Yep, you read that correctly! I left the Fremont Delivery Center tonight - after 3 hours and 15 minutes - WITHOUT A MODEL 3.
I had a 4:30pm appointment today, and showed up cheerfully at 4:15pm to check in. After a few minutes in the check-in line, I was helped by a nice guy who informed me that they were a bit backed up and it might take an hour before I could see anyone. I wasn't thrilled, but I knew it wasn't his fault, so I confirmed my phone number and was told I'd be texted when my turn was up.
My niece, who I paid to drive me the 50 minutes from home, couldn't stay for an hour, so she hung out for about 30 minutes before she had to leave. There went my GoPro cameraman....
As it started getting darker, I realized that I might be taking delivery in the dark so I went outside to look for blue 3s with a white interior so I could take pictures to send to friends - so they'd see what the combination looked like once I got mine. I carefully checked the VINs on each one I saw and none were mine. Must be inside, as I noticed quite a few vehicles backed up in their garage area from the side door as I walked past.
Two hours pass with NO INFO AT ALL. I asked a guy walking past me if there was a way to purchase any accessories while I waited. He was nice, went in back to look for the woman who was in charge of that, but returned to let me know she'd gone home for the day. He said my rep would be able to handle those things for me and asked what my VIN was. He left to go check. The same guy came back with a laptop in hand and asked again for the VIN. He seemed unable to get much info, so he said that he figured the car must be in the garage being detailed.
About 15 minutes later, at 6:45pm, a rep approached me and confirmed my info, then told me that she had bad news - the vehicle couldn't be located! I was perplexed, and she seemed to be as well. My initial reaction was that this was unacceptable and I asked why no one had been updating me AT ALL about the vehicle being "missing", while I sat around for over 2 hours. I also told her that I had no way to get home - 45-50 minutes away - had a puppy waiting in a kennel at home, and was really hungry for dinner. She apologized and I didn't take anything out on her, but when told that they had other 3s around in other colors, I firmly said that I wanted the exact VIN that I paid for, insured, and got a check from my lender for. She understood and said she was going to the back to see what she could find out.
A few minutes later she emerged to tell me that she was going to offer me free service for a year, and a free home wall charger, as well as a Lyft ride home and reimbursement for wherever I had dinner. Nice gesture, but the car is what I came for.
We exchanged numbers so she could keep me updated, and I told her not to stay too late at work hung up on this problem, but that I really wanted to have the car tomorrow - BEFORE noon. She said that she would do her best.
My Lyft picked me up at 7:28pm - THREE HOURS after I'd arrived and checked in.During the ride, my sales rep called to check in, as I'd texted him earlier that I was waiting at the Delivery Center for the car, but hadn't updated him after that. He said he would be getting online at home to ping the car and try everything he could to also locate it so that I could get it ASAP. I appreciated his tenacity and dedication - especially on a Saturday night.
There was traffic so it took almost an hour to get to In-N-Out, which is where I requested to be dropped off, near my home. I ate my feelings and was picked up by family.
Just wanted to share this info with all of you as a warning. When you go to a Delivery Center, you should probably ask to speak with someone immediately to confirm that your vehicle is in the building or on the property. Tell them you'd like to have them physically go to the car and verify the VIN and return to you to confirm. THEN spend time waiting for them to get to you. Wasting an entire evening left me with a really negative impression of this "start up" being a TRUE start up. I worked for one back in 2000 which went belly up, and this delivery experience has GOT to be addressed by Tesla management before it gets an even worse reputation. I spoke with a couple of people who were also waiting and who told me they'd come expecting the worst. Not a real testimonial for Tesla's delivery process....
Thanks for reading and feel free to share any similar experiences, or even MUCH more positive ones!
I had a 4:30pm appointment today, and showed up cheerfully at 4:15pm to check in. After a few minutes in the check-in line, I was helped by a nice guy who informed me that they were a bit backed up and it might take an hour before I could see anyone. I wasn't thrilled, but I knew it wasn't his fault, so I confirmed my phone number and was told I'd be texted when my turn was up.
My niece, who I paid to drive me the 50 minutes from home, couldn't stay for an hour, so she hung out for about 30 minutes before she had to leave. There went my GoPro cameraman....
As it started getting darker, I realized that I might be taking delivery in the dark so I went outside to look for blue 3s with a white interior so I could take pictures to send to friends - so they'd see what the combination looked like once I got mine. I carefully checked the VINs on each one I saw and none were mine. Must be inside, as I noticed quite a few vehicles backed up in their garage area from the side door as I walked past.
Two hours pass with NO INFO AT ALL. I asked a guy walking past me if there was a way to purchase any accessories while I waited. He was nice, went in back to look for the woman who was in charge of that, but returned to let me know she'd gone home for the day. He said my rep would be able to handle those things for me and asked what my VIN was. He left to go check. The same guy came back with a laptop in hand and asked again for the VIN. He seemed unable to get much info, so he said that he figured the car must be in the garage being detailed.
About 15 minutes later, at 6:45pm, a rep approached me and confirmed my info, then told me that she had bad news - the vehicle couldn't be located! I was perplexed, and she seemed to be as well. My initial reaction was that this was unacceptable and I asked why no one had been updating me AT ALL about the vehicle being "missing", while I sat around for over 2 hours. I also told her that I had no way to get home - 45-50 minutes away - had a puppy waiting in a kennel at home, and was really hungry for dinner. She apologized and I didn't take anything out on her, but when told that they had other 3s around in other colors, I firmly said that I wanted the exact VIN that I paid for, insured, and got a check from my lender for. She understood and said she was going to the back to see what she could find out.
A few minutes later she emerged to tell me that she was going to offer me free service for a year, and a free home wall charger, as well as a Lyft ride home and reimbursement for wherever I had dinner. Nice gesture, but the car is what I came for.
We exchanged numbers so she could keep me updated, and I told her not to stay too late at work hung up on this problem, but that I really wanted to have the car tomorrow - BEFORE noon. She said that she would do her best.
My Lyft picked me up at 7:28pm - THREE HOURS after I'd arrived and checked in.During the ride, my sales rep called to check in, as I'd texted him earlier that I was waiting at the Delivery Center for the car, but hadn't updated him after that. He said he would be getting online at home to ping the car and try everything he could to also locate it so that I could get it ASAP. I appreciated his tenacity and dedication - especially on a Saturday night.
There was traffic so it took almost an hour to get to In-N-Out, which is where I requested to be dropped off, near my home. I ate my feelings and was picked up by family.
Just wanted to share this info with all of you as a warning. When you go to a Delivery Center, you should probably ask to speak with someone immediately to confirm that your vehicle is in the building or on the property. Tell them you'd like to have them physically go to the car and verify the VIN and return to you to confirm. THEN spend time waiting for them to get to you. Wasting an entire evening left me with a really negative impression of this "start up" being a TRUE start up. I worked for one back in 2000 which went belly up, and this delivery experience has GOT to be addressed by Tesla management before it gets an even worse reputation. I spoke with a couple of people who were also waiting and who told me they'd come expecting the worst. Not a real testimonial for Tesla's delivery process....
Thanks for reading and feel free to share any similar experiences, or even MUCH more positive ones!