Yesterday, my wife and I drove 235 miles from Central New York to Mt. Kisco for a 2:00pm appointment to pick up my new Model Y. About 20 minutes after checking in, a sales associate greeted me and took me to my car. To my surprise and disappointment, I immediately saw that the vehicle had a large and obvious dent in the front hood. What was harder to believe is that the associate didn’t point it out. How could he not notice the damage? On further inspection around the vehicle, I found other issues that should have been remediated prior to delivery. For example, the rear driver-side quarter panel had noticeable (factory?) grinding marks which clearly showed through the paint and clear coat; there were scuff marks on the interior rear seats and door; and dirt from muddy shoes that missed the paper on the front drivers-side carpet. The sales manager apologized and suggested that I take the car home to have the issues fixed by a local Tesla authorized service provider. I declined assuming this responsibility and said that I would come back to pick up the vehicle only after he certified that it has been properly repaired and in showroom condition. My wife and I promptly left and headed back home for another 5 hour road trip. I expect to hear back from Mt. Kisco today about the new delivery date. To his credit, the sales manager did offer to reimburse me for my next trip back to Mt. Kisco. A complimentary delivery directly to my door would have been the more appropriate remedy. They would not do this.
Needless to say, this experience as well as the very poor communication and coordination in the weeks prior to delivery do not leave me with confidence that future problems will be handled professionally and to standard. I suspect one of the major contributors here is the increased vehicle volume which has apparently overwhelmed Tesla’s distribution, delivery, and sales capacity. Does this apply only to the Mt. Kisco operation, is this temporary while they adjust to the higher demand, is this the lack of training? I don’t know, but the experience has left me worried about my future Tesla vehicle ownership. Will the new high demand of Tesla vehicles overwhelm their charging infrastructure, and if so, for how long? Could there be “battery charging” lines akin to the lines that formed at gas stations during fuel shortages? How about service and repair? How about good old fashioned customer service? I guess we shall see.
Needless to say, this experience as well as the very poor communication and coordination in the weeks prior to delivery do not leave me with confidence that future problems will be handled professionally and to standard. I suspect one of the major contributors here is the increased vehicle volume which has apparently overwhelmed Tesla’s distribution, delivery, and sales capacity. Does this apply only to the Mt. Kisco operation, is this temporary while they adjust to the higher demand, is this the lack of training? I don’t know, but the experience has left me worried about my future Tesla vehicle ownership. Will the new high demand of Tesla vehicles overwhelm their charging infrastructure, and if so, for how long? Could there be “battery charging” lines akin to the lines that formed at gas stations during fuel shortages? How about service and repair? How about good old fashioned customer service? I guess we shall see.