UPDATE 5/12 - For the past few days I've been talking back and forth with the service delivery manager. They still have no idea where the original windshield is, and they have no idea when they can get a new one. Due to the red tape with the trade in mileage limit and that my family came down to visit for Mother's Day weekend, they said that I could take delivery this weekend and they would replace the windshield once it arrives.
I arrived at the delivery center and was greeted by the front desk lady. They had us wait in the front area while our delivery specialist got everything ready. About 10 minutes later, the delivery specialist arrived and brought us back to the delivery bays. There were about 12+ bays...every single one was filled with a Model 3 except for mine. He brought me to my Model S and told me that we would be doing a thorough walkthrough of the car to make sure that everything is in good condition.
When I walked up to the car, I couldn't believe that it was mine. I saw the car the day before covered in dust and bird poop, but today it looked like a brand new car. The paint was shiny and spotless. Every inch of the exterior and interior was meticulously detailed. No dirt on the floor mats, cup holders, trunk, frunk...anywhere. Apart from some barely noticeable wear spots on the steering wheel and seats, you would have a hard time believing that this was a used car.
The delivery service manager told me that I could go around the car, and if I found anything (within reason) that needed to be addressed, they would do their best to take care of me. The original charging cable was not in the car, so they gave me a brand new second generation UMC, and he even threw in 2 J1772 adapters! I guess I can sell the extra one I bought beforehand. He even offered to gift me a new High Power Wall Charger due to the inconvenience with the windshield.
At every point of the delivery process, in no way did I feel that I was treated any differently than somebody picking up a new $130,000 Model X, even though I only paid $35,500 for the car. They even said that they could transfer my license plates to my new car for me, even though I was told by another employee that it couldn't be done. They did have to draw up some new paperwork to pass on the DMV fees, so we left in my old car to grab lunch and came back an hour later.
Overall I am absolutely thrilled with the car. I don't know what the experience was like before the "non-refurbished" process, but mine was pretty damn good, and they seem to be willing to fix little things here and there for no additional cost. The delivery advisor told me that they have become more picky about the cars that they bring in now for the CPO process since they are not going through a refurbishment.
Having said all that, each individual person that I have dealt with during this process has been exceptional, but there are a lot of issues that Tesla as a company needs to figure out to make the CPO process better. Here's some of the issues along the way:
- Car was listed with a broken windshield...why wasn't it replaced in the first place before listing for sale?
- It took them 11-12 days from the time that I put the deposit down to even place the transfer order from the Bay Area to San Diego. It took another 4-5 days for the car to transfer down once in transit.
- They ordered and shipped a windshield down to the service center in San Diego to be replaced when the car arrived, but somehow the San Diego service center "lost" it. I'm thinking they inadvertently put it on another car.
- I was told that I could not exceed 500 miles on my trade in car even though the delay was due to their issues. I drove my wife's car as much as I could to keep the mileage down. When I actually traded in my car, they said that the 500 mile limit was not correct, it was actually 1,000 miles.
- I was told that Tesla absolutely cannot help with transferring custom license plates. When I took delivery they said that it was no issue and processed the paperwork for me. The funny thing about this one is that they said asked why I didn't request it beforehand since it would have sped up the process.
Overall, I am absolutely thrilled with the car and each Tesla employee that I interacted with. The car looks incredible for having 83,000 miles, and now I finally know what the "Tesla grin" is!
