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Preowned Model S delivery for experience (so far)

Discussion in 'Model S: Ordering, Production, Delivery' started by jpk195, Mar 2, 2021 at 4:24 PM.

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  1. jpk195

    jpk195 Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2018
    Messages:
    55
    Location:
    Boston Ma
    Since there are others interested/looking at buying a preowned Tesla, I thought I’d write a quick summary of how things have gone for me since I paid the deposit for a preowned Model S last month. In short - not well. I paid the 2500 deposit and delivery fee on 2/6. My original delivery date was 2/19, and I’m currently on my third date (tentatively this Saturday, 3/6). The car shipped from Texas, and was first delayed due to the recent storm. This is understandable, but Tesla didn’t know where the car was for several days after canceling my first delivery appointment. I had to call several times before I got a straight answer. They rescheduled and offered to waive part of the delivery for the headache when they eventually confirmed it was still in Texas - so okay. Fast-forward to today. I get a call an hour before my appointment saying there are “a few” error lights that popped up and they think it’s a software issue so could we reschedule for tomorrow. I took off time today and moved meetings etc to later in the week, so majorly inconvenient. Next update was that there was still an error they didn’t understand and were talking to “engineers” to sort it out. I’m now scheduled for Saturday, but only tentatively, in case it’s not solved by then.

    This is my second Tesla, so I came in expecting it could take a few weeks and with low expectations for customer service. Despite all that, I’m still disappointed. I’ll buy private from now on.
     
  2. Ostrichsak

    Ostrichsak Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2018
    Messages:
    3,178
    Location:
    Colorado, USA
    This is the exact sort of firsthand account I wish more people would take to heart whenever they incorrectly assume that Tesla sets the market value of used cars. They regularly go off of the list prices of Tesla used car as if that's somehow the definitive benchmark on what the market should be. Meanwhile, anybody whose bought used cars directly from Tesla will gladly pay a premium to buy from a private party the next time.

    If I'm selling a car and somebody tries to negotiate with me using a price of a similar car from Tesla it makes me laugh and I'm basically done negotiating. Some things are just worth a little more money to not have to deal with nightmares.

    In the hierarchy of sources you can purchase a used Tesla it goes private party, third-party dealership and a distant third is Tesla. This is especially the case with any cars that have lifetime features that are stripped on trade-in cars. Not to mention, the ability to inspect and even drive a used car prior to purchase is priceless. How Tesla thinks they can get away with selling something as unique as a used vehicle without even so much of a photograph is mind numbing to me.

    At this point, the Tesla service and Tesla used car divisions are basically nightmare factories. Sure there's a few outliers who claim to have had a positive experience but that's the exception and not the rule given the intentional inability to talk to human being with problems.
     
  3. jpk195

    jpk195 Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2018
    Messages:
    55
    Location:
    Boston Ma
    I will say, there were interactions that seemed better this time around (compared to buying a model 3 new in 2018), but ultimately this type of experience is still too frequent. I don’t agree that Tesla is necessarily worse than other dealerships/zoom/caravana overall, but there are some things you just expect them to get right that they don’t. I found exactly the car I wanted for a really good price, so I was prepared for some cosmetic issues and a few weeks until delivery. The extra year warranty is also some protection against issues that take some time to surface.

    Its clear they just still don’t have their act together in general. I sold my model 3 privately and it was a better experience on both ends than this. Looking forward to getting the car in part so I don’t have to deal with Tesla anymore.
     

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