Customer satisfaction vs warranty issues

[Sunlight]

Recently there was the paradoxically ironical (or ironically paradoxical!) situation of the Warranty Issues thread side-by-side with the 98% Customer Satisfaction thread.

From the very vexed posters with on-going reliability and warranty concerns must have arisen the 2% who are dissatisfied.........yes or no?!

Once this out-of-warranty occurs with a vengeance in the very near future, it is conceivable that the customer satisfaction index may plummet - especially when owners (who may have had on-going and unresolved issues) start getting hit with big bills - aggravated, maybe, by being tied to Tesla and not being able to contract out repairs to others.

Tesla should clarify this matter as it has not been previously relevant in the auto industry - and Elon says he wants a paradigm shift. Maybe Tesla should warrant indefinitely (within reason) any failures that are persistent; have previously occurred with that car; are due to quality/manufacturing issues; or are design faults. Excluded can be fair wear and tear; abuse; physical damage; high mileage etc.

I even feel pretty aggrieved when our 10 yr old Jeep has failures that are 'inexcusable' and we pick up a big bill - eg:- crown wheel teeth and starter; hoses; gas struts; steering damper and such like.

 

[lolachampcar]

aggrieved??? 10 year old Chrysler vehicle??? Wow.

I think the paradox you are seeing comes from the old saying that it is not the having of a problem but how you address the problem that counts. Overall, Tesla seems to be doing a fantastic job correcting issues which, I believe, is where the customer satisfaction is coming from. My experience with four cars has been much better quality than my previous BMWs and aggressive correction when there has been an issue. Of course, that is just a survey of one

 

[Jaff]

There is simply no way that any company selling any product or service can achieve and maintain 100% consumer satisfaction...it is an admirable goal, but is a utopian premise ...that being said, do you not think that your "aggrieved" feeling is in fact just anger at the "bad luck that the (inevitable) breakdown event occurred during your ownership of the vehicle?

At 10 years, considering the complexity of the product, you may have your expectations a little high imo...

 

[rocketdallas]

I've had my car for only a short time, but brought it in recently for some minor warranty items and found the service to be great. The service center took time to better understand the details of my concerns and made sure to correct everything to my satisfaction. Really a great group and I am very happy.

Our warranty on these cars is comparable or better than equivalent ICE vehicles and, thus far from my experience and from readings through the forum, it seems Tesla often chooses to do the right thing for the customer involving any repair or service issues. This is a bit different from some of my past dealership service experiences wherein I would need to argue assignability of the problem.

 

[Sunlight]

OK let me clarify! 'Aggrieved' is most probably too strong - irritated I suppose. Our old family (cheap) Toyota still had the same gas struts and the Jeep's conked out after 8-9 years and weren't cheap.....

Modern dampers seem to last ages yet the simple steering damper just fell apart. Etc etc. I just wonder at what point one 'accepts' that parts fail...........

I agree with lolachampcar about the way things are handled making a huge difference - it will be interesting to see how Tesla deal with out-of-warranty stuff. Because that could take the gilding off very quickly!

IMHO I wonder whether some auto manufacturers market stuff they 'know' will fail after the warranty period knowing that people seem to accept picking up those costs. Certainly 100% reliability and satisfaction is virtually impossible but it would be nice if things that 'shouldn't fail', don't - or that the manufacturers make good when they do over an extended period.

But then maybe that is where they make so much of their money so it is a balancing act!