Tesla asking $300 for a repair estimate (ran over road debris)

[Holotype]

A few nights ago someone dropped a full tire (no wheel) on the US-101 SB and I ran over it with the left-hand side of my car at around 65.

The car continues to drive fine with only rips in the aeroshield and no real observable other damage (knock-on-wood), including brief looking-over the battery coolant pipes and suspension. A/C and charging are all fine, no obvious steering or alignment issues, no loss in power and the only persistent side effects has been the flapping/dragging of the torn aeroshield. Navigate-on-Autopilot and FSD features also all work great.

A local service center (Palo Alto) mentioned in the appointment estimate a $300 charge for a "General Inspection" just to get a quote for the repair cost. They also mentioned that this fee was mandatory to assess the extent of the damage. So far, I haven't read any other threads or reports of folks being charged this fee just to get a repair estimate.

Is this right? My insurance mentioned diagnostic fees were standard but usually waived in the event repairs are executed at the inspecting facility, but the service center explicitly mentioned the $300 diagnosis fee being charged on-top of any repair work. Friends that were recently in service centers for non-warranty repairs also mentioned no such inspection fee, and my insurance mentioned keeping the inspection fee on top of the repairs would be non-standard and perhaps not reimbursable.

Not sure it makes a difference, but I filed my service request under "Collision Repair".

 

[MentalNomad]

Assessing the damage can take time and effort removing some parts to see underlying damage. They can't go on your say-so; many say "it's trivial" and don't really know how to look underneath.

I needed to replace my aeroshield 2 years ago. It was $217.51 installed by mobile rangers in my driveway.

 

[Holotype]

I asked Tesla Service Support and they mentioned the $300 nonrefundable diagnostic fee was exclusive to Service Centers that are not designated as "Collision Centers." He mentioned that usually for collision repair folks go through an authorized repair facility or a Tesla-owned Collision Center, either of which generally waive the diagnostic fee when repairs are performed there.

Kind of wondering whether I should just go ahead with the general inspection since the car is ~2 years old albeit with no documented maintenance issues prior to this incident, plus the hassle of finding an authorized body shop when I have an appointment with the Tesla service center within the next 48 hours and wanted to get the recall work done anyway.

 

[MentalNomad]

Assessing the damage can take time and effort removing some parts to see underlying damage. They can't go on your say-so; many say "it's trivial" and don't really know how to look underneath.

I needed to replace my aeroshield 2 years ago. It was $217.51 installed by mobile rangers in my driveway.

Tried to find the estimate for you, but it's already gone.

I've had a $1k estimate (control arms) turn into a $0 repair (warranty.)

 

[MentalNomad]

I asked Tesla Service Support and they mentioned the $300 nonrefundable diagnostic fee was exclusive to Service Centers that are not designated as "Collision Centers." He mentioned that usually for collision repair folks go through an authorized repair facility or a Tesla-owned Collision Center, either of which generally waive the diagnostic fee when repairs are performed there.

Kind of wondering whether I should just go ahead with the general inspection since the car is ~2 years old albeit with no documented maintenance issues prior to this incident, plus the hassle of finding an authorized body shop when I have an appointment with the Tesla service center within the next 48 hours and wanted to get the recall work done anyway.

Well, assuming the price on the aeroshield went up even just a couple of bucks, the diagnostic fee will probably get eaten up by the shield and install. So, assuming the $300 is applied to repairs, you won't really be out much extra.

 

[Holotype]

Well, assuming the price on the aeroshield went up even just a couple of bucks, the diagnostic fee will probably get eaten up by the shield and install. So, assuming the $300 is applied to repairs, you won't really be out much extra.

It's not applied to the repairs in the case of Service Centers that are not specifically designated as Collision Centers. The aeroshield price is similar to your invoice of ~$200, but the $300 inspection fee would be on top.

The service rep explained this was to funnel folks to authorized body shops for collisions rather than jamming up the service centers.

The general inspection I'm being billed for is the same type that most folks do just before their warranty expires e.g. checking everything in the car out to see whether any work needs to be done, related to the collision or otherwise.