Fair compensation from Tesla regarding bad delivery experience

[Oyinko]

Hello,

I got delivery of a new Performance Model 3 on October 22 in Fremont.

The car had a total of 9 issues that needed to be addressed by Tesla, some of them that will never be fixed because I don’t want them to remove the dashboard because of a scratch on it.

On top of that, I got a faulty drive unit and had to bring my Model 3 at the SC to swap it. What was supposed to be a quick 3-4 day turnaround is now becoming a full 2 weeks with still no date in sight to get my car back as they are still waiting on getting a front drive unit for my car.

I’m obviously not pleased with the experience and started to complain to the SC about it but I felt they really don’t care about my situation. For them, because they provided me a loaner (Model S), I should not complain of not having my car.

If I decided to spend more than 80K on a car, it was not for driving a loaner but rather enjoying a Performance Model 3....

It’s my third brand new car (had two BMW previously) and I feel the experience of getting a new car is flawed because of the situation.

I plan to ask Tesla for compensation and would like to get your feedback on the best way to approach it and what you feel should be a fair deal to make up for the poor experience.

If you had any success in having Tesla giving you a compensation for a bad delivery experience, I would appreciate if you could share some tips on how you aprroached it, what was your issue and what Tesla offered.

Thanks.

 

[P85_DA]

Best I have seen is they offer a free yearly service(s) ..in general I would approach politely ....I have yet to see anyone get cash compensation ..unless Tesla did a buyback .

 

[Jeffers0n]

Just curious, what was wrong with the drive unit? I had a bad experience with a model 3 perf delivery at Fremont too.

 

[ucmndd]

You might get some comped future service. Don’t expect much if anything more.

 

[Oyinko]

Just curious, what was wrong with the drive unit? I had a bad experience with a model 3 perf delivery at Fremont too.

I was hearing a weird noise from the front when slowly accelerating. The SC in Burlingame told me calipers were shifting position and created the noise but did not believe them. So I stoped again at the SC in SF and they told me the front drive unit was definitely faulty....

 

[Oyinko]

You might get some comped future service. Don’t expect much if anything more.

The thing is first service is at 25K miles right? That would be about 5 years away for me... and how much would the service cost anyway?

 

[P85_DA]

I was hearing a weird noise from the front when slowly accelerating. The SC in Burlingame told me calipers were shifting position and created the noise but did not believe them. So I stoped again at the SC in SF and they told me the front drive unit was definitely faulty....

Same happened to another member here..heard squealing noise and was front motor ...this is covered under warranty and if u are lucky to get a free comped yearly service that is best ..my friend got nothing

 

[Jeffers0n]

I was hearing a weird noise from the front when slowly accelerating. The SC in Burlingame told me calipers were shifting position and created the noise but did not believe them. So I stoped again at the SC in SF and they told me the front drive unit was definitely faulty....

Just curious, was it a beeping noise that you hit at certain speeds and would go away at other speeds?

 

[Oyinko]

Just curious, was it a beeping noise that you hit at certain speeds and would go away at other speeds?

It was a clunking noise, check the video: iCloud Photo Sharing

 

[ucmndd]

The thing is first service is at 25K miles right? That would be about 5 years away for me... and how much would the service cost anyway?

On Model S/X it’s 12,500 miles or annually, whichever comes first. They’re a few hundred bucks. Not sure about model 3.

But yes, you’re getting the gist of my comment. Don’t expect any real compensation beyond the fixing of the issues to your satisfaction and a loaner car while you wait. The time you’re going to sink into this trying to be made whole will far outstrip any benefit you receive. They’re not gonna give you any cash.

 

[Oyinko]

Same happened to another member here..heard squealing noise and was front motor ...this is covered under warranty and if u are lucky to get a free comped yearly service that is best ..my friend got nothing

How long did they keep the car?

 

[P85_DA]

How long did they keep the car?

He waited 2weeks..his sound was more of a brake squeal ..yours sounds different

 

[rainforest]

They really do try to rectify all issues, but are just backlogged heavily with so many cars. They are a fast growing company. I wouldn't push for compensation. My car was in the bodyshop for 3 weeks and the bumper had to be painted 4 times before they could get it right. I didn't ask for compensation. They only gave me an ICE loaner too.

 

[Mod3forMe]

I don't think you would get much or anything. From what it sounds like you want to be compensated for emotional distress as they made sure you had an equal or better car to drive well they took care of the issues.

Yes it sucks to gave to wait for your new car, but waiting with S to drive, means you are not out anything

 

[MaxSpeedM3]

It doesn't hurt to ask but from my experience, they really don't care. The sc makes it seem like they are doing you a favor by fixing the issues Tesla has. They have a long way to go. Good luck but keep us informed!

 

[redscott]

It's complete bullshit and you absolutely deserve compensation. The reality is what you should do is ask for a refund and get a car made by another company. Tesla has its head up its ass when it comes to reliability and service and thanks to huge demand they don't think they have to do anything about it.

In 5 or 10 years they'll have enough competition in the EV field that minor niggles like NEEDING A MOTOR REPLACED ON A NEW CAR will get straightened out. In the short term they've got enough reservations that they're not that worried about losing a single customer's business.

By the nature of this type of forum you're interacting with almost entirely "enthusiasts" (AKA sycophants when anything goes wrong), and it's maddening how people will apologize for a company that will take eighty thousand of your dollars and not feel the need to apologize when it's broken in a dozen ways.

 

[Bet TSLA]

If you had any success in having Tesla giving you a compensation for a bad delivery experience, I would appreciate if you could share some tips on how you aprroached it, what was your issue and what Tesla offered.

I've had delivery problems twice. The recent time, for my Model S last December, they comped the first year service (coming up soon). What it took to get that was asking nicely. In your case it sounds like "How about you don't bother with fixing [X]. Comp me the first year service and I'll be happy." Depending on what the problem is, they might take care of it at your first year service anyway.

Seriously, driving a better (or at least more expensive) car for a while for free is a good thing. That doesn't deserve any compensation. You are getting to drive without putting any miles on your car. You are getting to experience a different Tesla, thus improving your understanding of what you have and what's available. Enjoy it.

And, yes, it sucks that Tesla sometimes fails to deliver perfect cars in a perfect manner. But in my experience they always make it right in the end if you give them a chance.

 

[mrrross]

Warranty covers issues which arise. If you are choosing not to accept a remedy, i.e. you don't want them to remove the dash, you are actively choosing not to accept the typical remedy most manufacturers would offer in these situations. Regardless if Tesla, Porsche or BMW, it's the same situation and they all have issues they repair.

Just to clarify, is there a documented delivery experience requirement which they didn't meet?

Did you choose to accept the car and conditions at the time of delivery?

When I read a thread like this, I'm not sure what you're expecting for "compensation". Is this a free car wash, or $5 million dollars to you?

 

[redscott]

I've had delivery problems twice. The recent time, for my Model S last December, they comped the first year service (coming up soon). What it took to get that was asking nicely. In your case it sounds like "How about you don't bother with fixing [X]. Comp me the first year service and I'll be happy." Depending on what the problem is, they might take care of it at your first year service anyway.

Seriously, driving a better (or at least more expensive) car for a while for free is a good thing. That doesn't deserve any compensation...

Of course you should be nice to the Tesla reps, they have a hard job and have to deal with a lot of angry people, in part due to widespread manufacturing issues. But it's not the customer's responsibility to assuage a corporation's feelings when they're the ones who've screwed up.

And supplying a loaner when you need to get a motor replaced on your brand new car isn't some extravagant benevolence, it's the bare minimum of service when they've delivered you such a broken car that it requires weeks to repair.

 

[redscott]

Getting back on the original topic, I'm not sure what appropriate compensation would be, but I recommend looking into if your state has lemon laws. It sounds like it might be appropriate here and as a bonus a friend whose Model S had a myriad of issues got much more attention when he mentioned he was looking into legal means of redress.