Yahoo Autos Everything You Know About Electric Car Repair Costs Is Wrong
Clickbait tends to smell. And when it comes to EV scaremongering, I detected something fishy about two tales being spread like gospel by media: First, that Teslas are being routinely totaled by insurers, even after relatively minor fender benders. Secondly, that collision repair costs for Teslas or other EVs are out of control.
As it turns out, none of those things are remotely true, as proven by analysis of every smash, bash, and insurance claim in America. In fact, gasoline cars are three times as likely to be totaled after an accident than a Tesla or other EV, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI). ICE models were written off after 18.4 percent of collisions, versus 6.1 percent for EVs. Sure, a new $60,000 Tesla can sustain more dollar damage before being totaled than a $30,000 Toyota. Yet even 2019-and-newer luxury ICE cars are written off after 7.1 percent of collisions, more than all EVs regardless of age or price.
The assertion that “EVs are being totaled left and right is the horror story that keeps insurers up at night,” said Ryan Mandell, director of claims performance for Mitchell, a top provider of data and software to insurers and the collision repair industry. “Has that happened? Yes. But the incidents are few and far between.”
As for the Model S, HLDI’s granular data puts the lie to anecdotal hatchet jobs: In 2019, owners of 2012-2019 Tesla Model S' logged 9,630 collision claims and saw 906 cars written off, or 9.4 percent of crashes. Conventional large ICE luxury sedans of identical model years were totaled after 14.2 percent of collisions. So much for the idea that salvage yards are filling with junked Teslas, whose ubiquity has them responsible for 75 percent of all EV collision reports.
And while EVs do rack up bigger body repair bills than the “average” gasoline model — again, a universe that includes older econoboxes — they’re often on direct par with ICE cars of comparable class and model year.
Tellingly, in a HLDI study of 11 models that offer both gasoline and fully electric versions — including the Hyundai Kona and Volvo XC40 — EV versions now cost a negligible two percent more to repair. For every such model, the gasoline version is significantly more likely to be written off after a wreck. Plug-in versions were also involved in 19 percent fewer collision claims, even after adjusting for mileage.
Matt Moore, HLDI senior vice president, said the apples-to-apples study proves electric tech per se “is clearly not the culprit” for burdensome repair costs.
Peering under these mangled skins reveals what’s really happening: Gas or electric, the cost of making any late-model car “good as new” has soared 30 percent in three years. The average repairable collision claim is on track to top a record $5,000 by year-end, according to Mitchell.
The culprit isn’t motors and batteries, but a modern fleet transformed by ever-more complex and luxurious models, including deluxe SUVs and pickups, Mandell said. All new cars bristle with safety sensors and driver assistance systems that protect and pamper occupants, but can make seemingly “simple” repairs a nightmare. Many bumpers must be entirely replaced after low-speed dings, due to potential liability if radar or other sensors are compromised by body repairs. Systems must be inspected or recalibrated.
“The modern digital architecture is so advanced, that systems beyond point of impact are being disrupted,” Mandell said. “Getting a car back to pre-loss condition is harder than at any point in history, and will only become more challenging.”
Throw in hefty insurance payouts for totaled cars, and last year’s average collision loss jumped to $8,739 for model year 2020-2022 cars. That’s nearly double the $4,439 loss in a 2013 HLDI study. Insurance premiums are soaring to keep pace, including a 17-percent jump over 12 months through May.
Edge Cases, Outliers, and Start-Ups
To be sure, wallet-busting stories are only a click away. Chris Apfelstadt never intended to be a public face of sticker-shock EV repair bills. But that’s what happened when Apfelstadt, driving his Rivian R1T pickup with his infant son aboard, was rear-ended in Columbus, OH in February. Apfelstadt received a $1,600 check from the insurance company of the Lexus driver who dented his truck. That check turned out light: Fixing the damage at a certified Rivian shop cost $42,000, roughly half the truck’s new value.
Some Tesla owners post YouTube tales of being blindsided by lofty repair estimates or notoriously long waits for parts and service. Those backlogs surely helped spur Elon Musk to create his secret “Diversion Team” to suppress and deny owners’ range complaints, and cancel all range-related service appointments — as team members celebrated each screw-you cancellation by pinging a metal xylophone.
Musk earlier acknowledged a need to “minimize the cost of repairing a Tesla if it’s in a collision” via changes to vehicle design and software. Stating the obvious, Musk said, "It's remarkable how small changes in the design of the bumper and providing spare parts needed for collision repair have an enormous effect on the repair cost.”
Design choices do matter. Apfelstadt’s incident dented the Rivian’s “unipanel,” an enormous sheet that extends from the truck’s rear to front roof pillars. Its repair set off a cascade of pricey work, including removing the interior headliner and front windshield, all for a dented rear corner.
Legacy scale brings advantages, but that’s not cut-and-dried. Ford counts 2,800 North American dealers that can repair EVs, along with a vast network of independent collision shops and aftermarket suppliers.
“A start-up might be supplying 100 fenders, where Ford has 100,000,” Mandell said.
Rivian has certified about 200 independent North American collision shops, and just three in Ohio where Apfelstadt sought his work. That makes it harder to shop for a reasonable price. And when insurance covers the tab, many owners just want the job done right, price be damned. Apfelstadt emphasized he was very happy with the like-new restoration of his Rivian.
Noe Mejia, Rivian’s vice-president of service operations, acknowledged “it’s a challenge that we’re newer to market.”
He said Rivian is focused on reducing repair costs, and that the company’s small size helps it work one-on-one with customers to find shops and ensure repairs and paint jobs meet luxury standards.
Apfelstadt’s experience aside, Rivian’s average collision losses are only running 47 percent higher than the average ICE pickup.
“For vehicles at the Rivian’s price point, that’s not unusual,” said Matt Moore, HLDI senior vice-president, with Rivian tech and luxury more akin to a Range Rover than an old-school truck. In fact, the Rivian’s collision losses have been no higher than, say, the Audi Q7’s, and well below luxury SUVs from Range Rover, Porsche, or a Mercedes G-Class.
Legacy scale, resources, and body-shop experience may be helping Ford: Mitchell shows repairable collision claims for the electric F-150 Lightning averaging $5,435, or less than the $5,850 for all half-ton ICE pickups. Rivian R1T claims are averaging $8,894. Yet for many spanking-new EVs — such as the Cadillac Lyriq, whose initial claims are just trickling in — Moore cautions that data is too sparse for blanket judgments. The Rivian R1T has seen barely 300 collision claims in America since its launch, versus more than 40,000 for a single trim level of the gasoline Ford F-150 over the same period.
Apfelstadt’s gut-punch Rivian tab “could point to trouble down the road, or it could be a fluke,” Moore said.
