Hi Guys,
It looks like I'm finally joining the club and adding a Tesla to the Birmingham, AL area. I had been playing around with the idea of getting a Tesla for a couple of years and after a very sour experience at my local BMW dealership I decided to take the plunge about two weeks ago and ordered on August 27th. I was hoping that would be the start of an awesome experience but it has definitely turned out to be less than that.
On August 29th, I was contacted via phone by an owner advisor from the Marietta, GA location. They were pleasant but very much to the point and it was obvious they were going down a list of items they had to cover. So could have been more pleasant but no complaints at all. I later received an email from this person introducing me to my "Delivery Experience Specialist". The email made it clear that this delivery specialist would be my primary point of contact until delivery. Sounded great and I had just received an email from my contact at Alliant asking me to reply with my delivery specialist CC'd in. Sent the email and immediately got a reply from the delivery specialist stating they were out of the office without email access through Aug 31st. So the owner advisor handed me off to someone who wasn't even available at the moment. Odd, a bit unprofessional but no big deal really.
Anyway, I had already booked a test drive at the Marietta, GA location for August 31st so I could look at a few options in person before confirming the order. Unfortunately, a family matter popped up the morning of the 31st and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it in time (I was running about an hour behind). So I called them at 9:15AM CST (10:15 EST) and asked if they had any other open time slots later in the day. After ten minutes on the phone, they admitted that no one with access to the calendar was in the store. So I asked if someone could either call or text me once they could figure out if they had a later time slot. Never heard a thing. Tried calling back later on, was put on hold and no one ever returned. Owner advisor didn't pick up the phone nor did the delivery specialist (wasn't expecting it but tried anyway). The Marietta store is a 160 Miles/2.5 hour drive so I just gave up and confirmed the order a I had placed it since I didn't have any other free days to make the trip before the order auto-confirmed. So ordered Aug 27th, confirmed Aug 31st.
Moving on to today, I called the Marietta location asking about getting the car delivered to my house as I'm having a bit of range anxiety about the drive home after pickup since I ordered a S60 (will explain why down below). Despite google maps putting the shortest route home at exactly 160 miles (apparently the cut-off for home delivery) I was told that home delivery was not an option. So I guess the first time I'm in the car I'll have to drive like a freaking granny in order to get home. Oh and the delivery specialist has been CC'd in on several additional emails with the Alliant contact and have yet to hear a peep.
So basically, I feel like the employees at the Marietta location aren't as attentive as they should be. Easy enough for a good manager to fix and not a big deal in the long run but just a heads up that perhaps people in Alabama should consider the Nashville location instead. I called the Nashville location a little while ago with some questions and they were super helpful.
On to the car I ordered!:
Since 2011 I've been driving a BMW 550i with the m-sport package and all the bells and whistles. That made sense when I was single, and traveled back and forth between Birmingham and the gulf coast every other week. These days, I'm basically a stay at home/work from home dad and the poor 550i only saw around 2200 miles last year (and all of those within 50 miles of the house - maybe 3% freeway). Also, any trips are taken in my wife's SUV. So as much as I would love a 90D, a 60 makes a lot more sense for my needs since I can always unlock the rest of the battery if I ever need it. I also plan on keeping this car until the eight year battery warranty runs out. So there's no need to let a more expensive vehicle spend 85% of its life sitting in the garage depreciating. So:
Midnight Silver Metallic - I would have really liked the solid black but figured this would be easier to maintain
Solid roof - I've never cared for sun-moon roofs. Just a personal thing. I also don't want XM
Standard 19" Wheels - I've busted WAY too many tires on the 550 thanks to the 21" wheels
Black Headliner - No kiddo leaving marks on the white!
Matte Obeche - Tired of the glossy look. Just wanted something different
Black NexGen Seats - Wanted leather
Rear while drive (no D) - All wheel drive just not needed for getting groceries
No auto-pilot - I rarely drive on roads where this would be useful. Again, can be turned on later if I want it.
Premium package - Mostly for the powered lift-gate
Regular Suspension - Don't want the hassle of repair later on. Climate (no snow) nor terrain justifies air suspension.
No Sub-zero - No need
No Ultra High Fidelity Sound - Not in the car long enough to justify it and I don't want XM
No Rear Facing Seats - I will be hauling my (1) kiddo. No others. So no need for the extra seats
So basically I've ordered myself a luxury but low on frills daily driver for errands. When it comes time to replace my wife's SUV we'll probably order a model x with a lot more features since it will be used for trips.
Lastly, I want to comment on how great the guys over at Alliant are. I had initially planned on just paying cash for the Tesla but sent in a application to Alliant when I saw how low their rates are. I've never had a finance application handled so quickly and with such great communication despite it being handled 100% over the internet/phone. My contact over there was even able to answer a few questions about the order/delivery process since the Tesla delivery person has been a no show.
It looks like I'm finally joining the club and adding a Tesla to the Birmingham, AL area. I had been playing around with the idea of getting a Tesla for a couple of years and after a very sour experience at my local BMW dealership I decided to take the plunge about two weeks ago and ordered on August 27th. I was hoping that would be the start of an awesome experience but it has definitely turned out to be less than that.
On August 29th, I was contacted via phone by an owner advisor from the Marietta, GA location. They were pleasant but very much to the point and it was obvious they were going down a list of items they had to cover. So could have been more pleasant but no complaints at all. I later received an email from this person introducing me to my "Delivery Experience Specialist". The email made it clear that this delivery specialist would be my primary point of contact until delivery. Sounded great and I had just received an email from my contact at Alliant asking me to reply with my delivery specialist CC'd in. Sent the email and immediately got a reply from the delivery specialist stating they were out of the office without email access through Aug 31st. So the owner advisor handed me off to someone who wasn't even available at the moment. Odd, a bit unprofessional but no big deal really.
Anyway, I had already booked a test drive at the Marietta, GA location for August 31st so I could look at a few options in person before confirming the order. Unfortunately, a family matter popped up the morning of the 31st and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it in time (I was running about an hour behind). So I called them at 9:15AM CST (10:15 EST) and asked if they had any other open time slots later in the day. After ten minutes on the phone, they admitted that no one with access to the calendar was in the store. So I asked if someone could either call or text me once they could figure out if they had a later time slot. Never heard a thing. Tried calling back later on, was put on hold and no one ever returned. Owner advisor didn't pick up the phone nor did the delivery specialist (wasn't expecting it but tried anyway). The Marietta store is a 160 Miles/2.5 hour drive so I just gave up and confirmed the order a I had placed it since I didn't have any other free days to make the trip before the order auto-confirmed. So ordered Aug 27th, confirmed Aug 31st.
Moving on to today, I called the Marietta location asking about getting the car delivered to my house as I'm having a bit of range anxiety about the drive home after pickup since I ordered a S60 (will explain why down below). Despite google maps putting the shortest route home at exactly 160 miles (apparently the cut-off for home delivery) I was told that home delivery was not an option. So I guess the first time I'm in the car I'll have to drive like a freaking granny in order to get home. Oh and the delivery specialist has been CC'd in on several additional emails with the Alliant contact and have yet to hear a peep.
So basically, I feel like the employees at the Marietta location aren't as attentive as they should be. Easy enough for a good manager to fix and not a big deal in the long run but just a heads up that perhaps people in Alabama should consider the Nashville location instead. I called the Nashville location a little while ago with some questions and they were super helpful.
On to the car I ordered!:
Since 2011 I've been driving a BMW 550i with the m-sport package and all the bells and whistles. That made sense when I was single, and traveled back and forth between Birmingham and the gulf coast every other week. These days, I'm basically a stay at home/work from home dad and the poor 550i only saw around 2200 miles last year (and all of those within 50 miles of the house - maybe 3% freeway). Also, any trips are taken in my wife's SUV. So as much as I would love a 90D, a 60 makes a lot more sense for my needs since I can always unlock the rest of the battery if I ever need it. I also plan on keeping this car until the eight year battery warranty runs out. So there's no need to let a more expensive vehicle spend 85% of its life sitting in the garage depreciating. So:
Midnight Silver Metallic - I would have really liked the solid black but figured this would be easier to maintain
Solid roof - I've never cared for sun-moon roofs. Just a personal thing. I also don't want XM
Standard 19" Wheels - I've busted WAY too many tires on the 550 thanks to the 21" wheels
Black Headliner - No kiddo leaving marks on the white!
Matte Obeche - Tired of the glossy look. Just wanted something different
Black NexGen Seats - Wanted leather
Rear while drive (no D) - All wheel drive just not needed for getting groceries
No auto-pilot - I rarely drive on roads where this would be useful. Again, can be turned on later if I want it.
Premium package - Mostly for the powered lift-gate
Regular Suspension - Don't want the hassle of repair later on. Climate (no snow) nor terrain justifies air suspension.
No Sub-zero - No need
No Ultra High Fidelity Sound - Not in the car long enough to justify it and I don't want XM
No Rear Facing Seats - I will be hauling my (1) kiddo. No others. So no need for the extra seats
So basically I've ordered myself a luxury but low on frills daily driver for errands. When it comes time to replace my wife's SUV we'll probably order a model x with a lot more features since it will be used for trips.
Lastly, I want to comment on how great the guys over at Alliant are. I had initially planned on just paying cash for the Tesla but sent in a application to Alliant when I saw how low their rates are. I've never had a finance application handled so quickly and with such great communication despite it being handled 100% over the internet/phone. My contact over there was even able to answer a few questions about the order/delivery process since the Tesla delivery person has been a no show.
