Does Tesla really want to have the worst CPO Program in the world?

[P85Dave]

We are considering looking into a CPO purchase so we can dispose of our remaining ICE but we are appalled to see the new CPO Program where the cars are essentially sold "as is" with a bill for any damage caused by the previous owner.

Based on some other threads, the CPO Program already was in need of improvement to make for a better experience but this looks like a major step backwards.

We've bought Audi, Mercedes, and BMW CPO vehicles before and each time it was a very predictable process with high resolution photos, cars refurbished inside and out to look as new as possible. Even when you buy a CPO Toyota or Kia, they respect customers enough to refurbish the car so you take home a car in great condition.

Does anyone know of another CPO Program where an automaker rather than refurbish the car being offered for sale would instead sell the car with a bill for refurbishing the car and essentially charge the customer buying the CPO car for damage done by the previous owner?

 

[kev1n]

i think what they are offering is fine but the underlying problem is, not being able to see the actual car you are buying and of course the normal negotiation that goes on because this car has x x x wear/blemish here and there.

 

[Electricious]

Most people buy a CPO car because they want a used car in immaculate condition with the knowledge that the manufacturer has refurbished the car to look like new. This new policy turns this on its head and I don't know of any car dealer who sells CPO cars without refurbishing them.

Heck even the slimiest run of the mill used car dealer will detail used cars available for sale.

I've sold a couple of cars private party and I still took the time to detail the car each time so the new owner takes home a car they can be proud of. I am not aware of any CPO program where they sell cars with a bill for fixing things. I always thought buying a car that does not need to be refurbished is the whole reason for buying a CPO car.

 

[Electricious]

i think what they are offering is fine but the underlying problem is, not being able to see the actual car you are buying and of course the normal negotiation that goes on because this car has x x x wear/blemish here and there.

The problem I see is even with the existing policy, they were selling CPO cars that look like they had the crap beaten out of them. So now without even a guise of wanting to make an effort, can you imagine how crappy the vehicles offered as CPO vehicles would be?

Worse yet I feel like they are subjecting these cars to massive wear and tear since they are used as service loaner. Now anyone buying a CPO Car will essentially pay for that damage.

 

[kev1n]

The problem I see is even with the existing policy, they were selling CPO cars that look like they had the crap beaten out of them. So now without even a guise of wanting to make an effort, can you imagine how crappy the vehicles offered as CPO vehicles would be?

Worse yet I feel like they are subjecting these cars to massive wear and tear since they are used as service loaner and now they are trying to get CPO customers to pay for that damage.

that is what im trying to say. people should be able to take a look at the car they are interested in and see the condition for themselves than to put a global standard saying all cars are xyz and they should be able to negotiate upon the said condition.

the other view is, if you dont like how they do CPO's, youre not forced into buying from them. I have personally bought both my model S via private party because I dont like the fact you cant even see the car unless it was at a price i couldnt refuse.

 

[Pentium2004]

The problem I see is even with the existing policy, they were selling CPO cars that look like they had the crap beaten out of them. So now without even a guise of wanting to make an effort, can you imagine how crappy the vehicles offered as CPO vehicles would be?

Worse yet I feel like they are subjecting these cars to massive wear and tear since they are used as service loaner. Now anyone buying a CPO Car will essentially pay for that damage.

I wonder if it could be a way to make their financials look better without showing all of these refurb costs. Instead it'll just show a service visit for the refurbishing which you will be paying for. They have to be smart with their capital to make it last and refurbishing a bunch of cars can be a large cost which won't balance out until the car is sold.

 

[Super_Popular]

I have bought many Tesla's from Tesla and only had one somewhat iffy issue, which they fixed. What happened in that other thread is an extreme issue and rarely that drastic of a delivery happens. I think it will be fine, we just need to give them time to get it figured out and the rule of thumb is DO NOT PAY FOR YOUR CAR UNTIL YOU INSPECT IT.

 

[Electricious]

Forget about matching Audi or Porsche CPO standards, but I just don't understand why Tesla can't at least match the CPO standards of Kia. When you buy a CPO Kia, they go through all the following and refurbish everything to match Kia standards.

https://www.kia.com/us/cpo/assets/CPO/pdf/KiaCPO-164-Point-Inspection.pdf

I'd like to think Tesla has at least comparable CPO standards as Kia for vehicles they sell

 

[ToothSlayer]

Avoid at all costs. I would say avoid even new ones. Who wants a premium car worth a lot of money that had poor fitting parts, and let’s face it, a very lacking and barebones interior?

Avoid CPO lokenitsbthe plague

 

[Electricious]

I have bought many Tesla's from Tesla and only had one somewhat iffy issue, which they fixed. What happened in that other thread is an extreme issue and rarely that drastic of a delivery happens. I think it will be fine, we just need to give them time to get it figured out and the rule of thumb is DO NOT PAY FOR YOUR CAR UNTIL YOU INSPECT IT.

Absolutely.

Especially with the recent changes, it would be very unwise to pay for a CPO Tesla until the vehicle has been inspected.

What I'm afraid is that this policy makes the recent publicized experience the norm. If that is what they did under the old program, can you imagine how they would now not even make the least bit of effort? I don't care if they tack on a "refurbishment fee" for CPO cars and include that in the cost but it seems to be really disrespectful to sell CPO cars with a bill for everything wrong with the vehicle.

 

[P85Dave]

Avoid at all costs. I would say avoid even new ones. Who wants a premium car worth a lot of money that had poor fitting parts, and let’s face it, a very lacking and barebones interior?

Avoid CPO lokenitsbthe plague

I would not go that far. In my mind Tesla still makes the finest car available to buy.

There is no other car I would rather buy but I feel like this is a horrible policy that is awful for Tesla customers and diminishes the brand to offer cars for sale with a bill for fixing what should have been fixed when the car was offered for sale.

Tesla should auction off cars that are too costly to refurbish and not bring down all the CPO cars. We all understand used cars have minor blemishes but they should have reasonable standards where cars are detailed and refurbished as much as reasonably possible.

 

[ToothSlayer]

I would not go that far. In my mind Tesla still makes the finest car available to buy.

There is no other car I would rather buy but I feel like this is a horrible policy that is awful for Tesla customers and diminishes the brand to offer cars for sale with a bill for fixing what should have been fixed when the car was offered for sale.

Tesla should auction off cars that are too costly to refurbish and not bring down all the CPO cars. We all understand used cars have minor blemishes but they should have reasonable standards where cars are detailed and refurbished as much as reasonably possible.

My issue, based on my experience, is not so much the poor quality of the cars, but rather the extremely poor customer service after the fact.
The stories you hear with Tesla support are just simply unheard of with other reputable car companies. At least unheard to me personally, to be fair.

 

[P85Dave]

My issue, based on my experience, is not so much the poor quality of the cars, but rather the extremely poor customer service after the fact.
The stories you hear with Tesla support are just simply unheard of with other reputable car companies. At least unheard to me personally, to be fair.

While I empathize with you, I feel like that statement is unfair to the literally thousands of Tesla employees who do nothing but their best to take care of customers every way they can. We LOVE our service center and the employees who work there so I don't think poor customer service is an endemic problem.

Having said that, I think Tesla really needs to focus on having POLICIES that are based on respecting and taking care of their customers and this new CPO policy is neither respectful for customers nor takes care of them. In fact this new policy practically begs customers who look to purchase a CPO vehicle to be treated poorly by offering cars in dismal condition and to add insult to injury then offer a bill for fixing the dismal conditions with the car.

I really can't think of any other CPO program that treats customers so poorly as with this policy.

 

[Electricious]

Perhaps a solution to this is for Tesla to offer "As Is Used" cars and then "Proper CPO" cars?

This way cars that are beaten up can be sold as is as used cars and then they can still sell higher quality cars as CPO cars.

 

[Super_Popular]

While I empathize with you, I feel like that statement is unfair to the literally thousands of Tesla employees who do nothing but their best to take care of customers every way they can. We LOVE our service center and the employees who work there so I don't think poor customer service is an endemic problem.

Having said that, I think Tesla really needs to focus on having POLICIES that are based on respecting and taking care of their customers and this new CPO policy is neither respectful for customers nor takes care of them. In fact this new policy practically begs customers who look to purchase a CPO vehicle to be treated poorly by offering cars in dismal condition and to add insult to injury then offer a bill for fixing the dismal conditions with the car.

I really can't think of any other CPO program that treats customers so poorly as with this policy.

As much as I love me a Tesla, I , for now am going to buy through a dealer or private party.....the deals are better.

 

[ACA Man]

My issue, based on my experience, is not so much the poor quality of the cars, but rather the extremely poor customer service after the fact.
The stories you hear with Tesla support are just simply unheard of with other reputable car companies. At least unheard to me personally, to be fair.

Same here.

No more Tesla for us, Period!

 

[Electricious]

Maybe Tesla should hire whoever runs the Hyundai CPO Program?

Imagine being able to buy a Tesla with the level of comfort you get with a Hyundai CPO

 

[Fiver]

My CPO process was rough, but the service after the fact has been top notch.

Also, remember Elon calls them used now, no longer CPO.

 

[Electricious]

My CPO process was rough, but the service after the fact has been top notch.

Also, remember Elon calls them used now, no longer CPO.

But the question is how is this the way to treat customers buying 60, 70, 80K used cars? What does it say about the company when they come up with a policy so contrary to treating customers fairly, especially when you have no idea what the cars up for sale look like?

They don't show the photos of the car and no list of everything wrong but you have to essentially pay a deposit and show up to buy the car before coming up with a list of things that need refurbishing that you then have to pay for.

Why not sell poor condition cars as "used cars" and better condition cars as "CPO cars" with the peace of mind you are buying a quality used car?

 

[P85Dave]

My CPO process was rough, but the service after the fact has been top notch.

Also, remember Elon calls them used now, no longer CPO.

It matters less what they are called more so that customers are treated in a reasonable and predictable way. We love our service center as well but I feel they should come up with a better policy.