Tesla making changes to inventory car purchase process

[gglockner]

This is an issue with supply and demand. Tesla can't build the Model S cars fast enough to meet demand. I'm glad there's so much demand for the cars, and I'm glad that Tesla Motors is managed prudently so that they're around for the long term. The alternative is to expand production quickly, which would leave them in trouble if demand drops off in the future.

 

[mitch672]

I had my annual service done a few weeks ago, they pretty much insisted I take a loaner, I didn't, and have good reasons for it.
If I drive a newer Model S, with the fancy folding mirrors, heated rear seats, P85+, most likely that's service visit would end up costing me $25,000 or more (my Model S turns 12 months old tomorrow, and has about 13K miles on it). I would probably have had to trade mine in, which would have been costly, and not needed. I'm waiting until the AWD Model S is in the loaner fleet, before I take a loaner I had a nice chat with the service people (over my 6 hour wait, on a Saturday). Much happier I wasn't tempted by the "shiny new object"

 

[JakeP]

I had my annual service done a few weeks ago, they pretty much insisted I take a loaner, I didn't, and have good reasons for it.
If I drive a newer Model S, with the fancy folding mirrors, heated rear seats, P85+, most likely that's service visit would end up costing me $25,000 or more (my Model S turns 12 months old tomorrow, and has about 13K miles on it). I would probably have had to trade mine in, which would have been costly, and not needed. I'm waiting until the AWD Model S is in the loaner fleet, before I take a loaner I had a nice chat with the service people (over my 6 hour wait, on a Saturday). Much happier I wasn't tempted by the "shiny new object"

Very valid and *very* realistic argument against a loaner! I fear the day when I get sent a Grey loaner with AWD and who knows what all else. Will they let me buy the loaner *and* keep my Sequoia Green beauty?

 

[xray]

Atebit, I understand your POV as a prospective buyer but, as a current owner, I'm applauding here. You may have seen endless complaints, including from myself, about not having access to a Model S loaner when our cars are in for service. This problem is more pronounced at busy service centers such as the ones in Calif. Driving an Enterprise gasser POS as a loaner is not an attractive prospect and is one reason that I've been putting off my pseudo-annual service visit till I can be assured of an MS loaner at my local service center. Call me spoilt but, it's what it is

Tesla Costa Mesa, like many of other centers, does not currently have Tesla loaners.

Just took in car for service today and the loaner given as a Jaguar XJ with a choice of a Mercedes (Tesla Costa Mesa). Other owner ahead of us also got a Jaguar. Not sure if this a change across the board or only applicable to Costa Mesa. Plus, we were instructed that we did not need to fill up the gas tank, Tesla would take care of it.

 

[772]

As someone who currently has a differed reservation, and is waiting for the right deal on an inventory car to pop up, I think this is great news! By forcing the cars to stay in inventory for 3 months, that will intimately increase the availability of significantly discounted cars. For those of us who will be really stretching to buy a Model S, this is great news. Right now, most inventory cars are bought up before they have a change to be driven enough to qualify for a meaningful discount. With this change, the existing owners get to drive a Model S when their car is in for service, and people like me have an even better chance of bringing a Model S home. This is a Win-Win in my book

Agree -- this is good for owners and patient shoppers. For those that need a car right away... there will be a more limited selection. They could also rent a car or something while they wait for their custom built MS to arrive. Not ideal perhaps, but even the conventional auto dealers can't keep cars with every possible option combination in inventory.

 

[Ugliest1]

It wasn't stupid, as indicated by the recent boost in share price and the fact that there are now just that many more happy Model S owners on the road spreading the word. .

I think it's a good change in policy from a business perspective. I also believe in not putting lots of rules in place before they're needed. This change probably should have been made a few months ago so the widespread service loaner problem didn't develop ... but I'm so impressed with Tesla forging new ground in so many ways. One can't see all the future impacts of all decisions in a complex environment. I like the fact that they try things, see where there's a negative, then respond (sometimes very quickly, sometimes not) with a reasonable change. And I'm very happy I squeaked in with an inventory purchase, by luck. Scratch that, make it I'm very very very very very.... because if the change had been made earlier I wouldn't have my Ghost (and I apologize to those of you who had to wait or are waiting, and owners who had to gasp! yecch! drive an ICE as a loaner)

 

[Atebit]

Just FYI I decided to go in a different direction this afternoon. See you on the Model X forums

 

[brianman]

Then later was told that there was a plan to make 100 60's for service use.

I think 60s is a bad choice, and it's counter to the original billing of the Loaner program. Interesting change in direction, if true.

 

[gglockner]

When I checked in the fall, most inventory cars were P85 or P85+. Not so many 60 or 85. I suspected this was deliberate: if you absolutely must have your car right away, you're willing to pay for a P85 or P85+. Plus, by showing off the top-of-the-line models, Tesla hoped to convince people to spend more. Perhaps that changed, but it seemed like the right strategy.

 

[brianman]

When I checked in the fall, most inventory cars were P85 or P85+. Not so many 60 or 85. I suspected this was deliberate: if you absolutely must have your car right away, you're willing to pay for a P85 or P85+. Plus, by showing off the top-of-the-line models, Tesla hoped to convince people to spend more. Perhaps that changed, but it seemed like the right strategy.

When the loaner program was announced (with fanfare!), the statement was something like "top of the line vehicles". Not even 85s qualify by that standard, much less 60s.

 

[brianstorms]

When the loaner program was announced (with fanfare!), the statement was something like "top of the line vehicles". Not even 85s qualify by that standard, much less 60s.

They didn't have Europe and China lining up in droves with orders when the statement was made.

Times change, demand skyrockets, and suddenly Tesla's thinkin', ok so we'll loan 'em 60s....

 

[Dwdnjck]

60's Seem to be a good idea to me, because they will lessen the sticker shock. Most people ordering Teslas move up in price and ad options as time goes by. A six digit price tag probably scares away many potential customers.

 

[Jason S]

Seems like there will be the same supply of ready-to-buy cars in about 3 months.

I think the change is a good one, since selling a practically brand new car as "used" might've caused some legal issues within the dealership model as well.

Regarding a set of 60s as loaners... also a good idea, imho. As an owner of a P85, I really didn't care if I got a P85, S85 or P85+ loaner -- I just wanted MY car back. And I don't even have that much customized in it. I think of the 3 loaners I'd experienced one was a P85+, one a P85 and one an Impala (ug). I'd take a S60 over an Impala any day!

 

[brianman]

I guess we just see it differently. If you've promised customers that you're building top of the line vehicles AND you're production constrained, it's counter to both to produce anything but the top of the line vehicle for the loaner fleet.

Now, if you are specifically production constrained on top-of-the-line specific parts, that's a different story. But to my knowledge, that's not the case.

 

[Rifleman]

I think 60s is a bad choice, and it's counter to the original billing of the Loaner program. Interesting change in direction, if true.

I personally think every store needs to have a 60 as a test drive car. I think that a flee of 60's for service/test drives makes alot of sense. The performance difference between a 60 and a P85 is significant, but if the only test drive car is a P85, the 60 buyer (like me) will have no way of knowing what he or she is actually buying until their car is delivered. If it was up to me, each store would have a 60, and S85, a P85, and a P85+ as test drive cars. Obviously having 4 test drive cars at every store is not going to happen any time soon, but that is where Tesla need to be eventually.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

It was just a matter of time for this policy to be put in place and the loaner program to work as always intended. Some have been unable or unwilling to consider the rock and hard place that Tesla has been in; huge demand beyond what anyone expected or could have imagined, people standing with their pocketbooks out in stores, tremendous pressure from many sources to beat guidance and expectations, and a significant constraint on batteries simply led to Tesla having to sell those loaner cars. As the battery constraint lifts, the pressure to sell loaners 'before their time' is also lifted and customers can be given the treat promised of a top-of-the-line Model S while their own car is being serviced.

Disagree- Elon himself promised current owners P85 loaners when their cars are being serviced. A respectable company would keep their promises to their CURRENT customers instead of putting more emphasis on trying to please POTENTIAL customers. Frankly, I'm tired of hearing one thing from Tesla only months later for it to turn into something else. Unexpected problems related to "growing pains" are one thing, but calculated decisions to NOT honor your promise are entirely different. Kind of like adding amendments to previous promises like "minimum of 4 hrs of work and within X amount of miles to get a loaner".. if you can't keep a promise, don't make one until you know for sure you can.

- - - Updated - - -

For current owners this new policy is a god-send, no doubt.
However, couple considerations:

1-- I hope they are making clear exceptions to the policy in the case of CURRENT Model S owners who have had a car declared a total loss in an accident or disaster. These aren't people choosing to be impatient, they are current customers eager to get their lives back to normal WITH a new Tesla. As the fleet grows this scenario will be more commonplace.

2-- The inventory/loaner fleet needs to be rotated more sporadically. Selling off all the cars at the same time just to pump up the quarterly numbers means huge swaths of time where no inventory cars are available for purchase, which is foolish for a whole host of reasons-- one of which I will explain from experience.

I've been trying to eke out as much life in my current car as I can and deferring a new build order until an AWD Tesla (be it MS or MX) becomes available. However, twice now I've been close to having an immediate need to replace the old car (once due to mechanical issues, once due to an accident) and in both those scenarios it would have meant a very close look at the available inventory cars as I can't be without wheels for the 2-3 months it takes to order new.

I'm sure there are lots of other prospective and "near" owners who would instantly transform to buyers if their need for a car became suddenly immediate (for whatever reason). If the fleet isn't staggered a lot of those "immediate/sudden need buyers" will be calling Tesla and finding that none (or very few) of the cars are eligible. Turning those people away to alternative cars (because they have GET SOMETHING) means those buyers are probably out of the market for a new car for, perhaps, YEARS. I know in my case that if insurance totals my old car that it is unlikely I can get a Tesla now because there were so few inventory cars left after Q4 sales and a multi-month rental isn't feasible. In fact, before Christmas when my old car had it's mechanical problems, my eye was on a new inventory car with less than 50 miles on it-- it was the only close match to my specs-- and under the new rules it would have been unavailable. In the end my car's issues turned out best-case scenario but if they hadn't I'd have that Tesla now... under the old rules.

Not all inventory buyers are just impulsive or impatient. There are some very good reasons to sell inventory cars to customers on an as-needed basis, but especially to current owners as insurance replacements.

I agree on the stagger approach, but in terms of options on waiting if your car died... Rental. many people on this forum have done that, rented a car until their MS became available, because they didn't want to buy something else in the interim.

- - - Updated - - -

This is definitely the right thing to do for the service loaner fleet. People have been getting their loaner cars "sold out from under them". Once you are an owner you will appreciate it greatly!

i know we live in an instant gratification world, but it is amusing to hear people who can't wait 2-3 months when there are a lot of us here who waited 2-3 years for their Model S!

Exactly

 

[AMPd]

I guess we just see it differently. If you've promised customers that you're building top of the line vehicles AND you're production constrained, it's counter to both to produce anything but the top of the line vehicle for the loaner fleet.

Now, if you are specifically production constrained on top-of-the-line specific parts, that's a different story. But to my knowledge, that's not the case.

Aren't they battery constrained?
60s use less batteries (I assume) so they can build more of those than 85s

 

[jerry33]

Now, if you are specifically production constrained on top-of-the-line specific parts, that's a different story. But to my knowledge, that's not the case.

Aren't they still battery constrained? 60s use fewer cells. Oops, AMPd beat me to it.

- - - Updated - - -

Disagree- Elon himself promised current owners P85 loaners when their cars are being serviced.

FWIW, I had a P85 loaner and I thought it was a step down from my S85, so I'm not unhappy with the 60 loaner plan.

 

[GDH]

Hmmmm.....this is news to me. I bought my 60 off the sales floor, last week we found to P85 loaner to buy and I am currently try to sell my 60 to buy it. There was no mention of the car having to be in service for 90 days.....its pretty much new. Guess I will make sure of that today.

 

[Krugerrand]

Disagree- Elon himself promised current owners P85 loaners when their cars are being serviced. A respectable company would keep their promises to their CURRENT customers instead of putting more emphasis on trying to please POTENTIAL customers. Frankly, I'm tired of hearing one thing from Tesla only months later for it to turn into something else. Unexpected problems related to "growing pains" are one thing, but calculated decisions to NOT honor your promise are entirely different. Kind of like adding amendments to previous promises like "minimum of 4 hrs of work and within X amount of miles to get a loaner".. if you can't keep a promise, don't make one until you know for sure you can.

If you reread what I wrote, it wasn't specifically or even emphasizing 'potential' customers - that was an afterthought. It was far more encompassing and bigger picture than that. There's no indication that 'calculated decisions' were made to 'NOT honor a promise'.

I don't recall Elon ever saying; 'I 'promise', blah, blah, blah...' I don't think I've ever heard him use the word 'promise', though, he's often stated things with emphatic intent. Regardless, if indeed the situation is changing as reported by the OP, then you'll have that 'promise'. In the scheme of things, what difference is it making to you if the 'promise' took a bit longer to implement than originally 'promised'? Is someone connected to you dying because the 'promise' wasn't kept?

In general I entirely agree, if you can't keep a promise, don't make it until you're sure you can keep it. The caveat there, though, is that sometimes *hit happens, and sometimes things beyond your control change, and it's never a good idea to go into self-sacrifice mode because of a promise. There are times and situations when a promise should be broken. If Elon actually said 'I promise' related to this topic, then you're just going to have to chalk it up to his usual over exuberance and habit of pushing the limit on absolutely everything. A little patience here will see the situation as 'promised' come to fruition the moment Tesla has enough batteries.

Finally, the remedy for your 'tiredness' is simple. Don't buy a car from Tesla, or sell the one you currently own, delete your any links Tesla related, don't type any Tesla related words or topics into Google and the like. If you choose to do otherwise then you have no one to blame but yourself for your 'tiredness'. :wink: