Motley Fool story - Tesla Replacement Part Delays

[voltaren]

Evan Niu posted his story on his 7-month (and counting) delay getting his MS fixed. Not good press for Tesla... shouldn't be surprising to many of us on this forum.

Repairing My Tesla Model S Has Been an Utter Nightmare -- and It's Mostly Tesla's Fault -- The Motley Fool

 

[seclinton]

Almost 4 months since my accident: Sadly this story is the norm.

The MF post: rear accident only -7 months I know what he's waiting for
My post: Rear and front damage- almost 4 months (supposed to get her back 3/10/16)
Another guy on MotherFrunkers FB group: accident same as MF post, just got his car back 3/5 (accident 11/14/16 same day as me; hit in rear at 55+MPH)

Read the MF story, then check out my post included (dash cam video of the front impact, accident photos, teardown photos, body work complete photos), plus confirmed 3rd party repair center retrofit of Rear Facing Seats added.

Black Beauty, damaged.

 

[demundus]

I'm in the exact same position as him. I just got a call today from the body shop that my rear door is on back-order, and there is no ETA on when it will be mfg'd much less delivered...

 

[nnick01]

These issues that Tesla has is really surprising. There really isn't a good reason why this is happening. Only thing I can think of is that the machines used to make these parts have been re-tooled for a newer revision of the part. So perhaps they don't have machines configured to make these older revisions of said parts? Perhaps they wait until there are loads of orders for parts that require the same machine tooling and then batch them all at once? If this is the case, this is nuts... While costly I am sure, they should have separate machines dedicated to parts fulfillment of "older than current" revisions of parts.

 

[Aieukl378]

Well, this is unsatisfactory. I assume there just hasn't been much demand(relative to everything else in the Tesla universe) and parts sourcing for repairs just hasn't been a priority. This needs to change now. The good news is this problem(coordinating parts deliveries to body shops) isn't complicated at all and can be easily rectified with little effort or resources...sooo let's get on that Tesla!

 

[Tam]

...7-month...fixed...

Tesla should offer body repairs as part of Service Center.

That way, Tesla can own the delay.

Also, Tesla can let us use their loaners which would drastically help as a consolation for the delays.

 

[Lloyd]

What about wrecking yards for the rear cover? I know new parts are preferred but better than waiting 7 months. Many cars are totaled with that part intact!

 

[demundus]

What about wrecking yards for the rear cover. I know new parts are preferred but better than waiting 7 months. Many cars are totaled with that part intact!

Problem is... a certified shop wont touch "sourced parts" and risk losing their status with Tesla. That said, I'm trying to get my shop to repair as much as they can and let me finish the rest. (for example)

 

[xborg]

Same here, I've lost my faith in Tesla after it took 4 months to get my car fixed. It was just a small accident.

 

[SMAlset]

Have to say these customer shop stories, of which I have read plenty, give me nightmares as we wait for our car to be delivered (first time Tesla buyer and most expensive car we've ever bought). I'll still be driving a 2001 Toyota Avalon as a second car (which has been a great car and still looks and works great) so we have that to fall back on but being as old as it is we've been planning to replace for sometime -- was waiting for a car with CarPlay and looks and features I would fall in love with.

In any event we've been very excited by the thoughts of our S arriving shortly, and even have contemplated getting another S, but the lack of parts for repairs does give us pause. Had the same thoughts about going with a M3 (less $ risk but if parts aren't available still a nightmare). Keeping fingers crossed our S stays out of the shop. Maybe Tesla needs to build a parts factory or partner with someone else who would work closely with them in that regard. Will be curious to see how Tesla responds to this article which should get pretty wide circulation (and at a time when they are looking to raise funds).

 

[mbhforum]

How in the world will they handle the model 3 demands? Service centers backed up and parts backed up. I am seriously nervous about being put in a position of spending 1k a month on a ICE rental in addition to loan payments.

I Just logged into my GEICO app and upped my rental insurance to $1500 max from $900 after reading this article.

 

[N5329K]

How in the world will they handle the model 3 demands? Service centers backed up and parts backed up. I am seriously nervous about being put in a position of spending 1k a month on a ICE rental in addition to loan payments.

I Just logged into my GEICO app and upped my rental insurance to $1500 max from $900 after reading this article.

Well, as things stand today, Tesla track record with MS and MX suggest- strongly- that it won't be able to handle Model 3 demands.
Most of us want to see the company succeed, but there are several rabbits Tesla will need to pull out of several hats, simultaneously, for that to happen. I
Robin

 

[artsci]

One of the problems with parts is that Tesla is the only company that sources them. Most other brands have multiple manufacturing sources for parts, which means faster delivery and better prices. But Tesla's obsession with controlling everything is a huge liability in the parts world. My car is in for a minor bumper repair. It's now been nearly two weeks and there's no sign of the parts, and the ICE rental costs continue to climb.

 

[MS16]

I'm still waiting for a replacement seat. It was ordered in October.

 

[Haxster]

And mine's been the shop for over 10 months waiting for a license plate screw. Oh wait, the car's in my garage... must have been that nasty vivid dream I had last night. Sorry.

 

[NewCow]

Author of the MF article here, glad that I can help raise awareness of an important customer pain point that Tesla needs to address. These stories too often only circulate on forums among enthusiasts and get little to no mainstream coverage, so hopefully by publicizing my experience and getting support from other customers who have had similar experiences will hold Tesla more accountable so they finally get to the bottom of this.

 

[demundus]

Author of the MF article here, glad that I can help raise awareness of an important customer pain point that Tesla needs to address. These stories too often only circulate on forums among enthusiasts and get little to no mainstream coverage, so hopefully by publicizing my experience and getting support from other customers who have had similar experiences will hold Tesla more accountable so they finally get to the bottom of this.

Thanks for publishing this! If you want more horror stories from a used purchase out of warranty owner I've got plenty!

 

[davinci2017]

Cmon folks at Tesla,I think there has been more than enough real credible experiences here for you to really address this issue before you start "marketing" how quickly you can ramp up the Model 3. The more you get articles,press and coverage like this, the more trouble you are in.

The average non-Tesla owners impression of Tesla is still that it is a cool car from the future, which can quickly go to it being an expensive and troublesome car. The entire eco-system will take the blow including all of us, not just the company.

Please fix this before you start making the 3. I really hope the "Eye of Sauron" can focus on this and address this with a zap in the next few months. Its too busy focussing on other stuff right now

 

[Gizmotoy]

These issues that Tesla has is really surprising. There really isn't a good reason why this is happening. Only thing I can think of is that the machines used to make these parts have been re-tooled for a newer revision of the part. So perhaps they don't have machines configured to make these older revisions of said parts? Perhaps they wait until there are loads of orders for parts that require the same machine tooling and then batch them all at once? If this is the case, this is nuts... While costly I am sure, they should have separate machines dedicated to parts fulfillment of "older than current" revisions of parts.

It's been speculated more than once that Tesla is making certain parts as fast as it possibly can. If there's a backlog and an existing owner damages one of those parts, they can either put that part into a new car that they can sell (which looks good for the bottom line), or give it to the current owner and delay new production. There's a few of these parts we keep hearing about repeatedly, and most of them are stamping-related, with the rear quarter panel being the most common issue.

It's hard to say with any certainty what is really happening, but it seems entirely possible to me that Tesla is leaning a bit on current owners to get new vehicles out the door in a way that keeps investors happy. While 2-3 month waits are sadly common, there's no circumstances where an owner should be waiting 8 months for parts. On a vehicle currently in production, no less! You could probably find pieces for decades old small production run cars faster than that.

 

[mbhforum]

I literally had a nightmare about this last night because I read this before I went to bed and in the dream, my wife rear ended me, destroyed my rear bumper and I asked who her insurance carrier was and realized it was my policy.