How is Tesla ownership been, specifically folks who do not have a service center in their city? I do live in a large city (Louisville KY), but the service center is 115 miles away (Cincinnati, OH) .
What kinds of things do you need to be at the service center for vs what kinds of things can you have an independent shop work on?
What happens if the car stop working for some reason. I guess you would need to pay a shipping charge up to the service center?
Are there shops dedicated to Tesla service in cities that do not have a service center? Or Tesla technicians (Rangers) in those cities? Would they come out to road side service, like flats etc? Would they perform more in-depth repairs at home if needed? Do they still offer someone to come with a loaner car, and take your car back to the service center?
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1. You're lucky! All of us in the Maritimes Provinces of Canada are a two day drive way from a Service Center.
2. Tesla's view is that there are NO things you can have an independent shop do. However, we have done brake work, A/C recharging, TPMS sensor replacement, etc. locally, with varying degrees of knowledge by the SC of what we are doing.
3. In the early days, Tesla would pick up the car if it were disabled and transport it ot he Service Center at no charge. Presently that charge is $1500 each way for us in PEI. Of course, the kinds of failures that would completely disable the car are quite rare.
4.A. To my knowledge there are no Tesla-blessed service shops (aside from body shop work, which the SCs don't do) in cities without a SC. However, if you take care to cultivate a positive and close relationship with your nearest SC they will often work with you on repairs that don't really need to be done at the SC. They have done that for us several times.
4.B. It would be crazy for them come out for flat fixing. AAA is the answer for that, and with many contemporary cars not carrying spares you would want AAA coverage anyway.
4.C. There is an option for Ranger Service (at your home), and in the beginning the cost could be completely covered by a separate service agreement which could be purchased for -- I think -- $2400 for 4 years or $4200 for eight years. Even though that agreement was for annual service visits, it always worked for us in getting needed repairs or upgrades. Now, depending on the distance (and even though they deny it, the varying policies of the various SCs), it may not be affordable at all. Even if it is financially feasible to do onsite today, you have to have a suitable place, along with access to tools (jacks, jackstands, etc.) for the types of repairs that they intend to do onsite.
4.D. Based on five years of experience with them, there is NO chance of a Tesla employee driving a loaner car out to you (at 115 miles) and taking your car in for service. When I am in a city with a SC they have done that routinely for me, however.
Summary -- don't worry too much about all that stuff. It is very unlikely that you would ever have an emergency disablement of your car. At a couple of hours drive to your Service Center, the routine needs would just be a pleasant Mozart album away!
