Loaner program being eliminated?

[wdolson]

I took our new-to-us Used Tesla to my local SC for some warranty work (low coolant warning when parked on a steep slope and non-functioning rear defroster). It took 5 weeks to get an appointment at my heavily impacted SC. I brought the car in at 2pm and the drop-off line was well into the street. They didn't have any loaners available (understandable given the volume of customers), but they did offer me a rental through Enterprise or a Lyft ride home. They said they'd give me a call in 3 hours with an update and that the car could be ready by Tuesday. Since we have 3 extra vehicles and the duration didn't sound so bad, I opted for the Lyft ride. Maybe that was a mistake.

The car sat in the back of the SC for 4 days untouched, worked on during Wednesday, then sat at an auxiliary lot for 7 days. I finally got the car back yesterday after waiting 13 days. Since my last two Lyft rides have been downright terrifying (nearly got T-boned when the driver didn't see cross-traffic and the other driver was high as a kite), I decided to jog the 1.8 miles to the SC. Took less than 20 minutes to run there and glad to see the car in tip-top shape.

It got me thinking that Tesla could save a lot of money on rental cars/loaners if they appropriately scheduled their appointments. Instead of taking my car on Friday just to sit there for the 4 days, they could have scheduled the appointment when they could commit to working on it. They could do over-the-air diagnosis or send a mobile unit out for an evaluation, then triage the SC based on severity. I'm sure most services can be done under a shade tree.

I wish I could get to my SC on foot. It would take me about two days, if I was lucky.

Tesla has expanded the ranger service. They have told me that they can't do ranger service for anything requiring a lot of equipment or being put on a lift, but the one time I was able to use ranger service was pretty nice. I backed the car half out of the garage so the tech could work in the shade (it was July) and it took about 20 minutes to change the brake calipers (there was a recall on the parking brake calipers).

 

[whitex]

It got me thinking that Tesla could save a lot of money on rental cars/loaners if they appropriately scheduled their appointments.

You are not thinking like Elon. By having even the most basic services take weeks, it discourages people from servicing the car unless the car is completely undriveable. Elon took over VP of sales and service a while back, now he's closing all stores and saving money on not expanding service to match the flood of produced cars, which has the added effect of scaring people off from doing any service.

We have 2 Model S. Already planning to not take the newer one in after a year, and still debating whether to take in the 2015 or just do tires elsewhere and change air filter myself (takes 2 mins). Or might make an appointment but refuse to leave the car without a Model S or X loaner.

 

[TK16688]

Car came back from the shop, took about two weeks. Rear suspension links replaced (went too fast over a bump). First got S85 loaner, second week upgraded to P90D. No loaner issues.

 

[SMAlset]

You are not thinking like Elon. By having even the most basic services take weeks, it discourages people from servicing the car unless the car is completely undriveable. Elon took over VP of sales and service a while back, now he's closing all stores and saving money on not expanding service to match the flood of produced cars, which has the added effect of scaring people off from doing any service.

We have 2 Model S. Already planning to not take the newer one in after a year, and still debating whether to take in the 2015 or just do tires elsewhere and change air filter myself (takes 2 mins). Or might make an appointment but refuse to leave the car without a Model S or X loaner.

Where did you get that they aren't expanding the service centers? Quite the contrary. From The Verge: "Tesla will “significantly” increase the number of service centers to meet the demand of its growing customer base, Musk added." Also from The Verge, different article: “My top priority this year is making service amazing,” Musk said.

 

[darxsys]

Where did you get that they aren't expanding the service centers? Quite the contrary. From The Verge: "Tesla will “significantly” increase the number of service centers to meet the demand of its growing customer base, Musk added." Also from The Verge, different article: “My top priority this year is making service amazing,” Musk said.

Yeah, exactly. Makes me really hopeful they will sort out this mess.

 

[SMAlset]

Yeah, exactly. Makes me really hopeful they will sort out this mess.

Was hoping to also hear that another priority was improving the communications across the board from ordering to service. I see that as another area in need of improvement. Sometimes it can be frustrating reaching someone to get a question or issue addressed.

 

[jaed]

I think they are still doing loaners.
Just at the Palo Alto service center. They are exclusively using Enterprise Rent a Cars. Actually a enterprise employee did the paperwork with me at the SC.

 

[MrAustraliaTax]

“My top priority this year is making service amazing,” Musk said.

That was last week's top priority.

This week:
Elon: "Hey look over there, 35K Model 3."
TMC Crowd: "Oooohhh. Shiny" (forgets about service issues for a while).

 

[whitex]

Where did you get that they aren't expanding the service centers? Quite the contrary. From The Verge: "Tesla will “significantly” increase the number of service centers to meet the demand of its growing customer base, Musk added." Also from The Verge, different article: “My top priority this year is making service amazing,” Musk said.

First, I didn't say they are not expanding, you took it out of context by ignoring "to match the flood of produced cars". So, they might have expanded, but obviously not sufficiently if they take weeks to complete what used to be same day service. Bottom line is this that service is insufficient at this time and what they might to some day in the future doesn't help someone who gets stuck today without a car for weeks. Unless of course you are going to show me how Elon has diverted cars from production to be loaners while he fixes the problem he caused by not scaling service in advance, it's not like his production turned out faster than expected, it actually lacked pace as compared to his original announced projections. And yes, he caused the problems as he took over VP of sales and service a while back, so it's on him and nobody else.

Second, you are telling me what Tesla SAY THEY WILL do (i.e. future tense), which is is immaterial and given past statements by Elon lacks any credibility. Remember how parts availability was going to he Elon's top priority? Remember how FSD with coast to coast demo was going to be his priority? He has a thousand and one top priorities, which makes his statement meaningless. If this was in fact his absolute highest priority item, he'd be doing nothing else but focusing on service, and new cars would be diverted to be loaners for cars in service, which obviously is not going to happen, so no this is not his top priority - it's one of his 1001 top priorities, Oh yea, remember Elon promising P100D loaners for everyone after he took over as VP of sales and service? Yea, he really followed on on that service promise, eh?

 

[SMAlset]

Service Centers aren’t built overnight and they require $s to build. Most Tesla owners realize there have been priorities and until the Model 3 was being produced in any quantity and making the company money, the SvCs were not as high on the list. With volume increasing however in the quantities we are now seeing in only these last 2 quarters, of course they now become the focus and the money is now only beginning to flow in. Most Tesla owners on here at least recognized this and anticipated it. You can only expand and stretch yourself so far so fast.

Tesla’s not one of the legacy companies with a huge stock pile of money. Remember everything is under Tesla’s umbrella from Stores to get exposure to a new type of car, to production, to charging, to service. Legacy guys passed off a lot of that thru dealerships. Until Teslas got more production and money behind them it’s still like buying an exotic car with production and service issues. You either want a Tesla with what comes along with it now or buy another company’s EV or gas version. Sounds like legacy companies despite their “superior knowledge” in manufacturing and production are not having such an easy time of coming up with a car on the same level as Tesla’s vehicles. I suspect their EVs will see growing pains of all sorts from efficiency to hardware and software used. Can’t wait to see what issues they have with batteries, driving assistance features and accidents and having skilled, qualified service staff to work on any EV car owner issues.

I also do not believe Elon planned to slow service center work so people just wouldn’t schedule it like apparently you are saying you’re planning on doing. We had body work done on a rear quarter panel and bumper at the body shop recently due to our car being hit. In shop just under a week. The car is now scheduled for our annual maintenance shortly.

 

[whitex]

Service Centers aren’t built overnight and they require $s to build. Most Tesla owners realize there have been priorities and until the Model 3 was being produced in any quantity and making the company money, the SvCs were not as high on the list. With volume increasing however in the quantities we are now seeing in only these last 2 quarters, of course they now become the focus and the money is now only beginning to flow in. Most Tesla owners on here at least recognized this and anticipated it. You can only expand and stretch yourself so far so fast.

Tesla’s not one of the legacy companies with a huge stock pile of money. Remember everything is under Tesla’s umbrella from Stores to get exposure to a new type of car, to production, to charging, to service. Legacy guys passed off a lot of that thru dealerships. Until Teslas got more production and money behind them it’s still like buying an exotic car with production and service issues.

So you're just making excuses for Tesla. If you bought one, you should have anticipated that your annual service will not just cost $750, but also few weeks of a car rental (a Tesla rental from Hertz is $400 a day last I checked). When Elon said EV is cheaper to maintained, he meant in 50 years, when they become mainstream, everyone should have known that, right? And customers should have anticipated that if they get into an accident they will not have a car for many months while waiting for parts and/or qualified technicians to fix what an established manufacturer would have fixed in week or two. Oh, and you should have anticipated when you paid for FSD that you will get absolutely nothing by the time your lease ends - because everyone knows "it's Elon time", right? Yep, it's the customer's fault for not anticipating all that, because everyone should have known that Elon can only stretch so far.

Ever wondered whether Tesla accepts this type of excuse from their customers - "we know you meant to pay for the P100D, but we understand you can only stretch so far, so keep the car and pay us when you can"?

 

[dark cloud]

We have 2 Model S. Already planning to not take the newer one in after a year, and still debating whether to take in the 2015 or just do tires elsewhere and change air filter myself (takes 2 mins). Or might make an appointment but refuse to leave the car without a Model S or X loaner.

I bought a cabin filter last time I was at service to install when the time comes. It was a nice surprise that they charged me less than what I paid for a Honda Civic's cabin filter.

And they told me to bring back the loaner asap, because they sold it.

 

[whitex]

I bought a cabin filter last time I was at service to install when the time comes. It was a nice surprise that they charged me less than what I paid for a Honda Civic's cabin filter.

And they told me to bring back the loaner asap, because they sold it.

I bought 2 of them ($9.99 each IIRC) at one point after doing a 6600 mile trip in all kinds of dust, still have one ready to be used.

 

[JohnnyG]

I didn't read all the new messages since @dmz111 (brand new member, first post is to revive a dead thread that isn't true) posted, but I am here to say that the loaner program was not removed.

I do understand that in some markets, it is next to impossible to get a loaner, however Tesla still supplies you with a rental or an uber / lyft / ride to-from the SC. Is it a perfect system? Nope. Is it a great system? Honestly, it depends on your market. Where I'm at, it is definitely a great system. I do understand that for other markets, it is definitely not.

Disclaimer: My message isn't about the other great topics that seemed to of stemmed from this. My message is just to anyone spreading misinformation stating that the loaner program was eliminated.

 

[wdolson]

I didn't read all the new messages since @dmz111 (brand new member, first post is to revive a dead thread that isn't true) posted, but I am here to say that the loaner program was not removed.

I do understand that in some markets, it is next to impossible to get a loaner, however Tesla still supplies you with a rental or an uber / lyft / ride to-from the SC. Is it a perfect system? Nope. Is it a great system? Honestly, it depends on your market. Where I'm at, it is definitely a great system. I do understand that for other markets, it is definitely not.

Disclaimer: My message isn't about the other great topics that seemed to of stemmed from this. My message is just to anyone spreading misinformation stating that the loaner program was eliminated.

They might also decide whether to put someone in a Lyft or a rental car depending on where they need to go. I just calculated that a Lyft ride would be around $80 each way between the service center and home. That's $160 round trip. They could rent me a car for a few days for that.

 

[whitex]

I do understand that in some markets, it is next to impossible to get a loaner, however Tesla still supplies you with a rental or an uber / lyft / ride to-from the SC. Is it a perfect system? Nope. Is it a great system? Honestly, it depends on your market. Where I'm at, it is definitely a great system. I do understand that for other markets, it is definitely not.

It's not market dependent, it's your need dependent. If my wife needs to run the kids around all day, Tesla is not paying for all the Lyft rides to take the kids to activities, pick them up, go shopping, to to work/school and back. Even if they did, you could only do that during the day because they have to order the ride (which comes with another peril - you can't track the incoming pickup, so you have to wait outside for them, one time it took over 30 minutes for the Lyft to pick me up - and it rains here in Seattle). If service needs to keep the car for days or weeks because they are too swamped, they are not paying for all the Lyft rides you need every day either - regardless of what market you live in (or prove me wrong, what market will Tesla cover any and all Lyft rides while they have your car).

 

[JohnnyG]

It's not market dependent, it's your need dependent. If my wife needs to run the kids around all day, Tesla is not paying for all the Lyft rides to take the kids to activities, pick them up, go shopping, to to work/school and back. Even if they did, you could only do that during the day because they have to order the ride (which comes with another peril - you can't track the incoming pickup, so you have to wait outside for them, one time it took over 30 minutes for the Lyft to pick me up - and it rains here in Seattle). If service needs to keep the car for days or weeks because they are too swamped, they are not paying for all the Lyft rides you need every day either - regardless of what market you live in (or prove me wrong, what market will Tesla cover any and all Lyft rides while they have your car).

Hi @whitex !
That's not exactly what I meant by which market you're in... Here in the midwest (to be real specific, Ohio), we've never had an issue getting loaners if we've wanted them (myself and other colleagues included). About the worse case I've ever ran into was one time having to schedule a week in advance to get a loaner. For us here, the loaner program has been great. They even valet loaners to my place of work, and pick my car up, and then the same when it's time to return my car.

That said, in other areas (from what I read on here), it is absolutely horrible, and to be really honest with you, that makes me sad. I truly would love for all owners to have the same experience we do. In your example above, I would totally lose my $hit! That's not remotely acceptable. I'm honestly sorry you guys have to go through that.

The use of Uber / Lyft should only be in rare cases where they are going to have your car for less than a day, and you only need to get to / from work or home. Otherwise, you should get a loaner; and in all but extreme cases, it should be some form of Tesla.

 

[whitex]

Hi @whitex !
That's not exactly what I meant by which market you're in... Here in the midwest (to be real specific, Ohio), we've never had an issue getting loaners if we've wanted them (myself and other colleagues included). About the worse case I've ever ran into was one time having to schedule a week in advance to get a loaner. For us here, the loaner program has been great. They even valet loaners to my place of work, and pick my car up, and then the same when it's time to return my car.

That said, in other areas (from what I read on here), it is absolutely horrible, and to be really honest with you, that makes me sad. I truly would love for all owners to have the same experience we do. In your example above, I would totally lose my $hit! That's not remotely acceptable. I'm honestly sorry you guys have to go through that.

The use of Uber / Lyft should only be in rare cases where they are going to have your car for less than a day, and you only need to get to / from work or home. Otherwise, you should get a loaner; and in all but extreme cases, it should be some form of Tesla.

Yea, appointments here are 4-5 weeks out. I'm considering making one soon for the 4 year service, but since I'm not leaving my car without a loaner, I fully expect to show up and turn right around, so then another 4-5 weeks for next appointment. While it seems like it would be nice for Tesla to inspect my car before warranty ends, they are so busy now they do the bare minimum to turn the car around, so I'm really not sure it's worth it at all.