Reliability and Remote Service when needed

[danarcha]

I am seriously considering purchasing a Model 3 this summer. I live in the South Bend, IN area where we do not have a Tesla service center. Our closest service center is downtown Chicago, about 2 hours away, or the northside of Indianapolis about 2.5 hours away. I would like to hear from others about how reliable the Model 3 is. How often is service required? I know Teslas should be much more reliable than ICE cars, but has anyone experienced frequent problems? When service is required, how easy is it to request remote service, and what is the wait time for someone in a location like me, a couple hours away from service centers? Thanks!

 

[OCR1]

We have two Model 3’s with over 20,000 miles combined between the two of them and have had zero issues requiring a visit to the service center. But if you read through this forum you will see that everyone’s experience is different. In general the Model 3 has proven to be very reliable but occasionally someone gets a car that has some issues.

Two hours is not too bad given that you likely will only need to go there once every year or two at most. The first actual service is after two years of ownership. Tire service, rotation, and balancing can all be handled by local service shops.

When people say they are six hours away from the nearest service center I usually recommend holding off on purchase. But in your case I think you will be fine. Mobile service can handle most smaller items and can be scheduled through the app.

 

[Az_Rael]

Just be aware that many delivery day write ups such as panel misalignments, paint defects, etc do require the service center. Might also be worth your while to call your closest service center and ask what their loaner policy is.

 

[tvad]

How finicky are you? What is your time without a car worth for fixing items like rattles or tire and body panel misalignment?

If your car stops working or you blow a tire (rare but happens), are you willing to sacrifice the hours it may take to get to a service center and wait through the weekend until they open on Monday?

It’s not as easy as getting a repair at a local repair shop or dealership.

These are questions you have to ask yourself.

 

[super20g]

If you are the type of guy that just buys the car and as long as it drives, you are good, then I'd say go for it. The major components are usually pretty reliable. If you care about fit and finish or when errors/issues pop up and you want them addressed. Then you sometimes get in this service feedback loop where something else is damaged or broken when you get the car back and around and around you go, which is annoying when you have to burn a day each time due to distance from service.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

How finicky are you? What is your time without a car worth for fixing items like rattles or tire and body panel misalignment?

If your car stops working or you blow a tire (rare but happens), are you willing to sacrifice the hours it may take to get to a service center and wait through the weekend until they open on Monday?

It’s not as easy as getting a repair at a local repair shop or dealership.

These are questions you have to ask yourself.

highly recommend an aftermarket spare tire kit *if* you are an hour of more away from a service center. that way you can swap out tires and go to any Discount Tire / etc of your choice. Service Centers are the worst option for getting a flat fixed....

 

[OCR1]

highly recommend an aftermarket spare tire kit *if* you are an hour of more away from a service center. that way you can swap out tires and go to any Discount Tire / etc of your choice. Service Centers are the worst option for getting a flat fixed....

How finicky are you? What is your time without a car worth for fixing items like rattles or tire and body panel misalignment?

If your car stops working or you blow a tire (rare but happens), are you willing to sacrifice the hours it may take to get to a service center and wait through the weekend until they open on Monday?

It’s not as easy as getting a repair at a local repair shop or dealership.

These are questions you have to ask yourself.

Why would you use a service center for a tire problem rather than using their roadside assistance?

 

[tvad]

Why would you use a service center for a tire problem rather than using their roadside assistance?

Poor wording. What I meant was tire/wheel alignment.

But, to your point, a damaged/punctured sidewall, or tire blowout would require a trip to the service center.

 

[OCR1]

Poor wording. What I meant was tire/wheel alignment.

But, to your point, a damaged/punctured sidewall, or tire blowout would require a trip to the service center.

Why wouldn’t you just go to a tire shop for those things?

 

[camalaio]

Someone else will have to comment if Mobile Service is even available in your area. Seems to be more common in the US, but until recently I needed to drive out to the next city (50 minutes) to get to a spot they operate out of as a sort of Mobile Service hub (not a true service centre). Even now that it's available in my town, it's only one day per week IIRC. And it's on a weekday.

Things to keep in mind (and the local service situation may be different from mine):

• Appointments are usually a month out, even just for diagnostics. Weekends are even further out.
• Tesla will not give you an estimate for your appointment. For far away service centres, this could be the difference between you driving home that night (and wasting an entire day just to service your car) or needing to find a hotel just to have your car looked at.
• They will change key aspects of your appointment one or two days before it, as this appears to be when they actually look at the appointment details. If you made arrangements (e.g. time off work) to go to a service centre, there's a possibility they'll change it to Mobile Service a day or two before the appointment (and schedule it for a later date).

Mobile Service has been good to me so far, but they can't do everything. If I ever need a full service centre, I need to travel 5 hours one way. I'm not terribly happy about that situation and I know I'll likely need to one day. I don't recommend a Tesla to those that don't like this and don't have a backup vehicle (they also don't do loaners here for Model 3 owners). Of note is that I work from home, so I drop my wife off and then take the car wherever needed for service. Not everyone has this flexibility.

For common stuff (tires, alignment, air filters, body work, windshield replacement) you can get any local shop to do the work. There is no need to drive to a Tesla service centre for these unless you want to pay big bucks for similar service (or actually worse, given the above).

 

[tvad]

Why wouldn’t you just go to a tire shop for those things?

No reason.

Disregard my post.

Thank you.

 

[Msjulie]

Poor wording. What I meant was tire/wheel alignment.

I just have to say the local SC did a 4 wheel alignment for my car cheaper than some of the local shops quoted. Just as a data point, it won't always be true perhaps.

 

[OCR1]

I just have to say the local SC did a 4 wheel alignment for my car cheaper than some of the local shops quoted. Just as a data point, it won't always be true perhaps.

How much did they charge?

 

[Msjulie]

146 as I recall

 

[OCR1]

146 as I recall

That’s pretty reasonable given that you at least know they are familiar with Tesla vehicles. I wonder why the price of service varies so much from one service center to another.

 

[Darmie]

I'd recommend getting a good tire plug kit,
https://www.amazon.com/Tooluxe-5000...d=1581424244&sprefix=tire+repa,aps,223&sr=8-6

and an air compressor to keep with you. I've used our plug kit 4 different times, 1 on the road during Christmas vacation. The tires are some what wider than others so we've been lucky the intrusion was not on the edge. I have seen model 3 tire kits of you want to keep a spare.