I spoke to a friend who owns a busy auto body shop and he informed me that in case of accident he would be unable to perform work on a Tesla. Being that the body is aluminum the body work would have to be done by Tesla. Is this correct? Would this affect insurance premiums?? Thanks in advance for insights.
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Tesla doesn't run any body shops. You would need a body shop that has been trained to work on aluminum panels. Tesla isn't the only aluminum car.
And yes, aluminum-capable body shops tend to charge higher hourly rates. This may or may not be an issue with your insurance company.
And yes, aluminum-capable body shops tend to charge higher hourly rates. This may or may not be an issue with your insurance company.
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Tesla can provide a list of approved body shops in your area if needed. There appear to be such shops all over the country now with experience of working on many Model S.
You wouldn't want just any body shop working on your Tesla anyway, even it it's a friend. You should only use a Tesla trained and approved body shop.
Also keep in mind Tesla Roadside Assistance/Towing doesn't cover accidents, so keep your auto club/AAA membership!
-m
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GaryREM
Member
Hmmm. Everyone seems to be taking your words as fact. Would you please clarify where this is described since I can't seem to find this spelled out anywhere.
My knowledge of it is from experience. Got in an accident, called 911 first, then called Tesla, spoke to a human and they said towing isn't applicable for accidents, they asked if they could help me with anything else (which was quite upsetting at the time), so I hung up on them and called AAA.
I'll see if I can find it written anywhere, else I'd recommend calling the Tesla roadside assistance line and ask them when they will and when they won't tow.
-m
Couldn't find anything written anywhere about this. This is the Tesla number I called from the accident scene: 877-798-3752
PS: My local Service Center was great--I called them saying the car was being towed in and they handled everything from there (made arrangements with the body shop and towing there, ride back to my office, etc). They even got a crash notification right before I called them.
PPS: One other thing I will do when/if I ever get my car back is to print out the emergency responder PDF's and keep them in the car. I had read about Tow Mode and powering off the car, so I was able to do that. But beyond that I had no idea what else to do, the cop had never seen a Tesla before and neither did the tow truck driver. Again, the excellent Service Center staff told me what to do over the phone so that was very helpful.
http://www.teslamotors.com/firstresponders
PPPS: I did find something from the forum in 2013. There is a separate document that explains what is included with the Roadside Assistance. I looked in the My Tesla portal documents but didn't see it there. Here's a link to what someone else quoted that document:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...dside-Assistance-what-do-they-NOT-cover/page2
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Tesla's emergency advice to drivers (right hand side of http://teslamotors.com/firstresponders) says:
This caused me to look up the terms of my existing roadside cover (AA in the UK) and I found this also has an exclusion:
In both cases, I suspect that the reasoning is that there's no reason why they should cover the cost of the tow when there's no advantage to them or to their customer, since the tow would be covered by the insurance of whichever party is paying for the accident.
It does seem poor that Tesla didn't offer to organize a tow at the driver's expense - perhaps they would have done so if asked.
So Tesla obviously expect to be involved after an accident.
This caused me to look up the terms of my existing roadside cover (AA in the UK) and I found this also has an exclusion:
But then they also say:
In both cases, I suspect that the reasoning is that there's no reason why they should cover the cost of the tow when there's no advantage to them or to their customer, since the tow would be covered by the insurance of whichever party is paying for the accident.
It does seem poor that Tesla didn't offer to organize a tow at the driver's expense - perhaps they would have done so if asked.
mknox
Well-Known Member
I kept my Auto Club membership and did not buy the Ranger service with my pre-paid Service Plan. I live very close to a Service Center, so figure I'd drive there under normal conditions or use my Auto Club membership if I need it towed there or have an accident.
My wife got into an accident this past Friday on her way home from work. I needed her car so we switched for the day and on her way home, someone changed lanes into her without checking their blind spot. Good thing it was on surface streets during rush hour so they weren't going at a high speed and she is OK. The damage isn't as bad as I thought it would be but it looks like we need a new bumper, wheel, fender, and mirror. I was recommended a couple body shops that are Tesla approved so need to go and get estimates but they aren't approved by Geico so that'll be a PITA.
What I'm worried about is depreciation from the accident. I need to file a diminished value claim, does anyone know much about this? I will be getting estimates sometime this week since the car is driveable and no issues with alignment but I've only had the car for 5 1/2 weeks!!!
What I'm worried about is depreciation from the accident. I need to file a diminished value claim, does anyone know much about this? I will be getting estimates sometime this week since the car is driveable and no issues with alignment but I've only had the car for 5 1/2 weeks!!!
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