Is it worth sending in a crashed P4P to DJI for a repair price quote?

[jephoto]

My only two cents is insurance. If you’re in the US I pay State Farm $60.00 per year for coverage of my p4p+, p4p obsidian and a p3pro. I’ve had one
claim where my p4p+ just fell out of the sky, they just wanted pictures, let me keep the p4p+ and 5 days later I had a check in the mailbox for replacement and they said let us know if we can help again.
Just a thought but it feels a lot more relaxing knowing I have someone to help out…Good luck

Martin- did you already Have state farm for your insurance and other things, or did they allow you to take out an insurance policy on the drone all by itself? And what happened to the insurance and the premiums after the accident?

 

[The Famous]

Have sent crashed drones to DJI THREE times! Battery failure twice, stupidity once! No warrenty on any of them. Each time receiced a new drone! Highest cost of the three was $312.00! SEND IT IN!!!,

 

[Habb]

So DJI repair service won’t fix in depth issues. They will replace anything that requires soldering, advanced flashing or “gatekeeper” repair. The P4 series gimbal yaw motor assembly is what I call “gatekeeper” (the yaw motor housing is calibrated to the roll/yaw esc board on the gimbal) so the repair cap for a tear down of the old motor, salvage the housing and install it on a new coil/ribbon cable set. DJI wouldn’t do this, so you’ll just receive (and pay for) a new gimbal. Bottom shell replacement requires soldering esc motor wires. You’re probably looking at a new drone body as well. Im going to guess your quote from DJI will be around $800-$1000 plus shipping and you would receive a refurbished unit.
3rd party services (such as myself) would charge you parts plus labor and most likely repair the actual damaged components. I know it looks bad but crashes like this are common, and if there is no damage to the gimbal main board stack, your main controller or your camera housing, you’re looking at around $200 in parts plus labor from a 3rd party.

 

[AeroViking]

I recently totaled a P4P Obsidian and it looked almost exactly like yours as far as damage goes. It had some other little problems before the crash as well like it couldn't fly in a straight line and its range was decreasing every time I flew it. I Did the online repair request thing and printed out a shipping label. DJI Received it in about 3 days and had a quote for me within 24hrs of receiving it. They sent me an itemized list of all the things that needed replacing. (Basically everything)along with labor. The total for my totaled P4P was to be $580. I paid it and within 24hrs they sent me a notice to say it was shipped. I got it in 2 days and opened up the package to find a brand new, not refurbished Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian. I feel like I got a good deal as the price for the Obsidians hasn't moved since their release. I'm sure you've been looking around and have noticed there's no way you're getting a P4P for $580, much less a new one. I highly recommend sending totaled P4P's to DJI for repair as everyone I know that has sent in a demolished one has recieved a brand new one for a reasonable deal.

 

[Squirrel!]

I've had worse damage at 50' drop. No, not worth sending in. Cannibalize what parts you can and sell them.

 

[AeroViking]

It's actually insured through State Farm, and I can certainly submit a claim. Problem is it sounds like a little over half the people who've submitted as claim get paid, then their policy is cancelled within a few weeks. I've got 2 other Drones and other camera gear on that Personal Articles policy, and I don't want it cancelled if the alternative is a service cost that ends up just being a few hundred bucks.

Here's the deal with that. Ask the people that had their policies cancelled what they had on their personal articles policy and I'd bet dollars to donuts that they will say "just the drone". So if they crash their drone and it was the only thing on the policy of course the policy is cancelled because there's nothing left to insure. Like you I have many things on my Personal articles policy. When I made a claim for a crashed P4P they didn't ask any questions, they didn't ask for the broken drone, and they didn't cancel my policy. In fact, the adjuster asked me "If you decide to use the money to replace your drone with a new one, would you like for us to add it to your existing policy, no extra charge?" And that's exactly what I did. State Farm is awesome.

 

[scubaddictions]

Here's the deal with that. Ask the people that had their policies cancelled what they had on their personal articles policy and I'd bet dollars to donuts that they will say "just the drone". So if they crash their drone and it was the only thing on the policy of course the policy is cancelled because there's nothing left to insure. Like you I have many things on my Personal articles policy. When I made a claim for a crashed P4P they didn't ask any questions, they didn't ask for the broken drone, and they didn't cancel my policy. In fact, the adjuster asked me "If you decide to use the money to replace your drone with a new one, would you like for us to add it to your existing policy, no extra charge?" And that's exactly what I did. State Farm is awesome.

That's a good point, and what I'm currently hoping for. I suspect that those who received reimbursement then cancellation had intended to continue their policy on the replacement drone, but you're right, that may not be enough. I'll be calling our local agent on Monday.

 

[danny_2020]

sorry to say this dear pilot... but I think you may have to send it to get a price quote...