In & out in 5 min - Sign, take your money, keys, bye, next!!! why this is a bad idea.

[AUSinator]

As you have probably already heard on delivery day Tesla wants you in and out within 5 min. I personally am disappointed about this decision. I sold new cars for 7 years and seeing my customers enjoy their delivery so much I think people appreciate the personal touch and it would be nice to not be rushed to leave because the next customer is about to arrive.

We showed all the important and fun features and before sending them off customers were offered flowers/ champagne. From my experience only customers that already have the same car/similar car or buy multiple cars for their companies fleet or customers who know absolutely everything about the car may wish for a quick delivery. It is the last point of contact at the dealership and leaves a lasting impression and has an impact on repeat business, referral and reputation.

As I understand almost 95% of model 3 orders are new to Tesla, a lot of them have never bought a new car, have never spent that much on a car and have waited for 2-3 years for their car. Hmmmm

Thoughts?

 

[sandpiper]

I 100% agree. Buying a new car should NOT feel like picking up a burger at a drive through.

Picking up a new car is something that most people do a handful of times in their life, and making the process enjoyable is a great opportunity to build or destroy loyalty.

 

[WarpedOne]

I would be mostly pleased by my new car showing up in my driveway all by itself, without me leaving the house.
I need no man dancing around me, serving me coffee, showing me pictures and telling me things I already knew or even know are not true.

 

[JoaoD]

I would prefer the 5 minute paperwork and be left on my own to discover how things work. But I would also like to have some time to enjoy the car and look for any defects before leaving and not be rushed to take the car away.

 

[deonb]

Picking up a new car is something that most people do a handful of times in their life, and making the process enjoyable is a great opportunity to build or destroy loyalty.

For those people who find it enjoyable to sit in a dealer's office and say no after no to all the extra stuff that they're trying to sell you - sure.

For other people, I know where to find YouTube to learn cool things about my car.


Houses are bigger and even less frequent purchases than cars, and my slowest real estate purchase required less face-time with agents than my fastest car purchase. The difference is that the real estate agent just wants to sell the house - they don't also want to sell new carpets, paint, appliances, a new roof and a housekeeper to go with it.

 

[sandpiper]

For those people who find it enjoyable to sit in a dealer's office and say no after no to all the extra stuff that they're trying to sell you - sure.

For other people, I know where to find YouTube to learn cool things about my car.


Houses are bigger and even less frequent purchases than cars, and my slowest real estate purchase required less face-time with agents than my fastest car purchase.

Fair point. But I'm not talking about "the Dodge Delivery Experience". I'm talking about the experience that I had when I picked up my P85D. It was certainly the most costly car that I've ever bought, and Tesla did a really great job of making me feel like they were handing me something special.

I'm all in favour of them doing what they can to pre-educate people on the vehicle and so-on. But picking up a $50-60K vehicle (which most Model 3's will be) shouldn't be like picking up a rental car. "Sign here. Here's the fob. Grab the car in 4B."

 

[gavine]

I understand both sides of the argument but I can say that I do hate spending a good part of a day buying a car. I just want to start driving it. I don't want to sit there while they sell me options and do paperwork just dying to get out of there.

I don't think Tesla will push people out the door if they want to hang around and ask questions but buyers will have the option of getting in and out quickly if they want. I know I will be doing all of my paperwork beforehand.

Come to think of it, our Model X delivery was only about 15 minutes....this was mostly because we were already Model S owners so we didn't need any education time.

 

[jelloslug]

I think the modifier "could be" is the key here. Some people want the entire experience and some people want to get in and get out.

 

[dsvick]

I'm fairly certain that the five minutes was a bit of hyperbole on Elon's part and that Tesla will be more than willing to spend as much time with any buyer as that buyer wants/needs in order to be comfortable. If it wasn't hyperbole then he was probably only referring to the paperwork part of the process. You can spend a half inspecting the car, checking out the features, and asking any questions, then spend five minutes on paperwork and be out the door.

So, yes, if you want to literally sign and drive you'll certainly be able to. If, on the other hand, you want a bit more time they'll accommodate that as well.

 

[jelloslug]

I'm fairly certain that the five minutes was a bit of hyperbole on Elon's part and that Tesla will be more than willing to spend as much time with any buyer as that buyer wants/needs in order to be comfortable. If it wasn't hyperbole then he was probably only referring to the paperwork part of the process. You can spend a half inspecting the car, checking out the features, and asking any questions, then spend five minutes on paperwork and be out the door.

So, yes, if you want to literally sign and drive you'll certainly be able to. If, on the other hand, you want a bit more time they'll accommodate that as well.

I can tell you that when I picked up my Model S, the paperwork already takes less than 5 minutes.

 

[BerTX]

Maybe they'll just develop a giant vending machine. Put in your money, punch the buttons, out pops your M3 5 minutes later.

I guess carrying in the 140,000 quarters could be an issue...

 

[JoaoD]

Maybe they'll just develop a giant vending machine. Put in your money, punch the buttons, out pops your M3 5 minutes later.

I guess carrying in the 140,000 quarters could be an issue...

I'm pretty sure vending machines accept cards these days. Maybe that one will even accept Paypal!

 

[gregincal]

I'm pretty sure it's 5 minutes to do the paperwork and then as long or as short as you want to learn about the car. Absolutely nobody said anything about being "rushed to leave because the next customer is about to arrive".

Even though eventually most of the Model 3 buyers will be new to Tesla, 100% of the initial buyers will be existing Model S owners. I'm not sure I'll need that much time, and would certainly like the ability to make it as short as I want.

 

[Spyder14]

If you want the 5 minute treatment, you can get it. If you want more time for questions, especially if the spouse is not 100% up-to-speed, they should spend all the time needed. Not to complain but I spent more time going over the paint, trim & interior to make sure everything was right or ID'd & agreed-to-fix than anything else.

 

[azred]

You'd better spend more than five minutes whether they like it or not. Just carefully inspecting and documenting fit and finish issues should take more than five minutes. I bought my S only three months ago and there were several issues.

 

[182RG]

personal touch

Thoughts?

Relic of the past. If QA is where EM says it will be, and the car has been prepped regionally/locally and essentially flawless.....give me home delivery. I don't need the cheesy flowers, champagne. No balloons, bows, or parties. I don't need to meet "Fred and Bill" in the parts department, or the "Service Team". I just don't. Frankly, I expect never to see them, I don't care who they are, and it's a waste of my time and attention.

Personally, I don't think Tesla can get the QA to the level where this is feasible, but we'll see. What leaves the factory today is appalling. My last two vehicles (Touareg and S5) were flawless when I walked into the dealer's delivery area. The Germans probably made sure they left the factory that way.

Give me home delivery. Spare me the "rapport"........

 

[gregincal]

You'd better spend more than five minutes whether they like it or not. Just carefully inspecting and documenting fit and finish issues should take more than five minutes. I bought my S only three months ago and there were several issues.

I guess I'm just not that picky. I don't think I've ever looked over a car for fit and finish issues when buying it, including my Model S. If there's an issue that bothers me I'd bring it to the service center and get it fixed under warrantee, although I can't remember ever doing that either.

 

[tashtibet]

model 3 is not the first Tesla car-people who're looking forward to buy M3 know pretty much how it drives & functions. Dealership experience is another big matter why people likes to shop the Tesla way-I am excited.

 

[strider]

I think it's just math. Tesla is currently set up to deliver 1/10th the number of cars they plan to deliver with Model 3. They can either massively expand their delivery staff (very expensive) or they can compress the time it takes to deliver (very cheap). I would hope that as others stated that they won't rush people out the door if they aren't ready. But if they do it right (have lots of info and videos available prior to delivery) then they should be able to decrease the delivery time for most buyers.

 

[McRat]

In California, a new cash sale takes about 20 minutes just to go through all the legal docs. It would be nice if that part was 5 min.