Anyone Else Having Trouble Getting Service Loaners?

[Az_Rael]

Maybe the goal is for the eventual loaner fleet to be Model 3s. Cheaper cars, but still giving an EV as a loaner.


Of course, some of the issues could be related to how long it takes to repair vehicles. If early Model Xs are coming back in droves and requiring multi-day repairs, that's going to strain the loaner fleet as well. That should resolve once they get the quality of the X up to where the S is now.

 

[ElectrkSam]

I had a loaner for my scheduled annual service last week (7-Apr) from the Marietta GA Service Center. It was a S60 non-AP.

 

[steph280]

Imagine a year (or two) from now when SC is swamped with model3's getting serviced.

"You want a what? the shuttle is over there..."

 

[twonius]

IMHO, it's another example of Elon and Tesla simply prioritizing those needs ahead of customer satisfaction.

...but behind falcon wing doors... must.have.falcon.wing.doors

 

[Gizmotoy]

I'm fine with being put in a rental if no loaners are available but I find it hard to believe that no one had returned a service loaner throughout the entire week. I'm beginning to think that they really are giving preferential treatment to Model X owners as ohmman pointed out earlier.

This is pretty likely. I was in for service two weeks ago and it took 7 business days (plus a weekend). I couldn't get a loaner, and the only suitable vehicle Enterprise had was a big SUV I ended up being really unhappy with. Tesla was apologetic, and promised me they'd call as soon as they got a loaner back to swap it out. I never got a call.

There were, I'd guess, 10-15 Model X scattered around the service area at the time. It looked like most were undelivered, but the garage was full of them.

Spending an hour or two getting a proper carseat fit in a new vehicle is a pain. Getting a loaner can be a big deal and a big time savings for me, though I suppose some of it is also being bitter about the broken (verbal) promises to have loaners available for owners.

 

[ohmman]

I dislike driving an ICE as much as any other Tesla owner. However, I do wonder what the loaner inventory would need to look like at each location to make this realistic. The day I dropped my X off for service, I was told they had over 20 vehicles coming in that day. That doesn't include the vehicles already being serviced with multi-day work, or waiting on parts. So speaking conservatively, that's at least 50 loaners needed. That's just one service center. Also, there are going to be times when they only need 10 loaners. Managing loaners for peak demand could make the service business unit untenable.

 

[BertL]

I dislike driving an ICE as much as any other Tesla owner. However, I do wonder what the loaner inventory would need to look like at each location to make this realistic. The day I dropped my X off for service, I was told they had over 20 vehicles coming in that day. That doesn't include the vehicles already being serviced with multi-day work, or waiting on parts. So speaking conservatively, that's at least 50 loaners needed. That's just one service center. Also, there are going to be times when they only need 10 loaners. Managing loaners for peak demand could make the service business unit untenable.

Right, and remember, Elon has said Service is not a profit center, so if they were to maintain all those additional vehicles to handle peak load, cost of warranty as well as after-service rates would have to account for it. Not a good prospect for those concerned with maintaining the bottom line.

 

[Branzo90D]

Just dropped my Model S P90DL off for service at the San Rafael (CA) SvC. They had a BMW 328i rental available and waiting for me. They needed to keep the car for at least one day to repair door handle and will bring the car back to my business for me on Wednesday morning where we will exchange cars.

Oh, all service including tire rotation and loaner vehicle and gasoline for loaner vehicle are covered. Can't really expect more than that.

 

[cschock]

When I took my MS into the service center for some body work on Monday they said they were out of Tesla loaners so they offered an Enterprise rental (I ended up with a Hyundai Tuscon). I requested to have them contact me as soon as a loaner vehicle was available but was given daily updates saying no loaners were available. It's Friday now and they still haven't had any come back. Has anyone else experienced the same difficulty of getting into a service loaner?

This was my first service appointment with Tesla and I'm a little disappointed by the lack of available cars since I've grown accustomed to having a fleet of service loaners readily available with my previous vehicles (Lexus, BMW, Acura).

I've had my car in many times in the last 3 years for a variety of early car problems, some taking more than a week to get fixed. In all the visits (about a dozen now) to the service center, which is more than 50 miles away, I have exactly once gotten a Tesla loaner. All the rest were various shades of Enterprise rentals. Once I even arrived just before Leilani Munter did for service on her car with the pop-up camera thingie in the front. She got a Tesla loaner... Apparently I am not good enough looking to get one

At first the no Tesla thing annoyed me. Now I don't even expect one (and I ask every time for one.) I just assume that they will all be out and/or just been sold. It's just how it is while they are 100% supply constrained and trying to get to profitability. They do always reimburse for any gas that I've used if I remember to get a receipt.

 

[Mark Z]

...I'm in SoCal where there are at least 5 SvCs in proximity; if one is busy, just call another - they all report to the same regional manager...

A good idea. Costa Mesa couldn't repair my Model S until around May 4th. Buena Park can do the hatch lifter repair on April 18th. That's a savings of two weeks.

Buena Park has paid for an Uber or drives the customer to and from home if they don't need a loaner. That leaves an extra vehicle for other Tesla owners to use.

(Future Topic: If there's ever a charge for loaners during Model 3 repairs, I could use a single route OCTA bus to and from the SC in Costa Mesa.)

 

[atechsnob]

I got my first loaner this past Friday (Replacing cracked windshield) and in exchange for my 85D the Rockville Service Center gave me a 2015 P85D Red

 

[Caligula]

With 19s no less!

 

[ohmman]

My loaner last week was a P85D (with 21s). I have to admit, it gave me some pangs of jealousy. My P85 is great.. but the D makes a difference. Still sticking with my car, though.. no changes.. not yet.

 

[Muddy]

Annual service in Seattle 3 weeks ago. I dropped off my Model S 85 and my loaner was a 90D with less than 500 miles on it. Asked why I got a new car -They sold all their loaners and this was part of the batch Fremont sent them for new loaners. Will probably sell it soon!

 

[twonius]

Annual service in Seattle 3 weeks ago. I dropped off my Model S 85 and my loaner was a 90D with less than 500 miles on it. Asked why I got a new car -They sold all their loaners and this was part of the batch Fremont sent them for new loaners. Will probably sell it soon!

That's interesting, the official line on where all the CPOs disappeared to is that they're being used as service loaners. I would've expected at this point they'd be sitting on a pretty sizable fleet of 2013s instead of having to use brand new stock.

 

[alwaysru]

I got a S85 here in Austin as a loaner this week for my '13 P85. Perfectly happy with it. They even came and dropped off my car and picked up theirs when the work was done. Looks like it may be SC by SC, but the Austin one is kicking butt.

 

[alwaysru]

IMHO, it's another example of Elon and Tesla simply prioritizing those needs ahead of customer satisfaction.

To me, it seems to be more about keeping up with demand. People want a Model S, and the ones they have for loaners are at a significant discount to new ones, opening up availability for folks who wouldn't spend the money to get a brand new one. At my SC my advisor has mentioned that they've literally had cars on the truck to be a loaner that were sold before it even got there.

 

[Kacey Green]

also Texas has all those crazy sales/service restrictions they have to work around

 

[rog]

I got an S85 as a loaner (which I guess is the good part). Bad part: the steering wheel was grossly sticky, and the back row floor & seats were full of popcorn left overs. Not really a luxury car level experience...