Model 3: My car is in the shop on day 2

[adamwglass]

People being critical on the OP need to stop. They have been waiting for this car for two years, and its pretty clear from the description that the car came home with some issues (monster vampire drain at minimum). Sounds like they got it towed to the SC after hours and weren't able to get a loaner until the next day. They're understandably disappointed. OP came here for support from fellow Tesla owners, and that's all we should be giving.

OP - welcome to the forum. Totally sympathize with you. I have a delivery scheduled for next week and am hoping mine goes smoother. Stories like yours aren't common, but happen more than they should. As others have noted, it may be a bit too soon to escalate, but give them a chance. Having been on these boards a while, I'll tell you that 99 times out of 100 Tesla will make you whole and you're going to love your car. And at least you're driving a complimentary Model S loaner in the meantime!

ADAM: I AGREE with CricTic. Bet TSLA gave a useful summary of how HE would have troubleshot the issue, but this is an unrealistic expectation of a first time driver. CricTic is more in tune with a new owner's perspective and shows more empathy.

Sperkin, hang in there. My own experience with my 2014 red Model S (bought off the showroom floor, and now with 65,000 pleasure driving miles, including towing my Laser sailboat to the Canadian side of Lake Erie, Blue Point, NY, Wrightsville Beach, NC, and other beautiful locations) should be confidence inspiring.

Issue one: I dropped my mobile charging cable off an 8 foot wall in midwinter and broke it. They replaced it with a new cable, no questions asked.

Issue two: I soaked my key fob in Lake Erie water (took it out on the Laser and didn't close the dry bag because I was in a hurry). Got towed to the Missassauga Service Center where I learned that because I had more than 50,000 miles on the car, they would have to charge me $150 for a replacement key fob. Well, on second thought, since I was "just" 1500 miles over 50K, they could comp me the key. Well, on third thought, how would I like two free keys? (I actually ended up with three, and no charge.)

Door handle problems. They just replaced the handles free.

Door handle problems, after 50,000 miles. Two handles needed replacement. One had a record of malfunction prior to the 50,000 break point, so they did that one under the warranty. The other one would cost $600. I told them not to bother, I could live with it as I had been doing for a year or so. When they delivered the vehicle, they had replaced both handles -- for free.

I am retired and usually just wait at the Rockville Service Center while they are servicing the car-- the coffee, WiFi and companionship with other Tesla drivers and the staff -- a shout out here to Judith, Graeme/Graham, Jose, Adam, and the other Stalwarts too numerous to mention--are first rate. Great place to work and consume giant white Lifesavers.

My 17" screen failed. They replaced it, quickly and no questions asked.

Later, my rotor (motor) started to make little "spaceship" noises on acceleration, indicative of milling. There was no dropoff in performance but I didnt like the noise. They replaced it, quickly and no questions asked.

I have never been on the receiving end of such great customer service. This awaits you, so keep the faith. The only downside of owning and driving my Tesla is that it is now the coolest thing about me. But I am working on that. Regards, ADAM

 

[joeinslw]

Does Tesla actually allow you to drive the car before you sign the paperwork? I agree with you that driving it would be a great way to check for problems, but is it possible?

They should allow you to drive it, charge it before you sign for it, if they don't walk away, they might change their minds after you ask for your deposit back.
Tesla would be no different than any other car company they want or need sales.

 

[kathlam]

UPDATE:
Sorry it's been so long since we posted. Here's what happened.
After waiting the Sunday, we went to the dealer and they gave us an S as a loaner.

Eventually, we escalated to the manager at the Service Center. He found out that the battery was dead and needed to be replaced.
Which would take a few days because it had to be ordered from the factory.

What did surprise us, was that the manager successfully escalated the issue and Tesla agreed to give us a new car. They didn't want our first experience with the Tesla to end up like this. Long story short, we refinanced the car yet again and was able to pick up the car 2 weeks later, which meant we drove the loaner for a long time.

We've now have picked up and driven our Model 3 for the last 3 weeks. It's been great. We've driven it all over the place. Tesla is an upstanding company and the people who work there are awesome. However, at times it seems that the coordination between departments was lacking.

I've been amazed how fast Elon got the new brake updates into the 3. Even though we took a risk ordering this car during its first year of this model, we really appreciate how they take continuous improvement seriously.

This story ends with a happy ending. We love driving the car, and would recommend this to other people who want to try new things and are willing to deal with some inconveniences.

Hope all of you who also experienced an issue get your issue resolved.

 

[kathlam]

They should allow you to drive it, charge it before you sign for it, if they don't walk away, they might change their minds after you ask for your deposit back.
Tesla would be no different than any other car company they want or need sales.

When we picked up the second car, they allowed us to drive it to a charger and see that the battery was able to get charged.

 

[alloverx]

Seems like a fantastic result

 

[snakeopus121]

UPDATE:
Sorry it's been so long since we posted. Here's what happened.
After waiting the Sunday, we went to the dealer and they gave us an S as a loaner.

Eventually, we escalated to the manager at the Service Center. He found out that the battery was dead and needed to be replaced.
Which would take a few days because it had to be ordered from the factory.

What did surprise us, was that the manager successfully escalated the issue and Tesla agreed to give us a new car. They didn't want our first experience with the Tesla to end up like this. Long story short, we refinanced the car yet again and was able to pick up the car 2 weeks later, which meant we drove the loaner for a long time.

We've now have picked up and driven our Model 3 for the last 3 weeks. It's been great. We've driven it all over the place. Tesla is an upstanding company and the people who work there are awesome. However, at times it seems that the coordination between departments was lacking.

I've been amazed how fast Elon got the new brake updates into the 3. Even though we took a risk ordering this car during its first year of this model, we really appreciate how they take continuous improvement seriously.

This story ends with a happy ending. We love driving the car, and would recommend this to other people who want to try new things and are willing to deal with some inconveniences.

Hope all of you who also experienced an issue get your issue resolved.

Honest question: has your new car been back to the SC or do you plan on scheduling at SC visit? I understand if you can't answer

 

[kathlam]

Honest question: has your new car been back to the SC or do you plan on scheduling at SC visit? I understand if you can't answer

Why would we need to bring our car to the SC? It's working fine, although on occasion it requires some reboots, like all computers

 

[C141medic]

He found out that the battery was dead and needed to be replaced.

Are you referring to the 12 V battery or the main battery?

 

[kathlam]

Main battery was replaced

 

[voip-ninja]

Why would we need to bring our car to the SC? It's working fine, although on occasion it requires some reboots, like all computers

Can you elaborate? I have never had to reboot the computer that controls the navigation/infotainment/etc. on my BMWs or Audis.

 

[kathlam]

Agreed, same here, but did your BMW, Audi get OTA update that keeps evolving your car? When you drive a Tesla, it's basically software on wheels.