Has Model S quality improved?

[BulldogsRus]

Not sure what your definition of "younger" is but I am 38 for context.

I 100% disagree with you. I've bought 5 cars but every single time I couldn't stand talking to the salesmen. In every case I had done my research and knew more about the car when I walked in the door than the salesman. Also, in every case I was told incorrect information about the car or when I asked a question the salesman didn't know. Really, you don't know the size of the engine on the car you are selling me?

Also, the biggest problem with direct contact is TIME. The Tesla took me 5 minutes to buy online, 10 min of paperwork for my loan and approvals online, and under 30 min to pick up. The fastest ever purchase of my previous cars was 1.5 hours and that was only because I had a connection and the dealer had my car ready when I arrived. I still had to go through the creepy finance dude that tried to sell me a car alarm, under coating, paint coating, seat special spray, and the oxygen inside the car so I wouldn't suffocate.

They're referring to after the sale...

 

[SO16]

??? It's your primary mode of transportation to get to work or drop kids off, or take vacations. Why do you feel you should sacrifice that all in the name of technology simply because Tesla has poor customer service 7 years later? There are countless posts here from people using the app to schedule service only to hear nothing, then are forced to call only to hear it ring and ring for hours. You think that happens at a Benz or BMW dealership??

1. I don’t consider my tesla service experience “poor”. I hear back when I schedule an appointment. Perhaps it’s due to my location. Is it as good as it used to be? No. Do I wish it was better? Of course.

2. Again, I care more what affects me ON A DAILY BASIS. Not as much for what might affect me once every couple years.

 

[BulldogsRus]

No rattles in my 2013. I've had 2 loaners from sc, one was a 2015 and the other 2018. No rattles in the 2018 and the 2015 had a slight dash rattle. I've driven quiet a few other model s from 2013 to 2017 and only the only one that had any rattles was the P85+ which also had the drive unit whine. It's not fair to say ALL have the squeaks and rattles. In fact I'm pretty sure all cars can develop a rattle or squeak.

Oh were you also going to go by the Mercedes or bmw dealership and see if they have any issues like you pointed out at tesla?

Pretty much every Benz and BMW model regardless of price has better quality, fit and finish. This isn't surprising to anyone with eyes.

 

[BulldogsRus]

1. I don’t consider my tesla service experience “poor”. I hear back when I schedule an appointment. Perhaps it’s due to my location. Is it as good as it used to be? No. Do I wish it was better? Of course.

2. Again, I care more what affects me ON A DAILY BASIS. Not as much for what might affect me once every couple years.

But that's the problem, your service experience shouldn't get worse as they sell more vehicles. That money should be going back into improving customer service which Elon himself admitted was lacking...only to close showrooms and lay off staff!

 

[SO16]

But that's the problem, your service experience shouldn't get worse as they sell more vehicles. That money should be going back into improving customer service which Elon himself admitted was lacking...only to close showrooms and lay off staff!

Very true. But I also realize they can’t open service centers too far in advance.

As far as closing the showrooms, that was another mistake made.

 

[BulldogsRus]

I don’t care about being schmoozed and sucked up to by people. I want a product that I enjoy and hopefully doesn’t need service often.

It’s like people who become dazzled by a salesperson and then buy a crappy product. If I had to choose between the two, I’d take a crappy salesman and a better product. Of course, having great service AND great product is ideal. But I certainly put more emphasis on one over the other.

I'll be honest with you, I've been to a Tesla dealer/SC three times and when I asked about demo or pre-owned they stated they'd call me as they can see more than is listed online (which I knew, hence my inquiry).

...I never got a call back, even after going in the 2nd and 3rd time stating this and apologized to and promised a follow-up call. For a company struggling to stay afloat and not even being bothered to sell me a $90k+ car, I can only expect service to get worse once I have an actual complaint with the car.

 

[SO16]

I'll be honest with you, I've been to a Tesla dealer/SC three times and when I asked about demo or pre-owned they stated they'd call me as they can see more than is listed online (which I knew, hence my inquiry).

...I never got a call back, even after going in the 2nd and 3rd time stating this and apologized to and promised a follow-up call. For a company struggling to stay afloat and not even being bothered to sell me a $90k+ car, I can only expect service to get worse once I have an actual complaint with the car.

Their communication is not great at times. I lost a possible MX sale because of it. Tesla HAS to improve this again. I agree on all counts. And for many, that lack of communication is a deal breaker. I don’t feel that way personally but that’s me.

 

[dannycamps]

In my completely subjective opinion, there are two big problems right now with Tesla. First, they are selling a car for $100,000. At that price point, regardless of whether Tesla feels it is a luxury car or not, it's a luxury car. The level of customer service before, during, and after sales should be reflective of that. From what people here have said, it used to be that way. Instead of receiving calls trying to sell me Solar panels, perhaps I should be receiving calls asking how everything has been going with my car (like other high-end dealerships do).

Second (and related to the first), Tesla in their effort to become mass-market by selling the Model 3, completely shot themselves in the foot. They were not organizationally ready for the number of cars being put on the road. The sheer influx of cars (and subsequent support needed for those cars) has completely taxed their system to a breaking point. This is why service centers nowadays are looking like Model 3 dealership lots. This problem is only going to get worse when the Model Y (and future) cars hit the market. Tesla needs to invest in their infrastructure (service centers, etc...) so customers are not waiting months for repairs. It's a very big difference going from servicing 100 cars to servicing 5,000.

Full disclosure - in the six months or so that I have owned my two cars, I have never had a problem getting someone by phone/email and the one time I scheduled service it was handled quickly and efficiently so your mileage may vary.

 

[Petrocelli]

And for many, that lack of communication is a deal breaker.

That's exactly my situation. I was 95% certain I was going to get a Model 3, but my mind changed because of customer service issues caused by a sudden influx of Model 3s.

The question for me is, why aren't Tesla owners angrier about this? Many seemed resigned to bad service as if it were the new normal.

 

[SO16]

The question for me is, why aren't Tesla owners angrier about this? Many seemed resigned to bad service as if it were the new normal.

1. It’s not as bad for most owners regardless of what you see on this site. (If you can handle just scheduling through the app and just ordering online.)

2. In the almost 3 years of ownership, I have had mobile service to my house for a total of 3 hours over 2 visits. Have yet needed to bring it to the service center for anything.

3. I rank my experience with the actual vehicle and daily usage much more important than the butt kissing I get from a dealer.

Yes, we all want Tesla to improve. But the question for me is, why the hell would I rank service level even remotely as important as liking the product in the first place? The less I deal with service (anywhere for anything), the better.

It’s like the people who complain about the long recharge time on a trip. But yet they fail to take into account the daily usage savings over the year. And the trip isn’t that bad when paired with eating.

 

[North75]

Tesla can charge whatever for their cars and offer whatever level of service they want. It's up to the consumer to decide if they want to purchase from them. So far it seems people are still willing to purchase cars from them. and you can't claim false advertising. Maybe you can claim lack of consumer information, but the only way people can find out details about Tesla is from the media, searching the internet, or word of mouth. I'm guessing most of those sources don't actually paint Tesla in the best light right now, but people still seem to be purchasing cars anyway (for now at least)
Everyone keeps predicting their demise because they don't do this or that, but so far they are still around.
If at some point their sales suffer and their research tells them it's all about crappy customer service then they will be forced to address it or go out of business. I'm guessing they will figure it out when they need to.

 

[Petrocelli]

3. I rank my experience with the actual vehicle and daily usage much more important than the butt kissing I get from a dealer.

I agree with you 100% on that. It's just good to know that if you have a problem, you can get a live person on the phone. In West Los Angeles right now, I understand that the local service center is completely overwhelmed.

My present non-Tesla lease is for three years. I really hope Tesla gets this straightened out by 2022.

 

[cucubits]

I agree with you 100% on that. It's just good to know that if you have a problem, you can get a live person on the phone. In West Los Angeles right now, I understand that the local service center is completely overwhelmed.

My present non-Tesla lease is for three years. I really hope Tesla gets this straightened out by 2022.

I don't think you have much to worry about in that case. I'm sure by 2022 there will be lots more good players on the EV scene. Tesla will either improve or disappear.

 

[SO16]

My present non-Tesla lease is for three years. I really hope Tesla gets this straightened out by 2022.

So do I.

 

[PWlakewood]

Pretty much every Benz and BMW model regardless of price has better quality, fit and finish. This isn't surprising to anyone with eyes.

Well you should start by opening yours......care to go down to your nearest bmw dealership and check out the quality for everyone here? I'm gonna bet you wont because you will be proved wrong.

 

[PWlakewood]

Tesla can charge whatever for their cars and offer whatever level of service they want. It's up to the consumer to decide if they want to purchase from them. So far it seems people are still willing to purchase cars from them. and you can't claim false advertising. Maybe you can claim lack of consumer information, but the only way people can find out details about Tesla is from the media, searching the internet, or word of mouth. I'm guessing most of those sources don't actually paint Tesla in the best light right now, but people still seem to be purchasing cars anyway (for now at least)
Everyone keeps predicting their demise because they don't do this or that, but so far they are still around.
If at some point their sales suffer and their research tells them it's all about crappy customer service then they will be forced to address it or go out of business. I'm guessing they will figure it out when they need to.

Its pretty simple....its not all doom and gloom for tesla and obviously by the number of cars that they continue to sell not everyone believes all the bad publicity and or fud....

 

[Big Toys]

I rank my experience with the actual vehicle and daily usage much more important than the butt kissing I get from a dealer.

You consider good customer service "butt kissing"?

 

[Ken7]

That's exactly my situation. I was 95% certain I was going to get a Model 3, but my mind changed because of customer service issues caused by a sudden influx of Model 3s.

The question for me is, why aren't Tesla owners angrier about this? Many seemed resigned to bad service as if it were the new normal.

The question for me is why would you still waste your time on a Tesla forum if you've decided not to get a Tesla. I wouldn't.

 

[Petrocelli]

The question for me is why would you still waste your time on a Tesla forum if you've decided not to get a Tesla. I wouldn't.

I'm going to get an EV for my next car (in 3 years or less). I never paid much attention to them until about a month ago. I am posting and/or reading on a lot of EV forums, even though I own an ICE vehicle.

 

[cucubits]

The question for me is why would you still waste your time on a Tesla forum if you've decided not to get a Tesla. I wouldn't.

I think I can answer that too

I won't go over why I'm angry at Tesla for all their problems, missing features and poor design choices but I will say that after driving a few of them, I just can't get myself to invest in a new petrol car. It sort of doesn't make sense anymore and feels like going backwards. I have good days and bad days in this argument, sometimes I'm 100% sure I'll just get a nice ICE car and wait for a better EV and some days a new Tesla makes perfect sense.

For now I have the luxury of time on my side. I returned my previous ICE lease and for a while I'm working from home, but this can change anytime and we can't have the wife drive us everywhere, can we?