Fisker Reportedly Resorting To Pulling Pieces Off Donor Cars For Repairs

New information has come out that Fisker is reportedly utilizing an Ocean “graveyard” to repair customer vehicles due to a lack of availability of replacement parts. According to Business Insider, a few former and current employees referred to the “fire drill” of receiving new repair requests and scrambling out to the donor vehicles in an attempt to source parts.

The backlog of repairs is growing daily, as unfinished vehicles reach customers and accidents occur and new replacement parts are unavailable. While buyers may expect a lengthier repair process than with larger companies, they’re being met with a nightmare where vehicles are being totaled for minor dings and dents. It’s no surprise the company is currently hanging on by a thread.

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Taking Donor Cars To The Next Level

Anonymous employees refer to the preproduction and production vehicles in the back lot of the company’s La Palma, California facility as “the graveyard,” where they’ve been parked indefinitely for various reasons. The employees said the practice of searching for these donor parts started as soon as the first customer cars were delivered in June 2023 when employees realized they weren’t able to source all replacement parts efficiently.

They say the practice is only in place to cut down on the repair time for customers, and has been done in about 10-15% of repair situations. What they all agreed on was that what started as an extreme measure turned into a daily condoned ritual of receiving the repair requests and then heading out to the cars. It hasn’t been confirmed if customers who received a donor part were made aware of the situation.

When asked for comment, a Fisker company spokesperson denied the practice, saying unequivocally that, “no parts have been taken off these vehicles for use in customers’ cars.”

Another Red Flag

To Fisker’s credit, there isn’t anything inherently wrong with taking replacement parts off of a donor vehicle to repair a customer’s car as long as the customer is aware of the situation and the part is an exact match. The issue is that this “graveyard” includes preproduction vehicles that differ from the final product, thus running the risk of not being true matches.

Related

Fisker Up For Sale And Four Automakers Are Apparently Interested

The embattled automaker’s share price is at all-time low, but Fisker may yet find a savior.

But the real issue is that the company isn’t able to get parts for its customers and must resort to these practices daily to make repairs. It’s another indicator that the company is teetering on the edge, and most likely has been for much longer than the recent headlines would suggest. Reports are that the company may be bankrupt before the end of the year. It’s currently courting a buyout from a few unnamed automakers in a last-ditch effort to stay alive as it manages thousands of canceled reservations.