Tesla Service....Disappointing

[RadX]

Welcome to my nightmare..
I am new to the site so forgive the lengthiness. I wanted to share my current disappointment with the process of having been involved in an accident and waiting for the repairs..
On 4/21/2016 my P85 was involved in an accident. Tesla roadside assistance was quick to respond with a tow to their certified repair center. Here it is October 1 (after 6mo and my car is still at the shop..Waiting on parts). Tesla has been sending my lease payments right on time of course. Request for a loaner car at 1, 2, 3, 4 mo. none available..Multiple inquiries to both Tesla Service and Financial ended up at dead ends with a lot of lip service..Not even a courtesy phone call to acknowledge the excessive time taken and $$ paid with not even a glimpse of my car. Additionally a recent inquiry to get a quote on an early trade in towards a new model S or model X was met with a quote from the fleet division manager with a response of "Tell him not to bother turning it in because the estimated value will be 45K after all repairs." I asked if anyone from Tesla had even inspected the car the answer was not even one person from Tesla had been to see it. They simply took the list of parts sent from the repair shop and arrived at some subjective number.. Who does business like this?? I am now forced to get submit a claim for a devaluation estimate in order to recapture potential loss of value from the other insurance who is paying for all repairs/rental car.. This has really made me rethink about continuing to be a customer and supporter of Tesla..
Disgruntled Driver..

 

[RadX]

Here is my car at time of accident.

 

[JPUConn]

I can see your frustration here but why would it be the manufacturers obligation to provide you with a loaner car for an accident? is the root cause here an inability to source parts from tesla the manufacturer in a timely manner?

My beef here would start with the body shop and insurance company. If a proper repair can't be completed in a timely manner then push your insurance company to buy off the car from you or continue to provide a rental in alignment with your coverage for an extended period of time (beyond the typical $40/day for n days).

On the trade-in. That's how tesla operates, I received a trade in quote on my S over the phone after providing the vin. They simply take the price they intend to sell the car for and subtract ~$5k to cover refurb cost and warranty reserves. Prior accident cars like this likely can't be certified and are a lower resale value as they would be wholesaled. That information should benefit your case for diminished value with your insurance co though being a lease that may be a hurdle as the lease co will take the hit at the end of the lease on the diminished value, not you. Maybe a loss of use claim to cover the lease pmt?

 

[SSD420]

Isn't it strictly your insurance company who is responsible ?

 

[PtG62901]

The picture is dramatic, you got tee boned? Do you have a shot further from the car? Hard for me to understand what happened.

6 months is amazing. Not sure what Tesla is supposed to do about the damage and value loss. What would you like them to do? What would you do, if you were Tesla?

 

[steve841]

Hopefully the other party had insurance ... I'd still have back problems and therapy going on until my car was done and the attorney had a fair settlement for my frustration (pain) worked out.

 

[GSP]

The picture is dramatic, you got tee boned? Do you have a shot further from the car? Hard for me to understand what happened.

6 months is amazing. Not sure what Tesla is supposed to do about the damage and value loss. What would you like them to do? What would you do, if you were Tesla?

Tesla should provide repair parts in a timely manner. Making lease payments for six months with no car to drive is not right.

GSP

 

[kort677]

the constant issue with tesla is that they seem to be unable or don't want to provide replacement parts in a timely manner. they limit who is authorized to make the repairs to the cars and this causes the extreme costs of repairing the car.
the long wait for repairs/replacement parts is problematic and this is the dark underbelly of tesla ownership.
the only solution I see is for tesla to step up the availability of replacement parts, either by producing more or allowing aftermarket parts to be substituted for repairs. one small bright side on the horizon is that as more manufacturers build aluminum bodied cars more repair shops will gain the expertise necessary to make quality repairs.

 

[number12]

The picture is dramatic, you got tee boned? Do you have a shot further from the car? Hard for me to understand what happened.

6 months is amazing. Not sure what Tesla is supposed to do about the damage and value loss. What would you like them to do? What would you do, if you were Tesla?

They can build a new car from rolls of aluminum in 3 weeks but no parts to replace in 6 months?

 

[SeminoleFSU]

I'm wondering if they're prioritizing said parts to new builds to make sure and meet #'s rather than allowing them to go out the door for repairs?

 

[RadX]

Thank you for all the input.. I'm currently working on the issues directly with the Service Manager as well as Director of Sales for the Western US.. Hopefully something positive will come out of all the commotion.

 

[jelloslug]

It seems to me after reading several stories about problems like this that there is more of an issue with communication than with actual parts availability. Several times there have been customers that have been waiting for a part with seemingly no end in sight until someone else says to contact so and so and magically the part is located the next day.

 

[Pdub2015]

Tesla should provide repair parts in a timely manner. Making lease payments for six months with no car to drive is not right.

GSP

While I agree that it is unfortunate to have to pay for a car that can't be used, it is not unprecedented. And a long wait for replacement parts is relatively common for low volume manufacturers. Tesla is still a low volume car maker.

I empathize with the OP, and am grateful not to be in his/her shoes. Hope it gets resolved soon.

 

[zer0cool]

That's a LOT of damage... interesting that the car is not totaled... I wonder what the estimated repair cost is for such damage.

The thing is, without dealerships, or enough service center, parts, etc, Tesla's purchase, delivery and repair services are sub-par. Servicing is OK here in NC since there are so few Teslas. However I hear in CA service is terrible and wait is super long. I can't even imagine what it will be like when the 3 comes out. They literally need maybe 5 times more service centers and many more people at each SC! That's not possible to do in such a short period of time.