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

[D00notD00d]

From the pics you’ve provided, this isn’t reckless damage.

1) This is accidental damage and therefore should be covered by insurance. Focus there.
or
2) Pursue a legal case against Porsche USA. A consumer law specialist or Industry dispute Ombudsman could help. You could contend that the fault is not attributable to fair wear and tear - the root problem is a design flaw, inadequate clearance between the protective cover and the expensive gubbins it is there to protect, and/or the protective cover material isn’t sufficient, unfit for purpose.
The Taycan ground clearance is around 126mm, 5”. A 3mm tolerance above that before incurring $72k damage is ludicrous.
Usually a case like this would require the independent opinion of a qualified engineer. The difficuly there could be finding someone with sufficient BEV experience to act as an expert witness. There’s unlikely to many of those around.

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[andb]

This is unacceptable, send the story to inside-ev and electrek!

 

[Longy_UK]

Crazy story....

Cant believe your insurer is trying to wriggle out of paying.

You may as well pick the car up and drive it into a tree.... Then insurance will cover you.

 

[DerekS]

That is true if warranty pays (manufacturer may want the part back for investigation), or if there is a "core charge credit" as part of the quote (whoever pays gets a credit for the old part by the manufacturer).

If this 68K includes a core exchange, what would it be without one?? OMG.

 

[DerekS]

Crazy story....

Cant believe your insurer is trying to wriggle out of paying.

You may as well pick the car up and drive it into a tree.... Then insurance will cover you.

I didn't get they aren't going to pay...just that they are doing the usual back and forth negotiations.

In the case of my nightmare roof claim they drug it out as long as they possibly could, and I expect the same here.

 

[Maelstrom]

I didn't get they aren't going to pay...just that they are doing the usual back and forth negotiations.

In the case of my nightmare roof claim they drug it out as long as they possibly could, and I expect the same here.

You're correct, they are currently doing the back and forth with the dealership, I did a notification that they've approved $39k which has confused both me and the dealership as it's not even close to replacing everything. This is going to be a journey lol

 

[Maelstrom]

Very disturbing thread. My thoughts @Maelstrom:

1. There is very little lateral movement implied in the dent, and the metal exposed looks very fresh. Can the dealership prove that your car was not up on a 4 point lift and accidentally lowered onto a misplaced tool or other rigid obstruction?
2. You should contact Christine Russell Fleischer (head of customer experience) and Glenn Garde (head of after-sales) at PCNA and make them aware of your situation and the broader implications.

Don't suppose you have any contact details you could send me please?

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

You're correct, they are currently doing the back and forth with the dealership, I did a notification that they've approved $39k which has confused both me and the dealership as it's not even close to replacing everything. This is going to be a journey lol

It’s probably based on something like this, with plenty of buffer for labor and ancillaries? https://www.porscheatlantaperimeter...-Motor-Battery-Pack/16179295/9J1915099AH.html

 

[Maelstrom]

Yup, that was listed on the estimate

 

[DerekS]

You're correct, they are currently doing the back and forth with the dealership, I did a notification that they've approved $39k which has confused both me and the dealership as it's not even close to replacing everything. This is going to be a journey lol

In my case it got to a stalemate - the insurance company refused to meet what the dealer wanted, and the dealer refused to budge. It was close enough that I just paid the gap to get the ordeal over with. It took weeks.

 

[T4S]

You're correct, they are currently doing the back and forth with the dealership, I did a notification that they've approved $39k which has confused both me and the dealership as it's not even close to replacing everything. This is going to be a journey lol

This is going to be a real big problem with insurance in the future, and some people may have touched upon already. It will be harder and/or more expensive to insure our Taycans (or even EVs in general) in the future once word gets out to insurance companies about these battery replacements for a relatively small "ding" in the battery casing. It is one thing to replace it because of significant damage (ex: puncture, error codes, etc.), it is another for what is essentially cosmetic. You still don't have evidence from the dealer that this 3.33mm ding is causing issues with the battery.

Do you have a local news agency that could run a story on this to try and push Porsche to come up with a solution? I feel that is the only way to get an actual response and action from corporate...

 

[whitex]

@Maelstrom , do you have a written quote for the $68K, I'm curious what it consists of given a brand new battery from Porsche lists at $27K (see link post #173 from @WasserGKuehlt).

 

[SteveDC]

It’s probably based on something like this, with plenty of buffer for labor and ancillaries? https://www.porscheatlantaperimeter...-Motor-Battery-Pack/16179295/9J1915099AH.html

Price not so bad! Electrified Garage might be able to work a battery installation for you or recommend someone else. That outfit is associated with Rich Benoit of the interesting “Rich Repairs“ YouTube channel. I have no experience with them, but they are big believers in independent shop repair for electrics.

 

[whitex]

93KWh used packs on ebay for as low as $5600 (example here). If you're going with places like Electrified Garage, it might be cheaper to get one of those, swap the battery modules into an unscratched casing, sell the individual cells from the donor battery for a few of grand (~$200 per module if you piece it out).

 

[Maelstrom]

@Maelstrom , do you have a written quote for the $68K, I'm curious what it consists of given a brand new battery from Porsche lists at $27K (see link post #173 from @WasserGKuehlt).

I've asked for this and should get it tomorrow

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