Crazy Collision Repair Rules

[krafty81]

So my daughter put a small dent in my perfect MME. Rear passenger door while backing low speed. Hard to notice if you are not looking. Took it to my favorite collision place. They have the following rules for EV repair which they say they must follow.
- Car must be completely de-energized, then towed to dealer to verify.
- Towed back to collision place and put on skates so the wheels to not turn and charge the battery
- Car cannot be kept inside overnight at all.
- All other cars must be 50 feet away during all repairs.
- Car towed back to dealer for charging and some other thing.
- Cannot repair aluminum panels so must replace entire rear door.
- Estimate cost was $5500 and they said they would not do it because of all the rules.

Has anyone heard of this? Is this a California thing?

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[Mach1E]

Sounds like an insurance claim then and the price tag isn’t your problem.

But I would get a 2nd opinion from your 2nd favorite collision repair shop.

Could be that your favorite is just scamming the insurance companies. Towing a car a few times doesn’t cost thousands. And no clue how to “de-energize” your car.

 

[jsteach]

Sorry Terry, Buckets of BS !!! They didn't want the work. First lets see a photo, Maybe paintless dent removal. Who is your insurance company? Most have preferred Body shops.

 

[leehinde]

No, it's a made-up BS thing. Shop around.

 

[bballpirate]

Paintless dent repair is what you need. I had a dent in my rear passenger door from someone banging into it and they fixed it for under $100.

 

[krafty81]

Yes I am going to use USAA insurance. This shop has always done good work for me. Will shop around!

 

[Monke]

Look for collision centers on Ford pass. There are certified so they should take the job. Don't expect much form the repair because they have not touched that many Mach E. Yours might be their first one.

 

[CAL465]

Time to use another car shop.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Took it to my favorite collision place. They have the following rules for EV repair which they say they must follow.
- Car must be completely de-energized, then towed to dealer to verify.
- Towed back to collision place and put on skates so the wheels to not turn and charge the battery
- Car cannot be kept inside overnight at all.
- All other cars must be 50 feet away during all repairs.
- Car towed back to dealer for charging and some other thing.
- Cannot repair aluminum panels so must replace entire rear door.
- Estimate cost was $5500 and they said they would not do it because of all the rules.

Total BS, they hate EVs. The car is not going to spontaneously combust. If it was that dangerous, the door could be removed and worked on separately. This is like saying you need the power company to come out and disconnect the power line if you need to replace an outlet cover in your house.

The only thing the body shop has to be careful about is excessive heat near the battery and de-energizing the HV systems if high voltage cables need to be disconnected. Can't put the whole car in the full temp paint booth to cure paint, and can't weld close to the battery pack. Otherwise everything is the same as a regular car. None of that needs to happen to fix a small dent.

Call up a PDR guy, he can probably fix it in your driveway.

 

[krafty81]

Looked on Ford Pass. Caliber Collision is approved by them.

 

[randomvoice]

Wow that is utter BS lol. My car came with a manufacturing defect and the right passenger door needed to be put back together since it was too close to the panel. Ford recommended me their shop. Job literally took a day and they did none of this. Just seems like they don't want to touch your car so it is a way of them telling you to go somewhere else.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

Hmmm, I guess no one ever told the body shop that gasoline can explode. ?

 

[Shayne]

Can't put the whole car in the full temp paint booth to cure paint, and can't weld close to the battery pack. Otherwise everything is the same as a regular car. None of that needs to happen to fix a small dent.

Call up a PDR guy, he can probably fix it in your driveway.

What temp is full temp and at what temp does it become a problem? From what I have read here the ones in Arizona have tested the vehicle in high temps sitting in their driveway

Hmmm, I guess no one ever told the body shop that gasoline can explode. ?

They siphon the gas out and then tow it to the dealers to make sure there is no gas left in the tank. Then they tow it back. Would make sense to start at the dealers but that is just not how they do it.

 

[Mach-Lee]

What temp is full temp and at what temp does it become a problem? From what I have read here the ones in Arizona have tested the vehicle in high temps sitting in their driveway

Ford says no higher than 140ºF for no more than 45 minutes. Apparently some of these heated "spray and bake" paint booths can reach max temperatures of 200ºF.

 

[Spacey]

- Cannot repair aluminum panels so must replace entire rear door.

I was under the impression that the doors are steel? They appear to have got that wrong for a start. I have no magnet to test unfortunately.

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