Newly delivered Model 3 with rocker panel damage

[bro1999]

Well I did speak to a lawyer about it. Its a he said she said thing. No way to prove it. She did say she could send them a letter....and that they would probably turn it over to their insurance.....The body shop guy said it happened most likely in transport. Really I would just like to drive the car which I've now owned like 5 weeks. I'll flip to a different insurance company if they raise my rates; it was not road damage.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but switching insurance companies doesn't make a claim go away...

 

[super20g]

Well you can of course do whatever you want.... It is however preferable that you try to get the shop to turn it over to their insurance even if they won't admit fault.

This... I would try as hard as you can before turning it into your own insurance. I would have your attorney send them a letter and see if they turn it over to their insurance... If not, file in small claims court if the repair cost meets the courts criteria. Turning it into your insurance will likely end up costing you for many years unfortunately...

 

[voip-ninja]

This... I would try as hard as you can before turning it into your own insurance. I would have your attorney send them a letter and see if they turn it over to their insurance... If not, file in small claims court if the repair cost meets the courts criteria. Turning it into your insurance will likely end up costing you for many years unfortunately...

Exactly. People just want to "get on with their lives".... but speaking from experience, this is a very costly decision to make. Is a few hours of his time and a few hundred in attorney's fees really not worth it when making a claim that could run into over $15,000 and increase his premiums for the next seven years? Sheesh.

In small claims, if he went that route, it comes down to reasonable doubt. If the judge decides he would have noticed this damage before taking his car in and also agrees that from the photos it looks like the shop equipment did this, they will be ordered to pay the damages. Period.

He should consider himself lucky he even has any option whatsoever to get them to take the hit on this. My wife's vehicle was rear-ended and the guy who hit her was uninsured and basically penniless.... so now that $2500 repair is going to end up costing us at least a few thousand bucks in premium increases over the next 5-7 years.

 

[super20g]

He should consider himself lucky he even has any option whatsoever to get them to take the hit on this. My wife's vehicle was rear-ended and the guy who hit her was uninsured and basically penniless.... so now that $2500 repair is going to end up costing us at least a few thousand bucks in premium increases over the next 5-7 years.

Yep, my wife barely glanced and scratched a car bumper in a parking lot. Most would probably have left unfortunately. She had the store find the owner and they wanted it fixed which ended up being under a grand. I sure wish she would have called me so I could have told her we would just pay it out of pocket because we have been paying higher premiums and lost the substantial safe driving discount for 5 years now... Also essentially locking us into that insurance carrier until it is beyond the period they look back at when you apply for coverage.

I was stopped at a light and a box truck in the lane next to me didn't see me, and turned across my lane to make a turn when the light turned green driving up and over my hood... Thankfully before getting the 3. The truck companies insurance was trying hard to get it split 75/25 when I was stopped at a friggin red light... They were complete d!cks to deal with. My insurance didn't seem like they were going to go to bat for it so learning from my wife's encounter I hired and attorney to get them to change their tune and they quickly accepted 100% fault.

Gotta love insurance. Gotta have it but afraid to use it...

Morale of the stories, do what you can before turning it in particularly in OP's instance...

 

[flyhondo]

So what ended up happening with your repair. My Model 3 has exact same damage that I saw after delivery. They are telling me that they have ordered the new parts and will fix it. I’m in my return window and I am wondering if I should reject this and start the process over again. Was the repair very quick? I don’t live near a delivery center. Did everything look ok after the repair?

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

So what ended up happening with your repair. My Model 3 has exact same damage that I saw after delivery. They are telling me that they have ordered the new parts and will fix it. I’m in my return window and I am wondering if I should reject this and start the process over again. Was the repair very quick? I don’t live near a delivery center. Did everything look ok after the repair?

OP’s damage was on the steel rocker panel. Yours (and mine) is on a plastic trim panel held on by a few bolts. Trivial repair.

I have not had mine done yet. Mine was noted on the due bill but still waiting on the spoiler and whatever before having mine taken care of. It’s been 5 months. Anyway, it’s like a 10 minute job. One of 13 jobs or so that will need to be done. There’s no rush, it’s on the list. May as well let Elon get this service thing under control for the next year or so. Maybe next year I will get my spoiler and these things. It’s all new car stuff, previously noted, so it can be done years after if it works best for Tesla I assume.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

So what ended up happening with your repair. My Model 3 has exact same damage that I saw after delivery. They are telling me that they have ordered the new parts and will fix it. I’m in my return window and I am wondering if I should reject this and start the process over again. Was the repair very quick? I don’t live near a delivery center. Did everything look ok after the repair?

Do make absolutely sure they have noted this damage in the file for your car, and go over the rest of the car carefully. You could be waiting for months for patching this inconsequential stuff up, depending on how hammered your local service center is.

 

[flyhondo]

[

OP’s damage was on the steel rocker panel. Yours (and mine) is on a plastic trim panel held on by a few bolts. Trivial repair.

I have not had mine done yet. Mine was noted on the due bill but still waiting on the spoiler and whatever before having mine taken care of. It’s been 5 months. Anyway, it’s like a 10 minute job. One of 13 jobs or so that will need to be done. There’s no rush, it’s on the list. May as well let Elon get this service thing under control for the next year or so. Maybe next year I will get my spoiler and these things. It’s all new car stuff, previously noted, so it can be done years after if it works best for Tesla I assume.

Sorry, I was actually referring to Tavlan006 earlier in this thread. His damage looked the same. Sounds like you had the same thing. My car was delivered with 35 miles on it and I’m wondering if someone before me rejected it and they sent it to me. I got delayed on the delivery several times in the end. What due bill? I still don’t even have paperwork on my car yet 1 week later. They said they would take care of it on an email, but I haven’t seen any due bill yet.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

[

Sorry, I was actually referring to Tavlan006 earlier in this thread. His damage looked the same. Sounds like you had the same thing. My car was delivered with 35 miles on it and I’m wondering if someone before me rejected it and they sent it to me. I got delayed on the delivery several times in the end. What due bill? I still don’t even have paperwork on my car yet 1 week later. They said they would take care of it on an email, but I haven’t seen any due bill yet.

When I picked up the car 5 months ago I noted the things that were bad and they wrote them all down in the records. Their delivery process is different now, you have seven days. You just need to have documented evidence that the issues have been reported and acknowledged. Personally I would go with email or something.

If there aren’t any other issues with the car, I would not worry about it being a reject. Drive it, look it over, and any major issues, I would return it. Cosmetic issues, do a thorough check, and make sure they are all documented. Personally I would not accept major paint blemishes. Mine had a number of dust nibs but nothing to bother with repainting (most are very low down). They aren’t major blemishes.

 

[super20g]

My Model 3 has exact same damage that I saw after delivery. They are telling me that they have ordered the new parts and will fix it. I’m in my return window and I am wondering if I should reject this and start the process over again. Was the repair very quick? I don’t live near a delivery center. Did everything look ok after the repair?

Same damage on mine. That one was an easy fix after the parts came in. Just look over the battery case and other undercarriage components to make sure there was no other damage caused presumably during transport.