Paint scratches, does the Tesla SC do body work?

[noshadow]

Can I take my car into Tesla SC to do body work?

Yesterday someone let the dog of leash in the parking lot and it jumped and clawed my Model Y like a mofo. Long story short, the owner shrugged it off (which was expected, especially since he let his dog run around a busy road/parking lot in the first place) but ultimately I convinced him that being a responsible and considerate person was the right thing for him to do. We'll see.

Anyway, it's super sad that my new Model Y now has some huge gashes. I could just take it to a random body shop, but was wondering if there is better protocol for it for Teslas.

I see a random sign in a body shop near me that says it's Tesla Authorized, but not sure if that's real or not.

 

[kmarc]

Body Shop Support should tell you the authorized shops if it helps.

 

[steve841]

Id surely have saved that Sentry video and visit small claims if needed ...

 

[NudleBoy]

SC can tell you what their authorized body shop is. That being said, if it didn't go through paint. It could potentially be buffed out.

 

[noshadow]

SC can tell you what their authorized body shop is. That being said, if it didn't go through paint. It could potentially be buffed out.

I don't know how to tell if it went through paint. But I'll have them look at it.

 

[noshadow]

Id surely have saved that Sentry video and visit small claims if needed ...

I wish I had hit the camera. I was just done with a really long run, and I was flustered enough to forget to hit the button. When I got home I realized I should've saved it. Bummer.

I don't think it's worth it to me to goto small claims. I doubt this would cost enough for that to be worth it. Sure, the glory of winning is good, but I'm ok not going through all of that time and frustration.

 

[steve841]

I wish I had hit the camera. I was just done with a really long run, and I was flustered enough to forget to hit the button. When I got home I realized I should've saved it. Bummer.

I don't think it's worth it to me to goto small claims. I doubt this would cost enough for that to be worth it. Sure, the glory of winning is good, but I'm ok not going through all of that time and frustration.

If someone shrugged off responsibility of their pets actions, I'd have a police report and saved video and take them to court simply to teach them a lesson even if it was $10.00 The lack of respect for other people's stuff is a giant peeve of mine.

 

[Koolio46]

That sucks and I bet that dog has done that before or something similar.

We have a black lab and she doesn’t do this but know other dog owners who have dogs that do this. Happened to me when I saw an acquaintance from the dog park. His dog jumped up on my driver door. Luckily, it was some light scratches in the clear coat that can be buffed out. He apologized and offered to pay for everything to fix it. I told him not to worry about it (can’t see the scratches unless you look for them).

 

[PedramGh]

can you pls post a photo. We can help you better by looking at this.

 

[damageprone]

SC can tell you what their authorized body shop is. That being said, if it didn't go through paint. It could potentially be buffed out.

Very much this. Most likely surface scratches that can be polished. I highly doubt dogs nails would get to bare metal.

 

[2101Guy]

lightly drag a fingernail across the scratch. If your nail catches slighty/you can feel it catch, a competent shop will be able to reduce visibility of the scratch to varying degrees by buffing down the surrounding clearcoat around the scratch.

If your nail doesnt catch at all, chances are high they can buff it out so that its not visible at all under most lighting conditions.

If it catches a LOT, may need painting. and not touch up.

 

[NY_Rob]

Well, that sucks.. what an Alpha Hotel that guy is!
I had a UPS driver scratch my Bolt while passing by it to deliver a package to our front door. No way to prove he did it, but it wasn't there before that morning. I had to suck it up an pay for the repair... sometimes $**t just happens.
As others have said, doubtful that a dog's nails went through the paint.. hopefully it's just the clear-coat and that can be buffed out quickly and inexpensively.

 

[PedramGh]

What 2101 Guy said is a very good guide. Tesla usually uses a touch less paint shop inside their service centers that can fix basic issues. For the major painting, they usually send to other companies body shops. One of them and actually a good one, is BMW paint shops. Please double check with service center though. They have very good experience in general. With all of that being said, paint is being made at the shop. So it is very important that the tech who paints the car is very well experienced so the paint is going to be an exact match. Usually harder on white and lighter paints.

 

[noshadow]

What 2101 Guy said is a very good guide. Tesla usually uses a touch less paint shop inside their service centers that can fix basic issues. For the major painting, they usually send to other companies body shops. One of them and actually a good one, is BMW paint shops. Please double check with service center though. They have very good experience in general. With all of that being said, paint is being made at the shop. So it is very important that the tech who paints the car is very well experienced so the paint is going to be an exact match. Usually harder on white and lighter paints.

Since you live near-by. Have you seen that BMW body shop near Target on that frontage road next to i-80 in Albany? I always see a big TESLA AUTHORIZED banner, and it's just a handful of blocks away from the Berkeley Tesla SC.

Anyway, the scratches seem pretty minor, though it did scratch the taillight and the door to the charge port =(

 

[PedramGh]

Since you live near-by. Have you seen that BMW body shop near Target on that frontage road next to i-80 in Albany? I always see a big TESLA AUTHORIZED banner, and it's just a handful of blocks away from the Berkeley Tesla SC.

Anyway, the scratches seem pretty minor, though it did scratch the taillight and the door to the charge port =(

Correct. That bodyshop is used as their best paint shop for east bay. They are pretty experienced as well. I had a minor chip at the bottom of a door when I received my car but I declined their offer to paint it and buffed myself and its not visible anymore. Painting the white door will reduce the value and bring the chance of paint mismatch.