Extended Service Plan

[Cyclone]

What filter did you buy and where did you buy it? If I understand correctly you can buy the pollen filter part directly from Tesla for around $35.

Seems like Tire Rack has Bosch wipers at a reasonable price.

Seems like you have a practically new drive unit When they replace the battery do they also replace the battery coolant?

I went to my local service center and bought the filter.

Yes, the battery coolant when replacing the battery, the transmission fluid when changing the drive unit, and the brake fluid when changing the brakes were all spelled out on the various service invoices I got.

 

[mspohr]

I'll keep posting about what I feel are unfair policies until such policies are reasonable. Not that different from topics that matter to you where you too have repeatedly posted the same viewpoint multiple times...

Do you disagree with anything I've said? Do you feel this policy change where they somehow managed to make the ESA that was horrible to begin with even worse to be fair or reasonable to either current Tesla owners or prospective buyers?

You and I can agree to disagree on if $400 is fair to change wiper blades, key fob battery, cabin air filter, and an "inspection." Somehow premium ICE car dealers do the same inspections for a vastly more complicated vehicle at half the cost.

I am hoping with more awareness about how adversely this policy affects Tesla customers that they will do the right thing. Why is it so hard for them to allow the purchase of an extended warranty to cover the car for up to 8 years from the original in service date. Is that really an unreasonable request to allow an extended warranty that has been paid for by an owner to transfer to someone else when they sell the car private party.

If you decide to sell your Model S, would you really not want to have the option of getting the best value for your car by being able to offer it with an extended warranty that you have bought?

Mercedes Benz "A" service at 10,000 miles is about $350 and includes oil change and safety inspections.
Here's a few other prices:
How much does Mercedes-Benz repair and maintenance cost?

Car	Service	Average Dealer Price
2009 Mercedes-Benz G550	Fuel Filter Replacement	$157 - $192
2006 Mercedes-Benz CL55	Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement	$115 - $150
2005 Mercedes-Benz CL500	Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Tube Replacement	$199 - $234

 

[green1]

Mercedes Benz "A" service at 10,000 miles is about $350 and includes oil change and safety inspections.

And Tesla charges significantly more ($500 if you prepay for 8 years, more if you don't) and yet doesn't need to do the oil change portion, only the other parts. (and in fact the inspection should be easier too as there's less to inspect without a big ICE)

 

[HankLloydRight]

When I then find that maintenance is significantly more expensive on the Tesla, after being promised the reverse, I feel that I have every right to speak up.

Sure, the annual service itself might be more expensive, but it's still not a fair comparison, because there are dozens of things that will never break on a Tesla and never need to be repaired. How much have you spent on these repairs over the years for any ICE vehicle? These repairs add up to thousands of dollars more spent on ICE maintenance that a once-per-year Tesla Annual Service for $400.

• Water Pump
• Fuel Filter
• Fuel Pump
• Transmission repair/rebuild
• Thermostat
• Alternator Repair/Replace
• Starter Replace
• Serpentine Belt(s)
• Timing Belt/Timing Chain
• Valve adjustments
• Fuel injectors replace or unglog
• Radiator flush/repair/replace
• Exhaust Repair/replace
• Oil changes/Air filters
• Steering pump and hoses
• O2 Sensors
• Catalytic Converter Replace

And that's all I could come up with in two minutes.. I'm sure there are others.

 

[green1]

Sure, the annual service itself might be more expensive, but it's still not a fair comparison, because there are dozens of things that will never break on a Tesla and never need to be repaired. How much have you spent on these repairs over the years for any ICE vehicle? These repairs add up to thousands of dollars more spent on ICE maintenance that a once-per-year Tesla Annual Service for $400.

• Water Pump
• Fuel Filter
• Fuel Pump
• Transmission repair/rebuild
• Thermostat
• Alternator Repair/Replace
• Starter Replace
• Serpentine Belt(s)
• Timing Belt/Timing Chain
• Valve adjustments
• Fuel injectors replace or unglog
• Radiator flush/repair/replace
• Exhaust Repair/replace
• Oil changes/Air filters
• Steering pump and hoses
• O2 Sensors
• Catalytic Converter Replace

And that's all I could come up with in two minutes.. I'm sure there are others.

Do you honestly do much of that ever? let alone frequently enough that it would eclipse the extra you pay for the routine service?
Most of that stuff is needed somewhere between every 15-20 years, and never. My last 3 vehicles have been 15-20 years old, and falling apart, and even so I've had to do less than half of that list, on the three vehicles combined! That's an awful lot of over priced annual inspections before you get there.
That sort of scaremongering about ICE is no better than the people claiming we all need new door handles, drive units and batteries annually.

 

[mspohr]

Some of us do own a Tesla and still think it's unreasonable.

Tesla keeps saying that it requires less maintenance than an ICE, it's them who are asking us to make the comparison, so I feel fully justified in following that invitation and doing so. When I then find that maintenance is significantly more expensive on the Tesla, after being promised the reverse, I feel that I have every right to speak up.

Here's some more prices for comparison. Looks like Tesla's prices are about the same:
How Benzel-Busch Service compares to other local independents and dealerships on select service/repair pricing.

SERVICE / REPAIR	BENZEL-BUSCH	Avg. Area Independent	Avg. Area Mercedes-Benz
Service A *	$ 244.65	$ 160.00	$ 329.00
Service B **	$ 594.95	$ 609.00	$ 737.00
Front Brakes & New Rotors*	$ 761.95	$ 627.00	$ 833.00
Transmission Service with Filter & Gasket*	$ 649.95	$ 470.00	$ 683.00
4 Wheel Alignment *	$ 210.00	$ 161.00	$ 173.00
Rear Brake Pads & New Rotors *	$ 666.75	$ 479.00	$ 773.00

*Prices based on 2012 E350 (Express Service Program only)-Service A includes: Synthetic motor oil replacement, oil filter replacement, all fluid level checks and corrections, tire inflation check and correction, brake component inspection, reset maintenance counter, and adheres to all required elements listed by model year and specific model as indicated on corresponding service sheet for Mercedes-Benz Maintenance Systems in the USA. Sales tax not included.
**Prices based on 2012 E350 (Express Service Program only)- Service B includes: Synthetic motor oil replacement, oil filter replacement, cabin dust/combination filter replacement, brake fluid exchange, all fluid level checks and correction, brake component inspection, reset maintenance counter, and adheres to all required elements listed by model year and specific model as indicated on corresponding service sheet for Mercedes-Benz Maintenance Systems in the USA. Sales tax not included.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Do you honestly do much of that ever? let alone frequently enough that it would eclipse the extra you pay for the routine service?
Most of that stuff is needed somewhere between every 15-20 years, and never. That's an awful lot of over priced annual inspections before you get there.

Yes, I've had most of those repairs on many of the cars I own, except the transmission, since I have manual tranny cars.

My last repair for my BMW M5 was a drive shaft which ran me $2200 because they had to remove the entire exhaust to get to the drive shaft. And that's just ONE repair for that car. And that was $1000 less than it could have been because I was able to get a reman drive shaft for $1000 less than a new BMW one.

Most of that stuff is needed somewhere between every 15-20 years, and never.

That's simply an absurd statement.

 

[mspohr]

Do you honestly do much of that ever? let alone frequently enough that it would eclipse the extra you pay for the routine service?
Most of that stuff is needed somewhere between every 15-20 years, and never. My last 3 vehicles have been 15-20 years old, and falling apart, and even so I've had to do less than half of that list, on the three vehicles combined! That's an awful lot of over priced annual inspections before you get there.
That sort of scaremongering about ICE is no better than the people claiming we all need new door handles, drive units and batteries annually.

All of the cars that I have had for more than 5 to 10 years have had all of the parts in that list replaced (except only one required a catalytic convertor and none a transmission rebuild - yet). And... parts and labor to install them is not cheap.

 

[DMage]

I find this thread interesting, but with Hank's list thought it would be helpful to counter it with ICE expenses. I plan on keeping my S for a long while, which is not normal for me (I am a 2-3 year car guy). If you are a 2-3 year car owner, then this list means nothing to you. However my wife loves to keep cars for a long time and her 10 year old VW went through a ton of the below list. Luckily I do a lot of repairs myself but I can imagine the expense if you didn't, even with doing it myself I never add up bills but can imagine it would be hefty over the years.

Work to my wifes Volkswagen we owned for 10 years since new that we got rid of with 100k miles:

• Water Pump (replaced twice (x2))
• Fuel Filter (never)
• Fuel Pump (never)
• Transmission repair/rebuild (replaced seal twice, flushed 'lifetime' fluid twice, replaced 'lifetime' filter once, dealer fixed a leak on the drivers side once)
• Thermostat (x2 with the water pump)
• Alternator Repair/Replace (x4, amen for auto zone lifetime alternators, became an expert at doing this in < 20 mins)
• Starter Replace (never)
• Serpentine Belt(s) (x2 with water pump)
• Timing Belt/Timing Chain (x2)
• Valve adjustments (never)
• Fuel injectors replace or unclog (never, but used flush regularly)
• Radiator flush/repair/replace (x1)
• Exhaust Repair/replace (never)
• Oil changes/Air filters (plenty of times)
• Steering pump and hoses (never)
• O2 Sensors (yep, x2)
• Catalytic Converter Replace (x1, luckily covered under warranty since it was a common failure)
• + Spark plugs (x2)
• + 12v battery (x2)
• + Ignition coil (x1)
• + Blower motor (x1, granted a EV would have this part also)

 

[green1]

Here's some more prices for comparison. Looks like Tesla's prices are about the same:
How Benzel-Busch Service compares to other local independents and dealerships on select service/repair pricing.

SERVICE / REPAIR	BENZEL-BUSCH	Avg. Area Independent	Avg. Area Mercedes-Benz
Service A *	$ 244.65	$ 160.00	$ 329.00
Service B **	$ 594.95	$ 609.00	$ 737.00
Front Brakes & New Rotors*	$ 761.95	$ 627.00	$ 833.00
Transmission Service with Filter & Gasket*	$ 649.95	$ 470.00	$ 683.00
4 Wheel Alignment *	$ 210.00	$ 161.00	$ 173.00
Rear Brake Pads & New Rotors *	$ 666.75	$ 479.00	$ 773.00

*Prices based on 2012 E350 (Express Service Program only)-Service A includes: Synthetic motor oil replacement, oil filter replacement, all fluid level checks and corrections, tire inflation check and correction, brake component inspection, reset maintenance counter, and adheres to all required elements listed by model year and specific model as indicated on corresponding service sheet for Mercedes-Benz Maintenance Systems in the USA. Sales tax not included.
**Prices based on 2012 E350 (Express Service Program only)- Service B includes: Synthetic motor oil replacement, oil filter replacement, cabin dust/combination filter replacement, brake fluid exchange, all fluid level checks and correction, brake component inspection, reset maintenance counter, and adheres to all required elements listed by model year and specific model as indicated on corresponding service sheet for Mercedes-Benz Maintenance Systems in the USA. Sales tax not included.

So "Service A" on a benz can be had for $160 (compared to $500 for the Tesla)
"Service B" on the benz costs $524 (compared to $500 for the Tesla)
The others are useless without knowing how often it's needed. I also like that you included alignment on there, a service that I can't get from Tesla at any price short of shipping my car 1000km, but for which they charge me anyway as part of the service plan.

- - - Updated - - -

All of the cars that I have had for more than 5 to 10 years have had all of the parts in that list replaced (except only one required a catalytic convertor and none a transmission rebuild - yet). And... parts and labor to install them is not cheap.

Labour on an ICE is 1/2 to 3/4 of labour on Tesla around here, I've had 6/17 items on that list in the past 15 years of driving 15-20 year old cars.

- - - Updated - - -

My last repair for my BMW M5 was a drive shaft which ran me $2200 because they had to remove the entire exhaust to get to the drive shaft. And that's just ONE repair for that car. And that was $1000 less than it could have been because I was able to get a reman drive shaft for $1000 less than a new BMW one.

How much would a new Tesla drive unit, or even a remanufactured one, cost? that would be a fair comparisson, and statistically more likely that the M5 drive shaft.

 

[Cyclone]

Do you honestly do much of that ever? let alone frequently enough that it would eclipse the extra you pay for the routine service?
Most of that stuff is needed somewhere between every 15-20 years, and never. My last 3 vehicles have been 15-20 years old, and falling apart, and even so I've had to do less than half of that list, on the three vehicles combined! That's an awful lot of over priced annual inspections before you get there.
That sort of scaremongering about ICE is no better than the people claiming we all need new door handles, drive units and batteries annually.

Yes, I've had most of those repairs on many of the cars I own, except the transmission, since I have manual tranny cars.

My last repair for my BMW M5 was a drive shaft which ran me $2200 because they had to remove the entire exhaust to get to the drive shaft. And that's just ONE repair for that car. And that was $1000 less than it could have been because I was able to get a reman drive shaft for $1000 less than a new BMW one.

All of the cars that I have had for more than 5 to 10 years have had all of the parts in that list replaced (except only one required a catalytic convertor and none a transmission rebuild - yet). And... parts and labor to install them is not cheap.

Your mileage will vary. My 2006 4Runner has had:
- oil changes regularly
- radiator flush after 6 years
- one fuel injector stuck open at 9 years/93k miles (an the resulting deluge of fuel killed an O2 sensor)
- new front brakes at 6 years
- brake fluid flush at 6 years
- new rear brakes at 8 years
- new 12v at 8 years

My prior 4Runner at 9 years had:
- oil changes regularly

My prior 626 at 11 years had:
- oil changes regularly
- starter replacement at 8 years
- timing belt replacement at 10 years
- serpentine belt replacement at 10 years

My mothers Corolla by 9 years had:
- regular oil changes

That said, others probably had cars with more repairs.