ICBC Claims and Body Repairs - Tesla Approved Shops?

[camalaio]

Hello folks,

I recall from a delivery disagreement that Tesla asks that you use their approved body shops. Like the Tesla service centers, the nearest one to me is 5 hours away in Vancouver.

Today, I hit a box on the highway that was unavoidable. At minimum, the bumper needs work or replacement, one of the indicator/fog lights needs replacement, and perhaps a couple sensors that popped out and aren't working right.

I'm concerned that I'll need to spend a day bringing my car to Vancouver just to have it fixed, and like many other stories have it wait quite some time for parts. I understand ICBC covers rentals to an extent, but I doubt they cover gas vs. electricity costs and last time I checked, winter tires are not high quality on rentals cars and I don't look forward to driving sub-par tires in an unfamiliar car on the Coquihalla. Not to mention wasting another day going to pick it up, repeating the process in reverse.

What have your experiences been with this? Will I actually actually need to bring it to a Vancouver shop? Do rentals have good winter tires? Are parts delays still a large problem?

Note: I only have ICBC for coverage, no third party insurance at this time so I don't need to deal with anything like only BCAA-approved shops in addition to the above.

 

[Runningman]

I am just down the road in Kelowna and when I had an issue with my door just after getting my Model 3 a few months ago, Tesla sent me to Prestige Collision here at 1960 Kirchner Rd., which is a Tesla approved body shop. They were definitely up to speed in all things Tesla and did an excellent job complete with courtesy car. You can reach them at Phone: (250) 868-9190 or Email: [email protected]
to see if it might be a good option for you.

 

[camalaio]

Update: Because the object wasn't moving, this falls under collision and not comprehensive. I was also assigned 100% responsibility. This means I get to pay the full $1000 deductible in addition to my rates going up and having an at-fault accident on my record.

Aside from my displeasure, my above questions stand in addition to another one: Are there cheaper routes than going through ICBC at this point? Get a bumper directly from Tesla?

 

[bwalter]

Update: Because the object wasn't moving, this falls under collision and not comprehensive. I was also assigned 100% responsibility. This means I get to pay the full $1000 deductible in addition to my rates going up and having an at-fault accident on my record.

Aside from my displeasure, my above questions stand in addition to another one: Are there cheaper routes than going through ICBC at this point? Get a bumper directly from Tesla?

So I found you can search for Tesla approved shops on their Website: Body Shop Support

There's one in Kelowna.

You could as for an estimate from the body shop privately. At $1000 deductible plus whatever your rate increase is, it might make more sense not to make a claim and pay it out of pocket. You should factor in that it will take years for your rate to come back down. ICBC used to give the option to pay the claim yourself after it was fixed to avoid the rate increase, but I'm not sure if that's the case anymore. If you talk to one of their agents I'm sure they'd be able to tell you if that was an option. That way you can decide after you have the final price of the repair (in case there are any unexpected surprises.) You can also ask the body shop if they would give you a better rate if you didn't go through ICBC.

 

[camalaio]

So I found you can search for Tesla approved shops on their Website: Body Shop Support

There's one in Kelowna.

You could as for an estimate from the body shop privately. At $1000 deductible plus whatever your rate increase is, it might make more sense not to make a claim and pay it out of pocket. You should factor in that it will take years for your rate to come back down. ICBC used to give the option to pay the claim yourself after it was fixed to avoid the rate increase, but I'm not sure if that's the case anymore. If you talk to one of their agents I'm sure they'd be able to tell you if that was an option. That way you can decide after you have the final price of the repair (in case there are any unexpected surprises.) You can also ask the body shop if they would give you a better rate if you didn't go through ICBC.

Thanks for finding that shop, odd how Tesla didn't find that yet it's on their public website.

I just got a total estimate of $8000 based on cost increase for insurance over the next 10 years. For someone littering on the highway! Apparently had I caught up to whoever dropped it, this would be entirely different. Mental.

So yeah, looks like I'll be doing this without getting insurance involved. I verified with them that I can do this without any future impact to my record or rates. The penalties only come in if it's fixed via an ICBC claim number.

For the curious, this is the box that will cost me a total of around $9000 if I go through ICBC (start around 33 seconds):

I really had nowhere to safely go. :/

 

[camalaio]

Final update: Damage is being fixed outside of insurance for an amount a bit over the cost of the deductible by Prestige in Kelowna. My quote is for restoring and repainting the bumper as well as replacing the fog/indicator light which was damaged on a mount (it's otherwise fine so this is a bit of a shame, and expensive). This experience has left me with a lot of distasteful words for ICBC.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, do everything possible to find the vehicle that dropped the objects onto the road. It is the only way to have a hope of not being found at fault, and ICBC has no dispute process for single vehicle accidents. There is an overseer you can go through for small claims (<$5000), but it still requires you to go through insurance first and is not a free dispute process.

I am just down the road in Kelowna and when I had an issue with my door just after getting my Model 3 a few months ago, Tesla sent me to Prestige Collision here at 1960 Kirchner Rd., which is a Tesla approved body shop. They were definitely up to speed in all things Tesla and did an excellent job complete with courtesy car. You can reach them at Phone: (250) 868-9190 or Email: [email protected]
to see if it might be a good option for you.

For some reason your post didn't show up until days later (I also received the notification days later), but thanks for the info!

 

[fidodido]

Update: Because the object wasn't moving, this falls under collision and not comprehensive. I was also assigned 100% responsibility. This means I get to pay the full $1000 deductible in addition to my rates going up and having an at-fault accident on my record.

Aside from my displeasure, my above questions stand in addition to another one: Are there cheaper routes than going through ICBC at this point? Get a bumper directly from Tesla?

My mom had similar issue with ICBC; the car was damaged by "tire-debris". ICBC said that since it wasn't a "flying object" it's not covered by comprehensive coverage, WHAT!? Interesting definition. Hope the repair has been done completely to your ratification.

 

[BEPA400]

Update: Because the object wasn't moving, this falls under collision and not comprehensive. I was also assigned 100% responsibility. This means I get to pay the full $1000 deductible in addition to my rates going up and having an at-fault accident on my record.

Aside from my displeasure, my above questions stand in addition to another one: Are there cheaper routes than going through ICBC at this point? Get a bumper directly from Tesla?

if the bumper is the only damaged part it looked very easy to remove and replace. I watched the Tesla mobile tech do it in my backyard in 10 minutes!
You should be able to get one from tesla, take it to a paint shop (it’s all plastic) and get it painted off the car before installing. the new paint job may or may not match perfectly but I don’t know how much I would care in your situation.

 

[camalaio]

if the bumper is the only damaged part it looked very easy to remove and replace. I watched the Tesla mobile tech do it in my backyard in 10 minutes!
You should be able to get one from tesla, take it to a paint shop (it’s all plastic) and get it painted off the car before installing. the new paint job may or may not match perfectly but I don’t know how much I would care in your situation.

Tesla charges $1200 for just the front bumper cover (before tax), which comes pre-painted. After tax that's pretty much the same price as Prestige Collision who is going to ensure paint matches/blends and also is replacing the fog/indicator light assembly, and of course do it all instead of just providing the part.

I considered doing it myself if I could get the bumper cheaper (since it does indeed look easy enough), but the price ain't right.