla doesn't repair collision damage. They refer me to the only authorized body shop within 500 miles.

The body shows me a service bulletin put out by Tesla. It says in the event ANY damage to ANY steering or suspsenion component is encountered, one must replace XXX. This involves basically a new front end. Dropping the batteries, new AC compressor, new engine radiator, new beanies, all new suspension, new steering components,etc. a TON of work for fixing impact to one wheel at less than 5 mph.

This is so painful. It's been 4 weeks waiting for parts. Still waiting for more to come in.

The insurance approved &12,800 of the repairs, I'll just come out of pocket on the other repairs just to get it done. The shop says 85 hours of labor, so about 2 weeks once all the parts are in.

Holy cow, everyone needs to be prepared for enormous spikes in insurance rates for Teslas. This is a $1000 problem turned into a $13,000 problem. I just don't see how carriers are going to be ok with the repair costs of these vehicles.

I anticipate at least another month for this repair to take place. The service manager had over 30 other Teslas in his queue. He said my repair was one of the more simple repairs. Others are in the $50-$80k range.

Here's another pic.
View attachment 215866

Crazy things these Teslas.

I'm more worried about it getting put back together properly than the other parts actually being bad. I'm sure if I were to take the 100 parts being replaced, 98 of them would show no damage or wear.

I'll post the memo and estimate tomorrow after I can redact personal and shop info. For some reason my phone won't let me add more files to this post.

Yikes. What a nightmare.

 

[SocalMS]

This article seems to be relevant and seems to be on top of Reddit Repairing My Tesla Model S Has Been an Utter Nightmare -- and It's Mostly Tesla's Fault -- The Motley Fool

Interestingly if you read the comments, people are saying that months of wait is quite typical. People have reached out to tesla and tesla hasn't done anything to make the picture better.

To be honest, this pretty much wipes my EV smile off. I was going to keep the car for 8 years, I'm at the 2 year mark.
I've brought my 8 down to 4. But if things don't get better, I'll probably be selling mine. It's too much of a liability to drive around in given the current situation.

I must concur...

(Unless something changes soon... )