Change of Policy on Tesla Ranger Service

[Phil Seastrand]

Maybe you should change your profile:

You don't seem that happy as an owner anymore.

 

[Mayhemm]

Despite living in a large metropolitan area our nearest service center is Raleigh, NC over 200 miles away. Before purchasing the car I looked into service knowing very well it was likely the car may have a few issues along the way. I too was informed about the $100 Ranger service which I felt was a fair trade off for not having a service center here. Now, a mere 4 months later we are having our first issue where our phones are notifying us of a charging interruption problem every night. Luckily the car is still charging and performing normally. Tesla needs the car back to properly rectify the problem and informed me it would be $606 to cover the transportation.

If you think that's bad, try being 1000 miles from a service center! Or 1300(!), depending on whether Tesla decides to allow calculating the rate from service centers that are planned but not yet open. I haven't had need to inquire yet, but I bet my bill will dwarf yours!

Maybe you should change your profile: View attachment 92250 You don't seem that happy as an owner anymore.

In his defense, he, and ever other Model S owner, does have quite a few reasons to be unhappy lately.

Whoever they brought in to replace Jerome as head of service is sure dropping the ball. Or are these service policy changes Jerome's doing?

 

[gpetti]

Lthis thread started in May so the change must be prior to Jerome leaving.

 

[Andyw2100]

This thread started in May so the change must be prior to Jerome leaving.

Though if it represents a general shift in how Tesla is planning on treating its customers, and if Jerome had no say in the decision, it could have been a factor in his departure (assuming he is really gone, which has not yet been determined. Officially he is just on leave until the end of the year.)

 

[Robert.Boston]

This change is making me extremely glad I purchased 8 years of unlimited Ranger service when I bought the car, particularly as I now live 100 miles from the nearest service center. Tesla needs to revisit this change. The old "$1/mile, max of $100" probably doesn't cover the full cost, but that's why gross margins on each car are so large.

 

[andrewket]

Today I too learned about the change in the Ranger Service plan. We purchased our Tesla in April of 2015 and we live in Chesapeake, VA. Despite living in a large metropolitan area our nearest service center is Raleigh, NC over 200 miles away. Before purchasing the car I looked into service knowing very well it was likely the car may have a few issues along the way. I too was informed about the $100 Ranger service which I felt was a fair trade off for not having a service center here. Now, a mere 4 months later we are having our first issue where our phones are notifying us of a charging interruption problem every night. Luckily the car is still charging and performing normally. Tesla needs the car back to properly rectify the problem and informed me it would be $606 to cover the transportation. I am quite dissatisfied as we bought the car under the assumption that service visits for warranty repair would cost $100. Now any service visit is going to be a $600 plus bill. I have been a huge fan of Tesla and have helped spread the word by giving numerous test rides and attending various events. This however is a quite demoralizing and souring development.

Somewhat orthogonal to your real issue of not having a local service center, I'm 99% sure the interruption notice is a software problem that was recently introduced. If it isn't causing your charging to stop, I'd wait for the next release of firmware and the iOS app which I suspect will fix it.

 

[Doug_G]

This change is making me extremely glad I purchased 8 years of unlimited Ranger service when I bought the car, particularly as I now live 100 miles from the nearest service center. Tesla needs to revisit this change. The old "$1/mile, max of $100" probably doesn't cover the full cost, but that's why gross margins on each car are so large.

They've obviously decided that they no longer want to attract people from outside their service areas, that it's not cost-effective and they don't need those customers. A strictly financial decision.

It will be interesting to see whether their store/service center and Supercharger rollouts will be slowed down to save cash. I know they went back to the markets recently, but they've got huge investments to make in factories, giga and otherwise.

 

[Andyw2100]

They've obviously decided that they no longer want to attract people from outside their service areas, that it's not cost-effective and they don't need those customers. A strictly financial decision.

And that is a decision that they have the right to make, though I think it is probably the wrong decision. What they don't have the right to do, certainly from an ethical standpoint, and very possibly from a legal one (though I am not an attorney) is tell potential customers one thing to sell them cars, and then radically change their policies in a way that negatively impacts those customers after they have made their purchases. That's just wrong.

 

[Doug_G]

Can't argue with that. Very disappointing.

 

[marcad80]

as a Tesla "fanboy", I am getting a little worried.

they are starting to build a reputation of overcommit and under deliver.....

i wonder for how long the Supercharger network will be free......

 

[mknox]

This change is making me extremely glad I purchased 8 years of unlimited Ranger service when I bought the car...

I bought 8 years of Service but opted out of the unlimited Ranger piece since I live about 6 miles from my Service Center. There are now rumors of it closing and moving :scared:

 

[AB4EJ]

And that is a decision that they have the right to make, though I think it is probably the wrong decision. What they don't have the right to do, certainly from an ethical standpoint, and very possibly from a legal one (though I am not an attorney) is tell potential customers one thing to sell them cars, and then radically change their policies in a way that negatively impacts those customers after they have made their purchases. That's just wrong.

I have read a lot of stories on this forum about the huge costs Tesla must have incurred for elaborate (and sometimes repetitive) servicing of very distant cars at their own expense. I reckon the review of these costs in management team meetings must have made for some mighty uncomfortable and awkward moments. They are backtracking from an initial bad decision, it seems.

 

[Andyw2100]

They are backtracking from an initial bad decision, it seems.

Yes, I think that is fairly obvious.

The problem is that when a bad decision involves commitments to customers, it is expected that companies that care about their customers and companies that care about their reputations honor those commitments.

 

[neroden]

I have read a lot of stories on this forum about the huge costs Tesla must have incurred for elaborate (and sometimes repetitive) servicing of very distant cars at their own expense. I reckon the review of these costs in management team meetings must have made for some mighty uncomfortable and awkward moments. They are backtracking from an initial bad decision, it seems.

The backtracking is a really really really really bad decision.

I mean, it's just converted a bunch of free good publicity into free bad publicity. I don't think they have any idea what they're doing. The cost of the reputational damage is monumental. They've got a few months left to reverse this.

Think of what happens to Tesla's reputation when someone with a very distant car (such as in Pittsburgh, PA) needs elaborate servicing for warranty issues and Tesla DOESN'T cover the cost at their own expense. Ow ow ow ow ow....

Providing some form of prepaid unlimited Ranger service for people over 200 miles from a service center, at some price, will solve the reputational problem. Even if the price is quite high. It's a form of insurance against getting a lemon: the idea is that most people shouldn't need lots of service (because their car will 'just work'), but those who do need lots of service (because Tesla sent them a car with lots of defects) have a way to cap their costs.

Tesla needs an actuary to figure out how much to charge for it... but then Tesla absolutely needs to provide it.

 

[Mayhemm]

Providing some form of prepaid unlimited Ranger service for people over 200 miles from a service center, at some price, will solve the reputational problem. Even if the price is quite high. It's a form of insurance against getting a lemon: the idea is that most people shouldn't need lots of service (because their car will 'just work'), but those who do need lots of service (because Tesla sent them a car with lots of defects) have a way to cap their costs.

Tesla needs an actuary to figure out how much to charge for it... but then Tesla absolutely needs to provide it.

This is precisely what I assumed would have occurred BEFORE they announced the Ranger program. But you know what they say about assumptions...

 

[Only Trons]

They've obviously decided that they no longer want to attract people from outside their service areas, that it's not cost-effective and they don't need those customers. A strictly financial decision.

It will be interesting to see whether their store/service center and Supercharger rollouts will be slowed down to save cash. I know they went back to the markets recently, but they've got huge investments to make in factories, giga and otherwise.

Yes, I agree this must have been a financial decision. NetZero's explanation of his experience supports that conclusion.

I opted to buy the pre-paid 4+4 service plan with unlimited Ranger Service. When I took delivery of my MS in Apr 2013, the nearest service center (Rockville MD) was 20 miles away. That service center soon became backed up with repair work and Mid Atlantic area deliveries. But then another service center opened in Northern Virginia only about 5 miles away. So it is likely I won't have much reason to utilize the Ranger Service unless I am on the road somewhere.

 

[Al Sherman]

I assume they'll still give you a loaner if you can drive your car to the Service Center?
I'm going to need to check the new policy carefully. This may have an impact on my wife's decision to go through with the Model X reservation. I'm 59 miles from the nearest Service Center.

 

[Andyw2100]

I assume they'll still give you a loaner if you can drive your car to the Service Center?

For now. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

 

[AnOutsider]

I assume they'll still give you a loaner if you can drive your car to the Service Center?
I'm going to need to check the new policy carefully. This may have an impact on my wife's decision to go through with the Model X reservation. I'm 59 miles from the nearest Service Center.

Have you gotten a copy of the new policy in any kind of form?

 

[Mayhemm]

Have you gotten a copy of the new policy in any kind of form?

This is my biggest problem with this whole thing. Independent of the obvious reduction in services and the sudden gouging of remote customers, this has been done completely behind the scenes. There has been no announcement for any of these changes, or even new policy paperwork done up. Tesla seems to just be surprising customers when they need to use a Ranger. "Surprise! Your cost just went up by an order of magnitude!"