Damaged(?) Battery - $36,000 to replace?

[RockDamage]

I have a 2018 e-Golf which I had been very happy with until recently when I hit a softball-sized rock that fell from a dump truck in front of me - there was a significant bump as it hit the underside of the car. The car continued to drive and charge just fine until my scheduled 1 year maintenance checkup a few weeks later. There are dents on the protective covering for the battery which caused the technician some concern. After 3 weeks of back and forth and testing, I've been informed that due to the depth of the dent they're concerned there may be damage to the battery (despite it passing the tests they've done and a no issues driving/charging between the incident and the appointment).

I've been given 2 choices (sadly I have no collision insurance and so my understanding is my insurance company won't cover anything):

1. Replace the battery. I've been quoted $36,000 for this which seems completely insane?
2. Pay thousands of dollars to have specialists come in from Toronto to remove the battery cover and determine if there is damage. If there is damage, we go back to option 1.

Obviously a very unfortunate situation, but I can't understand the quote I'm being given. If anyone has any advice or thoughts on what I should do next, I would very much appreciate it.

 

[f1geek]

How big are the dents?

For option 2, if there is damage to a few cells, why not just replace the cells, get a new bottom cover and put the pack back in the car?

If the testing says everything is ok, why not just continue to drive the car as normal? Find out which cells are near the dent and get OBDEleven so you can monitor cell temperatures, if you are concerned.

It seems VW doesn't want to replace the battery pack, and since you have no insurance they are clearly trying to take advantage of you. You might as well buy a new car for $36,000 (which they probably want you to do).

 

[Blackgolf]

sorry to hear that. first check your insurance provider to see what they can do, maybe the truck is liable for this. $36000 is ridiculous, new egolf now now has 10k discount. I guess you can just drive it and frequently check the dent area.

 

[RockDamage]

Thanks for your replies. I forgot to mention this in the original post but the dealer is telling me they cannot release the car to me because it's a safety hazard. As far as I can tell they are saying that based on the possibility of damage, but I will ask for more details and inquire about replacing just the damaged cells.

 

[f1geek]

Who owns the car? You or the dealer? I don't see how the dealer can refuse to give you back your property. It is your decision to drive a "dangerous" car, right?

 

[BigAl]

I hope everything gets resolved and you at least get your e-Golf back OP.

 

[RockDamage]

An update: I've now been told it will be at least as expensive to get the specialists to come look at it as it would be to replace the battery since they would have to be flown in from Germany, so according to VW that option is now off the table. The only "option" I was given in my last talk with the dealership was to replace the battery (still being told $36,000).

Based on the replies in this thread:
- I've asked about just getting my car back and am being told they have to look into it.
- I asked for an explanation of the price, no clear explanation, they're looking into it
- I asked why they would need to replace the whole battery instead of just specific cells (if any are even damaged) but because of the ridiculous costs of bringing in specialists to remove the cover in the first place, I think this is off the table.

 

[manybees]

Where are you located? Are there other dealers around where you could get a second opinion?

Hard to imagine that they can just keep a car that you own and demand $36,000 to fix it before they'll give it back. It's your property, right? It's not leased, is it?

If you had an ICE car with a leaky gas tank (obviously a hazard) and they quoted you $36,000 to fix it, wouldn't you have the right to at least have the car towed to another dealer to get a second quote? It's your car, after all, and they can't just keep it even if it is deemed unsafe, can they? In your case, it hasn't even been established that the dent has necessarily caused a hazardous situation. My guess is that they are proceeding with extreme caution to avoid any possibility of legal liability in the event that, say, you took the car home as-is and then the battery caught on fire and burned your garage down. They don't want you (or others) to sue them.

If you haven't already, maybe you should escalate the situation to VW Corporate?

 

[sactogolf]

I am pissed off for you. $36,000 is crazy. The battery probably costs $200/kW x 35kW, or $7,000 without markup. Work can't be more than a day (lift car, unscrew battery, out with the old, in with the new).

Here is how I would attempt resolve this:
1) Tell them to return your car or you are reporting it stolen to the police. It is your property and they do not have the right to keep it.

2) Escalate this to VW corporate immediately if you have not already done so. Tell them that if they do not propose a reasonable solution, you will spread this message this all over social media, green and electric vehicle blogs, local news, etc. They are unveiling the ID.3 next week. I can think of many car blogs who would love to highlight this level of incompetence, and being this boneheaded could easily taint the release of their new savior vehicle. "Buy our new VW ID.3! (if you hit a rock, we will charge you more than the car to replace it)"

I hate VW for acting like this. It serves to reinforce the fears that everyone has of electric cars.

 

[JoulesThief]

This is VW dealership induced, not corporate.

VW has trained specialists here in the USA that they fly in to change out batteries. It's a 3 or 4 man team flown to location of the dealership.

This dealership has figured out they have a sucker, namely you, and they are running you through the ringer.

Ask for the keys to your car back, or bring your spare set with you and tell them you want your car back. If they don't cooperate, call the police down to the dealership and tell them they are holding your car against your will, under duress. Have a film crew going while you are going through all of this, documenting the event, and the name of the dealership.

 

[RockDamage]

I was given an updated quote for checking for battery damage, it was something like $8,000 ignoring any potential parts (and labour to install said parts). Seems excessive to remove a panel to me, but I guess it is what it is.

Anyways, I've told them I'm taking my car back, they're having a waiver drafted by a lawyer for me to sign and I should get it by Friday at the latest. I'll update here when that happens.

 

[Ihopethisworks]

Can you please post to us the dealership name and location?

"The first step in avoiding a trap, is knowing there's a trap."
And this dealership sounds like the definition of stealership.

Seriously, keep us updated. I am quite positive that I am not thr only one who wants to see this resolved for you; and how it's resolved.

 

[RockDamage]

I picked up my car today after signing a letter saying that I was doing so against their advice, and accepting the potential risks.

As to where the dealership is, I'm tempted to give them the benefit of the doubt that the problem is specifically with them, beyond the fact that they lack qualified people to deal with the situation (and from the sounds of it this is true of most dealerships). Most of what they told me was passed along either from Toronto or later on the VW head office in Germany and there was always a time lag as they sent them info and waited to hear back.

I also contacted a dealership in Ottawa (I'm ~200km from there) asking about the price of replacing a battery and was quoted the same $36,000 figure. When I pushed them to explain it I just got blown off.

The main lesson I've taken is that repairs to electric cars are going to be very expensive, especially if your local dealership doesn't have local access to the appropriately qualified technicians.

If anyone has any other questions about the whole ordeal, I'm happy to answer. Thanks again to all who gave advice.

 

[msvphoto]

Here's how I would try to find an out of warranty battery: https://www.copart.com/lot/38301299

I checked Copart Canada and they currently don't have any eGolfs though.

This is a terrible situation and I am really sorry to hear you're being stuck with such a high estimate. No wonder insurance costs so much for EVs.

$36k for battery replacement is insane when you can get a brand new 2019 car for less than $25k out the door before tax credits and rebates.

 

[sactogolf]

Have you spoken to VW corporate? The replacement battery is listed on the all dealership parts websites at US$27,000. So the dealerships are probably just passing that along. It cannot possibly cost $27,000 for VW to produce this battery. They should be able to charge a dealership less to avoid an embarrassing situation for them. Although I doubt the battery even needs to be replaced.

Keep us posted.

 

[msvphoto]

OP is in Canada so VW USA parts prices don't apply. Even $27k is more than the current average sale price for a new 2019 eGolf so still less $ to just buy another car than replacement battery. Crazy expensive!

 

[sactogolf]

That price has no bearing on the economics of batteries - its really just an ridiculous markup. An unnamed VW source just quoted the battery price on the ID.3 at $100/kW, which would translate to a $3,500 cost to procure. Even with the ancillary equipment, I can't imagine the eGolf is that much higher.

https://electrek.co/2019/09/09/vw-battery-cost-gigafactory-northvolt/

 

[miimura]

The fundamental problem with this situation is that VW expects this kind of road hazard damage to be covered by insurance. They have no motivation to provide a service that can address this in a cost effective fashion. If the OP had insurance coverage, the car would have been totaled due to the excessive repair cost and liability of continuing to drive it in the damaged condition. The insurance company would have accepted the explanations provided by the dealer and VW Canada, while a private owner on the hook for the repair clearly would not.

The most cost effective repair is to buy a salvage complete pack from a car with the same pack type and then sell on your pack with the damaged case to someone who wants to disassemble it and use the battery cells inside for another project like an EV conversion or a stationary storage battery pack.

 

[zman]

Just FYI if anything like this happens again. Get the info off the truck immediately and call the police. No matter what they have on the truck as far as signage they are indeed liable for damage from things falling off their truck.

 

[Spektre]

Just FYI if anything like this happens again. Get the info off the truck immediately and call the police. No matter what they have on the truck as far as signage they are indeed liable for damage from things falling off their truck.

Not an owner of a Tesla, but this situation is exactly why their onboard cameras are potentially invaluable.

Though I am a VW fanboi and am patiently waiting for the id.4 and/or the Buzz (or whatever they end up calling it), the allure of Tesla's tech and supercharger network is getting harder to resist.