fair enough, but I was trying to get off on the right foot with Tesla- fair parts pricing and freedom to have my shop do the work. I would say 30 extra for wheel mounting (Radial Tire in Silver Spring does it for $20 while you wait with a crack crew and comfort with exotics and low rim profiles), but more importantly, let's say a 50% markup on service. If that continued into every future repair that could be thousands wasted. Studies confirm taking your car to a dealer on average increases repair costs substantially, but more importantly, over years of car ownership I've found a small number of shops that I can trust with my cars. Even when dealing with dealers it's better to work with some rather than others. The local Subaru dealer tries to mark up all parts sold to the public by 10-20%. Whenever Im desperate and I call them I talk as if I'm from a shop and confirm the list price. On several occasions I've had to get them to correct the invoice after they meet me and try to add the "consumer markup". Of course if you have time there are Subaru dealers that sell all their parts at a discount online so if you have time it's always better to buy from them. Without greater independence Tesla will never have this scenario.
So ... those studies are meaningless in this case. Dealerships are independently owned franchises whose purpose is to feed the repair shop, where the actual profits are.
Tesla's service centers are owned by the manufacturer. They do NOT operate as a profit source, but as a necessary evil. This is part of why their pricing seems kooky at times - it's driven by recovering costs, not sticking it to the customer. There are admittedly some services that seem priced out of whack -- some of that is to discourage folks from actually doing that. For example, bringing the car to a Tesla service center for a tire rotation. They'd rather you
not do that. Like I said, they're not profit centers, but a necessary evil. So for every service that you can get elsewhere, for less money, that's technician time and resources that aren't fixing more urgent/pressing issues that have to be done at the service center.
They really don't want you coming in for a tire patch. They accommodate such things as a courtesy but for the most part -- if it's a service you can get done somewhere else, it's better for you
and for Tesla. Total "flip of the script" compared to the usual dealership that wants you in there for every little thing.
Heck, the (Tesla-affiliated) Owners' Club I belong to is running DIY workshops to teach people how do to their own maintenance -- cabin filters, HVAC cleaning, wipers, brake burnishing, even 12V battery replacements. It's a win-win; the club runs the workshop, the owner gets a discount on the part, and the owners don't clog up the service center for tasks they can do themselves.
Now, all that said, I have found their pricing for parts to be *very* fair in the past. My dog chewed up the rear center seatbelt buckle in the Model 3... Total cost for replacement was $150 -- $110 for the part (was buckle for the center and right hand seat -- it's one piece.) and $40 for the labor. Pretty darn reasonable if you ask me, especially when they did the service in my driveway.
So I wouldn't equate what you've experienced with Subaru to Tesla ... they're very, very different business models. You simply can't compare the two. There's no "consumer markup", no "let me pack on the 15000 mile service" advisor getting paid on each upsell ... it's just not how Tesla operates. Nobody's working on commission there - so they don't think "here comes a laydown!" when you walk in the door.
I'm sorry you were off on the wrong foot here; almost have to forget what you know about the car industry when dealing with Tesla. It's just not the same thing. Sometimes better, sometimes worse, but almost ALWAYS different!
Regarding warranty work using reconditioned parts, I admit that I've had relatively little dealer-performed warranty work on any of my cars. I've had a string of Subarus and from what I know virtually everything from them comes as new. I'll ask my friends that are a bit more "behind the wall" on whether Subaru uses any reconditioned parts and what types of things they would be, but afaik it was basically "none". At a minimum, if a part is reconditioned by the manufacturer it should be a different price, so I would expect Tesla to have to declare what a reconditioned part is but I don't know that they are when non-warranty work is being done. All this makes me want to start an east coast Tesla repair and rebuild garage. Seems like a ripe market if you can push through the right to repair issues.
So -- I'm not saying most parts are reconditioned; usually they are, as you said, new for warranty work. But all manufacturers reserve that right -- and sometimes it does come down to that. And it makes sense -- if they don't have, say, a brand new alternator on the shelf, but have a rebuilt one, they can get you back on the road quicker. And this only applies to warranty work BTW -- non-warranty work yes, they'd have to explain it's a reman product, which they do. We've seen enough folks who've gotten a remanufactured battery to know that.
edit: For reference, here's the Subaru 2022 warranty manual:
Warranties 2022
To quote: "
Repairs at No Charge
Defective parts will be repaired or, at the option of SOA or your Authorized SUBARU Retailer, replaced with new or remanufactured parts without charge to you for labor and materials.
"
So, yes, they really do all reserve that right.
