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Service center experience: trading my 3 in for a Mercedes
- Thread starter Gibbon1
- Start date
I feel for the OP, but as a previous owner of several Japanese cars, a SAAB, a few BMWs and 2 Benz, I can say all OEM dealers have issues. Some make great cars and have wonderful service centers with wifi, plush sofas and coffee in the waiting areas, loaners etc, but wait until your warranty expires. I paid an average of $5K per year in repairs for a BMW 530i after my warranty expired, until I gave up and got a Honda.
I now have an Austrian motorcycle and paid $350 for a 9K (plus $50 for uber back and forth) service which was basically an oil change and various "checks." Their service center was great. I actually had the pleasure of being fleeced by a live person on the phone. Never again will I take my bike to a dealer unless I have a catastrophic failure. I can tell you I cant wait to trade in for my first electric motorcycle.
I believe we have to keep the pressure on Tesla to do better.
Their business model will evolve, the industry will evolve as more EVs and competition hit the market.
I now have an Austrian motorcycle and paid $350 for a 9K (plus $50 for uber back and forth) service which was basically an oil change and various "checks." Their service center was great. I actually had the pleasure of being fleeced by a live person on the phone. Never again will I take my bike to a dealer unless I have a catastrophic failure. I can tell you I cant wait to trade in for my first electric motorcycle.
I believe we have to keep the pressure on Tesla to do better.
Their business model will evolve, the industry will evolve as more EVs and competition hit the market.
I can feel the hate for a guy who is only posting his experience of a SC. if he feels he would be better off going back to ICE then whats the issue with all the negative comments. Its so easy to slate someone because you never experienced the same. some have had bad experience with ICE dealers as stated. but give this guy a break his experience so far with tesla looks appalling.
Tesla is a new marque in motoring and as such should be pulling out the stops to help its customers from poor build quality, doggey fitting panels, poor paint, leaks, failures of tech, that isn't even finished or ready for use yet RFD. Its parts supplies are slow and keeps customers waiting longer for fixing silly issues. independent 3rd party body shops or repair centers are scorned upon, yet ICE cars you can get fixed with out issue.
Tesla need to up there game if they want customers to part with the $ and buy, poor customer service is not the way to keep tesla customers either, long wait times along with issues that if the cars were checked properly from the factory would relive the SC from production issues. Its not only the model 3 cars suffering. I own 2 tesla cars a model S 4 years old and model 3 is 6 months old. the model S P85D now has charging rate reduced to a max of 80kw if your lucky, software induced by updates took care of that. Regen has also been reduced. basically not the same car I purchased 4 years ago charging at 110kw and full regen, range reduced by lower regen rate. Is it my problem the batterys are not living upto what was expected or promoted by tesla at the time. have I been given a refund for the reduction in range or longer waits at super chargers because of battery protection methods employed by tesla to save me having yet another battery pack. first one failed at 42k the answer is NO tesla do what they want with updates. So what you purchased for your hard earned $ is not what you end up with after a few years.
Now you may ask have I still got my tesla cars, of course I have and I enjoy driving them, the concept is great but tesla as a manufacture of cars has to remember its once dominance of the market with EV cars will only get better with customer satisfaction. Poor build quality and poor service experience will drive customers to a different brand as they become more readily available in the market.
yes they are fantastic when they work and stay working as advertised, But as an ICE driver if BMW or Merc were to update your car over night and you were getting 40MPG and now only get 35MPG would you not be piffed ?
Let the guy go back to ICE if he wants and enjoy your tesla's until you get piffed!
The first battery pack just came up with error on screen, called tesla they said battery pack failure and arranged pick up and replacement battery. the car just failed to move and would not select drive.
22 posts from Texas and either doesn’t know the definition of socialism (police, fire departments, military) or simply tries to use the word rhetorically.viva socialism
Countries pass laws. Deal with it.
DMLou
Member
I'd argue you're not even 100% right, though you're closer to the target.
You are completely right that socialism isn't the government passing laws and regulations. Socialism isn't even the government providing services (such as police, fire department, military, like you mentioned). It's the government actually owning significant portions of industries (i.e. the "means of production").
If Tesla was a government-owned corporation and the only car company around (or one of a few that are also government-owned), that would be socialism.
ord3r
Member
Actually, socialism is when the government passes laws I disagree with.
My larger concern is that the OP doesn't seem to give a damn about why Tesla exists in the first place. Perhaps a few links might be of use, or is it worth to sacrifice the planet because he had a poor service experience?
Clues issued:
1. NASA: Climate Change and Global Warming
2. News | Huge Cavity in Antarctic Glacier Signals Rapid Decay
Key point:
About the size of Florida, Thwaites Glacier is currently responsible for approximately 4 percent of global sea level rise. It holds enough ice to raise the world ocean a little over 2 feet (65 centimeters) and backstops neighboring glaciers that would raise sea levels an additional 8 feet (2.4 meters) if all the ice were lost.
In the interim, after owning a full eight Model S's, we too concur with the OP's general theme here: Tesla "Service" has become a major point of frustration and appears to only be getting worse. Elon's dream of "contactless" service is a nightmare when the app is buggy (and even friggin' inop on occasion!), and/or you have ANYTHING that doesn't fit into their specific "squares." Crazy stupid, but what Elon wants, Elon gets . . . .
Sigh.
Clues issued:
1. NASA: Climate Change and Global Warming
2. News | Huge Cavity in Antarctic Glacier Signals Rapid Decay
Key point:
About the size of Florida, Thwaites Glacier is currently responsible for approximately 4 percent of global sea level rise. It holds enough ice to raise the world ocean a little over 2 feet (65 centimeters) and backstops neighboring glaciers that would raise sea levels an additional 8 feet (2.4 meters) if all the ice were lost.
In the interim, after owning a full eight Model S's, we too concur with the OP's general theme here: Tesla "Service" has become a major point of frustration and appears to only be getting worse. Elon's dream of "contactless" service is a nightmare when the app is buggy (and even friggin' inop on occasion!), and/or you have ANYTHING that doesn't fit into their specific "squares." Crazy stupid, but what Elon wants, Elon gets . . . .
Sigh.
You should definitely contact Tesla management and report this experience to them, up to tweeting at @elonmusk .
Second physically go to your Service center and talk to a Manager.
After talking with Manager ask what is the extension number for service.
My experience was "Delivery" telling me there is no way to talk (call) service directly everything has to be through app.. me walking 50' to service and being told "of course you can call us here is our direct extension"
They do not advertise that extension anywhere.
If you get that service with BMW go with them.
But be warned about Mercedes - they have absolutely horrible service - you know that little app to control your car? They disable the app after about 18 month you buy your car.. you'll get an email saying sorry we do not support your car anymore buy a new one.
Also those "free" washes you get - I had a dash cam rolling and there is a guy with a dirty mop that scrapes the sh&t out of your brand new mercedes before it goes through a cheapo contact washing.. imagine the damage
Also they add $500 additives to your oil changes and when you ask if this is approved by MB they say yes, then you call MB and they say NO, also tell you if any additives were added your brand new Mercedes warranty is canceled.. you ask how is this possible that their dealer did this - MB HQ says dealers are independent and have no relationship with MB HQ
Dealer also confirm we are a separate company and can put anything in your oil..
My point is, Tesla service sucks, but they have 1 guy who cares about it, every other legacy OEM there is only corporate faceless drones.. so think twice before jumping in..
Of course this is IMHO.
I've been dealing with Tesla for the past 3.5 years. I had a Model S and now a Model 3. I've also owned many other brands including Nissan, Ford, BMW, Infinity, Porsche, Land Rover, Volvo and Toyota. The service experience I got from BMW, Porsche and Land Rover were all way better than the others. Toyota, Ford, Infinity, Nissan and Tesla were all about the same level of service, although Tesla is different from the others in that the service centers at Toyota, Ford, Infinity and Nissan were much nicer (more comfortable seating, TVs, business center, etc.) and better staffed, but Tesla is better about using apps / text messages, etc. to communicate which I like. I also prefer Tesla's roadside assistance service. They had to come and switch a wheel out for me at least three times over the 3 years I had the car.
The other thing I've noticed is that Tesla's service centers (at least the ones in the Atlanta area), have really deteriorated over the last 3.5 years. I first went into a Tesla location in mid 2016 to test drive a Model S. It was pretty nice with cars on display, examples of materials used in the cars on the walls (so you could get an idea of what you wanted when choosing options), a few Macs set up to explore the Tesla website, a nice seating area with a coffee machine and free bottled water and a TV, etc. That location is now just a service center with two desks for the service advisors and a couch and some chairs. I think they might have coffee, but the rest is all gone. The delivery center is now 30 miles away in a suburb and looks like an old industrial building that was not renovated at all when Tesla moved in. The furniture is extremely spartan and looks like something they found on the side of the road that someone threw out. The people working there seem like they are just going through the motions.
I can honestly say that I chose my second Tesla in spite of their service center experience and not because of it.
The other thing I've noticed is that Tesla's service centers (at least the ones in the Atlanta area), have really deteriorated over the last 3.5 years. I first went into a Tesla location in mid 2016 to test drive a Model S. It was pretty nice with cars on display, examples of materials used in the cars on the walls (so you could get an idea of what you wanted when choosing options), a few Macs set up to explore the Tesla website, a nice seating area with a coffee machine and free bottled water and a TV, etc. That location is now just a service center with two desks for the service advisors and a couch and some chairs. I think they might have coffee, but the rest is all gone. The delivery center is now 30 miles away in a suburb and looks like an old industrial building that was not renovated at all when Tesla moved in. The furniture is extremely spartan and looks like something they found on the side of the road that someone threw out. The people working there seem like they are just going through the motions.
I can honestly say that I chose my second Tesla in spite of their service center experience and not because of it.
Although buying a tesla might contribute 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% towards climate change, there are far greater forces polluting the planet and its eco system, plastics made from oil, massive ships burning tons of fuel per mile. let alone all the radio active waste dumped all over the planet, cattle fart gas even, the list is endless.
Tesla sell these cars on the basis its good for the planet, if they want people to stick with the brand they need to offer a service experience far beyond what ICE manufactures offer, a revolutionary car with revolutionary customer experience. That way word spreads the tesla experience is more than just owning a brand. yes they are amazing cars and are the future, but Tesla need to improve build quality, so that there service centers are not full of factory issues and then they can deal more readily with genuine customer issues or failures of not lets forget expensive cars. to have to wait weeks for parts and service is not good enough.
Off topic, but that is not correct. Those services mentioned are socialist in nature.
DMLou
Member
"Socialism is a political, social and economic philosophy encompassing a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership[1][2][3] of the means of production[4][5][6][7] and workers' self-management of enterprises."
Government services are social welfare, a completely different thing.
DMLou
Member
You do realize that article is satirical, right?
But hey, if you don't like Wikipedia, how about Webster's dictionary:
Definition of socialism
- any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
- a system of society or group living in which there is no private property
- a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
- a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
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