No roofs in Europe??

[ZesPK]

So, I can write a book by now about the delivery of my Model S.

Long story short: it came off the boat with a cracked roof and 3 months later it still isn't fixed.
The crack is only visible from the inside and spans the entire roof. It's hard to photograph it but very visible and you can feel it on the inside.

I made an approximation of the crack.

Anyway, so I've been bothering the service centers on a regular basis to inquire about the status of my roof (I'm currently driving the car as Tesla has deemed it safe to do so), and their response so far has been that they can't get a hold of a roof for me.
The latest response, translated, was:
"We've ordered the part, but there's no roof available in Europe."

This is very worrisome for me. I can drive the car... for now. But the prospect of having something faling on my roof (ever) and rendering my car without a roof, which would be followed by MONTHS of having no car to drive... this seems preposterous to me. Especially when you think that for the past couple shipments there's been only one type of roof available on the S (the full fixed glass).

Surely I can't be the only one in Europe with a Model S that needs a roof? Are they selling me lies? Has anyone had his/her roof replaced in the past 3 months? Or is anyone waiting for a roof?

 

[Tam]

...MONTHS of having no car to drive...

If your car is not drivable, Service Center would give you a loaner car until your car will be drivable again.

 

[ZesPK]

If your car is not drivable, Service Center would give you a loaner car until your car will be drivable again.

You mean they'll provide me with a cost free car if it's my fault the roof gets damaged? I'm not talking about the crack that's already in there, just your regular Model S that gets a stone through the roof...

 

[Sharps97]

Same issue in the US. Tesla doesn’t have internal logistics to route parts from the factory to the service centers yet. My roof was cracked on delivery and I still have no ETA 3 months later...

 

[Tam]

You mean they'll provide me with a cost free car if it's my fault the roof gets damaged? I'm not talking about the crack that's already in there, just your regular Model S that gets a stone through the roof...

It's hard to tell what you mean on whose fault it is.

1) It was a fresh delivery coming out of a boat with a roof crack

or

2) It was not a delivery but the roof was cracked during your own boat trip.

Regardless whose fault it is, once Service Center takes in your car for service, you'll get a loaner car for no extra charge.

The trick is how you can get Service Center to take your car in?

If it's drivable because the crack does not allow rain, snow into the cabin, Service Center would wait until your part comes in and not before.

If it's not drivable because the crack allows rain and snow into the cabin to destroy the interior, Service Center should take in your car and provide you a loaner car for no extra cost while waiting for parts to come in.

Waiting for parts have been a well-known complaint even in the USA so it's not a surprise for oversea.

Hopefully, it will get better soon.

 

[ZesPK]

Tam, sorry for the confusion. What I meant is that, like in this case, the damage is not my fault, they will and have provided me with a car.

But... If it weren't, and for example I park my Tesla with a new roof somewhere and a stone or branch falls on the roof cracking it, to my experience I'm having now, it's going to take months to repair. I do hope, as you say, that they have a loaner for me at that point.

 

[ZesPK]

Same issue in the US. Tesla doesn’t have internal logistics to route parts from the factory to the service centers yet. My roof was cracked on delivery and I still have no ETA 3 months later...

Dibs!!

 

[Tam]

...loaner for me at that point.

Loaner car cost is built-in with Service Center charge whether that charge is paid by warranty or by out-of-pocket from an owner regardless of whose fault it is.

 

[emmz0r]

They should deliver a new car and take your "old" one in inventory when it's fixed

 

[ZesPK]

They should deliver a new car and take your "old" one in inventory when it's fixed

It was a suggestion I've made on multiple occasions but always fell on deaf ears.

 

[whitex]

It was a suggestion I've made on multiple occasions but always fell on deaf ears.

As a long time Tesla customer, the key is not accept delivery of a car with major issues like this, unless they offer some major guarantee with deadlines backed by a complete refund or some compensation making it worth while, or simply give you an acceptable loaner at delivery to drive until they fix it. I know it's hard to say "I will not accept this car" when you're all excited for your new car, but once they get their money from the sale and you drove off with the car, there isn't much you, or even the service center personnel can use to as leverage to get parts from the factory.

Do you have any equivalent of a Lemon Law in your country? If the car is new and the manufacturer is unable to repair the car for an under warranty within some specified time, most states in the US have laws that force the manufacturer to buy the car back. Faced with "find a roof now or buy this car back to sit on on it while it depreciates waiting for the part" can be an incentive/leverage.

 

[ZesPK]

I had a 70D loaner that I drove for over two months, but the range just wasn't enough so, as you say, I shouldn't have accepted the car but I didn't have a spare one either.