Obviously Tesla has talked a lot about their insurance service asserting it will be lower from the extremely high costs we're all facing. However, now in dealing with a minor body repair having an extreme cost from a Tesla certified shop, I now see that Tesla has a body construction/repair issue, not an insurance one.
When I got my M3 18 months ago (which I love BTW), I was a bit shocked at the insurance quote. 50% higher than my previous car. I shopped around but my agent said that Teslas were costly to repair as the reason insurance companies were giving. That seemed like a stretch but I chalked it up to all the cameras/sensors and extra precautions due to lack of familiarity with the electric drive train. I sucked it up and signed.
Fast forward, an attendant in my parking garage took a corner too tightly a few weeks back and rubbed my rear right door and quarter panel against a concrete pillar. I wasn't happy but the visible damage was not major. Scratches and minor dents in those two locations. I contacted Tesla as I knew they were starting to offer body work. Their NYC body shop is online but they only handle the most minor dings. Mine was too big so they referred me to two certified shops. I got two estimates and was shocked by the cost and time involved. Each said it was 2-3 weeks of repair (plus weeks for parts). One was over $10k and the other over $12k. I liked and believed the $10k shop a bit more as they had 45 Teslas onsite getting body repairs when I visited and seemed to know what they were talking about. When I told him my surprise, he said the problem was that the seemingly little quarter panel actually required the whole rear quarter to be replace. Plus, Teslas are really difficult to take apart. Apparently, M3 is better than MS/X as its more steel than aluminum which is more difficult to repair (I don't know this, just what I'm told).
Now, just to be clear I'm not here complaining as this bill isn't being paid by me or my insurance company but the garage. This really worries me as I had an accident a few years back in a relatively new Prius which had much worse damage along the whole side of the car where all the panels and doors had to be repaired/replaced. That only took 1 week and $6k. Tesla, if you're listening, you have a serious repair problem. This will have me cautious when buying my next electric vehicle (which is hopefully not for awhile).
When I got my M3 18 months ago (which I love BTW), I was a bit shocked at the insurance quote. 50% higher than my previous car. I shopped around but my agent said that Teslas were costly to repair as the reason insurance companies were giving. That seemed like a stretch but I chalked it up to all the cameras/sensors and extra precautions due to lack of familiarity with the electric drive train. I sucked it up and signed.
Fast forward, an attendant in my parking garage took a corner too tightly a few weeks back and rubbed my rear right door and quarter panel against a concrete pillar. I wasn't happy but the visible damage was not major. Scratches and minor dents in those two locations. I contacted Tesla as I knew they were starting to offer body work. Their NYC body shop is online but they only handle the most minor dings. Mine was too big so they referred me to two certified shops. I got two estimates and was shocked by the cost and time involved. Each said it was 2-3 weeks of repair (plus weeks for parts). One was over $10k and the other over $12k. I liked and believed the $10k shop a bit more as they had 45 Teslas onsite getting body repairs when I visited and seemed to know what they were talking about. When I told him my surprise, he said the problem was that the seemingly little quarter panel actually required the whole rear quarter to be replace. Plus, Teslas are really difficult to take apart. Apparently, M3 is better than MS/X as its more steel than aluminum which is more difficult to repair (I don't know this, just what I'm told).
Now, just to be clear I'm not here complaining as this bill isn't being paid by me or my insurance company but the garage. This really worries me as I had an accident a few years back in a relatively new Prius which had much worse damage along the whole side of the car where all the panels and doors had to be repaired/replaced. That only took 1 week and $6k. Tesla, if you're listening, you have a serious repair problem. This will have me cautious when buying my next electric vehicle (which is hopefully not for awhile).
