Successful Full Refund (Buy-Back / Vehicle Return) After Three Months & 636 Miles

[ElectricLee]

Mine was bought back recently and then they cancelled my replacement order and said they won't sell me another car. That if I would have kept it, they would have allowed me to buy another car from them but since I asked for it to be bought back, even though it had a laundry list of valid issues, and even though I cancelled the arbitration case, they don't want me as a customer again, heh. The showroom new experience has been a let down twice now so I am not sure I am all that bothered by that... I still own another Model 3... These guys have thin skin.

Use you aol email account and buy another Model 3. Wink wink

 

[SJC3]

That’s nuts. I always wondered if a company wouldn’t really blacklist a customer due to litigation.

 

[super20g]

Use you aol email account and buy another Model 3. Wink wink

Lol. These guys have my number... I am very open and honest with them and they don't appreciate that. No way they will let me slide one through under my name at least. And honestly I am kind of tired of dealing with a disorganized company that can't handle accurate/critical feedback... Probably doesn't help that I can take the buy back $ and upgrade to a new optioned out car and still have money to burn due to their pricing changes. They sure don't care how much of my vacation and personal time they have wasted over the past year either running back and forth hours each way. Wonder how elite of a club I am in? Anyone else banned from re-ordering? Guess they would rather my money go to a 3rd party and they still support the product under the warranty? LMAO. I'm happy with just the one other Tesla in the garage for now.

 

[sonicP3D]

Mine was bought back recently and then they cancelled my replacement order and said they won't sell me another car. That if I would have kept it, they would have allowed me to buy another car from them but since I asked for it to be bought back, even though it had a laundry list of valid issues, and even though I cancelled the arbitration case, they don't want me as a customer again, heh. The showroom new experience has been a let down twice now so I am not sure I am all that bothered by that... I still own another Model 3... These guys have thin skin.

Oh wow... We basically had the same situation. Maybe my laundry list was more "reasonable" than yours, or maybe I was just being super nice in my communications?

What was wrong with it?

As of the condition when I turned it in, it still has a laundry list of unresolved paint issues on almost every panel on the car even though it has been to the bodyshop for repaint twice. Some from factory, some from bad masking at bodyshop, some made worse by the bodyshop. They scratched the trunk to the metal while removing the inner plastic trim to replace tail lights, and "fixed" it with a dab of touch up paint. Steering wheel left horn button doesn't honk.

 

[super20g]

Oh wow... We basically had the same situation. Maybe my laundry list was more "reasonable" than yours, or maybe I was just being super nice in my communications?

As of the condition when I turned it in, it still has a laundry list of unresolved paint issues on almost every panel on the car even though it has been to the bodyshop for repaint twice. Some from factory, some from bad masking at bodyshop, some made worse by the bodyshop. They scratched the trunk to the metal while removing the inner plastic trim to replace tail lights, and "fixed" it with a dab of touch up paint. Steering wheel left horn button doesn't honk.

I wasn't super nice towards the end of that one and had to stir the pot through various levels of management all the way up to general council just to get them to react and actually 'help' me... I was just honest. No sugar coating though and they called me names like obnoxious so evidently I got under their skin. Incompetence takes the niceness out of me once I burn more than a week of vacation time, personal time away from my infant at home, well over a month with a car out of service, etc. when they could have just allowed the return months earlier when the main damage/issues occured at only 250 miles...

Mine was returned fully detailed down to the tag hanging from the glove box. As new as I could deliver it back to them. They could have given a sh!t less, but that's how I operate. If they don't want my business, meh, their loss.

 

[r1200gs4ok]

Man I feel you.

I got my m3 in oct 2018, returned it 2 days later because I was supposed to get a new car and was given one with 500 miles on it.

I finally got my check last week.

I literally was hounding the delivery specialists and their managers a few times a week for 3 months. They were polite but always gave wrong and conflicting information.

You had a worse experience than me though. I was supposedly covered under their happiness guarantee, and you on the other hand was given a lemon and not sure if someone was waiting a while for them to make it right.

I got to thinking that Tesla didn't want to close out 2018 with refunds, so they waited until January to send them out. Dick move!

I would have never accepted a new car with 500 miles on it.....per Ca DMV, It is used it it has over 50 miles on it

 

[r1200gs4ok]

You are wrong. He is entitled to the tax credit.

I believe you have to keep the car for 2 years to get tax credit and agree not to sell it....in this case, you had not planned on selling it....you returned it because id issues....therefore, I believe you can take both credits, but dont know how the tax forms will be written this year....consult your CPA

 

[m3supra]

This thread is great information, thanks to everyone that went through the process as I am beginning the process myself and my case is in the business resolutions teams' hands. My buyback is being initiated due to multiple failed attempts to repair. Hopefully, I don't get ignored or given the run around again by the service manager.

Has anyone had Tesla offset the buyback amount for mileage?

I have less than 4k miles now, but I documented the issues via email the day after delivery and my first service appointment was 2 weeks after delivery. I've been reading about lemon laws and it seems that since my issue documented and first attempt was so early on that it shoudn't be an issue, but still curious if Tesla did try offset the offer for miles driven.

 

[SJC3]

If you have the email AND the service invoices consistently showing the same issue being work on from that early mileage, then you shouldn't have mileage offset upon buyback as it happened so early. States may differ but this is what I saw in CA

 

[super20g]

This thread is great information, thanks to everyone that went through the process as I am beginning the process myself and my case is in the business resolutions teams' hands. My buyback is being initiated due to multiple failed attempts to repair. Hopefully, I don't get ignored or given the run around again by the service manager.

Has anyone had Tesla offset the buyback amount for mileage?

I have less than 4k miles now, but I documented the issues via email the day after delivery and my first service appointment was 2 weeks after delivery. I've been reading about lemon laws and it seems that since my issue documented and first attempt was so early on that it shoudn't be an issue, but still curious if Tesla did try offset the offer for miles driven.

They can do what they want. Especially if you don't go through with an arbitration or court case costing them more money they are much more likely to waive the mileage offset. It is completely up to them.

 

[m3supra]

If you have the email AND the service invoices consistently showing the same issue being work on from that early mileage, then you shouldn't have mileage offset upon buyback as it happened so early. States may differ but this is what I saw in CA

I have the initial email I sent to "NorcalConcerns" but looks like I may have deleted the old invoices. The service manager did say they reviewed all my prior invoices and saw the pattern. Hopefully, I don't have to resort to lawyer up for this and having it draw out.

I'll attempt to recover my past service invoices and maybe Tesla will be nice enough to provide them....

They can do what they want. Especially if you don't go through with an arbitration or court case costing them more money they are much more likely to waive the mileage offset. It is completely up to them.

Thanks, looks like I'm going to have to lawyer up if I don't like their offer.

 

[gurtburns]

I'll add my story here as well. State: PA

Bought a P3D in August '18. Had repeated issues with the safety restraint system (4+ visits) amongst other things (6 other visits). I finally asked for a buy back in July 19' (23k miles, first restraint issue at 11k) took two weeks to process. They offered full purchase price + tax (No FUSC rebate deduction, No Tax credit deduction, No mileage offset). I turned the car in on August 1 and got the check 8 days later.

Currently have another P3D ordered waiting on a VIN.

As a side note If they didn't give me a reasonable offer I was going to file an arbitration claim and had a solid case because in PA it fulfilled all of the lemon law qualifications.

 

[super20g]

I'll add my story here as well. State: PA

Bought a P3D in August '18. Had repeated issues with the safety restraint system (4+ visits) amongst other things (6 other visits). I finally asked for a buy back in July 19' (23k miles, first restraint issue at 11k) took two weeks to process. They offered full purchase price + tax (No FUSC rebate deduction, No Tax credit deduction, No mileage offset). I turned the car in on August 1 and got the check 8 days later.

Currently have another P3D ordered waiting on a VIN.

As a side note If they didn't give me a reasonable offer I was going to file an arbitration claim and had a solid case because in PA it fulfilled all of the lemon law qualifications.

Man sounds like I got the screws put to me for not being allowed to reorder if I went through with the buy back they offered. What on earth couldn't they fix with the restraint system in 4+ visits?

 

[gurtburns]

Man sounds like I got screwed for not being allowed to reorder if I went through with the buy back. What on earth couldn't they fix with the restraint system in 4+ visits?

First time was "Its a software issue"

Second (two parter) time they sent out a Mobile tech to replace the front passenger seat but realized the replacement was damaged. 6 weeks later they did another mobile tech to actually replace the seat.

Third time they kept it over a week and tried to replicate the issue but couldnt (intermittent error that went away after 1+ hour rest)
They replaced both front control modules

Fourth was a mobile tech visit to check again to dig into the logs again ( I gave timestamps). Couldnt figure it out

Fifth time (I asked for a buy-back when I dropped if off for service) They found that the passenger seat harness was damaged. Then found a short in the rear defroster. then found a bent pin in the passenger sideview mirror module.

They may have fixed it after the last time but I was done with the car. They offered me 3500 in service credit if I would keep the car instead of doing a buy-back, I declined.

Other stuff that had gone wrong:

Passenger side loses power (windows, mirror, AC vents) -> replaced harness
Issue with charge port controller failing update -> had to reset the controller
window/door controller module had an internal short that caused the buttons to go to the wrong windows -> replaced controller
Door randomly opening (related to issue above) -> same controller as above
Steering column misalignment causing squeaking -> removed and reinserted steering column
AC fan stopped working and required a hard reset (this was a software bug I believe) (happened in 100F weather in the middle of a trip) -> software update
More small stuff like trim issues. MCU reboots during driving. -> replaced trim and software updates

Man I hadn't written all of that down before. Now I feel more validated. I loved the car but I hated the problems.

Yeah you got screwed not being able to reorder. Cost differential is huge.

 

[m3supra]

They offered me 3500 in service credit if I would keep the car instead of doing a buy-back, I declined.

Does service credit towards any out of warranty costs that you might incur in the future? If so, that shitty and I would also declined.

 

[gurtburns]

Does service credit towards any out of warranty costs that you might incur in the future? If so, that shitty and I would also declined.

It was for any out of warranty work, parts, or maintenance. Im not sure if I could buy from the Tesla shop online but I could have gotten tires, rims, other parts, and scheduled maintenance items. If I didn't need parts I would have had to wait until the warranty to expire to use the credits on repairs or use them on maintenance.

 

[notAnExpert]

...
They may have fixed it after the last time but I was done with the car. They offered me 3500 in service credit if I would keep the car instead of doing a buy-back, I declined.
...

Interesting that they offered just $3,500. In comparison, I'd imagine you benefitted $10K+ with the buyback and repurchase because they didn't deduct any tax credits or mileage, and the new P3D list price is much lower now than in 2018?

 

[gurtburns]

Interesting that they offered just $3,500. In comparison, I'd imagine you benefitted $10K+ with the buyback and repurchase because they didn't deduct any tax credits or mileage, and the new P3D list price is much lower now than in 2018?

Yep wasn't a good offer to prevent the buyback. Only 'cost' to me (after the buyback) was insurance, electricity, and interest on the loan. which came to about 4k, but I got more than that from the FUSC refund and EV credit. Plus 25k miles on a car (2k on loaner). Also the list price on the car is now 17k+ less. I hate for Tesla that I came out so far 'ahead' but It was a long 11 months with a car that was constantly in the shop or having critical issues while driving it. As a side note I can almost drive the 1 hour trip to the service center while sleeping.

 

[notAnExpert]

... As a side note I can almost drive the 1 hour trip to the service center while sleeping.

I guess that's one way Tesla gave you FSD

I'm glad the buyback went well. Best wishes on the new car.

 

[David3]

This thread is great information, thanks to everyone that went through the process as I am beginning the process myself and my case is in the business resolutions teams' hands. My buyback is being initiated due to multiple failed attempts to repair. Hopefully, I don't get ignored or given the run around again by the service manager.

Has anyone had Tesla offset the buyback amount for mileage?

I have less than 4k miles now, but I documented the issues via email the day after delivery and my first service appointment was 2 weeks after delivery. I've been reading about lemon laws and it seems that since my issue documented and first attempt was so early on that it shoudn't be an issue, but still curious if Tesla did try offset the offer for miles driven.

If it happened really early say at 10 miles then just pay the offset, probably cost ~$5
Since you are in California just use the formula below to calculate the actual cost
(driven miles up to first issue / 120,000 miles) x purchase price = mileage offset cost