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Any advice for a potential Tesla Model S buyer?

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sschlesinger1

New Member
Feb 19, 2020
4
0
Chester
#1
Hello, I am getting close to putting a deposit on a 2020 Model S, but I've seen some scary stuff on this site, ie. poor service, yellow screens etc. I am curious would you buy another? Any advise BEFORE I buy.

Thanks so much for any advise, and making me feel better (or worse) after spending 90K for a car.

Steve
 
#4
Great to hear you are looking to buy a Tesla! I would take the service complaints with a grain of salt. There isnt a car brand that doesnt have similar complaints. Regarding the Tesla car itself: Tesla doesnt have anything that comes even close to the experience.
I have always had good service when it comes to the car. I may not always agree on management decisions and the frequent policy changes, but I am separating that from the excellent car. Once a Tesla owner, there is no going back IMO.

Let me know if there any questions, or any advice I can help you with.

P.S. Remember when you are placing your order, ensure to add a referral to give you some initial perks.

Best, Mick
 
#6
You should be better off buying a brand new one but that doesn't guarantee you won't have any issues. Most of the issues get more frequent in direct relation to the age of the car. If you plan to own it a long time your likelihood of needing service increases.

This brings us to the next portion of that aspect since it's largely dependent on how good your local service center is. Some have a great service center and speak glowingly of their experience. The negative experiences are becoming increasingly more common as Tesla appears to not be properly scaling their service to their sales numbers at this point. It's hit or miss and if it's miss for you it could be a massive miss. It's not like other car dealerships that if you have a complaint you can escalate it to another person and so on. There's no chain of command and no way to escalate anything. You just have to accept whatever level of support your local service center is willing to give you. This is recipe for disaster if your local SC is non-responsive which is happening to a higher percentage of owners than other car manufacturers.

We love our cars. Even with the negative customer service experiences we've had the cars themselves are still incredible. Sadly nothing else out there comes even close. As soon as it does we'll likely jump ship since I can't handle this app only anonymous approach to customer service. When it works good the remote service program is amazing. When it doesn't go well I NEED a phone number or email to talk to an actual human being who's local that can take personal responsibility for my issue until it's resolved.

From that aspect Tesla's idea of customer service is woefully incapable of rendering proper support.
 
#7
Ostrichsak said:
You should be better off buying a brand new one but that doesn't guarantee you won't have any issues. Most of the issues get more frequent in direct relation to the age of the car. If you plan to own it a long time your likelihood of needing service increases.

This brings us to the next portion of that aspect since it's largely dependent on how good your local service center is. Some have a great service center and speak glowingly of their experience. The negative experiences are becoming increasingly more common as Tesla appears to not be properly scaling their service to their sales numbers at this point. It's hit or miss and if it's miss for you it could be a massive miss. It's not like other car dealerships that if you have a complaint you can escalate it to another person and so on. There's no chain of command and no way to escalate anything. You just have to accept whatever level of support your local service center is willing to give you. This is recipe for disaster if your local SC is non-responsive which is happening to a higher percentage of owners than other car manufacturers.

We love our cars. Even with the negative customer service experiences we've had the cars themselves are still incredible. Sadly nothing else out there comes even close. As soon as it does we'll likely jump ship since I can't handle this app only anonymous approach to customer service. When it works good the remote service program is amazing. When it doesn't go well I NEED a phone number or email to talk to an actual human being who's local that can take personal responsibility for my issue until it's resolved.

From that aspect Tesla's idea of customer service is woefully incapable of rendering proper support.
Click to expand...
All fair valid points, however I would also add that those of us that have had a good experience with service, would not mention that online as much as the folks that have not had a good experience. So just basing the experience on forum posts is not enough to conclude its worse or good.
 
#9
It is called FIA (Forum Induced Anxiety) Readers see some posts from people that have issues, and worry that it will happen to them as well.
Most owners have pretty good ownership experiences. Analysis showes that Tesla has some of the highest ownership ratings of any car.
Still, some owners will have issues and come on forums to vent.
Most of us have had great experiences, but of course some will remain unsatisfied.

Still, it is good to go into the buying process with your eyes open.

They really make good cars. They can be life altering.
 
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#10
Im on my second modelS. Unless something dramatic changes i wont buy another. The quality is exceptionally poor. Its a gorgeous design with a terrific “driveline” that is poorly built and outclassed in many ways by a Camry. I dont see any reason tesla will improve on these things unfortunately. Hard to believe how crappy they are for 100k.
 
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#11
I have a 2015 Model S. It's the best car I have ever owned. It's a joy to drive every day. Zero maintenance. Only one repair (door handle $223). Best car company from purchase experience to service. (Mobile service is great.)
Buy it now. You won't regret it.
 
#14
SilverGS said:
All fair valid points, however I would also add that those of us that have had a good experience with service, would not mention that online as much as the folks that have not had a good experience. So just basing the experience on forum posts is not enough to conclude its worse or good.
Click to expand...

I fully agree that people typically take the time to post negative reviews more than positive. This is a widely known phenomena. I often time take other people's negative reviews of other companies with a grain of salt given this.

What isn't widely known is that, unlike other car manufacturers, if you have a problem with your Tesla you can't call/email a human being to resolve it. This is the sole reason I put way more validity in the negative Tesla reviews given the model that Tesla uses for resolution. It's a flawed system and there's no way to directly the non-cookie-cutter issues that present.

Sure, for the lion's share of little common issues this works just fine. Heaven help you if you have a larger issue though has been our first-hand experience. Our Ranger Tech (Nick) is amazing and any issue he can handle is taken care of quickly and w/o issue. Anything that has to be done at the service center (read: usually larger issues more likely to leave your vehicle inoperable) results in nightmares in this region.
 
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#15
Ostrichsak said:
What isn't widely known is that, unlike other car manufacturers, if you have a problem with your Tesla you can't call/email a human being to resolve it. This is the sole reason I put way more validity in the negative Tesla reviews given the model that Tesla uses for resolution. It's a flawed system and there's no way to directly the non-cookie-cutter issues that present.

Sure, for the lion's share of little common issues this works just fine. Heaven help you if you have a larger issue though has been our first-hand experience. Our Ranger Tech (Nick) is amazing and any issue he can handle is taken care of quickly and w/o issue. Anything that has to be done at the service center (read: usually larger issues more likely to leave your vehicle inoperable) results in nightmares in this region.
Click to expand...
Agreed, this is definitely a problem. As you mentioned, its a non-issue for small issues, but a not, for bigger issues.
 
#16
Go for it! They're awesome cars and the service issues you see, like everyone says, are louder than the positive ones. Just to tip the scales a bit:

I have a 2016 Model S - my left headlight DRL started to turn brown. It had ran out of warranty, but my SC was able to "goodwill" replace what would've been a $1,400 headlight.

Wife has a 2019 Model X - Infamous yellowing on the screen started to appear, rear seatbelt not rolling back into the seat and brakes squeking. Scheduled through the app, appt granted 5 bus days later, they gave me a loaner Model S, they had the car for 2 days and they took care of all the issues, updated me via text once in a while, came back returned the loaner and all is well.

So, yes, jump right in. The water is warm!
 
#17
Uncle Paul said:
It is called FIA (Forum Induced Anxiety) Readers see some posts from people that have issues, and worry that it will happen to them as well.
Most owners have pretty good ownership experiences. Analysis showes that Tesla has some of the highest ownership ratings of any car.
Still, some owners will have issues and come on forums to vent.
Most of us have had great experiences, but of course some will remain unsatisfied.

Still, it is good to go into the buying process with your eyes open.

They really make good cars. They can be life altering.
Click to expand...
FIA, that's hilarious!! Thanks so much!
 
#18
I too have had two of the S, my wife is on her second X. Great cars.

I am always telling people "Do not test drive these things. If you do you will have to buy one." I am beginning to think about trading again for a new S.

We have had few issues, once had an AC compressor fail, they came and got it, fixed it and returned it all in a couple days. My S is now 2.5 years old, 40K miles and no issues. I also have a Ford F150 that I like, but it seems every time I climb in I need to add $50 of gasoline. Even with two electric cars charging my utility bill hasn't increased to near a third of what I would pay for petrol.
 
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