Fixing a, not so major damage to your vehicle will, at a maximum, only take a week. It's a give-or-take scenario given the amount of time it will take to repair the broken part or the number of cars to be fixed ahead of you. Owners will still have to wait, but to float for more than a month will definitely mean something's wrong.
Coring on their previous report, one source exclaimed that several Tesla owners have been waiting for months for their cars to be repaired. Along this line, their vehicles are stuffed in what they claim to be a Tesla-approved repair shop, but with no assurance as to when it will be finished.
Car Buzz's recent article detailed a report from SF Gate that centered on a San Francisco local whose 2016 Tesla Model S sustained damage in its front fender and suspension after a collision with a Toyota Corolla back in September. The Tesla owner, Craig Hedges, recalled that he was driving on the Stanford campus when the suspect car pulled out from a parking space and "plowed" his car.
Although both vehicles were not "moving very fast," the damage on Hedges' Model S rendered it immobile. Left with no choice, Hedges had it towed to Chilton Auto Body in San Carlos. The shop, the report added, is the nearest Tesla-approved repair shop and one preferred by Hedges' insurance company, Allstate.
Fast forward to six months after the accident, Hedges has yet to retrieve his Tesla Model S. He said that when his car was towed, there were about thirty cars on the queue. Sounds reasonable? Not likely. The last time Hedges "had a conversation" with someone from the shop, he was told that "there was well over 130 Teslas there to get fixed."
Hedges added that considering the number of vehicles that also needed repair, "it's going to be well over a year to get your car back." So what's with the delay?
Both sources who echoed Hedges' claim said that Chilton Auto Body has only two "certified" Tesla technicians and only one of them is qualified to fix a busted suspension. To make things worse than they are, other Tesla owners whose cars are in the said body shop share Hedges' frustrations. Insurance companies add gasoline to the fire, too: they only provide "loaner cars" for up to a month. Once it elapses, members will have to pay for any additional services personally.
Even though Hedges is "happy" with his Tesla Model S, he said that people would want to consider something else "if they knew how long it's going to take to get repaired."
