A common question we get is, “Why does it take so long for the body shop to fix my Tesla?” This is really a multi layered question that I’ll address in this article.
The repair process
Regardless of the type of car you drive, there are certain steps you have to go through in any shop. These steps require examination, approvals, planning and scheduling in advance to starting your repair.
When you in an accident, you will typically reach out to your insurance company who will either have you bring the vehicle to them to inspect or they will have a body shop inspect and send them photos and a repair estimate. What happens there depends a lot on weather that insurance company has that body shop on their preferred network. If they do not, it can slow down the approval process, waiting for the insurance to send someone out for visual inspection. However, a well run shop, should know to minimize the reinspections required. I’m not advocating one type of shop over another. There are great reasons for both types of shops.
Initial Inspection
Once, your vehicle is inspected, it needs to start the back end planning. Parts get ordered and you’ll get a spot on the calendar based on the next spot and the parts availability. Tesla has had some significant issues in the past with parts. However, they are very commited to fixing this problem and have made a lot of headway over the last year.
Vehicle Drop Off / Disassembly and Analysis
After your parts are at the facility and your appointment date has come, you’ll drop the car off and they can start. It seems like it should be smooth sailing from here on out, but the reality, it’s not. The shop now has to completely take the car apart and look for all the damage. The majority of the time, there is additional damage that could not be seen until disassembly. Now, the approval process, parts ordering, parts wait, starts all over again. If you have a part that is on a significant delay, this can be painful. Many shops will try to look underneath parts that are easy to remove and try to minimize this problem, but not all damaged parts will fit back on a car.
Now that all the parts are there, the repair can start. The Tesla is a very sophisticated vehicle and the repair process needs to be done using the right processes, materials and equipment. The reason that Tesla requires a certified collision repair shop, is because of their training and equipment. The availability of a trained technician and the proper equipment can sometimes slow down the process.
Proper Scanning and Resetting of The Computer System
The physical body repair is now complete, but there is another layer of work that is critical to restore your vehicle to preaccident condition. Your Tesla requires a complete diagnostic scan of the computer and a resetting of codes. Without this scan with a Tesla scanner, your vehicle will not function correctly. Non-certified shops do not have Tesla factory scanners.
After the vehicle computer is reset and the car is now ready for final quality control, alignment of suspension and final clean-up for delivery. These can add more time depending of the outcome of the inspections.
Tesla approved shops.
Due to the popularity of Tesla, there are at times constraints on the availability of trained collision repair shops and trained technicians. Tesla is rapidly training and certifying additional shops. Tesla is also opening repair centers at their service centers for small cosmetic repairs.
Collision Pros Best Tesla Certified Body Shop In Northern California
If you are in an accident and need your vehicle repaired, Collision Pros is certified to repair your vehicle and we will do everything in our power to make this process easy and efficient. Come find out why Collision Pros is the best certified body shop in northern California.
