If your Tesla is damaged anywhere around Puget Sound, you have two kinds of certified repair to choose from: a collision center that Tesla runs itself, or an independent body shop that Tesla has approved. Tesla operates its own collision centers in Bellevue, Tacoma and Renton. Murray's CARSTAR in Des Moines is a Tesla Approved Collision Center. Here is how the two compare, so you can pick the one that fits.
Two Kinds of Certified Tesla Repair
Tesla's own collision centers are owned and run by Tesla. Around Puget Sound that means Tesla Collision Bellevue on 133rd Pl NE, Tesla Collision Tacoma on N 9th St, and Tesla's collision center in Renton.
Tesla Approved Collision Centers are independent body shops that Tesla approves facility by facility. Approved shops repair Teslas to Tesla's procedures with genuine Tesla parts. Our contract with Tesla requires us to use Tesla OEM parts on certified Tesla repairs, and we recalibrate the driver-assist cameras and sensors as part of the repair.
What Is the Same
Either way, your car is repaired by a facility Tesla has certified, to Tesla's procedures, with genuine Tesla parts. Both can work with your insurance company, and Washington law gives you the right to choose your own repair shop, whoever your insurer recommends.
What Can Differ
How you book. Tesla schedules its own collision centers through the Tesla app. With an approved shop like ours you can walk in during business hours, call, or send photos for a free estimate.
What else the shop repairs. We repair every make and model: Teslas at our Des Moines shop, and every other make at our Burien facility. If your household has more than one car, one shop can handle all of them.
Getting around while your car is in. We keep our own fleet of Teslas as loaners through our VIP Rentals program, subject to availability, so you can stay in a car you already know. Rentals are commonly covered by insurance.
How soon the work can start. Lead times vary from shop to shop and season to season, at Tesla's own centers and at approved shops alike. Ask any shop for its current lead time before you commit.
How to Check That a Shop Is Approved
Tesla shows its approved body shops inside the Tesla app when you schedule a collision repair, not on a public web page. You can also ask the shop directly. For our Des Moines shop, CARSTAR's listing shows our Tesla certification, and I-CAR's Gold Class search lists us as a Gold Class shop.
Which Should You Choose?
If the closest certified option to you is one of Tesla's own centers and their timing works, that is a fine choice. If you would rather talk to someone today, want a Tesla loaner while you wait, or are south of Seattle near Des Moines, Kent, Federal Way or SeaTac, an approved shop like ours may be the easier path. The one thing worth insisting on is a certified repair.
Common Questions
Yes. Tesla operates its own collision centers in Bellevue, Tacoma and Renton. Tesla also approves independent body shops, called Tesla Approved Collision Centers, one facility at a time. Murray's CARSTAR in Des Moines is one of them.
Both are certified by Tesla, and both repair Teslas to Tesla's procedures with genuine Tesla parts. The practical differences are how you book, where the shop is, what happens with a rental while your car is in, and how soon the shop can start.
No. Washington law gives you the right to choose your own repair shop, whoever your insurer recommends.
Walk in during business hours at 22001 Pacific Hwy S in Des Moines, call (206) 824-8454, or start with a free photo estimate online.