Texas Hold Up!

[louisTM3]

What's the deal with "sealed"? Mine says the same thing. It's odd the IDA in your email response made a point of saying it too. I don't want to do it just so I can have another Tesla employee verify they have everything they need before I leave.

I think they don't want any reliability associates to them in case your personal information got leaked or whatever. Must be a lawyer thing…

 

[SleepingLesson]

@SleepingLesson we got our packet on 8/22 and or original delivery date was 8/23. I called Houston North on the following Monday and inquired if we did in fact have to bring the paperwork with us. I was told that we did not need to and could go ahead and sign all the docs, in fact her exact words where "the sooner you send it back the sooner they can get your Texas plates." We signed them but did not FedEx them back we just brought them with us. All they did was ask if we signed all the paperwork and sealed the envelope.

@SleepingLesson I emailed the Inside Delivery Supervisor about the registration packet question and was surprised he got back to me today, here is his answer:

“Your registration packet is still on its way. This does not impact your delivery appointment. If the packet arrives prior to delivery, please sign accordingly and bring to your appointment with the envelope sealed. If not, there should be a return label provided you can use to send back to us.”

Suffice to say that the registration packet has no impact on delivery. They would not delay delivery for any reason related to the registration; they're totally separate processes.

@SleepingLesson I think you have your answer already. But just to add another anecdote, I received my registration packet 8/23, the day before my first scheduled delivery, but also one day after I was informed that date was not going to hold.

Same cover letter.

Just FYI, if you haven't made the correlation already, I'm 'michael' from forums.tesla.

I did not realize that was you! The Tesla forums are terrible, so hard to track conversations.

I think the packet sealing thing is part of their weird skirting of Texas automobile sales laws. They can't perform any function of the sale on-site.

 

[WayneGTX]

I think they don't want any reliability associates to them in case your personal information got leaked or whatever. Must be a lawyer thing…

I received my FedEx package 3 hours before my Lyft ride to pick up the car. I took it with me, unsealed, because I needed to verify the odo mileage so I could sign the registration certificate. During delivery after I saw the 5 miles odometer indicated, I signed them and offered them to the DS. They said “we are not allowed to see / handle those, but we will mail them for you.”

I will be interested to hear your story, SL

 

[SleepingLesson]

Things are happening, but it is not off to a great start given the confusion about the registration.

 

[WayneGTX]

Things are happening, but it is not off to a great start given the confusion about the registration.

Just a guess on my part, and I may be wrong but imagine:

(New Boss): Bill, I just got a note from an upset buyer who claims it has been almost two months since he made payment and his car still hasn’t been delivered! What is going on here in Texas?”
(Former area manager who had an external hire arrive as his boss): Most Texas deliveries have taken place in 3 weeks or less after payment. Some buyers don’t return registration paperwork on time so we have to hold their car in Oklahoma”
(New Boss): OK, Get back with this guy and explain to him our process. I didn’t think things were that screwed up in Texas. While you are here, let’s go over your new staff requests, I need to see a bit more justification.....”

 

[redhaute]

They said “we are not allowed to see / handle those, but we will mail them for you.”

I’m guessing that Texas GOVERNMENT is not letting local TX Tesla staff perform ANY dealer functions, and therefore you are almost dealing with TWO separate companies; Tesla CA, who is allowed to actually sell you a car, and Tesla TX that is only allowed to GIVE you a car, and service the car. Right?

 

[quaa]

I'm nowhere close to @SleepingLesson but the stories on here make me want to check in on a normal cadence. And If my IDA isn't helpful I'll be annoying the main sales number since I really have no idea who else to try to reach out to.

This whole process for Texas needs MUCH better communication. I think the majority of issues would be solved with ANY form of communication as well as a better escalation path.

I'm fully paid as of Aug. 24, with delivery now set on Sept. 13th, already pushed back from Sept. 6 and then Sept 12. It's been mostly radio silence throughout the process, except the minimal communication needed to get me just enough info to make a down payment, handle my trade-in (which was the biggest pain in the a**), and set up financing.
Since Aug 24 I haven't heard anything about delivery and I have tried emailing my IDA. I'll be trying to get some info on where my vehicle currently is in the delivery process, but this thread has my hopes pretty low for any information that is useful. Thank you guys for the united road info, I keep checking there but my vin hasn't popped up yet.

My IDA experience started out horrible, I didn't get many emails that other people said they got, I'd send a simple email with a few bulleted out questions and they only replied to the very first sentence in my email, I couldn't get much information from them, and it was painstakingly slow because I finally resorted to one line emails as no matter how many times I wrote out a few sentences my IDA only read the first line anyways.
I eventually called the main sales number, which said they would reach out to the supervisor of my IDA and I would be hearing back from the supervisor within 48 hours. I never heard back, but my IDA did finally reach back out -- maybe something happened there... I worked my way through it all, payment, delivery scheduling, etc, but still it made my excitement for finally getting a Tesla that I have been wanting since the original Roadster ( I remember seeing a white one when I was in college in 2012 ) completely go away. Family/Friends/etc. went to similar stages as what I read above -- from asking excitedly about the car and when I'd get it all the way to where it is now... I just keep telling myself, it will be worth it when the car finally gets delivered. Eventually.

 

[gravastar]

...handle my trade-in (which was the biggest pain in the a**)...

This was the easiest part of the process for me. Probably because my trade-in is barely worth anything. I have a 2012 MINI Cooper S with 140k miles at the time I ordered. They offered $4k. I even put an additional 2k miles on it since getting a quote for it. My delivery advisor said they would still honor the original quote given some of the delays on delivery.

Thank you guys for the united road info, I keep checking there but my vin hasn't popped up yet.

For what it's worth, I'm picking up my car tomorrow (hopefully) and my VIN never showed up on United.

..I would be hearing back from the supervisor within 48 hours. I never heard back...

If I had a dollar for every time I have heard someone say this...

 

[jdirik]

Couple things have come to light today, but I'm going to hold off on a detailed post until I have more info.

I have a question for fellow Texas customers: Did you fill out and send in your car registration info prior to delivery, or were you asked to bring it with you to delivery? Also, the date that you received it is important.

I received my packet last week, two days before the scheduled delivery date of 8/29 that was then cancelled and reset for 9/10. Sounds like I received the same packet info as did you. I was prepared to bring the signed docs and sealed FedEx packet with me.

 

[jdirik]

DING DING DING!! For anyone trying to see Ft Worth to Dallas, it does seem like just picking any car going to Dallas will only register you to see that car's specific route. So if you pick a Lathrop - Dallas car to register with, that's the only origin/destination pair you will get results for. Using JF059083 on the delivery receipts page, and then registering a second email address, I have a far more interesting result. Same as what @jdirik was previously able to find. Here's my car, still stuck in jail with the same info it seems to have had since Tuesday last week:

Good luck tomorrow!

Good work on figuring out the origin issue. It seems they have not updated some of the Fort Worth deliveries. Or they are using another transporter after using United Road to get started. When I next speak with my IDA, I'll push her to ID the transport company they will use.

 

[hmerrill3]

I’m guessing that Texas GOVERNMENT is not letting local TX Tesla staff perform ANY dealer functions, and therefore you are almost dealing with TWO separate companies; Tesla CA, who is allowed to actually sell you a car, and Tesla TX that is only allowed to GIVE you a car, and service the car. Right?

^^^ THIS^^^

I think they don't want any reliability associates to them in case your personal information got leaked or whatever. Must be a lawyer thing…

Not this (at least not for the reason stated), though I'd guarantee (many) lawyers were involved.

 

[libra89]

Good luck tomorrow!

Good work on figuring out the origin issue. It seems they have not updated some of the Fort Worth deliveries. Or they are using another transporter after using United Road to get started. When I next speak with my IDA, I'll push her to ID the transport company they will use.

I'll be watching it off and on tomorrow (Monday), although I'm predicting that they may take the holiday off. I won't be surprised if it doesn't move until Tuesday.

EDIT to add....I checked on the location of the truck assigned to my car a couple times today. First in Lancaster, TX, then a couple hours later it was on S Polk St in Dallas. Maybe a couple hours after that it was back in Lancaster. I checked just now and it's in Hedley, TX north west of Childress. If I were guessing I'd say headed to Amarillo. I dunno. Delivery is Wednesday, let's see what happens.

 

[hmerrill3]

Curious observations I've been able to piece together...
On the United Road tracking site I can see all inbound and outbound deliveries to and from Lathrop , CA. Without exception everything inbound is from the Tesla's Factory in Fremont, CA. There is also very limited occurrence of traffic from Lathrop back to Fremont.

Everything else outbound is to west coast and western states with Texas and Minnesota being the easternmost states on the list that I've seen.

Now the Lathrop Hup is identified as:

LNR Services - Lathrop Hub
500 East Louise Avenue
Lathrop , CA 95330​

But who is LNR Services?
From their web page (About Us – LNR Auto Transport):

"At LNR we provide finished vehicle shipping solutions to the industry top automotive manufacturers. With our investment in world class equipment, people and technology we truly believe we are the best service provider in the industry. We are licensed to operate in both the US and Canada and maintain an impeccable safety record. Our mission is to provide on-time damage free shipments to our customer base allowing them to get their vehicles to market quicker."​

Where is their office you may wonder, well...

LNR Auto Transport

611 Hwy 78
Suite 122
Wylie, TX 75098
​

Huge building don't you think? Odd thing is every business in that building is medical office related (at least in google maps).
So I believe this group is somehow tied to all Texas deliveries. A possibility further reinforced today when I noticed the tempory tag on my car, issued by Collin County. Now Collin County is just north of Dallas County and Wylie Texas just happens to be in Collin County.

Now near as I can tell my car was delivered to me less than 24 hours after arrival into Houston (likely late Friday) so it is clear that the temporary plates for the car were either in or on the car when it made the trip.

Since the BNSF Ft Worth Rail Hup (AKA Rail Jail) is not in Collin County I put forth for your consideration the conjecture that LCN is somehow involved with both the transportation and titling of Teslas in Texas. Further Rail Jail may be being used as a temporary holding area for cars while their registration paperwork gets worked out. It was also mentioned to me that cars get charged while in rail jail so it is also plausible that some other predelivery functions are being done there to minimize the workload of the SC.

Question for those still monitoring this thread who already have your cars, what Texas County were your temporary plates issued from?

 

[libra89]

Since the BNSF Ft Worth Rail Hup (AKA Rail Jail) is not in Collin County I put forth for your consideration the conjecture that LCN is somehow involved with both the transportation and titling of Teslas in Texas. Further Rail Jail may be being used as a temporary holding area for cars while their registration paperwork gets worked out. It was also mentioned to me that cars get charged while in rail jail so it is also plausible that some other predelivery functions are being done there to minimize the workload of the SC.

BNSF Rail Jail is actually in Haslet, and I'm surmising therefore is in Denton County. Denton is north of Tarrant and Dallas, with about 2/3 of it north of Tarrant and 1/3 north of Dallas.

 

[hmerrill3]

BNSF Rail Jail is actually in Haslet, and I'm surmising therefore is in Denton County. Denton is north of Tarrant and Dallas, with about 2/3 of it north of Tarrant and 1/3 north of Dallas.

agreed that Rail Jail is near Haslet, but I believe technically it is inside the Alliance Foreign-Trade Zone which makes me wonder if cars located there are not technically/legally in Texas. This would be similar to an international traveler arriving at a US airport; legally you are not in the U.S. until you clear immigration. If this is true Tesla could stage cars at Alliance without them being in the "state" until they left the trade zone.

Oh and Google Maps clearly places the BNSF facility in Tarrant County (the greenish line is the county line)

 

[gravastar]

I was typing the same thing (free trade zone) when I saw the message "this board has been updated since."

I'll check my plates tomorrow today when I take delivery. But I am not a good sample point because my residence is IN Collin County.

Why would a company like LNR headquarter in Wylie and not closer to the FTZ?

 

[gravastar]

Also, take everything I say right now with a grain of salt. I heard the term "foreign trade zone" for the first time a couple days ago and all of my knowledge is based off a couple Google searches. And this is coming from a guy who can't sleep at 1AM because he's scheduled to pick up his M3 in a few hours.

 

[Charlesc83]

Curious observations I've been able to piece together...
On the United Road tracking site I can see all inbound and outbound deliveries to and from Lathrop , CA. Without exception everything inbound is from the Tesla's Factory in Fremont, CA. There is also very limited occurrence of traffic from Lathrop back to Fremont.

Everything else outbound is to west coast and western states with Texas and Minnesota being the easternmost states on the list that I've seen.

Now the Lathrop Hup is identified as:

LNR Services - Lathrop Hub
500 East Louise Avenue
Lathrop , CA 95330​

But who is LNR Services?
From their web page (About Us – LNR Auto Transport):

"At LNR we provide finished vehicle shipping solutions to the industry top automotive manufacturers. With our investment in world class equipment, people and technology we truly believe we are the best service provider in the industry. We are licensed to operate in both the US and Canada and maintain an impeccable safety record. Our mission is to provide on-time damage free shipments to our customer base allowing them to get their vehicles to market quicker."​

Where is their office you may wonder, well...

LNR Auto Transport
View attachment 331386
611 Hwy 78
Suite 122
Wylie, TX 75098
​

Huge building don't you think? Odd thing is every business in that building is medical office related (at least in google maps).
So I believe this group is somehow tied to all Texas deliveries. A possibility further reinforced today when I noticed the tempory tag on my car, issued by Collin County. Now Collin County is just north of Dallas County and Wylie Texas just happens to be in Collin County.

Now near as I can tell my car was delivered to me less than 24 hours after arrival into Houston (likely late Friday) so it is clear that the temporary plates for the car were either in or on the car when it made the trip.

Since the BNSF Ft Worth Rail Hup (AKA Rail Jail) is not in Collin County I put forth for your consideration the conjecture that LCN is somehow involved with both the transportation and titling of Teslas in Texas. Further Rail Jail may be being used as a temporary holding area for cars while their registration paperwork gets worked out. It was also mentioned to me that cars get charged while in rail jail so it is also plausible that some other predelivery functions are being done there to minimize the workload of the SC.

Question for those still monitoring this thread who already have your cars, what Texas County were your temporary plates issued from?

My temp tag also says Collin County. Also isn’t Tesla using The Title Girl out of Dallas to handle all the Texas paperwork?

 

[jdirik]

Curious observations I've been able to piece together...
On the United Road tracking site I can see all inbound and outbound deliveries to and from Lathrop , CA. Without exception everything inbound is from the Tesla's Factory in Fremont, CA. There is also very limited occurrence of traffic from Lathrop back to Fremont.

Everything else outbound is to west coast and western states with Texas and Minnesota being the easternmost states on the list that I've seen.

Now the Lathrop Hup is identified as:

LNR Services - Lathrop Hub
500 East Louise Avenue
Lathrop , CA 95330​

But who is LNR Services?
From their web page (About Us – LNR Auto Transport):

"At LNR we provide finished vehicle shipping solutions to the industry top automotive manufacturers. With our investment in world class equipment, people and technology we truly believe we are the best service provider in the industry. We are licensed to operate in both the US and Canada and maintain an impeccable safety record. Our mission is to provide on-time damage free shipments to our customer base allowing them to get their vehicles to market quicker."​

Where is their office you may wonder, well...

LNR Auto Transport
View attachment 331386
611 Hwy 78
Suite 122
Wylie, TX 75098
​

Huge building don't you think? Odd thing is every business in that building is medical office related (at least in google maps).
So I believe this group is somehow tied to all Texas deliveries. A possibility further reinforced today when I noticed the tempory tag on my car, issued by Collin County. Now Collin County is just north of Dallas County and Wylie Texas just happens to be in Collin County.

Now near as I can tell my car was delivered to me less than 24 hours after arrival into Houston (likely late Friday) so it is clear that the temporary plates for the car were either in or on the car when it made the trip.

Since the BNSF Ft Worth Rail Hup (AKA Rail Jail) is not in Collin County I put forth for your consideration the conjecture that LCN is somehow involved with both the transportation and titling of Teslas in Texas. Further Rail Jail may be being used as a temporary holding area for cars while their registration paperwork gets worked out. It was also mentioned to me that cars get charged while in rail jail so it is also plausible that some other predelivery functions are being done there to minimize the workload of the SC.

Question for those still monitoring this thread who already have your cars, what Texas County were your temporary plates issued from?

Good stuff. I posted last week about possibly using the rail depot as a staging area.

 

[jdirik]

agreed that Rail Jail is near Haslet, but I believe technically it is inside the Alliance Foreign-Trade Zone which makes me wonder if cars located there are not technically/legally in Texas. This would be similar to an international traveler arriving at a US airport; legally you are not in the U.S. until you clear immigration. If this is true Tesla could stage cars at Alliance without them being in the "state" until they left the trade zone.

Oh and Google Maps clearly places the BNSF facility in Tarrant County (the greenish line is the county line)
View attachment 331390

Bingo. The cars are not "in" Texas while in the FTZ.