I was finally ready to place my order tonight. I called Tesla to ask about the guarantee, 7 day - 1000 mile, you will love it promise. I saw that was not listed anymore, but no information on what was being offered. I called Tesla and was told you buy it and it’s yours. So I ask can I test drive it first? I was told no again, I could look it over first. Wow, so I did not place a order. Good thing it was a want and not a need. IMO they went from one extreme to the other. I hope people realize this when they order these cars that have their share of issues. 7 day test drive to you can look at it. I went from placing a 59,000 order to no sale! Is it unreasonable to want to drive your car before you buy it?
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7 day-1000 mile Test Drive to Look it Over
- Thread starter N6366
- Start date
I think they have enough people ready to order they don't want to deal with tire kickers.
I assume you can get a test drive of a Y at a showroom to make sure it's a car you like.
I do feel like it would be fair to drive around the block before accepting the car.
I was not allowed to drive my M3 before I fully signed for it. That is, a BMW M3 back in the day.
I do feel like it would be fair to drive around the block before accepting the car.
I was not allowed to drive my M3 before I fully signed for it. That is, a BMW M3 back in the day.
You can go schedule a test drive to see if you like it before you place an order I believe.
Schedule a Test Drive | Tesla
Schedule a Test Drive | Tesla
Do you actually test drive a car you special ordered? No
Every car tesla builds is "special ordered" by the customer. Tesla doesn't just sit around building a bunch of cars and having them sit on the lot. You need to break the habit of assuming Tesla's business model is identical to the typical car buying experience from Toyota, BMW, etc
Every car tesla builds is "special ordered" by the customer. Tesla doesn't just sit around building a bunch of cars and having them sit on the lot. You need to break the habit of assuming Tesla's business model is identical to the typical car buying experience from Toyota, BMW, etc
i test drove both Model 3 and Model Y before placing an order. But, you don’t get to drive your assigned car before accepting delivery. You do get to check the car inside and out before accepting!
Spacep0d
Active Member
My girlfriend test drove both a Model Y and a Model 3 at a Tesla test-drive event, held at the Santa Clarita Supercharging area. They provided drinks and helpful Tesla Advisors answering questions and taking orders too. It was great. So, I would look for an event like this if you can't schedule a test-drive at a Tesla showroom. Or, rent one on Turo (dot com).
I did this for a two-day test of a Tesla Model 3 LR AWD and was immediately in love. If you have a friend with a Tesla, that works too but it's better to just rent one and really put it through its (safe and sane) paces. I think you'd get more out of a rental than a test-drive anyway coz you can keep it overnight, charge it, park it in your garage or parking area, and really see what a 'day in the life' with Tesla would be like.
miggz410
Member
So OP just joined to post in here that the reason he didn't buy a Tesla was because they would allow him to test drive the car that he special ordered? Hmmm.... I guess OP did not want it bad enough.
What difference does it make if the car is special ordered? There have been enough reports about experience ruining items like high pitched whining of the motors, clunk noises under certain normal conditions, "clicking" wheel covers, etc that Tesla skips out on with "cannot reproduce" or "within spec" to make me want to make sure the car drives as expected before accepting delivery .. and you can't do that until you drive it.
I have a Model Y on order and have been considering how to handle this. I may just have to accept this ludicrous "no drive" policy and hope the CA lemon law will cover any egregious issues that Tesla won't. However - the showroom my wife has picked up two Model 3s from has been very accommodating both times, as has our local service center so far .. so hopefully the possibility of these "experience ruining" items is very very low.
I have a Model Y on order and have been considering how to handle this. I may just have to accept this ludicrous "no drive" policy and hope the CA lemon law will cover any egregious issues that Tesla won't. However - the showroom my wife has picked up two Model 3s from has been very accommodating both times, as has our local service center so far .. so hopefully the possibility of these "experience ruining" items is very very low.
LionelHutz
Member
Interesting...wonder why they wouldn't allow it while all the other companies do?
BMW certainly didn't allow me to drive my specific M3, even after showing them the check.
I did order a few BMWs and indeed did test drive those. And I could have walked away, when you order you don't commit to buying a factory-ordered vehicle (though that's obviously the expectation if you do that).
Not to mention that the Tesla 'customisation' is rather limited to just a few options compared to BMW. The process is entirely different (with BMW), you will be assigned a VIN and can track when your car is being build. WIth Tesla they build a bunch of cars and then match one to your build.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
No manufacturers allow a 7 day-Test Drive to look it over policy. Some independent dealerships with tons of cars in stock may do so, however never for an aspirational car with limited supply.
It is different buying factory direct than from a dealership.
Ford sells directly to their dealships. No test drives, look overs, walk arounds, or sit insides allowed. They take what Ford ships them and they deal with any issues once they have taken ownership.
With factory direct you do not have that middleman dealership, adding costs and value to customers.
When you order a Corvette from GM, you place your deposit and the dealership will tell you when it comes in. Current buyers have been waiting over a year, with many delays over that time. They will have it all shined up in the lot, but arrange payment, insurance, financing etc prior to letting you drive your car home.
Picky Tesla customers want to hyper inspect their cars prior to accepting delivery. They obsess over forum complaints and want to make sure their vehicles are absolutely perfect in every way, or will instantly reject any car with any flaw. Will use high definition cameras with specialized lights to peer into crevices for internal flaws, use insturments to go over every fender to determine paint thickness at many points, go over interiors for any smudge, use gauges to inspect every panel gap and compare every left to every right side measurement.
Relatively few mass produced vehicles can stand up to such high levels of expectation, so Tesla would be stuck with thousands of rejected vehicles every day around the World.
Their current policy is that customers will accept their cars as delivered. Any out of spec issues are to be addressed after delivery by your friendly local service center. Obvious quality defects are grounds for immediate rejection on delivery, mainly they expect customers to accept vehicles as presented.
Of course customers want their cars to be of high quality, and be pleased with their purchases, but some are so picky that no production car will reach their very high standards of perfection.
Tesla is under pressure to deliver a thousand cars a day. Buyers are only really concerned about the one specific car that they are eager to drive home with pride.
It is different buying factory direct than from a dealership.
Ford sells directly to their dealships. No test drives, look overs, walk arounds, or sit insides allowed. They take what Ford ships them and they deal with any issues once they have taken ownership.
With factory direct you do not have that middleman dealership, adding costs and value to customers.
When you order a Corvette from GM, you place your deposit and the dealership will tell you when it comes in. Current buyers have been waiting over a year, with many delays over that time. They will have it all shined up in the lot, but arrange payment, insurance, financing etc prior to letting you drive your car home.
Picky Tesla customers want to hyper inspect their cars prior to accepting delivery. They obsess over forum complaints and want to make sure their vehicles are absolutely perfect in every way, or will instantly reject any car with any flaw. Will use high definition cameras with specialized lights to peer into crevices for internal flaws, use insturments to go over every fender to determine paint thickness at many points, go over interiors for any smudge, use gauges to inspect every panel gap and compare every left to every right side measurement.
Relatively few mass produced vehicles can stand up to such high levels of expectation, so Tesla would be stuck with thousands of rejected vehicles every day around the World.
Their current policy is that customers will accept their cars as delivered. Any out of spec issues are to be addressed after delivery by your friendly local service center. Obvious quality defects are grounds for immediate rejection on delivery, mainly they expect customers to accept vehicles as presented.
Of course customers want their cars to be of high quality, and be pleased with their purchases, but some are so picky that no production car will reach their very high standards of perfection.
Tesla is under pressure to deliver a thousand cars a day. Buyers are only really concerned about the one specific car that they are eager to drive home with pride.
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