Model S annual maintenance

[ElSupreme]

With my Audi I only have maintenance once every 2 years (30 000km). Anything more with the Tesla would suck

Don't they recommend oil changes every 15,000 km? My VW changes are expensive.

 

[Zorba]

Don't they recommend oil changes every 15,000 km? My VW changes are expensive.

Not that I know of. My oil level was sufficient at both 30k and then again at 60k. But I check it every once in a while.

 

[Beavis]

Wow. 40,000 miles without an oil change? You might want to get one fairly soon.

 

[qwk]

Someone at the Priuschat.com forum said he asked about maintenance on the Model S and was told it would also be $600/yr and that they justify part of that higher cost by pulling the battery pack and manually checking each connection and testing it. I can see that that would be important, but still, I'd sure like to see them drop that down to $250-300 or so.

I hope this is just BS, because if true, the battery pack has some serious engineering/design issues. This sort of thing can scare off potential buyers in a flash. Even the roadster battery doesn't seem to need to be taken out every year and checked.

 

[KBF]

I think it's fair to say that the Model S is not for everyone. If you really can't afford it, you shouldn't put yourself deep into debt. Wait a few years and you might see something comparable for much cheaper. If it doesn't meet your needs, no one is forcing you to buy it. It may be financially smarter in the long run, depending on your mileage per year, but that as of yet is unknown. If this concerns you there is nothing wrong with waiting to see. I think it is good if rich people are guinea pigs for this, just like cell phones and computers. What I like about Tesla sales (in my experience) is that they are not pushy - I was debating whether I should keep my Sig reservation, and he mentioned that they wanted me to be happy with whatever decision I made. They weren't going to try to rationalize to me why I should pay a premium (I have to do that myself).

For me, there's more to life than the bottom line. Otherwise I'd be investing heavily in oil companies who make record profits in the midst of a horrible recession. I believe in Tesla's business model, their approach to sales and service (we'll see how it pans out once they get going, though), and their product. If I think of my purchase as investing into a company, I'd rather invest in Tesla than any other car company that exists right now because they aren't wasting billions of dollars into a technology that should have been obsolete 10 years ago. But I can afford the product, which makes a big difference.

 

[KBF]

And when I say "you" I'm referring to people in general, not anyone on this forum

 

[jbherman]

Is the ranger travel fee added on top of the mandatory maintenance? That would cost me well over $1000 on top of the yearly maintenance (the nearest Tesa store is about 800 miles away). That would NOT be worth it!

 

[qwk]

Is the ranger travel fee added on top of the mandatory maintenance? That would cost me well over $1000 on top of the yearly maintenance (the nearest Tesa store is about 800 miles away). That would NOT be worth it!

It is for the roadster. That's what I'm saying, Tesla has to tread lightly here or they will be surprised at the rate of deposit refunds. Right now they have almost 10k deposits, but that surely doesn't mean anywhere near 10k sales, especially if they pull the nickel and dime to death scenario.

 

[smoothoperator]

Is the ranger travel fee added on top of the mandatory maintenance? That would cost me well over $1000 on top of the yearly maintenance (the nearest Tesa store is about 800 miles away). That would NOT be worth it!

I could not imagine Tesla providing the ranger service for free...that is the problem with company owned stores, rolling out the infrastructure is painfully slow.

 

[vfx]

The shop time at the Tesla store is $125 and hour. how long do you think they should take to go over an S?

 

[strider]

Yeah, this has been discussed before. Roadster owners have been willing to pony up $700/year or whatever in maint. costs since EV's are "new" and compared to 911's or whatever $700/year is quite cheap, etc. But since BMW, Audi, etc all give free maintenance for the first few years it will be hard for Tesla to justify $700/year since EV's are supposed to be cheaper and simpler to operate than an ICE. I can tell you I have never spent anywhere closed to $700/year on my ICE's in the past (never owned a Porsche anything exotic though).

That being said, I haven't heard anything official from Tesla on Model S maintenance costs so anyone quoting such is guessing and/or extrapolating from Roadster costs which may or may not hold true.

 

[smoothoperator]

The shop time at the Tesla store is $125 and hour. how long do you think they should take to go over an S?

There is probably a book that specifically lists how long each job should take. I would assume that they would have to stick to those repair times regardless of the actual time/complexity it would take. I remember reading that $125/hr rate on the bottom of an invoice I got from Tesla after a service, it seemed high since comparable manufacturers charge in the $95 range. I think Ferrari charges close to the $125 figure.

 

[qwk]

What is there to maintain on an S? Everything is water cooled, so the only maintenance I could see is check/recharge the refrigerant in the a/c system. That would only be necessary if the system is like the roadster's, which relies on a/c for battery cooling.

I don't see too many S owners ponying up $600/year, especially since there is that little law that prevents auto manufacturers from denying warranty service just because the dealer doesn't service the car.

 

[smoothoperator]

Honestly Tesla should have just built the maintenance cost of the Model S into the vehicle (at the very least the signature)...this would reinforce the notion that EV's are cheaper to drive than an ICE/Hybrid etc....

If Tesla's vehicles starts to get the reputation that they are expensive to fix and service there will be a negative stigma attached to the brand. Other luxury brands offer free service why can't Tesla?

 

[qwk]

^^^Especially because there are no oil/filters to change. They will definately not be helping the EV movement at all by trying to charge outrageous prices for service.

 

[FalconNinetyD]

Actually, there will be a filter, the cabin air filter. I get mine on ebay for all of our vehicles for about $8 shipped, way cheaper than the guy at Jiffy Lube trying to sell you one for $39 because there are a few leaves in it...

 

[vfx]

There is probably a book that specifically lists how long each job should take. I would assume that they would have to stick to those repair times regardless of the actual time/complexity it would take. I remember reading that $125/hr rate on the bottom of an invoice I got from Tesla after a service, it seemed high since comparable manufacturers charge in the $95 range. I think Ferrari charges close to the $125 figure.

Are they going to charge $126 and hour for Roadster service, $95 and hour for X/X service and $75 per hour for T (Bluestar) service? Is there precedence for that?

 

[vfx]

Are they going to charge $126 and hour for Roadster service, $95 and hour for X/X service and $75 per hour for T (Bluestar) service? Is there precedence for that?

By the way, will they sell owner parts to do their own service?

 

[WhiteKnight]

I was told by a Tesla Rep that most of the maintenance happens over-the-air in your driveway - costs you nothing.

I seriously doubt that Tesla would disassemble everyone's battery pack to examine each battery by hand. Their whole secret sauce is the ability to do that electronically.

I don't believe that maintenance will be anywhere near $600 per year.

The Roadster is an exotic sports car costing $130K+ and not built from the ground up as an EV.

 

[SByer]

The Roadster is an exotic sports car costing $130K+ and not built from the ground up as an EV.

And the Roadster is a prototype. And the once-a-year detailed battery check yielded, I'm sure, a lot of really good data. That they'll leverage into not needing such a detailed battery check - or to build it into the remote monitoring. I'm coming up on my third yearly service (looking forward to getting the headlight upgrade!), and curious to see what happens this year with the battery!

Though it may not be built ground-up as an EV, I can't think of another ICE chassis that fits as naturally to the task - sure, battery-as-floor will help significantly with the R3, but the flat bathtub was as good a starting point as you could get before funding a full vehicle development cycle ;-). But yeah, I'm already planning on how to save up for the R3.

So, I wouldn't take the Roadster maintenance as much of a guide for the Model S. I'm happy with it because it's quite a bit less than the 911's maintenance (plus, "Porsche... there is a substitute").