Brand New M3.... Towed away today

[father_of_6]

by fanboys.

Probably everyone falls in a different place in the "spectrum of tolerance" for Tesla's choices. Some here are clearly very intolerant, while for others Tesla can "do no wrong". Certainly global supply shortages have played a role in some of it, but certainly Tesla could also do a better job communicating with customers.

My experiences at traditional dealerships haven't been great, especially in the service department. The sales experience with Tesla wins hands down in my opinion. And for service, Tesla takes a different approach... their stance is "the best service is no service". Traditional dealerships treat service *like* sales, with monthly quotas and all. Major auto makes *tons* of money from the sale of aftermarket parts, and dealerships make more money from service than they do from sales. They're happy when their cars break down. I've had an inspection where they told me I needed new tires when I totally didn't. Perhaps that's why they have so many employees available to communicate with customers... because to them service *is* sales.

I don't mean to imply that Tesla is perfect, but I prefer their approach to traditional auto makers. I'm not delusional either... I'd rather Tesla put that $1.5 billion into service centers and superchargers than Bitcoin... but if I were the one in charge to make those decisions, the company would certainly be out of business.

 

[DrDabbles]

I just want to note that this wasn't an option.

Several states have a requirement that a vehicle that breaks down soon after purchase must be taken back by the seller. Consumer protection laws obviously vary, but some states do aggressively protect the buyer beyond just the basic lemon law work. In California, for example, if the vehicle is out of service for 30 days you can call it a lemon and they must take it back, but in Mississippi it's only 15 days out of service.

I am just reporting what I personally am aware of.

I've talked about my experience in the past. My advisor was garbage, Tesla's phone support was hilariously bad, my car sat in a lot for a month waiting to be delivered to me with nobody apparently tracking my order. The delivery itself was great, but Tesla had to be Tesla, and they didn't send me the necessary paperwork to register the vehicle for 10 more days. So I got to park my car in my garage, not able to legally drive it, and the first payment was already due.

As for the car's quality, I had zero defects because it was one of the hand built performance model 3 from "the tent". Thankfully. It was built at the height of "production hell" when none of the automated assembly line vehicles were coming out not needing repairs. So, I'm quite glad about that. My vehicle has been impacted by one optional TSB so far, I had some plastic trim replaced on the steering column, my center console has a firmware bug that keeps powering off the USB ports so I can't really charge phones while driving, the carbon fiber wing they put on falls off if you don't catch the tape failing soon enough, and now my HVAC system is experiencing the vent motor failure.

The car itself is a car. I bought it because it's a quick car and that's what I wanted. But I know a half dozen Tesla owners that are looking for their next vehicle and not a single one of them is considering Tesla. That's a small warning light blinking in the corner that Tesla would be mistaken to ignore. People with disposable income like this can easily be made brand loyal. Hell, my previous vehicle was a Subaru and I LOVED it, so it's not like I'm some bougie person looking for massaging, ventilated seats and concierge service at the push of a button. I just refuse to wait an entire month to have heat in New England as temperatures are dipping into the 40ºF range nightly. I don't think a working HVAC system or phone charging ports is too much to ask, and yet I have neither.

 

[chinney]

As I said, I was just writing about what I was personally aware of, not denying others have had different experiences.

my previous vehicle was a Subaru and I LOVED it

I could tell you my own stories about Subaru service. I had one Subaru and it was a great car, but Subaru service was awful - just the worst, and I would never buy another Subaru for that reason. My other cars have been Fords and my own experience with Ford Service was pretty good. So far, my experience with my Tesla - sales, quality and service - has been EXCELLENT.

 

[Sunny5280]

My experiences at traditional dealerships haven't been great, especially in the service department. The sales experience with Tesla wins hands down in my opinion. And for service, Tesla takes a different approach... their stance is "the best service is no service". Traditional dealerships treat service *like* sales, with monthly quotas and all. Major auto makes *tons* of money from the sale of aftermarket parts, and dealerships make more money from service than they do from sales. They're happy when their cars break down. I've had an inspection where they told me I needed new tires when I totally didn't. Perhaps that's why they have so many employees available to communicate with customers... because to them service *is* sales.

Outside of receiving some flyers for discounted oil changes in the mail I never got this impression from the Chevy dealer from which I purchased my Volt. I had to take my Volt in twice for service and neither time did the service advisor try to sell me on anything. In fact, since the vehicle was in for service, they even performed an oil change at no cost.

I felt like the service department appreciated my business and valued me as a customer. Both were very positive experiences and were reflected in my customer feedback survey.

 

[Phlier]

And now that it's past the initial 7 day period, there's no chance OP can just return it

They did away with the 7 day return policy last year.

 

[joebruin77]

I totally empathize with anyone who has a new Tesla that has a major mechanical problem. That experience is really disappointing and frustrating. I have two ideas to contribute to this discussion:

1) Have there been any reputable and well designed research surveys on the rate of such problems? As others have pointed out, every car manufacturer has at least some new cars that have major problems and every major car manufacturer is experiencing part shortages. For example, Cadillac just scrapped plans to offer its Supercruise on certain new models because of a lack of microchips. Also, I have a close friend who took delivery of a new Hyundai. It spent 3 months at the dealership because of a problem they could not diagnose or correct. My main point/question is, is there any research data out there that suggests these problems are more frequent with Tesla as compared to other manufacturers? IMO one cannot draw broad, general conclusions based on case examples. Such general conclusions are more accurate if they are based on actual survey data across hundreds of owners. I am curious if such surveys exist.

2) I do not doubt or question that some Tesla owners have experienced poor service. But I do wonder if there is variability in the quality of service based on geographic location. My idea is that perhaps Tesla service is better in markets where Tesla has a longer-standing and more pronounced presence. For example, I live in Southern California and overall I have been very pleased with the quality of service from my local service center. I wonder if there are more service problems/complaints at service centers far away from where Tesla is based. This does not excuse poor service, but was curious if it might be true.

 

[Sunny5280]

I totally empathize with anyone who has a new Tesla that has a major mechanical problem. That experience is really disappointing and frustrating. I have two ideas to contribute to this discussion:

1) Have there been any reputable and well designed research surveys on the rate of such problems? As others have pointed out, every car manufacturer has at least some new cars that have major problems and every major car manufacturer is experiencing part shortages. For example, Cadillac just scrapped plans to offer its Supercruise on certain new models because of a lack of microchips. Also, I have a close friend who took delivery of a new Hyundai. It spent 3 months at the dealership because of a problem they could not diagnose or correct. My main point/question is, is there any research data out there that suggests these problems are more frequent with Tesla as compared to other manufacturers? IMO one cannot draw broad, general conclusions based on case examples. Such general conclusions are more accurate if they are based on actual survey data across hundreds of owners. I am curious if such surveys exist.

2) I do not doubt or question that some Tesla owners have experienced poor service. But I do wonder if there is variability in the quality of service based on geographic location. My idea is that perhaps Tesla service is better in markets where Tesla has a longer-standing and more pronounced presence. For example, I live in Southern California and overall I have been very pleased with the quality of service from my local service center. I wonder if there are more service problems/complaints at service centers far away from where Tesla is based. This does not excuse poor service, but was curious if it might be true.

The general compliant I see, at least with most Tesla owners, is not that their vehicles have had issues but rather the lack of communication from Tesla. Tesla has decided to take a unique, for now, approach to service: Do it all through the application. Not a bad way to do service requests but if you're not going to permit someone to call up and talk to someone about a service issue then communication is paramount.

The OP was, understandably, concerned about the issue he had with his brand new car but what really bothered him, at least IMO, was their lack of communication once the vehicle was taken to the service center and then, when he finally received communication, the lack of estimate as to when his new car would be repaired. This was compounded by Tesla's unwillingness to provide a loaner or exchange the car with a like replacement. Once Tesla was able to provide him information he posted the update and was less concerned about the issue.

The big take away, IMO, is just better communication. IMO this would have avoided most of the discussion in this thread. In fact the OP may have posted something to the effect "My new Tesla broke down but Tesla will have it repaired in a couple of weeks".

 

[iwannam3]

Outside of receiving some flyers for discounted oil changes in the mail I never got this impression from the Chevy dealer from which I purchased my Volt. I had to take my Volt in twice for service and neither time did the service advisor try to sell me on anything. In fact, since the vehicle was in for service, they even performed an oil change at no cost.

I felt like the service department appreciated my business and valued me as a customer. Both were very positive experiences and were reflected in my customer feedback survey.

I test dove the Bolt, the salesman had to yell out which one is electric, the Bolt or Volt when I asked for the electric car. They added $1,399 for lifetime lube (coolant at 150,000 miles is only service listed in the manual), $1,399 for 1 year gap insurance to get 100% of the price if totaled in year 1, and $399 for a blinking 3rd brake light. did not mention the $7,500 tax credit or that in WA the first $32,000 was exempt form 8% sales tax. Idiots.

 

[DrDabbles]

They did away with the 7 day return policy last year.

I'm not talking about the 7 day no questions asked policy. Many locations have protections for consumers that if the car dies immediately, you're covered. Beyond the lemon law (which protects from repeated repairs). What Tesla offered was a buyer's remorse program.

 

[Phlier]

I'm not talking about the 7 day no questions asked policy. Many locations have protections for consumers that if the car dies immediately, you're covered. Beyond the lemon law (which protects from repeated repairs). What Tesla offered was a buyer's remorse program.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[robl45]

Just wanted to give another update:

They are now telling me that they have the new drive unit and are installing this afternoon and tomorrow! They said they would deliver the car back to me (200 miles away) when it is complete. Hopefully that will be this weekend or early next week.

So if I get the car back unharmed after < 2 weeks, I am perfectly happy with that and can go back to being a Tesla fanboy. Cars break and new cars break more then old cars. It's no fun but stuff happens. My complaint was the lack of communication.... Nothing... Nothing... Nothing... We have it, it's broke, parts are backordered... Nothing... Nothing... Nothing... Nothing... Nothing... Nothing... We have the part, it will be fixed tomorrow. If they told me that 10 days ago, I would have had zero issues. If they even told me they would "probably" have the part in 10 days, I would have understood the uncertainty. What I got was: We don't have the part. We have no idea if or when we will ever have the part. Next customer please.... And of course all through text on the app. I have yet to speak to a single person about any of this...

Holy crap, do you smoke crack daily? You seriously are okay with them taking this much time to fix the car and offering a crappy car to drive for a car with less than 1000 miles? Seriously? I mean if they put you in a tesla, its still crappy and shouldn't take that long, but to not have a tesla to put you in like BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Infiniti etc is ridiculous. Tesla service sucks regardless, but this is insane.

 

[KenC]

Outside of receiving some flyers for discounted oil changes in the mail I never got this impression from the Chevy dealer from which I purchased my Volt. I had to take my Volt in twice for service and neither time did the service advisor try to sell me on anything. In fact, since the vehicle was in for service, they even performed an oil change at no cost.

I felt like the service department appreciated my business and valued me as a customer. Both were very positive experiences and were reflected in my customer feedback survey.

LOL, you can't extrapolate from one dealer to another. My Volt dealer was always calling about service updates, etc. Seriously, annoying. Then, they seemed to know nothing about the Volt, telling me I needed an oil change when my gas engine had less than 2000 miles on it. They only had one Volt-qualified mechanic. I couldn't wait to get rid of it, because owning one felt like having the red-headed stepchild. I got rid of it, just a few months before they announced they were not making any more. Good car, I liked it, but the dealer was terrible. As for not paying for the oil change, I think it was free for 24 months.

 

[ttflyer]

The car is back home! I haven't driven it much but everything seems fine now. That's 13 days from break down to delivered back to my driveway. I work with very complex machinery for a living and can say that complex things tend to break early in their life so I'm fairly tolerant of this failure. It certainly could have been much worse. And Tesla did fine with the service side. Just crappy communication. Since I live 200 miles form a service center, I depend on the app. And the app is not a good way to communicate.

Hopefully many years of happy driving to come!

 

[Hapless]

For what it's worth, I had a Ford Fusion that the brakes malfunctioned and I had to practically stand on them to get them to work. Took it back to the dealer and they charged me $500 (out of warranty) to replace the brake booster which supposedly went bad. I had the car for a week, and the brakes did the same thing. THIS time, they said they found metal shavings in the brake booster again. AGAIN. They failed to mention this the first time. So it took them forever to diagnose that the turbo had blown up and sent pieces of metal throughout the engine. Then it took months for them to decide if they were going to replace the engine under the powertrain warranty. They finally did, but the communication was extremely poor and I had to elevate it to Ford's regional manager. In fairness, they did give me a loaner, and they refunded my $500, but Tesla is definitely not alone in the questionable service and quality department.