I do not like buying a car this way - lack of face to face contact

[Atari2600]

I was originally going to pick my car up on September 10th but now they want me to take it on September 9th. Everything has worked out except they obtained my previous loan payoff one day before my auto-payment made the next payment. This loan was through my credit union and the autopay was part of my loan agreement so I could not stop it . For the past 4 days I've been trying to get them to fix the payoff amount but it seems I'm dealing with a black hole. No response to emails and my delivery agent's voice mail is full. Hopefully this will be fixed tomorrow. Tesla really needs a finance person on site.

I've had good luck with dealers in the past where I would configure a car with the exact options I wanted then wait 1-3 months for the car to arrive then finish the paperwork and leave. Maybe Tesla just needs more people on the back end.

When Tesla pays my loan off will I get the extra money back? I'm trying to look at this from all angles before Sunday.

 

[Darmie]

I did not catch the next payment to my previous car and same thing happen to me. The remaining balance I received from the credit company in approx 3 weeks after Tesla made payment. Don't think there is much traction with Tesla since their check is probably already cut as well.

 

[outdoors]

Lack of face to face contact can be an issue for some..... I prefer black and white. As in printed text on email or phone. To each his/her own. When it's in writing there is no dispute. When a slick dude/dudette wants sell you a car. Ask him/her to put it in writing. They hate that. That's why I prefer to ask for everything in writing.

 

[gbrgbr]

the single main reason I bought a tesla is the absence of dealers. I was thrilled to not have face-face contact with a car dealer or salesman.

 

[Marsnaut]

As a millennial, I've grown up in an age where to prefer convenience over face time. I like being able to think about options privately, researching independently, and then being able to order at home in my underwear.

 

[MikeATL]

When Tesla pays my loan off will I get the extra money back?

Your prior financing company would refund you... same as if you sent them money to pay off the car and sent too much.

How long they take and what kind of red tape you go through is another thing . . .

The worst thing that I can imagine is if they sent the overpayment to Tesla (along with the Title)....it might take you a long time to get that back.

 

[Pkmmte]

I LOVE not having face-to-face contact. That alone made this the single greatest car purchase of my life so far. No lies, no tiny text, no drama. It's straightforward.

 

[seattlite2004]

I'm thinking that you'll make up for the lack of face to face contact at purchase, during your after delivery service center visits.

 

[Runt8]

I love going into it knowing what the price will be, without the pressure of having to negotiate and then be on the look out for unscrupulous salespeople trying to get away with every little upcharge possible. The wait has been tough but I image the next Tesla I buy will be in-stock and then there will be no beating the process.

 

[jonesh]

Also waiting for my trade-in loan to be paid off, and I'm in the same boat with the wrong payoff amount. My delivery advisor was informed the amount was incorrect multiple times and she promised to resolve it prior to my delivery, but it wasn't corrected. And of course, she stopped responding 3 days prior to my delivery, no email replies, no returned calls.

At my delivery, they couldn't provide any info on when it would be paid off, or make any changes to my paperwork and because I didn't want to cause a delay, I just took the delivery.

That said, after explaining the situation someone at my service center - they have reached out to the delivery advisor on my behalf for the info and said if they don't hear back from her "soon" they will escalate it to the trade-in team to get the payoff amount corrected. I still can't get them to provide a timeline on when the loan will be paid off though. Perhaps someone at your service center could help get you in touch with the trade-in team @Atari2600.

 

[Abstrakt1]

I don't love talking to people in general not to mention sales people. I always get nervous going to dealerships because I feel overwhelmed by the in your face high pressure. I really liked being able to do my own research and choose what I wanted based on the actual cost. I don't want to haggle with them like some tijuana street urchin. Cars are expensive, just tell me the price and don't stalk me for the next 6 months if I walk away.

 

[Skotty]

Those who want face to face contact should be able to get roughly that by going to a Tesla store. Don't they usually have a way for people to order while there?

 

[ChrisH]

I LOVE not having face-to-face contact. That alone made this the single greatest car purchase of my life so far. No lies, no tiny text, no drama. It's straightforward.

It’s not THAT straightforward without drama and tiny text. There is still instances where the delivery staff don’t know everything about the paperwork, quality issues at delivery, etc.

 

[Abstrakt1]

It’s not THAT straightforward without drama and tiny text. There is still instances where the delivery staff don’t know everything about the paperwork, quality issues at delivery, etc.

I was in and out in 20 minutes. Inspected the car for 15, signed some stuff, gave them a check and drove off. Had a few small scratches I didn't see but my clearbra guy corrected them at no extra charge when he put the clearbra and ceramic on.

I know some have had bad experiences but I can say for me it was the easiest car buying experience I have ever had. The only bad part is the long wait and then short notice to get your loan and such before delivery.

 

[ChrisH]

I was in and out in 20 minutes. Inspected the car for 15, signed some stuff, gave them a check and drove off. Had a few small scratches I didn't see but my clearbra guy corrected them at no extra charge when he put the clearbra and ceramic on.

I know some have had bad experiences but I can say for me it was the easiest car buying experience I have ever had. The only bad part is the long wait and then short notice to get your loan and such before delivery.

Yeah. There are pros and cons for sure. Lots to improve on for Tesla.

 

[prash]

Your prior financing company would refund you... same as if you sent them money to pay off the car and sent too much.

How long they take and what kind of red tape you go through is another thing . . .

The worst thing that I can imagine is if they sent the overpayment to Tesla (along with the Title)....it might take you a long time to get that back.

Agree.

 

[RayK]

Bought my last new car online; no face-to-face interaction. CarOrder.com in early 2000. Had a couple of phone calls but everything else was done via email. Car (BMW 323i) was delivered from Los Angeles to near my house in a covered carrier. Everything went well. Car had a pre-negotiated price, payment was done with a wire transfer, I didn't get to test drive my car but I did go to a local BMW dealer and try one out. All basically the same things that were done with my Model 3. Except it didn't take over 2 years.

 

[MikeATL]

Not making excuses for service that should be much better, but just keep in mind more than half these people you are interacting with are probably brand new. The delivery people may have been sales people last month. The person who contacted me from Nevada is listed as a SolarCity employee on her LinkedIn. They’re overwhelmed. I’ve worked in fast scaling companies and seen this at different phases.

That said, my last new car purchase 7 years ago had me at the dealer 2-3 hours on paperwork. Lots of that new car sales crap (let me “check with my manager on that” and all.)

The only car I ever ordered was a Mustang GT in 1986. That took 16 weeks and I went by the dealer every week to get a status and all they could really tell me was it takes a while. When the car finally showed up at the Dealer, the Manager was ready to sell it out from under me for a lot more than I negotiated since it was in such high demand!

The waiting 2+ years doesn’t bother me — I frankly expected longer from what I knew of Tesla. I wasn’t even sure I was going to get it at all until I heard such good reviews of the car. The last chance for unlimited Supercharging and $7500 motivated me to move now - otherwise I might have waited until next year. Tesla wanted to build up a lot of hype and preorders - they definitely succeeded. It’s a shame they didn’t do as good a job scaling the organization. I’m hopeful they will work it out in the future and any administrative headaches I encounter will be minor in hindsight once I’m driving such an amazing car!

 

[AustinPowers]

I don't love talking to people in general not to mention sales people. I always get nervous going to dealerships because I feel overwhelmed by the in your face high pressure.

Don't understand this at all. Why be nervous? You are the customer, you are the one whose money they want. You decide whether you give them the money and - except for Tesla - the amount of money. If anything, the sales people should feel the pressure, not you. I make absolutely sure that I am the one exerting the pressure (if even necessary, usually it isn't necessary to cause pressure), no matter where and what I shop.

 

[Atari2600]

Per my original post I'm saying they need a finance person on site and not a sales staff. I agree sales staff are for the most part a negative. Ordering the car online is fine. Dealing with the financing online is a huge turd.

And my example of this is I will need to overpay for my car this Sunday if I want to take delivery and hope the extra money comes back to me instead of Tesla. And this will not be fixed onsite because there will not be a finance person on site. I do not understand how anyone would argue that not being a negative experience.