Maintenance Service Fee

[HankLloydRight]

I'm picking up my car tomorrow and the service package is obviously something that needs a decision. From what I read about the service package, identifying a problem might not be the same thing as 'covering and repairing' the problem... unless still on warranty. The list of what will be replaced/repaired under the service agreement has limitations. Is that a fair comment, based on experiences of owners with the service contract?

I'm also 350 km from the nearest service center, on the other side of a mountain pass (more of a winter consideration). Would the value (to me) of the service package change given the distance and time involved?

The first question is accurate... if under warranty, they'll fix anything they find needing replacement. If out of warranty, yes, I guess the annual inspections could lead to a list of "recommended" repairs. The second question is up to you, I'd say "yes" if you do the "skip every other year" type visit. Also, maybe you can schedule the visits around some longer trips near other SCs? I bought the 8-year SP because it seemed like a good deal at the time for $475/visit with the promised "Hardware Upgrades" which seemed to have vanished since then, which *is* a real issue that can be contested with Tesla. Also, when I sell the car, I can likely recoup this value of any unused visits from the buyer, or at least enhance the value proposition of this car over others. But I don't think I'll be selling it anytime soon.

FWIW, I've never escaped a Benz service on the light side of $200. Even some warranty work has cost me... the last time was "The oil leak soaked this solenoid and our experience tells us that will cause it to fail... but it hasn't failed yet so M-B won't cover it. If it quits and you're still on warranty, that's good, but if it fails outside of warranty, it's a full days work to get to it. If you want us to fix it now, the part is $250..."

Yeah, I've had that happen at MB and BMW dealers. They're experts at that.. especially because they *do* run their service departments as a profit center. On the plus side, I've also had equipment replaced on a BMW CPO warranty that really didn't qualify. But they did it anyway.

 

[InternetDude]

Has anyone used a non-Tesla shop to change the brake fluid? Just had it done for under $100 on my Acura MDX at a local Brake Max.

OMNG, I hope you are kidding. I wouldn't trust anyone but Tesla to touch my brake system. B.M. might not even be able to find the master cylinder LOL

 

[MsElectric]

But if you look at your last statements (see bolded parts):

These are wide, blanket generalizations (slams) of the entire Tesla organization based on a single, local SC experience. That's hyperbole. If taken out of context, by say SeekingAlpha or other "short" organizations, blog, or press, they could really cause Tesla harm if this is what a self-proclaimed "huge fan of Elon and Tesla" is saying about them.

And the comment about owning a Model S out of warranty doesn't even apply here, since none of this was a warranty issue or repair. So why slam Tesla again that way? Do you see what I'm saying here? You're so quick to slam Tesla here several different ways, when it really was the result of one mis-trained employee.

This is the issue I have with most of your posts, whether it's about the Service Centers, the Service Plan, or even the 21" rims.. none of which you actually have any personal experience with. Of course, you're free to post your opinions about things, but you continue to post like you are an owner (correct me if I'm wrong, but I've asked several times and you never seem to confirm that).

For instance, you've posted many many times about how bad the 21" rims are in the NY area. I live in the NY metro area also, and I have personal experience with the 21" rims driving all around NY, NJ and CT (and even to Chicago and back). I haven't had *any* problems with them at all. And I've hit quite a few potholes too, including one massive sink hole up in Chester, NY that I thought for sure was going to kill both wheels on that side.. but yet, there was *no damage* at all, not even a bend (and my car was fully loaded with 5 adults). Sure, other people may have had different experiences, but when I come across your posts about the 21" rims, you make it sound like if you run over a pebble they're going to be trashed. It's just not true. And yet, you don't actually have any experience with those rims! So why do you make it sound like you do *every time* someone makes a comment about 21" vs 19" rims? It seems like you have an axe to grind, or several. Same with the service centers and the service plan. Until you have a car, and go in for service, and see the service records and talk with the managers and technicians about what they are actually doing when a car is in for service (and how they usually go above and beyond what is required), I really don't think you can comment/compare to your MB dealer or the costs.

I sometimes get upset on behalf of other people when I feel they were unfairly treated and I think in this case you are right. Perhaps I went a bit overboard and I will moderate that for the future.

And no, we do not yet have a Model S and we are likely going to purchase one before the end of the year. With all the research we had done, we are likely to know more about the Model S we buy than any other car we have bought before

As for the wheels, my experiences with low profile tires have been absolutely horrible and I will not have them again. I am certain that the 19" wheels will be more durable than the 21" low profile wheels but I am glad you've had such good luck with your 21" wheels. When we recently test drove an 85D the Tesla Gallery person who accompanied us told us they've had tire failures with 21" wheels over the winter due to potholes and he said when he takes a customer for a test drive with the 21" wheels he's extra careful to point out potholes. When we ended up with low profile wheels in a previous car we had no idea what we were trading in durability for a slight edge in performance so if someone asks for advice on low profile tires I am just sharing my experiences with them.

I really do have immense respect for you and I regret we had all this back and forth. Thank you for all you do for the community here.

- - - Updated - - -

OMNG, I hope you are kidding. I wouldn't trust anyone but Tesla to touch my brake system. B.M. might not even be able to find the master cylinder LOL

I definitely agree. While I agree with others that the $600 service is excessive for years that do not call for the brake fluid flush, on years that do call for it, pay the $600 and get it done properly. If you do the service every other year that works out to about $300 a year. I can't imagine having someone other than Tesla work on the brakes. I do with though that Tesla service offers a la carte service options so that for example if you want to put the cabin filter in yourself, you can just do that.

 

[jaguar36]

OMNG, I hope you are kidding. I wouldn't trust anyone but Tesla to touch my brake system. B.M. might not even be able to find the master cylinder LOL

The whole "Tesla's are magical, nobody can work on them but Tesla" seems to be a common theme. The brake master cylinder is right under the trim at the base of the windshield in the frunk. The brakes are on the S are not any different from any other car. I don't know that I would bring any $100k car to a Brake Max, but and reputable shop or DIYer should be able to replace the brake fluid with no difficulty.

Course this would be even more true if Tesla would stop restricting the shop manual to Massachusetts only.

 

[smsprague]

Issue is not the money but I am 155 miles from the nearest Tesla SC. Brake Max was just an example - I have a trusted local shop that I would use.

 

[CUBldr97]

The whole "Tesla's are magical, nobody can work on them but Tesla" seems to be a common theme. The brake master cylinder is right under the trim at the base of the windshield in the frunk. The brakes are on the S are not any different from any other car. I don't know that I would bring any $100k car to a Brake Max, but and reputable shop or DIYer should be able to replace the brake fluid with no difficulty.

Course this would be even more true if Tesla would stop restricting the shop manual to Massachusetts only.

Let me get this out of the way...I do not own a Tesla, I am a huge enthusiast who plans on getting one... I drive the Nissan Leaf, as my first foray into the EV world. It was an experiment...WELL worth it, basically a free car for 2 years (2 year lease- fees- minus federal tax credit=almost free)

Anyway, I have been trying to follow the thread and really understand the so called maintenance and the fee. After looking at the one member who listed out all the work done. it seemed to be a standard system check, that is done on ALL vehicles regardless of type. $600 is very excessive for such a service. Especially since, there is no $50-80 worth of oil going into the engine. So my ICE costs me about $50 for a oil change which includes tire rotation/ balance and all fluids topped off, along with all the usual checks and lubrication points.

For my LEaf, the first "service" was free and included tire rotation. The only thing I have paid for is two new tires and a front end alignment...hit a few to many potholes and screwed up the allingment i guess, so tires had uneven wear....

For $600 how long does it take to do the annual service? AT $85 an hour (typical dealer shop labor rate) that's over 7 hours....

On another note I see many saying they dont need to change the brake fluid that often....What type of fluid does the TESLA use? Most fluids need to be changed around 7-10k miles... Is it some sort of full synthetic that doesn't brake down? What does the owners manual say?

Just trying to understand what the $600 actually pays for.... Doesn't the Tesla get software updates automatically any time there is one?

I appreciate the thread, my research continues...

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Anyway, I have been trying to follow the thread and really understand the so called maintenance and the fee. After looking at the one member who listed out all the work done. it seemed to be a standard system check, that is done on ALL vehicles regardless of type. $600 is very excessive for such a service. Especially since, there is no $50-80 worth of oil going into the engine. So my ICE costs me about $50 for a oil change which includes tire rotation/ balance and all fluids topped off, along with all the usual checks and lubrication points.

I agree. Many of the checks would be free, very inexpensive or even something that I could do myself. $600 seems overpriced.

 

[jaguar36]

On another note I see many saying they dont need to change the brake fluid that often....What type of fluid does the TESLA use? Most fluids need to be changed around 7-10k miles... Is it some sort of full synthetic that doesn't brake down? What does the owners manual say?

I think you are confusing brake fluid with oil. Typical interval for brake fluid is 2 years on any ICE powered car and Tesla is no different:

• Brake fluid. Every 2 years or 25,000 miles
(40,000 km), whichever comes first.
• Battery coolant. Every 5 years or
62,500 miles (100,000 km), whichever
comes first.

The concern with brake fluid is not that it brakes down, but that it absorbs water.

And yes software updates get done automatically, however its not instantaneous, so sometimes the service center will give you a newer version that you would have gotten in the next few weeks anyway.

 

[CUBldr97]

yep sorry that should have said 25k- 50k miles for the brake fluid....which I meant....

 

[Cyclone]

I agree. Many of the checks would be free, very inexpensive or even something that I could do myself. $600 seems overpriced.

Perhaps, but my ICE oil change + inspection typically runs 1 hour, maybe longer if they are backed up. I haven't had my Tesla serviced yet, but I have heard people say it takes about 2 days for the "service inspection".

 

[EarlyAdopter]

Tesla also needs to actually get their service costs lower $600 a year is way more than many other luxury makes.

It's optional though, something that's not true of other luxury makes, so get it done every other year and it's $300 a year, annualized.

 

[SUN-day Driver]

It's optional though, something that's not true of other luxury makes, so get it done every other year and it's $300 a year, annualized.

Aside from the person who was charged for the annual service visits he missed (which is atypical), if you have the buyback guarantee one of the terms is that all the annual service visits have been done. So for those of us planning to use the buyback option the annual service visits are not optional, and this really does make a fallacy of the idea that reduced maintenance costs help justify the otherwise high cost of ownership.

 

[Mayhemm]

For $600 how long does it take to do the annual service? AT $85 an hour (typical dealer shop labor rate) that's over 7 hours....

The going dealer shop rate here in Canada is much higher, more like $120-$150 per hour.

For several years I was responsible for getting my mother's Lexus serviced. Lexus uses a tick-tock alternating service plan, where the "tick" is just a quick check-over to make sure there aren't any problems. The "tock" is much more involved and usually includes the typical fluid/filter checks, an oil change, etc. The ticks were usually $250-300 but the tocks were routinely over $600 (more like 7-800). My point is there were no "$50 oil changes" with that vehicle if you followed the recommended maintenance program.

Tesla seems to be basing its maintenance schedule off a program similar to this, which is disappointing because I think Tesla can do much better than Lexus in this regard. This in no way justifies their high maintenance pricing, but might help explain their thinking a bit.

 

[gocken2]

Some of those ICE dealership inspections are only on paper. I would say most don't actually do any real inspections. My father has had experience with this at a Toyota dealer. He took his truck in for an inspection after he did all his scheduled maintenance items. The only things that they say needed attention was all the scheduled maintenance items that if they were to look it would have been easy to see that it was just done. They didn't even drive the truck because if they did they would have quickly discovered that the clutch was in bad need of replacement. Having said that I trust Tesla is actually checking the car very thoroughly.

 

[eujinc]

The hourly rate for the Rockville SC is $150. While the annual service is optional, I had mine done this past Friday. More for the peace of mind as I will be taking a cross country trip next month. They did adjust the alignment as it was out of spec and upgrade the 12V jump post (apparently there was a service bulletin) in additional to the list of items that was included in the service.

 

[Mario Kadastik]

The hourly rates of Tesla are absurdly high indeed. The EU version of various invoices shows it at 130€, which is HIGH. Now I had to send my car to Stockholm service because a door handle misbehaved and the door popped open every single time the handles extended and as we rent out the car it was unacceptable and they didn't have rangers available within weeks to send. They also wanted to do a bunch of items that had accumulated over the years including a pre-emptive battery connector swap or smth. So I finally relented and sent the car over using a ferry (Tesla picked it up and put it back on the ferry so that was excellent). Yeah, the ferry trip cost me 560€ because I didn't go with the car and cargo prices are extreme, but oh well. The car was at Tesla for a week and they did in total 35 items on it. The only item for a fee was partial service where I only asked the air filter replacement, but they misunderstood and also did keyfob battery change and wipers, but ok it all together cost 75€ including the parts so it's ok. During that week they also went over the car due to the various items I had in pretty much every aspect so all of those checks I got for free. They had to fix the frunk lock, the trunk water isolation and a number of other things, all were on warranty or goodwill. The only thing I should have asked was brake fluid as well because I'm at 38k km and it'd be a good time I guess, but I can have it done here locally as well.

At this price level (and probably at around 150€ with the brake fluid swap as it takes a bit more time and their hourly rates as mentioned are high) I'm ok with the service, but I seriously fail to see the value in a 500€ annual service as most of the inspection is done as goodwill anyway or you report issues that you feel are there. At half the price I'd find value in preventive checking, but at 500€ it's way too expensive. And tire rotation etc isn't really a thing for us here because we have winter and summer tires anway so we need to swap and rotate twice a year anyway. But it looks like Tesla is able to adjust and not do a full annual service, but partial and charge according to actual expenses so that's nice.

 

[jaguar36]

I think part of the issue that we are seeing here is that the $600 fee (500€) or is the same nationwide. In some regions this is way out of whack with normal service rates, where as in some area's, its much more inline. Reading the Edmunds long term road test blog, I see that they frequently pay crazy high rates for simple services like the Tesla annual. For instance they got a quote of $750 for a Macan 20k mile service, which is just an oil change and inspection. Even a basic oil change and tire rotation on a Nissan was about $100 and $165 for a Dodge Ram.

 

[stallhorn]

I'm not sure if you are understanding... There is no longer a mileage or time interval restriction. The time interval you are quoting is based upon the language in the pre-paid service contract stating a 12,500 mile service interval. 12,500 miles x 8 years = 100,000 miles. My email from Jerome Guillen, Senior VP of Sales & Service, states that this is no longer the case. Make your decision on whatever metric makes you the most comfortable.

Here is the email (emphasis mine):

Dear Mr. [AmpedRealtor]:

Any customer who has paid for a 4-year service plan is entitled to 4 “annual service” visits. The customer can elect to bring the car whenever they desire: we recommend every year or every 12,500 miles (whichever comes first), but the customer are free to do whatever they essentially desire. They can bring the car every 18 months or every 6 months. In the end, they will receive the 4 “annual service” they have paid for. I hope this clarifies the situation.

Many thanks for your continued support. Best regards,

Jerome Guillen | VP, WW sales and service | 45500 Fremont boulevard, Fremont CA 94538

I got my car yesterday and I need to make a decision if I want to buy the service plan or not. My initial thought is to skip it, just take it in every couple of years or 25k miles and pay the $600.00. But after reading this, I can do the same thing with a service contract - at a cheaper price. I can use the 4 year service plan over 7 or 8 years at $475.00 per service. Is that a correct understanding? Does the 4 year "annual" service contract expire in 4 years?

Thanks.

 

[KK2]

I got my car yesterday and I need to make a decision if I want to buy the service plan or not. My initial thought is to skip it, just take it in every couple of years or 25k miles and pay the $600.00. But after reading this, I can do the same thing with a service contract - at a cheaper price. I can use the 4 year service plan over 7 or 8 years at $475.00 per service. Is that a correct understanding? Does the 4 year "annual" service contract expire in 4 years?

Thanks.

My understanding,

The 4 year contract, has to be used in 4 years or 12500*4 miles. They have relaxed the 1year/12500 limit per service a bit, but I wouldn't count on it.
You cannot get that money back if you sell the car. But if you trade your Tesla in, and buy a new Tesla, you can apply the contract to your next Tesla.
And you'd have to Trade in your current tesla to tesla, who will most likely give you an ultra low ball offer to negate any benefit of the not loosing the unused contract installments.

Personally, I got the 4 year service thing. The 8 year I did not.

 

[HankLloydRight]

My understanding,

The 4 year contract, has to be used in 4 years or 12500*4 miles. They have relaxed the 1year/12500 limit per service a bit, but I wouldn't count on it.

My understanding is that you get 4 pre-paid inspection visits. You are free to use them whenever you want. No mileage or time limit. If you bought the 8 year plan, you have 8 pre-paid visits you can use anytime you want.