Tesla's Bill to Fix a Rain-Damaged Battery: $21,000

[Climber]

minor too. got a paint scuff with very minor indent on my rear quarter panel (parking lot hit and run). $5,800.

edit - should add, not anywhere near totaled, but was shocked by the repair cost. insurance covered it. but still.

I'm glad your insurance covered it.

I had heard that with hit and run, the insurance companies can opt out on paying it with your uninsured coverage because you can't prove that the person who hit you wasn't insured. I specifically asked my State Farm agent about that scenario and they admitted that I wouldn't be covered under that circumstance.

 

[bojangle]

I'm glad your insurance covered it.

I had heard that with hit and run, the insurance companies can opt out on paying it with your uninsured coverage because you can't prove that the person who hit you wasn't insured. I specifically asked my State Farm agent about that scenario and they admitted that I wouldn't be covered under that circumstance.

I doubt any insurance policy uninsured motorist coverage covers that. The claim would be covered by comprehensive, so you'd have to pay the deductible.

With an uninsured/under insured claim, your insurance company at least has the option of suing the responsible party.

 

[mercurial]

At the end of the day, standard of proof is preponderance of evidence in a civil action, so you could probably make a straight-faced claim that the very act of the other party running tips the scales slightly in favor of the theory that the runner didn't have appropriate insurance or ability to cover the claim. The inability of the insurance company to subrogate is their problem, not yours.

Not that an insurance company, who had already denied your claim, would find that line of reasoning persuasive.. but it's enough to sue them and probably bully them into settlement.

 

[littlebeast]

I'm glad your insurance covered it.

I had heard that with hit and run, the insurance companies can opt out on paying it with your uninsured coverage because you can't prove that the person who hit you wasn't insured. I specifically asked my State Farm agent about that scenario and they admitted that I wouldn't be covered under that circumstance.

I doubt any insurance policy uninsured motorist coverage covers that. The claim would be covered by comprehensive, so you'd have to pay the deductible.

With an uninsured/under insured claim, your insurance company at least has the option of suing the responsible party.

AAA covered it under collision. when they told me that, i double-checked my policy, and it specifies collision for getting hit by another vehicle while parked. they asked a lot of questions (any video, etc.), but never gave even a hint that they might not cover it.

 

[davidji]

21k is good because it drives the 2nd hand market for rebuild batteries which is a big part of making EVs feasible on the long term, and that industry exists already

Except $20k of that is the installation cost.

Dunno, but I think it's a lot.

 

[bojangle]

AAA covered it under collision. when they told me that, i double-checked my policy, and it specifies collision for getting hit by another vehicle while parked. they asked a lot of questions (any video, etc.), but never gave even a hint that they might not cover it.

But did you have to pay your deductible?

 

[dtrides]

Just had a shop tell me the last diesel truck engine rebuild was 25K...
I find it a crap shoot to keep mine much past 100K mi as it wouldn't take much to put you under water value wise depending on year.
Traded my 2015 6.7 with just under 100K and still got good money.
That said, my newer truck ( one year old 9K miles) was in the 70's
DT

 

[littlebeast]

But did you have to pay your deductible?

yes. that’s why i double-checked collision v. comprehensive coverage. the scenario is explicit in the policy. am not crying over it though (what i pay is minimal v. the repair cost - even factoring in the cost of coverage).

on another note - going on 3 weeks in the shop. am expecting that the original estimate will be low, and actual cost much higher (repair impossible, so full panel replacement will be required - AAA will likely shit a brick over it, but it’s their problem now, not mine).

 

[Ridley]

yes. that’s why i double-checked collision v. comprehensive coverage. the scenario is explicit in the policy. am not crying over it though (what i pay is minimal v. the repair cost - even factoring in the cost of coverage).

on another note - going on 3 weeks in the shop. am expecting that the original estimate will be low, and actual cost much higher (repair impossible, so full panel replacement will be required - AAA will likely shit a brick over it, but it’s their problem now, not mine).

My wife’s car was hit while parked on the street, she was at work. The person who hit her car actually came into the office and told my wife what happened. The other person’s insurance covered the repair. The final bill was $18,000 and took two months due to supply chain issues. I forgot to mention it was a Subaru Outback that we paid 25k for back in 2021.

 

[AbsolutEnduser]

Certainly feels like price-gouging

 

[mercurial]

yea, sounds like the car should've been totaled but the repair shop engineered the quote to turn it into a frankenmonster repair (to their obvious benefit.)

 

[Ridley]

I was shocked the car wasn’t totaled but I had no say in the situation and it wasn’t my insurance. But it does look like gouging.

I can say they did a great job and the car looks and drives exactly like it did before it was hit.

 

[TheRobSJ]

I’ve seen body shop pad estimates up to the moon. I remember when all the cameras and radars started coming on cars. Calibration/aiming would typically be a dealer only situation. So I’d see the body shop flatbed tow the car to us (which they bill the insurance for around double what the tow company actually charged them). Then the body shop asks what we charge to do the calibration. I believe we were charging $500 at the time. Body shop manager actually asks me ”Is that enough or do you need more?” which I thought was terrifically odd. Who the hell asks if I want to charge even more? One of the cars I took in, they left the insurance paperwork inside the car. Turns out they had been billing the insurance company $2500 for “sublet to dealer for calibrations” the whole time.

Plus tons of other crap I’ve seen them do to run up a bill. Charging $50 a day storage, estimating for brand new OEM parts and then either getting aftermarket or reconditioned parts, charging extra time/materials to blend extra panels (common repainting practice) but then not actually do it…all kinds of shady crap.

People think mechanics are crooks, “stealership” and all that? Body shops are way way worse.

 

[littlebeast]

I’ve seen body shop pad estimates up to the moon. I remember when all the cameras and radars started coming on cars. Calibration/aiming would typically be a dealer only situation. So I’d see the body shop flatbed tow the car to us (which they bill the insurance for around double what the tow company actually charged them). Then the body shop asks what we charge to do the calibration. I believe we were charging $500 at the time. Body shop manager actually asks me ”Is that enough or do you need more?” which I thought was terrifically odd. Who the hell asks if I want to charge even more? One of the cars I took in, they left the insurance paperwork inside the car. Turns out they had been billing the insurance company $2500 for “sublet to dealer for calibrations” the whole time.

Plus tons of other crap I’ve seen them do to run up a bill. Charging $50 a day storage, estimating for brand new OEM parts and then either getting aftermarket or reconditioned parts, charging extra time/materials to blend extra panels (common repainting practice) but then not actually do it…all kinds of shady crap.

People think mechanics are crooks, “stealership” and all that? Body shops are way way worse.

based on my recent experience, AAA seems wise to that. they notified me that the repair estimate they approved (from the same shop) was around $1,700 lower than the estimate the shop gave me. i looked at the estimate they attached, and all of the work was the same, the prices were just lower. the shop didn’t bat an eye. ‘approved, bring it in’ was all they said.

 

[Abacinator]

The body shops I've dealt with definitely rape the insurance companies, but they take very good care of their out-of-pocket customers.

 

[TheRobSJ]

based on my recent experience, AAA seems wise to that. they notified me that the repair estimate they approved (from the same shop) was around $1,700 lower than the estimate the shop gave me. i looked at the estimate they attached, and all of the work was the same, the prices were just lower. the shop didn’t bat an eye. ‘approved, bring it in’ was all they said.

I’ve heard AAA is pretty decent. Insurance companies are very much a case of your mileage may vary.

Not really my area of the business, but from what I’ve seen of it, there’s a big ol’ guide of estimating that insurance companies have. Parts costs and labor times. So when there’s a big discrepancy between what the body shop wants to charge and what the insurance thinks it will be, they send an adjuster/inspector out to the body shop. Then the body shop has to “sell” that person as to why they need more time and parts to make the car whole again.

I’ve been a part of the last sentence there several times even though I’m not a body shop. When a rodent chews up a wire under the hood. We want to replace the entire wire harness, the insurance wants us to dig out the damage and graft in a repair to that wire. The difference in cost can be just absurd. Case in point, recently we had a Urus with a few wires chewed in the cowl. It’s part of a huge wire harness that spans pretty much the length of the whole vehicle and is quite the ordeal to replace. A few weeks later, another Urus with almost an identical rodent damage situation comes in. First Urus, the customer’s insurance approved the full harness replacement which I believe was well over $25k all in. Second customer’s insurance told us to kick rocks and only was willing to pay about $1200 for diagnosis and wire repair. We showed them documentation from Lamborghini stating that any modification to the wiring will void the warranty. Insurance did not care. Customer went ballistic, but our hands were tied. Ugh.

 

[Mike95060]

AAA has been my insurance for home, auto and moto for about 10 years.

I have filed claims for all 3 and would give them a B+/A- rating in $$$ payout and service. Not perfect but, pretty good.

 

[ST Guy]

Do we know what actually happened to the car? If the owners let the battery get wet, like they drove it into a deep body of water, then the owners may very well be stuck with the bill. But if the car was simply out in the rain, then the repair should be on Tesla’s dime.

 

[Ridley]

I’ve heard AAA is pretty decent. Insurance companies are very much a case of your mileage may vary.

Not really my area of the business, but from what I’ve seen of it, there’s a big ol’ guide of estimating that insurance companies have. Parts costs and labor times. So when there’s a big discrepancy between what the body shop wants to charge and what the insurance thinks it will be, they send an adjuster/inspector out to the body shop. Then the body shop has to “sell” that person as to why they need more time and parts to make the car whole again.

I’ve been a part of the last sentence there several times even though I’m not a body shop. When a rodent chews up a wire under the hood. We want to replace the entire wire harness, the insurance wants us to dig out the damage and graft in a repair to that wire. The difference in cost can be just absurd. Case in point, recently we had a Urus with a few wires chewed in the cowl. It’s part of a huge wire harness that spans pretty much the length of the whole vehicle and is quite the ordeal to replace. A few weeks later, another Urus with almost an identical rodent damage situation comes in. First Urus, the customer’s insurance approved the full harness replacement which I believe was well over $25k all in. Second customer’s insurance told us to kick rocks and only was willing to pay about $1200 for diagnosis and wire repair. We showed them documentation from Lamborghini stating that any modification to the wiring will void the warranty. Insurance did not care. Customer went ballistic, but our hands were tied. Ugh.

That’s crazy about the wiring harness, insurance, and voided warranty. I wonder if the customer has any recourse against the insurance company if they run into a warranty issue in the future.

 

[Abacinator]

Aren't those battery units supposed to be pretty water-tight?