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Yep jonquiljo, I'd pay $10k in cash if that's what it cost, but I don't appreciate being taken advantage of and from the responses I was getting I was suspecting that that was the case and... seems it was.
What's the best way to negotiate repair work on a Tesla (or in general)?
I have a ding/scrape on the front of the car and probably need to replace the front part. I got two estimates for ~$2k, the two shops have quite different opinions on what to do and wildly different labor rates and number of hours estimated but magically are within $100 on the bottom line estimate cost, which seems odd. I tried getting in touch with the Tesla repair shop, but they don't respond.
What I really want to do is to send pictures to 10 good shops, get a firm price from each and negotiate from there. That's how I bought the car I had before this Tesla - worked great, very easy and got a good price. This isn't working here because only 2 shops would even take pictures and even those two are doing an "estimate" which is no commitment. Everyone wants to inspect the car physically, which means I have to make an appointment, show up and be subjected to whatever their sales game is while I wait. It might be reasonable that they want to inspect, but if I just tell them to replace the part, that should be a standardized thing that they can just tell me what it costs to do - no dice so far.
What's the best way to do this without wasting a lot of time driving around while having to dodge sales techniques? Or is that just the only way? I can't imagine just taking the first price you get is going to be good?
Just by way of comparison I had my rear bumper replaced by insurance. Insurance adjuster recommended a local bodyshop. Trying to be smart I went to another place I thought was certified Tesla. They had great reviews and a number of high end cars (Porsche etc.) Being worked on. The owner was decent enough and said he could get the hourly rate down to $120/HR. I told adjuster and he said insurance would pay no more than $75/HR. I was skeptical but went to his recommended shop to see. The place was incredible wall to wall Ferrari, rolls Royce, Lamborghini, Bentley and Tesla. Low and behold their hourly rate was $75/HR for model 3. Moral of the story, true Tesla shops are not necessarily more expensive.Thank you OCR1 for the idea to just post the estimates I got. I'd appreciate any input from people who are more knowledgeable than I am on this sort of thing. I attached a picture as well that shows the full damage that was done to the car by persons unknown while parked (I have very high liability insurance, but no insurance for damage done to my own car, since I only ensure against ruinous expenses and the total cost of the car is not ruinous to me, though having the insurance take care of the negotiation is a benefit that I hadn't considered, so maybe I should revisit this approach).
*** Estimate 1 (did not suggest replacing part)
Parts = 0.00
Body Labor 9.5 hrs @ $ 96.00 /hr = 912.00
Paint Labor 6.4 hrs @ $ 96.00 /hr = 614.40
Mechanical Labor 4.3 hrs @ $ 140.00 /hr = 602.00
Paint Supplies 6.4 hrs @ $ 50.00 /hr = 320.00
Miscellaneous = 15.00
Total before tax: 2,463.40
*** Estimate 2 (suggested replacing part was necessary by Tesla's guidance)
Parts = 338.00
Body Labor 6.7 hrs @ $ 137.00 /hr = 917.90
Paint Labor 5.4 hrs @ $ 137.00 /hr = 739.80
Paint Supplies 5.4 hrs @ $ 50.00 /hr = 270.00
Miscellaneous = 36.00
Total before tax: 2,301.70
As you can see, a wide discrepancy in approach, hourly rates and hours estimated. These estimates could both be very good or very bad, for all I know, so I appreciate any advice.
View attachment 512195
Just by way of comparison I had my rear bumper replaced by insurance. Insurance adjuster recommended a local bodyshop. Trying to be smart I went to another place I thought was certified Tesla. They had great reviews and a number of high end cars (Porsche etc.) Being worked on. The owner was decent enough and said he could get the hourly rate down to $120/HR. I told adjuster and he said insurance would pay no more than $75/HR. I was skeptical but went to his recommended shop to see. The place was incredible wall to wall Ferrari, rolls Royce, Lamborghini, Bentley and Tesla. Low and behold their hourly rate was $75/HR for model 3. Moral of the story, true Tesla shops are not necessarily more expensive.
As a professional in the automotive field, I can tell you that trying to negotiate with a body shop or mechanic is treading on thin ice... why? Because if you're approaching shops that already have a good reputation or have been positively referred to you by others, it means they are good for a reason. So to ask them to lower their price is saying to them, "I don't value your training, experience, reputation, and willingness to stand behind your work".What's the best way to negotiate repair work on a Tesla (or in general)?
FYI, body shops mix their own paint. They do not have to go back to the manufacturer and order the paint. Each paint has a code that is a "recipe" that tells the painter how to mix it to get close to the correct color, then they spray a test panel to make sure it matches your car. If it doesn't then they tint it in the direction needed and spray again until they're satisfied. This allows for variance in paint colors and subtle fading that occurs over time. A car painted at the factory today may be slightly different than one painted today when parked side-by-side.The only thing that concerns me is that this is a silver car and Tesla doesn't sell the silver color anymore. I don't know if the service centers stock a pre-painted silver bumper cover.
My biggest concern with these mobile repair guys that work for dealerships is... well... they work for dealerships.You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by requesting a quote from a mobile bumper repair specialist.
They do these repairs all the time for auto dealerships refurbishing cars.
I understand your concern.My biggest concern with these mobile repair guys that work for dealerships is... well... they work for dealerships.
Meaning, dealerships are notorious for being cheap and demanding the lowest price, quickest service, and longest payment terms out of their subcontractors. They also do not care much about the longevity of the repair, because they don't have to stand behind it when it starts to fail 6 months later. All of this breeds low quality work out of the mobile guys because they're always forced to cut-throat each other to keep the dealership's business.
If you can find a mobile guy whose primary income isn't from dealerships but from the retail public, and has a great reputation for quality, then I'd have no problem checking them out. Otherwise, you're seriously rolling the dice on the quality of the repair.
If you need a front bumper repair, then it most likely involves getting the bumper replaced (Tesla sells pre-painted ones to authorized shops). After the bumper is replaced, all the sensors need to be recalibrated.
If anyone quotes you without the recalibration, then they don’t know what the hell they are doing. I can’t see any other way of fixing a Model 3 front bumper. And not just anyone can recalibrate the sensors.
Tesla came back with $1.4k at 9 labor hours to replace the front bumper cover and painting. I asked if it would be unreasonable to adjust the estimate in light of the news story that Tesla mobile can replace a bumper in less than an hour and that the price in the past has been $800, so we'll see what happens.
(and SMALset, no, I did not have TeslCam recording while this happened. I do have it enabled now!)
What was your total cost for repairing the rear fascia (which is apparently what they call it) at a body shop?
Mine was replaced by Tesla for about $1175 in 50 minutes.
having the insurance take care of the negotiation is a benefit that I hadn't considered, so maybe I should revisit this approach).
@dmurphy : I understand that insurance can pay off in a big way in rare cases. However, if the insurance companies are competent, the expected return from having insurance is less than your premiums - otherwise they are losing money. It still makes sense to insure to the extent required by law and also if the expense you are insuring against is so large that it would create significant financial hardship (so most people should insure their house, for example). I can replace my car without significant financial hardship (if I couldn't, I would be driving a less expensive car), so insurance for that isn't a good deal for me, as the expected return from insurance is negative. Same reason I don't insure my suits, windows, laptop etc. Except there is the hassle of negotiating for repairs for my car, that might change things.
Well, why is the company offering you this price if the expected return for them is negative? Though I checked Tesla Insurance and I'd be paying around $100 too, but it would be per month, not annually, and with a $1k deductible, which changes the math a bit for me.