Is Tesla Canada changing their loaner policy?

[wayner]

I took my 8 year old Model S in to the Toronto Railside Drive Service Centre today as I have two door handles that are not presenting - the 4th and 5th handles that have failed. They gave me a loaner but said that they are not really going to give loaners any more when you car isn't under warranty.

This is going to sound entitled, but what??? Is Tesla not a luxury car brand? I paid over $140k for my car, and I am not getting a loaner? Prior to getting my Tesla in 2015 I owned several Lexus vehicles. Lexus also treated the customers well and gave you a loaner, warranty or not.

This is a very bad look on Tesla.

 

[Casmium]

I think due to us lowly Model 3 and Y drivers, Tesla is now considered a premium brand and not luxury. Also Mercedes Oakville now charges for a loaner, i guess it's a rental now, used to get one for free a couple of years back.

 

[wayner]

Maybe it is time to split into two brands. Like Lexus/Toyota, Acura/Honda, etc. That way I don't have to associate with the riff-raff Model 3 and Y owners (that's a joke by the way).

 

[Tony_YYZ]

Yeah Tesla isn’t a luxury brand. They are a premium EV brand with price points that rival luxury brands. Their loaner policy has eroded significantly over the years and even if your car was under warranty the chances of getting one in Ontario were slim to none. At best you would get Uber credits or if you really fought hard and made noise you might get an Enterprise rental.

I’d rank Tesla service among the worst experiences but even brands such as Porsche and even as someone else mentioned, MB are also downgrading their loaner programs because during the last couple of years they have had shortages of inventory and wanted to sell every available car as soon as it hit their lots. Basically ruining the service experience in the name of short term profits (surprise surprise).

 

[wayner]

Selling cars for $150k and not a luxury brand? That is going to hurt them going forward as the competition has been getting their acts together on EVs. My only issue with buying a non-Tesla EV is the availability of fast charging. It is not nearly as prevalent as Tesla SCs and it often OOS.

You are right about the erosion over time. Here is the loaner I got in May of 2015.

 

[Tony_YYZ]

Yeah I’m on my third and likely last Tesla purchase for good while. The lack of basic safety features like USS and cross traffic alerts are no longer excusable, just like their ”strive for the bottom” service model. If they open up the Supercharger network in Canada to other cars and actually retrofit the stations with CCS cables then I’m very likely going after a Rivian R1S or similar.

The interior quality is just so much nicer in competing EVs that it’s hard to ignore at these price points.

 

[KBF]

In Manitoba, I've never gotten a loaner. But Tesla provides a decent amount of Uber credits at least. It's not ideal, but better than nothing - in my city, Ford used to give me a ride home and pickup with an employee, which was more limiting. It would help if our closest Tesla Store was closer than Saskatoon... But they also give free Ranger service when possible (just not for bigger jobs).

Maybe it doesn't seem like a big deal to me since I use Tesla service less often (and less costly) than my past Honda, GM or Ford vehicles, whose service experiences are also not 'luxury' - my bar is low, I suppose. Expectations impact one's level of indignation. I also find ways to turn inconveniences into adventures. My last service I just decided to take the morning off and explore a nearby park... But that's a different kind of lifestyle luxury (finding ways to reduce my stress) that I've been forced to pursue in life when I had a long chronic illness. I recommend it: Holding goals loosely, focus on what matters most.

If service style matters more than the myriad other benefits of driving a Tesla, then it's your right to weigh that and choose differently. I'm so grateful we have choices now.

 

[wayner]

But how does this compare to other to other car manufacturers charging well over $100k per vehicle? Maybe Tesla should split into two brands, or at least offer differentiated service for owners of Model S/X that are paying around $150k for cars.

 

[Soul Surfer]

I took my 8 year old Model S in to the Toronto Railside Drive Service Centre today as I have two door handles that are not presenting - the 4th and 5th handles that have failed. They gave me a loaner but said that they are not really going to give loaners any more when you car isn't under warranty.

This is going to sound entitled, but what??? Is Tesla not a luxury car brand? I paid over $140k for my car, and I am not getting a loaner? Prior to getting my Tesla in 2015 I owned several Lexus vehicles. Lexus also treated the customers well and gave you a loaner, warranty or not.

This is a very bad look on Tesla.

Loaner are only if your car is in for >/= 2.5 hours.

 

[Struja]

@wayner - I just encountered this with my $7k repair and I exactly echo your sentiments. My situation was a bit worse…I have been in for service like 10 times over the last 16 months and the policy was:

1. No loaner for service under 2 hours or
2. Loaner or Uber Voucher if longer than 2 hours.

I made my most recent appointment at the Vaughan location. The evening before my appointment I got a very long winded reminder text within the app. I read the first part of the text and new I had the appointment so I saw the second part of the test telling me to disable my pin and stopped reading the part of the text saying “no loaner, find your own way home”.

I knew they would need my car for a day or two so I had wrongly assumed I would just get a loaner and I happened to really need a car for work related reasons when my car was supposed to be in service. So, when they told me I couldn’t get a loaner (even though they had available loaner cars because they were only for warranty service), I told them I couldn’t be left without a car because of work. I was basically told to buzz off and I did. I was actually shocked, they I was told to take a hike (not exactly those words).

Customer service level = 0.

By the time I got home, I had stewed in my anger long enough that I wrote a colourful email to the service department and they agreed to do the $7k repair and extend me the one time courtesy of a loaner.

Anyone who has read my posts on this forum knows that I love my car. Objectively it is an unreliable piece of junk but I still love it nevertheless. It remains my favourite car I have ever owned. Having said that, as a company, I put Tesla on par with Bell and Rogers (and in my world, that’s not a compliment).

 

[richyrich]

Got a loaner in Ottawa a few weeks ago. No issue, very chill, great team and service as usual.

 

[Vawlkus]

I’ve gotten a loaner even when I didn’t ask for one the last two times I’ve been there. They even remembered that the 3 is a little small for my 6’ 2” frame and had a Y on hand.

 

[f-stop]

@wayner - I just encountered this with my $7k repair and I exactly echo your sentiments. My situation was a bit worse…I have been in for service like 10 times over the last 16 months and the policy was:

1. No loaner for service under 2 hours or
2. Loaner or Uber Voucher if longer than 2 hours.

[...]

My 2015 MS 70D is in for service today for the frunk latch recall plus a couple non-warranty issues. They said the car won't be ready until end of the day or possibly tomorrow.

When I first booked the appointment, via the app service message I was told "... As your car is no longer under warranty, we are unable to provide alternative transportation for this service." The service advisor this morning basically told me the same thing. When I questioned this policy a bit further he said if they had a loaner available perhaps he could give me one. Lucky I asked, they had a MS loaner available and gave it to me.

BTW remember back in the day, Elon promised everyone would get P100D loaners? Service has gone downhill since those days...

 

[X.l.r.8]

Thankfully they still offer me a loaner, but I can’t book appointments via the app, I have to show up in person. Possibly because everything on my car takes 3 days.

 

[GoldenBasis]

Two service sessions in Ottawa (Carling) in the past month for my out of warranty X and was offered loaners (model 3) each time.
First service was for installing CCS adaptor and second one was to replace failed A/C compressor.
The compressor replacement took a long time because the tech broke some bracket while removing the old one and had to wait over a week for a part. Had a loaner for the whole time.
The service guys were very chill with the loaner, also offered uber vouchers if I preferred. They also seem to be pushing demo drives so took a 2023 X out for a test Was surprised how well my 2017 still compares

 

[UncleCreepy]

Two service sessions in Ottawa (Carling) in the past month for my out of warranty X and was offered loaners (model 3) each time.
First service was for installing CCS adaptor and second one was to replace failed A/C compressor.
The compressor replacement took a long time because the tech broke some bracket while removing the old one and had to wait over a week for a part. Had a loaner for the whole time.
The service guys were very chill with the loaner, also offered uber vouchers if I preferred. They also seem to be pushing demo drives so took a 2023 X out for a test Was surprised how well my 2017 still compares

Same at the other service centre in Ottawa, Motor Works Private. I had my upper control arms replaced a few months ago (out of warranty, but they only charged me for the parts, not for labour), and they gave me a loaner without hesitation. Repair time was well under two hours.