I've visited an NYC area service center several times over the past half year with small issues such as a white mark of what appeared to be car paint on my glove box (which they replaced free of charge) and my screen frequently rebooting during driving (pushed an update). About a week ago my AP stopped working and Tesla remotely diagnosed it as a problem with the radar. This triggered another visit to the SC and this last visit has made me a little worried about the business practices at this SC.
I have to say the process went really well up until when they emailed me the bill
They covered my Lyft and even loaned me a model S (albiet a 2014 85 with no AP). They determined the bumper must have been pushed in - it looked perfectly fine, but hairline cracks in the paint indicated a low speed impact (no surprise, I park on the street in Manhattan). This caused damage to the radar mount and stoped my AP. Insurance covered it, they made an estimate, Tesla did the work and told me on Friday afternoon that my car is ready to be picked up, minus the bumper refinishing which will be done later at a body shop. So far so good. Then I looked at the bill...
They charged double the insurance estimate for labor and tacked on a $58 car storage fee. I had directed insurance payment to Tesla and so I expected just my deductible to be charged. I called State Farm and they told me Tesla had asked them to redirect the insurance payment to me. I called Tesla and they told me they don't accept payment from insurnace and moreover it was up to the customer to cover any discrepancy between the insurance payment and the bill Tesla charges. I tried to explain to the SC person what a supplement is (when a shop tells the insurance that the cost is above the estimate and they negotiate a new estimate). They said they don't do that and we had a rather drawn out back and forth about that with me trying to explain that it's standard SOP for shops. Finally they told me they need the insurance to call them. I ended up on a 3-way call with an agent from State Farm and the person at the SC, and the agent explained to them that they need to request a supplement. After Tesla got off the call, the agent warned me that I should only pay Tesla the insurance payout that I've received plus my deductible. She said it is up to shops to recover the additional costs from the insurance company.
What State Farm told me seems to follow NY auto insurance laws. If so, what the SC is doing seems very questionable (and some discussion with the agent about this seemed to imply that). I'd appreciate some feedback on this as I plan to pick up the car Monday morning and I want to make sure I'm handling this correctly.
I have to say the process went really well up until when they emailed me the bill
They covered my Lyft and even loaned me a model S (albiet a 2014 85 with no AP). They determined the bumper must have been pushed in - it looked perfectly fine, but hairline cracks in the paint indicated a low speed impact (no surprise, I park on the street in Manhattan). This caused damage to the radar mount and stoped my AP. Insurance covered it, they made an estimate, Tesla did the work and told me on Friday afternoon that my car is ready to be picked up, minus the bumper refinishing which will be done later at a body shop. So far so good. Then I looked at the bill...They charged double the insurance estimate for labor and tacked on a $58 car storage fee. I had directed insurance payment to Tesla and so I expected just my deductible to be charged. I called State Farm and they told me Tesla had asked them to redirect the insurance payment to me. I called Tesla and they told me they don't accept payment from insurnace and moreover it was up to the customer to cover any discrepancy between the insurance payment and the bill Tesla charges. I tried to explain to the SC person what a supplement is (when a shop tells the insurance that the cost is above the estimate and they negotiate a new estimate). They said they don't do that and we had a rather drawn out back and forth about that with me trying to explain that it's standard SOP for shops. Finally they told me they need the insurance to call them. I ended up on a 3-way call with an agent from State Farm and the person at the SC, and the agent explained to them that they need to request a supplement. After Tesla got off the call, the agent warned me that I should only pay Tesla the insurance payout that I've received plus my deductible. She said it is up to shops to recover the additional costs from the insurance company.
What State Farm told me seems to follow NY auto insurance laws. If so, what the SC is doing seems very questionable (and some discussion with the agent about this seemed to imply that). I'd appreciate some feedback on this as I plan to pick up the car Monday morning and I want to make sure I'm handling this correctly.
