Repair/Parts wait times in Australia

[Epwsteven]

Hi all,
Someone ran into the side of my 3 back in August, 2 weeks after I got it (safe to say I was devastated). Went through insurance painfully and had repair authorised October, about 10k worth of damage with 2 door panels needing to be replaced.

It has now been 3 months since the authorisation, and the dealer (a well reputed one in Perth) still has absolutely no estimate on delivery times for the door panels required. They say it is on back order and they don’t know when tesla will send more parts to them. I called tesla directly and it’s the same story, there is nothing they say they can do.

I can understand the cause for shipping delays, but it’s getting really frustrating driving around with no idea when my car will be fixed. I thought that at the very least, I could be given a general timeframe on when I may expect the parts, not sure if I’m being too picky here.

Has anyone else had this experience or is currently dealing with something similar? Any advice is appreciated, thankfully it’s still drivable but it’s a bit disheartening seeing my 3 like this everyday.

 

[meloccom]

I waited about 6 weeks for just new hinges for the left front door of my Model S.
when I went into Chatswood Prestige there were a lot of Model 3s waiting to be repaired.
Tesla has never been fast with parts and the Pandemic shipping situation is not helping. Sorry I don’t have any advice other than being the polite squeaky wheel.

 

[alyuan]

Don’t your repairer offer a loan car for not at fault bingles?

Car was rear ended on 1 December. Like OP, I hate to drive around with a broken rear bumper, so I opted for a loan car. Authorisation came 1 week later. Parts are pending delivery as of today.

On a Q5 loaner since.

 

[HarryYip]

This is horrible! I have been waiting for parts since December, it is almost March already . Mirage told me Tesla send them parts but the first shipment doesn’t have all the parts so they have to reorder, what the ****

 

[bay74]

I waited about four months for a new rear glass for my 3. Thankfully still drivable.

Currently waiting for a new windscreen (service cracked it, oops), but it's been less than two weeks so I'm hoping the crack doesn't grow too quickly. I'd have thought something as commonly damaged as a windscreen would be in stock but uh, apparently not.

 

[RedSky1]

This is horrible! I have been waiting for parts since December, it is almost March already . Mirage told me Tesla send them parts but the first shipment doesn’t have all the parts so they have to reorder, what the ****

You have to wonder if it was the repairer that just didn't get the order right...

I mean we are all human, mistakes happen, getting the order right to begin with or expecting certain parts to come with certain bits when in reality it's another part. The problem in this case that's a new order, and may take the same amount of wait time over again. Not saying it wasn't Tesla but yeah I know what many places would tell the customer if they stuffed the order

 

[alyuan]

An update.

Finally getting my car back on Saturday.
checked in 1/12/21
discharged 26/2/22
parts replaced: boot, bumper, charging port, rear fender, bumper bar reinforcement.

 

[Epwsteven]

Hi All - thought I would post an update/cry for help..

It’s now 5 months since my car was authorised for repair. I actually ended up calling Tesla and pushing for them to investigate the delays and why there had been no update given to the body shop. This is where it gets weird.

Tesla did investigate and came back to me saying it was in fact, the body shops fault for never finalising the order, therefore the parts were never dispatched. Obviously this was an absolutely huge issue if true, and I had been waiting 4 months for no reason. So I got my insurance involved to let them know of what I thought was a clear performance issue with the body shop.

The body shop came back to me and explained that since all my parts were on back order, they were never actually ABLE to “finalise” the order with Tesla, due to Teslas own limitations on stock ordering (I.e you can’t actually order a back ordered item. They also have a direct contact with Tesla they speak to weekly about parts, so it was not like Tesla didn’t know these parts were needed, this would have been clearly communicated to Tesla. This story was also corroborated by insurance, and I strongly believe the body shop as they are extremely reputable in WA, and clearly have been experiencing the same frustration as me during this time.

My issue now is that Tesla have effectively lied to me about who is is the wrong here, claiming that they had absolutely no knowledge of the order when they clearly did. Since this (about a month ago), Tesla sent me a list of about 20 parts required for my order. One of the parts had an estimated shipping date, every single other one was empty, with absolutely no update since.

I’m absolutely furious at this point - to a reasonable extent I can acknowledge issues with parts delays, but it has been 5 months and I am still completely in the dark. Tesla has taken no responsibility for what seems to clearly be a parts problem on their end.

If I had known that repairs and parts would not be reasonably available for this car, I would NEVER have bought it. If this goes on for much longer I’m strongly considering lodging an ACCC complaint on this basis.

Apologies for the rant, It’s very frustrating and saddening not being able to enjoy a brand new car I worked so hard for. I feel like I’ve hit a wall in terms of what I can do at this point, but any advice is appreciated.

 

[Stricko]

In the same boat at the moment its so frustrating, I've been waiting since December for a steering rack and knuckles. I did manage to talk to Tesla about the significant delay and they did send an email saying they were going to expedite the parts and airfreight them from the USA and China it appears that they have done that as one of the parts has shown up. From what I can gather ordering parts from Tesla is an absolute mess and they have a limited ability to track parts and it seems like they hold a small inventory at the Melbourne warehouse. I agree, if I had known how hard it would be to get the car repaired I may have reconsidered my purchase.

 

[alyuan]

I chatted with the owner of the Tesla approved shop who repaired mine. Funnily enough, he disclosed my parts actually got delivered to QLD And Tesla Parts was a shamble To deal with. Good luck.

 

[bay74]

Tesla told me today via message that a new windscreen might be four to six weeks. WTH? For a windscreen! We're not talking about a part which almost never fails here!

The crack is growing, and I don't want it to become a safety issue. I remember a case study in Engineering (back in the Paleocene when I was young), where a car inexplicably got a terrible crash test result and freaked the company out (can't remember who). After considerable investigation, it was determined that the windscreen had previously been 'repaired'. Point being that the windscreen is integral in a car's strength these days (well, that was 20 years ago but I'd guess it's still the case).

Clearly parts ordering is an issue Tesla Aus' needs to deal with. My guess is that the Aussie operations are being ignored by the higher-ups overseas, it's just not a priority for someone.

 

[Hairyman]

If this is the case then it seems reasonable to make some reports to the appropriate consumer bodies. Thus far my experience has been good, but then I have only had a couple of minor things with the car and I would not want to be waiting for major parts. I think any action could only help us all.

 

[Nobody Famous]

it's just not a priority for someone.

time to hit the Twitters @elonmusk

 

[dbrasse]

Hi All - thought I would post an update/cry for help..

It’s now 5 months since my car was authorised for repair. I actually ended up calling Tesla and pushing for them to investigate the delays and why there had been no update given to the body shop. This is where it gets weird.

Tesla did investigate and came back to me saying it was in fact, the body shops fault for never finalising the order, therefore the parts were never dispatched. Obviously this was an absolutely huge issue if true, and I had been waiting 4 months for no reason. So I got my insurance involved to let them know of what I thought was a clear performance issue with the body shop.

The body shop came back to me and explained that since all my parts were on back order, they were never actually ABLE to “finalise” the order with Tesla, due to Teslas own limitations on stock ordering (I.e you can’t actually order a back ordered item. They also have a direct contact with Tesla they speak to weekly about parts, so it was not like Tesla didn’t know these parts were needed, this would have been clearly communicated to Tesla. This story was also corroborated by insurance, and I strongly believe the body shop as they are extremely reputable in WA, and clearly have been experiencing the same frustration as me during this time.

My issue now is that Tesla have effectively lied to me about who is is the wrong here, claiming that they had absolutely no knowledge of the order when they clearly did. Since this (about a month ago), Tesla sent me a list of about 20 parts required for my order. One of the parts had an estimated shipping date, every single other one was empty, with absolutely no update since.

I’m absolutely furious at this point - to a reasonable extent I can acknowledge issues with parts delays, but it has been 5 months and I am still completely in the dark. Tesla has taken no responsibility for what seems to clearly be a parts problem on their end.

If I had known that repairs and parts would not be reasonably available for this car, I would NEVER have bought it. If this goes on for much longer I’m strongly considering lodging an ACCC complaint on this basis.

Apologies for the rant, It’s very frustrating and saddening not being able to enjoy a brand new car I worked so hard for. I feel like I’ve hit a wall in terms of what I can do at this point, but any advice is appreciated.

I am unfortunately experience similar issues for my Model Y. It’s been impossible to get in touch with Tesla, what phone number did you use to lodge a complaint / investigation?
Much appreciated,
-Daniel

 

[HarryYip]

The worst part is they don’t even have a department to deal with this , you don’t know who to talk to , has been waiting since December 2021 now is march 2022 ffs ,****ing useless

 

[Epwsteven]

I am unfortunately experience similar issues for my Model Y. It’s been impossible to get in touch with Tesla, what phone number did you use to lodge a complaint / investigation?
Much appreciated,
-Daniel

Hi Daniel, I just contacted their customer service line and more or less begged for them to look into it. They will tell you at first that they can’t but all I can suggest is pressing until they say they will. Even then though, it’s clear that there is still a significant disconnect between customer service and manufacturing. Good luck

 

[dbrasse]

Thank you! I will keep trying.

 

[HarryYip]

Thank you! I will keep trying.

My repairer Mirage told me Tesla still can not provide my replacement bonnet

 

[d3lerium]

I'm not looking forward to see how long it takes to replace my front bumper. Someone was nice enough to reverse into it at a Woolies car park last month . A couple repairers here in Canberra said that it could be a while, or just not wanting to take the job at all due to having other Tesla's in the shop needing parts for 6 months.

 

[HarryYip]

I'm not looking forward to see how long it takes to replace my front bumper. Someone was nice enough to reverse into it at a Woolies car park last month . A couple repairers here in Canberra said that it could be a while, or just not wanting to take the job at all due to having other Tesla's in the shop needing parts for 6 months.

Feeling the pain bro , maybe after this prior a lot of repairer will stop taking Tesla job , they need up their game seriously