Tesla Service scratched my car and wont own up to it

[phatcow]

Long time reader here and looking for advice on some damage done on my one month old Model 3

Went in last Thursday to get Homelink installed at a service center, and dropped it off in the morning. When i picked up the car at 5, i noticed there were deep and noticeable scratches on my rear right quarter panel. Took pictures of them while on premises of Tesla, and also reported them to my service adviser who said that they take video at check-in of all cars and would review.

20 minutes passed and service adviser said that it will take longer than expected and that i should get a call back the following day (Friday)

Friday comes and the adviser calls and said that they are still working on it and that they will provide still images instead of video due to the size of the videos
At noon Don the Service Manager calls me and said that he escalated the issue to IT to retrieve the check in images. He then went on a schpeal about the trustworthiness of his service staff and that "mistakes happen but they will own up to mistakes if made"

At 2pm Don calls and states that the video/images are NOT recoverable due to his words "an iPad update that IT told us about on the 22nd." i reminded him that this happened on the 24th. No change in answer. He also stated that i should file a claim with my insurance as they decline any responsibility



The deductible doesn't bother me. The scratches doesent bother me. The fact that the checkin process is selective and one sided, is worrisome. Now ive learned to take my own videos, like a rental car.


TLDR ; I paid 300 dollar, and got homelink, scratches, and an insurance claim out of it.

 

[phatcow]

Also to note - this might be an FYI to some

If the car is in service mode, sentry mode is disabled.

 

[N54TT]

Long time reader here and looking for advice on some damage done on my one month old Model 3

Went in last Thursday to get Homelink installed at a service center, and dropped it off in the morning. When i picked up the car at 5, i noticed there were deep and noticeable scratches on my rear right quarter panel. Took pictures of them while on premises of Tesla, and also reported them to my service adviser who said that they take video at check-in of all cars and would review.

20 minutes passed and service adviser said that it will take longer than expected and that i should get a call back the following day (Friday)

Friday comes and the adviser calls and said that they are still working on it and that they will provide still images instead of video due to the size of the videos
At noon Don the Service Manager calls me and said that he escalated the issue to IT to retrieve the check in images. He then went on a schpeal about the trustworthiness of his service staff and that "mistakes happen but they will own up to mistakes if made"

At 2pm Don calls and states that the video/images are NOT recoverable due to his words "an iPad update that IT told us about on the 22nd." i reminded him that this happened on the 24th. No change in answer. He also stated that i should file a claim with my insurance as they decline any responsibility



The deductible doesn't bother me. The scratches doesent bother me. The fact that the checkin process is selective one sided, is worrisome. Now ive learned to take my own videos, like a rental car.


TLDR ; I paid 300 dollar, and got homelink, scratches, and an insurance claim out of it.

have you checked dashcam footage or does service mode disable that as well? That sucks that they won’t own up to it. You can try escalating to tesla customer support.

 

[SlimJim]

Stealers are all alike.

 

[Big Earl]

I've received two complimentary scratches on my chrome trim during one service appointment and a dent in the right rear door during another service appointment. Lesson learned: take pictures of your car at the time of drop-off and more pictures when you pick it up, just like you would when renting a vehicle on Turo. If you can document it, they'll fix it. If you can't, you're out of luck.

 

[phatcow]

I've received two complimentary scratches on my chrome trim during one service appointment and a dent in the right rear door during another service appointment. Lesson learned: take pictures of your car at the time of drop-off and more pictures when you pick it up, just like you would when renting a vehicle on Turo. If you can document it, they'll fix it. If you can't, you're out of luck.

were you able to ask them to view their checkin photos? they always document for this very reason

 

[mobilesuit818]

This is very simple.

First make sure to document everything in writing and lots of photos.

Next get your paint restored and see if that addresses it, then forward the bill to Tesla

 

[DopeGhoti]

If the car is in service mode, sentry mode is disabled.

Interesting, then, that they make such a big deal about making sure you have no USB storage devices plugged in while the car is in their service centre. Though given that some services can be rather extended, disabling Sentry makes some sense given the vampire drain. If an SC has 40 cars in their queue, that can't be reasonably expected to juggle them around their chargers for the duration of their stays.

 

[phatcow]

Interesting, then, that they make such a big deal about making sure you have no USB storage devices plugged in while the car is in their service centre. Though given that some services can be rather extended, disabling Sentry makes some sense given the vampire drain. If an SC has 40 cars in their queue, that can't be reasonably expected to juggle them around their chargers for the duration of their stays.

i dont think drain is the reason they disable sentry mode. its probably for liability reasons inside the shop during the repair.

 

[phatcow]

has ANYONE successfully asked them to view the checkin video / photos?

 

[DopeGhoti]

i dont think drain is the reason they disable sentry mode. its probably for liability reasons inside the shop during the repair.

It's possible for there to be multiple reasons to implement a policy.

 

[Big Earl]

were you able to ask them to view their checkin photos? they always document for this very reason

I didn't. I figured they didn't have pictures, since they didn't take any when I dropped off the car. I parked it in the lot, walked in and left the key card with the service advisor. They also didn't take any pictures when they brought the car back out to me when it was finished.