sleepnclass
Member
Starting a new thread as I originally posted in the Raven thread about my experience thus far.
Here is my story.
I have been waiting for weeks but my order process has been somewhat.... complicated. Here is the full recap.
TLDR: My experience with Telsa thus far has been abysmal at best.
• Ordered a new Pearl White, LR, 6 seat white interior on 7/22 via the mobile site and immediately received a call from a Santa Monica SA. So far so good!
• The SA told me to expect delivery within 5-10 days. After the 13th day, I reached out to get an ETA but my email went without a response. Another email the following day, followed by a voicemail without a callback. All the while, I could see (my email client has this feature) emails were being read just not getting a response. By day 15, frustration was peaking ... JUST GIVE ME A HEADS UP! If it's going to be 3,4, 5 weeks, just tell me. I know a lot of this is out of the hands of SAs but at least communicate.
• After not hearing I went down to the store to confront the SA and get some insight. He had no answers.
• 2 days later I get the text to pick up the car.
• I curbed all previous frustration as I went to pick up the car; excited as a child on Christmas!
• Delivery Center felt more like a pop-up Halloween store at the mall than a "high-end delivery center"
• Sign here, initial here, the car is out front ...
• Walked outside and BAM!
• Cosmetic issue after cosmetic issue, paint, panels, trim, AND A BIG OL DENT in the bumper! (hard to see with the lighting but it was LARGE)
• THIS IS A 100K+ CAR! WTF!
• "We can fix this, not a big deal, this is an outlier, this never happens, etc etc"
• That is what really set me off. That is like me going up to the delivery managers car, hitting it with a bat and telling him/her "don't worry about it, I got a guy who will fix this for free" This is supposed to be a brand new car, dents aren't acceptable.
• I refused the delivery and went inside to talk with the delivery manager. He assured me this never happened, that my case was one in a million and that they would deliver a brand new car. I then showed him similar issues with the other pearl white in the lot, ready for delivery. ohh
HERE IS WHERE IT GETS FUN
• While inside, he starts asking if I would be interested in a different combo. Red with tan? White with 5 seats? ...
"Uhhhhh, no" to which he asked "What about your same configuration but with the black 22" wheels," I told him, "sure but I am not paying extra" ... to which he said, "no no, as a token of good faith for this unfortunate situation" - Great! Done. They gave me a loaner and sent me on my way
• Hopped in the 60F 2016 X that drove like a tank and was on my way. Now, prior to this, the only time I had driven an MX was a quick test drive months prior. This drove quite differently. No worries
• The next day, I get a call from the SA saying they can't make good on their offer. No upgrade. Fine, just order a car with no issues ... "sorry, sorry, we will have the brand new vehicle in the next few days"
• A few days later I get an alert for pickup, go to get it ANNNNNNDDDD. SAME VIN!
• WTF!
• Tesla said it was an error with the sorting algorithm and that they would have a new one soon
• Head back home
• A week goes by, no word
• Another week goes by, nada
• Take my wife, 4-year-old and 2 dogs to Santa Barbara in the rental, head back to the car and it won't open, the key doesn't work. Call service, spend 2 hrs on the phone, nothing. Nothing they can do but flatbed the car to a service center. The battery on both the key and car were fine. They said because it's a loaner, they cant tie an account to it and therefore cant remote unlock and start. It's Sunday and nothing is open, so we would have to flatbed the truck and then try to get home (2hrs away) and we can't get the car seat out of the car. 3 hrs later, the manager of the Santa Monica store (the only silver lining throughout this ordeal) gets back to me and finds an engineer to get the car unlocked and started! THANK GOD! I still to this day have no idea how I would have gotten us all home.
• Swap out the 2016 60D for a 2016 90D and it's SO MUCH nicer!
• 2 weeks later and still no car, still waiting. Changed to black on black to expedite.
Still waiting but at least they gave me the loaner in the interim (sold my car prior to ordering the initial X)
This whole experience has been akin to renting a car at a Budget Rental car. This isn't high touch, this isn't QC'ed, this is nowhere near what a 100K+ car buying experience should be like. It sucks because while I am still excited to finally get the car I have doubts ...
Wow. If this was my first experience I would’ve never owned one. I would’ve walked when they couldn’t get me the car I wanted. It doesn’t matter if the car is 100k or 20k. You’re buying new, you should get the car you want in pristine condition. Sorry for your experience.
