Registration Woes

[Eevee]

I've had my CPO for 6 weeks and it's still not registered, due to Tesla title issues. I haven't sold my other car because I wanted to make sure I got the title for the Tesla and it got registered before I sold it. Well, someone did a hit and run on that car while it was parked outside of my garage!

UGH... It's not Tesla's fault of course that someone damaged my old car but it's still frustrating because if Tesla had gotten me the title sooner and I could get it registered then I would have already sold the old car.

 

[ckoval7]

Slow title transfers seems to be the norm unfortunately
I had to keep up after my sales rep and eventually they realized someone dropped the ball on some paperwork. They straightened things out, but I couldn't drive the car for a week due to expired temp tags.

 

[JoeMartin]

My temp tags have expired as of today.
I tried contacting my delivery specialist and sales adviser numerous times and they don't respond. Tried both e-mail and phone to no avail.
I also tried reaching out to [email protected], but no response there either.
On 12/26 I did an executive escalation through my Tesla portal. They replied to me yesterday and said I have to reach out to my delivery specialist.

I mentioned in my EE that I have tried reaching out to them multiple times with no response, so it looks like Tesla has no desire to help us here.
On my way home from work in ~an hour I'll be calling roadside assistance to see if they can help in any way, since they are causing legal issues for their customers.

 

[Tic-tac-toe]

I went through three sets of temporary tags before getting my permanent tags delivered by fed ex (not sure why they bothered). Usually a week before my tags expired, I’ll go to the service center and they’ll give me new temporary tags so I could keep driving.

 

[JoeMartin]

I went through three sets of temporary tags before getting my permanent tags delivered by fed ex (not sure why they bothered). Usually a week before my tags expired, I’ll go to the service center and they’ll give me new temporary tags so I could keep driving.

I would try the SC route... But the closest one is 6 hours away.

 

[Tic-tac-toe]

I would try the SC route... But the closest one is 6 hours away.

Email your delivery specialist and tell them your situation. Ask them to fed ex you the new temporary tags with a tracking number so you know for sure they are on their way to you.

Try calling the service center that you’ll normally use. If they don’t answer, your call will be forwarded to a call center. Tell the human you reach for new tags with a tracking number. The service center who are in charge of vehicle deliveries are the people you need to reach for new tags.

 

[shred86]

My local service center claimed they couldn’t give me new temporary tags. I had to email my Inside Delivery Agent who then emailed the DMV team, both located in Fremont, CA (out of state from me). They ended up sending it to wrong address so I had a four day period of not being able to drive the car which was a bit annoying. They sent me CA temp tags as well which I’m not sure how that works. I’m pretty sure my state rules are the car must be registered within 30 days but this CA temp tag says it’s good for up to 90 days.

 

[JoeMartin]

So I tried calling Support to see what they could do for me (since my SC always directs to Support anyway), and they spoke with the DMV team (the same ones that I've e-mailed multiple times with no response) and they stated the same thing that shred86 is saying, that the CA temp registration is good for 90 days and they won't send temp registration for Florida.
On a different note, they mentioned that there is still some paperwork that needs to be completed for my registration that they will need for me to sign. I guess no one was going to say anything about that and just not have anything happen.

 

[Eevee]

They sent me CA temp tags as well which I’m not sure how that works. I’m pretty sure my state rules are the car must be registered within 30 days but this CA temp tag says it’s good for up to 90 days.

Every state is different. In my state the CA tags are only good for 30 days, regardless of what they say on them. They are only good for 90 days IN CALIFORNIA. But I'm sure that there are plenty of people who have driven with these types of tags without getting pulled over.

I'm going again today to try to register my car without the title. Tesla claims it can be done, despite the rules clearly stated on the DMV website and my past experience. So... hopefully at least I will get new temp tags.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

This is a major issue, and continues to be. I went through a similar wait (although not as severe) back in Oct 2013 when I bought my first P85 service loaner. Fast forward to 2018 and I'm buying another service loaner... issue is even worse.

Here in Ga, dealers have 4-6 weeks to get the paperwork done. Tesla tries to take every bit of that by issuing temp tags with a 6 week exp date. Even that isn't enough....

I picked my 2018 MS up in Dallas on 11/24. Temp tag issued 11/23. Signed paperwork and took "official delivery" 12/7.... Why I was able to drive the car from 11/24-12/7 as a loaner is a different sad Tesla story that I'll spare the details on.

My temp tag issued 11/23 expired 1/7, so I went to our local tag office last week to get an "extension". They'll do this here in Georgia relatively easily (requires an in-person trip to the local tag office but they issue a new temp tag without too much trouble)

I have emailed and called my delivery specialist (the manager of them at this particular location) every 2-3 days since 12/7. His update is always the same... I called the DMV team and I'm waiting on an update.

When I talk to the Ga DOR and my local tag office, they're surprised because the submission is all electronic on new vehicles... it's fairly easy and quick if the dealer (Tesla) does what they're supposed to do.... So I just called the local tag office again a minute ago... no info from Tesla.

How this impacts me: Without my real tag, I have to keep assigning temp tags to my peach pass on their website to avoid fines. Not a huge deal, but an annoyance for sure. However, the bigger pain point is here in Georgia alternate fuel vehicles with the AFV tag can enter our HOV lanes with just one occupant in the car. This makes a huge impact on my over hour commute both ways... extending my commute time by 30-45m each day.

Speculation: I have a friend who owns several used car lots... told him this story. He said, you know that when they submit the electronic paperwork, they also have to send in the tax money they collected, right? So they could be trying to hold onto your tax $ until the very last minute because it works in their favor.... I shook my head and thought about it for a while.. There's really no other reason why Tesla doesn't get this done... There's no advantage for them other than this, so I'm left to conclude this is the reason they inconvenience us so... *Insert "Convince me otherwise" meme here* So incredibly frustrating.

 

[NoirMS]

cpo fully paid 10/16/18...
80 days later & multiple temps...1/4/19 recieved real plates & reg.... ridiculously long process...

 

[Eevee]

OK my update is that I was able to get it registered. I sincerely believe I just got a slightly incompetent DMV worker who processed my registration without all the proper paperwork. I believe this because a few of the things she said about taxes I fact-checked afterwards and it appears she was incorrect.

So I just need to wait a few weeks to get my plates. At least now I can sell the dented car and move on with my life.

 

[Videofrank]

Speculation: I have a friend who owns several used car lots... told him this story. He said, you know that when they submit the electronic paperwork, they also have to send in the tax money they collected, right? So they could be trying to hold onto your tax $ until the very last minute because it works in their favor.... I shook my head and thought about it for a while.. There's really no other reason why Tesla doesn't get this done... There's no advantage for them other than this, so I'm left to conclude this is the reason they inconvenience us so... *Insert "Convince me otherwise" meme here* So incredibly frustrating.

I would believe that too except, there are states where there is no tax taken at all, since the state has no sales tax on electric vehicles, like New Jersey.

I'm going through the same thing myself. Bought the car on October 25, picked it up in Georgia on November 9th. Still no plates. I'm on my second temp tag. First I was told that the check I used to pay for the car bounced, which was impossible since I paid with a certified bank check. Now I just got a call today that they are missing ALL the paperwork I filled out when I traded in my car. They are sending a Fed Ex overnight with some paperwork for me to fill out and need to send back ASAP. I asked the guy if this was the reason for the delay in my plates, he said he didn't know. Unbelievable.

 

[Tic-tac-toe]

I would believe that too except, there are states where there is no tax taken at all, since the state has no sales tax on electric vehicles, like New Jersey.
.

DC has no sales tax on electric vehicles yet I was on my 3rd set of temp tags before getting my registration, plates and street parking permit. Took delivery of car on September 23 and received plates via Fed Ex on Dec. 12. That said, I was never sure why it took so long, DC DMV or Tesla.

I picked up the two sets of temporary plates from the service center where I took delivery because Tesla never fed ex’d the temp tags as my delivery specialist said they would but I live less than an hour from the SC.

 

[HokieHaden]

Took delivery on Sep 30 and I'm now (Jan 8 and almost 100 days post delivery) on my 3rd temp tag supplied by the local Tesla dealer. Every time I go in to get a new temp tag, I ask, and there's never a straight answer for the delay. They always point the finger at the local DMV being backlogged. But, when I tell them I've owned over 20 cars in my life (yes, cars are my vice) and I've never had this kind of delay getting a tag, they have no sound rationale.

It's obviously a Tesla issue, not the local DMV.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

Thanks for the clarification all. Sounds like it's just an internal issue within the company. Doesn't bode well either way...

 

[Eevee]

I have another update:

Sold the car that got the dent. Got less than I wanted BUT the funny thing here is that CarMax actually gave us exactly what Tesla originally offered as a trade-in. So, the dent didn't seem to really matter in the long run. Just annoyed that it happened. And from now on I tell people when they come to my house NOT to park where we had the car parked but rather park in our driveway because then our security cameras can actually capture anything that happens to their car.

Got my plates yesterday!
When I put them on I had to find my own screws. It wasn't a big deal because I have plenty of loose screws around (haha), it was just kind of weird. I found that kind of funny because I've never had to do that in the past. Every car I've bought came with a license plate holder from the dealer and that was screwed in so there were screws available. It's just another, weird little way that Tesla CPO buying is different from everyone else in the industry. You can't count on little things like license plate screws.

Tesla was kind enough to give us a check to reimburse us for the late fee registration costs. I had to ask for it and provide a receipt but they did do that. After taxes and fees to both state DMVs, this car cost quite a bit more than I originally budgeted, so any little bit helps.

Now the new thing is that Tesla says they're still having trouble with getting the title. They say they need me to sign more documents, which they are FedExing to me. (I looked through my documents and these ones were already signed. Must be some problem with the originals we signed.) It sounds very shady. BUT I actually think what's going on is that the people responsible for these jobs are just young, inexperienced, uneducated and thus incompetent.

Rich Rebuilds has a video about his own experiences wherein he finds the job requirements for this job and indeed, they are so low that it's no wonder things are getting confused. The employees responsible for doing the car titles and DMV stuff are truly inexperienced. This explains why they thought that giving me only a first name, no last name or title or work schedule for the DMV worker I was supposed to talk to when I registered my car would be adequate. Many of these employees literally don't have any more experience than high school.

 

[shred86]

I never received an email from Tesla but the self-registration packet came in the mail today which included a cover letter, bill of sale, title and a partially filled out vehicle registration form. Luckily my wife was home to sign for it (FedEx overnight that requires a signature). The cover letter mentions a "Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin" is supposed to be included, but it was not included. I'm fairly certain I don't need it to register my car, just interesting the cover letter mentions it's supposed to be included. They spelled my last name incorrectly on the back of the title but I just crossed out the extra letter. I'm having a friend register the vehicle for me in the state I'm currently a resident (different than where I currently live) so I mailed out all the required documents and hopefully will have my plates soon. I took delivery of the vehicle on 14 Dec, so about 40 days to receive the title.

 

[HokieHaden]

Took delivery on Sep 30 and I'm now (Jan 8 and almost 100 days post delivery) on my 3rd temp tag supplied by the local Tesla dealer. Every time I go in to get a new temp tag, I ask, and there's never a straight answer for the delay. They always point the finger at the local DMV being backlogged. But, when I tell them I've owned over 20 cars in my life (yes, cars are my vice) and I've never had this kind of delay getting a tag, they have no sound rationale.

It's obviously a Tesla issue, not the local DMV.

Last week, after 120 days with no sign of a license plate, Tesla delivery called me and said there had been a mixup with some registration paperwork, and they needed me to come to the Tesla SC and sign a few papers. Fortunately, I'm close to the Tesla SC, so I swung by and signed the paperwork. By the way, these were definitely the same pages I signed at my 9/30 delivery. Anyway....they said they would now expedite matters with the local DMV to get my tags.

The whole operation just seems disheveled, at best. Anyway, not losing any sleep over it at this point. As long as they keep issuing me temp tags as needed until the real thing arrives.

 

[JoeMartin]

I took delivery of my S on 12/7, received my plates on 1/21 via FedEx, signature required. No notice or heads up from Tesla, just a text notification of a FedEx delivery for the next day.