Buyer beware. Buying a CPO Tesla feels like a SCAM.

[jmcdon7230]

With the new policy of not refurbishing the vehicles, allow me to amend my recommendation from "just don't sign for it" to "just don't buy it".

 

[Electricious]

With the new policy of not refurbishing the vehicles, allow me to amend my recommendation from "just don't sign for it" to "just don't buy it".

Again, easy for you to say. What about the person who needs a car, trusts buying a car from the manufacturer based on previous experience of buying other cars from the manufacturer, only to find out after they have put down the deposit that the car has damage that was neither disclosed nor they plan to fix.

All this policy does is add a completely hidden refurbishment fee to the price of the car that is not conveyed when you put down a deposit. No reasonable person will think this is an honest way to do business.

 

[Super_Popular]

I think it will be rare when a trashed car is delivered. I have bought many cars from Tesla and there have only been a few minor issues like cleaning and only one major issue which resulted in Tesla taking the car back from me. So even though this new policy is a little shady I think it will be fine. Just get pics before you place your dep and don't sign anything until you see it in person.

 

[bambam4171]

With the new policy of not refurbishing the vehicles, allow me to amend my recommendation from "just don't sign for it" to "just don't buy it".

As much as I love Tesla. I have to agree. When sales stop they have a reason to come back to this decision. Maybe they offer refurbishment as an option or just give one better documentation. But this is simply not acceptable.

 

[ACA Man]

That’s actually very good to hear. Thanks for sharing.
You know what, if my situation was handeld by immediately picking it up and correcting the issues I would probably be ok with everything.
The reason I feel scammed is everything that was told to me by Tesla after the fact. Salesman says “it’s up to Tesla standards” then completely ignores me after I send him evidence of lack of any kind of standard.
SC basically ignores me as well - for 5 weeks- and on top of it being told that they refuse to send a loaner because it’s too expensive.....
HQ does absolutely nothing other than “escalate the situation” which resulted in absolutely nothing.
so how am I supposed to feel anything other than scammed?

Having said all that, they are now actively trying to correct it but I feel like the damage is already done.

It is rather funny how they suddenly decided to 'jump through hoops' to 'help' you once you posted.

It's disheartening for someone who trusted Tesla to have gone through this nightmarish situation.
At the same time, it's also discouraging when someone posted something 'not so good' about Tesla then the fan(s) started to question the poster's motive, etc...

 

[ACA Man]

How is that a reasonable way to buy a car from the manufacturer?

The point being when you are buying a $70K used car, customers deserve to be treated better. The problem is they don't disclose all the damage and what refurbishing will cost when you look at used cars online and put down a deposit. It's only after you pay they will give you a bill for all the damage and that is just wrong.

For $70K, you can buy a brand new Lexus GS 350 F Sport and be treated the way as it should be as a customer.

 

[Super_Popular]

For $70K, you can buy a brand new Lexus GS 350 F Sport and be treated the way as it should be as a customer.

And get chocolate when you pick up your car from service.

 

[ACA Man]

And get chocolate when you pick up your car from service.

It'd not hurt.

 

[bro1999]

It's disheartening for someone who trusted Tesla to have gone through this nightmarish situation.
At the same time, it's also discouraging when someone posted something 'not so good' about Tesla then the fan(s) started to question the poster's motive, etc...

That seems to happen more often than not on here. I lost count of how many times I've seen someone being accused of being a fake owner/troll/TSLA short by the mob when in fact it turned out the poster was real with a legit problem. I actually contacted a buddy that works at a Tesla service center one time to verify a poster's story (as they were being accused of being a fake), but almost none of the mob ever apologized to that poster once it was confirmed he was telling the truth.

 

[David.85D]

This new policy is a real shame. I've been super happy with my CPO 85D and we were considering getting the wife one, too. No way I would take this sort of risk - the refurbishing costs are unknown and impossible to estimate.

Here's an interesting question to ponder - Are they hoping to double charge for the costs of refurbishing the cars? Or are they shifting this cost away from first owners and onto used car buyers? It would be fairly standard to charge a lease holder for damage like what is being described here when they turn the car in, the same way they would pay less for a trade-in with damage. Are they pocketing that money or are they not collecting that money? Hard to believe they wouldn't charge you for returning a trashed lease. Inquiring minds want to know.

If they are collecting damage money from lease returns and reducing trade-in values based on damage, it seems a bit - what is the right word - odd? - to charge the first owner for damage then bill the second owner to repair the same damage

 

[ACA Man]

That seems to happen more often than not on here. I lost count of how many times I've seen someone being accused of being a fake owner/troll/TSLA short by the mob when in fact it turned out the poster was real with a legit problem. I actually contacted a buddy that works at a Tesla service center one time to verify a poster's story (as they were being accused of being a fake), but almost none of the mob ever apologized to that poster once it was confirmed he was telling the truth.

The thing is, unless they are Tesla employees, it's really none of their business anyway.

If they're so afraid their Tesla stock may drop due to certain TMC threads then may be they shouldn't be a stock owner.

 

[ToothSlayer]

That seems to happen more often than not on here. I lost count of how many times I've seen someone being accused of being a fake owner/troll/TSLA short by the mob when in fact it turned out the poster was real with a legit problem. I actually contacted a buddy that works at a Tesla service center one time to verify a poster's story (as they were being accused of being a fake), but almost none of the mob ever apologized to that poster once it was confirmed he was telling the truth.

No one has accused me of being a fake poster. At least not that im aware of.

 

[xborg]

However, given Tesla's "swap it" approach, it is less the ICE situation of "has this engine/ transmission had problems" and more "does this have a newer version of the DU/ pack/ MCU".

(I've never recieved service records for used car purchases before. What is anyone looking for with that information in a Tesla? )



Just because Tesla owns the local showrooms/ service centers/ galleries does not mean the local people's actions align with corporate expectations and standards. If the manager is failing at that location, perhaps they need assistance, training, or replaced.

S/X production is close to maxed out, so there is no way to boost those sales numbers. The changeable numbers people care about are the 3 production ramp, and those buyers already exist (multiple levels deep).

Really? So you don't want to know if the car you are buying is serviced properly or not? I thought everyone checks the service booklet. It's common sense that if a car is serviced, it worths more. Don't tell me words like 'but EVs doesn't need to be serviced'

 

[bonnie]

It is rather funny how they suddenly decided to 'jump through hoops' to 'help' you once you posted.

It's disheartening for someone who trusted Tesla to have gone through this nightmarish situation.
At the same time, it's also discouraging when someone posted something 'not so good' about Tesla then the fan(s) started to question the poster's motive, etc...

Who questioned the OP's motives? I only saw support for him.

As far as the 'suddenly decided to jump thru hoops', another way to look at it that perhaps the local team wasn't handling properly and maybe (we won't know, of course) more senior management became aware and stepped in to make it right.

Obviously I use a different lens than you do . And @ToothSlayer, I hope that the actions happening now will restore some of your trust in the company. I'm glad people are working to fix things for you. I look forward to hearing when the day comes where you say how much you love your car.

 

[mongo]

Really? So you don't want to know if the car you are buying is serviced properly or not? I thought everyone checks the service booklet. It's common sense that if a car is serviced, it worths more. Don't tell me words like 'but EVs doesn't need to be serviced'

My history of car service has pretty much been oil changes, which were usually not done at the dealer. Did have the 50k service done where they installed the new spark plugs badly resulting in more problems than I'd started with. I'd be more interested in the previous owner's driving style than whether the suspension was looked at. With Teslas, it seems coolant and brake fluid flushes would be the only wear items service would address that would have lasting consequences. It's not like there is a timing belt ticking away.

 

[jmcdon7230]

That's why this policy is so wrong and indefensible.

Ill try to keep this short and to the point. I'll also keep names out of it as I really do not intend to cause anyone any harm.

First of all, I love Tesla. An amazing company that makes a kick ass car led by a true visionary.
For most of the past 10 years i've been driving different BMW's as they provide the best driving experience in my opinion -- that was until I drove a model S.

So, I spoke with a sales person at Tesla. We went over options and available CPO's.
Overall a very helpful and accommodating person.
KEY POINT:
me: I never bought a car that I haven't seen in real life, or taken out for a test drive. What guarantee is there that the car is in good shape.
him: All of our CPO cars go through the rigorous Tesla certification process and have passed the Tesla quality standards in terms of esthetics and function.

This was enough of an explanation for me. it made sense. If its good enough for Tesla, its sure as hell good enough for me.

So, I bought a sexy white MS85D with 40K miles. All i saw was a photo of the car in what looked like a tesla workshop of some sort. I was referred to the nearest service center to my location (4 hours away) who were supposed to handle the delivery

Theres a bit of a mini-fiasco story with the delivery but lets skip that to keep this post on point. All i'll say is that after the papers were signed via overnight fedex back and forth (and people were super nice and friendly too) it felt like they forgot about me and sounded very annoyed every time I called to ask about when the car is getting delivered. Apparently it was being delayed because of the necessary detailing that had to be done.


Delivery:
delivery was in the late afternoon on a dark and gloomy day.
Took the car, signed the papers. Truck left.
I immediately call to ask about the cleanliness of the car. I was told that as a CPO it is within the Tesla standards.

Next day, in the sunlight, I had a better look at the car. and thats when I realized just how bad the car's condition is.
Issues:
- Headliner in TERRIBLE condition, Truly disgusting
- Steering wheel leather has what appears to be permanent damage. Maybe its just
- Blemish / paint chip on the front of the hood
- Leather seats have dark streaks of what looks like oil / grease stains
- Dirt and gravel pretty much everywhere.
- The rear trunk center storage compartment (requires lifting the trunk floor) has dirt and gravel, some weird clothing item, and most revoltingly a dental hygiene tool (an interdental floss -- is it used?? I hate to even consider the thought)
- Headliner is peeling and coming off in a couple of areas
- Center console has 2 deep gouges in it.

Other issues:
- BT audio connectivity SUCKS ( i have had to do a soft reset a total of 9 times now in 5 weeks).
- Wheels need alignment. The autopilot blue steering wheel looks funny at an 11 o'clock position when driving in a straight line.

Obviously I called and raised hell with the service dept. Sent them the photos. they apologize and say "let me see what I can do and ill call you back."
No call back, so I call next day. " Whats the update?"
"We are still looking into it, give me until the end of the day."
Car was delivered Monday. By Friday absolutely nothing was done. Each and every day I was told "I'll get right back to you with a way to correct this."
So, I call and tell them that ill take it to a local Auto detail specialist and get it cleaned up. Detail guy says headliner is beyond repair.
I call back and give the service team the update on Saturday. Service guy says "ok, we will have to send a truck to pick it up and bring it here. We will provide a loaner while we work on your car. Let me call you monday when my manager gets here to get it set up for you."
Monday comes. Nothing. Late afternoon I call the sales guy I bought the car from. "Hello -- Here's he deal, if this car was in a dealership there is no way in hell i would have bought it. I trusted you and the company when you said it is within the Tesla quality standards being a CPO car. whats the return policy on the car? and don't worry, i'll purchase another CPO, I just don't want this one"
"There is no return policy. The car is in good shape. Just cause you don't like it, does not mean you can return it."
"i'll send you the pictures, then lets talk about the Tesla quality standards"

I sent the pics, with a written request to return the car and to have my money back.
this was 4 weeks ago. I have sent him maybe 4-5 other emails and called about 4-5 as well. Have not heard back from Mr. Sales guy.

The service team eventually got back Tuesday. "We are working on the details on the loaner give us a couple of days."
I call Friday "no movement yet. Please be patient"
Another week goes by with absolutely nothing happening. Dodging my phone calls, everyone is in a meeting, and people are getting sick all of a sudden. I called Tesla headquarters in CA. they say all they can do is have the service center in charge of the car handle the problem. But, they will send it over to the escalations department. they recommended I speak with the manager in the service department but refuse to say his name.


On a Monday I get in touch with the manager. Super rude individual.
verbatim : "We are not sending a truck to pick your car up -- it is too expensive."
My reply was : "you know whats too expensive? paying $70K for a car with black and brown grease marks all over, a peeling headliner, and dental hygiene products in the trunk."
He insists that its too expensive to send a truck to pickup the car and provide a loaner. He said the best he can do is fix it in a Tesla approved body shop, and order the parts necessary and have it sent there. And they will arrange for a Luxury rental from Enterprise.
I explain to him that if the repairs take a month, and I have already been dealing with a month, then I will have paid for a car that I am completely unhappy with for 2 months -- thats not cool. And who wants to pay for a Tesla and then drive a car with an ICE and have to put gas and stuff..??
All he could do is send the mobile unit to fix the issues, scheduled on Friday, which will be 25 days from delivery.

Mobile unit gets here, the poor guy is shocked. He takes photos, all the while shaking his head. Says there is no way this can be done in the field. Recommends the car be sent back. this was 10 days ago.

Despite the recommendation from the mobile unit, it took the service team a whole week to give me straight answer about sending a loaner and picking my car up.
this is supposed to happen by Saturday. It will be almost 6 weeks from delivery.


I don't know what to think about the whole thing. But I will definitely never buy CPO from Tesla again, and quite frankly I am questioning whether I should ever buy another Tesla at all.
For $70K I would have bought a very nice beamer, and would have received excellent customer service from a very reputable auto maker.
I paid $70K for a car that, and lets all be honest with each other here, is severely lacking on the inside. But, we are all ok with it because it drives amazing, and we all buy into the company and its mission as a whole. For me though, this touchy feely crap only goes a certain distance. Once I started getting treated like dirt, and spent my commutes alongside a lot of dirt, reality set in that I've been conned.

I would still love to be able to get my money back and give this dirt pile back.

 

[jmcdon7230]

Ill try to keep this short and to the point. I'll also keep names out of it as I really do not intend to cause anyone any harm.

First of all, I love Tesla. An amazing company that makes a kick ass car led by a true visionary.
For most of the past 10 years i've been driving different BMW's as they provide the best driving experience in my opinion -- that was until I drove a model S.

So, I spoke with a sales person at Tesla. We went over options and available CPO's.
Overall a very helpful and accommodating person.
KEY POINT:
me: I never bought a car that I haven't seen in real life, or taken out for a test drive. What guarantee is there that the car is in good shape.
him: All of our CPO cars go through the rigorous Tesla certification process and have passed the Tesla quality standards in terms of esthetics and function.

This was enough of an explanation for me. it made sense. If its good enough for Tesla, its sure as hell good enough for me.

So, I bought a sexy white MS85D with 40K miles. All i saw was a photo of the car in what looked like a tesla workshop of some sort. I was referred to the nearest service center to my location (4 hours away) who were supposed to handle the delivery

Theres a bit of a mini-fiasco story with the delivery but lets skip that to keep this post on point. All i'll say is that after the papers were signed via overnight fedex back and forth (and people were super nice and friendly too) it felt like they forgot about me and sounded very annoyed every time I called to ask about when the car is getting delivered. Apparently it was being delayed because of the necessary detailing that had to be done.


Delivery:
delivery was in the late afternoon on a dark and gloomy day.
Took the car, signed the papers. Truck left.
I immediately call to ask about the cleanliness of the car. I was told that as a CPO it is within the Tesla standards.

Next day, in the sunlight, I had a better look at the car. and thats when I realized just how bad the car's condition is.
Issues:
- Headliner in TERRIBLE condition, Truly disgusting
- Steering wheel leather has what appears to be permanent damage. Maybe its just
- Blemish / paint chip on the front of the hood
- Leather seats have dark streaks of what looks like oil / grease stains
- Dirt and gravel pretty much everywhere.
- The rear trunk center storage compartment (requires lifting the trunk floor) has dirt and gravel, some weird clothing item, and most revoltingly a dental hygiene tool (an interdental floss -- is it used?? I hate to even consider the thought)
- Headliner is peeling and coming off in a couple of areas
- Center console has 2 deep gouges in it.

Other issues:
- BT audio connectivity SUCKS ( i have had to do a soft reset a total of 9 times now in 5 weeks).
- Wheels need alignment. The autopilot blue steering wheel looks funny at an 11 o'clock position when driving in a straight line.

Obviously I called and raised hell with the service dept. Sent them the photos. they apologize and say "let me see what I can do and ill call you back."
No call back, so I call next day. " Whats the update?"
"We are still looking into it, give me until the end of the day."
Car was delivered Monday. By Friday absolutely nothing was done. Each and every day I was told "I'll get right back to you with a way to correct this."
So, I call and tell them that ill take it to a local Auto detail specialist and get it cleaned up. Detail guy says headliner is beyond repair.
I call back and give the service team the update on Saturday. Service guy says "ok, we will have to send a truck to pick it up and bring it here. We will provide a loaner while we work on your car. Let me call you monday when my manager gets here to get it set up for you."
Monday comes. Nothing. Late afternoon I call the sales guy I bought the car from. "Hello -- Here's he deal, if this car was in a dealership there is no way in hell i would have bought it. I trusted you and the company when you said it is within the Tesla quality standards being a CPO car. whats the return policy on the car? and don't worry, i'll purchase another CPO, I just don't want this one"
"There is no return policy. The car is in good shape. Just cause you don't like it, does not mean you can return it."
"i'll send you the pictures, then lets talk about the Tesla quality standards"

I sent the pics, with a written request to return the car and to have my money back.
this was 4 weeks ago. I have sent him maybe 4-5 other emails and called about 4-5 as well. Have not heard back from Mr. Sales guy.

The service team eventually got back Tuesday. "We are working on the details on the loaner give us a couple of days."
I call Friday "no movement yet. Please be patient"
Another week goes by with absolutely nothing happening. Dodging my phone calls, everyone is in a meeting, and people are getting sick all of a sudden. I called Tesla headquarters in CA. they say all they can do is have the service center in charge of the car handle the problem. But, they will send it over to the escalations department. they recommended I speak with the manager in the service department but refuse to say his name.


On a Monday I get in touch with the manager. Super rude individual.
verbatim : "We are not sending a truck to pick your car up -- it is too expensive."
My reply was : "you know whats too expensive? paying $70K for a car with black and brown grease marks all over, a peeling headliner, and dental hygiene products in the trunk."
He insists that its too expensive to send a truck to pickup the car and provide a loaner. He said the best he can do is fix it in a Tesla approved body shop, and order the parts necessary and have it sent there. And they will arrange for a Luxury rental from Enterprise.
I explain to him that if the repairs take a month, and I have already been dealing with a month, then I will have paid for a car that I am completely unhappy with for 2 months -- thats not cool. And who wants to pay for a Tesla and then drive a car with an ICE and have to put gas and stuff..??
All he could do is send the mobile unit to fix the issues, scheduled on Friday, which will be 25 days from delivery.

Mobile unit gets here, the poor guy is shocked. He takes photos, all the while shaking his head. Says there is no way this can be done in the field. Recommends the car be sent back. this was 10 days ago.

Despite the recommendation from the mobile unit, it took the service team a whole week to give me straight answer about sending a loaner and picking my car up.
this is supposed to happen by Saturday. It will be almost 6 weeks from delivery.


I don't know what to think about the whole thing. But I will definitely never buy CPO from Tesla again, and quite frankly I am questioning whether I should ever buy another Tesla at all.
For $70K I would have bought a very nice beamer, and would have received excellent customer service from a very reputable auto maker.
I paid $70K for a car that, and lets all be honest with each other here, is severely lacking on the inside. But, we are all ok with it because it drives amazing, and we all buy into the company and its mission as a whole. For me though, this touchy feely crap only goes a certain distance. Once I started getting treated like dirt, and spent my commutes alongside a lot of dirt, reality set in that I've been conned.

I would still love to be able to get my money back and give this dirt pile back.

 

[jmcdon7230]

Toothslayer.....when you ordered the car was it listed as "Not Refurbished"?

 

[bonnie]

Really? So you don't want to know if the car you are buying is serviced properly or not? I thought everyone checks the service booklet. It's common sense that if a car is serviced, it worths more. Don't tell me words like 'but EVs doesn't need to be serviced'

My history of car service has pretty much been oil changes, which were usually not done at the dealer. Did have the 50k service done where they installed the new spark plugs badly resulting in more problems than I'd started with. I'd be more interested in the previous owner's driving style than whether the suspension was looked at. With Teslas, it seems coolant and brake fluid flushes would be the only wear items service would address that would have lasting consequences. It's not like there is a timing belt ticking away.

If I were buying a used Tesla, I wouldn't care so much about service records.

However, I would want CAC info on the battery so I could tell if it was healthy or had been abused.

 

[sakimano]

I agree with teh OP that the Tesla CPO process is ridiculous.

My car when I bought it continued to be driven by someone as a loaner for 3 weeks. I was told it might take 6 weeks from the day I clicked 'buy' on the website till the car would be in my hands.

It's a truly ridiculous process and reeks of a company skating on thin ice. They're using their used car inventory as service loaners and then have to rush to bring the car up to specs.

Where I differ from the OP is that my car was in great shape when I got it, and the one or two small things that needed corrected were corrected within 2 weeks when I brought the car in, and was given a nice 100D as a loaner while they had my car.

All in all I think their model is broken. If their standards were truly beyond reproach you could comfortably buy a CPO car and know it would come to you like new and you'd be willing to gamble. Mine was, but I've spoken to a few people whose weren't.

As we also know, Tesla quality on brand new factory build cars often leaves a little to be desired so not sure how they're trying to convince us to have confidence in the used cars.