No ranger service in the UK

[thegruf]

Apparently the "ranger" service is no longer available in the UK.

As I never used it, this may have been the case for some time, but to be informed you have to drive to London or Birmingham to get a trivial but irritating problem sorted is not amusing.

A "ranger" service is(was) Tesla's necessary answer to limited SCs.
It was also significant part of the sales pitch that mitigated my concerns about distance to service when making the decision to purchase.

inho Tesla UK would be well advised to give urgent consideration to its reintroduction. Please!

 

[Tomnook]

Apparently the "ranger" service is no longer available in the UK.

As I never used it, this may have been the case for some time, but to be informed you have to drive to London or Birmingham to get a trivial but irritating problem sorted is not amusing.

A "ranger" service is(was) Tesla's necessary answer to limited SCs.
It was also significant part of the sales pitch that mitigated my concerns about distance to service when making the decision to purchase.

inho Tesla UK would be well advised to give urgent consideration to its reintroduction. Please!

I live 60miles from the nearest SC but the only time I needed help was with a blowout and the SC got a replacement loaner wheel to me in less than an hour. Better service so far than any of the major players I've used in the past.

 

[thegruf]

... the SC got a replacement loaner wheel to me in less than an hour. Better service so far than any of the major players I've used in the past.

Since you mention that one - my experience was the exact opposite when I got a flat last year in Cambrdigeshire.
Never occured to me to check if there was a reinflation kit supplied - I just assumed there would be as there was no spare - big mistake it turned out.

Contacted Tesla to find out where the kit was stored as I couldnt find it - no kit!
However they could send out a replacement wheel - in 2.5 hours - hopeless to me at the time
except that on questioning they found that I had replaced the tyres at my local dealer with Mich PSS which is a tyre Tesla use instead of f/f Contis as there was no stock in the country. (also at 2/3 the cost of Tesla btw).
As I hadn't had my tyres changed by a Tesla SC - the replacement offer was not valid - if they had informed me of this in advance ...

However they could tow my car
wtf - its got a flat
... to Heathrow (2 hours away)
getting really silly now.

End result I called my wife out of work to collect tools and a jack from home and bring them over to me, removed the wheel and got it sorted at a tyre place up the road (thanks Just Tyres / ATS don't expect my business ever again if you are that rude to customers).

Hour and a half later all sorted. But for sure Tesla not popular on that day.
They did send various goodies later by way of apology - never had my car send me flowers before!
So forgiven, but do beware this lesson all.

And back to the original point, Tesla need to be careful to maintain a sufficient level of service and effective communication given some of the limitations they face as an upcoming manfucturer to keep the ownership experience solid. Requesting owners to take day trips to Heathrow for simple issues is not going to enhance the relationship where a previously offered ranger service would have worked great and been cheaper for all.

 

[arg]

Ranger service in the UK was discontinued shortly before the first Model S deliveries (so for those of us that ordered ahead of UK launch it was a real bait-and-switch situation) - it was only officially offered here for the Roadster (though I've heard of a few ad-hoc ranger style visits for Model S problems). In the USA, Ranger was originally the main service offer for Model S, but got gradually watered down or restricted, with mileage limits and extra charges; AFAIK it was never completely withdrawn in all areas and more recently they announced an expansion of Ranger service.

Tesla in general, and Tesla UK in particular, seem to have great reluctance to make clear what their policy is in any area - they are often very generous on a one-off basis, but leave it vague what you are actually entitled to (and when pushed, the answer is often very little). The tyre thing is a case in point - the exchange wheel thing is good when offered, but it has/had geographical restrictions, and if you fall outside those restrictions you get/got no help at all - being told to call the AA (what? you aren't a member of the AA? Well, the Tesla roadside assistance "isn't intended to be a substitute for membership of one of the standard breakdown services" so I was told).

I was told that the tyre issue was being improved, but unsurprisingly I've heard no new announcement. Maybe the internal policy has changed.

 

[thegruf]

thanks @arg
Interesting - I was told the ranger service had been recently discontinued, and its reintroduction was being investigated.

Perhaps Tesla UK would do will to consider the customer perspective of minor but irritating issue requiring a 150mile round trip and loss of a day's time/work. Ultimately this only affects Tesla when it impacts new car sales, but at this stage of their development customer goodwill is vital to overcome design/manufacturing issues which are only to be expected in early generation products and which the majority of customers are perfectly tolerant of providing there is a reasonable recourse to getting them sorted.

As it is it looks like I am stuck with said irritant for the the next 8 month until the next service. grrr.

lso, like you I was told at the time (Dec '16) that the tyre situation was being improved.
As I have little confidence that it will, I simply invested in some rubber bungs that can be fitted into nail holes and a pump instead.

Additional point on the tyre thing, I found out subsequently that if you google "mobile tyre repair", there are several companies that offer this service and will come out to your car for as little as £35 (Tesla take note!)

 

[NullException]

Perhaps Tesla UK would do will to consider the customer perspective of minor but irritating issue requiring a 150mile round trip and loss of a day's time/work

I agree completely. Having a ranger service, or even (shock horror) some approved 3rd party service/repair shops, would be great. The only thing that's happened is a slight expansion of the service centres. If your flat happened today, I expect you'd get a tyre shipped from the Milton Keynes SvC, rather than Heathrow.

 

[thegruf]

Milton Keynes - I never knew that was open :O

Doh -Why on earth did Tesla route me to Heathrow? when MK is <30 mins from my office?
- will get in touch with MK shortly - thanks.

Hey @tesla - where's the marketing?
You got my email address, you are welcome to send me an occasional newsletter with updates on Stores/SC and new superchargers etc.