A word of warning for potential Tesla owners.

[ndhaon91]

There is a lot to take into consideration when weighing your options for a new vehicle. Here is one x-factor you may want to consider: This is a copy of an email I just sent to customer service that will give you the gist.



9:16 PM (0 minutes ago)

to customersupport, kemartin

Hi, Calena. Thank you for reaching out. But I think there has been a miscommunication. While I appreciate your checking on the status of my car, given that it is a Tesla approved body shop, I had figured they were going as fast as they can with the repairs.

My actual concerns go beyond just checking up on repairs. The following are the key points of my situation:

• I was rear-ended on March 19.
• The body shop had my car for several months before they could even start working on it due to the lack of parts from Tesla. (And as your email indicates, we are now 5.5 months out from my accident and the body shop is still waiting for three parts.)
• By the time I get my Model S back, I will have been without it for 6 months.
• I was told by the manager of the body shop that if the car were a BMW, Mercedes, Audi, or any other luxury brand, I would have had it back in 2-3 weeks.
• So, due only to the situation at Tesla, I have been without my primary vehicle for half a year, while paying $6600 in lease payments. I have also paid $1200 for a full cycle of auto insurance during the time in which my vehicle has been sitting in a lot.
• I have been refused a loaner vehicle.
• I have not been offered a rental car or rental car reimbursement.

Now, I am told by Kendall in the Ownership Loyalty department (copied on this email) that the best his team can do is offer me 2 years of free service if I buy a new Tesla. So, I am out roughly $7000 and my primary transportation for 1/6th of my three-year lease term, and the best Tesla can do is offer me free service on an electric car with a primary selling point of having so few moving parts that it almost never needs service?

This is a horrifyingly inadequate level of customer service from a luxury brand. Even if Tesla had offered to cover all my lease payments during the time without the vehicle, it's still a dicey proposition to ever consider owning another Tesla. When I buy a car, I actually want to be able to drive it. If Tesla is unwilling to go to much greater lengths to remedy this situation, how could I possibly justify risking another situation just like this, where a fender-bender leaves me throwing away thousands of dollars and without a car for 6 months?

I assume you may not have had all the details of my situation, and I would greatly appreciate your passing this up the chain to see what can be done. I have been a loyal and outspoken ambassador for the brand, but if this is the level of risk in owning a Tesla, I have no choice but to communicate that reality as loudly as possible.

 

[TexasTeslaRacing]

Unfortunately, Tesla needs to improve in this arena. Some parts seem to always be on back order. I've been in a similar situation and it's frustrating. Hopefully you can escalate the request to someone more understanding and at least receive a Tesla loaner until your vehicle is fully repaired. Hang in there!

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Honestly, this is one of the worst fears I have with my Tesla...that is not being able to get parts in a timely fashion. That said, a few things come to mind:

1. Was your vehicle undrivable? And if not, why did you let the body shop hold your car for 6 months?
2. Shouldn't you have attempted to get the other driver's insurance to pay for your downtime?
3. How did it take 6 months to get to this point in communication with Tesla?

Now, Tesla didn't rear end you. I don't see why they have any obligation to reimburse you financially. Again, it's not as though I'm not sympathetic to your plight...this totally sucks, and I'm sorry really sorry that you've had to go through this.

 

[ndhaon91]

FYI, this was the damage to the vehicle.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

This is why Tesla is starting the process of bringing the repair process in house.

Hopefully that along with straightening out the parts issue will get cars back onto the road.

The fear of being run into is absolutely the biggest drawback of owning a Tesla. Now one might say the odds of that occurrence are low, but it doesn't seem that way anymore. Somewhere around 40-50% of drivers are on their cell phones.

 

[TexasTeslaRacing]

Doesn't look too bad. How fast was the car going that hit you? Looks as if you can still drive it?

 

[ndhaon91]

Honestly, this is one of the worst fears I have with my Tesla...that is not being able to get parts in a timely fashion. That said, a few things come to mind:

1. Was your vehicle undrivable? And if not, why did you let the body shop hold your car for 6 months?
2. Shouldn't you have attempted to get the other driver's insurance to pay for your downtime?
3. How did it take 6 months to get to this point in communication with Tesla?

Now, Tesla didn't rear end you. I don't see why they have any obligation to reimburse you financially. Again, it's not as though I'm not sympathetic to your plight...this totally sucks, and I'm sorry really sorry that you've had to go through this.

Vehicle was driveable, but hatch wouldn't shut so the vehicle couldn't be secured. The other driver was uninsured. I have been in communication with Tesla since the 3 month mark and have been bounced around, call unreturned, etc. I'm a small business owner so I don't really have the time to follow up with them constantly.

And yeah, I hear you. They don't have any legal obligation to reimburse me. But this is a reality folks need to know about. It IS Tesla's fault that the car took 6 months to repair. And it is their fault they haven't offered me a loaner. Appreciate the sympathy, though!

 

[ndhaon91]

Doesn't look too bad. How fast was the car going that hit you?

Maybe 20mph. I was stopped in traffic and he had just started accelerating when a light turned green.

FYI, damage was $30k!

 

[Tes La Ferrari]

Wow -- that doesn't look like 30K but maybe you were pushed into the car infant resulting in front end damage as well ?

or was there frame and or battery damage somehow ?

 

[FlatSix911]

FYI, this was the damage to the vehicle.

Sorry to hear about your loss of use ... you really should consider driving your vehicle while you wait for parts.
Secure the hatch and you are good to go...

 

[ndhaon91]

Wow -- that doesn't look like 30K but maybe you were pushed into the car infant resulting in front end damage as well ?

or was there frame and or battery damage somehow ?

Yes, there was the tiniest bit of frame damage. Nose cone was just scuffed.

 

[Tes La Ferrari]

Yes, there was the tiniest bit of frame damage. Nose cone was just scuffed.

oh... ok that makes sense..how close was it to writing off ?

 

[ndhaon91]

oh... ok that makes sense..how close was it to writing off ?

No idea. Car was built in Dec. 2015 with sale price of $87,500.

 

[eye.surgeon]

I agree with others that the fear of an accident is the single biggest concern I've had owning my MS these last 3.5 years. It was a big issue when I bought it, and by many accounts it has not improved one bit. Bringing body repair in-house is absolutely NOT the answer, they have enough on their plate without trying to take over the auto repair business nationwide. The solution is prioritizing timely parts availability to body shops, something they have failed to consistently do and it will probably be the reason I trade it in for a non-Tesla vehicle.

 

[Vic_F]

If this parts problem still exists this time next year it will bode very badly for sales and Tesla as a whole.

 

[KyleDay]

Thanks for sharing. Tesla's lack of parts is an embarrassment. Do not let up on the pressure because their incompetence must change.

That being said, I DO NOT believe the idea of Tesla-owned and operated body shops is a good solution. Tesla service centers are NOT an example of what we need more of. We need many more INDEPENDENT shops that compete on quality, price, timing, etc. Anytime there is a monopoly on anything- price goes up, quality goes down, and the customers are treated like they're the problem. (Reference your local ISP as an example).

Tesla needs many, many more independent repair and service shops. Anything else is a recipe for more frustration.

 

[BigTonyTones]

May I ask who your insurance company is?
Im surprised they wouldn't give you a rental car

 

[SpudLime]

It's been unchanged for 10 years since roadster. Literally no different, just a larger crappy situation.

Yes. But mass sales changes the game plan if Tesla is to stay successful.

 

[ndhaon91]

May I ask who your insurance company is?
Im surprised they wouldn't give you a rental car

Amica. My coverage offered me 30 days at $20/day. Cheapest rental was $25/day. I chose to drive our third beater car instead of spending $150 to drive a Ford Fiesta for a month.

 

[FlatSix911]

Amica. My coverage offered me 30 days at $20/day. Cheapest rental was $25/day. I chose to drive our third beater car instead of spending $150 to drive a Ford Fiesta for a month.

Why not drive the Tesla instead of the beater... EV vs. ICE is an easy choice

 

[PrGrPa]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Asking Tesla to expedite parts sounds reasonable. Parts availability is a problem for instances like this. I’d like to see Tesla make repair parts a priority for their approved repairers.

I’m not sure that bringing repairs in house would help. There’s a lot of experience in specialist repairers that would be difficult to match.

Given the volumes of vehicles produced & in circulation and relative maturity of supply chains I don’t think the comparison with BMW, MB, and so on is helpful. Might as well say to a MB owner that their repair would have been faster and cheaper if they’d had a ford.