Maintenance Service Fee

[gg_got_a_tesla]

I will hit 100k miles in the next 2-3 months before which I will have the car serviced. I prepaid service for 8 years plus I have the extended warranty.

I have taken my car in semi-annually since receiving it in 11/2012 since I am a high mileage driver.

I fully expect this will be my last "free" visit under the agreements - not because they state it but just because of conversations with the SC.

Tim, what would you be doing next? Still take the car in every 6 months and start paying $600+tax a pop? Or, start spacing your visits further apart despite continuing to rack up a lot of miles in between?

 

[freeewilly]

My family and I owned a few Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Lexus, and Toyota over the years. I always thought Mercedes' service A for $250, and B for $350 is a rip-off, since other luxury brands either provided for free or much cheaper than MB.
Tesla $600 service plan makes me feel Mercedes' service cost is a steal, I'm not going to complaint anymore.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

By the way, anyone think it's possible that Jerome, who sent the reassuring emails frequently quoted here, is in "transition" out of Tesla because he unilaterally attempted to waive the contract provisions?

Jerome was reassigned after Tesla's China sales fiasco, so it likely has more to do with that than anything else. Musk had to assign blame to someone.

 

[MsElectric]

My family and I owned a few Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Lexus, and Toyota over the years. I always thought Mercedes' service A for $250, and B for $350 is a rip-off, since other luxury brands either provided for free or much cheaper than MB.
Tesla $600 service plan makes me feel Mercedes' service cost is a steal, I'm not going to complaint anymore.

Yup, isn't it ironic how Tesla makes a Mercedes dealer seem dirt cheap for service, by comparison?

IMHO the $600 charged by Tesla for services that involve no fluid changes is such a huge rip off as it should not cost 2X to 3X what a vastly more complicated Mercedes V8 would cost to service.

I'll give you a small tip about the Mercedes services... The "A Service" actually does not even have to cost $250. Open your owner's manual for your Mercedes and tell the Service Advisor to do only what is required on the service manual. Suddenly your "A Service" amounts to little more than an oil change and it costs less than $200, which makes the Tesla service fee of $600 ridiculously high for an EV that's supposed to need less maintenance...

 

[AZbba]

$600 is ridiculous. I really don't care that they replace brakes/rotors. Charge me $100-150 for a "service inspection" that includes tire rotation and washer fluid topoff and a wash. Then either bill me for anything that needs to be fixed, or fix it under the warranty.

 

[JRP3]

If they are actually replacing rotors each time $600 is not at all ridiculous. However I would imagine an EV with strong regen should not be needing new rotors very often, certainly not yearly.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

If they are actually replacing rotors each time $600 is not at all ridiculous. However I would imagine an EV with strong regen should not be needing new rotors very often, certainly not yearly.

Yup, precisely. Now, the very same $600 doesn't include wheel alignment anymore.

This is one thing that should be posed to Elon in some forum as he actively touted the "low maintenance cost of an EV" numerous times in the past.

 

[digitaltim]

Tim, what would you be doing next? Still take the car in every 6 months and start paying $600+tax a pop? Or, start spacing your visits further apart despite continuing to rack up a lot of miles in between?

Probably...peace of mind is more important to me then the $600.

I have my fingers crossed that I get a lot of goodwill given sig, prepaid service plan, extended warranty and my eventual Model 3 & Roadster Gen III purchases. ;-)

I had hoped for new service plan/warranties offerings for those of us beyond 100k.

 

[MsElectric]

Probably...peace of mind is more important to me then the $600.

I have my fingers crossed that I get a lot of goodwill given sig, prepaid service plan, extended warranty and my eventual Model 3 & Roadster Gen III purchases. ;-)

I had hoped for new service plan/warranties offerings for those of us beyond 100k.

Obviously everyone wants peace of mind but it is a matter of what you get for the money

The point being the $600 service charge is absurdly high and more than it needs to be for those who prefer not to waste money, especially when considering it costs substantially less to service similarly priced but vastly more complex ICE cars...

 

[digitaltim]

Obviously everyone wants peace of mind but it is a matter of what you get for the money

The point being the $600 service charge is absurdly high and more than it needs to be for those who prefer not to waste money, especially when considering it costs substantially less to service similarly priced but vastly more complex ICE cars...

Agreed - I am not happy about the overall TCO of the car on a per mile basis, but it will never be good given the initial capital outlay. We are looking at buying/leading a new car and I put the Model S in my model for grins - it comes out dead last.

I bought this car to support the electrification of the transportation industry and my view on the positive environmental impact.

All that said, I expected these types of problems as they ramp up.

 

[MsElectric]

Agreed - I am not happy about the overall TCO of the car on a per mile basis, but it will never be good given the initial capital outlay. We are looking at buying/leading a new car and I put the Model S in my model for grins - it comes out dead last.

I bought this car to support the electrification of the transportation industry and my view on the positive environmental impact.

All that said, I expected these types of problems as they ramp up.

That's quite noble of you but increasingly they are selling these cars to traditional premium car buyers under the guise that an EV costs less to maintain.

The $4,000 Extended Warranty (ESA) with a $200 per issue deductible does not inspire they have confidence that the cost of repairs will be less than an ICE car as that's the most expensive Extended Warranty policy in this segment.

The $600 annual service fee for minor services is absurdly high for anyone used to taking their Mercedes for a minor service at a dealer and it costing around $200.

Customers support Tesla when they buy the car but if they are expecting customers to further support Tesla by paying more for service visits (2X to 3X what Mercedes charges in some cases) then that is fine but then they should not advertise the fact that a Model S costs less to maintain than an ICE. TCO matters to many people who buy cars even at this price range...

 

[digitaltim]

That's quite noble of you but increasingly they are selling these cars to traditional premium car buyers under the guise that an EV costs less to maintain.

The $4,000 Extended Warranty (ESA) with a $200 per issue deductible does not inspire they have confidence that the cost of repairs will be less than an ICE car as that's the most expensive Extended Warranty policy in this segment.

The $600 annual service fee for minor services is absurdly high for anyone used to taking their Mercedes for a minor service at a dealer and it costing around $200.

Customers support Tesla when they buy the car but if they are expecting customers to further support Tesla by paying more for service visits (2X to 3X what Mercedes charges in some cases) then that is fine but then they should not advertise the fact that a Model S costs less to maintain than an ICE. TCO matters to many people who buy cars even at this price range...

Agreed again hence our next car will more than likely be a MB that made the top of my list comparing cost, range and performance and mostly importantly met my better half's approval. ;-)

...at least until the Model 3 hits the market.

One clarification...definitely not all about nobility. I spent 20+ in the energy/utilities business and saw this as an opportunity to grow and take business away from the e&p side while having a positive environmental impact.

 

[MsElectric]

One clarification...definitely not all about nobility. I spent 20+ in the energy/utilities business and saw this as an opportunity to grow and take business away from the e&p side while having a positive environmental impact.

We all want Tesla to succeed but I feel having policies that are reasonable for customers is what will help Tesla succeed in the long term, especially when other manufacturers also offers EVs.

 

[digitaltim]

We all want Tesla to succeed but I feel having policies that are reasonable for customers is what will help Tesla succeed in the long term, especially when other manufacturers also offers EVs.

While we may not see the perceived value of what we get at a service visit, we are still funding a fledgling company (despite the 2008 launch of the Roadster).

They are still bleeding a lot of clash. My fingers are crossed that the market reacts while to the upcoming stock sale.

I am personally bullish on their success. It may be more as a supplier of drivetrains, batteries and a charging network or a full fledged manufacture. I hope the later.

 

[Aussie Bob]

Compared to my previous Infiniti where I was spending $1500-$2000 per year on maintenance I feel I am much better off in the S with its fixed program. It all depends on what car you are comparing the S to as to the personal merits of maintenance over ICE cars.

 

[digitaltim]

Compared to my previous Infiniti where I was spending $1500-$2000 per year on maintenance I feel I am much better off in the S with its fixed program. It all depends on what car you are comparing the S to as to the personal merits of maintenance over ICE cars.

I think most would agree if the $600 covered any issues found, but it doesn't...especially outside of warranty.

 

[MsElectric]

Compared to my previous Infiniti where I was spending $1500-$2000 per year on maintenance I feel I am much better off in the S with its fixed program. It all depends on what car you are comparing the S to as to the personal merits of maintenance over ICE cars.

Yikes! What did they do to your Infinity?

Regularly scheduled maintenance for our Mercedes is so reasonable... About $200 for the minor services and about $450 for the medium services. Only the services every 40K miles cost more than that an even those were right around $750. Service for a Tesla should cost less than what our Mercedes dealer charges to maintain an ICE car, not more.

 

[freeewilly]

Yikes! What did they do to your Infinity?

Regularly scheduled maintenance for our Mercedes is so reasonable... About $200 for the minor services and about $450 for the medium services. Only the services every 40K miles cost more than that an even those were right around $750. Service for a Tesla should cost less than what our Mercedes dealer charges to maintain an ICE car, not more.

Well, I'm used to the old days that Mercedes and current BMW have no maintenance fee for 4yr or 50k. I haven't pay any service fee for more than 10 years, even my sister's Prius has 2 yr free maintenance, so she only needs to do one service before she returns her lease.

 

[Mayhemm]

Why is it that some here have turned Tesla into this evil company that is suddenly going to deny us coverage under the ESA when there is no evidence to support such a hypothesis? I would guess that the community's overall experience with Tesla would seem to go against the conclusions being drawn by some in this thread. Certainly my individual experience would not lead me to believe Tesla will suddenly start acting onerously. But hey, let's just pile on since that's what everyone is doing right now, and let's see how low we can push the stock.

Normally, I would agree with you. However, Tesla has shown a pattern of disturbing behavior in their service division (major rate increase to Ranger service, altering what is included in annual service package) that has given me cause to be wary where none existed before. The most insidious aspect to all these policy changes is that they are being done behind the scenes with no formal announcement/confirmation and are only being discovered when some poor soul stumbles into them.

Agree..

My overall experience is that they have gone above and beyond every time that I've had an issue. I have no reason to believe that they are out to screw me.
If they are, they have done a great job of disguising it.

This has been the case for me as well...so far. However, things have started changing in a direction I don't like (see above)

IMHO the $600 charged by Tesla for services that involve no fluid changes is such a huge rip off as it should not cost 2X to 3X what a vastly more complicated Mercedes V8 would cost to service.

People often seem to fall into this semantic trap. All Elon Musk, or any other executive in the EV arena, has claimed is that EVs require less maintenance. Never did they claim that said maintenance would cost less. Technicality, I know, but an important distinction. Just like people expecting luxury car features from Model S when it is a premium sedan. Premium is different from luxury, just like less maintenance is different from less maintenance cost.

Yup, precisely. Now, the very same $600 doesn't include wheel alignment anymore.
This is one thing that should be posed to Elon in some forum as he actively touted the "low maintenance cost of an EV" numerous times in the past.

See my response above.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Yup, precisely. Now, the very same $600 doesn't include wheel alignment anymore.

This is one thing that should be posed to Elon in some forum as he actively touted the "low maintenance cost of an EV" numerous times in the past.

I've got to agree with this. There's been enough back and forth on this issue in the forums that it's time more owners tweeted Elon about the changes in service policy and asked him publicly about it. I can't help but think that Jerome's departure has something to do with these changes... either he is leaving because he is being asked to make changes he doesn't agree with, or someone is using his absence as an opportunity to push through some of these changes.