Tesla gave my car away to someone else

[dmurphy]

I had to hire a rush contractor who was willing to come within 7 days- do you know how hard that is ? I had to buy a wall connector off amazon at a premium to the Tesla $500 price because I knew the website was wildly unreliable and many people didn’t get orders delivered for weeks or sometimes months. I had to pull permits. I rearranged my personal life and took myself off a family vacation, rescheduled coworkers who were scheduled to cover for me during that vacation (who I now can’t reschedule back)

I completely sympathize with your situation... but ... playing devil's advocate for a moment. Was the above absolutely necessary? No.

You could've charged off a regular 120V outlet until the electrician came out.
You could've used a Supercharger in the meanwhile, or any other Level 2 station.
Ideal? No. But absolutely doable.

I see your location is NJ - it really isn't a black hole of charging infrastructure. Nor of electricians. I'll be honest - I have a great one that I keep in my virtual Rolodex. I texted him on a Tuesday and he was here Friday installing my Wall Connector. No cost premium - outdoor install, ran all the conduit, breakers, etc - $600. Great guy; I know it's too late now but I've been more than happy to share his contact info with others here.

Which part of NJ are you in? I'd have certainly offered to let you charge up in my driveway in the interim. Plenty of ways to skin the cat, certainly without having to cancel a vacation (which is sacrosanct in my mind! NOTHING comes before my family time.... not even my Tesla.)

Can I ask which delivery center you're using?

 

[Luso7]

The thing people don't seem to understand is that Tesla is not selling vehicles like a traditional dealership. They don't build additional margin into their vehicles to solve customer service problems. Its not like you're going to be going back to them to pay for all of your maintenance needs. They don't make money on the back end from your patronage as a customer as is standard in the car dealership model.

If you're selling a high demand product with low margins you simply can't afford to financially compensate people for a negative experience, particularly if you did not explicitly cause it.

FYI, I took delivery about a month ago and they rescheduled my delivery appointment 3 times due to delays on the processing side. It definitely said that the delivery date was tentative so while it sucks that you rearranged your life and I empathize with the fact that it cost you $ to do so, I don't think they have a responsibility to compensate you financially. Its not unreasonable for you to ask, or expect or w/e but if I was in their position I would tell you to go pound sand.

Car is awesome though. My last new car was a loaded 2009 audi s5 and I enjoy the m3p- wayyyyy more.

the problem is- they didn’t tell me “hey your delivery date is this day, but it’s tentative”

instead they said “here are two days- you better show up because if you don’t we are giving your car away”

“but I am on vacation that week, can you hold it for two days after that?”

“no, we can’t guarantee anything. It will be cycled to someone else”

“Ok. Let me go
Rearrange my life and I’ll be ready for it Saturday”

I jump through all the hoops, ready to go, and then they just give it to someone else—come on- that’s not right

everyone is saying they got told it’s “tentative”. That above conversation never sounded “tentative” to me. It was a “move it or lose it” tone

if they told me “hey these dates don’t mean anything it may come it may not”—ok I could see your point. My conversations were absolutely nothing like that

Tesla will eat it when everyone else does EVs. The fact their tech is slightly better I don’t think matters. People will be “comfortable” buying the ford and chevy’s and Toyota’s they are used to and see it as a safer bet. They have dealers all around them and a manufacturing structure that will ensure stock is available at all dealers at all times. They won’t care about little techie features a small minority of us care about

when a new car comes out and Tesla makes you wait 10 weeks for a car—90% of people will say F this and go to Ford or Toyota. Especially if they get to have one of these experiences.

also to the part about not making money off of
Service —where exactly are you thinking these hundreds of thousands of Tesla’s are going to be taken for repairs when their 50k miles of
Warranty are up? There is one game in town. And Tesla will rake in the service money. Model 3 is two years old - wait until those cars get to 6 figure mileage en masse ...

 

[Luso7]

I completely sympathize with your situation... but ... playing devil's advocate for a moment. Was the above absolutely necessary? No.

You could've charged off a regular 120V outlet until the electrician came out.
You could've used a Supercharger in the meanwhile, or any other Level 2 station.
Ideal? No. But absolutely doable.

I see your location is NJ - it really isn't a black hole of charging infrastructure. Nor of electricians. I'll be honest - I have a great one that I keep in my virtual Rolodex. I texted him on a Tuesday and he was here Friday installing my Wall Connector. No cost premium - outdoor install, ran all the conduit, breakers, etc - $600. Great guy; I know it's too late now but I've been more than happy to share his contact info with others here.

Which part of NJ are you in? I'd have certainly offered to let you charge up in my driveway in the interim. Plenty of ways to skin the cat, certainly without having to cancel a vacation (which is sacrosanct in my mind! NOTHING comes before my family time.... not even my Tesla.)

Can I ask which delivery center you're using?

Very kind of you — I have a unique situation where this car is actually for my wife. She’s a consultant so she , no joke, can do a couple hundred miles of driving in a day. We absolutely would not have survived on trickle charging if we took delivery. I’m also 25 minutes from the closest super charger. I’m in Monmouth county and I was taking delivery in Paramus because I was going to happen to align my Schedule to be in that area on delivery day

additionally, I Had issues with cherry hill trying to get a homelink conversation going. They were very dismissive and constantly
Telling me to talk to Paramus when Paramus already told me to place my order online and ship to nearest SC. Everything right now is very disjointed and there isn’t a problem -solving culture at these centers

again, if they used vaguer tone, I could sympathize with changes. Don’t threaten me with the loss of my car to spring me into action, and then steal my car anyway to save a few bucks. It’s objectively wrong

 

[Luso7]

I completely sympathize with your situation... but ... playing devil's advocate for a moment. Was the above absolutely necessary? No.

You could've charged off a regular 120V outlet until the electrician came out.
You could've used a Supercharger in the meanwhile, or any other Level 2 station.
Ideal? No. But absolutely doable.

I see your location is NJ - it really isn't a black hole of charging infrastructure. Nor of electricians. I'll be honest - I have a great one that I keep in my virtual Rolodex. I texted him on a Tuesday and he was here Friday installing my Wall Connector. No cost premium - outdoor install, ran all the conduit, breakers, etc - $600. Great guy; I know it's too late now but I've been more than happy to share his contact info with others here.

Which part of NJ are you in? I'd have certainly offered to let you charge up in my driveway in the interim. Plenty of ways to skin the cat, certainly without having to cancel a vacation (which is sacrosanct in my mind! NOTHING comes before my family time.... not even my Tesla.)

Can I ask which delivery center you're using?

Regarding the electrician, it wasn’t that there was a shortage- it was getting one to show up in less than a week

 

[jkoya]

@Luso7 - Sorry to hear you are going through this. I also had a bad delivery experience and my wife said never again with ordering a Tesla. I also found the delivery staff to be rude and condescending. I hope they can somehow make this right for you.

 

[Luso7]

@Luso7 - Sorry to hear you are going through this. I also had a bad delivery experience and my wife said never again with ordering a Tesla. I also found the delivery staff to be rude and condescending. I hope they can somehow make this right for you.

can you tell me about your experience?

 

[cmghoughton]

Hey guys,
New to the site and this is my first posts trying to build up my privileges, ordered on the 12th and finally received a personalized (Automated) email from a Rep named Seth with the next steps I should take. It's been 4 days and he still hasn't responded to my questions. I was expecting some pain but WOW I can't believe the stories still after all this time. The site when I ordered was still at the $2500 mark but stated 1-2 weeks for delivery. Any one out there have an opinion when I might see some movement. Way upstate NY so that will add some time too.

 

[dmurphy]

Very kind of you — I have a unique situation where this car is actually for my wife. She’s a consultant so she , no joke, can do a couple hundred miles of driving in a day. We absolutely would not have survived on trickle charging if we took delivery. I’m also 25 minutes from the closest super charger. I’m in Monmouth county and I was taking delivery in Paramus because I was going to happen to align my Schedule to be in that area on delivery day

I'm really, really sorry to hear this happened with Paramus. They - objectively - have been among the best of the bunch. The redirection of the vehicle, however, almost certainly wasn't in their control... Knowing several of them - if they had a way to advocate for you and say "Hey, this guy shuffled his life around to get here for this delivery that I promised him -- you better get me a car" to corporate... I'd feel better about it all. But they don't seem to have the ability to "pull rank" so to speak. I don't know enough about Tesla's internals but I can say the guys on the ground in Paramus (Sean, Eric, etc..) are really good guys. They do everything they can in their power.

Again, we're past the expiration date on your charging issue, but there's enough Superchargers around that - while absolutely not ideal - if your wife was traipsing across the state, she'd almost certainly be in range to get a top-off somewhere. Just in north NJ depending on which part of the state she's in ... Paramus, Parsippany (where I am), East Brunswick, Basking Ridge, Edison, Kearny, Robbinsville, Rockaway, Woodbridge, Jersey City all come to mind ...

To your point about electricians - I'm spoiled to have enough of the "trades" that I've used in the past and can trust ... I know I can get my electrician, plumber, landscaper, roofer, mason, pest control or dumpster guys out here P.D.Q.... weeded through enough bad ones that I keep the good ones on speed dial! Always happy to make recommendations if you need ...

again, if they used vaguer tone, I could sympathize with changes. Don’t threaten me with the loss of my car to spring me into action, and then steal my car anyway to save a few bucks. It’s objectively wrong

You're definitely not incorrect - it IS wrong. If I had to guess - the guys who said "hey, you'd better get here in 7 days because otherwise they're gonna give the car away" are every bit as frustrated as you are when cars get redirected. It messes up everything for them - their schedules, paperwork, timeframes, phone calls, etc .... really screws everything up. I guess I have some sympathy for them, because it seems they're the "face" of the delivery process, with very little control or input into how it works. Who the wizard is behind the curtain, I have no idea ... but they need a good smack.

 

[Luso7]

I'm really, really sorry to hear this happened with Paramus. They - objectively - have been among the best of the bunch. The redirection of the vehicle, however, almost certainly wasn't in their control... Knowing several of them - if they had a way to advocate for you and say "Hey, this guy shuffled his life around to get here for this delivery that I promised him -- you better get me a car" to corporate... I'd feel better about it all. But they don't seem to have the ability to "pull rank" so to speak. I don't know enough about Tesla's internals but I can say the guys on the ground in Paramus (Sean, Eric, etc..) are really good guys. They do everything they can in their power.

Again, we're past the expiration date on your charging issue, but there's enough Superchargers around that - while absolutely not ideal - if your wife was traipsing across the state, she'd almost certainly be in range to get a top-off somewhere. Just in north NJ depending on which part of the state she's in ... Paramus, Parsippany (where I am), East Brunswick, Basking Ridge, Edison, Kearny, Robbinsville, Rockaway, Woodbridge, Jersey City all come to mind ...

To your point about electricians - I'm spoiled to have enough of the "trades" that I've used in the past and can trust ... I know I can get my electrician, plumber, landscaper, roofer, mason, pest control or dumpster guys out here P.D.Q.... weeded through enough bad ones that I keep the good ones on speed dial! Always happy to make recommendations if you need ...



You're definitely not incorrect - it IS wrong. If I had to guess - the guys who said "hey, you'd better get here in 7 days because otherwise they're gonna give the car away" are every bit as frustrated as you are when cars get redirected. It messes up everything for them - their schedules, paperwork, timeframes, phone calls, etc .... really screws everything up. I guess I have some sympathy for them, because it seems they're the "face" of the delivery process, with very little control or input into how it works. Who the wizard is behind the curtain, I have no idea ... but they need a good smack.

agree with you 100%. My anger is directed at the greater organization. I too don’t believe the local reps had anything to do with this blunder. My contact is responsive over text and phone and I believe they had nothing to do with it. The issue now is the company likely won’t allow them to make nice in any equitable way, and I have to just decide if I’m eating 2k or waiting it out

 

[jkoya]

can you tell me about your experience?

First text message I received from Tesla gave me a delivery date which I could not make. Texted over and over and no reply back. Called them, waited on hold for what seemed like hours, only to be disconnected. Left voicemails and no reply back. Finally got a hold of someone to get the delivery date changed.

Finally took delivery outside in the rain and wind, so it was very difficult to see all the paint flaws until I drove the car home. Did notice the frunk was badly misaligned, but was told it was "within spec". Mentioned other trim and glass roof panel alignment was off, but again told it was "within spec". With regards to the frunk, we pointed out to the delivery advisor that other cars had perfectly aligned frunks. Then he told me it's within spec, because Tesla only sends them cars that are "within spec" to be delivered. I asked him what the "specs" were, he didn't know, other than it was indeed "within spec". Anyway, after seeing the car when I got home, there were several deep and long scratches on the left front fender, several paint chips in the door and door jamb/sill areas, sand or dirt embedded into the paint on several places and several spots which looked like surface contamination before they painted the car. Delivery Advisor told me to either accept the car or don't complain about not getting a replacement before 12/31/18 for the full tax credit. He also refused to put the frunk misalignment on the "Due Bill". Called the SC after I got home and complained about the whole experience. Thought about dumping the car and just getting on the waitlist for a Porsche Taycan.

Had to wait 2.5 months for an appointment at the Tesla Approved body shop for all the repairs. Two different Mobile Techs told me my car should have never left the factory in that condition - one of the worst they have seen on regards to paint issues. Body shop advisor noticed the misaligned frunk right away. Body shop told me about 50% of the car had to be re-sprayed.

In the end, the car was repaired and it looks so much better now, than it did on delivery day. Told my wife I was thinking of ordering the new 2020 Tesla Roadster and she asked me why I would want to go through that terrible delivery experience again. I have to agree with her. If we do get the roadster, it won't be a preorder as I'm no longer in a rush to get it.

Granted I took delivery at the big end of season rush last year, but the customer service we received was terrible.

Hope everything works out with your delivery..

 

[voip-ninja]

Not everyone's situation is the same. Yours was a preorder. Apples and kumquats.

For example, my wife had an unfortunate runin with a deer on the highway this week in her Enclave. We're waiting for the insurance adjuster to do their thing, but I think there's a > 50% chance they'll declare it totaled. If they do - I'm going to be in the market for a vehicle, and fast. A long wait isn't a possibility in our case... so please, be a little more understanding that not everyone will be in the same situation.

Well if you are willing to take something off the lot there's a very high probability you can have one delivered in well under a week... especially as you are in New England and there are probably 100 dealers within 2-3 hours of your location.

If you order from the factory because you want something very specific then sure, you will be in for more of a wait, typically about 4-6 weeks as long as they are doing current production on the model you want.

With Tesla it's just a crap shoot.

 

[Luso7]

First text message I received from Tesla gave me a delivery date which I could not make. Texted over and over and no reply back. Called them, waited on hold for what seemed like hours, only to be disconnected. Left voicemails and no reply back. Finally got a hold of someone to get the delivery date changed.

Finally took delivery outside in the rain and wind, so it was very difficult to see all the paint flaws until I drove the car home. Did notice the frunk was badly misaligned, but was told it was "within spec". Mentioned other trim and glass roof panel alignment was off, but again told it was "within spec". With regards to the frunk, we pointed out to the delivery advisor that other cars had perfectly aligned frunks. Then he told me it's within spec, because Tesla only sends them cars that are "within spec" to be delivered. I asked him what the "specs" were, he didn't know, other than it was indeed "within spec". Anyway, after seeing the car when I got home, there were several deep and long scratches on the left front fender, several paint chips in the door and door jamb/sill areas, sand or dirt embedded into the paint on several places and several spots which looked like surface contamination before they painted the car. Delivery Advisor told me to either accept the car or don't complain about not getting a replacement before 12/31/18 for the full tax credit. He also refused to put the frunk misalignment on the "Due Bill". Called the SC after I got home and complained about the whole experience. Thought about dumping the car and just getting on the waitlist for a Porsche Taycan.

Had to wait 2.5 months for an appointment at the Tesla Approved body shop for all the repairs. Two different Mobile Techs told me my car should have never left the factory in that condition - one of the worst they have seen on regards to paint issues. Body shop advisor noticed the misaligned frunk right away. Body shop told me about 50% of the car had to be re-sprayed.

In the end, the car was repaired and it looks so much better now, than it did on delivery day. Told my wife I was thinking of ordering the new 2020 Tesla Roadster and she asked me why I would want to go through that terrible delivery experience again. I have to agree with her. If we do get the roadster, it won't be a preorder as I'm no longer in a rush to get it.

Granted I took delivery at the big end of season rush last year, but the customer service we received was terrible.

Hope everything works out with your delivery..

Wow—- that is really rough. You’re just reminding me to scrutinize the hell out of the car at delivery

 

[dmurphy]

I have to just decide if I’m eating 2k or waiting it out

All I can tell you is this ... Just driving that Model 3 really whitewashes dang near any sin they can commit. It's THAT good.

7 months ago, my wife was pretty opposed to the Model 3. The words "I hope this makes you happy ..." (because I want nothing to do with it) came across the night before pickup. Not in a nasty way at all; she meant it genuinely, but really wanted nothing to do with it ... it was going to be MY car and she wasn't happy with the idea of having a car she wouldn't be comfortable driving.

Now that her Enclave ate a deer, we have a rental Nissan Rogue in the driveway.

I'll give you one guess which car she drove to work this morning.

 

[Luso7]

Well if you are willing to take something off the lot there's a very high probability you can have one delivered in well under a week... especially as you are in New England and there are probably 100 dealers within 2-3 hours of your location.

If you order from the factory because you want something very specific then sure, you will be in for more of a wait, typically about 4-6 weeks as long as they are doing current production on the model you want.

With Tesla it's just a crap shoot.

the irony of all this, is the car they stole from me WAS ON A LOT. I had them claim it from another service center. They then sold it to someone local after I claimed it and had a delivery date because they saved on not transporting it.

now , against my will, I have a vin of a factory car. I purposely looked on the site and proactively called my center to claim that vin I got screwed on. So you have a higher likelihood of getting screwed if you claim a local vin- they will just give it to someone else if it’s cheaper or convenient

 

[Luso7]

All I can tell you is this ... Just driving that Model 3 really whitewashes dang near any sin they can commit. It's THAT good.

7 months ago, my wife was pretty opposed to the Model 3. The words "I hope this makes you happy ..." (because I want nothing to do with it) came across the night before pickup. Not in a nasty way at all; she meant it genuinely, but really wanted nothing to do with it ... it was going to be MY car and she wasn't happy with the idea of having a car she wouldn't be comfortable driving.

Now that her Enclave ate a deer, we have a rental Nissan Rogue in the driveway.

I'll give you one guess which car she drove to work this morning.

I definitely hear this. My only
Worry is I get another delivery day, and Tesla’s algorithm decides again it’s for someone more
Important.

 

[ezevphl]

This is still an issue for Tesla. My first model 3.. I expected to wait years for.. and it was two years and several months since a first day order. I had another car I was driving and expecting to wait as long as necessary.
My second model 3 purchase was this summer. They said absolutely guarantee two weeks if I ordered that day. Two weeks later they said another two weeks because of factory delays. During the 3rd week they said it may be until the end of the month, but the car wasn't built yet and still would need to get to the east coast. I ended up getting an inventory car, which I love, but not what we expected to get.
I love the new car, but it was rather unpleasant when the insurance stops paying for a rental and its completely unclear when a new car might be ready.

 

[Luso7]

Does anyone have experience with a “rail transported” car from Fremont to the east coast? What kind of window is it to transport via train cross country?

 

[dryland]

The white SR+ I got from inventory was located in Cherry Hill, NJ. I'm glad you didn't want that one because they would have probably given it to you instead of shipping it to NC.

 

[Arkd]

the problem is- they didn’t tell me “hey your delivery date is this day, but it’s tentative”

instead they said “here are two days- you better show up because if you don’t we are giving your car away”

“but I am on vacation that week, can you hold it for two days after that?”

“no, we can’t guarantee anything. It will be cycled to someone else”

“Ok. Let me go
Rearrange my life and I’ll be ready for it Saturday”

I jump through all the hoops, ready to go, and then they just give it to someone else—come on- that’s not right

everyone is saying they got told it’s “tentative”. That above conversation never sounded “tentative” to me. It was a “move it or lose it” tone

if they told me “hey these dates don’t mean anything it may come it may not”—ok I could see your point. My conversations were absolutely nothing like that

Tesla will eat it when everyone else does EVs. The fact their tech is slightly better I don’t think matters. People will be “comfortable” buying the ford and chevy’s and Toyota’s they are used to and see it as a safer bet. They have dealers all around them and a manufacturing structure that will ensure stock is available at all dealers at all times. They won’t care about little techie features a small minority of us care about

when a new car comes out and Tesla makes you wait 10 weeks for a car—90% of people will say F this and go to Ford or Toyota. Especially if they get to have one of these experiences.

also to the part about not making money off of
Service —where exactly are you thinking these hundreds of thousands of Tesla’s are going to be taken for repairs when their 50k miles of
Warranty are up? There is one game in town. And Tesla will rake in the service money. Model 3 is two years old - wait until those cars get to 6 figure mileage en masse ...

You're right thats BS and unacceptable. I'm sorry you had that experience =(. Fearmongering you into reschediling everything and then hosing you is really crappy.

 

[Luso7]

You're right thats BS and unacceptable. I'm sorry you had that experience =(. Fearmongering you into reschediling everything and then hosing you is really crappy.

I’ve been offered some accessories today to compensate for the situation. Doesn’t make me feel much better as there will still be a long wait but it’s something. They even say this to me now “you have a vin assigned. We are PRETTY SURE it won’t change, it’s unlikely, but it’s
Possible “

they are covering for what happened last time in case it happens again

I’ll never understand this corporate philosophy of setting customers up with vins and “maybe” (in my case definitely ) changing it. Just don’t show us anything until it’s rock-solid 100% going to happen. False hope and misdirection is way worse than silence