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New Service Centers Coming To The Northeast!

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It's time Connecticut crawled out from under the thumb of traditional car dealerships and allowed it's citizens to be able to buy their Tesla's and get them serviced in their own state. How many people actually like traditional car dealerships? You walk in and the sales people immediately start their song and dance. If you want to go for a test drive, in many cases a salesman comes along and they limit the test drive to a very short span of time. Then, if you do hammer out a deal with the salesman, he tells you he has to have it approved by the sales manager! I'm 70. I've bought lots of new cars and never met a salesman I didn't dislike. But I loved the process of buying my Tesla. No Tesla rep came a long. They said I could take the car for an hour. And, when I came back and asked to speak with a representative, there was no hard sell whatsoever. My questions were answered without any bull****.
 
Oh man, if you're not in Kittery I don't know how Mainers are getting service. It's pain for me to drive to Peabody from Southern NH, but you poor people have it so much worse.
I had my first out of warranty, non-drivetrain issue that rendered the car inoperable (see here). Admittedly, it's an easy fix (me or mobile service) and I plan on doing it myself when the heat wave breaks (standing outside in the sun working on the car in 90+ weather? No thanks!), but it does have me considering upgrading my AAA plus to premier to get one >100 mile tow to Peabody/year, just in case. The $28/year extra seems worth it.
 
but it does have me considering upgrading my AAA plus to premier to get one >100 mile tow to Peabody/year, just in case. The $28/year extra seems worth it.

Exactly what I did! The small extra cost every year is less than a few fancy coffees, but the peace of mind is priceless. I figured if I ever get stranded in some part of New England, I can get towed someplace reasonable and cover the rest of the miles myself if I need a service center. I haven't needed it, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper than paying 100% out of pocket.
 
Exactly what I did! The small extra cost every year is less than a few fancy coffees, but the peace of mind is priceless. I figured if I ever get stranded in some part of New England, I can get towed someplace reasonable and cover the rest of the miles myself if I need a service center. I haven't needed it, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper than paying 100% out of pocket.
And depending on what insurance provider you have, you may get a AAA discount applied to your policy too which offsets the cost. MAPFRE offers a 5% discount (on parts of your coverage) for example.
 
From my house to Telsa Peabody is 139 miles, many others have a much longer drive.
Three and a half hours, 225 miles from our home in rural Maine to Peabody. One round trip, ten day visit to the SC via flat bed (the car only, I stayed home) when the on-board charger failed, and two visits by Mobile Service throughout three years of ownership--all under warranty. Inconvenient, but not unreasonable. HOWEVER, next year after the car is out of warranty, I plan to take a hard look at other EVs available from our friendly dealers located fifteen minutes from home. And it isn't just because of the distance to the nearest SC.
For the last three years, I've experienced many of the purchase/delivery/ownership issues that are very well documented within the community, so a competitive product (if it is, in fact competitive) delivered to me spotlessly clean, fully QC'd and only a short drive from home will be very attractive a year from now. From my perspective, owning a Tesla has been well worth the inconvenience. But why put up with it if I don't have to. My next car will almost surely be an EV, but it may not be a Tesla.
 
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Three and a half hours, 225 miles from our home in rural Maine to Peabody. One round trip, ten day visit to the SC via flat bed (the car only, I stayed home) when the on-board charger failed, and two visits by Mobile Service throughout three years of ownership--all under warranty. Inconvenient, but not unreasonable. HOWEVER, next year after the car is out of warranty, I plan to take a hard look at other EVs available from our friendly dealers located fifteen minutes from home. And it isn't just because of the distance to the nearest SC.
For the last three years, I've experienced many of the purchase/delivery/ownership issues that are very well documented within the community, so a competitive product (if it is, in fact competitive) delivered to me spotlessly clean, fully QC'd and only a short drive from home will be very attractive a year from now. From my perspective, owning a Tesla has been well worth the inconvenience. But why put up with it if I don't have to. My next car will almost surely be an EV, but it may not be a Tesla.
I hope that they open a Tesla service in Agusta or someplace north of Portland.
 
Three and a half hours, 225 miles from our home in rural Maine to Peabody. One round trip, ten day visit to the SC via flat bed (the car only, I stayed home) when the on-board charger failed, and two visits by Mobile Service throughout three years of ownership--all under warranty. Inconvenient, but not unreasonable. HOWEVER, next year after the car is out of warranty, I plan to take a hard look at other EVs available from our friendly dealers located fifteen minutes from home. And it isn't just because of the distance to the nearest SC.
For the last three years, I've experienced many of the purchase/delivery/ownership issues that are very well documented within the community, so a competitive product (if it is, in fact competitive) delivered to me spotlessly clean, fully QC'd and only a short drive from home will be very attractive a year from now. From my perspective, owning a Tesla has been well worth the inconvenience. But why put up with it if I don't have to. My next car will almost surely be an EV, but it may not be a Tesla.
When service discussions shift to navigating the dreaded issue of long distance towing, the problem is real. If Tesla ever checks in here they should take note. Stealerships clearly have the upper hand in Northern New England. In the coming years, making the best EV products won't satisfy the concerns of many potential customers.
 
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When service discussions shift to navigating the dreaded issue of long distance towing, the problem is real. If Tesla ever checks in here they should take note. Stealerships clearly have the upper hand in Northern New England. In the coming years, making the best EV products won't satisfy the concerns of many potential customers.
I already know of one NH town where the police chief killed the idea of a Model 3 patrol car specifically because of local service concerns.
 
I live in Middlebury, VT, and I assumed that within ten years (ordered in 2012) there would be a bigger network of service stations. I still have to drive three hours to Albany, NY...and that's one way. Six hours and wait time while it's being fixed...They claim they are better than other car companies...hmmm. Certainly their hourly charge of $175 for labor is more...
A few years ago, I had to drive down to get service, and when I got there, they told me that they hadn't realized the car was as old as it was and that they didn't have the part needed. Really? All of that info was in the app. Had it been even just an hour away, I wouldn't have resented it so much. God forbid you can actually talk to a live person, either. Gotta use the fricken app. I had some questions, but no one answers when you type in your info. Not impressed with the service anymore. When I got the car, I was promised that they would always pick it up and drop off a loaner at no charge. Well, that changed quickly, too.
I like a lot of details about the cyber truck, but unless they figure out the service thing, this may be my last Tesla. There are more choices out there now...
 
The lack of a service center in Vermont is the only thing holding me back from buying one. I study Tesla stuff like the Torah, but i'm 4 hours from Albany, I would have to take vacation days just to get it serviced, and they probably wouldn't give me a rental if they needed to keep it overnight. Tesla service centers and showrooms were actually banned from Vermont until June 7 2021, when s.47 was passed. So it wasn't Tesla's fault there isn't a service center, the car dealership mafia was very effective in keeping Tesla out of the state. Hopefully they put one in soon, now that Tesla is legally allowed to operate a service center or showroom in the state of Vermont. If anybody hears of any news of one being opened in VT, please update this thread.
 
The lack of a service center in Vermont is the only thing holding me back from buying one. I study Tesla stuff like the Torah, but i'm 4 hours from Albany, I would have to take vacation days just to get it serviced, and they probably wouldn't give me a rental if they needed to keep it overnight. Tesla service centers and showrooms were actually banned from Vermont until June 7 2021, when s.47 was passed. So it wasn't Tesla's fault there isn't a service center, the car dealership mafia was very effective in keeping Tesla out of the state. Hopefully they put one in soon, now that Tesla is legally allowed to operate a service center or showroom in the state of Vermont. If anybody hears of any news of one being opened in VT, please update this thread.

I do believe Vermont has a dedicated ranger though, so please consider the fact that many repairs can be done in your own driveway :)
 
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I moved from MA to ME in May. My 12v died Saturday for the 2nd time in 10k miles/8 months. In a parking lot. On a 90 degree day. With a toddler. It took 4 hours for roadside to show up, and another hour for them to get it on the truck, because my x would not go into transport mode.


With that being said, I have a test drive for a Volvo hybrid later in the week when I get my Tesla back.

I don't think it's unreasonable that one of the few parts we share with other cars should be just as serviceable as they are in other cars.

If this had happened to my wife's pickup on Saturday, we would have removed the battery with a wrench, and walked it across the street to AutoZone to swap it out.

Instead, my car got a 150 mi drive to a service center on the back of a flatbed. Giving every smug diesel pickup driver in Western Maine the opportunity to point and chuckle.


Gotta say, Elon got a lot of free negative advertising in the Norway Maine Dunkin' donuts parking lot.

I'm out on fully electric vehicles until someone comes to my part of the state with reliable service should the vehicle need replacement of a part that any first week AutoZone employee could do.
 
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Really sorry to hear about this experience. I must say I can't disagree with the points you raise about both the relative difficulty servicing the 12v battery and challenges faced in getting service in remote areas (to Tesla service) when needed. I know Tesla is addressing the 12v battery issue by switching to lithium ion going forward (but not making it any easier to get to presumably). Doesn't prevent existing cars from needing a battery replacement sooner than we'd all like. It is odd that the 12v battery failed with no warning (and so quickly) for you. I had mine replaced a year ago for the first time at about 73k miles and just short of 3 years use when I got a series of weird errors on the MCU. I did have about a week of these errors in total before mobile service came and replaced the battery as a first and successful attempt to solve the problem.

Good luck in your search for vehicle options that may be better fit for your needs.
 
Really sorry to hear about this experience. I must say I can't disagree with the points you raise about both the relative difficulty servicing the 12v battery and challenges faced in getting service in remote areas (to Tesla service) when needed. I know Tesla is addressing the 12v battery issue by switching to lithium ion going forward (but not making it any easier to get to presumably). Doesn't prevent existing cars from needing a battery replacement sooner than we'd all like. It is odd that the 12v battery failed with no warning (and so quickly) for you. I had mine replaced a year ago for the first time at about 73k miles and just short of 3 years use when I got a series of weird errors on the MCU. I did have about a week of these errors in total before mobile service came and replaced the battery as a first and successful attempt to solve the problem.

Good luck in your search for vehicle options that may be better fit for your needs.
I think I'm going with the Volvo hybrid, and will closely watch what Rivian does, since I have an R1S reservation.

If they invest in service for Northern New England, I'll come back to the BEV world. If they don't....well, I can't have a vehicle that's going to strand me over something that simple.



and I know a lot of people will say "things die on every car". BUT....not every car is the $115,000 "flagship" of the company. and not every car is so impossible to fix.

Tesla has known their 12V's suck for a long time. They've promised us a way to monitor 12v health in a future update. But none of that was ever addressed. I don't have the ability to waste 5+ hours on the side of the road anymore.

What would Tesla have done if it was the middle of winter and I was on a dark road with no heat or lights?
 
It is odd that the 12v battery failed with no warning (and so quickly) for you.
If you are using TeslaFi, I don't believe you will get 12V battery failure warnings (I did not). IMHO, the constant contactor cycling every 2 min caused by TeslaFi polling messes up the car's ability to monitor the 12V health, since it never sees full 12V charge/discharge cycles, and therefore can't calculate 12V capacity.

Want 12V battery failure warnings? Don't use TeslaFi. At least not until they fix this bug (that they seem to be in no hurry to fix).
 
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