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strangers askin u questions bout ur Tesla- do u recommend ot not?

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I think there are a lot of people that have had phenomenal service and sales with their Teslas and just like any other car company, there are bad "dealerships" out there. The tech you get with the Tesla, Mobile Service, booking service in the App, send bug reports on command...etc all outweigh the negative things in my eyes.
 
I think there are a lot of people that have had phenomenal service and sales with their Teslas and just like any other car company, there are bad "dealerships" out there. The tech you get with the Tesla, Mobile Service, booking service in the App, send bug reports on command...etc all outweigh the negative things in my eyes.
I couldn't agree more. I don't consider myself a fanboy by any stretch of the imagination and my experience has been very positive so far. Both the car itself and the service I've received have been excellent so far.
 
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I think there are a lot of people that have had phenomenal service and sales with their Teslas and just like any other car company, there are bad "dealerships" out there. The tech you get with the Tesla, Mobile Service, booking service in the App, send bug reports on command...etc all outweigh the negative things in my eyes.
ya, i think I'm just really unlucky.
i read reviews b4 buying my Tesla and it seemed like 90% of the stuff i read was real positive!!!
i think it's because i live in a smaller market and SC's seem to have high turnover rates- i have one guy who seems to care and a ton more who just seem to pass off issues in other directions.

such an awesome ride!!! can't believe they created a wicked driving machine like this from scratch!

unfortunately i won't be able to deal with my incompetent SC's, so i will go back to a regular boring car next year.
 
My experience buying used from Tesla was horrible. My service experience was perfect.

I recommend to family, friends, anyone....do your homework, know what to expect, as with any purchase. I love my car, however, I wish Tesla would improve many aspects of buying used and from what I've gathered here (on TMC), service. Although, again, I've only had service once, and it was a pleasure, and communication was great, more than needed actually.
 
I haven't had any problems with customer service, I always recommend the car. The only "issue" I had was when I got charged the $200 deductible for extended warranty repairs. Although that was only because I hadn't been charged the first couple of times I was on the extended.
 
I'm honest. "This is the best car I ever had. It's had a lot of problems,. LOTS. But mostly over the years they were covered under warranty and the company turned problems into loaner test drives of new cars; of features I'll want on my next Tesla. Over the last year or two the company went down hill and now warranty doesn't seem to exist any more, so expensive problems aren't being fixed any more and sometimes actual options you pay for are stolen without notice. I used to recommend the company every time, now I recommend waiting until it goes back to being a company that stands behind its product. Electric cars are becoming more common finally though so if they take too long you should be able to find lots of other options. In short: Great car, but if you have to deal with the company in any way you'll regret it. It didn't used to be like that so maybe it won't always be this way either. If you want to know what ownership is like, call the service center and try to get ahold of someone live. If you do (sometimes they have sales staff, sometimes) try to talk to someone in service to ask them a question - doesn't matter what make it up. The test is just confirming that they have a service department you can talk to. If they do, things are already getting better."

I'm still optimistic Tesla will get out of this funk some day but I can't sugar coat how frustrating interactions with the company itself are.
 
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After four years and two CPO purchases, I have nothing bad to say about Tesla and always highly recommend them. As a former BMW/MB guy, I have found the service to be on par with those brands. The addition of the mobile service made the experience even more exceptional. I've required little to no repair work. A door handle, a rear motor on my first car, a leaky sunroof and a 12V battery. All were repaired at no cost under warranty with minimal inconvenience. There is no chance that any car I buy in the future will not be a Tesla.
 
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After four years and two CPO purchases, I have nothing bad to say about Tesla and always highly recommend them. As a former BMW/MB guy, I have found the service to be on par with those brands. The addition of the mobile service made the experience even more exceptional. I've required little to no repair work. A door handle, a rear motor on my first car, a leaky sunroof and a 12V battery. All were repaired at no cost under warranty with minimal inconvenience. There is no chance that any car I buy in the future will not be a Tesla.

yup, I'm almost positive I'm one of the unluckiest Tesla buyers.
lots of random issues.
rangers that don't give a crap.
overall runaround from everyone.

your kinda glowing reviews of ownership made me jump into a Tesla....
 
i had a few people asking me bout my Model S this weekend at a hotel destination charger

i told them car is wicked awesome, but Tesla employee's are bananas and trying to ask questions or arranging service can be bonkers


i tell people to stay away unless they like the feeling of frustration
This has totally not been my experience over the past coming up on seven years and 129K miles. Arranging for service has never been an issue (last time was about three weeks ago). Tesla service personnel have always been top rate. True, they don't always know what the future plans are for replacement parts, but I wouldn't expect them to.
 
Tesla owner since Jan 2013 - now with a 2017 S and 2018 X.

In the early days (2013-2014), when there were few Tesla vehicles on the road, we were frequently stopped at restaurants, stores, even while stopped at intersections - with questions about Tesla and our ownership experience. Now with so many Tesla vehicles on the road, it's rare someone asks us about Tesla.

In the 6 years we've been owners, we've seen Tesla service and support change over time. Overall we've had our vehicles in for service far less than any ICE we've owned - and the service experience has been better than service at ICE dealerships.

When Tesla has gone through growing pain, the time between request and the service appointment tends to get longer, until Tesla has increased their bandwidth to handle more customers.

Tesla's not following the same playbook as the ICE manufacturers and dealers - pushing for different ways to deliver support and service, increasing automation, and increasing the number of vehicles being supported per Tesla staff member. The ability to do most of the service with mobile service vans could be a game changer - replacing the traditional service appointment with service where and when is convenient for the owner. They're shifting to use app/online interfaces for as much as possible, which are much more resource efficient than phone support.

Especially with the number of customers and vehicles is supporting now, it shouldn't be surprising that some areas and owners will experience issues - though based on our experience over the last 6 years, once Tesla has fully deployed their new support & service models, we expect this situation will improve considerably.

And, at least for us, we haven't experienced any issues with servicing our S or X this year...

We'll continue to encourage ICE owners to consider purchasing a Tesla...
 
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Tesla owner since Jan 2013 - now with a 2017 S and 2018 X.

In the early days (2013-2014), when there were few Tesla vehicles on the road, we were frequently stopped at restaurants, stores, even while stopped at intersections - with questions about Tesla and our ownership experience. Now with so many Tesla vehicles on the road, it's rare someone asks us about Tesla.

In the 6 years we've been owners, we've seen Tesla service and support change over time. Overall we've had our vehicles in for service far less than any ICE we've owned - and the service experience has been better than service at ICE dealerships.

When Tesla has gone through growing pain, the time between request and the service appointment tends to get longer, until Tesla has increased their bandwidth to handle more customers.

Tesla's not following the same playbook as the ICE manufacturers and dealers - pushing for different ways to deliver support and service, increasing automation, and increasing the number of vehicles being supported per Tesla staff member. The ability to do most of the service with mobile service vans could be a game changer - replacing the traditional service appointment with service where and when is convenient for the owner. They're shifting to use app/online interfaces for as much as possible, which are much more resource efficient than phone support.

Especially with the number of customers and vehicles is supporting now, it shouldn't be surprising that some areas and owners will experience issues - though based on our experience over the last 6 years, once Tesla has fully deployed their new support & service models, we expect this situation will improve considerably.

And, at least for us, we haven't experienced any issues with servicing our S or X this year...

We'll continue to encourage ICE owners to consider purchasing a Tesla...

amazing!
for me, my car is 5.5 years old, so things are going on it one by one....
when i book an appointment through the app, its usually 3 weeks away.
by the time appointment comes up, another problem with car has happened.

right now I'm dealing with battery pack swap, drive unit, both display screens have bubbles, and one of the door handles they replaced still squeaks and rattles.

i keep running back and forth to the SC, while they take care of one item at a time.

today will be my 5th visit in 10 days to SC.

2 of the return trips for 4 hours round trip!

bringing back the loaner they issued to me yesterday, so I can pick up my car, and then go back again in 1-3 weeks to have hopefully the rest of items fixed

loads of miscommunication and blatant lies from the two SC's i have to go between because mine is a new small market SC.

Big SC is telling me they will only do the battery pack swap and not the other issues because my SC has parts and can do the remaining items.

My SC tells me the bigger SC had all the parts and should have done the entire job.
My SC tells me they are not even equipped to replace drive unit, so if their drive unit equipment doesn't arrive soon my car would actually have to to back to the bigger SC for that repair!

There is nobody in charge to speak with.

I was apparently dealing with the service manager at the bigger SC last week.
Explained the runaround I get every time i try to have csr serviced.

Yesterday I was informed that manager is no longer with the company, so i essentially wasted my time detailing every issue I encountered

Anyways, I'm all but drained from this experience- I wish I could have had that warm and fuzzy experience most of the people on this forum seem to have!!!

it does sound amazing when it all works as it should
 
If you expect the level of customer service on par with Amazon or Mercedez, you likely will be sorely disappointed and left frustrated. It is Tesla policy to have as little interaction with high-$$ customers as possible, which is great as long as you don't need them and you live your life on your phone apps. If you do need them, you are at the mercy of your local SC, which may be near you (drop in) or far from you (phone app). Forget Saturday appointments, so take that into account if you work during the week. The Ranger may be helpful. Tesla's policy to go out their way to deny you warranty labor and parts on defective items or questionable function. It is exactly because people love the car, or the idea that their electric car is made by Tesla, that the company has zero incentive to be a real car company.
 
Since my experience has been very very good, I always recommend Tesla. Although most people only ask two questions 1) how long does it take to charge and 2) how far does it go.

Having said that I do feel terribly sorry for people like passhard who have been doing it tough. Customer Service is all about the people you have serving the customers, if a SC is badly manged the experience will fall apart quick IMO. But it does seems strange North American service would be so bad :confused:
 
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In the early days (2013-2014), when there were few Tesla vehicles on the road, we were frequently stopped at restaurants, stores, even while stopped at intersections - with questions about Tesla and our ownership experience. Now with so many Tesla vehicles on the road, it's rare someone asks us about Tesla.

In the 6 years we've been owners, we've seen Tesla service and support change over time. Overall we've had our vehicles in for service far less than any ICE we've owned - and the service experience has been better than service at ICE dealerships.
...

...
today will be my 5th visit in 10 days to SC.
...

My anecdotal experience is between these two.

*Still asked questions about (my) Tesla - had someone flag me down at an intersection while waiting to turn left as recent as two weeks ago, and drive-thru workers ogling the center display this past weekend. Not as much as 2015, but still non-negligible.

*For two Tesla vehicles with a cumulative ownership of 82 months, we've had service visits (both mobile and SC) a total of 18 times (every 4.5 months). Far greater frequency than any ICE I've owned (and likely more $$$, but I haven't tallied), but never approached 5 times in less than a month.
Reasons for service:
-Issues found on the drive home from pickup (misaligned window seal, misaligned FWD)
-Annual service visits (when those were a thing)
-Failed door handles, window actuators, 12V batteries
-Airbag recall
-Repairs of damages caused by the service team
-Unforeseen HVAC issues prompting engineering/design changes (my S was apparently known company wide as the "cockroach car")

*Of the noted services, only twice was a Tesla loaner not provided, and that was because the work was less than 2 hours. This has ranged from loaner available at SC, loaner driven to me to take the car, car returned to me and loaner driven back to SC by staff. Never had an impolite service staff encounter.

*I still recommend Tesla to people, but with caveats.
-"The company could go bankrupt due to the daily whims of investors/short sellers, be financially able to withstand the car instantly losing its value."
-"If you get in an accident, be prepared to lose the car for months for what would take an ICE 2 weeks."
-"Have home 240V charging available, don't rely on public infrastructure or superchargers."
 
Love my 2016 70D Model S. I have had no issues dealing with the SC at Tyson's in northern Virginia. I tell everyone I love the car, the service and the "looks" I get when driving it. Taking long trips is so much better than with an ICE. So much less tiring because I stop to charge every 4 hours. However, I am honest about accident inconvenience. I had damage to the front quarter panel in an accident and it took 2 months to repair. I also recomment that it is best to have home 240V charging, rather than relying on public charging.
 
After Tesla force downgraded my UI off off V8, they showed me that, for their software management convenience, they willing to treat their customers as if we purchase a disposable cell phone. Now they do everything they can to decline legitimate warranty repairs, add in batterygate and chargegate, and I no longer trust Tesla. I no longer recommend them.
 
Here's what I say ... distilled for brevity
  • Drivetrain and tech are great
  • FW updates add new features, but tend to be buggy and break others
  • Service center is horrible (here in So Cal), long wait to get in, frequently damages vehicle
  • Crap shoot if you'll get a loaner ... Uber credits don't cover tips, so cost of Uber can be more than driving when you have to pay tip out of pocket.
  • Rangers have been great and tend to fix everything the service center breaks
  • Interior does NOT match the price of the vehicle … if you're looking for Audi/Merc/BMW level of quality, you will be sorely disappointed.
Personally, I will really reconsider if I will keep my Model S once the warranty runs out. If I do, I will have to purchase the extended warranty. I suspect that the out of pocket costs from all my warranty service to date would have exceeded $8-10K USD
 
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Of course I recommend. Always. Having issues with service, cmon, some ICE car service centers are even worth, no rentals, no uber money, you sit there and breath gas, oil etc.... buying used experience was better than I expected (I guess it is hit or miss), I always recommend buying tesla vs other EVs, telling people that tesla might be more expensive to buy than Toyota or Honda, but long term ownership makes the huge difference. I even tell them to email me or call if they want/need help choosing new or used teslas.