Tesla cripple model S stranding family

[Yaro]

Given the angle of the wheel and probable impact force that caused the air bags to deploy that one has a bent frame. If that is "barely has any damage" your frame skills are better than mine.

Knee and wheel airbags are deployed. They're not that expensive new. But from suspension damage Tesla requires the replacement of the complete subframe, steering rack and every suspension component on that side.

When I rebuild cars, I normally don't replace the subframe unless if it actually bent. Same with the steering rack. It's a 50/50 chance of the steering rack being bad. They usually either make a grinding noise or become really stiff so have to replace them.

This specific car is most likely totaled not because of the frame rail on itself but because of the rocker panel damage from the wheel. There a couple pieces that stick out a little further to shield the HV cables and airline suspension lines. Tesla would probably require to replace the whole rocker panel which is why I'm assuming it's totaled. I would just reweld that piece and it would be fine.

 

[Evoforce]

I think we all should be able to agree, that many of these cars can be put back on the road while some others are only good enough to be parts cars.

Tesla needs to change policy and start providing easily affordable repair manuals and open up parts availability to all. Any vehicle (gas/electric) can be a death trap if not repaired or maintained properly. Tesla should not have the right to restrict as much as they do.

Any one of us can run our lives based on fear of the unknown and be handicapped by that while always believing in the worst case scenario. The same thing can happen to companies too.

For those of us who have had children, an example would be of the risk of your child being hurt by living on a daily basis. You want them to be as safe as possible without stunting their lives by being too risk averse. It is a balancing act. Life itself is a risk.

One of the most dangerous things we do on a daily basis is going out on the streets with an automobile. Yet... we still do it!

 

[Yaro]

I think it is nice enough to have them able to be recertified, 6k is a low fee for something like that to begin with. Over here a totaled car can never be road legal again as we do not take chances when it comes to safety.

Salvage cars being a way for people who can't afford them normally isn't really an argument, if you can't afford something you can't buy it, easy as that.

That literally makes no sense. You can pay 140k for a P100D and I can pay 60k for a P100D. I can afford both, I'm just not an idiot.

 

[Ofarlig]

That literally makes no sense. You can pay 140k for a P100D and I can pay 60k for a P100D. I can afford both, I'm just not an idiot.

Your response has next to nothing to do with what I said...

 

[ai4px]

So the guy could buy a CHADEMO adapter and still fast charge, right?

 

[Evoforce]

So the guy could buy a CHADEMO adapter and still fast charge, right?

That is correct! However, there are hardly any chademo between cities and many cities have none or few. The car could also still charge at Tesla destination chargers. None of that is nearly as good as using Superchargers.

 

[Yaro]

Your response has next to nothing to do with what I said...

It absolutely does. You said if you can't afford something, don't buy it. You're implying people who buy salvage/rebuilt title cars can't afford the actual car so they shouldn't be buying salvage cars.

 

[Ofarlig]

It absolutely does. You said if you can't afford something, don't buy it. You're implying people who buy salvage/rebuilt title cars can't afford the actual car so they shouldn't be buying salvage cars.

No that is not even remotely close, are you trolling me? I literally said that you can't make the argument that salvage cars should exist without an inspect as a way for people who cannot afford the real deal. I was not making the claim that it was a way for people who can't afford something to get it.

 

[rooter]

What a mess this thread is. The nervous nellies are happy to impose their views on the rest of us. Living in fear must be miserable. How do ladders get sold if their worldview was accurate? Lawn mowers? Insecticides? Band saws? Go carts? Hilarious.

I'd made my decision a long time ago. I bought two cars and repaired one with the other. (myself) Tesla has me blacklisted, so I was forced to get in and figure out how to hack the software. (myself, since no one else helped) Those who are making tens of thou$ands hacking salvage cars would be surprised if I said a few things that opened all this up. It would cost me too much time and hassle though I think. Oh, believe what you will.

I've thought about getting recertified, but demurred at the cost. Wrecked cars are going to be bought and repaired no matter what. If this were really about safety, Tesla would drastically cut the charges for recert, because as things are they force almost all of us to drive our repaired cars with only a State inspection (which checks only for stolen parts, lol).

BTW, did you know that if you are recertified, you lose cell service? No maps, no streaming, etc. And XM radio. Needless to say you lose all warranties. No roadside or Ranger service. No app. Nope, no app. The only thing recert gets you is for them to service and to be able to buy (a few) parts that are not on the restricted list.

I've made my decision and couldn't be happier.

 

[demundus]

BTW, did you know that if you are recertified, you lose cell service? No maps, no streaming, etc. And XM radio. Needless to say you lose all warranties. No roadside or Ranger service. No app. Nope, no app. The only thing recert gets you is for them to service and to be able to buy (a few) parts that are not on the restricted list.

I've made my decision and couldn't be happier.

Which is why you never re-certify and just step inbetween the mothership and your car as you've figured out on your own

 

[rooter]

Which is why you never re-certify and just step inbetween the mothership and your car as you've figured out on your own

Roger. This is what they want isn't it?

This is how they're behaving.

 

[Russell]

What happens if a non-certified Tesla crashes into a cement wall and catches on fire?

How are the news outlets going to cover this? Who do you think the public is going to blame?

 

[demundus]

What happens if a non-certified Tesla crashes into a cement wall and catches on fire?

How are the news outlets going to cover this? Who do you think the public is going to blame?

Guess we'll have to wait and see

 

[bkp_duke]

was it a salvage title? that wasn't clear in the video, just said it was bought an an action... or is that implied... seems like a simple inspection by tesla could determine if everything is ok in the high powered electrical system for charging etc. $10k is absurd unless things need to be replaced, like the entire battery pack.

on a separate note, can the owner use a chademo adapter?

FYI, when Tesla disables Supercharging, they also flip the bit on what allows for Chademo charging as well. Dick move, as there is no justifiable reason for them to switch off DC fast charging to OTHER networks.

 

[bkp_duke]

If it wasn’t clear, I wasn’t necessarily saying I agree it’s a good business decision. I’m just sure they have legal grounds to kick people from superchargers just like Netflix can ban you as a customer if they want. Same goes for the free lte in the car, the app functionality that is hosted on their servers, and service in their service centers. All of those are delivered as services that they can easily refuse to provide if they build in terms that give them legal standing to. It may not be good for pr, but it’s definitly not as unusual as you let on.

Also, there are absolutely instances of forced upgrades removing capabilities in technology devices. Look at amazon fire tablets. They force upgrades that remove capabilities with no notice. It sucks, but they absolutely do it.

This shows a complete lack of knowledge of the law regarding automobiles. It's not legal for a manufacturer to remove a "feature" of a car after it has been sold, even if it has been totaled and resold at auction, and even if that feature is "software". It opens Tesla up to a WORLD of hurt legally, and it is a ticking time bomb.

They can refuse warranty work, and refuse even to provide new software updates. But turning off Supercharging, or worse, DC fast charging in general, is setting them up for a nasty class-action.

 

[bkp_duke]

Insurance company has no reason to scrap a car if it can be repaired for less than its value. The OP isn't very forthcoming with details but it looks like he patched up the cosmetic parts and let the rest slide. Damage to fender and door means there could well be damage to the A pillar, drive train, and battery. That is probably why insurance scrapped the car.
OP is also silent on whether or not he got a salvage title and whether or not he understood the meaning of a salvage title.
Whenever I see people here posting hyperbolic outrage with missing information, I am suspicious. This guy even went through the histrionics of "stranding" his family because he was too stupid to find a plug. Smells to me like a scam.
Suppose the battery case was damaged and took on water. The next time he Supercharged the thing could catch fire.
Suppose the drive train and suspension was damaged. The next time he took a hard corner, it could collapse.
Suppose the A pillar was damaged. The next accident could crumple the pillar and kill him.
Tesla has good reasons for wanting to carefully inspect salvage cars. If you don't want to have them inspect it, you take your chances... just don't expect Tesla to take the rap.

Horse hockey. Insurance often total's "luxury" cars even though it would cost less to repair them. Have you seen how long it takes to get Tesla's repaired? That's a customer service ticking time bomb that any smart insurance adjuster will avoid. Cut the check, sell the car at auction, and move on. They are not stupid or oblivious to this fact.

 

[Yaro]

No that is not even remotely close, are you trolling me? I literally said that you can't make the argument that salvage cars should exist without an inspect as a way for people who cannot afford the real deal. I was not making the claim that it was a way for people who can't afford something to get it.

"Salvage cars being a way for people who can't afford them normally isn't really an argument, if you can't afford something you can't buy it, easy as that."

What happens if a non-certified Tesla crashes into a cement wall and catches on fire?

How are the news outlets going to cover this? Who do you think the public is going to blame?

What difference does it make? My wife got into a bad accident in her rebuilt car and she had minor injuries compared to the other person.

 

[bkp_duke]

I just went through the totaling of a Tesla. The insurance company has a threshold of repairs for each car. Ours was a 13 month old 75D and they got to $65K in repairs estimate before declaring it a total loss. When cleaned up, it also didn't look so bad. As a matter of fact the preliminary visual estimate by the Tesla certified body shop was $16.7K including all the aluminium body work. Not until the dug in deeper did they come up with $65K, and it wasn't even a complete estimate - they stopped because they hit the repair threshold.

Yeah, that's because that particular insurance company knew the exorbitant rates that Tesla certified body shops charge. This is yet ANOTHER problem with the Tesla system. A very SMALL repair network that charges insane rates (think Ferrari level rates). Open the network up (more competition), and many more cars will fall out of the "being totaled" category.

Example:
One of our cars was SCRATCHED by a pizza delivery guy. Super honest guy, left us a note, and we went through the claim process. His insurance (AAA) could not find a body shop to pain the bumper (yep, no repairs needed) except the Tesla certified shop. They wanted 4k for the work. I took the check, got a Rupes random orbital, and buffed it out myself in 20 minutes. Pocketed the check.

Why do you think insurance rates for Teslas have continued to climb over the past 5 years? They know about the tiny repair network, and they factor in the costs on the front end (insurance rates) and the back end (repair estimates).

 

[bkp_duke]

That is correct! However, there are hardly any chademo between cities and many cities have none or few. The car could also still charge at Tesla destination chargers. None of that is nearly as good as using Superchargers.

See my previous reply. You assume INCORRECTLY here. When Tesla disables Supercharging, they disable ALL FAST DC charging. I've seen the configs myself in both of my cars. There is no excuse for doing that.

 

[mspohr]

Yeah, that's because that particular insurance company knew the exorbitant rates that Tesla certified body shops charge. This is yet ANOTHER problem with the Tesla system. A very SMALL repair network that charges insane rates (think Ferrari level rates). Open the network up (more competition), and many more cars will fall out of the "being totaled" category.

Example:
One of our cars was SCRATCHED by a pizza delivery guy. Super honest guy, left us a note, and we went through the claim process. His insurance (AAA) could not find a body shop to pain the bumper (yep, no repairs needed) except the Tesla certified shop. They wanted 4k for the work. I took the check, got a Rupes random orbital, and buffed it out myself in 20 minutes. Pocketed the check.

Why do you think insurance rates for Teslas have continued to climb over the past 5 years? They know about the tiny repair network, and they factor in the costs on the front end (insurance rates) and the back end (repair estimates).

My Tesla insurance rate just went DOWN by 60%.