Tesla Service Center Transfers?

[Kaidao]

Hey guys, I wanted to see if I could get some advice.

Some backstory -

I live in Orange County, CA and was in Joshua Tree (about 2.5 hour drive) for the weekend. Monday morning, the day I was leaving - went to start my car and got "Service Needed - Steering Assist Reduced" error in my car. Had no power steering, and tried all resets. Finally called Roadside Assistance and they informed me that I would need to get my car towed, which they'll do to the nearest service center (Palm Springs, which is still about 2.5 hours away from Orange County).

Because of Labor Day, I was unable to use the rental reservation they gave me but luckily was able to hitch a ride home with a friend. This morning, I went to the Costa Mesa service center which is the nearest one to me, and got a loaner vehicle. I informed them that I need to have my car transported from the Palm Springs location to Costa Mesa after repairs since I won't be able to make this drive again for about 2 weeks due to work. They told me to work it out with the Palm Springs Service Center.

I heard back just now from the Palm Springs center, who had just started the repairs on my car:

"Unfortunately, we are unable to transport your vehicle to another service center for pick up. Once repairs are completed, you can pick up your vehicle from the Palm Springs location or you can arrange to have the vehicle towed at your expense."

I'm not sure if there's anything I could do in this case, but again I won't be able to pick up my car for a few weeks and really don't want to drive the loaner for that long either.

Have any of you had any issues similar to this? Or have any ideas of what I could possibly do?

I saw in Tesla's Roadside Assistance policy: "For vehicle malfunctions due to warrantable issues, transportation services for the first 500 miles is covered by Tesla; is limited to one tow per incident; and does not cover transportation due to issues not covered by the warranty."

The 500 miles is enough to cover the distance from Joshua Tree to Orange County. I also saw it was limited to one tow per incident, but the rep when I called Roadside Assistance said towing to Orange County was not an option and they had to tow it to the nearest service center.

Thanks in advance for any advice or tips.

 

[kev1n]

sounds like a joke but im not surprised.

they should accommodate you since they didnt let you tow it to your local service center even though it was within 500 miles and it was warranty work(not your fault).

if its worth the trouble, i would escalate to higher management, otherwise just go pick up your car and call it a day

 

[SoCalNick]

On the other hand.
They did tow it for you - to the nearest service center.

They never said they would tow it to ANY service center, all they are really saying is that if they have to tow it more than 500 miles, then they will only cover the 1st 500 miles (so for a 700 mile tow to the nearest service center, somebody would bill you for 200 miles.)

I've run into this with other companies, where they offered to tow me to the nearest service center on a Saturday night, with nobody there, and offered to leave me stranded with wife and kids in the middle of a deserted car district. No thanks.

If you want destination towing, then you need to get a AAA account.

 

[Kaidao]

@SoCalNick I understand they did what was stated in the policy. I also expect a higher level of customer service and accommodation from them. If they're able to tow up to 500 miles (let's say if the Palm Springs service center wasn't there), I think they should have towed it to the nearest service center for the customer.

I would say overall, their customer service needs work. People expect a certain level of customer accommodation from a higher end vehicle brand. I believe both Audi and Mercedes have more flexible roadside assistance policies and are also more willing to work with the customer.

I'll see how this plays out. I do have AAA but unfortunately not the highest package (which has the needed 200mi towing). I guess if it comes to it, I'll have to do a early morning desert run.