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Own a Y, and absolutely couldn’t explain how much I love this car. That said I am running into a complaint: somebody backed into me in a parking lot last week.

by blhack 5y ago

Own a Y, and absolutely couldn’t explain how much I love this car. That said I am running into a complaint: somebody backed into me in a parking lot last week. The car is still mechanically fine, but with a damaged panel and bumper now. This is a bummer for me, since I’ve been meticulous about washing it, always parking at the end of the lot, etc. car detailing has actually become a hobby as a result of enjoying taking care of this car. The problem is that Tesla simply doesn’t have the parts to fix this right now. I made a service appointment, and they sent me a message the next day cancelling it due to a parts shortage. So I’m kindof at a loss now. My car has a dented/scratched panel, and I can’t even get it fixed. I’d be really frustrated if this was something preventing it from driving. That said, there’s a reason the for the parts shortage, long order wait times, etc. The model Y is basically a perfect vehicle. I can’t recommend it enough. (And this article is just a cherry on top. We bought this car originally because we knew it was really safe, and we just had a baby. So reading this is just affirming.)

nwomack 5y ago
Hate to break it to you but you will be waiting months to get it fixed. I’ve been waiting on parts for about 3 months to get mine fixed for relatively minor damage. got rear ended by a pickup truck.
- capkutay 5y ago
  +1. My tesla got side-swiped in November. The shop is estimating Mid-February (so probably March) for all parts to ship and labor to be completed.
SEJeff 5y ago
The Gigafactory in TX is going to certainly help with this as it will massively increase the amount of Y vehicles and parts being produced domestically. Not that it is going to be a magic fix, but they know it is a problem and are opening the factory with the Y only so they can fix some of the backlog. My wife has a Model Y and I have a Model 3. My 3 got hit by an idiot who ran a red light after having it for a month (in Sept 2018) and I had to wait for 2 months to get the new seatbelt tensioners after a tesla approved body shop fixed the cosmetic work.
azinman2 5y ago
We test drove the Y and passed on it. We found the visibility out of the back poor, all the mirrors tiny, and the headrest also tiny and my head kept rolling off it. Do you not experience these problems?
- hansendc 5y ago
  The rear visibility felt weird when I test drove it for sure, coming from a normal sedan. But, over a year in to ownership, it never feels tiny when driving it. All the cameras and sensors make it a MILLION times better to maneuver in small spaces than my old car. It was more a matter of getting used to something different (and I'd argue objectively better) rather than an overall downside. As for the headrest, I've never thought about it once myself.
  - azinman2 5y ago
    Why is it objectively better to have less rear visibility? Note you can have both excellent rear AND cameras/sensors. Do you not feel its tiny when driving on the freeway?
    - ajross 5y ago
      > Why is it objectively better to have less rear visibility? Because it's an artifact of the tapered afterbody that makes the cars the most energy-efficient on the road. Teslas beat every other EV on range, and the tiny handful of cars that do better (Lucid Air being the most notable) do so with significantly larger batteries. Everything has tradeoffs. FWIW: a few years of driving a van in my youth cured me of reliance on the center mirror anyway. This is very much an ejectable feature in my mind, something very much worth trading for ~30 miles of extra range or whatever. There are plenty of other quirks like this. The Y has a very poor turning radius (to reduce the void size in the wheel wells) too. It only comes in five boring colors. The third row seating is real and useful, but the headroom is comically small (same tapered afterbody). Everyone has their own list. The car isn't perfect. But it's absolutely as close to perfect as anything else I've driven.
tedk-42 5y ago
Not like it's critical to the performance of the car. Just wait and the parts will arrive for you...hardly seems like a fair complaint.
- blhack 5y ago
  Totally agree. My point was that there seems to be a general shortage, and that if it was something necessary for driving, I’d be in trouble.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  > hardly seems like a fair complaint Is a reliable parts supply chain not a reasonable expectation of a car? I can get whatever part I want whenever I want from a diverse set of manufacturers for my Land Rover.
  - tedk-42 5y ago
    Unreasonable given the model Y was released only a short time ago and in the midst of global manufacturing issues. I can't even buy a laundry sink right now as the supplier won't have stock till Feb next year.
  - throwaway894345 5y ago
    These are anonymous times. I suspect many auto manufacturers are having parts shortages.
    - chrisseaton 5y ago
      > These are anonymous times. Eh?
      - xeromal 5y ago
        Probably meant ominous
        5y ago
tills13 5y ago
It's also insanely expensive to service. I had an Amazon van back into my parked M3. Left a small indent on the right rear quarter panel. Total cost to fix (for Amazon) was $3k CAD.
- nwomack 5y ago
  Seems normal. What are your precious vehicles? My wife’s C250 cost 10K to fix a relatively minor bumper collision.
  - tills13 5y ago
    Sounds like a racket.
- loeg 5y ago
  Panel damage is really expensive on all cars.
dawnerd 5y ago
They shouldn't have cancelled, they should have pushed your appt out based on what their estimated date is. I'd make another appt and push them to order the part. You can find the part and reference it by number so they have no excuse. Instead of just asking for it to be fixed, ask for a quote and if they could order the part(s) for you. Then you can figure out if you want to try the repair yourself or have them do it once you get it. https://epc.tesla.com/en/catalogs https://epc.tesla.com/en/catalogs I used it recently after hearing they were telling people they couldn't install all season tires on the 21" wheels, but if you reference the new tires by part number (they're new tires) they were able to get a quote and order them.
foobarian 5y ago
I got a Ford Escape 2014 a while ago. I needed something cheap and decent enough. I don't love it, and I don't spend much time on it. It has never had issues in spite of common jokes about Found On the Road Dead which I think may be behind the times. The thing about a large volume manufacturer with a developed dealer network is: when someone backed into it in a grocery store parking lot and destroyed the bumper, I thought I would be making phone calls, waiting for parts, getting it in, etc. But the very first phone call to my dealer, and they had the part for this 6 year old car just sitting there on the shelf. Installed and back on the road the next day.
- gameswithgo 5y ago
  with supply chain issues right now even a Ford may not have parts available at times. Tesla is definitely worse on average about service though still.
  - maxdo 5y ago
    Tesla is the only car brand almost not affected by chip shortage. Because they adjust parts super fast. They will beat their production estimate in 2021. Ford service will never come to your home unlike tesla. Their service is far more superior to ford. Yes, if you have non critical issue it will be hard to get an appointment, but it's not tesla's fault. It's monopoly of dealership, and regulations. They not allowed to open as many services as they want.
  - taylodl 5y ago
    I have a friend who has a 2008 Honda that got hit and my wife has a 2003 Lexus that got hit. Both have parts readily available even in this supply chain crunch. Tesla has never been up to snuff when it comes to parts. If you own a Tesla then you better pray you don't need a part because the Tesla service horror stories are practically legendary at this point - and that was before "supply chain issues."
    - MonaroVXR 5y ago
      Because those parts are adjust produced and used on other cars too, so that means there are parts available in general.
simonebrunozzi 5y ago
You know what? I'd guess that Elon, as "crazy" as he is, might have an idea or two about solving this problem (e.g. 3D-printing the part, etc). Tweet to him. There's a tiny, tiny chance that he will respond and decide this is worth pursuing. Edit: scratch that, I tweeted to him about it [0]. I should never miss a good opportunity to do a micro-tiny amount of good to someone else. [0]: https://twitter.com/simon/status/1473673346583773187 https://twitter.com/simon/status/1473673346583773187

by blhack 5y ago

nwomack 5y ago

Hate to break it to you but you will be waiting months to get it fixed. I’ve been waiting on parts for about 3 months to get mine fixed for relatively minor damage. got rear ended by a pickup truck.

capkutay 5y ago
+1. My tesla got side-swiped in November. The shop is estimating Mid-February (so probably March) for all parts to ship and labor to be completed.

SEJeff 5y ago

The Gigafactory in TX is going to certainly help with this as it will massively increase the amount of Y vehicles and parts being produced domestically. Not that it is going to be a magic fix, but they know it is a problem and are opening the factory with the Y only so they can fix some of the backlog. My wife has a Model Y and I have a Model 3. My 3 got hit by an idiot who ran a red light after having it for a month (in Sept 2018) and I had to wait for 2 months to get the new seatbelt tensioners after a tesla approved body shop fixed the cosmetic work.

azinman2 5y ago

We test drove the Y and passed on it. We found the visibility out of the back poor, all the mirrors tiny, and the headrest also tiny and my head kept rolling off it. Do you not experience these problems?

hansendc 5y ago
The rear visibility felt weird when I test drove it for sure, coming from a normal sedan. But, over a year in to ownership, it never feels tiny when driving it. All the cameras and sensors make it a MILLION times better to maneuver in small spaces than my old car. It was more a matter of getting used to something different (and I'd argue objectively better) rather than an overall downside. As for the headrest, I've never thought about it once myself.
- azinman2 5y ago
  Why is it objectively better to have less rear visibility? Note you can have both excellent rear AND cameras/sensors. Do you not feel its tiny when driving on the freeway?
  - ajross 5y ago
    > Why is it objectively better to have less rear visibility? Because it's an artifact of the tapered afterbody that makes the cars the most energy-efficient on the road. Teslas beat every other EV on range, and the tiny handful of cars that do better (Lucid Air being the most notable) do so with significantly larger batteries. Everything has tradeoffs. FWIW: a few years of driving a van in my youth cured me of reliance on the center mirror anyway. This is very much an ejectable feature in my mind, something very much worth trading for ~30 miles of extra range or whatever. There are plenty of other quirks like this. The Y has a very poor turning radius (to reduce the void size in the wheel wells) too. It only comes in five boring colors. The third row seating is real and useful, but the headroom is comically small (same tapered afterbody). Everyone has their own list. The car isn't perfect. But it's absolutely as close to perfect as anything else I've driven.

tedk-42 5y ago

Not like it's critical to the performance of the car. Just wait and the parts will arrive for you...hardly seems like a fair complaint.

blhack 5y ago
Totally agree. My point was that there seems to be a general shortage, and that if it was something necessary for driving, I’d be in trouble.
chrisseaton 5y ago
> hardly seems like a fair complaint Is a reliable parts supply chain not a reasonable expectation of a car? I can get whatever part I want whenever I want from a diverse set of manufacturers for my Land Rover.
- tedk-42 5y ago
  Unreasonable given the model Y was released only a short time ago and in the midst of global manufacturing issues. I can't even buy a laundry sink right now as the supplier won't have stock till Feb next year.
- throwaway894345 5y ago
  These are anonymous times. I suspect many auto manufacturers are having parts shortages.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    > These are anonymous times. Eh?
    - xeromal 5y ago
      Probably meant ominous
      - 5y ago

tills13 5y ago

It's also insanely expensive to service. I had an Amazon van back into my parked M3. Left a small indent on the right rear quarter panel. Total cost to fix (for Amazon) was $3k CAD.

nwomack 5y ago
Seems normal. What are your precious vehicles? My wife’s C250 cost 10K to fix a relatively minor bumper collision.
- tills13 5y ago
  Sounds like a racket.
loeg 5y ago
Panel damage is really expensive on all cars.

dawnerd 5y ago

They shouldn't have cancelled, they should have pushed your appt out based on what their estimated date is. I'd make another appt and push them to order the part. You can find the part and reference it by number so they have no excuse. Instead of just asking for it to be fixed, ask for a quote and if they could order the part(s) for you. Then you can figure out if you want to try the repair yourself or have them do it once you get it. https://epc.tesla.com/en/catalogs https://epc.tesla.com/en/catalogs I used it recently after hearing they were telling people they couldn't install all season tires on the 21" wheels, but if you reference the new tires by part number (they're new tires) they were able to get a quote and order them.

foobarian 5y ago

I got a Ford Escape 2014 a while ago. I needed something cheap and decent enough. I don't love it, and I don't spend much time on it. It has never had issues in spite of common jokes about Found On the Road Dead which I think may be behind the times. The thing about a large volume manufacturer with a developed dealer network is: when someone backed into it in a grocery store parking lot and destroyed the bumper, I thought I would be making phone calls, waiting for parts, getting it in, etc. But the very first phone call to my dealer, and they had the part for this 6 year old car just sitting there on the shelf. Installed and back on the road the next day.

gameswithgo 5y ago
with supply chain issues right now even a Ford may not have parts available at times. Tesla is definitely worse on average about service though still.
- maxdo 5y ago
  Tesla is the only car brand almost not affected by chip shortage. Because they adjust parts super fast. They will beat their production estimate in 2021. Ford service will never come to your home unlike tesla. Their service is far more superior to ford. Yes, if you have non critical issue it will be hard to get an appointment, but it's not tesla's fault. It's monopoly of dealership, and regulations. They not allowed to open as many services as they want.
- taylodl 5y ago
  I have a friend who has a 2008 Honda that got hit and my wife has a 2003 Lexus that got hit. Both have parts readily available even in this supply chain crunch. Tesla has never been up to snuff when it comes to parts. If you own a Tesla then you better pray you don't need a part because the Tesla service horror stories are practically legendary at this point - and that was before "supply chain issues."
  - MonaroVXR 5y ago
    Because those parts are adjust produced and used on other cars too, so that means there are parts available in general.

simonebrunozzi 5y ago

You know what? I'd guess that Elon, as "crazy" as he is, might have an idea or two about solving this problem (e.g. 3D-printing the part, etc). Tweet to him. There's a tiny, tiny chance that he will respond and decide this is worth pursuing. Edit: scratch that, I tweeted to him about it [0]. I should never miss a good opportunity to do a micro-tiny amount of good to someone else. [0]: https://twitter.com/simon/status/1473673346583773187 https://twitter.com/simon/status/1473673346583773187