What A Bummer … Or Repairing Our Rear-Ended Geely EX5 – CleanTechnica

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Last Updated on: 15th August 2025, 12:23 am

Each new car brand entering Australia has had a struggle setting up sales and service teams, accessories, and backups of all sorts. Even market leaders like Tesla and BYD have had their teething problems. There have been many commentaries on Facebook groups and in the mainstream media about the difficulties of repairing a variety of electric vehicles, mainly centering around the electronics and the battery.

Hence, it was a pleasure to hear a positive story about a very good repair experience on a Geely EX5. This was an ordinary suburban garden accident, a low-speed rear-end crash. Norm Rash told me of his experience at our recent EV coffee and cake morning. Geely has delivered 2,335 EX5 models in Australia so far this year. Norm hastens to tell us that he has no affiliation with any of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, companies mentioned.

Here is his story in his own words and pictures:

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“It was a rare and nice feeling to take possession of a new car. As our first EV, it was especially pleasing, as never before did we enjoy heated/ventilated massaging seats and other luxuries, mostly controllable through voice command. The smoothness of the ride was sheer luxury.

“What a bummer, pardon the pun, when our stationary car’s bum was rear-ended. Albeit at slow speed, it was enough to require a new tail gate and more. Besides the emotional impact, it was very reassuring that some drivers and car owners are honest, taking the time to resolve the matter amicably. Having a front and rear dash cam would have resolved any doubt regardless.

“Thinking ‘lucky we are not with a different brand with poor spare parts reputation’, we start the process of electing repairers. Our Geely dealership assured us there are enough parts in stock to build a few cars from scratch.

“Selecting the repairer:

“The insurance provided a list of preferred repairers, plus the option to choose our own. After some web-based research, we drove to 4 locations, 2 of which left very good first impressions. Staff were engaging, the workshop busy but tidy, the workshop staff clear about what is likely required and what may be discovered during disassembly.

“One of the two was on the insurer’s preferred list, MotorOne Auto Body — Warana. This business is located at 49 Premiere Circuit, Warana, QLD 4575. There is a second MotorOne Auto Body nearby, we opted for the one at Warana.

“The ladies at the reception desk were efficient, on the phone and in person, accommodating, no question asked too cumbersome to follow up.

“At the initial contact the workshop master was made available for a brief consultation, giving me confidence in their ability, despite this being the first Geely for them to work on. In that conversation I mentioned the perceived spare parts concerns regarding a different EV brand and was informed that this has changed markedly for the better, with all parts recently needed immediately available. Good to know.

“Once I confirmed my choice to engage them, we tentatively booked the next available time slot, but I opted to delay for confirmation that parts have arrived, as the car was safe to drive and watertight. With the final date confirmed, we received our day and time slot for drop off and an estimated date of completion. A follow-up update was received before collection.

“Work performed:

“Renew rear bumper, renew tailgate, adjust the boot lid. The safety features had to be tested and possibly calibrated. Does not sound like a lot, but all new parts had to be color matched to the car’s body, the rear window and all other parts attached to the tail gate had to be ‘transplanted’, resulting in a fair bit of work.

“On collection we were very happy that the spacing around the parts was perfectly even, the color match not to be noticed (should be easy on a new car which has not yet faded), and overall the entire car presented again like new. The repairer commented that the Geely was very good to work on.

“Reception was very helpful with arranging transport to and from, and even accommodated the request for a small amount of left over paint, if any should be available, to be packaged as future touch-up paint. While this would mean we have gained from the ‘no affiliation’ relationship 🙂 we still own a car which is no longer considered accident free. Though no one would notice.

“Having recently met David Waterworth, author at Cleantechnica.com, we were invited to share our experience. Unfavorable experiences we take up with the service providers directly, but in this case, we are happy to share our very good experience.

“Safe and enjoyable travels, always!”

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Norm’s story illustrates how far the repair industry has come. There was once a great deal of fear and apprehension about working on electric vehicles. In an interview with the head of automotive at Queensland TAFE, I was shown the training modules and equipment for apprentices to safely work on EVs. Another concern was the amount of tech that is built into every part of an electric vehicle. With this tech now becoming more widespread in all drivetrains, it has become normal. We have come a long way in 3 years.

As Australian roads host more and more EVs (we are adding over 120,000 per year and rising), there are bound to be more bingles. Hopefully they will be small ones and easily repaired. It is good to see that the workforce is ready for them. Perhaps our readers would like to join the conversation and share repair stories of their own? Feel free to add them to the comments section.