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Sharing my car repair experience
- Thread starter democappy
- Start date
Is your car at Caldwell? My wife and another car backed into each other in a Starbucks parking lot a couple years ago. $11k damage on my car (for a dent the size of my phone), and literally no damage to the other person's Toyota Tacoma. I can't remember exactly how long it took but Caldwell was the closest authorized shop for me (and still two and a half hours away). They seemed to do a very good job so you've got that going for you at least.
It is at a Service King location. As far as I knew the Service King shops are the only body shops in Charlotte that will still work on a Tesla. However, the Caldwell website does still look like they do it as well. Since they are a little ways outside of the city in Indian Trail maybe I just didn't see them in my search for shops in Charlotte. When I got in my accident, Tesla sent me a list of shops near me. All of them were Service King locations except for Caliber Collision which refused to take the car saying that they had just stopped working on Teslas the week prior to my accident. I am pretty sure that there was another shop they had on their website or that my insurance had listed as Tesla-certified that also said they stopped working on them, but I can't remember which shop that might have been. Could be faulty memory on my part. The only reason I remember Caliber is because I just looked up my old email exchange with Tesla. It has been 4 months since I did that research
I am fairly confident the work is going to be done well. It is just so frustratingly slow. They were telling me this morning that they have to print out giant complicated process manuals to make sure they put it together exactly how they are supposed to and that it takes a long time for the tech to read all of those and then do the work while also bouncing back and forth between working on other cars.
Edit: Just checked Tesla approved shops on the Tesla website. 8 Service King locations + the Caldwell Collision shops are the only options currently showing for the Charlotte area. So when they sent me the closest shops to my location, multiple Service Kings would have been closer which is probably why I didn't get sent Caldwell.
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I would have totally happy with 2 months. I am guessing/hoping things are a little more figured out in California then over here in the Southeast.
OrbiterTI4
Member
You can't trust the list - I got the same thing, a list with all the Service King locations in the metro area, but only one would do major repairs (the level I needed) and one more did fender bender fixes. The rest just deferred to those two spots.
I was expecting the worst, and was very happy with 2 months. I brought the shop doughnuts a few times...
Five Month Update:
So I didn't get my car back yet. It does seem like it is nearing the end though. The parts have been painted and they are reassembling the car now. I should have it to me in the next 1-2 weeks.
Just to recap for those that don't want to read the full thread.
1 month update: Could take another month to 6 months, no one knows.
2 month update: Probably just 2-4 more weeks
3 month update: Probably just 1-2 more weeks!
4 month update: Probably just 2-3 more weeks?!
5 month update: Probably just 1-2 more weeks, but also probably for real this time.
I will give a final update once the car is actually in my possession.
So I didn't get my car back yet. It does seem like it is nearing the end though. The parts have been painted and they are reassembling the car now. I should have it to me in the next 1-2 weeks.
Just to recap for those that don't want to read the full thread.
1 month update: Could take another month to 6 months, no one knows.
2 month update: Probably just 2-4 more weeks
3 month update: Probably just 1-2 more weeks!
4 month update: Probably just 2-3 more weeks?!
5 month update: Probably just 1-2 more weeks, but also probably for real this time.
I will give a final update once the car is actually in my possession.
In my update 2 weeks ago I stated how I would probably actually have my car back 1-2 weeks later. There was literally nothing left I could think of that would cause a delay. I am sure this will be no shock to anyone to find out that I do not have my car back nor do I know when I will have it back. Tesla figured out a way to screw up parts even after they sent them.
One of the last things they went to install in my car was a new seat. They open up the box from Tesla and it was the wrong color. The box said it was the correct color. Tesla just simply didn't have their process designed well enough to ensure they put the right label on the box. My body shop called and told me this last Tuesday, but said Tesla already agreed to expedite a new seat since this was clearly an error on their end. Here I am 8 days after that call...and back in the parts black hole. Was it expedited? What does "expedited" even mean in Tesla speak if it takes longer than a week to ship a part they have in stock? Will the seat arrive today? Will it arrive next month? Will it be the right color when it arrives? Who knows? Not me. Not my repair shop. You can't talk to an actual person at Tesla, so I sit and wait.
One of the last things they went to install in my car was a new seat. They open up the box from Tesla and it was the wrong color. The box said it was the correct color. Tesla just simply didn't have their process designed well enough to ensure they put the right label on the box. My body shop called and told me this last Tuesday, but said Tesla already agreed to expedite a new seat since this was clearly an error on their end. Here I am 8 days after that call...and back in the parts black hole. Was it expedited? What does "expedited" even mean in Tesla speak if it takes longer than a week to ship a part they have in stock? Will the seat arrive today? Will it arrive next month? Will it be the right color when it arrives? Who knows? Not me. Not my repair shop. You can't talk to an actual person at Tesla, so I sit and wait.
OrbiterTI4
Member
Has the vehicle done a test drive since repairs were "complete"? That's the step where Service King learned about a failed brake booster on my vehicle and added a month or so to the repairs, so there are areas where more gremlins may be lurking!
Not to my knowledge, but I am not sure. After the seat gets installed my understanding is that the last step is to send it to the Tesla Service Center for them to check everything and clear it.
Another update for you all. This mess is going to last past 6 months. Here is the latest twist. Last time we left off Tesla had sent the wrong color seat, so we just needed them to send one that is the correct color. So we get a new seat and it is the right color. Hurray! Except the seat doesn't actually work in my car. It has a different electrical plug. So, my body shop contacts Tesla to send a new seat that matches my car. Tesla sends a new seat...and it has the same issue. After some research they discover that Tesla no longer makes the seat that came in my car. Apparently, they don't tell you this when you try to order the old one. So the seat they sent will work, they just need an adapter so it can plug in. Ok, just place an order for that adapter, wait a week and... discover I am back in Tesla parts ordering purgatory.
When will it arrive? No one knows and apparently no one cares.
When will it arrive? No one knows and apparently no one cares.
OrbiterTI4
Member
Amazing how a single part can add so much time, right? In my case it was the battery disconnect switch that added two weeks.
After reading this and other repair threads I’ve about decided if I ever need any real repair work done after an accident I’ll put it on a trailer and haul it out to Tesla San Jose myself.
I have other cars available so wouldn’t have to pay for a rental car but I just can’t imagine being without my car for so long.
I have other cars available so wouldn’t have to pay for a rental car but I just can’t imagine being without my car for so long.
Final Update:
I am in possession of my car once again. All repairs were completed last Friday and I picked it up Saturday. It felt like getting a Tesla for the first time all over again.
To recap, my accident was on 2/14 and my car was ready to be picked-up on 8/23. That is a total of 27 weeks for a repair (6 months plus a week). During that time I also incurred over $6k in rental car charges that insurance will pay me back on. However, if I had been at fault in the accident that $6k would have been my cost.
The final hiccup was that I needed that one last part from Tesla. It was ordered. It was in stock. And... they just didn't bother to have someone go pick the part in the warehouse and ship it to me for about a week and a half until it got escalated. The absolute indifference Tesla has to the parts process is infuriating. I don't really have much else to say that I didn't already say in the rest of this thread. The whole parts process is obviously ridiculously broken. I am actually surprised it doesn't cost even more to insure a Tesla due to this.
My belief is that Tesla has to focus so much on making sure they show profit that they have deciding they have to heavily deprioritize customer service and parts infrastructure. New car sales make money and everything else just doesn't matter as much.
I love my Tesla. The car is great. However, this has definitely soured me for when I look for my next car. 27 weeks for a repair. 27 weeks.
I am in possession of my car once again. All repairs were completed last Friday and I picked it up Saturday. It felt like getting a Tesla for the first time all over again.
To recap, my accident was on 2/14 and my car was ready to be picked-up on 8/23. That is a total of 27 weeks for a repair (6 months plus a week). During that time I also incurred over $6k in rental car charges that insurance will pay me back on. However, if I had been at fault in the accident that $6k would have been my cost.
The final hiccup was that I needed that one last part from Tesla. It was ordered. It was in stock. And... they just didn't bother to have someone go pick the part in the warehouse and ship it to me for about a week and a half until it got escalated. The absolute indifference Tesla has to the parts process is infuriating. I don't really have much else to say that I didn't already say in the rest of this thread. The whole parts process is obviously ridiculously broken. I am actually surprised it doesn't cost even more to insure a Tesla due to this.
My belief is that Tesla has to focus so much on making sure they show profit that they have deciding they have to heavily deprioritize customer service and parts infrastructure. New car sales make money and everything else just doesn't matter as much.
I love my Tesla. The car is great. However, this has definitely soured me for when I look for my next car. 27 weeks for a repair. 27 weeks.
Bet TSLA
Active Member
Much sympathy. We can only hope that repair experiences improve dramatically as Tesla puts more attention on that aspect of their business. I was happy with my two repair experiences at the Tesla owned and run body shop in San Jose. It took just a few weeks for my cars to be returned good as new. So it's not as though they can't do reasonably quick repairs when they want to.
Enjoy your car again. Stay safe!
OrbiterTI4
Member
Based on my previous experience and your timeline as well, for a Tesla driver at-fault, I wonder if it is better to purchase a $4000-8000 used vehicle instead of renting. You have fees/time associated with registering and adding insurance, but when the Tesla is returned there's the flipside of getting money from selling the vehicle.
These threads are disturbing but useful. I really like my S P100D. I leased it versus buying because the technology is changing so fast and the cost was less than the actual vs projected depreciation. The lease is up in March. These nightmare repair stories and, to a lesser extent, the endless nonsense “promises” about FSD, make me think “Taycan” versus buying or leasing another Tesla. I doubt that I’m alone. What a pity: parts supply chain is hardly an impossible thing to figure out.
One thing to consider is that the Taycan too is a new low-volume (at least initially) car. If you have to have it repaired in the first year you may/may not have any body shops who know how to fix it and parts may be hard to come by.
We all hope Tesla speeds things up but I’ll stick with my thought that if my Model S needs any serious work I may pay to ship it to the Tesla body shop in CA where apparently parts and work time are quicker. This may be more or less applicable only to me because I live in Mississippi. We only got a SuperCharger a couple years ago and our first service center a couple months ago. I wonder if there are any qualified body shops in my state at all but I’d be very, very surprised if there’s one within 50 miles of where I live. If I’ve got to ship it off for qualified work I think I’d just ship it all the way to CA. Or trailer it there myself and use it as an excuse to visit CA family.
