My Painted CPO

[Cyclone]

I don't think anybody has the expectation of it looking like new. I think everyone's expectation for "Certified" means that they looked over the car and fixed any issues prior to the buyer receiving AND that the car does not have prior damage. That's my definition anyways..

This, but also add, that if anything manages to slip through and make it to the customer without being fixed, then Tesla stands up and fixes it. New owners shouldn't get body shop repair bills (in my case at least) upon buying a CPO car.

 

[TomServo]

Threads like this causes me to pause, I'm hoping to buying a CPO in the coming months but my dilemma is I live in southern Illinois, the nearest Service Center is 30 miles away in St Louis and the nearest Store is in Chicago (Highland Park) about 285 miles north. So I either have to drive 285 miles to the HP Store to view a vehicle or buy it "sight unseen" and have it shipped to STL for delivery.

And as we all know this is further complicated by the fact that if a car pops up that meets your criteria you literally have MINUTES to click the BUY NOW button and give Tesla your deposit.


Since I have a few months to wait until I can buy I will continue to monitor these threads, to be honest my initial thoughts on this is that Tesla should just take these cars back to avoid the negative press they will garner. They can either repair them and recycle through the CPO program or wholesale them out.


Their current CPO program forces many "geographically separated" buyers to TRUST Tesla to deliver a quality product.

Potential but Conflicted buyer in Illinois

 

[AC123]

Exactly why i skipped CPO and went with new.
But what is the guarantee that new wont have such issues?

 

[Max*]

Exactly why i skipped CPO and went with new.
But what is the guarantee that new wont have such issues?

Unless your new car was driven by an invisible previous owner, who invisibly scratched the car, and then invisibly repainted it, I wouldn't worry.

And if Tesla dropped the car during transport, I fully expect them to fix it up to standard and not give me the BS that paint isn't covered in the 4 year 50k mile bumper-to-bumper warranty.

 

[Pollux]

For me, there's a lot of frustration in reading this CPO story and others like it. The frustration stems from the disconnect between my perception of Tesla's behavior around their new cars versus the CPO cars. Based on my experiences and reading those of many others, I'd be willing to say that Tesla will practically kill itself trying to make things right with their new cars. Yeah, yeah, lots of pain around things being late, promises that stretch out, it has happened to me, too. But they'll keep working on those battery packs, keep swapping those drive units, go over each and every one of the 22 nits that I've been known to walk in with during a service call (some of which, honestly, are just plain User Brain Damage, i.e., me). But then the CPO program seems to have stories that amount to "as is".

I wonder if there are two very different sets of people running the new car delivery / care programs versus the CPO programs.

It's also making me think about how to price my P85+ next August-November, when my Tesla-mediated car loan's 36-month sell-back period activates. (That's when I'm going to upgrade to the latest & greatest S.) I've been thinking I'd sell privately, anyway. And I'd been frustrated with how some of the CPO buying pricing affects the resale market. But based on some of these stories, a motivated buyer will be able to check me and my car out and decide for him/herself whether I've babied the car or run it into the ground. And I'll have all of the service and repair information. And the windows and pano are already tinted. And the car is covered in Xpel. And I'll still have one year left on my original warranty plus four more years or extended warranty plus the extended service agreement. I'm starting to wonder what the CPO program would offer a buyer that I can't! And isn't that a surprising thought... after all, a CPO should pretty much be the obvious guaranteed step in quality and price between private sales and new sales.

Alan

 

[Uncle Paul]

You think you have it bad, I purchased a brand new Mercedes and found out later that the right rear quarter panel had been repainted due to some damage in transit. Was never disclosed to me, and was told that it is common practice to repair damages that occures between when the car is manufactured and when it is delivered to the customer.

Used cars (no matter what they are called) have even more opportunity to have repairs. Used car dealers have touch up people that go over the cars before delivery, touching up areas that need reconditioning. They are no where near the quality that a factory can produce. Used cars sell for less than new cars for a reason.

People buying from out of state take even more chances. The seller is motivated to sell the car they they have in front of them (warts and all), and the buyer is motivated to get the car they want at as low a price as possible.

The legal authorities consider statements like as new, cream puff, reconditioned, a beauty, runs great, well cared for, pre-owned, demo, etc to be puffery, and with few legal implications.

Tesla offered to aftermarket repaint any areas that were required, and most likely is not required to buy your used car back.

They might feel it prudent to go the extra mile to attempt to satisfy a buyer, however if they feel that a particular buyer might never be satisfied, they need to move on.

This public shaming seems to be getting more common on social media.

 

[freeewilly]

I don't think anybody has the expectation of it looking like new. I think everyone's expectation for "Certified" means that they looked over the car and fixed any issues prior to the buyer receiving AND that the car does not have prior damage. That's my definition anyways..

Actually I do. Before I read all these posts, I truly thought these CPO cars are as good as new, Tesla painted an image that they only select the best of the best vehicles to qualify and they went through 200+ inspections before they qualify for CPO. The highest standard possible.

 

[cab]

It is a simple as others state:questionable cars go to auction and you keep the cream of the crop for CPOs OR you sell them but NOT as a "CPO" with a CPO warranty. That's basically what every other "dealer" does (and since Tesla doesn't have "dealers" they are effectively filling this role). Honestly, it make me wonder if Tesla is just not willing to take the hit of auctions sales and assumes they can "CPO" everything. At most dealers you will see a comparatively small percentage of their used cars are CPOs. A repaint is typically a huge red flag and = "auction".

 

[jlk]

Actually I do. Before I read all these posts, I truly thought these CPO cars are as good as new, Tesla painted an image that they only select the best of the best vehicles to qualify and they went through 200+ inspections before they qualify for CPO. The highest standard possible.

I have to second this. Prior to pulling the trigger, I asked my OA about the quality of the vehicles. He said, "Tesla has a more rigorous CPO inspection process than BMW or Mercedes."

 

[ev-now]

You think you have it bad, I purchased a brand new Mercedes and found out later that the right rear quarter panel had been repainted due to some damage in transit. Was never disclosed to me, and was told that it is common practice to repair damages that occures between when the car is manufactured and when it is delivered to the customer.

Sorry to hear that. I knew a Porsche owner who had exactly the same thing with a brand new vehicle. Personally I would have fought that one very hard if identified prior to or in very early ownership and itdepends where you live whether it's legal for the dealer to supply a car like that.

I disagree with a lot of the sentiment behind the rest of your message because the Tesla organization has set a very high bar for new sales, and their staff (same gallery staff) promise the same "above and beyond the norm" experience for the CPO program. I have heard "just like new", "more rigorous CPO program than other luxury brands" and on, and on. As others have said, there's a four tier model to manufacturer/dealer sales; new, CPO, on-lot and auction. If it's in the CPO program is should be "as good as it gets" for pre-owned, and the company should stand by every aspect of the purchase - if they don't feel they can do that, then it goes to the next tier down.

I also agree with the sentiment that Tesla is not wanting cars to drop to auction - by controlling the flow, and by maximizing the expectation set for their CPO vehicles, they are attempting to control the price. Provided they rehab every vehicle they sell to that very high standard, and stand behind them - then they will maintain those high resale values. Experiences like Cyclone's and a very limited number of others will rapidly destroy the credibility of the program - and people will not trust the CPO program, and that will tarnish the brand (new and CPO).

As for public shaming, accurate representation of experience is very useful to the rest of the community - like myself - so they can make more informed decisions. If Tesla don't like the media coverage, they need to fix the source - as every other company does. Being fair, these appear to be isolated incidents - but serve as 'fair warning' that as yet the Tesla CPO program does not appear to be as robust as some of the other luxury brands.

 

[DBM]

I just picked up my CPO three days ago; this is myexperience with the program.
I live in Hawaii sogoing to see the car would be very difficult, so I just trusted that Teslawould stand behind their products.
I ordered the car on June 17, 2015 and through these forumshappened to find the previous owner of the car. I then contacted him and he wasgracious enough to answer my email and many questions about the car and anypossible issues. This made my purchasemuch less stressful.
I received an email from the delivery specialist inCalifornia when the car arrived to the local service center in Hawaii and wentdown to take a look at it prior to delivery to ensure that the issues that theprevious owner told me about were addressed. The main things that needed to be addressed were the driver’s side bpillar as there was significant wear and the rock chips on the hood. When I showed up at the service center, the carwas under a black car cover and I was told by the owner advisor that I was notable to see the car and she would “get in trouble” by her manager if she let mesee it. I asked if I could come back thenext day to see the car as I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t see the carprior to the delivery. I was told thatthe reason that I could not see it is that Tesla only wanted me to see the carat delivery when it is ready and “at its best”. I pushed and went back the next day and was able to see the hood (as shemoved the cover enough to see a partial hood) and I was able to look in the driver’sside door to see that they did indeed replace the b pillar. When I asked about the rock chips, I was toldthat CPO’s “are sold in as is condition” (I was told this several times by severaldifferent people) and they would not be addressed.
On the day of delivery, the sales and marketing manager fromCalifornia just so happened to be there and said that she noticed chips on thewindshield, so they were replacing that for me. To be honest, I couldn’t really see anything wrong with the windshield,but was pleasantly surprised that it would be replaced.
Overall my experience was positive, although there were somehiccups along the way and I did get a little annoyed that for any question Iasked about the condition of the car, the response from the local team was thatit was “as in condition”, basically making me think that problems wouldn’t beaddressed and I had to take the car the way it was going to be delivered. I am very thankful that the marketing managerwas there as I’m not sure how it would have went if she wasn’t and the formerowner who answered my questions and put my mind at ease

 

[Cyclone]

I have to second this. Prior to pulling the trigger, I asked my OA about the quality of the vehicles. He said, "Tesla has a more rigorous CPO inspection process than BMW or Mercedes."

I literally laughed out loud at this one. And sad too. At dinner tonight, the owner got excited and asked if this was a Tesla. I told him a bit on the car, but was rather unenthusiastic. He noticed and the other person in th car ended up doing most of the talking because I couldn't bring myself to sing the praise of the car.

 

[SmartElectric]

The CPO cars I have seen in the showroom of the Lawrence Ave store/service center here in Toronto were as-new condition. These are the CPO P85 and higher spec cars that Tesla is intending to sell.

Meanwhile, our CPO S 85 with 60000 km on it was prepared and delivered to us with a reasonable amount of work such as new brakes, tires, UMC and a first level detailing which was ok, but not showroom condition. No car used as a daily driver with a significant commute could possibly be confused for as-new condition without a repaint for stone chips or other wear items.

We are thrilled with our CPO, and it got us into a Tesla a year earlier than if we waited to buy new.

Again, if you want an as-new CPO, they are available are fully prepared, you just need to be willing to pay for it, as they have low mileage and are loaded up with options.

For me, the high mileage (and therefore less expensive due to depreciation) cars on offer in the CPO inventory may not be perfect as-new for discerning buyers, but they are perfect for what we needed/wanted.

4500 km in our first month, and it's all smiles.

Again, as-new CPO cars may already be in showrooms, give Tesla a call, you might want to consider them compared to a new car.

 

[MsElectric]

If you are going to buy a CPO car , buy one that is local. After all, they are used cars. Expecting Tesla to ship you a CPO and expecting it to look like new doesn't make much sense.

I disagree. I have bought sight unseen CPO cars from Mercedes dealers with zero issues. No one is asking for a CPO car to look like a new car. Having multiple body panels shoddily repainted is not what any reasonable person would expect when buying a CPO car.

Buying local is not always an option if you want certain interior and exterior colors and option combinations.

This is about Tesla not doing their job to properly do their due diligence in certifying cars like other premium manufacturers would.

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I literally laughed out loud at this one. And sad too. At dinner tonight, the owner got excited and asked if this was a Tesla. I told him a bit on the car, but was rather unenthusiastic. He noticed and the other person in th car ended up doing most of the talking because I couldn't bring myself to sing the praise of the car.

This is very sad to hear I know how happy and excited you were with your car and Tesla as a company when you bought your car. It seems Tesla needs to have someone higher up who can intervene in these situations that understands the meaning and importance of customer goodwill and trust. It seems Jerome has been demoted or he's on the way out. Who is handling his responsibilities? Is there no VP level position within Tesla that handles customer issues?

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I have to second this. Prior to pulling the trigger, I asked my OA about the quality of the vehicles. He said, "Tesla has a more rigorous CPO inspection process than BMW or Mercedes."

I am sorry but that is a bunch of nonsense. Tesla has in my opinion the worst CPO program in the car industry and here are some of the reasons:

• No service records of the car are shared. Tesla has decided to withhold this information from a prospective buyer. So if the previous owner drove the car for 40,000 miles with zero service visits, you'd never know! In the case of a Mercedes CPO car they will share the full service history of the car. All you need to do is call the dealer and give them your e-mail address.
• The car's repair history is not shared. Tesla has decided to withhold the repair history of their CPO cars. With Mercedes CPO cars they will share the entire history of the car down to every single complaint by the past owner and what was done to fix it.
• Tesla does not allow you to extend the warranty. a 2015 Tesla CPO warranty ends in 2019 with no way to extend it beyond 4 years. A Mercedes CPO can have the warranty extended to 7 years.
• Apparently Tesla will CPO cars with shoddy paintwork based on recent posts but most importantly when they do this, they refuse to stand behind the car and do the right thing by making it right.
• When you pull up the CPO inventory for a Tesla all you see is the color, mileage, and options with zero additional information about the car. With a Mercedes CPO you get the basic history of the car in the form of a CarFax with certain details about past service and maintenance performed on the car.

So yes, it is a bunch of bulldoodoo for Tesla to claim their CPO program is the best in the business. It clearly is not.

It is up to individual buyers to do thorough due diligence when buying a CPO Tesla. Treat it like buying a used car from a party you may or may not fully trust. Ask and examine the service records and have the car inspected at a body shop prior to purchase. I personally would refuse delivery and demand a full refund if they refused to share the car's prior service and maintenance history as there is no way I'd buy a used car without having the service records.

 

[rxlawdude]

You think you have it bad, I purchased a brand new Mercedes and found out later that the right rear quarter panel had been repainted due to some damage in transit. Was never disclosed to me, and was told that it is common practice to repair damages that occures between when the car is manufactured and when it is delivered to the customer.

I believe there was a lawsuit and/or a California Department of Consumer Affairs case against BMW or Mercedes for this practice. If not disclosed, the car is returnable.

When you buy a new vehicle, one that has not been registered with California, it cannot have any repaired “material” damage that you are not notified of in writing. The dealer is required by California Civil Code 2982 to notify you of any repaired “material” (significant) damage to a new vehicle. Most states have a similar consumer regulation.

 

[Skotty]

Re: CPO vs Private Party: One of the reasons I would buy from CPO but not private party is my requirement that my purchase directly benefit Tesla.

 

[davidc18]

Eventually these stories are going to make it into the mainstream media and I can not imagine that it will come out looking good for Tesla.

 

[MsElectric]

Re: CPO vs Private Party: One of the reasons I would buy from CPO but not private party is my requirement that my purchase directly benefit Tesla.

Tesla probably makes a profit of around 10-15% for the car so you can always buy private party and write a separate check to Tesla Maybe when you drop off that check you can ask for the service records of the car from Tesla...

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Eventually these stories are going to make it into the mainstream media and I can not imagine that it will come out looking good for Tesla.

Some of these policies are really inexcusable and completely undermine Tesla's premise that they serve customers better than car dealers. Tesla can do so much better with regards to their Extended warranty policies, handling of CPO cars, as well as disclosing the service history of the cars that they sell -- and that just to maintain parity with what you'd get at any car dealer.

 

[3mp_kwh]

As a shareholder, I find it absolutely infuriating.

I wondered the same. The lack of store footprint should correspond to tighter screening, to generate the trust that can offset the distances, and so on. I don't see how they can be so casual, say they missed things (which I trust may have happened), but then not make good? The hit to take back a few, and then auction is a financial win that preserves the reputation. There are costs associated with slow CPO sales. As a long shareholder, I want >20mm CPO revenues reported next quarter, from buyers who'll come back. Personally, I'm weighing where the brake point is between supporting electric-drive, and how deep the "take one for Tesla" attitude should cut.

..based on some of these stories, a motivated buyer will be able to check me and my car out and decide for him/herself whether I've babied the car or run it into the ground. And I'll have all of the service and repair information. And the windows and pano are already tinted. And the car is covered in Xpel. And...

Thanks, this makes me miss personal sales. You do it enough times, you get better at reading people. Someone who is just a steward to a slice of the sales process, doens't own what they are about to do to you because they can't.

 

[tstafford]

I disagree. I have bought sight unseen CPO cars from Mercedes dealers with zero issues. No one is asking for a CPO car to look like a new car. Having multiple body panels shoddily repainted is not what any reasonable person would expect when buying a CPO car.

Buying local is not always an option if you want certain interior and exterior colors and option combinations.

This is about Tesla not doing their job to properly do their due diligence in certifying cars like other premium manufacturers would.

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This is very sad to hear I know how happy and excited you were with your car and Tesla as a company when you bought your car. It seems Tesla needs to have someone higher up who can intervene in these situations that understands the meaning and importance of customer goodwill and trust. It seems Jerome has been demoted or he's on the way out. Who is handling his responsibilities? Is there no VP level position within Tesla that handles customer issues?

- - - Updated - - -



I am sorry but that is a bunch of nonsense. Tesla has in my opinion the worst CPO program in the car industry and here are some of the reasons:

• No service records of the car are shared. Tesla has decided to withhold this information from a prospective buyer. So if the previous owner drove the car for 40,000 miles with zero service visits, you'd never know! In the case of a Mercedes CPO car they will share the full service history of the car. All you need to do is call the dealer and give them your e-mail address.
• The car's repair history is not shared. Tesla has decided to withhold the repair history of their CPO cars. With Mercedes CPO cars they will share the entire history of the car down to every single complaint by the past owner and what was done to fix it.
• Tesla does not allow you to extend the warranty. a 2015 Tesla CPO warranty ends in 2019 with no way to extend it beyond 4 years. A Mercedes CPO can have the warranty extended to 7 years.
• Apparently Tesla will CPO cars with shoddy paintwork based on recent posts but most importantly when they do this, they refuse to stand behind the car and do the right thing by making it right.
• When you pull up the CPO inventory for a Tesla all you see is the color, mileage, and options with zero additional information about the car. With a Mercedes CPO you get the basic history of the car in the form of a CarFax with certain details about past service and maintenance performed on the car.

So yes, it is a bunch of bulldoodoo for Tesla to claim their CPO program is the best in the business. It clearly is not.

It is up to individual buyers to do thorough due diligence when buying a CPO Tesla. Treat it like buying a used car from a party you may or may not fully trust. Ask and examine the service records and have the car inspected at a body shop prior to purchase. I personally would refuse delivery and demand a full refund if they refused to share the car's prior service and maintenance history as there is no way I'd buy a used car without having the service records.

I agree 100% on this. I've bought CPO BMW, MB and Porsche and many of them site unseen. I've never had any experiences that come close to what is being discussed in several threads here. CPO from a premium brand should be extremely close to a new car experience. It's been that for me every time.