As much as Elon would like the world to believe that Service Centers are not for profit, and better than the dealers, my recent experience further convinced me they are no different, worse actually, as they try to keep customers locked-in to only using Tesla for service, for which they charge premium.
So I booked an appointment, specifically requesting a recall work plus cabin air filter replacement, HEPA filter replacement and AC desiccant replacement. I get a quote back - they added a $138 of stuff I didn't ask for like tire rotation and new wipers. Nobody asked me, they just tacked it onto the quote, I guess "for my convenience". If you don't read the quote line by line, you miss it. Oldest dealer trick in the book. But ok, so I get them to take it off, drop the car off. After they start working on the car, they call me to ask if I wanted HEPA filter replaced. I said, of course, that is what I asked for in the first place. They tell me that the HEPA filter replacement will be another $258+tax, raising the bill by ~71% over the original estimate. Better than dealer my ass. Quote a customer for work, get their car in the shop, then call them and tell them it will be 171% of the original quote, even though nothing was added to the requested service! Another dealer trick "we forgot to include almost half the price in the original estimate", though Tesla is not even using it competently, they are supposed be saying they found something new that needs to be done in order to accomplish what was quotes. I guess hard to pull that trick properly when customer asks for specific services. It reminded me of some dealers which I dealt with in the past, to whom I usually never returned, but with Tesla you have little choice. And even though they charge premium prices for their services, no loners of course. Given their prices, I suspect the only reason service doesn't make money is because they eat all the warranty repairs, which there must be a whole lot to eat through all the profit they make on paid services.
Bottom line, don't believe Elon, he is just another sly car salesman who is really good at what he does, but innovating on the old tricks bringing them into the 21st century.
PS> Funny thing, I always used to get surveys after every service with Tesla (which I've had many), but not this time - don't want to screw up survey number with customers who were underquoted I guess.
So I booked an appointment, specifically requesting a recall work plus cabin air filter replacement, HEPA filter replacement and AC desiccant replacement. I get a quote back - they added a $138 of stuff I didn't ask for like tire rotation and new wipers. Nobody asked me, they just tacked it onto the quote, I guess "for my convenience". If you don't read the quote line by line, you miss it. Oldest dealer trick in the book. But ok, so I get them to take it off, drop the car off. After they start working on the car, they call me to ask if I wanted HEPA filter replaced. I said, of course, that is what I asked for in the first place. They tell me that the HEPA filter replacement will be another $258+tax, raising the bill by ~71% over the original estimate. Better than dealer my ass. Quote a customer for work, get their car in the shop, then call them and tell them it will be 171% of the original quote, even though nothing was added to the requested service! Another dealer trick "we forgot to include almost half the price in the original estimate", though Tesla is not even using it competently, they are supposed be saying they found something new that needs to be done in order to accomplish what was quotes. I guess hard to pull that trick properly when customer asks for specific services. It reminded me of some dealers which I dealt with in the past, to whom I usually never returned, but with Tesla you have little choice. And even though they charge premium prices for their services, no loners of course. Given their prices, I suspect the only reason service doesn't make money is because they eat all the warranty repairs, which there must be a whole lot to eat through all the profit they make on paid services.
Bottom line, don't believe Elon, he is just another sly car salesman who is really good at what he does, but innovating on the old tricks bringing them into the 21st century.
PS> Funny thing, I always used to get surveys after every service with Tesla (which I've had many), but not this time - don't want to screw up survey number with customers who were underquoted I guess.
Last edited:
