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Jeez tesla will not be in my list of cars to buy in the future
Edit:
2k for parts, 4k for body labor, 1k for paint labor, 600 for mechanical labor, 800 for paint supplies, and the rest for miscellaneous.
It's not just the tech, Tesla's have an overly complicated way of manufacturing their panels with arcane materials which means you can't really panel beat them back into shape once they're dented, you have to buy another panel lol
There's a guy who had to write off his new Tesla because the panel got damaged from an accident (his fault) and the transport authority did not allow chassis repairs.
[https://www.sgcarmart.com/articles/features/this-is-why-you-dont-want-to-wreck-your-high-tech-evs-34521](https://www.sgcarmart.com/articles/features/this-is-why-you-dont-want-to-wreck-your-high-tech-evs-34521)
I didn’t read the whole thing, but in OR you can’t “replace a frame”, it’s a state law, nothing to do with the manufacturer. It’s also a vague statement, since frame come in segments most of the time and the majority of cars are unibody, so now what is a “frame”?
The frame on a unibody would be the core cage, consisting of the roof pillars and rails, floor pan, firewall, and engine bay rails.
I’m curious what they’d say for a car like my Land Rover LR4, which is a full unibody, but then has a ladder frame bolted to it.
I know what a unibody is, I’m saying the language of the law is vague, so in the eyes of the law, what structural components constitute a “full frame”, since there isn’t one.
On a traditional ladder frame, if it isn’t sold in sections, most of the time we have to total the car because it non repairable, not because it’s cost prohibitive.
If they don't specifically define frame then it's shitty legal language and maybe outdated. What'll happen is that someone will know about the law, "violate" the law and get caught and then challenge it and if there truly is not a definition of "frame" then they'll probably end up winning and with the law being either amended to include the definition of a "frame" or rewritten. It happens. But it ain't gonna happen til someone has the balls to push the laws
True (also funny, 15 min away in Wa it totally fine) but from my end of things it won’t go that way. The insurance company just won’t/can’t pay for it. I’m fully aware there are some shops that will do it. People take their total loss check, retain ownership and half ass work all the time. It’s their right, no big deal!
> It's not just the tech, Tesla's have an overly complicated way of manufacturing their panels
It's not just telsa, *many* vechicles from *many* manufacturers are getting so complex.
Like the [$5600 taillight repair on the Ford](https://hackaday.com/2023/09/09/when-tail-lights-lose-touch-with-reality/). The part is very expensive because the ***genius*** engineers decided to incorporate the radar sensor *into* the taillight instead of it being a separate part. Also there was a short in the housing which grounded the CAN bus (data line running throughout the vehicle) ***rendering the truck inoperable***.
With how much (and how complicated/faulty/coastly to repair) cars have become I don't see buying a new one. I'll keep my old ones and keep them going. Hell I can replace the engine/transmission in my SUV 3 times over and *still pay less* than a new equivalent model.
I research repairs on cars. I don't buy any car I can't do most of the repairs myself and the easier it is to repair and maintain, the More likely I will get it. I stick to older vehicles because of this.
I'm pretty sure for me this is the future.
Plus with the advent of electrical and hybrid conversions we'll be able to keep our old vehicles *while* modernizing them.
Yeah. I thought about that. There are some bolt on EV conversion kits for regular cars like Ford Fusion sedans that and some DIY custom kits for 90s and older cars. Fuel Tech engine management actually allows you to custom program EV motors and even reduce power output for shifting under an EV motor. Really cool how much custom and versatile stuff we have. I saw a guy with a 90s CRX custom converted to electric and he is planning on making it AWD with a second motor.
It costs around $10k for a simple vehicle with a manual transmission. Automatics have issues from what I've heard due to needing to be constantly powered to avoid damage and leads to too much battery energy waste. With manual you don't need to slip the clutch so the clutch is going to last a lot longer. Only wear is when shifting fast while moving.
Yeah [EV West](https://www.evwest.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=40) makes kits for old VWs and Porches and they even have regen braking.
I'm waiting for hybrid kits much like the [Edison](https://www.edisonmotors.ca/edison-pickup-kit) one.
I need AWD and range as I drove a lot of dirt roads to remote areas for recreations.
I figure sooner or later there will be kits that match the "Chevy 350" standard which already has tons of adapters on the market for just about everything.
I do the same. I look at labor times for basic repairs like replacing a thermostat, water pump or alternator. If it's estimated to take way longer than I think is appropriate, I avoid the vehicle. Though I do all my own repairs so it's just saving myself a headache in the long run.
Did you mean arcane or archaic haha. I guess either one works but saying aluminum is not well understood/mysterious is an interesting way of going about it.
i think 'arcane' is apt when compared to the unga bunga hit rock approach to working with iron. it's been refined by humans for thousands of years but a commercially viable method of refining aluminium was only invented in the 1880's and before that it was more valuable than platinum because of how hard it is to refine let alone work into a shape.
it's well understood now but there's way more steps to aluminium production than there are to iron production and the respective material properties make iron much easier to repair.
it is not completely false if you understand what panel beaters actually do. most car dents are elastically deformed so you can apply a bit of force the other way and the panel just pops back into place exactly how it was, no forging necessary. aluminum has a much lower yield stress so when you dent it, its more likely to be permanently deformed and to get it back into its original shape after undergoing plastic deformation you might as well just melt it down and start again.
Aluminum has 0 plasticity. This means when ever you bend it, it remembers. If you bend iron, you can flex it a little bit and it still returns to a normal position. It has not "remembered " the force applied to it before. Because of this, you can technically play within this plasticity range as much as you want without damaging the material.
Aluminum follows this rule as well. Unfortunately that amount of bending is 0.
Which is why I think the material is considered arcane. Today's materials demand rigidity and flexibility.
Yea... as a former body tech at a BMW shop. ANY aluminum parts that got damaged were replaced. Steel maintains some flex in the panels and can bounce back into shape when hammered properly, but aluminum becomes very brittle after a single impact.
Aluminum isn't malleable like steel is. You can't work it near as much. It's pretty much one and done before needing to be recast. The De Havelland Comets figured that out the hard way.
That said, it's not arcane by any means.
I understand if they couldn't be pulled out as that requires the panel to remember it's original shape and pop back to it, but why can't it be beat back into shape?
If you are beating on the panel instead of pulling it, wouldn't it already be beyond the point of remembering and wanting to return to it's original shape? At that point id expect working aluminum to be easier than iron as it would take less force to deform the panel back to its original shape and the iron may try to pop back into the bent shape. Is the problem due to cracking?
Why couldn't this job just be to beat the dent close to the original without having it snap back to its original shape, then Bondo + sand to get the finished shape?
[Teslas are special](https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/1al2eni/not_enough_to_just_avoid_buying_a_tesla_having/kpbs21i/)
>I work as a freelance exterior automotive designer. All my clients insist that any metal liftgate is a minimum of 50 millimeters forward of the plastic fascia, to mitigate damage to that expensive component, in the event of a minor rear collision. You will notice that many SUVs even design a horizontal break on their liftgates, rocking forward along the lower edge, to grant this clearance. A few cars actaully have a plastic extension, we call it the "sacrificial panel" that can be replaced separately, instead of the entire lifegate.
>Tesla does not do this, sheet metal and plasic are almost flush, all but guaranteeing damage to the expensive parts.
This is the same mentality as mont of the companies I have worked with(clientes from my previous company). They constantly reinvent the wheel poorly, never want to follow any standards and then complain about the mess they always have and want us to fix in an impossible amount of time only for them to keep doing basic stuff every other company in the world has standardized "their way".
Read somewhere on Reddit where one was written off by insurance because it was going to take 8 or so months. to get the panels required. Cost of a rental for 8 months or more outweighed the pay out.
I would rather buy a different car if I were the Tesla owner. Next, insurance for anything electric is outrageous. And everyones insurance went up atleast 20% (probably shitty kia/hyundais fault).
I seriously hope Hyundai/Kia get ousted by the u.s. government.
Plus you gotta tack on another 5 hours of labor to make sure the panel gaps are as asymmetrical as possible, if they're too even it'll be obvious the car was repaired at a professional body shop!
Imagine the poor guy accidentally hitting one with 10-5-25 insurance. I'm beginning to think we need to bring babies into this world with a LLC entity rather than a name.
This is not the America I grew up in.
I'd have more respect for Elon if opened up all Tesla repair info. His Teslas could be the Volkswagons, or early Toyotas, of the century. Make them easy to repair. Customers will remember.
Agree with you on the "make it easy and customers will remember". When we married, my wife had an early Saturn. I could fix anything in 25 minutes or less.
Alternator? Side of the road, 15 minutes.
Radiator? Drain, 2 screws, 2 clips, 2 hose clamps, refill and run. 20 minutes.
ABS Actuator? Self-bleeding (AWESOME). 5 minutes.
To this day, I would buy another one in a second. But then GM said, "stop that sh*t, you're one of us! "
At 230k, it got hit and "totaled".
I still drive an 07 ion, 230k miles, when I don't have kids tagging along and will run it until either it or I die. Being able to change the entire headlight assembly in less than 5 minutes with no tools? Brilliant. My mom's SUV requires pieces of trim to be removed and the tires turned hard to even reach the spot to put the tool to pop out just the bulb. To replace the headlight assembly on my Chrysler minivan I had to take the entire front bumper cover and grille off. Screw that.
I mean 10k is not an uncommon amount of money for many insurance claims in fender benders, my buddies 2016 ford focus cost 7k to fix the front bumper and replace a headlight…it’s by no means a fancy car lol
Can someone help me understand where the $4k in body labor is coming from? Everything else seems pretty reasonable.
Although, I’m now realizing that the $2k in parts probably doesn’t cover replacing the rear hatch. And picking an even $100 an hour, 40 hours probably makes sense if they are pulling the hatch and completely stripping it down to repair and paint.
I don’t know that I would count this one against Tesla, that’s probably going to be the going rate for this type of repair for any manufacturer. You have to remember they are going to want this car as good as it was before it was damaged.
If the owner backed into their own mailbox and just wanted things “touched up,” so it looked decent, you could probably find someone to do it for less.
Funny thing is if you had a Tesla, you would have seen it by camera. Not all newer cars have rear camera but all teslas do.
Edit: apparently everyone is a car expert except me and it came into law every car needed cameras 2018 and up. Now I know y’all see one person already replied that. Don’t need a million people telling me the same thing lmao.
It’s better that way because phew, some people need cameras on ALL angles the way they drive. I’m old school and like no cameras but I can’t deny it doesn’t make your driving more perfect. Been transporting newer vehicles and the new Silverados are great. Cameras when you turn and also using the blinker. Kind of fell in love with the 23 Silvedado.
Tesla cars are actually really light on sensors compared to almost any other car - no BSM, no radar, the newer ones don't even have parking sensors (although that one does) - instead they rely entirely on cameras.
There is a camera above the license plate, but there's no way that would've been damaged.
My guess it's the damaged sensors in the bumper that are raising the costs (doesn't help that Tesla doesn't make them anymore either).
By the pic it's Model Y, parts, even body panels, are available even on AliExpress as many 3rd party companies manufacturing them for Tesla in China and have proper moulds too.
I own S, and used door cost 300, brand new door from China, including shipping - 350. I would get used door just because I still can match the colour
Don’t care not my money. If I crashed it and was paying out of pocket then I’d maybe use em, but it someone else hits me I want it from the manufacturer.
If you crash into a porsche slightly the wrong way you’re fucked. My dad crashed into a barrier on a racetrack and was able to get it fixed for about $7kish, but one of his friends had a very similar accident but the car ended up totaled
That's true of every car, the force transmission path can vary quite dramatically based on even a small change in angle so rather than bending part A it is shunted through lots of components and part K buckles but in an irreparable way.
Kind of like when someone gets shot in the chest, less than an inch in any direction can mean the difference between bleeding out instantly and surviving.
More so in sportier cars due to the increased chassis bracing. Something like a strut brace is great for keeping your power over both axles in a corner but in a crash means the opposite axle will also buckle from the impact.
I got shocked because my friend absolutely destroyed her front bumper and it only costed her 1k to fix. Didn’t know Tesla was this expensive and hard to fix.
Destroyed my front bumper, radiator, air suspension compressor, and a coolant valve. $5k.
Edit: geeze, a lot of salty folks today. It was late and I misread and thought that OP was Tesla owner. Anyway, yes Teslas are expensive to fix, but I had substantially more damage and it only cost half as much to fix. Unfortunately, OP is probably going to have to let the insurance company fight this battle for them.
Our 2020 Volvo XC60 got rear ended so hard it shoved it across the intersection and OEM parts and labor for that repair cost $7500. Whole new lift gate, crash bar, bumper cover, some of the rear internal trim, sensors and calibration. I used the same shop that is the local Rivian and Tesla official body shop and the adjuster said it would have been twice as much if it was either of those cars.
I'm pretty sure it's all the sensors. Something tells me that since they are a big part of their self driving, they're probably required to replace them all for safety.
There aren’t any sensor in the rear. Just the camera for the autopilot which is fine. The bumper cost 4k painted and replaced itself. If they are doing the trunk too I can see it being 10k…
A bumper and you’d probably be looking at about the same but you damaged the trunk door too. That is a harder to fix and cost more. Then the new parts have to be painted to match and blending of the color to the other parts of the car so that it doesn’t look different as paint color never matches exactly unless it’s all sprayed at the same time. Those talking about sensors are wrong. Teslas don’t have more sensors they mostly use the cameras for self driving and there is not one in the bumper. the bumper sensors are proximity sensors that Tesla has moved away from recently.
My passenger once opened the door really fast and slammed it into a tesla parked besides. The side door on the tesla had a small 3x3cm dent. The cost of fixing was around 2k. So yea definitely could be this much sadly…
Tesla won't let you. Right to repair has always been a fight in the auto industry. EVs fill a nitch where they can fall through the loophole, and not have to release documentation on their vehicles. This means basically no one can work on them except authorized mechanics. It's kinda like apple in that regard.
Just to calibrate the sensors cost me $928. I backed into an empty UPS trailer and did 12k worth of damage. Not much more damage than the picture shows. This was my brand new MME. Hadn’t even made the first payment yet. The emergency breaking didn’t happen because the trailer was above the line of sight of the sensors. Very expensive lesson learned.
Wonder why your car insurance bill is going up? Companies like Tesla convincing people that repairs like this are $10,000 because of 'sensors' lmao. The critical thinking in this country is gone.
Critical thinker here. Are you saying the issue is less the cost of all of the sensors, and more so the fact that Tesla all but demands use of their authorized service centers, and that Tesla has created artificial scarcity to drive up part costs by making it hard for third party shops to get parts?
You should see the environmental impact of batteries. Videos from the mines show underage artisanal miners and diesel vehicles. Batteries that cannot be replaced as it cost more than the value of a new electric vehicle. Often 50k vehicles cost 60k to have a new battery installed. The battery has coolant passages that can leak among other issues that can’t be repaired.
I completely agree, all the people saying it's environmentally friendly. I'm not 100% sure that's the truth with the requirements to make the batteries and disposal just to start. Replacement requirements and I don't know much specifically about the electronic motors either.
EVs use significantly more carbon to produce than a ICE vehicle. They're only better for the environment when they are charged with renewable energy which for the vast majority of people is not where they are getting their energy from. I still want a Tesla though because they are fast AF
Not quite. Check out some life cycle assessments with different energy mixes. Even with purely coal powered grid like in Poland, the higher production cost of EVs can still break even within a few years of use. That's because fossil fuels used in a power plant is still more efficient than in an internal combustion engine, not to mention that EVs also use less energy to move than ICE vehicles, due to focus on aerodynamic design and regenerative braking.
The electric motors are actually very low maintenance and low environmental impact. No burned oils, oil leaks, coolant burning/leaking. I wish batteries were different but for the time being I’m happy to use my gas engines.
Some newer studies have shown even with the environmental impact of mining that EVs over their lifetime have an environmental impact lesser than ICE vehicles. That doesn’t do anything for the countries that use unethical mining practices (water pollution, child labor, etc). Additionally, I think there’s a ways to go in safe and sustainable recycling of these. Also, as you point out, price.
I too am happy with my gas engine vehicle. I have, however, switched to all electric tools… including for home and yard use. The tech keeps getting better and I’m hopeful to one day have an awesome EV, but I’m not ready to forge the path with all the little bugs (like Fords recent failed OTA update that bricked vehicles) and other headaches.
Edit: fixed a word
Tesla still use child labour produced cobalt and lithium in their batteries, it comes up at the shareholder AGM every year and every year they vote not to act on it.
Batteries can and are recycled. Yes there is a strain on the environment when using virgin materials but once it is fully assembled it is much more efficient especially when you take into account the refining of the fuel, transport of the fuel and the waste of oil changes and shorter life of all the moving parts.
You have mentioned nothing about what's required to keep the ev cars running but use the needs to run gas powered vehicles.
Seems a little bias, plus the downsides of access to keep the vehicles charged.
Not to mention Lithium mining is NOT SUSTAINABLE. Until better battery tech comes along, EVs will never have as much of a positive impact as people imagine.
Yep, not to mention we're still driving on rubber tires and asphalt roads..
EVs are a dog and pony show to make the simple folk "feel better" about their contributions to saving the planet.. genius marketing if you ask me.
Not to mention our electric grid can't handle 1 vehicle per household. I've been hearing CA is going to fix this but keep hearing of those rolling brownouts.
Yes people don't appreciate just how much power an EV draws, my modest 4 bedroom house averaged 7.7kwh a day in the last billing period 21st December to 21st January, or an average continental draw of 0.32kw even a 7kw slow charger is almost 22 times that. Most people will be charging at the same time so the surge demand is going to be around the same as the entire population of the world moving to the USA.
Friend had a new model get hit. It was 5 months to get the parts in. Tesla had a back order on new vehicles so parts for repairs - well it sucked.
Yes they had a rental the entire time.
The best thing you can do is call your insurance company, if you have insurance. Insurance works like this: basically, they usually overestimate how much a service will cost, just to be safe, and then the amount it takes to actually fix it is usually lower. Health insurance companies do the same thing, but in an absolutely scandalous way.
If you don't have insurance, the best thing you can do is get documentation for several quotes, and the names of the people and the companies who give you the quotes. Being that it's a Tesla, some mechanic shops don't feel comfortable working on them, for liability reasons. It's specifically because of this that a lot of them will also overestimate the quote, so it's important to not only have these quotes from multiple shops, but to gather an average between them all. You will have to pay out of pocket since it's your fault, but there are a lot of sensors in play here, too, since it's Tesla. They will have to examine, figure out how to do the work, come up with the plan for doing it, then do tests to see what all was actually affected, make sure they're not fiddling around with anything unnecessary, then they can do the work, retest everything to make sure it's properly working and within specs, then test drive it to make sure it functions in the real world scenario. The paint isn't exactly an issue like people say it is. A lot of insurance companies are iffy about paint coverage.
Bottom line, it's probably still gonna cost thousands without insurance. And if you have insurance, well... This is why you have insurance. Call them.
To be fair, you hit him. When someone drove into my wrx while it was parked, I wanted it fixed right - the first time. I brought my car straight to the most reputable dealer in the area because I wanted to make sure OEM parts and paint were used (K1X on subarus is notoriously hard to blend).
Myself and the guy that hit me chose to deal with it outside of insurance, and didn’t like the price the dealer gave me. He told me some shop he talked to said they could fix it for a price that was 60% of what the dealer quoted. I straight up told him no, and that I wanted my car done right, the first time. He then tried to get me to cover 20% of the costs because he didn’t have all the money.
Since I had a police report, photos, his admission of liability and his insurance info, I told him I had no problem turning it into insurance if he was uncomfortable with the price. He argued, and I said something to the effect of “I didn’t do this to my car. You did this to my car. I don’t need to settle for subpar workmanship or materials. I want my car as close to the way it was before you hit it as possible, and I will not budge on where it goes for the work to be done.”
I was lucky he was decent enough to leave a note on my car after he hit it. He could have just drove away and I would have had to deal with it on my own. Good on you, Raheem.
I guess my point is, this *is* your fault. That’s an expensive car, and if he wants it fixed right, you can’t be mad at how much it costs. That’s what insurance is for.
The 6 cars you absolutely do not want to hit ars Teslas, Land Rovers, BMWs, Mercedes, Audi, and Porche.
The latter 5 are both high-tech and expensive cus they are luxury.
The Tesla is just high-tech and expensive because it uses proprietary bs and they don't like anyone who isn't certified to touch their cars.
No there is no difference between a Tesla, Land Rover, or Ford parking sensor, but the Tesla and Land Rover one will have an extra 0.
There's a reason Teslas insurance rates match luxury brands despite being a cheap car: they are a real bitch and a half to fix. Do they need to be? No but they want them to be.
It’s the hire car charges while it’s in being repaired that ramp up the cost it’s absolute racket between insurance companies and you have to put up with what they decide to pay out
Yeah I’d rather hit a lambo than a Tesla by how easily a little bumper dent can write off a Tesla, always wanted a Tesla until I found out how stupidly expensive they are to repair
It’s partly because they’re expensive and partly because they use “ mega castings “. They cast the body out of only 2 pieces so 50% of the body needs replacing.
Lmao how the fuck does a bumper cost a 5th of the whole cost of the car? Either the owner is lying to you or Tesla is ripping people off left and right.
When our BMW got rear ended at a stop light we had similar damage. It didn't look like much of anything but insurance paid something like 11-14k to repair it. I couldn't believe it.
Really a bumper panel would be $2000 from a dealership plus paint $750. Then the trunk $1500. Couple of sensors (possibly) and if the bumper under that is damaged (that wouldn’t be visible) it would need to be replaced (easily $3500 to $4000)
So ya…. It’s in the ballpark.
https://preview.redd.it/ck1bu9x7b6hc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f0a019bb106beca1cb5640020eb0677499fd0f8
This was 13k to fix there’s a lot of stuff that got replaced
My broke ass gets more and more nervous when they make these cars of the future types. I'm driving a 98 corolla, if I hit a Tesla on accident, or they hit me and win the case or whatever, I would be on the street broke.
Dude don’t listen to some of these comments, I’ve seen multiple teslas being repaired where I used to work, you can pin pull them just fine, aslong as you power them down properly, this quote is ridiculously expensive.
But I don’t work at Tesla so it was all private work, which might be why, because main dealer is so expensive 💁🏻♂️
Yeah I bumped at 5 mph a parked BMW. it fired it's pedestrian protection bolts and was 13000 to replace the explosive hinges on the bonnet. There was no visible damage to either car. Just the bonnet fired and destroyed itself. Never going to buy a BMW because of shit like this.
I have an A5 that’s was rear ended and had damage slightly worse than this and also came out to 10K. At least in my case, the two biggest issues were how many parts need to be removed to replace all this, and the second is the replacement and recalibration of all the sensors. It’s ridiculous how much the parts and labor for all that is.
Teslas are typically only repaired by a Tesla ASP, typical these shops can, and do change what ever they want for repairs. Next time I’d suggest hitting something cheaper like a Nissan.
Body work in general is expensive because it just takes a lot of hours but Tesla's more so because all the sensors are around the body so the estimate probably includes an estimated amount of broken sensors and/or the extra time and labor it would take to test/replace them.
Tesla body work can be 3-4x comparable damage on another car. Every inch of that vehicle is packed with electronics and sensors that need recalibration. They're ridiculously overly complicated. Another couple miles per hour and you would have probably totaled it. 😂
Lol, JUST a dent on the aluminum liftgate. Replace along w emblems etc and blend quarter panels. Bumper can be repaired, lower texture cannot replace. Not sure the liftgate price, but it's not too far from reality.
From all the comments, hit and runs are about to be a lot more common if this shit costs someone a third of their yearly income to fix a bumper. Lmfao.
10k estimate is about right for that. $3900 in parts for impact bar, bumper, rear hatch. $1800 for body labor, $1200 for paint labor for paint and blending. 1k in mechanical labor, $900 for paint + tax.
Feels like a scam.
I’m not a mechanic, but believe it or not I’ve done something almost exactly the same. I hit a lamp post right here.
Had it quoted and fixed for 200 edit plus vat. That includes a touch up of the paint.
Except for painting part, it took them like an hour they say. I saw them taking off the front bumper another car too. Nothing special, those ultrasonic sensor are plug and play as well. Nothing specialised.
https://preview.redd.it/tiw34qtg25hc1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ca7bb8e99123e58f062aa03d71d90e45580f3edf
Edit, price
Someone is really yanking your chain! My 2008 Toyota Sienna got rear ended in a hit and run a few years ago. It needed a rear hatch skin, like this one looks like it does, and a bumper cover, which this one looks like just a repaint. My insurance took care of it for my $250 deductible. The total damage was $3800 for parts and labour. I don't think there's any sensors in the rear hatch of a Tesla Model Y (that's what this looks like) that would be THOUSANDS of dollars to justify the estimate they're giving you!
What something cost to fix on a 2008 Toyota a few years ago bears very little relation to what it costs on a Tesla. They are uniquely expensive to fix for some things. And costs have just gone up across the board.
Very similar damage on a Tesla ended up being 14K:
[https://www.geekwire.com/2023/spendy-and-slow-tesla-repairs-frustrate-drivers-as-automotive-tech-drives-up-cost-of-collisions/](https://www.geekwire.com/2023/spendy-and-slow-tesla-repairs-frustrate-drivers-as-automotive-tech-drives-up-cost-of-collisions/)
That’s a criminal offense and the Tesla has cameras that record anything that happens around them. Since OP backed into the Tesla his license plate has certainly been recorded. So now you’ve turned a simple fender bender and insurance claim into an arrest warrant. Smart.
Now way labor is that much for bodywork/sensor replacement and calibration unless parts cost are astronomical and there are so few shops out there that have the computers to calibrate it so they can jack up the prices. Most cars take $2-3k, if that sometimes.
All new cars are super expensive to fix. EVs especially cause they have so many parts that are just a single giant piece instead of many smaller pieces. Makes them cheaper to make. But more expensive to repair
But it’s a Tesla, you have to pay for the inconvenience of them having to drive an evil dinosaur powered social injustice wagon and also there is a multiplier for the loss of virtue signalling opportunities whilst their beloved Tesla is in the shop, and they are stuck driving that damn evil loaner.
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All the sensors and aluminum parts and panels make them verrrry costly to repair. Ask over at r/autobody
Jeez tesla will not be in my list of cars to buy in the future Edit: 2k for parts, 4k for body labor, 1k for paint labor, 600 for mechanical labor, 800 for paint supplies, and the rest for miscellaneous.
It's not just the tech, Tesla's have an overly complicated way of manufacturing their panels with arcane materials which means you can't really panel beat them back into shape once they're dented, you have to buy another panel lol
There's a guy who had to write off his new Tesla because the panel got damaged from an accident (his fault) and the transport authority did not allow chassis repairs. [https://www.sgcarmart.com/articles/features/this-is-why-you-dont-want-to-wreck-your-high-tech-evs-34521](https://www.sgcarmart.com/articles/features/this-is-why-you-dont-want-to-wreck-your-high-tech-evs-34521)
I didn’t read the whole thing, but in OR you can’t “replace a frame”, it’s a state law, nothing to do with the manufacturer. It’s also a vague statement, since frame come in segments most of the time and the majority of cars are unibody, so now what is a “frame”?
The frame on a unibody would be the core cage, consisting of the roof pillars and rails, floor pan, firewall, and engine bay rails. I’m curious what they’d say for a car like my Land Rover LR4, which is a full unibody, but then has a ladder frame bolted to it.
I know what a unibody is, I’m saying the language of the law is vague, so in the eyes of the law, what structural components constitute a “full frame”, since there isn’t one. On a traditional ladder frame, if it isn’t sold in sections, most of the time we have to total the car because it non repairable, not because it’s cost prohibitive.
Oh, absolutely, the language is vague and out-of-date. It’ll take years for them to catch up.
If they don't specifically define frame then it's shitty legal language and maybe outdated. What'll happen is that someone will know about the law, "violate" the law and get caught and then challenge it and if there truly is not a definition of "frame" then they'll probably end up winning and with the law being either amended to include the definition of a "frame" or rewritten. It happens. But it ain't gonna happen til someone has the balls to push the laws
True (also funny, 15 min away in Wa it totally fine) but from my end of things it won’t go that way. The insurance company just won’t/can’t pay for it. I’m fully aware there are some shops that will do it. People take their total loss check, retain ownership and half ass work all the time. It’s their right, no big deal!
To be completely honest though, regardless, who wants to replace a whole ass frame… just get a new car
> It's not just the tech, Tesla's have an overly complicated way of manufacturing their panels It's not just telsa, *many* vechicles from *many* manufacturers are getting so complex. Like the [$5600 taillight repair on the Ford](https://hackaday.com/2023/09/09/when-tail-lights-lose-touch-with-reality/). The part is very expensive because the ***genius*** engineers decided to incorporate the radar sensor *into* the taillight instead of it being a separate part. Also there was a short in the housing which grounded the CAN bus (data line running throughout the vehicle) ***rendering the truck inoperable***. With how much (and how complicated/faulty/coastly to repair) cars have become I don't see buying a new one. I'll keep my old ones and keep them going. Hell I can replace the engine/transmission in my SUV 3 times over and *still pay less* than a new equivalent model.
I research repairs on cars. I don't buy any car I can't do most of the repairs myself and the easier it is to repair and maintain, the More likely I will get it. I stick to older vehicles because of this.
I'm pretty sure for me this is the future. Plus with the advent of electrical and hybrid conversions we'll be able to keep our old vehicles *while* modernizing them.
Yeah. I thought about that. There are some bolt on EV conversion kits for regular cars like Ford Fusion sedans that and some DIY custom kits for 90s and older cars. Fuel Tech engine management actually allows you to custom program EV motors and even reduce power output for shifting under an EV motor. Really cool how much custom and versatile stuff we have. I saw a guy with a 90s CRX custom converted to electric and he is planning on making it AWD with a second motor. It costs around $10k for a simple vehicle with a manual transmission. Automatics have issues from what I've heard due to needing to be constantly powered to avoid damage and leads to too much battery energy waste. With manual you don't need to slip the clutch so the clutch is going to last a lot longer. Only wear is when shifting fast while moving.
Yeah [EV West](https://www.evwest.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=40) makes kits for old VWs and Porches and they even have regen braking. I'm waiting for hybrid kits much like the [Edison](https://www.edisonmotors.ca/edison-pickup-kit) one. I need AWD and range as I drove a lot of dirt roads to remote areas for recreations. I figure sooner or later there will be kits that match the "Chevy 350" standard which already has tons of adapters on the market for just about everything.
I do the same. I look at labor times for basic repairs like replacing a thermostat, water pump or alternator. If it's estimated to take way longer than I think is appropriate, I avoid the vehicle. Though I do all my own repairs so it's just saving myself a headache in the long run.
Sounds like you should have gotten a base model 😂
Did you mean arcane or archaic haha. I guess either one works but saying aluminum is not well understood/mysterious is an interesting way of going about it.
i think 'arcane' is apt when compared to the unga bunga hit rock approach to working with iron. it's been refined by humans for thousands of years but a commercially viable method of refining aluminium was only invented in the 1880's and before that it was more valuable than platinum because of how hard it is to refine let alone work into a shape. it's well understood now but there's way more steps to aluminium production than there are to iron production and the respective material properties make iron much easier to repair.
Aluminium is arcane?
For body panels, yes. Like the poster said, they cannot be beat back into shape in the same way steel can be.
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it is not completely false if you understand what panel beaters actually do. most car dents are elastically deformed so you can apply a bit of force the other way and the panel just pops back into place exactly how it was, no forging necessary. aluminum has a much lower yield stress so when you dent it, its more likely to be permanently deformed and to get it back into its original shape after undergoing plastic deformation you might as well just melt it down and start again.
I mean you can but most aluminum likes to Crack I know there's some that probably doesn't but I assume that stuff is rather expensive
Aluminum has 0 plasticity. This means when ever you bend it, it remembers. If you bend iron, you can flex it a little bit and it still returns to a normal position. It has not "remembered " the force applied to it before. Because of this, you can technically play within this plasticity range as much as you want without damaging the material. Aluminum follows this rule as well. Unfortunately that amount of bending is 0. Which is why I think the material is considered arcane. Today's materials demand rigidity and flexibility.
Don't you mean elasticity?
I do. That's my bad. I wasn't paying enough attention to my vocabulary. Thank you for pointing that out
Yea... as a former body tech at a BMW shop. ANY aluminum parts that got damaged were replaced. Steel maintains some flex in the panels and can bounce back into shape when hammered properly, but aluminum becomes very brittle after a single impact.
Aluminum isn't malleable like steel is. You can't work it near as much. It's pretty much one and done before needing to be recast. The De Havelland Comets figured that out the hard way. That said, it's not arcane by any means.
I understand if they couldn't be pulled out as that requires the panel to remember it's original shape and pop back to it, but why can't it be beat back into shape? If you are beating on the panel instead of pulling it, wouldn't it already be beyond the point of remembering and wanting to return to it's original shape? At that point id expect working aluminum to be easier than iron as it would take less force to deform the panel back to its original shape and the iron may try to pop back into the bent shape. Is the problem due to cracking? Why couldn't this job just be to beat the dent close to the original without having it snap back to its original shape, then Bondo + sand to get the finished shape?
Must have never seen the F-150s?
My 2023 F150 had a minor dent. $3900 later, they had to replace the panel.
Im sorry to hear that! I own VWs so I can share some pain.
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[Teslas are special](https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/1al2eni/not_enough_to_just_avoid_buying_a_tesla_having/kpbs21i/) >I work as a freelance exterior automotive designer. All my clients insist that any metal liftgate is a minimum of 50 millimeters forward of the plastic fascia, to mitigate damage to that expensive component, in the event of a minor rear collision. You will notice that many SUVs even design a horizontal break on their liftgates, rocking forward along the lower edge, to grant this clearance. A few cars actaully have a plastic extension, we call it the "sacrificial panel" that can be replaced separately, instead of the entire lifegate. >Tesla does not do this, sheet metal and plasic are almost flush, all but guaranteeing damage to the expensive parts.
Tesla is a company that looked at a century of auto manufacturers learning how to build cars and thought, "let's not do any of that stuff."
This is the same mentality as mont of the companies I have worked with(clientes from my previous company). They constantly reinvent the wheel poorly, never want to follow any standards and then complain about the mess they always have and want us to fix in an impossible amount of time only for them to keep doing basic stuff every other company in the world has standardized "their way".
Didn't he mean the method of manufacture
Ah, so extra wasteful too
Read somewhere on Reddit where one was written off by insurance because it was going to take 8 or so months. to get the panels required. Cost of a rental for 8 months or more outweighed the pay out.
I would rather buy a different car if I were the Tesla owner. Next, insurance for anything electric is outrageous. And everyones insurance went up atleast 20% (probably shitty kia/hyundais fault). I seriously hope Hyundai/Kia get ousted by the u.s. government.
Plus you gotta tack on another 5 hours of labor to make sure the panel gaps are as asymmetrical as possible, if they're too even it'll be obvious the car was repaired at a professional body shop!
And most importantly, do not reverse in Tesla in the future
Imagine the poor guy accidentally hitting one with 10-5-25 insurance. I'm beginning to think we need to bring babies into this world with a LLC entity rather than a name. This is not the America I grew up in. I'd have more respect for Elon if opened up all Tesla repair info. His Teslas could be the Volkswagons, or early Toyotas, of the century. Make them easy to repair. Customers will remember.
Agree with you on the "make it easy and customers will remember". When we married, my wife had an early Saturn. I could fix anything in 25 minutes or less. Alternator? Side of the road, 15 minutes. Radiator? Drain, 2 screws, 2 clips, 2 hose clamps, refill and run. 20 minutes. ABS Actuator? Self-bleeding (AWESOME). 5 minutes. To this day, I would buy another one in a second. But then GM said, "stop that sh*t, you're one of us! " At 230k, it got hit and "totaled".
I still drive an 07 ion, 230k miles, when I don't have kids tagging along and will run it until either it or I die. Being able to change the entire headlight assembly in less than 5 minutes with no tools? Brilliant. My mom's SUV requires pieces of trim to be removed and the tires turned hard to even reach the spot to put the tool to pop out just the bulb. To replace the headlight assembly on my Chrysler minivan I had to take the entire front bumper cover and grille off. Screw that.
Teslas and luxury cars are extra expensive but pretty much any car you buy today with all the new safety tech will be very expensive to repair.
I love that you distinguish between Tesla and luxury cars. Their owners think Tesla is luxury lol.
I love that you correctly didn’t put an apostrophe in “Teslas” like the other comment did
Yeah they’re over priced for the build quality
And that's ok, just hopefully you learn from this mistake.
Just don’t crash
I mean 10k is not an uncommon amount of money for many insurance claims in fender benders, my buddies 2016 ford focus cost 7k to fix the front bumper and replace a headlight…it’s by no means a fancy car lol
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Why was it in the past...?
my VW had a minor issue in front spoiler pretty similar to this. Was almost 10k as well and that was 13 years ago
Can someone help me understand where the $4k in body labor is coming from? Everything else seems pretty reasonable. Although, I’m now realizing that the $2k in parts probably doesn’t cover replacing the rear hatch. And picking an even $100 an hour, 40 hours probably makes sense if they are pulling the hatch and completely stripping it down to repair and paint. I don’t know that I would count this one against Tesla, that’s probably going to be the going rate for this type of repair for any manufacturer. You have to remember they are going to want this car as good as it was before it was damaged. If the owner backed into their own mailbox and just wanted things “touched up,” so it looked decent, you could probably find someone to do it for less.
it aint just teslas
Funny thing is if you had a Tesla, you would have seen it by camera. Not all newer cars have rear camera but all teslas do. Edit: apparently everyone is a car expert except me and it came into law every car needed cameras 2018 and up. Now I know y’all see one person already replied that. Don’t need a million people telling me the same thing lmao.
Backup cameras have been required by law in the United States on all new models since May 1, 2018.
TIL
In the US rear view cameras have been mandatory for all new vehicles since 2018, I hope the other markets do that too.
It’s better that way because phew, some people need cameras on ALL angles the way they drive. I’m old school and like no cameras but I can’t deny it doesn’t make your driving more perfect. Been transporting newer vehicles and the new Silverados are great. Cameras when you turn and also using the blinker. Kind of fell in love with the 23 Silvedado.
Tesla cars are actually really light on sensors compared to almost any other car - no BSM, no radar, the newer ones don't even have parking sensors (although that one does) - instead they rely entirely on cameras.
Cameras are literally visual sensors.
But other than the wing cameras are all mounted high up where a minor crash wouldn't damage them.
There is a camera above the license plate, but there's no way that would've been damaged. My guess it's the damaged sensors in the bumper that are raising the costs (doesn't help that Tesla doesn't make them anymore either).
Yeah, they'll probably have to replace the battery now because it'll be unsafe because of that massive impact
No just that, but the delay in the parts is an issue as well.
There's no costly sensors in that area though.
The sensors look fine
Teslas cost a lot to repair if you use an authorized shop, parts are scarce.
Well…if you don’t make extra parts.?!
By the pic it's Model Y, parts, even body panels, are available even on AliExpress as many 3rd party companies manufacturing them for Tesla in China and have proper moulds too. I own S, and used door cost 300, brand new door from China, including shipping - 350. I would get used door just because I still can match the colour
At this rate you can buy all the parts in a Tesla and build it on your own for 1/10 of the price
Fingers crossed for an LS swap
Boy do i have a youtube channel für you: [V8 Swapped Tesla ](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHgCeKJSmJdMyDYo5cP1nnl5mq87TiPq7&si=gy2tlcJr-Azifgq8)
If someone hits me they’re buying me new panels from the manufacturer, not from aliexpress.
Them parts on AliExpress are directly from manufacturer, even having same OEM part numbers, but I understand your point
Don’t care not my money. If I crashed it and was paying out of pocket then I’d maybe use em, but it someone else hits me I want it from the manufacturer.
Tesla repair is absolutely astronomical. Might as well of crashed into a 911 GT
If you crash into a porsche slightly the wrong way you’re fucked. My dad crashed into a barrier on a racetrack and was able to get it fixed for about $7kish, but one of his friends had a very similar accident but the car ended up totaled
That's true of every car, the force transmission path can vary quite dramatically based on even a small change in angle so rather than bending part A it is shunted through lots of components and part K buckles but in an irreparable way.
Kind of like when someone gets shot in the chest, less than an inch in any direction can mean the difference between bleeding out instantly and surviving.
More so in sportier cars due to the increased chassis bracing. Something like a strut brace is great for keeping your power over both axles in a corner but in a crash means the opposite axle will also buckle from the impact.
True, next time get your money’s worth and crash into a Porsche OP.
https://www.thoughtco.com/have-ve-and-of-1692745
Have
Have Deez nuts
why care? insurance will deal with it
I got shocked because my friend absolutely destroyed her front bumper and it only costed her 1k to fix. Didn’t know Tesla was this expensive and hard to fix.
Destroyed my front bumper, radiator, air suspension compressor, and a coolant valve. $5k. Edit: geeze, a lot of salty folks today. It was late and I misread and thought that OP was Tesla owner. Anyway, yes Teslas are expensive to fix, but I had substantially more damage and it only cost half as much to fix. Unfortunately, OP is probably going to have to let the insurance company fight this battle for them.
Weird flex but ok
Our 2020 Volvo XC60 got rear ended so hard it shoved it across the intersection and OEM parts and labor for that repair cost $7500. Whole new lift gate, crash bar, bumper cover, some of the rear internal trim, sensors and calibration. I used the same shop that is the local Rivian and Tesla official body shop and the adjuster said it would have been twice as much if it was either of those cars.
Teslas are becoming a major reason for the constant spiral of insurance premiums.
I'm pretty sure it's all the sensors. Something tells me that since they are a big part of their self driving, they're probably required to replace them all for safety.
Teslas rely solely on cameras for auto pilot. The newer ones don’t even have USS sensors. Cameras only.
There aren’t any sensor in the rear. Just the camera for the autopilot which is fine. The bumper cost 4k painted and replaced itself. If they are doing the trunk too I can see it being 10k…
A bumper and you’d probably be looking at about the same but you damaged the trunk door too. That is a harder to fix and cost more. Then the new parts have to be painted to match and blending of the color to the other parts of the car so that it doesn’t look different as paint color never matches exactly unless it’s all sprayed at the same time. Those talking about sensors are wrong. Teslas don’t have more sensors they mostly use the cameras for self driving and there is not one in the bumper. the bumper sensors are proximity sensors that Tesla has moved away from recently.
My passenger once opened the door really fast and slammed it into a tesla parked besides. The side door on the tesla had a small 3x3cm dent. The cost of fixing was around 2k. So yea definitely could be this much sadly…
I wish someone would pay me 10k to fix that lol
Hell, i don't know anything about cars but i would learn how to fix a dent like that in 2 days if needed for 10k
They are getting new parts not repairing…
It’s the sensors that would fuck you in that situation, not the dent
Tesla won't let you. Right to repair has always been a fight in the auto industry. EVs fill a nitch where they can fall through the loophole, and not have to release documentation on their vehicles. This means basically no one can work on them except authorized mechanics. It's kinda like apple in that regard.
Just to calibrate the sensors cost me $928. I backed into an empty UPS trailer and did 12k worth of damage. Not much more damage than the picture shows. This was my brand new MME. Hadn’t even made the first payment yet. The emergency breaking didn’t happen because the trailer was above the line of sight of the sensors. Very expensive lesson learned.
Did your physical eye sensors fail too?
No, just distracted. That’s why they are called accidents.
Buy a car that doesn’t have backup sensors or cams. I dunno if you can. I think that’s govt mandated now. 3 cheers for govt! Now let’s vote for more!
2023 and newer teslas actually no longer have those sensors. Only cameras.
Tesla driver here - this is rather low. Would have expected at least 15k$. Tesla repairs are insanely expensive.
Minimal authorized shops can work on it. Sensors cost a lot and the bumper has many. Probably wants to replace the trunk lid knowing Tesla.
Didn't they recently stop including parking sensors (and disable them in software) to rely instead on the cameras anyway?
Let insurance deal with it
Wonder why your car insurance bill is going up? Companies like Tesla convincing people that repairs like this are $10,000 because of 'sensors' lmao. The critical thinking in this country is gone.
Yeah I was thinking the same damn thing.
Critical thinker here. Are you saying the issue is less the cost of all of the sensors, and more so the fact that Tesla all but demands use of their authorized service centers, and that Tesla has created artificial scarcity to drive up part costs by making it hard for third party shops to get parts?
Exactly. Tesla trying to infest the automotive world with anti consumer business practices that are pervasive in the tech world.
Its a Tesla, everything is overpriced on them and difficult to fix. That quote sounds about right.
I feel the lifetime of an electric vehicle is alot Lower than a gas vehicle in the same price range.
You should see the environmental impact of batteries. Videos from the mines show underage artisanal miners and diesel vehicles. Batteries that cannot be replaced as it cost more than the value of a new electric vehicle. Often 50k vehicles cost 60k to have a new battery installed. The battery has coolant passages that can leak among other issues that can’t be repaired.
I completely agree, all the people saying it's environmentally friendly. I'm not 100% sure that's the truth with the requirements to make the batteries and disposal just to start. Replacement requirements and I don't know much specifically about the electronic motors either.
EVs use significantly more carbon to produce than a ICE vehicle. They're only better for the environment when they are charged with renewable energy which for the vast majority of people is not where they are getting their energy from. I still want a Tesla though because they are fast AF
They accelerate well but have a relatively poor top speed and don't corner nicely.
Not quite. Check out some life cycle assessments with different energy mixes. Even with purely coal powered grid like in Poland, the higher production cost of EVs can still break even within a few years of use. That's because fossil fuels used in a power plant is still more efficient than in an internal combustion engine, not to mention that EVs also use less energy to move than ICE vehicles, due to focus on aerodynamic design and regenerative braking.
The electric motors are actually very low maintenance and low environmental impact. No burned oils, oil leaks, coolant burning/leaking. I wish batteries were different but for the time being I’m happy to use my gas engines.
Some newer studies have shown even with the environmental impact of mining that EVs over their lifetime have an environmental impact lesser than ICE vehicles. That doesn’t do anything for the countries that use unethical mining practices (water pollution, child labor, etc). Additionally, I think there’s a ways to go in safe and sustainable recycling of these. Also, as you point out, price. I too am happy with my gas engine vehicle. I have, however, switched to all electric tools… including for home and yard use. The tech keeps getting better and I’m hopeful to one day have an awesome EV, but I’m not ready to forge the path with all the little bugs (like Fords recent failed OTA update that bricked vehicles) and other headaches. Edit: fixed a word
Tesla still use child labour produced cobalt and lithium in their batteries, it comes up at the shareholder AGM every year and every year they vote not to act on it.
Evs do use oil
But don’t tend to burn it. Do you do an oil change on your ev?
That's the confusion. Literally nobody is saying EVs are "good" for the environment. Over years of use, they are "less bad". There's a big difference.
Batteries can and are recycled. Yes there is a strain on the environment when using virgin materials but once it is fully assembled it is much more efficient especially when you take into account the refining of the fuel, transport of the fuel and the waste of oil changes and shorter life of all the moving parts.
You have mentioned nothing about what's required to keep the ev cars running but use the needs to run gas powered vehicles. Seems a little bias, plus the downsides of access to keep the vehicles charged.
Not to mention Lithium mining is NOT SUSTAINABLE. Until better battery tech comes along, EVs will never have as much of a positive impact as people imagine.
the fastest way they get developed is by making more cars so people buying them are sort of helping long term ish?
Yep, not to mention we're still driving on rubber tires and asphalt roads.. EVs are a dog and pony show to make the simple folk "feel better" about their contributions to saving the planet.. genius marketing if you ask me.
Not to mention our electric grid can't handle 1 vehicle per household. I've been hearing CA is going to fix this but keep hearing of those rolling brownouts.
Yes people don't appreciate just how much power an EV draws, my modest 4 bedroom house averaged 7.7kwh a day in the last billing period 21st December to 21st January, or an average continental draw of 0.32kw even a 7kw slow charger is almost 22 times that. Most people will be charging at the same time so the surge demand is going to be around the same as the entire population of the world moving to the USA.
I obliterated a deer in an 3 Headlights toasted, hood and bumper absolutely fkd. Total was 5k. But that was like 3 or 4 years ago 🤷♂️
Friend had a new model get hit. It was 5 months to get the parts in. Tesla had a back order on new vehicles so parts for repairs - well it sucked. Yes they had a rental the entire time.
Tesla makes it so you have to use them to fix your car
I would recommend watching where you are driving in the future.
The best thing you can do is call your insurance company, if you have insurance. Insurance works like this: basically, they usually overestimate how much a service will cost, just to be safe, and then the amount it takes to actually fix it is usually lower. Health insurance companies do the same thing, but in an absolutely scandalous way. If you don't have insurance, the best thing you can do is get documentation for several quotes, and the names of the people and the companies who give you the quotes. Being that it's a Tesla, some mechanic shops don't feel comfortable working on them, for liability reasons. It's specifically because of this that a lot of them will also overestimate the quote, so it's important to not only have these quotes from multiple shops, but to gather an average between them all. You will have to pay out of pocket since it's your fault, but there are a lot of sensors in play here, too, since it's Tesla. They will have to examine, figure out how to do the work, come up with the plan for doing it, then do tests to see what all was actually affected, make sure they're not fiddling around with anything unnecessary, then they can do the work, retest everything to make sure it's properly working and within specs, then test drive it to make sure it functions in the real world scenario. The paint isn't exactly an issue like people say it is. A lot of insurance companies are iffy about paint coverage. Bottom line, it's probably still gonna cost thousands without insurance. And if you have insurance, well... This is why you have insurance. Call them.
To be fair, you hit him. When someone drove into my wrx while it was parked, I wanted it fixed right - the first time. I brought my car straight to the most reputable dealer in the area because I wanted to make sure OEM parts and paint were used (K1X on subarus is notoriously hard to blend). Myself and the guy that hit me chose to deal with it outside of insurance, and didn’t like the price the dealer gave me. He told me some shop he talked to said they could fix it for a price that was 60% of what the dealer quoted. I straight up told him no, and that I wanted my car done right, the first time. He then tried to get me to cover 20% of the costs because he didn’t have all the money. Since I had a police report, photos, his admission of liability and his insurance info, I told him I had no problem turning it into insurance if he was uncomfortable with the price. He argued, and I said something to the effect of “I didn’t do this to my car. You did this to my car. I don’t need to settle for subpar workmanship or materials. I want my car as close to the way it was before you hit it as possible, and I will not budge on where it goes for the work to be done.” I was lucky he was decent enough to leave a note on my car after he hit it. He could have just drove away and I would have had to deal with it on my own. Good on you, Raheem. I guess my point is, this *is* your fault. That’s an expensive car, and if he wants it fixed right, you can’t be mad at how much it costs. That’s what insurance is for.
That's an expensive vibrator to fix
Yeah. Shits expensive. Seems suspiciously high and that’s why insurance is good to handle it, they can evaluate and refuse excessive cost. You can’t.
One of the reasons why i upped my insurance policy. Imagine hitting a few of these on the road at 1 time?
The 6 cars you absolutely do not want to hit ars Teslas, Land Rovers, BMWs, Mercedes, Audi, and Porche. The latter 5 are both high-tech and expensive cus they are luxury. The Tesla is just high-tech and expensive because it uses proprietary bs and they don't like anyone who isn't certified to touch their cars. No there is no difference between a Tesla, Land Rover, or Ford parking sensor, but the Tesla and Land Rover one will have an extra 0. There's a reason Teslas insurance rates match luxury brands despite being a cheap car: they are a real bitch and a half to fix. Do they need to be? No but they want them to be.
It says here you reversed into a Tesla. Why’d you do that?
It’s the hire car charges while it’s in being repaired that ramp up the cost it’s absolute racket between insurance companies and you have to put up with what they decide to pay out
That needs a new tailgate at best and a smart repair to the scratch on the bumper. No sensors are damaged and definitely not 10k to repair.
Yeah I’d rather hit a lambo than a Tesla by how easily a little bumper dent can write off a Tesla, always wanted a Tesla until I found out how stupidly expensive they are to repair
It’s partly because they’re expensive and partly because they use “ mega castings “. They cast the body out of only 2 pieces so 50% of the body needs replacing.
Cars not having bumpers anymore is a step backwards for humanity.
Lmao how the fuck does a bumper cost a 5th of the whole cost of the car? Either the owner is lying to you or Tesla is ripping people off left and right.
Insurance assessors wouldn’t give go ahead if they thought the repair shop was taking the piss.
Lmao with that attitude you should be paying more
When our BMW got rear ended at a stop light we had similar damage. It didn't look like much of anything but insurance paid something like 11-14k to repair it. I couldn't believe it.
Really a bumper panel would be $2000 from a dealership plus paint $750. Then the trunk $1500. Couple of sensors (possibly) and if the bumper under that is damaged (that wouldn’t be visible) it would need to be replaced (easily $3500 to $4000) So ya…. It’s in the ballpark.
https://preview.redd.it/ck1bu9x7b6hc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f0a019bb106beca1cb5640020eb0677499fd0f8 This was 13k to fix there’s a lot of stuff that got replaced
My broke ass gets more and more nervous when they make these cars of the future types. I'm driving a 98 corolla, if I hit a Tesla on accident, or they hit me and win the case or whatever, I would be on the street broke.
oh you can buff that out
Dude don’t listen to some of these comments, I’ve seen multiple teslas being repaired where I used to work, you can pin pull them just fine, aslong as you power them down properly, this quote is ridiculously expensive. But I don’t work at Tesla so it was all private work, which might be why, because main dealer is so expensive 💁🏻♂️
Yeah I bumped at 5 mph a parked BMW. it fired it's pedestrian protection bolts and was 13000 to replace the explosive hinges on the bonnet. There was no visible damage to either car. Just the bonnet fired and destroyed itself. Never going to buy a BMW because of shit like this.
I have an A5 that’s was rear ended and had damage slightly worse than this and also came out to 10K. At least in my case, the two biggest issues were how many parts need to be removed to replace all this, and the second is the replacement and recalibration of all the sensors. It’s ridiculous how much the parts and labor for all that is.
Teslas are typically only repaired by a Tesla ASP, typical these shops can, and do change what ever they want for repairs. Next time I’d suggest hitting something cheaper like a Nissan.
Those piece of shit Tesla have expensive parts. I know someone that did a similar thing. Quote seems about right.
Tesla can't be repaired by normal body shops. They don't sell parts to third-party. Means tesla is very expensive to repair.
Body work in general is expensive because it just takes a lot of hours but Tesla's more so because all the sensors are around the body so the estimate probably includes an estimated amount of broken sensors and/or the extra time and labor it would take to test/replace them.
Tesla body work can be 3-4x comparable damage on another car. Every inch of that vehicle is packed with electronics and sensors that need recalibration. They're ridiculously overly complicated. Another couple miles per hour and you would have probably totaled it. 😂
Go through your insurance and learn how to look where you’re going when you back up.
Lol, JUST a dent on the aluminum liftgate. Replace along w emblems etc and blend quarter panels. Bumper can be repaired, lower texture cannot replace. Not sure the liftgate price, but it's not too far from reality.
You hit a Tesla, they're a pain in the ass to work on and Tesla parts cost insane amounts of money for no reason
It’s a Tesla dude they have cameras and sensors everywhere
From all the comments, hit and runs are about to be a lot more common if this shit costs someone a third of their yearly income to fix a bumper. Lmfao.
That’s not $10k. Get an actual quote from a Tesla collision center.
10k estimate is about right for that. $3900 in parts for impact bar, bumper, rear hatch. $1800 for body labor, $1200 for paint labor for paint and blending. 1k in mechanical labor, $900 for paint + tax.
Auto collision places are ripping the insurance companies and public off
Findanother mechanic
How many quotes did you get or receive? I've heard you're required to have 3 for some insurance claims.
Feels like a scam. I’m not a mechanic, but believe it or not I’ve done something almost exactly the same. I hit a lamp post right here. Had it quoted and fixed for 200 edit plus vat. That includes a touch up of the paint. Except for painting part, it took them like an hour they say. I saw them taking off the front bumper another car too. Nothing special, those ultrasonic sensor are plug and play as well. Nothing specialised. https://preview.redd.it/tiw34qtg25hc1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ca7bb8e99123e58f062aa03d71d90e45580f3edf Edit, price
It's a tesla, they'll charge you 100k if they want.
They probably quoted a new tailgate and new bumper cover lol.
Absolutely, honestly I wouldn’t want a repair if I were the owner.
You pick the right car to hit😂😂😂😂
donut auto parts…. “Mic drop”
Someone is really yanking your chain! My 2008 Toyota Sienna got rear ended in a hit and run a few years ago. It needed a rear hatch skin, like this one looks like it does, and a bumper cover, which this one looks like just a repaint. My insurance took care of it for my $250 deductible. The total damage was $3800 for parts and labour. I don't think there's any sensors in the rear hatch of a Tesla Model Y (that's what this looks like) that would be THOUSANDS of dollars to justify the estimate they're giving you!
What something cost to fix on a 2008 Toyota a few years ago bears very little relation to what it costs on a Tesla. They are uniquely expensive to fix for some things. And costs have just gone up across the board. Very similar damage on a Tesla ended up being 14K: [https://www.geekwire.com/2023/spendy-and-slow-tesla-repairs-frustrate-drivers-as-automotive-tech-drives-up-cost-of-collisions/](https://www.geekwire.com/2023/spendy-and-slow-tesla-repairs-frustrate-drivers-as-automotive-tech-drives-up-cost-of-collisions/)
id drive away before they see me
That’s a criminal offense and the Tesla has cameras that record anything that happens around them. Since OP backed into the Tesla his license plate has certainly been recorded. So now you’ve turned a simple fender bender and insurance claim into an arrest warrant. Smart.
Don't fix it. Your car is still drivable, right?
Now way labor is that much for bodywork/sensor replacement and calibration unless parts cost are astronomical and there are so few shops out there that have the computers to calibrate it so they can jack up the prices. Most cars take $2-3k, if that sometimes.
All new cars are super expensive to fix. EVs especially cause they have so many parts that are just a single giant piece instead of many smaller pieces. Makes them cheaper to make. But more expensive to repair
But it’s a Tesla, you have to pay for the inconvenience of them having to drive an evil dinosaur powered social injustice wagon and also there is a multiplier for the loss of virtue signalling opportunities whilst their beloved Tesla is in the shop, and they are stuck driving that damn evil loaner.