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

[evluxury]

So... the time had finally come. After months of searching EV-CPO and carefully watching all of my custom alerts, I'd found a CPO that matched exactly what I was looking for (the day after it was added). The CPO specialist I'd been working with gave me a call about it as well, saying he thought it would be a great buy for me.

It was a black 2014 Model S 85, with a black on black leather interior, tech package, pano roof, and upgraded audio; at $54k with 36k miles, it was perfect for me. I had previously been looking at 2013 models since I could get a P85 for roughly the same price/miles, but after speaking with some other owners I was weary of all the potential issues that year.

I scanned the site a few more times to make sure nothing better was out there, ran the listing by my few Tesla owner buddies to get their stamp of approval, and finally pulled the trigger with my $1,000 deposit.

Fast forward about 32 hours after texting my CPO specialist in excitement with my order number, and I get a text back saying, "There is a lot of work that needs to be done to the car, may want to look at another option." Immediately, my heart started racing as I hit him with question after question, trying to get to the bottom of that vague text. Here's what he sent back (see list below):

· Smoker’s Car

· Hood Scratched up

· Front Bumper scratched

· Upper tailgate chipped

· Lower tailgate dented

· Right side tail lamp cracked

· Right front door dented

· Right rear door chipped

· Right fender chipped

· Left quarter panel chipped

· Metal dent above B-pillar

My jaw dropped as I read further and further down the list. I fully expected there to be some slight cosmetic damage that Tesla would repair, but the "smokers car" attribute alone was enough to make me reconsider everything I'd just committed to. How bad was this smoking damage? Did this person clearly not care about their car? Why would Tesla have even listed a car that had this many issues to be repaired? Was I about to be out $1,000?

I fully expected there to be a period of waiting to have the car inspected and refurbished, but my CPO specialist informed me this car would be AT LEAST six weeks before it was ready to go, most likely. Even then, what were the odds they'd be able to completely remove the smoke smell? I have family members with respiratory issues and the last thing I needed was them being uncomfortable in this luxury car I was about to pay a significant amount for.

I was then informed that due to this, they would *consider* letting me have a refund on my deposit, then it changed to "you can probably take two days to pick a different car," and then finally "don't worry about the deadline, just focus on finding another car when you're ready." It's almost like they knew they screwed up a little.

So, my question to you experts on this forum -- what the heck should I do next? Should I try and get free delivery on a car outside of my region? Should I escalate this to management? Tweet at Elon? Part of me wants to just get my deposit back in the event the prices drop in the near future (and may be able to swing a 2014 P85 under $56k). Then again, prices may go up and now may still be the perfect time to buy.

I found two other 2014 Model S85 CPOs on the site, both for $55.5k; however, both are grey -- one with upgraded audio (which I really wanted), and the other with 21" turbine wheels with no audio. SOS, I'm driving myself crazy.

Thank you in advance for the help... really.

 

[HankLloydRight]

If it were me, I'd insist on my $1000 back and wait it out for another car.

Prices don't really go up on CPOs.

Good luck!

* p.s. Nobody is an expert. We're just random people on the internet.

 

[tandrup]

Buy your original choice unless you consider the issues too many and severe. In that case, find another one and remember to consider yourself lucky enough to be able to purchase a car like this. Grey sounds good to me.

PS And you are right: prices might go up or they might go down.

 

[Andyw2100]

I agree with Hank. There should not be any issue with respect to refunding your money. Tesla could not deliver the car you put the deposit down on in reasonable condition in a reasonable time period. They have no valid reason to keep your deposit on a car they can't deliver.

 

[andrewket]

I'd bail and find a different car. Smokers car alone would have me looking again. You can never fully get rid of that crap.

 

[carter_seattle]

Wow, in what way did you get "screwed"? Haven't they offered you as much time as you need to select a new vehicle? Would you have preferred the DS not to have disclosed the issues? I'm really not sure what it is you think you're escalating, seems like everything is very above board.

 

[Andyw2100]

Wow, in what way did you get "screwed"? Haven't they offered you as much time as you need to select a new vehicle? Would you have preferred the DS not to have disclosed the issues? I'm really not sure what it is you think you're escalating, seems like everything is very above board.

I agree with most of this. I don't think the thread title is an accurate representation of what happened here. I just think the DS should have said, "You can look for another car, or we can simply refund your deposit and you can make the deposit again if, in the future, you are so inclined."

 

[evluxury]

Wow, in what way did you get "screwed"? Haven't they offered you as much time as you need to select a new vehicle? Would you have preferred the DS not to have disclosed the issues? I'm really not sure what it is you think you're escalating, seems like everything is very above board.

I apologize if that was at all misleading, my emotions are just a bit on edge right now and that's just how I've been feeling all day. The CPO specialist initially said that refunding my deposit would not be an option, which I felt was a bit unfair on a car that had so many issues (especially the smoking one) and such a far out delivery date. I really don't understand why in the world Tesla would even list a car like this without attempting to repair it beforehand.

 

[Mike127777]

Your specialist should allow you to move the $1,000 deposit to another Available CPO within a short period of time.
Good luck!

 

[HankLloydRight]

I apologize if that was at all misleading, my emotions are just a bit on edge right now and that's just how I've been feeling all day. The CPO specialist initially said that refunding my deposit would not be an option, which I felt was a bit unfair on a car that had so many issues (especially the smoking one) and such a far out delivery date. I really don't understand why in the world Tesla would even list a car like this without attempting to repair it beforehand.

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.

 

[evluxury]

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.

^ this guy gets it. Thank you for understanding where I'm coming from. It was just incredibly frustrating to be excited for my "perfect" car that was hopefully only weeks away, only to find out it had an array of problems that would take 6+ weeks to resolve and still potentially not be fixed in the end (or ever).

 

[phaduman]

Don't worry about your first experience trying to close a CPO. After a couple of months of looking at CPO list, and seeing my buddy get a S85 CPO, i was going to go down that fact and then came the end of Q3 sale and I picked up a new (9 miles on it) S75D. CPOs will come in all variety - but I will not pick up a smoker's car. Agree with other responses - if you are not a smoker, it is almost impossible to settle into a smoker's car (no matter how they clean up). Nice of Tesla to state that right up front.

I wouldn't wait too long though to buy another CPO. The car drives like a dream - so get behind one and enjoy. Grey sounds good. I would highly recommend to find one with AP if budget approves - just so much more awesome with AP and TACC. all CPO cars will still have minor issues after you take delivery - just be ready to take it to service a couple of times. Even many new cars have some issues that take some time to get fixed. Cheer!

 

[Canuck]

I feel your pain but stay as far away from that smoker's car as you can. Dents can be repaired, smoker vehicles cannot. Tesla should have immediately offered to refund your $1,000 -- that was really poor on their part not to immediately offer it to you.

I think a lot of CPO's are going to come on the market very soon as the last of the AP2.0 free supercharging vehicles are being delivered. Those vehicles probably appealed to many previous Tesla owners so that should be good news for the CPO market.

Keep looking -- when you finally get into one that suits your wants this will just be a bad bump on the road to driving pleasure that will soon be forgotten.

 

[m2140]

CPO cars are processed by the service centers, that currently are very overwhelmed. Just look at the Buena Park & San Diego Service centers. they have so many cars on the lot waiting to be delivered & or processed to be CPO cars.

They way I understood it from talking to a couple of service center guys is that the CPO cars don't get prepped for sale until they are contracted. The service centers are just too overwhelmed these days. CPO cars are the lowest priority. Those CPO cars that are contracted start to get put at the top of the list to be inspected & prepared. Unfortunately that means the car is not inspected till after you have contracted & got your hopes up.

At least you were notified of the issues. I would have sucked to find the smokers smell during delivery or after the first hot summer day. You can never get that smokers smell out without replacing all the fabric interior (including the dash)

 

[FlatSix911]

Life is short ... find another car and move on. Likely you will end up with a better deal

 

[DarkMatter]

Given your budget and requirements there should be another car available. Let them know you want to look the listings over with the DS, then ask for your deposit back if they have nothing listed at all which you want. You can put another deposit down when another car comes up. These are mass production items and it's going to be OK. I'm sorry the first one didn't work out.

 

[carter_seattle]

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.

 

[SageBrush]

Wow, in what way did you get "screwed"? Haven't they offered you as much time as you need to select a new vehicle? Would you have preferred the DS not to have disclosed the issues? I'm really not sure what it is you think you're escalating, seems like everything is very above board.

So long as Tesla offers the deposit back, good enough.

I am surprised though that the cosmetic and 'smoker's car' information was not disclosed with the price along with a Tesla declaration of what they will repair and to what standard. It could save a lot of angst and recriminations later.

Edit: Explained

 

[Jeff4155]

That smokers car would put me off as well, I would take the deposit and move on, rather safe than sorry.

 

[ev-now]

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 ...