Rear ended today. 3-4 month wait - parts not available.

[VT_EE]

Here's a quick recap and status on my current Model 3-in-the-body-shop experience.
- 5/21/19 Accident: Rear-ended on the driver-side corner causing damage to the rear quarter panel and bumper. The tail light was also scratched.
- 5/23/19 Inspected at Tesla Certified Body Shop-Sever Auto Body in Annapolis, MD. Rear bumper was removed while I waited so all parts could be ordered before I brought it in for work. They put it back together and let me drive it until the parts came in.
- 5/27/19 Parts order placed with Tesla.
- 6/13/19 All parts are in except a small bracket, which is in the mail. Appointment to start body work is made.
- 6/16/19 (Sunday evening) Drop Model 3 off at body shop. They initially were trying to get me to hold off until July so they could complete the entire project in 2 weeks as opposed to 3 weeks if I drop it off now. Very busy apparently.
- ~6/19/19 I believe they actually started work on this day based on the update phone call I received.
- 6/26/19 Called asking for a status and to make sure that last part arrived. It had, but they ordered the rear glass roof now. My response: Umm, what is wrong with the rear glass? Their response: The rear glass has to be removed to replace the rear quarter panel. They have never successfully been able to remove it without having it crack. They would prefer to pre-order the glass, but the insurance company won't let them until it breaks. It broke, so now one is ordered. He seemed to think it would arrive when they need to install it late next week. Here's hoping. I'm a little worried that the replacement glass won't have the red reflection my old one did. However, I'm not going to complain. Just want my car back.

That's all for now. I'll keep posting when I get status.

 

[GolanB]

Here's a quick recap and status on my current Model 3-in-the-body-shop experience.
- 5/21/19 Accident: Rear-ended on the driver-side corner causing damage to the rear quarter panel and bumper. The tail light was also scratched.
- 5/23/19 Inspected at Tesla Certified Body Shop-Sever Auto Body in Annapolis, MD. Rear bumper was removed while I waited so all parts could be ordered before I brought it in for work. They put it back together and let me drive it until the parts came in.
- 5/27/19 Parts order placed with Tesla.
- 6/13/19 All parts are in except a small bracket, which is in the mail. Appointment to start body work is made.
- 6/16/19 (Sunday evening) Drop Model 3 off at body shop. They initially were trying to get me to hold off until July so they could complete the entire project in 2 weeks as opposed to 3 weeks if I drop it off now. Very busy apparently.
- ~6/19/19 I believe they actually started work on this day based on the update phone call I received.
- 6/26/19 Called asking for a status and to make sure that last part arrived. It had, but they ordered the rear glass roof now. My response: Umm, what is wrong with the rear glass? Their response: The rear glass has to be removed to replace the rear quarter panel. They have never successfully been able to remove it without having it crack. They would prefer to pre-order the glass, but the insurance company won't let them until it breaks. It broke, so now one is ordered. He seemed to think it would arrive when they need to install it late next week. Here's hoping. I'm a little worried that the replacement glass won't have the red reflection my old one did. However, I'm not going to complain. Just want my car back.

That's all for now. I'll keep posting when I get status.

Maybe Tesla can learn from the Truckla folks; it looked to me as if they were successful in removing the rear glass with heat and wire. It can best be seen on Rich Rebuilds video.

 

[youngmcdonald]

Here's a quick recap and status on my current Model 3-in-the-body-shop experience.
- 5/21/19 Accident: Rear-ended on the driver-side corner causing damage to the rear quarter panel and bumper. The tail light was also scratched.
- 5/23/19 Inspected at Tesla Certified Body Shop-Sever Auto Body in Annapolis, MD. Rear bumper was removed while I waited so all parts could be ordered before I brought it in for work. They put it back together and let me drive it until the parts came in.
- 5/27/19 Parts order placed with Tesla.
- 6/13/19 All parts are in except a small bracket, which is in the mail. Appointment to start body work is made.
- 6/16/19 (Sunday evening) Drop Model 3 off at body shop. They initially were trying to get me to hold off until July so they could complete the entire project in 2 weeks as opposed to 3 weeks if I drop it off now. Very busy apparently.
- ~6/19/19 I believe they actually started work on this day based on the update phone call I received.
- 6/26/19 Called asking for a status and to make sure that last part arrived. It had, but they ordered the rear glass roof now. My response: Umm, what is wrong with the rear glass? Their response: The rear glass has to be removed to replace the rear quarter panel. They have never successfully been able to remove it without having it crack. They would prefer to pre-order the glass, but the insurance company won't let them until it breaks. It broke, so now one is ordered. He seemed to think it would arrive when they need to install it late next week. Here's hoping. I'm a little worried that the replacement glass won't have the red reflection my old one did. However, I'm not going to complain. Just want my car back.

That's all for now. I'll keep posting when I get status.

That is a disaster of an assembly design if that’s true. Either that or the body shops don’t know what they’re doing.

This is helpful. I have a similar damage (my tail lights are fine) and now I have a new nuisance to worry about. Even if they’re able to remove the rear glass/ replace it and reinstall it, I now have little hope that it won’t crack in the future. Re-installation of glass roofs are never factory like.

Honestly, each day of owning this car has been a very traumatizing experience for me at least, thus far.

 

[JetPack]

 

[VT_EE]

Maybe Tesla can learn from the Truckla folks; it looked to me as if they were successful in removing the rear glass with heat and wire. It can best be seen on Rich Rebuilds video.

I took it to a 3rd-party Tesla Certified shop, so it's not Tesla doing the work. Having said that, it appears this body shop has a LOT of Tesla work. They had something like 50 Teslas there getting accident repairs done.

 

[derotam]

They have never successfully been able to remove it without having it crack. They would prefer to pre-order the glass, but the insurance company won't let them until it breaks. It broke, so now one is ordered.

Yeah that is a funny thing with repair shops...Personally I think that when there is something that "always" breaks when they mess with it that they should eat the cost pending the actual breakage. If the part breaks then they get their money back from the insurance company, and repairs can be completed faster...If it doesn't break then they are SOL on the cost till they need that part for someone else. If they really think the part is going to break then it shouldn't be that big a deal for them.

I had this on my repair..rear reflector on the side seems to always break when they go to remove it.

 

[bro1999]

Seems like any work that requires removing the rear glass roof piece pretty much means an automatic broken rear glass roof piece. Except the repair shop can't order the new rear glass until it actually breaks when they try removing it, delaying repairs by at least 2 weeks. That's some fail in design right there.

 

[diamond.g]

Seems like any work that requires removing the rear glass roof piece pretty much means an automatic broken rear glass roof piece. Except the repair shop can't order the new rear glass until it actually breaks when they try removing it, delaying repairs by at least 2 weeks. That's some fail in design right there.

Seems odd that the Truckla folks could remove rear glass without breaking, but a body shop can't...

 

[cbrigante2]

What two parts were delayed, do you know?

The two parts were straps that attached to airbags via the left and right pillars on either side of the windshield.

 

[bro1999]

That seems like a good reason to be banned. Harassment is always uncalled for.

Is his ban permanent or temporary? Could be he was just slapped with a mando 2 week vacation?

 

[VT_EE]

That is a disaster of an assembly design if that’s true. Either that or the body shops don’t know what they’re doing.

This is helpful. I have a similar damage (my tail lights are fine) and now I have a new nuisance to worry about. Even if they’re able to remove the rear glass/ replace it and reinstall it, I now have little hope that it won’t crack in the future. Re-installation of glass roofs are never factory like.

Honestly, each day of owning this car has been a very traumatizing experience for me at least, thus far.

I'm not an auto body expert so I don't know what is normal for a vehicle with glass roofs. I do know that replacing the rear quarter panel is major surgery. They have to cut out half the side of the vehicle and weld new sheet metal on. This is true for most cars, not just Tesla.

I'm not too worried about the glass roof. There are many stories of cracked or damaged roofs on this forum, and I haven't seen posts by anybody that wasn't happy with the roof post-replacement. I doubt it would be any more prone to crack after than it was before.

Severn Auto Body has a great reputation for Tesla work. A friend of mine had almost $20k in front-end damage before Severn fixed it up. His car looks better now than when it was new. Everything was put back together perfectly. I have a feeling my white bumper will match the car better once the repairs are complete than prior to the repairs.

This experience is definitely time consuming, but so far Tesla hasn't been a problem. ~14-business days to get in parts (minus the newly ordered glass) isn't unreasonable for a relatively new manufacturer, and I was able to drive the car while the parts were on order. The actual repair job is looking to be about 3-weeks and that is mainly because the jerk-off who hit me at 5mph did it in the worst place possible. If this was a BMW, I might get the car back a week or two earlier, but who knows. BMW also has backordered parts from time to time. So far, so good. I'll post when I get the next update.

 

[VT_EE]

Seems odd that the Truckla folks could remove rear glass without breaking, but a body shop can't...

Russian Roulette, but instead of 1 bullet, you put in 5. There is a small chance you'll get lucky, but most of the time, it doesn't work out so well.

 

[youngmcdonald]

I'm not an auto body expert so I don't know what is normal for a vehicle with glass roofs. I do know that replacing the rear quarter panel is major surgery. They have to cut out half the side of the vehicle and weld new sheet metal on. This is true for most cars, not just Tesla.

I'm not too worried about the glass roof. There are many stories of cracked or damaged roofs on this forum, and I haven't seen posts by anybody that wasn't happy with the roof post-replacement. I doubt it would be any more prone to crack after than it was before.

Severn Auto Body has a great reputation for Tesla work. A friend of mine had almost $20k in front-end damage before Severn fixed it up. His car looks better now than when it was new. Everything was put back together perfectly. I have a feeling my white bumper will match the car better once the repairs are complete than prior to the repairs.

This experience is definitely time consuming, but so far Tesla hasn't been a problem. ~14-business days to get in parts (minus the newly ordered glass) isn't unreasonable for a relatively new manufacturer, and I was able to drive the car while the parts were on order. The actual repair job is looking to be about 3-weeks and that is mainly because the jerk-off who hit me at 5mph did it in the worst place possible. If this was a BMW, I might get the car back a week or two earlier, but who knows. BMW also has backordered parts from time to time. So far, so good. I'll post when I get the next update.

That is helpful to know. And I think 3 weeks for this level of repairs are not that bad. But Tesla took close to 1.5 months to deliver all parts (ordered based on visual inspection). And I was hit into my second month of ownership, while I was parked, literally smashing my rear quarter panel and bumper. Accidents happen while driving, I get that, but when trying to park in a decently empty parking lot at unrealistic high speeds? This level of ignorance and stupidity are unforgivable. Structural damages can never be like new again given the unibody construction. Exactly why should I suffer that burden for the rest of the duration of car ownership? Bad luck I guess. And insurance is of no use because they’ll always low ball for diminished value claim.

EDIT: Fact checked with my body shop and they said there’s a chance that the rear roof glass can crack but they said that the glass arrives quickly even if that does happen so it shouldn’t set the schedule back by too much.

 

[VT_EE]

That is helpful to know. And I think 3 weeks for this level of repairs are not that bad. But Tesla took close to 1.5 months to deliver all parts (ordered based on visual inspection). And I was hit into my second month of ownership, while I was parked, literally smashing my rear quarter panel and bumper. Accidents happen while driving, I get that, but when trying to park in a decently empty parking lot at unrealistic high speeds? This level of ignorance and stupidity are unforgivable. Structural damages can never be like new again given the unibody construction. Exactly why should I suffer that burden for the rest of the duration of car ownership? Bad luck I guess. And insurance is of no use because they’ll always low ball for diminished value claim.

EDIT: Fact checked with my body shop and they said there’s a chance that the rear roof glass can crack but they said that the glass arrives quickly even if that does happen so it shouldn’t set the schedule back by too much.

That is reassuring about the glass. I’m still hoping to get the car back in the next couple weeks.

I just called the body shop to see if they have to cut into the unibody. The answer is yes, but he reassured me they’ve done hundreds of these things, and it won’t affect the performance of the car or safety.

 

[derotam]

but he reassured me they’ve done hundreds of these things

Yeah I just love it when someone try's to "reassure" me with that kind of statement. The other one is "Ive been doing this for x number of years..."

I've done this hundreds of times! TRUST me...a little bondo, ducktape...you'll never know the difference!

Just making fun of they generic reassurance statement... in reality, yes as a body shop they probably have done that kind of thing lots of times on all kinds of vehicles.

 

[youngmcdonald]

That is reassuring about the glass. I’m still hoping to get the car back in the next couple weeks.

I just called the body shop to see if they have to cut into the unibody. The answer is yes, but he reassured me they’ve done hundreds of these things, and it won’t affect the performance of the car or safety.

Oh it will. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. I am sorry but when you cut metal that has come out of a die cast, it’s compromised. Selling the car and getting a new one is the only option if you want it to be factory like again.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Still no car.

I've learned a lot.

M3 Auto Insurance - what are you paying?

 

[rickjames]

Still no car.

I've learned a lot.

M3 Auto Insurance - what are you paying?

I didn't like it because you don't have a car, I liked this because I am still with bumpers after almost 10 months. 5 weeks ago the timeline was "3-4 weeks."

 

[VT_EE]

Got mine back weeks ago. 2.5 weeks for parts and almost a month to complete the work. Other than some residue (clear coat?) all over the glossy black bits of the interior, windshield, and exterior mirrors, everything is great. I’m taking it back for a second time to get this stuff off. Most of the center console is clean, but the door pieces and mirrors are still covered. DV appraisal is scheduled for next week. They did an outstanding job with the body and paint. The only issue is this residue, which is only noticeable when light shines directly on it.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Got mine back weeks ago. 2.5 weeks for parts and almost a month to complete the work. Other than some residue (clear coat?) all over the glossy black bits of the interior, windshield, and exterior mirrors, everything is great. I’m taking it back for a second time to get this stuff off. Most of the center console is clean, but the door pieces and mirrors are still covered. DV appraisal is scheduled for next week. They did an outstanding job with the body and paint. The only issue is this residue, which is only noticeable when light shines directly on it.

June 5th was when I was hit.