Hawaii Tesla Owners

[Papafox]

How soon before delivery date do you get contacted for payment? I have a delivery range of May29-June12. When would you expect me to receive the payment button or a call from the DS? The reason I ask is because I'm closing on a refi on May 15. What are the chances I won't hear from Tesla until after the 15th? I have a Plan B just in case. The car needs to arrive on time so that the blues rule the week when Nanimac and I have our cars arrive.

Hoping to catch sight on Hawaiiskibum's red MS. I bet that's going to be a looker.

While StephenM was grabbing his camera to photograph the roadster, maybe the roadster driver was grabbing his camera to get a photo of that gorgeous Model S beside his vehicle.

 

[Akikiki]

hodges, I believe spleen, is right. He explained it must better than I. I hope no one loses any of the small benefits from the C&C Honolulu within owning an EV. I am sorry to say, I believe the EV tag is most useful in protecting what you earned for buying EV. And like Spleen stated, all due respect to the boys.

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Papafox, I am not sure we have seen enough deliveries in Hawaii to gauge a pattern yet. I think Hawaii is different from what we are hearing daily from the mainland SCs. Last week ddruz said they called him and told him his car was ready for pick up. My take away from his comment was that he didn't get notified until it was already in Hawaii and then they told him it was ready for pickup. A week ago last Saturday, Barry told me he had 9 cars arriving that morning. He said, he didn't want to blab whose they were because owners would be calling and asking when they can pick it up, and he would then, spend his time talking instead of working on the cars.

So combined with no solid pattern for Hawaii, and that Barry is hoping to keep it quiet which ones he is working on (with less pressure) until its ready, I believe the chances of getting a call its here and ready for pickup is just as strong as hearing its at the factory ready to ship.

P.S. new subject. I was in Kailua yesterday afternoon. I could not resist. I drove into the lot at Mike McKenna and stopped. Do I even need to say it? The sales force outside stopped to look at my MS. They asked what they could do for me. I said, I thought they might like to see an electric vehicle. Two men said, they have seen two silver and one red one drive by the lot in Kailua, but none stopped. This was their first white and they didn't know some had a glass roof. It was an interesting feeling. A mixture feeling welcome and no-so-welcome at the same time. As I was climbing in to leave, one said, 'hey, want to buy a Focus Electric for a spare?"

 

[Papafox]

Akikiki, Thanks for the summary. I'll refrain from calling Tesla until after the closing. I saw a gray MS driving on my street in Kailua yesterday evening and wished there was some sign I could give to say, "Hey, I'm one of you!" What a cool-looking car.

 

[StephenM]

Update to my update. I got the invoice via e-mail and they did not charge me for the ranger visit. It was on the invoice, but under price it said "goodwill". I was already happy to have my car back on the road, but now I'm even happier because of the call to do that on the invoice. Props to the Hawaii service center again.

Barry got one more employee (finally), Luke, who helps out a lot, but he's still swamped since he has to prep/deliver new MS's and take care of problems (like mine) at a drop of a dime, as well as the logistics of finalizing set-up of the service center. It doesn't seem like he's getting enough support from Tesla central at the moment, but that could just be due to he hasn't found the right people to add to the team yet (he did mention he was allowed to hire a detailer). That makes it even more extraordinary that he made it out yesterday afternoon to get my car moving again. It was a Monday and there was a ton of work waiting for him.

@Papafox, my personal experience was that they didn't ask for payment until my car was already on the boat! That may change as they catch up with orders, but I would imagine they will get some orphans if they keep doing that since I'm sure some people will not be able to secure financing because there are a lot of wishful thinkers out there who probably was able to charge a credit card $5k but not necessarily get approved for a $100k car. I used to sell cars briefly at BMW so I know this first hand.

Not sure if it was reported earlier in this thread, but of the two orphans at the service center, one got sold and the other is supposed to be used by Barry as a "test bed?". Maybe he said test driver. That's the sig red one that came back from the Big Island.

 

[nanimac]

Update to my update. I got the invoice via e-mail and they did not charge me for the ranger visit. It was on the invoice, but under price it said "goodwill". I was already happy to have my car back on the road, but now I'm even happier because of the call to do that on the invoice. Props to the Hawaii service center again.

Barry got one more employee (finally), Luke, who helps out a lot, but he's still swamped since he has to prep/deliver new MS's and take care of problems (like mine) at a drop of a dime, as well as the logistics of finalizing set-up of the service center. It doesn't seem like he's getting enough support from Tesla central at the moment, but that could just be due to he hasn't found the right people to add to the team yet (he did mention he was allowed to hire a detailer). That makes it even more extraordinary that he made it out yesterday afternoon to get my car moving again. It was a Monday and there was a ton of work waiting for him.

@Papafox, my personal experience was that they didn't ask for payment until my car was already on the boat! That may change as they catch up with orders, but I would imagine they will get some orphans if they keep doing that since I'm sure some people will not be able to secure financing because there are a lot of wishful thinkers out there who probably was able to charge a credit card $5k but not necessarily get approved for a $100k car. I used to sell cars briefly at BMW so I know this first hand.

Not sure if it was reported earlier in this thread, but of the two orphans at the service center, one got sold and the other is supposed to be used by Barry as a "test bed?". Maybe he said test driver. That's the sig red one that came back from the Big Island.

When I considering the 60kwh silver orphan, I asked Tesla about the sig red one from the Big Island. The woman I talked to said she couldn't find ANY record of it and tried to convince me that must have been a customer car even after I told them that Barry said it wasn't. Guess there's some good Tesla employees, and some that are not!

 

[Akikiki]

StephenM, Isn't it wonderful when "excellent/exceptional" service is the "standard". This is one of the things that confirms my thoughts that I made the right choice. I believe I am one of hundreds that bought a MS and spent MORE than TWICE what I have ever considered paying for any other car before. Anyone else?

I too believe Barry has plenty to do. We are so lucky to have him home and working where he wants to work. We are lucky to have him as our SC Mgr. He's the right man for the job. I think he's managing to do all he is doing while he's building the right people on his team. I believe I see him being very selective in his choices for the SC and he looking for the people that mirror his ideas of service. I want him to have more help, but I am not going to complain in his behalf to TM, because he's on his own schedule for building his team. My comments could hurt that if he were told to "just get some help" instead of who he wants.

Maybe the big Red One (from the Big Island) will become our loaner and a MS that Barry has for test drives. I agree with StephenM, I believe we will see a few more orphans regardless of the careful review of financing. I routinely tell people to call TM and ask if there are any available in Hawaii for sale right now.

 

[dsmith2189]

When I considering the 60kwh silver orphan, I asked Tesla about the sig red one from the Big Island. The woman I talked to said she couldn't find ANY record of it and tried to convince me that must have been a customer car even after I told them that Barry said it wasn't. Guess there's some good Tesla employees, and some that are not!

Given the service announement that TM made earlier about the Valet service, the Sig Red is probably not on the list of orphan cars for sale. it will probably be the loaner (for the valet service) and test drive car.

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I believe I am one of hundreds that bought a MS and spent MORE than TWICE what I have ever considered paying for any other car before.

add ...without ever seing one in person or test driving one.

 

[Akikiki]

dsmith, yep, you are right. I didn't even sit in one before I drove mine off from the SC. I don't know if that makes me brave or crazy. Mom would say crazy, so i guess crazy then.

 

[StephenM]

Well, then that makes the vast majority of Hawaii Tesla owners crazy. Who wants to be normal anyway? So boring :tongue:

 

[hodgeshawaii]

Car Payment

Akikiki, thanks for that tip. I haven't started the loan process yet as I am travelling but when I get back next week that will be the goal. Get VIN, get loan, then get car. My understanding is similar to yours. Pay first before the boat ride to sunny Hawaii. And as to your question on my music....hmm....not sure, but something that I can sing along with, really loud...but don't worry, i'll keep the roof closed when I do! One more thing to think about....what song...hmm...

For what it is worth - my DS-MAC, last week told me that for Hawaii you "MUST" pay first before they take to the BOAT. If you pay by wire transfer - kind of neat the way they have the price and information all typed out - just hit print button and call bank for wire transfer. What's funny, is after wife and I both signed - and I had wire transfer to them - HAVEN'T heard a word from them. OF course this is the usual pattern - do what they want - they will call when they need something - works for me!

 

[StephenM]

Oh noes part deux. My car is dead again. This time not so lucky and it died while I was at work. Called tesla roadside assistance so they can alert Barry to my situation ASAP. Had to call my wife to come pick me up. Sad panda again.

 

[Akikiki]

Oh StephenM so sorry to hear this. But the car is in good hands. We all hope that they get to the bottom of it this time. Please keep us informed.

 

[Jkam]

Has anyone else in Hawaii ordered the rear seats and have them installed? I ordered them, but it is been almost six months and I haven't heard a thing from Tesla. Starting to get worried.

 

[Hawaiiskibum]

StephenM, horrible!! Appears that they have not gotten to the bottom of the 12V battery issue. Please keep us updated. Thanks for sharing

JKam, no keiki seats for me so can't contribute anything on that discussion.

 

[diamond225th]

I would email them directly or call them. They always respond to me immediately. I have the seats and the kids and small Asian girls love them!

 

[StephenM]

I have the seats ... and small Asian girls love them!

LOL!! There was another thread that said this same thing and the mods changed it! Everyone is so PC nowadays...

My car is back at the service center, and I've been given a rental car (mazda 3....)
I miss Tessie already... I know I know, pathetic sounding isn't it?

Fair warning to the other Hawaii owners, if your dash shows the message "Car needs service, 12v battery low" and it disappears after 5 seconds, don't ignore it. Both times this showed up my car was dead within 24 hours upon the next attempt at restart.

 

[Akikiki]

StephenM, NO. Absolutely NOT. It is NOT pathetic. Its called Withdrawal. We feel your pain with you. Missing her is perfectly normal. There is only one thing that would make it worse. If it happened to all of us, at the same time. Someone tell me that this can't happen? Please say it ain't so...

 

[spleen]

Has anyone else in Hawaii ordered the rear seats and have them installed? I ordered them, but it is been almost six months and I haven't heard a thing from Tesla. Starting to get worried.

Our Tesla was ordered with the kid seats and arrived with them. Kids enjoy them but complain about the lack of air circulation. Rear hatch tinting helped a lot with the heat/brightness.

Oh noes part deux. My car is dead again. This time not so lucky and it died while I was at work. Called tesla roadside assistance so they can alert Barry to my situation ASAP. Had to call my wife to come pick me up. Sad panda again.

Sorry to hear, Stephen. Hope Barry can figure out what's going on with your 12V soon!

 

[StephenM]

Thanks Spleen and Akikiki. One thing for sure is that it's NOT the 12v battery. What's the chances of a battery failing and then the freshly swapped battery failing within 48 hours? Not very high. This looks more like DC-to-DC converter or some other issue (battery not charging or possibly getting overcharged and getting damaged). I'm sure Barry will have it figured out soon.

85kwh battery arrived in this awesome looking crate. Can only imagine how much it costs to ship something that big and heavy to Hawaii.

 

[dsmith2189]

Honestly I think you'll be happier if you just get the EV plates instead of the vanity, with all due respect to your kids. Parking enforcement on the street are looking for EV plates when you meter park, so are the parking attendants at the parking lots as well as the cops when you use the HOV lane. It's not worth the hassles, both financially, legally, and timewise, to bother contesting each ticket you get or arguing with a parking lot attendant. They don't know that it's an electric car - they're just looking for the tag.

Either you get the EV tags to take advantage of the EV legal benefits or you get the vanity plate and forfeit them. That's likely to be the choice in front of you, sad to say. Best wishes to you either way you decide.

interesting commute home this evening
A solo bike cop apeared out of nowhere to pace me while I was in the HOV lane. did he see my EV plates? I glanced over to see him out my passenger side window checking out my 17" screen with google maps full screen and then glance at his speedometer. too late. (for him) the regen slowed me just enough for him to second guess my speed as he sped up and moved in front of me... I hit the middle street merge traffic jam with him still in front of me. After I finally got through the merge I glance to my left to see another silver MS (without EV plates). Did the solo bike cop do a double take? was there some sort of weird time warp going on? Another mile down the road there he was again. this time with a (ICE) car pulled over. If only there had been another Silver MS, he would have been scratching his head instead of writing a ticket.
Oh and then there was that helicopter crash just as I was getting up to the Pali. Google maps to the rescue for an alternate route.