Model S Service Contracts - the poll edition(tm)!

[v12 to 12v]

The price would be easier to take if it came with some free charges on a supercharger network.

I can't complain too much today after paying $1200 to replace an Oxygen Sensor last week.

I really need more info. I'd like to know whether or not the plan can be extended after 4 years for the same price, for example.

I'm witholding a vote until I know more.

 

[CyberDutchie]

This would really hurt me as well.....

I drive about 4500 miles every year.....So....I would be paying almost $1800 for servicing next to nothing!!!!!

Isn't it 4 years / 50,000 miles, which ever comes first?

 

[FalconNinetyD]

Reading the service web page they are, again, taking the Silicon Valley tech company approach. Countering a previous poster's thoughts about bringing their laptop in for annual service, if you buy IT infrastructure gear (like networking equipment), you pay an annual support fee that includes access to tech support, software updates, and hardware replacement if something dies.

This looks to be a similar model. It definitely reads that the software updates, monitoring, etc are part of the annual fee.

To me the big kick in the teeth is the 12,500 mile thing. It should be a flat annual fee, regardless of miles.

But with those computer hardware maintenance plans, hardware replacement is included, as is labor. Note that Cisco was sued for their practice of tying patches and bug fixes to it's maintenance services. The third party maintenance provider claimed that this was anti-competitive, and was an attempt to monopolize the service side of Cisco. I'm not saying this is the same as what Tesla is doing, as we don't know the specifics about whether the software updates are going to be available to those who don't opt for the service contract.

More info on the company that sued Cisco:
Multiven - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[donauker]

No option on the poll for "I'm getting the car, but not the service plan".

Maybe someone has mentioned that already, but I don't feel like plowing through this thread like I did the last one

It will be interesting to see Tesla's response to this option. They made it very clear to Roadster owners that the $600 annual service was not optional.

 

[chmod a+wrx]

Isn't it 4 years / 50,000 miles, which ever comes first?

Yeah....but I drive about 1/3 the distance the average person does....it'll take me 3 years to accomplish what some do in 1 year....i just feel that i will be using the care relatively less....but seems like overpaying...

...i don't know...i'm getting all bent out of shape and i haven't even put down a reservation yet....

...i guess i see this really awesome thing drifting away....

 

[NigelM]

I can see I'm a lone voice on this one, so I'm gonna keep it short.....:wink:

1. As a Roadster owner I like, no love, the Tesla service standard. It surpasses anything I've come across in years of driving a multitude of cars including some very high-priced ones. The convenience alone of having Tesla come to me would be worth the money; after all, time is money and there's nothing more irritating than sitting at an auto-dealer somewhere (why are they never within walking distance of anywhere useful?) waiting for a service to be completed.

2. TANSTAAFL - I know that whenever I've had a car where the service/maintenance was "free" it just means I paid upfront in the purchase price. Sure it can be argued that Tesla should do that, but IMO it's preferable that they are open with the costs and giving a choice if you want it.

3. We're buying $100k cars FCOL. What's with all the anguish of buying first class service to take care of them for a few hundred bucks? If it's a hardship for anyone then they should really consider whether they should buy a Model S at all; I'd always advise anyone not to overstretch themselves.

4. I also don't see a problem with the 12k stuff. Every car I ever owned had maintenance schedules shorter than that.

5. Buying in advance to get a discount is also rather attractive. I'm sure that didn't happen when I paid upfront in the purchase price for other cars.

(Ties on blindfold, but declines the last cigarette...)

OK, fire away....

 

[we7313]

I have been on the phone with Customer Service twice today and got the following response:

If you do not have your car inspected once a year, and something needs to be fixed/replaced, then you will be responsible for paying for it.
Regardless if it is under warranty or not.

So basically you are paying $600 a year for the warrantied items.
They also said that I was the first one to bring up this concern, so they didn't think it was a big issue.
This surprised me considering the amount of time people spent posting on the subject.

My savings equation of how this car would pay me back/reward me over the years has changed.

An Ice option might be a better decision at this point.

 

[Tommy]

Oh nice, forgot about those darn sales taxes too. That's another $50+ over the $600 for me. Sweet!

That's a tricky one; no sales tax in CA is charged on labor, only on parts when I pay directly to the dealer. I don't know if it would be different with a service contract, but as it is almost all labor, I cannot see how sales tax should be charged on the $600, $1900 or $2400 plan options. A fairer way would be to charge sales tax on any replacement items at the time service is done under whatever "plan" a customer chooses.

 

[swegman]

Tesla promoted that the car monitors itself and tells the factory if something is about to fail, so a repair can be made before it actually breaks. Is this feature now only available if you subscribe to the maintennance plan?

I wonder what maintennace will cost after 50,000 miles. I am sure there are items (the battery cooling system perhaps) that will require service after the 4 year/50,000 mile period is up.

 

[cinergi]

(sorta sucks having two threads on this, so I'll quote-reply to yours here, and keep my open comments in the other I guess)

I don't really disagree with you. I'm hearing some other concerns, and I have one comment of my own:

1) Tesla touts that it's cheaper to service/run an EV. This flies in the face of that. I can understand how that's upsetting, and I find it disingenuous.
2) Other similarly-priced cars have cheaper service
3) Tesla has a monopoly on servicing the car
4) This is being announced relatively late in the game; people are starting to feel nickel-and-dimed and starting to expect more of that

and my own comments:

1) $600 was fine for the Roadster. Halo, proof-of-concept; need to keep tabs on the car's health and learn from what's found in the field. I suspect most owners had no issue affording this (and it was known to most buyers up-front).
2) $600 is somewhat excessive for the Model S IMO; but I'm coming to terms with it because Tesla still needs to spend a lot of time going over their cars. I sincerely hope that $600 isn't required for the X or Gen III because I'd assume they've learned what they needed from the Model S. I was assuming they'd have that from the Roadster, but then again, this is a VERY different platform than the Roadster.
3) Lots of people are making a huge stretch to get the Model S. $600 ($50/mo) hurts that much more. Perhaps just enough to break the camel's back.

I can see I'm a lone voice on this one, so I'm gonna keep it short.....:wink:

1. As a Roadster owner I like, no love, the Tesla service standard. It surpasses anything I've come across in years of driving a multitude of cars including some very high-priced ones. The convenience alone of having Tesla come to me would be worth the money; after all, time is money and there's nothing more irritating than sitting at an auto-dealer somewhere (why are they never within walking distance of anywhere useful?) waiting for a service to be completed.

2. TANSTAAFL - I know that whenever I've had a car where the service/maintenance was "free" it just means I paid upfront in the purchase price. Sure it can be argued that Tesla should do that, but IMO it's preferable that they are open with the costs and giving a choice if you want it.

3. We're buying $100k cars FCOL. What's with all the anguish of buying first class service to take care of them for a few hundred bucks? If it's a hardship for anyone then they should really consider whether they should buy a Model S at all; I'd always advise anyone not to overstretch themselves.

4. I also don't see a problem with the 12k stuff. Every car I ever owned had maintenance schedules shorter than that.

5. Buying in advance to get a discount is also rather attractive. I'm sure that didn't happen when I paid upfront in the purchase price for other cars.

 

[FalconNinetyD]

So if someone doesn't opt for the service plan, they essentially have no warranty (aside from the battery warranty)???

I have been on the phone with Customer Service twice today and got the following response:

If you do not have your car inspected once a year, and something needs to be fixed/replaced, then you will be responsible for paying for it.
Regardless if it is under warranty or not.

So basically you are paying $600 a year for the warrantied items.
They also said that I was the first one to bring up this concern, so they didn't think it was a big issue.
This surprised me considering the amount of time people spent posting on the subject.

My savings equation of how this car would pay me back/reward me over the years has changed.

An Ice option might be a better decision at this point.

 

[ckessel]

So if someone doesn't opt for the service plan, they essentially have no warranty (aside from the battery warranty)???

Possibly not even the battery warranty since part of the service is undoubtedly checking coolant levels, maybe servicing the cooling fans, etc.

 

[chmod a+wrx]

There's gotta be some sort of legal avenue here....essentially making you pay Tesla directly or your warranty is void? ? ?

 

[markwj]

I think many here are missing the difference, and that is showing up in comparisons with annual inspection fees for ICE vehicles.

The Tesla service plan presented is a maintenance contract, not a one-off service fee. Something like Apple Care (which covers you for a time period) vs 'if my phone breaks I'll take it to Apple and pay the repair fee'. Ok, not a perfect analogy, but close.

So, is US$600/year (US$50/month, or perhaps 1% of vehicle cost per year) expensive compared to an ICE? No idea, because I haven't seen anything similar in the automotive world before. I guess you'd have to compare average running costs (excluding gas and electricity) to have a fair comparison.

I know that in Hong Kong, the roadster fee is around US$500/year. That compares with about US$1,200 for my wife's Nissan Presage (which has service twice a year at around US$300 each time plus about the same in oils, brake pads, wipers, and other stuff that wears out).

Regarding 'BMW gives it free for N years', no they don't - just like Microsoft don't give free software updates. They both charge you up-front, hidden in the initial purchase cost. When I bought my last Prius, I got 3 'free' services (1 month, 6 month and 1 year), but I was under no illusion that those were not paid for. Not much is free in this life.

 

[markwj]

I have been on the phone with Customer Service twice today and got the following response:

If you do not have your car inspected once a year, and something needs to be fixed/replaced, then you will be responsible for paying for it. Regardless if it is under warranty or not.

Did they say why? Is it because yearly service from an authorised provider is a condition of the warranty? That is the case with all the new cars I've ever bought.

 

[steve841]

I'm curios to know if:
1. Is the service required to maintain the warranty?
2. If so, is the annual service actually a legal requirement in all states? I know that some states have laws that could make an annual service fee an illegal requirement to comply with a warranty.

 

[markwj]

I can see I'm a lone voice on this one, so I'm gonna keep it short.....:wink:

1. As a Roadster owner I like, no love, the Tesla service standard. It surpasses anything I've come across in years of driving a multitude of cars including some very high-priced ones. The convenience alone of having Tesla come to me would be worth the money; after all, time is money and there's nothing more irritating than sitting at an auto-dealer somewhere (why are they never within walking distance of anywhere useful?) waiting for a service to be completed.

2. TANSTAAFL - I know that whenever I've had a car where the service/maintenance was "free" it just means I paid upfront in the purchase price. Sure it can be argued that Tesla should do that, but IMO it's preferable that they are open with the costs and giving a choice if you want it.

3. We're buying $100k cars FCOL. What's with all the anguish of buying first class service to take care of them for a few hundred bucks? If it's a hardship for anyone then they should really consider whether they should buy a Model S at all; I'd always advise anyone not to overstretch themselves.

4. I also don't see a problem with the 12k stuff. Every car I ever owned had maintenance schedules shorter than that.

5. Buying in advance to get a discount is also rather attractive. I'm sure that didn't happen when I paid upfront in the purchase price for other cars.

(Ties on blindfold, but declines the last cigarette...)

OK, fire away....

+1 on all five points. I'll stand next to you and let them shoot at both of us

 

[dsm363]

I can see I'm a lone voice on this one, so I'm gonna keep it short.....:wink:

1. As a Roadster owner I like, no love, the Tesla service standard. It surpasses anything I've come across in years of driving a multitude of cars including some very high-priced ones. The convenience alone of having Tesla come to me would be worth the money; after all, time is money and there's nothing more irritating than sitting at an auto-dealer somewhere (why are they never within walking distance of anywhere useful?) waiting for a service to be completed.

2. TANSTAAFL - I know that whenever I've had a car where the service/maintenance was "free" it just means I paid upfront in the purchase price. Sure it can be argued that Tesla should do that, but IMO it's preferable that they are open with the costs and giving a choice if you want it.

3. We're buying $100k cars FCOL. What's with all the anguish of buying first class service to take care of them for a few hundred bucks? If it's a hardship for anyone then they should really consider whether they should buy a Model S at all; I'd always advise anyone not to overstretch themselves.

4. I also don't see a problem with the 12k stuff. Every car I ever owned had maintenance schedules shorter than that.

5. Buying in advance to get a discount is also rather attractive. I'm sure that didn't happen when I paid upfront in the purchase price for other cars.

(Ties on blindfold, but declines the last cigarette...)

OK, fire away....

I agree with basically everything you said. I do understand why people are upset but agree that if this expensive maintenance plan breaks the bank then possibly delaying the Model S purchase or even canceling until it makes better financial sense might be the way to go for some people. I seriously doubt they can keep this kind of maintenance schedule for the Model E (or whatever 3rd gen car will be called) so I hope it is included in the price or comes down some.

Tesla does need to work on PR and communication too. The Model S seems top notch and the service I've had on the Roadster has always been great. No 6 hours at the VW dealership wasting my day away. Having them come to your house is definitely worth $100 for a car this expensive.

 

[Beavis]

I have to agree with Rifleman and Swegman.

The whole point of this car is it's "maintenance free".

What costs them $600 a year to look at?????

Especially for Sig holders who have had $40,000 of their dosh tied up for 3 years, I'd be beyond pissed off.

The interest alone at, say 1.5% (CD rubbish), is $600 a year and you know when you take $40,000,000 to the bank you get more than 1.5% interest!

"Thank you Sigs, we've cost you a pile of interest, now we'll nickel and dime you some more." Except it's not nickel and dime.

My last 3 cars, Lexus, Range Rover and Mini all had expensive maintenance and that's why I am (partially) supposed to be getting away from GAS!!!

No, IMO, this is utter BS. And NOT GOOD PR.

I will finally drive the S this week but I am now over 50% towards cancelling. But I am but 1 in over 12,000?

My experience says that if you are using all caps, you should cancel.

 

[smorgasbord]

5. Buying in advance to get a discount is also rather attractive. I'm sure that didn't happen when I paid upfront in the purchase price for other cars.

I'm sure it did. BMW does if you read the fine print at: http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/content/owner/maintenanceupgrade.aspx


OT: Interesting how BMW doesn't offer it on their "Active Hybrid" models. Make me wonder what they're worried about.