‘Buy This on eBay And Fix It Yourself’: Tesla Driver Hits Her Side-View Mirror. Then She Finds Out How Much It Costs To Repair
‘Everything Tesla is taxed.’
A Tesla Model Y owner was left gobsmacked after receiving the repair estimate for a broken side-view mirror. Social media user Hollie (@hollie8934) posted a photo slideshow of the damage she incurred.
In the first photo, she shows off the accident’s aftermath. The mirror is visibly missing from the unit, exposing several black pieces of plastic underneath.
She writes in a text overlay placed on top of the photo: “I accidentally hit my Tesla’s mirror.” Following this, the next slide shows a highly meme’d still from The Office of Steve Carrell’s Michael Scott character visibly cringing. Hollie expresses that she had hoped the repair costs wouldn’t be too exorbitant. “Scared and hoping the cost was less than $400.”
Unfortunately, the amount was more than that.
More than double, in fact.
The third and final photo in her slideshow revealed what Tesla charged her to fix the broken side mirror. And it cost about as much as a capable laptop or top of the line smartphone.
According to an estimate given by the EV brand two weeks ago, Hollie was going to have to fork over $1,037.54. She placed a crying emoji over the screenshot of the repair bill, writing, “Technician came out and after multiple estimates the grand total.”
Other Tesla Owners Are Miffed Over Broken Mirror Repair Prices
In a post uploaded to the Tesla Motors Club forum, one person remarked that they, too, were flummoxed by the amount they were charged to “replace a passenger side mirror.” In their entry, they said the component was damaged by debris that struck their car during a storm. Following the accident, they brought their car to a certified Tesla repair center, who charged them $1,400 for the fix.
Their post also included a photo of the bill, which showed a $45.60 charge for “paint to match” the right side mirror cover. The exterior mirror unit itself cost $450, and they were billed 4 hours of body labor at $110 per hour. Paint labor would take 1.2 hours, which was also billed at $110 per hour. Furthermore, the bill also included a charge for separate mechanical labor which cost more at $125 per hour for 1.8 hours. All of these costs, after taxes, culminated in a $1,418.28 charge.
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Another Reddit user who posted to the site’s r/Model3 sub said that they too received a replacement estimate that was well over the thousand-dollar mark. With a total repair bill structured similarly to the Tesla Motors Club poster, they showed that they were quoted $1,334.53. Furthermore, they provided a picture of the damage in question, which seemed much more severe than the image Hollie posts of her own repair woes. The mirror seemed as if it had been ripped clean off of their car, with exposed wiring harnesses dangling from the vehicle’s jutting stem.
Different Broken Tesla Mirror Costs
There were some folks who didn’t incur such hefty charges to fix the broken mirrors in their Teslas, however. Like this one person on the Tesla Owners Online forum who stated that they were hit with a $250 charge to swap out the broken mirror glass on their ride. The Model S owner thought the figure was high; however, one person argued that in their experience, these sticker shock estimates are overblown. Furthermore, they stated that when they previously had repairs actually completed, they were eventually charged much less.
Others have argued that the replacement cost for side mirrors should run customers less than the aforementioned amounts. This website writes that Tesla drivers will pay between $300 to $800 to repair a broken mirror depending on the nature of the damage sustained. Another website, BitAuto, says that it should cost anywhere from $100 to $500 to fix one of these mirrors.
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Since many Teslas feature mechanically operating side-view mirrors, if these components are damaged, this could jack up the price of a repair. Moreover, there’s the actual side-view mirror housing, and mirror glass itself to consider, along with painting costs. Different Tesla models and years have mirrors with different features. For instance, the Model 3 had its auto-dimming mirrors discontinued, only to be brought back later. As with any and all car repairs, make sure you’re being charged the appropriate prices for the components that are appropriate for your vehicle.
Commenters Reply
One person who responded to Hollie’s video shared their own anecdotal experience with Tesla repairs. They say that a friend of theirs works at Tesla and that the brand routinely upcharges its customers. “My buddy works at Tesla small things like this are super cheap and easy to replace. But they will order a new OEM one and bill you every step along the way… install a used or refurbished one and sell the new one,” they penned.
Hollie replied to the above-quoted TikTok user, stating that she was instructed the entire unit needed to be swapped. “I know the parts are probably cheap. I even explained that the mirror was fine and just needed the cap. He said the whole thing had to be replaced,” they wrote.
One person echoed sentiments that Tesla drivers are slapped with expenditures simply due to their vehicle’s badging. “Everything Tesla is taxed. My screen cracked 3 grand,” they wrote.
Someone else expressed how shocked they were to see Hollie’s quote for the mirror. “$1000 for the plastic cap. People complain about not being able to afford houses then spend money on this,” they penned.
There were others who urged Hollie to just fix the damage on her own. “Nah, buy this on eBay and fix it yourself,” one said.
Another Tesla owner said that they had the same problem and managed to DIY it, despite possessing limited car repair knowledge. “Trust me when I say I am terrible at car stuff too. Someone hit my Tesla and knocked that same exact piece off. It cost like $20 on Amazon, and I literally just popped it right on,” she wrote.
Hollie countered, however, that the damage sustained to her mirror extended beyond a simple mirror replacement. “I believe you. But the bottom part, where it has the hooks, they were broken. And even if I bought the cap , there was nothing to clip it to. That’s why the guy said he had to replace the whole thing,” she replied.
InsideEVs has reached out to Hollie via TikTok comment for further information.
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