Underbody Protection Panel damaged. Batteries and coolant lines need inspection. $72.5K replacement & labor cost. Dealership is Tom Wood in Indiana

[DerekS]

There’s a used Taycan battery on eBay for like $4500.

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[Maelstrom]

Link?

 

[DerekS]

Link?

$4999 actually.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3055702293...1l7gPhrTZm&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[TeecanToocan]

Having now read this entire thread I am left with no worries when it comes ownership of my Taycan.
It seams to me that many individuals in this thread are jumping to conclusions and do not understand how an OEM dealership functions compared to a mom and pop shop. From the OP's own admission the dealership did not remove the protection panel without prior approval from the OP's insurance company. So from the start this was insurance vs the dealer not the customer. It definitely appears OP injected themselves into a situation way too strongly instead of letting insurance and dealer come to an agreement.
To top it all off then OP gets confused and accidentally builds a shelf. They do this by wanting to have the car back before any repairs were actually carried out. Which is totally unsafe and I agree this other thread comments on this matter.
Also the UV eye scan that the OP posted clearly shows damage to the underside of the battery at the top of the image. Also are we going to ignore the additional recommendation for the pedestrian protection being damaged???? Clearly the car had hit something large.

I came here hoping for some valuable information on this thread, but that was a whiff....

 

[DerekS]

Cool, so this is a matter for insurance only and anything else is noise. Got it.

It's completely not a problem that a minor ding to the pan can total (or nearly total) the car.

It's also no problem that Porsche requires full battery swaps unless it's on their dime, at which point they are suddenly very interested in battery repair.

So yep, thread closed folks, nothing to see here! And don't worry about your rates going up or your carrier refusing to insure the Taycan. Insurance companies are our friends!

 

[DerekS]

While the main point sailed right over @TeecanToocan 's head, I will concede he makes one fairly good point:

Letting insurance duke it out is probably the best course of action.
You get a new battery, the warranty stays intact, you're only out your deductible.

In theory. We'll assume your insurance company will do you right, unless they don't.

What's the status of that negotiation? Are they willing to cover all these core deposits and freight fees?

 

[whitex]

The blanket statement of >3mm replace irrespective isn't sitting right with me

That's just lazy engineering. Porsche decided this will not happen often enough and/or cost them any money (actually it is making them and their dealers profit), so it's not worth designing and maintaining a diagnostic and repair procedure, then ensuring applicable parts are available. Not doing this for a $72,500 replacement cost on a $100K car component should be illegal - perhaps there are some consumer protection laws needed, similar to the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act or other regulation that requires replacement parts be available from car manufacturers for x years.

 

[DerekS]

Porsche decided this will not happen often enough and/or cost them any money

It cost them at least one sale - I was going to get the E-Boxster as a day one buyer.
Now I'll be looking for other alternatives.

Since I don't want to go back to ICE this very likely means I'm done with the brand entirely.

 

[T4S]

Having now read this entire thread I am left with no worries when it comes ownership of my Taycan.
It seams to me that many individuals in this thread are jumping to conclusions and do not understand how an OEM dealership functions compared to a mom and pop shop. From the OP's own admission the dealership did not remove the protection panel without prior approval from the OP's insurance company. So from the start this was insurance vs the dealer not the customer. It definitely appears OP injected themselves into a situation way too strongly instead of letting insurance and dealer come to an agreement.
To top it all off then OP gets confused and accidentally builds a shelf. They do this by wanting to have the car back before any repairs were actually carried out. Which is totally unsafe and I agree this other thread comments on this matter.
Also the UV eye scan that the OP posted clearly shows damage to the underside of the battery at the top of the image. Also are we going to ignore the additional recommendation for the pedestrian protection being damaged???? Clearly the car had hit something large.

I came here hoping for some valuable information on this thread, but that was a whiff....

I understand your sentiment and anyone else who feels the same way.

The situation that OP is experiencing can happen to any Porsche Taycan owner who gets a small dent in their protective tray. Most people just go through insurance, but OP chose to push back (rightly so IMO) and the Tom Wood Porsche clearly did not like that because they wanted an easy process.

Porsche dealers seem to follow the same process below which is extremely concerning and must be changed. Nobody has called them, PCNA, or Porsche AG out for this yet.

1) Taycan comes to shop for [X] reason
2) Camera scans underside.
3) Software finds dent in protection tray.
4) Service measures dent. If greater than 3mm, notifies owner and demands ~$4k for "inspection". If owner denies "inspection", warranty threatened to be cancelled.
5) Owner pays for inspection and dealer finds small dent in coolant lines. Dealer demands entire battery replaced for ~$50k-$70k total.
6) If owner denies replacement, warranty threatened to be cancelled. So owner approves and they most likely go through insurance.
7) Insurance negotiates with dealer on repair, approves ~$50k-$70k total battery replacement.
8) Dealer receives massive profits servicing a vehicle that was originally supposed to decrease their profits because it doesn't require much maintenance.
9) Insurance gathers data from Taycans in the US and determines there is an achilles heel with Taycans and its protection tray; therefore, increasing rates for all Taycan owners.

 

[whitex]

While the main point sailed right over @TeecanToocan 's head, I will concede he makes one fairly good point:

Letting insurance duke it out is probably the best course of action.
You get a new battery, the warranty stays intact, you're only out your deductible.

In theory. We'll assume your insurance company will do you right, unless they don't.

What's the status of that negotiation? Are they willing to cover all these core deposits and freight fees?

A claim on your insurance that is not the fault of another party is more than likely going to raise your rates at renewal time. All your claims get sent to the underwriters.

 

[Fish Fingers]

Having now read this entire thread I am left with no worries when it comes ownership of my Taycan.
It seams to me that many individuals in this thread are jumping to conclusions and do not understand how an OEM dealership functions compared to a mom and pop shop. From the OP's own admission the dealership did not remove the protection panel without prior approval from the OP's insurance company. So from the start this was insurance vs the dealer not the customer. It definitely appears OP injected themselves into a situation way too strongly instead of letting insurance and dealer come to an agreement.
To top it all off then OP gets confused and accidentally builds a shelf. They do this by wanting to have the car back before any repairs were actually carried out. Which is totally unsafe and I agree this other thread comments on this matter.
Also the UV eye scan that the OP posted clearly shows damage to the underside of the battery at the top of the image. Also are we going to ignore the additional recommendation for the pedestrian protection being damaged???? Clearly the car had hit something large.

I came here hoping for some valuable information on this thread, but that was a whiff....

Is this a subject you are particularly interested in or concerned about, as I notice its your first post on the forum?

Reading the full thread (38 pages) would obviously take some time and then joining the forum just to make that single post 20 minutes later.

So its obviously a subject that concerns / interests you a lot more than all the other Taycan related threads on here.
Intrigued why that's the case.

I would also think that most members on here do fully understand how an OEM dealership works. If not, they are learning very quickly.

 

[Jasper4S]

Having now read this entire thread I am left with no worries when it comes ownership of my Taycan.
It seams to me that many individuals in this thread are jumping to conclusions and do not understand how an OEM dealership functions compared to a mom and pop shop. From the OP's own admission the dealership did not remove the protection panel without prior approval from the OP's insurance company. So from the start this was insurance vs the dealer not the customer. It definitely appears OP injected themselves into a situation way too strongly instead of letting insurance and dealer come to an agreement.
To top it all off then OP gets confused and accidentally builds a shelf. They do this by wanting to have the car back before any repairs were actually carried out. Which is totally unsafe and I agree this other thread comments on this matter.
Also the UV eye scan that the OP posted clearly shows damage to the underside of the battery at the top of the image. Also are we going to ignore the additional recommendation for the pedestrian protection being damaged???? Clearly the car had hit something large.

I came here hoping for some valuable information on this thread, but that was a whiff....

Ah here he is; the service rep from the stealership! Welcome to the thread.

 

[Singularity]

Even if nothing else, we should be very concerned about insurance costs skyrocketing and this could not only lead to that but also some insurance companies simply refusing to insure the car. That is a real problem and I hope they understand this at Porsche and do some improvements.

 

[whitex]

It cost them at least one sale - I was going to get the E-Boxster as a day one buyer.
Now I'll be looking for other alternatives.

Since I don't want to go back to ICE this very likely means I'm done with the brand entirely.

Potential future sale vs. current cost they need to put on the ledger which will show up in their stockholder reports. "Future's problem" for them. It's also likely they will be able to give you an excuse. such as "we fixed the battery shield in the new Boxter EV" which does not require them to spend money now. Porsche CEO gets his bonus from the stock price, not from whether or not some customer(s) will buy future models. This is why if this is going to be fixed it's going to be due to a lawsuit (some country with strong consumer protection laws), or fixed in new cars only if it's identified as a reason customers are reluctant to buy new cars. Even if it blows up in the media today, it will result in nothing but lip service unless it's identified as a factor causing a sales slump.

While this is not what current customers want to hear, that is how publicly traded corporations think.

 

[whitex]

It seams to me that many individuals in this thread are jumping to conclusions and do not understand how an OEM dealership functions compared to a mom and pop shop. From the OP's own admission the dealership did not remove the protection panel without prior approval from the OP's insurance company. So from the start this was insurance vs the dealer not the customer. It definitely appears OP injected themselves into a situation way too strongly instead of letting insurance and dealer come to an agreement.

Ok, since you claim to know have this deep understanding in how dealerships work. How exactly is this supposed to play out:

1. Dealership asks for permission to inspect the car,
2. provides loaner car
3. Dealership provides $72.5K quote to insurance, insurance says nope, $44K is all we'll pay
4. Dealer start charging the customer for the loaner car and storage fees

How exactly are you suggesting this would have played out normally if the customer stays out of it, as you suggest? Car sits at dealer until the storage charges exceed the dropping value of the car, then dealer auctions it off and calls it done? Insurance pays for loaner cars indefinitely as long as the premiums are paid? Insurance comes back at $72.5K out of their own volition? Dealer lowers the price all on their own? I'm curious how you think this would have played out if the customer stayed 100% out of this - no contact with dealer or insurance, as that would be interjecting between them which you say should never happen.

To top it all off then OP gets confused and accidentally builds a shelf. They do this by wanting to have the car back before any repairs were actually carried out. Which is totally unsafe and I agree this other thread comments on this matter.

If this is so unsafe, why isn't there a daily recall to check all Taycans on the road for this "totally unsafe" condition. Is Porsche playing Russian roulette with people's lives here?

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