Houston, TX

[Cyberwelly]

I'm hoping they deliver today or tomorrow (sat or sun) as I'm out of town during the week, so would have to wait until next weekend to take delivery. I worked with Andy (from CA) and now Cale (from Chicago?). Just email, no phone number yet.

Car is all paid for. Waiting for the call from the delivery truck driver to say my car is 2 hours away (I think it's currently in Austin).

 

[KenEE]

Glad to hear more S's are comin' to Texas!

A few things to cover here:

Has anyone heard a new opening date for the Houston Service Center? I was told by the end of January early in January, but now it's February and can't get an update.

I really need to get my delivery scratches taken care of. Has anyone here had delivery blemishes corrected by Tesla or a 3rd party? How did it go? how was it handled?

BTW, I found an actual XPEL Franchise shop here in town that will fully wrap all the edges so you don't have any seams/lines showing. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[stephenpace]

@KenEE: I haven't heard a final date for the Houston Service Center, but I don't think they will do body work there. More likely they will send the cars out to a place like:

Hanley Bros Auto Body
1517 Silber Road
Houston, Texas 77055

Hanley Brothers Auto Specialists

They have already fixed a few Model S. I brought mine by there and they buffed out a scratch. Can barely see it now. As for the service center, I could drive by if you want. There was still a lot to do last time I went. They are partially at the mercy of the city for the permits. I have a Ranger visit scheduled for Thursday (my cubby and parcel shelf finally came in), and I could ask them as well.

In general news, I've had a lot of fun playing with the new Tesla app, and I met a new owner at the Hobby Center today. I was finishing up at Artista when I saw a Model S waiting in the valet line. By the time I walked downstairs, he and his wife were just getting out so I went over to say hi.

 

[KenEE]

Steven, Did Tesla send you over there and pick up the bill? Or did you just do it? I'm not too worried about the bill, but want to make sure Tesla ultimately stays on the hook for the paint.

Where exactly is the Center? A Ranger told me it was at beltway and West Park, but I don't see it just driving along the beltway.

Still need to download the app. I'll see if I use it more than my Volt app. (not much after playing a little )

 

[RLA12194]

BTW, I found an actual XPEL Franchise shop here in town that will fully wrap all the edges so you don't have any seams/lines showing. Let me know if you are interested.

Expecting my S in the next 2 weeks. What XPEL franchise shop did you use and how much was the job? Do you have a contact person?

 

[jwolens]

I got my call this evening and my delivery is tomorrow, but they can't give me any time estimate. Closest he would say is "I think it will be after 12pm". I asked if I could put it off until Wednesday and I was told it would cost me money to wait another day. We'll make it work. He has 2 other deliveries here tomorrow. Good luck!

 

[KenEE]

Expecting my S in the next 2 weeks. What XPEL franchise shop did you use and how much was the job? Do you have a contact person?

Sent you a PM with address and contact info.

The quote was a little higher than another shop, but these guys are an actual XPEL shop and not just a reseller. And the actual installer worked for two years at the Corporate HQ and can wrap all the edges so no fine lines to catch dust.

Let me know if you try them out.

I'm have a quote for the entire front, but I'm considering doing the whole car. The XPEL Ultimate Self Healing film seems to be pretty amazing stuff.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[LiteWait]

What shop is this?

 

[jwolens]

I received my Model S today. I was the third delivery for the driver. I am going to post on Tesla main site some thoughts I have on delivery process. Its was ok, but far from ideal.

Car is parked in garage charging happily and waiting for its debut tomorrow. Beautiful car!

 

[stephenpace]

Congrats!

 

[LiteWait]

Can't wait to see it at Cars and Coffee. Congrats!

 

[KenEE]

What shop is this?

It's called XPEL...
220 Barren Springs Road, Suite 3
Houston, TX 77090

I'm not sure if its a good idea to post the number. I can PM if you like. Ask for Eric and tell him Ken with the Blue S sent you.
FYI, if you drive by make sure you have the number or they are expecting you as the whole place is behind locked gates.
I just drove up from Sugar Land and had to wait a bit until someone randomly walked outside.

 

[Cyberwelly]

Well I'm off on Friday to pick up my car from the Austin Service Center. Seems like something has changed and now I can pick it up directly and have a walk through with my DS. Got insurance, CA temp plates/strip of paper and I'll swing by and get an inspection sticker before driving the 150 miles back home in my new P85. Fantastico!

 

[garyrodr]

Congratsulation Cyber. My final payment should arrive at Tesla today. My DS told me it would take 5 days to deliver the car from Austin to Houston. He never mentioned that I could pick it up! I would be a bit apprehensive to drive that distance my first time out, but then again I opted for the 60kw model.

 

[stephenpace]

Looks like we may have our first Houston Tesla Club meetup outside of Coffee and Cars. Mark your calendar for 3/21 at 5:30pm. All are welcome to join!

Buffalo Grille Academy & Bissonnet (West U)
4080 Bissonnet St
Houston, TX 77005

The Buffalo Grille - Houston, Texas
713-661-3663

 

[Cyberwelly]

Wait is finally over; I have my Model S and it's perfect. I went through the delivery checklist and it was all there. Just waiting on the chrome plate on the UMC and the parcel shelf. Drove the 150 miles home from Austin with the Tesla grin on my face.

On the way to Austin we say a car transporter full of Model S's on 290 going towards Houston. Had a thought that there was a mix up and mine was on the transporter, but no, mine was waiting for me with a 270 range charge in Austin.

Having a problem setting up Homelink with my garage door opener. Tried pressing the button on the remote while holding it inside the Frunk, in front of the nose code, everywhere. No luck, no flash from the headlights. Any ideas?

 

[stephenpace]

Congrats! Post photos!

What type of garage door opener do you have? The newer kind requires that you press the 'learn' button on the opener itself.

 

[Cyberwelly]

I have one of the newer ones. So I don't use the remote at all? I press the learn button on the opener when the car is on the "searching" screen?

- - - Updated - - -

Success with the HomeLink! My car is now perfect. Thanks.

 

[stephenpace]

Yes, you still need the remote, but you also have to press learn to allow the opener to accept the new device. My Tesla screen actually popped up a reminder to do that, something it didn't do on an older opener (or maybe I had a newer firmware by then).

To program HomeLink:
1. Park in front of the device you want to program (try moving closer if you are far, or a little farther if you are very close), and have the device’s remote control ready.
2. Touch CONTROLS > SETTINGS > HOMELINK on the touchscreen. (Delete out any failed ones first.)
3. Touch the ENTER NAME box, then use the on-screen keyboard to enter a name for your HomeLink device.
4. Touch CREATE HOMELINK.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Usually you have 30 seconds or so from the time you press learn on the opener to the time you have to complete programming. Using two people can help with that. Good luck!

 

[jwolens]

I have 2 garage door openers. One is 2002 and programmed easily. The other is 2012 and has a rolling code. There are extra steps with that. Follow the directions but the key step that is not mentioned is to put the remote only an inch or so from the bumper. That worked for me.