Minor rear bumper damage

[quack724]

I was in neutral and rolled back at idle speed and bumped the car behind me. <face palm> The bumper of the person behind me did not appear damaged (but will wait to see if he files a claim against my insurance). The bolts from his front license plate made indentation marks into my rear bumper. The authorized Tesla body shop has quoted me $1322 to repair and my deductible is $1K. Tesla SC has Pearl white touch up paint for $20.

From a distance, I can't really notice the indent marks but of course I do see the black line where it penetrated into the bumper.

If I go through my insurance, my premium will go up. The amount of increase is unknown at this time per my insurance company. I have to wait until Dec 2017 when my annual premiums are due. So I am leaning to not pursuing via my insurance.

In my mind, it comes down to, does it bother me enough to shell out $1322 vs $20 touch up paint and live with the imperfections.

Are there any other options I am missing or thoughts in general? First world problem I know.

[/URL][/IMG]

 

[Marcboy]

flag, I have a scratch on mine, same situation, want to know if there is a good option

 

[boonedocks]

Either claiming or just paying out of pocket (which I would do) count on 2 months for a bumper cover....at least yours is driveable. Doesn't look like any sensors were damaged

 

[gabeincal]

Polish, touch up, live with it...

 

[Zaphod]

Look on eBay, plenty of Tesla body parts. Probably can even find one in the same color and just get it swapped out.

 

[quack724]

Thanks everyone for the input so far. Yes, my sensors seem to be ok. Car overall is fine. The damage seems to be purely cosmetic.

The authorized body shop quote noted repair of the bumper and it would not be a replacement bumper.

A friend of mine made a comment that using touch paint might even draw more attention to the defect. I may still try the touch up paint and go from there. I was mainly trying to see if there was an option I had not considered.

 

[AMPd]

No ****ing way would I pay 1322 for that, it's so minor.

Ridiculous

 

[jcaspar]

Bumper sticker!

 

[somnambule]

A lot of the folks who do paintless dent repair also seem to do bumper repair/touch-up for minor issues. Might be worth getting a quote if this is something one of those could fix.

Here are a couple in your neck of the woods (assuming your "location" is a zip). I have no experience with these vendors (certainly not recommending them); just random ones that came up on google:
MR DENT- Expert Paintless Dent Removal & Repair Pleasanton CA.
Pleasanton Bumper Repair | Dublin Auto Bumper Repair

 

[quack724]

somnambule, thanks so much for the suggestion. I hadn't thought to seek out these paintless / bumper repair folks since I figured "Tesla authorized" only. I now wonder, if "Tesla authorized" is mainly for more extensive damage, especially to the aluminum panels? But for minor surface damage to non aluminum i.e. bumper, non "Tesla authorized" is ok?

 

[somnambule]

I can't think of any reason why something this minor would require a Tesla authorized shop (although my opinion is far from a definitive answer on this ).

 

[Dborn]

I was in neutral and rolled back at idle speed and bumped the car behind me. <face palm> The bumper of the person behind me did not appear damaged (but will wait to see if he files a claim against my insurance). The bolts from his front license plate made indentation marks into my rear bumper. The authorized Tesla body shop has quoted me $1322 to repair and my deductible is $1K. Tesla SC has Pearl white touch up paint for $20.

From a distance, I can't really notice the indent marks but of course I do see the black line where it penetrated into the bumper.

If I go through my insurance, my premium will go up. The amount of increase is unknown at this time per my insurance company. I have to wait until Dec 2017 when my annual premiums are due. So I am leaning to not pursuing via my insurance.

In my mind, it comes down to, does it bother me enough to shell out $1322 vs $20 touch up paint and live with the imperfections.

Are there any other options I am missing or thoughts in general? First world problem I know.

View attachment 213865

[/URL][/IMG]

Absolutely go the minor repair way. On day 1 with my car I reversed into the corner of a concrete column leaving a scuffed vertical indented lesion in my bumper. I was devastated. One of these guys came over and if you did not know, you would not see it was damaged. He could not get behind the bumper to push it out, so he drilled a hole, placed a screw, and used a heat gun to ease out the dent. He then proceeded to plastic weld the hole and scuffed area, finally sanding it all back smooth, and re spraying with an airbrush, all in my driveway!! $300 Australian! A real steal for the time and effort he put into it. The person here in Australia calls himself "the touch up guys ". My guess is you will find someone similar in your neck of the woods, just use dr google!!

 

[FlatSix911]

Try a heat gun to remove the minor indentations and smooth the surface ...

 

[coolgj]

I would get a quote from a non-Tesla body shop then have them do it. My wife damage mines and I went to a body shop that work on my other electric cars. No issues.

Also I check on replacing the bumper and repainting it. It was around 600 plus 400 for the bumper from Tesla.

 

[Dborn]

My experience so far is that Tesla parts are reasonably priced. Much is industry standard, particularly body parts like bumper covers. I have pulled my front one off and replaced it. No big deal. I suspect the rear is no different. Painting is quite expensive- around a grand. Labour to instal, about 1.5 hours.