tesla collision repair times?

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gips
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tesla collision repair times?

Post by gips »

In NYC today a woman realized she was going to miss her exit, tried to cross three lanes of traffic and managed to t-bone our tesla model S. Extensive damage to both driver side doors, mirror and the driver's side window is gone. Luckily, with all that glass flying, we emerged without a scratch.

Had car towed to tesla certified repair center, the manager said "we have to look at the car but I can tell you this. Right now Tesla is the slowest of any company I deal with to get parts."

Anyone have a sense of what the wait might be like? I'm guessing it's not going to be pretty, I've heard stories of > 6 months but can't seem to find much on the internet in this regard.

best,
Normchad
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by Normchad »

gips wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 7:08 pm In NYC today a woman realized she was going to miss her exit, tried to cross three lanes of traffic and managed to t-bone our tesla model S. Extensive damage to both driver side doors, mirror and the driver's side window is gone. Luckily, with all that glass flying, we emerged without a scratch.

Had car towed to tesla certified repair center, the manager said "we have to look at the car but I can tell you this. Right now Tesla is the slowest of any company I deal with to get parts."

Anyone have a sense of what the wait might be like? I'm guessing it's not going to be pretty, I've heard stories of > 6 months but can't seem to find much on the internet in this regard.

best,
I had a similar accident in an Acura. I was hoping they would total it. The repairs took over two months.

My neighbor works at a Tesla certified body shop. He says their back lot is full of Teslas, just waiting for parts. And he said that Tesla is the worst company to deal with in terms of getting parts. Just a real pain. He said the cars sit there for months and months.

This is a concern for me. Luckily, if my Tesla ends up in the shop, I have a spare car I can use…..
Topic Author
gips
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by gips »

Normchad wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 7:18 pm
gips wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 7:08 pm In NYC today a woman realized she was going to miss her exit, tried to cross three lanes of traffic and managed to t-bone our tesla model S. Extensive damage to both driver side doors, mirror and the driver's side window is gone. Luckily, with all that glass flying, we emerged without a scratch.

Had car towed to tesla certified repair center, the manager said "we have to look at the car but I can tell you this. Right now Tesla is the slowest of any company I deal with to get parts."

Anyone have a sense of what the wait might be like? I'm guessing it's not going to be pretty, I've heard stories of > 6 months but can't seem to find much on the internet in this regard.

best,
I had a similar accident in an Acura. I was hoping they would total it. The repairs took over two months.

My neighbor works at a Tesla certified body shop. He says their back lot is full of Teslas, just waiting for parts. And he said that Tesla is the worst company to deal with in terms of getting parts. Just a real pain. He said the cars sit there for months and months.

This is a concern for me. Luckily, if my Tesla ends up in the shop, I have a spare car I can use…..
thanks, honestly I'm hoping in time for our trip mid october but I'm skeptical...Guessing, like your acura, there's too much value for our insurance company to total the car.
Last edited by gips on Mon Jun 27, 2022 8:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
sambb
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by sambb »

My neighbor has had his Tesla in the shop for 6.5 months. Parts still pending. My family member had a long wait also but that was years ago and not relevant. I’ve heard quicker repairs for others. Guess it depends.

My neighbor said the worst part is that there is zero communication with the repair shop from Tesla. They just wait and wait and hope something comes in via ups.
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samsoes
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by samsoes »

Wow, I am (was) sooooo close to ordering a new Model 3. I was going to do it this week.

I'm glad I saw this thread. This situation is a showstopper for me. There's no way I could not have use of my car for 6+ months in the event I get into a wreck with it.

Just saved myself more than $60k! :dollar
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billaster
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by billaster »

If Elon Musk has a limited number of doors, he could sell one to you for $2,000 or he could bolt it onto a brand new Model S and sell it for $110,000. I suspect you are going to be way down on the priority list.
gavinsiu
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by gavinsiu »

My late sister had a Model 3. Someone crush her bumper and took off. She called around some Tesla Certified places but got wildly odd quotes ranging from $2000 - $3000 for a bumper. She eventually had it service at an actual Tesla service center at Freemont, which quoted her a much lower price (I think it was more like $1k). The repair did not take an abnormal amount of time to fix or schedule.The only problem was that she had to drive over 1 hour to the Tesla Service Center.

Based on this, I would probably try to get the car to an actual Tesla Service Center than a Tesla Certified dealer because you may be able to get the parts sooner and be less likely to be scammed.

Keep in mind that this is a bad time for repairs since a lot of vendors are having supply chain issues.
hunoraut
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by hunoraut »

all their cars are back-ordered. combined with global pan-industry supply issues, means spare parts are probably not numerous.

my data point is someone ding'ed up my front bumper pre-covid. car was in shop for 1 week. had rental vehicle in lieu. other partys fault, so no skin off my back.
4nursebee
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by 4nursebee »

gips wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 7:08 pm In NYC today a woman realized she was going to miss her exit, tried to cross three lanes of traffic and managed to t-bone our tesla model S. Extensive damage to both driver side doors, mirror and the driver's side window is gone. Luckily, with all that glass flying, we emerged without a scratch.

Had car towed to tesla certified repair center, the manager said "we have to look at the car but I can tell you this. Right now Tesla is the slowest of any company I deal with to get parts."

Anyone have a sense of what the wait might be like? I'm guessing it's not going to be pretty, I've heard stories of > 6 months but can't seem to find much on the internet in this regard.

best,
Gee, I somehow think the shop where you took the car would know best. Why ask online instead of that shop?

I can find lots on the internet. Some good, some not.
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samsoes
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by samsoes »

4nursebee wrote: Tue Jun 28, 2022 5:03 am
gips wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 7:08 pm In NYC today a woman realized she was going to miss her exit, tried to cross three lanes of traffic and managed to t-bone our tesla model S. Extensive damage to both driver side doors, mirror and the driver's side window is gone. Luckily, with all that glass flying, we emerged without a scratch.

Had car towed to tesla certified repair center, the manager said "we have to look at the car but I can tell you this. Right now Tesla is the slowest of any company I deal with to get parts."

Anyone have a sense of what the wait might be like? I'm guessing it's not going to be pretty, I've heard stories of > 6 months but can't seem to find much on the internet in this regard.

best,
Gee, I somehow think the shop where you took the car would know best. Why ask online instead of that shop?
Perhaps because Tesla is not forthcoming with their repair facilities with regard to wait times for parts?

Perhaps the OP is looking for folks' similar experiences in order to arrive at a reasonable estimate of the lead time since such information is not forthcoming from neither Tesla nor the repair facility?
"Happiness Is Not My Companion" - Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren. | (Avatar is the statue of Gen. Warren atop Little Round Top @ Gettysburg National Military Park.)
Hillview
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by Hillview »

Tesla model 3, back door totaled/back door window also totaled. Time to get a tesla dealer service shop to REVIEW the damage was about 6 weeks. They sent us to a tesla certified collision shop, repair / replacement took about 4 weeks.
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

Consider getting an estimate from a non-Tesla certified body shop. I would even look for restoration shops. There are shops who will repair classic cars where there are literally no parts available anywhere. They will fix the existing parts without replacements. It will likely take more labor hours but there's no waiting around for parts. Sure, replacing doors is the easy way to fix bashed in doors. But those doors started life as flat sheet metal and craftsmen who do this every day can take your crashed doors and make them as good as new ones.

The problem, as I understand it is that Tesla won't sell parts to anyone. I would guess that they both won't cooperate with aftermarket companies and likely legally go after anyone who replicates their parts. So unlike literally any other car on the planet, you can't get an aftermarket part to fix the car. You have to have a certified body shop do the work because they're the only ones who can buy parts from Tesla.

Perhaps also consider simply getting a check from your insurance company and selling the car as is and buying a replacement.

Also, ask your insurance company if they will total the car because of a lack of parts in a reasonable time. I used to own a Lotus Elise which has a big front clam and rear clam that Lotus said must be replaced if damaged for safety reasons. Time to get one from the UK was 6 months and a lot of cars with any damage at all were totaled because the time to repair exceeded what the insurance company would accept. This would be the easiest path for you. A non-Tesla body shop can provide an estimate as there are used parts on the market including full bodies and parts like complete doors.
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Topic Author
gips
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by gips »

thanks for the data points. Adjuster is examining car at repair facility tomorrow and at that point, I'll have a better sense of where I stand. The repair facility said they stock a lot of parts and recently spare part ordering has improved. They claim they are the only tesla certified shop in nyc so perhaps they receive priority from tesla.

online reviews for shop are very positive, so I'm cautiously optimistic. I was in a tough spot with directing the tow truck to a facility and on the surface, looks like I got lucky but time will tell. They did say that tesla doesn't always provide parts in the estimated timeframe which can lead to delays.

stay tuned if interested in updates.

best,
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gips
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by gips »

$22k to repair two doors and a mirror, just wow! hope to hear from repair shop soon on eta.

my insurance has a $1k deductible and $20 per day rental
coverage. car was hit by a driver of a hertz rental, hoping they agree it was the other drivers fault and provide a rental until the tesla is fixed.
andypanda
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by andypanda »

"$22k to repair two doors and a mirror"

Is that a magic mirror and a door to another dimension?
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

Has to be some significant body damage. Then again, I'm used to dealing with easy-to-get-parts cars. Last car I did like this, I'll add a door to. So 2 doors complete plus 1 fender: $139 plus the time for my son (who was the one in the accident) and me to pull them from a car at the pull a part junkyard and to bolt them onto the car. I did no body or B pillar repairs, though. If I valued my time at $1000 per hour for each of us, that would be a total of $4,139. No painting needed as I simply find a car with the same paint code in good condition for those parts.
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BogleBoogie
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by BogleBoogie »

gips wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 4:16 am $22k to repair two doors and a mirror, just wow! hope to hear from repair shop soon on eta.

my insurance has a $1k deductible and $20 per day rental
coverage. car was hit by a driver of a hertz rental, hoping they agree it was the other drivers fault and provide a rental until the tesla is fixed.
Just be happy the accident didn't result in a vehicle fire. The time it takes to receive the parts is about the time it takes to extinguish a Tesla on fire (google it, pretty scary).
SimonJester
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by SimonJester »

gips wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 4:16 am $22k to repair two doors and a mirror, just wow! hope to hear from repair shop soon on eta.
This is one of the reasons car insurance is going up everywhere....
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
Normchad
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by Normchad »

SimonJester wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 3:59 pm
gips wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 4:16 am $22k to repair two doors and a mirror, just wow! hope to hear from repair shop soon on eta.
This is one of the reasons car insurance is going up everywhere....
That’s about what it cost to repair my Acura when I was in a similar accident.

It’s doors. It’s paint. It’s cameras. It’s airbags. It’s glass. It’s probably fenders. Etc. etc etc. and a ton of labor.
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by harrychan »

gips wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 4:16 am $22k to repair two doors and a mirror, just wow! hope to hear from repair shop soon on eta.

my insurance has a $1k deductible and $20 per day rental
coverage. car was hit by a driver of a hertz rental, hoping they agree it was the other drivers fault and provide a rental until the tesla is fixed.
Did you save the footage from one or multiple dashcams? This would be my first step to make sure you have evidence you were not at fault.
This is not legal or certified financial advice but you know that already.
av111
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by av111 »

gips wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 4:16 am $22k to repair two doors and a mirror, just wow! hope to hear from repair shop soon on eta.

my insurance has a $1k deductible and $20 per day rental
coverage. car was hit by a driver of a hertz rental, hoping they agree it was the other drivers fault and provide a rental until the tesla is fixed.
Working through this process right now. Other guy's suv rear ended us at moderate speed on memorial day. Broke tail lights, bumper cover and quarter panels. Shop refused to keep the car until parts arrive. All backordered to forever

Driving the rental provided by the other party's insurance AAA. They have us an Elantra as a rental and refused to up it to a reasonable full size car. Logic was that they match seats. So they will match 5 seat car with another 5 seat rental. Super annoying as we are used to self drive and other features. Getting used to the way car does not unlock when we walk up to it or turn off on its own and lock when you leave

Saw a leaf at another enterprise and exchanged for that. So much better driving experience

No eta on parts. Repair estimates are close to 15k

If they cannot improve the repair experience, I think company will not survive
AV111
DoubleComma
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by DoubleComma »

gips wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 4:16 am $22k to repair two doors and a mirror, just wow! hope to hear from repair shop soon on eta.

my insurance has a $1k deductible and $20 per day rental
coverage. car was hit by a driver of a hertz rental, hoping they agree it was the other drivers fault and provide a rental until the tesla is fixed.
The other day there was a thread about carrying the state minimum insurance limits, justified by how safe of a driver they were. This is exactly why the state limits (California 15k/30k/5k) are just woefully insignificant. Even the slightest accident with so many vehicles these days will eclipse those limits so quickly.

I certainly hope you are able to get your vehicle repaired quickly and that the drivers insurance will step up the rental car coverage beyond $20/day. At todays rental rates that won’t come close to covering an equivalent vehicle to what you drive.
Topic Author
gips
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by gips »

spoke to body shop today:
- replace two driver side doors
- mirror
- glass in driver's side door
- rocker panel on driver's side. the bulk of the labor is around this, they need to cut out the old one and I suppose weld in a new one. not sure how secure we'll feel about a car with this sort of structural repair. I'm sure this will significantly effect the resale value of the car.

eta: amazingly, 3 weeks, 4 out the outside. Lots of online reviews for this shop getting their estimates correct, so we'll see.

best,
av111
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by av111 »

gips wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 9:10 pm spoke to body shop today:
- replace two driver side doors
- mirror
- glass in driver's side door
- rocker panel on driver's side. the bulk of the labor is around this, they need to cut out the old one and I suppose weld in a new one. not sure how secure we'll feel about a car with this sort of structural repair. I'm sure this will significantly effect the resale value of the car.

eta: amazingly, 3 weeks, 4 out the outside. Lots of online reviews for this shop getting their estimates correct, so we'll see.

best,
Interested in your pursuit of diminished value claim. We are going to have to deal with something like that too when they cut off the quarter panel
AV111
Topic Author
gips
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by gips »

three weeks in, all parts have arrived and repairs have commenced. Hoping to pick car up over the next week or two...
RJC
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by RJC »

gips wrote: Sun Jul 24, 2022 7:55 pm three weeks in, all parts have arrived and repairs have commenced. Hoping to pick car up over the next week or two...
I have seen some Tesla repairs looking better than brand new (no gaps, paint matching, etc.). Good luck!
240U
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by 240U »

I don't know if this is useful but My wife and I were rear ended on Hwy 17 in California, just so you know where we live, and we used the app to contact and set an appointment while on the side of the freeway. The car was still very derivable and we had an appointment for the following Tuesday. I took it down there and the rear bumper cover needed fixing or replacing, my option. They said they could replace it fastest and it would match better. So new parts and replace. I picked it up the following Monday as good as new. Well sort of. The bumper was perfect, but when I got on the road I turned on the radio and no joy. So I turned around and they went through it and said it was either a loose connection or the radio module in the head liner. ??? after a 15-20 minute wait they said it looked like a module. So they ordered a new one and asked me to come back after the weekend. Mysteriously the radio started working again but the replaced the module anyway.

Took it in they said two days. They called back after two days and said that the module was in stock BUT the head liner needed to be replaced as well. So I had to wait another couple of days. They got it in and realized I had an older set of visors and to match the headliner they had to get new visors. So we waited another couple of days. Went in and it was all ready to go. I was happy. No additional charge for all of this. They explained it failed on their watch it was on them.

I got home and saw that the plastic cover over the base of the seat on the driver's side was broken. They determined that when the guy putting in the headliner sat on it he probably broke it. They had one in stock and replaced it for me while I waited. Again, no charge.

I guess the point of the story is many new parts and such but always good service and reasonably timed. It would have been nice to not have them break things but I can't complain, they fixed everything and had no problems getting parts. Tesla body shop. Not just certified but the shop bore the Tesla name. North San Jose.
Topic Author
gips
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by gips »

picking up car tomorrow, about six weeks from date of accident, pretty happy with time of repair, based on reviews, I'm guessing repair will be top notch.

best,
jarjarM
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by jarjarM »

gips wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 3:20 pm picking up car tomorrow, about six weeks from date of accident, pretty happy with time of repair, based on reviews, I'm guessing repair will be top notch.

best,
Thanks for the update, six weeks is much better than some of the horror stories shared online.
Normchad
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Re: tesla collision repair times?

Post by Normchad »

gips wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 3:20 pm picking up car tomorrow, about six weeks from date of accident, pretty happy with time of repair, based on reviews, I'm guessing repair will be top notch.

best,
That is terrific good news. From your original post, it sounds like the damage was pretty extensive. So six weeks seems in par with my experience getting an Accura repaired in a similar sounding accident.

As a fellow Tesla owner, I’m happy to hear this good news story.
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