Tesla Service

[deNazer]

I absolutely agree with the folks on this thread. My first Tesla was a Model S about 6 years ago and the experience was great. My current is an X and in the last 2 years, the build quality of the car and the service/customer contact experience has been horrible every time I have had to take it in.

On my most recent experience - I went in to get a small piece of trim replaced and they messed it up at the Burbank service center. They did send over Mobile Service to fix it but after 2 visits from mobile service, still not fixed - the first time, the tech arrived with the wrong part, then the part broke on the second mobile try -- to top it off the tech put it in the system as 'successfully fixed'. I can't speak to anyone on the phone to get another mobile appointment and they don't respond to messages or calls at all. Horrible experience and I expect more when spending 100K+ on a car and 5K on a service plan they don't honor (and didn't refund the money for).

My next car will likely be a Lucid or a Rivian or anyone else who values their customers.

 

[whisperingshad]

1st experience good. This weekend nope. They were supposed to replace driver window since it had defect(tint appt is this saturday), and fix the frunk seal.. Dropped off 9am sat...i messaged a few times and they didnt answer till like 4pm saying it wouldnt be done. I said i needed a car, they said sorry rental place is closed but here is 400 uber credit... Ok so fast forward to monday...Checking in all day, finally its done at their close time of 5, i get there and they fixed the frunk(10 min job) but did do window, said they one they got was broken or something....Seriously??? They got the glass friday and didnt check, and obviously didnt even look at my car till late monday. I get they need to hire more people, my problem is communication and why would you not check a glass part that came in....I would have been ok if they told me friday that they had to order another windows and to reshedule.

 

[Jayson]

I had not heard about the diagnostic fee on warrantied cars. So I have to pay because an incompetent technician can't duplicate a problem, or because I'm not a trained Tesla technician and thought there was an issue when there was not one? I can't believe this. I've never heard of such a thing from Kia to Porsche.

I'm afraid that speaks volumes about Tesla's attitude toward their customers, and for those of us who have not leased cars and plan to keep them long term, makes me wonder what post warranty service might be like. I've already seen the "we are doing you a favor, and you have no choice but to come to us" attitude when I've needed warranty repairs.

On every other car I've ever owned, I've always used independent garages for out of warranty repairs to avoid the wild dealer service costs. I have two independent garages that I've used for decades with top notch technicians and equipment. They have the ability and equipment to do nearly anything a dealer can, including on high end European cars. Yes, they are not cheap, but there are still significant savings versus dealers and much more personalized service.

But both of them have warned me with our Tesla there are going to be many repairs that will be "dealer only" because Tesla dealers don't cooperate with independent garages the same way dealers of other manufacturers do. Both of them have told me parts can be tough to get, whereas some dealers of other nameplates have built huge profitable businesses selling parts to independent garages, including immediate delivery for in stock parts. Their other concern is compared to many other nameplates Tesla often is secretive with service information.

Given Tesla's attitude, I'm now very concerned what post warranty service/prices will be like when I have no choice but to come to them for service. What has other owner's experiences with post warranty Tesla service been? Do I need to be concerned?

 

[whisperingshad]

1st experience good. This weekend nope. They were supposed to replace driver window since it had defect(tint appt is this saturday), and fix the frunk seal.. Dropped off 9am sat...i messaged a few times and they didnt answer till like 4pm saying it wouldnt be done. I said i needed a car, they said sorry rental place is closed but here is 400 uber credit... Ok so fast forward to monday...Checking in all day, finally its done at their close time of 5, i get there and they fixed the frunk(10 min job) but did do window, said they one they got was broken or something....Seriously??? They got the glass friday and didnt check, and obviously didnt even look at my car till late monday. I get they need to hire more people, my problem is communication and why would you not check a glass part that came in....I would have been ok if they told me friday that they had to order another windows and to reshedule.

So the mobile tech came to my work, replaced that and added my homelink in 45 mins Hopefully my next and last service appt for the to replace part on roof goes as well as the mobile

 

[whisperingshad]

I had not heard about the diagnostic fee on warrantied cars. So I have to pay because an incompetent technician can't duplicate a problem, or because I'm not a trained Tesla technician and thought there was an issue when there was not one? I can't believe this. I've never heard of such a thing from Kia to Porsche.

I'm afraid that speaks volumes about Tesla's attitude toward their customers, and for those of us who have not leased cars and plan to keep them long term, makes me wonder what post warranty service might be like. I've already seen the "we are doing you a favor, and you have no choice but to come to us" attitude when I've needed warranty repairs.

On every other car I've ever owned, I've always used independent garages for out of warranty repairs to avoid the wild dealer service costs. I have two independent garages that I've used for decades with top notch technicians and equipment. They have the ability and equipment to do nearly anything a dealer can, including on high end European cars. Yes, they are not cheap, but there are still significant savings versus dealers and much more personalized service.

But both of them have warned me with our Tesla there are going to be many repairs that will be "dealer only" because Tesla dealers don't cooperate with independent garages the same way dealers of other manufacturers do. Both of them have told me parts can be tough to get, whereas some dealers of other nameplates have built huge profitable businesses selling parts to independent garages, including immediate delivery for in stock parts. Their other concern is compared to many other nameplates Tesla often is secretive with service information.

Given Tesla's attitude, I'm now very concerned what post warranty service/prices will be like when I have no choice but to come to them for service. What has other owner's experiences with post warranty Tesla service been? Do I need to be concerned?

Every car dealership i have been to always auto charges a diagnostic fee for warranty issues, though if they find the issue they do not charge it. (Honda, Toyota, Kia, Ford)

 

[Shark2222]

Every car dealership i have been to always auto charges a diagnostic fee for warranty issues, though if they find the issue they do not charge it. (Honda, Toyota, Kia, Ford)

I have also never heard of such a thing, whether it be Tesla, BMW, Porsche, or Nissan.

 

[whisperingshad]

I have also never heard of such a thing, whether it be Tesla, BMW, Porsche, or Nissan.

Maybe it's a California thing

 

[Shark2222]

On every other car I've ever owned, I've always used independent garages for out of warranty repairs to avoid the wild dealer service costs. I have two independent garages that I've used for decades with top notch technicians and equipment. They have the ability and equipment to do nearly anything a dealer can, including on high end European cars. Yes, they are not cheap, but there are still significant savings versus dealers and much more personalized service.

But both of them have warned me with our Tesla there are going to be many repairs that will be "dealer only" because Tesla dealers don't cooperate with independent garages the same way dealers of other manufacturers do. Both of them have told me parts can be tough to get, whereas some dealers of other nameplates have built huge profitable businesses selling parts to independent garages, including immediate delivery for in stock parts. Their other concern is compared to many other nameplates Tesla often is secretive with service information.

Given Tesla's attitude, I'm now very concerned what post warranty service/prices will be like when I have no choice but to come to them for service. What has other owner's experiences with post warranty Tesla service been?

On every other car I've ever owned, I've always used independent garages for out of warranty repairs to avoid the wild dealer service costs. I have two independent garages that I've used for decades with top notch technicians and equipment. They have the ability and equipment to do nearly anything a dealer can, including on high end European cars. Yes, they are not cheap, but there are still significant savings versus dealers and much more personalized service.

But both of them have warned me with our Tesla there are going to be many repairs that will be "dealer only" because Tesla dealers don't cooperate with independent garages the same way dealers of other manufacturers do. Both of them have told me parts can be tough to get, whereas some dealers of other nameplates have built huge profitable businesses selling parts to independent garages, including immediate delivery for in stock parts. Their other concern is compared to many other nameplates Tesla often is secretive with service information.

Given Tesla's attitude, I'm now very concerned what post warranty service/prices will be like when I have no choice but to come to them for service. What has other owner's experiences with post warranty Tesla service been? Do I need to be concerned?

Can't speak first hand to post warranty experiences, but I've heard the same warnings and therefore worried about going "naked" without a warranty.

It's good that the battery and drive units are covered long term, but my concern is expensive electronics. What happens when the main display fails? Unlikely you will find an independent qualified to repair or replace it. Can you imagine what Tesla would charge knowing at that point they have you by the "you know what"? And I do see plenty of examples of main displays failing after several years on other Tesla models.

 

[whisperingshad]

Can't speak first hand to post warranty experiences, but I've heard the same warnings and therefore worried about going "naked" without a warranty.

It's good that the battery and drive units are covered long term, but my concern is expensive electronics. What happens when the main display fails? Unlikely you will find an independent qualified to repair or replace it. Can you imagine what Tesla would charge knowing at that point they have you by the "you know what"? And the main displays failing after several years is not exactly an unusual problem for Teslas more than several years old.

Fingers crossed right. My Coworker's two S 40s are good so far...

 

[Kee_Chain]

I had not heard about the diagnostic fee on warrantied cars. So I have to pay because an incompetent technician can't duplicate a problem, or because I'm not a trained Tesla technician and thought there was an issue when there was not one? I can't believe this. I've never heard of such a thing from Kia to Porsche.

I'm afraid that speaks volumes about Tesla's attitude toward their customers, and for those of us who have not leased cars and plan to keep them long term, makes me wonder what post warranty service might be like. I've already seen the "we are doing you a favor, and you have no choice but to come to us" attitude when I've needed warranty repairs.

On every other car I've ever owned, I've always used independent garages for out of warranty repairs to avoid the wild dealer service costs. I have two independent garages that I've used for decades with top notch technicians and equipment. They have the ability and equipment to do nearly anything a dealer can, including on high end European cars. Yes, they are not cheap, but there are still significant savings versus dealers and much more personalized service.

But both of them have warned me with our Tesla there are going to be many repairs that will be "dealer only" because Tesla dealers don't cooperate with independent garages the same way dealers of other manufacturers do. Both of them have told me parts can be tough to get, whereas some dealers of other nameplates have built huge profitable businesses selling parts to independent garages, including immediate delivery for in stock parts. Their other concern is compared to many other nameplates Tesla often is secretive with service information.

Given Tesla's attitude, I'm now very concerned what post warranty service/prices will be like when I have no choice but to come to them for service. What has other owner's experiences with post warranty Tesla service been? Do I need to be concerned?

I just really hope after the 4 years/50,000 miles the car is reliable. I will be very disappointed if I have to end up paying a lot. I am most likely going to keep this vehicle and run it in the ground. That being said, I hope by then, independent mechanics are supported by Tesla to repair vehicles.