@csalvato you just need to be a fan boy and give them $100k - c'mon - its a Tesla!
We had much the same pre-sale experience as you did. Inexpert sales staff, confusing procedures etc.
My wife found a very nice used [ah, excuse me, CPO] 2014 with the options she wanted somewhere in LA. We filled out the form online and waited for Tesla to call us. We assumed, like most car companies, an hour or so would go by before it filtered down to the correct location. She filled out the form on a Saturday at 1015am . . .
No call back at all that day. So - we decided, lets drive out to Pasadena to the Tesla store Sunday after church, and drive a car, see if you like, and have them get the car. Like any other normal car dealership.
Oh no - Tesla is not normal. We get there and they have two Model X's out front, girls in bikinis, a food spread in the back, and lots people in Tesla shirts standing around with iPads. Not a single one comes up to us. I figure we must not look like Tesla people, we're definitely not fan boys of anything.
We finally corral one of these people who are literally not doing anything other than avoiding customers - and we say: hey, we're interested in a car, we have not driven one, we'd like to test drive one and look at CPO vs. new.
Now THIS is where they are like any other dealer" "Are you planning on buying a car today?"
Me: Well, I don't have $100k in my pocket, but if you'll take a credit card maybe we can work something out.
Wife: The car is for me, I haven't driven one yet and I'd like to drive one.
Teslagirl: Well, you stupid little girl, we don't do walk up test drives. [What she actually said was: I don't think we have any test drives 'open' today.]
Wife: just stands there - she's no dummy.
Teslagirl: I'll be right back.
Teslaman: comes up to me. Excuse me, you're thinking of a Tesla?
me: Nope.
Teslaman: confused look. Bambi [or whatever her name was] said you were looking for a test drive.
me: that would be my wife. It's her car, SHE is the customer.
Teslaman: oh *sugar* look on his face - turns to my wife - who is standing there not real happy. . . .
And it goes on like this for a few min until he says they don't have any open test drives today: Why don't you schedule one.
Wife: We live 40 miles away, you are the closest dealer so its not exactly convenient.
Teslaman: nothing I can do for you today.
me: so those two car sitting out front are for what purpose? Street decoration? [they both had over 1000 miles on them - so they were not 'showroom fresh'
wife: so I guess it doesn't matter if bought one, we couldn't drive it today? [she's good with snark when its appropriate]
Teslaman: daggers
Anyway - it was not the best introduction to the company anyone ever had. Who ever thought you would need to call in advance to schedule a test drive at their convenience? BMW/MB and heck, even Maserati let you walk in off the street and test drive a car.
So she schedules one for next week, somewhere else. And orders a car. The process is relatively painless at this point. We get the $1000 off and free supercharging.
three days later we get the invoice and final agreement - no $1000 off. Suffice to say getting it was not a problem.
The salesman [cut the OA crap, they're salesmen] tells me we can swap the deposit to another car, I find the exact color and options - only difference is white vs, cream - the new cream is pretty damn close to white -so I called him and said 'you told us you'd be looking for a car in white or cream - I found one [you lazy bastaaard] and then he says 'its not available." [Yes, it was Oct 25 that I called - ]
I said: "so it was available yesterday, but not today, and you were supposed to be looking for one, and here one was, sitting in inventory closer to us that you are sitting now, and I had to find it." He sent us a jacket.
Then we had the 'discussion' over their need to retain a photocopy online of my wife's driver license. We're paying cash, no financing, no liens. Cash. You can certainly have the number of her DL for the Bill of Sale and title document, but if you don't have our document, when you have a data breach we have nothing to worry about.
Well you would have thought we just tried to steal the prototype model 3. "Not follow our procedures blessed by Elon himself? You must be joking." So they 'understand' our concern and tell us that since we're not using financing they can 'make an exception' blah blah blah. I laughed. Literally.
Then we got a call from the salesman. He tells us all about the loyalty discount code program - to help them sell more cars - and says things like we can get a tour of the factory, or get to sit in on a product announcement with Elon. He said this seriously. As if we'd been waiting months to hear that we can sit off to the side and watch Elon perform.
The bride is looking forward to the car. we both have open eyes on this adventure though. It feels an awful lot like I"m buying a DeLorean or a K car when they first came out. Lots of fanboydom and questionable quality.
At the least the EAP car we test drove did not try to kill us. And the autopark worked. That was a tight space - I would have not put it back in there if I were driving.
BTW: she got the call back from the original contact TEN days later - a week and a half.
