Feeling misinformed on my CPO order (substantive previous damage) -- what should I do?

[evluxury]

I would seriously consider deleting the screen capture of that email. Plastering that person's name, email and mobile number on an Internet forum seems totally inappropriate.

I think it'll be alright. I'm not at all saying that person was the one responsible. That email was simply from the Service Advisor at the dealership saying the issues wrong with the current car that was then sent to my CPO specialist. That is not the contact info for the DS I was working with on the CPO. I don't mean this in a condescending way, but I feel like you're causing quite a bit of fuss without offering any sort of valuable feedback.

 

[evluxury]

The title of this thread is totally misleading. I thought this was another Cyclone situation. If there is no car which matches your budget, politely demand your deposit back and wait for the right one. Frustrating, but you've not been screwed unless they refuse, which I seriously doubt they will.

The DS's details should be removed, unless it's supposed to be a positive as to how well she looked after your interests as soon as she knew. And even then ...

Initially, the DS was refusing to give my deposit back, but they are now being more cooperative. That email was merely from the person listing the issues with the car as requested by my CPO specialist -- I want to make it clear she was not the one responsible for any of this in the least bit.

 

[evluxury]

If any mods would like to delete this thread, or at least the screenshot with the contact information, please feel free if you find it at all inappropriate or in violation of TMC's best practices.

 

[evluxury]

I would also just like to make it known that the point of this post was not to throw anyone under the bus or escalate anything, but rather merely to ask for advice on what the best step would be if they were not willing to give my deposit back and there were not any other CPOs available that fit my criteria.

I agree that I should have problem cropped that SA's info out before posting it, but I left it merely as credibility that it was a real email. I've also made it clear many times that she was simply the SA that inspected the car to report to my DS -- and to the best of my knowledge was not at all responsible for the poor transparency of the situation. Neither was my CPO advisor, who was very transparent with me and allowed me to change my mind before it was too late.

There are no individuals responsible for this here and I'm not trying to put the blame on anyone, I was simply stating I think this is a flaw in the CPO process as a whole and I don't see why they'd even list a car knowing it had that many issues, without at least informing their salesmen before they recommended it to a customer.

 

[Shorty]

I completely understand your frustration and I certainly think you should have the option of a refund or moving your deposit to another car. What impressed me though is that they disclosed everything to you up front. I don't know your age or experience purchasing vehicles but trust me in saying it is very rare that it happens that way at other brand dealerships. The usual approach at other brands is having you show up at the dealership with cash in hand before telling you about the 'minor' issues!

 

[andrewket]

I see his point here. I think we've all been there -- looking, waiting, researching for months to get the perfect, exact car you want.. and then when you find it, you can almost taste how close it is!

And then BAM! No car for you! Or, here's your car, but really farked up and in several weeks or months later. Not worth the hassle.

It's like breaking up with an old girlfriend. Clean break. Forget about her altogether, and start looking anew. But that doesn't make it any easier.

And you'll forget all about the old one when you take the new one for a ride. The car too.

 

[ACExpress]

As others have stated, I think you should be able to get your money back on the deposit due to the abnormally high number of issues with the car. I'm not saying you did, but I don't think you can expect perfection on CPOs. This car seems well outside of the threshold of "a few minor issues." Smoker's car would be a deal breaker for me.

As a side note, I wouldn't get hung up on the sound upgrade. If it's important to you, all sorts of aftermarket sound upgrades are available.

 

[ev-now]

I was simply stating I think this is a flaw in the CPO process as a whole and I don't see why they'd even list a car knowing it had that many issues, without at least informing their salesmen before they recommended it to a customer.

I think the reality is they a growing faster than they can cope, and the process is not what it used to be - or indeed the same as the CPO process at MB, BMW or Lexus = who all have time on their hands as people are buying new and used Teslas instead

Anyway, good luck. Wait for the right car, and enjoy it when it arrives. Tesla will fix reasonable stuff for a used purchase, and IMO did the best they could to let you know as soon as they were aware - yes the system could be better, but at least you didn't get screwed. That would be arriving to collect and going "What's that funny smell" - "Well we've used every cleaner known to man to remove smoke residue and smell sir" ...

 

[harry]

Well, if I read the OP correctly, the DS disclosed all the problems as soon as she was made aware of them. Perhaps the subsequent interactions weren't perfect, but I would give her a lot of credit for the complete and timely disclosures.

As a previous poster pointed out, CPOs just aren't a priority for Service Centers which are crushed with repairs, make-ready and deliveries. In addition, this was a car which had just become available, so it would be expected that it had not been evaluated.

 

[Zaphod]

Why are they even offering cars like this as CPO? I can't imagine they would make any money on it with the amount of refurbishing it requires. Should have put it in the loaner fleet or just wholesale it.

I was always bit defensive of Tesla with their CPO program and gave them benefit of the doubt, but seems to me that there are definitely trends that are not going away. Almost like every CPO delivery is a gamble on what you are going to get. I know some service centers are busier than others, but they need to find a way to address this.

 

[Az_Rael]

Why are they even offering cars like this as CPO? I can't imagine they would make any money on it with the amount of refurbishing it requires. Should have put it in the loaner fleet or just wholesale it

They often ARE already in the loaner fleet. That's why they don't know the current condition until AFTER you put a deposit down on one. Its a crazy system.

I had a similar situation happen to me. Found the PERFECT car - S85, red, all the options I wanted. Ordered it and was very excited. Salesperson emailed a week or two later with photos saying they had retrieved it from the customer driving it (it was a service loaner when I bought it) and it had sustained rear quarter panel damage.

He gave me two options: pick another car or get my $1000 back. Well, there weren't any other cars that met my specs available except a P85 for $4000 more and an S85 for $6000 more. Back then we weren't sure what the status with lifetime supercharging was going to be with CPOs after 12/31, so I decided to pony up the extra $4000 and get the P85 so I could make the deadline. If I didn't have that worry I would have just got my $1000 back and waited for the next car. (Which still hasn't shown up by the way - that S85 for $54K was a super deal so if I hadn't paid the extra I would still be Tesla-less)

In the end, I got a wonderful car and I do love the P so it turned out well in the end (except when I got insurance quotes for it - that involved some swearing)

 

[freeewilly]

I understand how you feel, you spent hours searching for your dream car, and thought the hardest part is to pull the trigger and hit the "buy" button, then the bad news hit.

I had the similar (not nearly as bad) when I bought my CPO, but it turn out okay for me, and enjoy the car ever since.

 

[evluxury]

Just to give everyone a final update on what happened:

In my state of frustration yesterday, I took the recently "effective" route of sending a tweet to @ElonMusk himself, tagging @tesla of course, with the screenshot of the damage and a quick note about how I felt misled. Fast forward 12 hours, my CPO specialist shot me a text (somewhat snarky) that apparently my Tweet had been seen and I would soon be contacted by someone higher up.

About an hour ago I get a call from the National Remarketing Manager of Tesla, alongside the NE Regional Remarketing Manager, expressing their empathy for the situation and how they understood the position I was put in. As it turns out, Elon Musk himself had seen the tweet and reached out to them personally to make the situation right.

Needless to say, everything is going to work out well now, and I'll be a happy customer hopefully for a lifetime to come Still can't believe how amazing the customer service of this "car" company is.

 

[freeewilly]

Can you share how Tesla is making "everything is going to work out well now"??

 

[carter_seattle]

In my state of frustration yesterday, I took the recently "effective" route of sending a tweet to @ElonMusk himself

Would you mind sharing a link to the tweet? I can't seem to find it:

to:elonmusk CPO - Twitter Search

 

[CSFTN]

There really isn't a quandary. The DS is politely prodding you to move on. So, move on. If you find something else, great. Otherwise ask for a full refund, as the clear problems with the car weren't disclosed when you put down the deposit. They almost certainly will refund your deposit. She needs you to insist, so she can ask her manager.

 

[tandrup]

This is getting more and more interesting and a little out of proportion, isn't it?

This Tesla CPO used-car model is a new sales model where the CPO specialist is not going to know the exact condition of every car - as opposed to going to dealer and looking at used cars on their lot. You find and put a deposit down on your car online and often based on very little information. All of us who bought CPO went through the same process - yes, it can be a little unnerving, but I think Tesla handled this really well. They disclosed the condition of the car and you decide to get another one. Fair decision on your part and of course they will let you move the deposit to another vehicle.

I really have a hard time seeing the reasonableness in tweeting the CEO and escalating this - unless you are seeking the attention. Well, it seems like you certainly got Tesla's attention.

I really hope you can work with them to find you another car and that you can move on. Or alternatively that you decide that you do not want to deal with a company that puts you through this level of pain and suffering, and what seems like a fair amount of stress on you - in which case, there are plenty of used car dealers where you can go look at vehicles before you buy.

 

[evluxury]

I really have a hard time seeing the reasonableness in tweeting the CEO and escalating this - unless you are seeking the attention. Well, it seems like you certainly got Tesla's attention.

I wasn't trying to escalate my specific situation directly to the CEO, but rather bring attention to the fact I felt as if there was a flaw in the CPO process -- which it appears many other members on here would agree with. I also wasn't expecting him to even see it or care, but clearly he felt it was serious enough to warrant a response from a national manager.

There really isn't a quandary. The DS is politely prodding you to move on. So, move on. If you find something else, great. Otherwise ask for a full refund, as the clear problems with the car weren't disclosed when you put down the deposit. They almost certainly will refund your deposit. She needs you to insist, so she can ask her manager.

As I said in previous posts, that contact information posted was merely a screenshot that my DS texted me from the SA. I very much so appreciated the transparency from the DS. I've said multiple times that I was not blaming anyone/anything besides the process itself.

Can you share how Tesla is making "everything is going to work out well now"??

Still awaiting final details, so I'll have to get back to you on that. They've been nothing but very helpful so far in securing a different vehicle.

 

[FlatSix911]

Just to give everyone a final update on what happened:
In my state of frustration yesterday, I took the recently "effective" route of sending a tweet to @ElonMusk himself, tagging @tesla of course, with the screenshot of the damage and a quick note about how I felt misled. Fast forward 12 hours, my CPO specialist shot me a text (somewhat snarky) that apparently my Tweet had been seen and I would soon be contacted by someone higher up. About an hour ago I get a call from the National Remarketing Manager of Tesla, alongside the NE Regional Remarketing Manager, expressing their empathy for the situation and how they understood the position I was put in. As it turns out, Elon Musk himself had seen the tweet and reached out to them personally to make the situation right. Needless to say, everything is going to work out well now, and I'll be a happy customer hopefully for a lifetime to come Still can't believe how amazing the customer service of this "car" company is.

Well, that certainly was a bold way to go
Let us know the details of your final transaction ... I am sure you will be a happy customer with your new car.

 

[Toasty]

I was sold a CPO 60 kW unit. then i later learned it was a 40kW model upgraded.