If you just want to know who I'm giving this 5 star review for, go ahead and click the button:
I've wanted an S since Day 1, thinking they were the most beautiful cars from the most forward thinking company working toward my goal of ridding at least my roads of fossil fuels. I couldn't afford one but I saved and saved. A month ago I decided it was time and I began my hunt for a used Tesla.
I think most people just assume getting a Tesla means buying it from Tesla. And that's what I was going to do. I spent days scouring through sites like teslainventory.com and ev-cpo.com (both awesome) as well as Tesla's own CPO list.
I've never cared at all about the performance aspect of Tesla, but for whatever reason, the lowest price CPO options in my area were all P85D cars. I was fine with the very cheapest one and contacted Tesla to make the deal.
Now, I'm not going to say Tesla did anything wrong. They wouldn't budge on the price when I asked, but that's the way they operate. He answered my questions and sent me a few photos. He even sent me the CPO reconditioning report so I could see the minor things that one would expect with a 2 yr old car. I asked if they might throw in some winter tires and he didn't bother to respond. But nothing I'd say that qualified as a "bad" experience.
But then... thankfully... I decided to broaden my search a bit and I found an ad for a nearly identical car on AutoTrader priced over $8k lower. It was 4400km away (2700 miles) and at some dealer that wasn't Tesla. That's scary though, right?
I almost didn't bother to contact them, to be honest. I figured if I'm going to buy a Tesla, it should be from Tesla and some part of me questioned if it was too good to be true.
But I did send a message. At first it seemed I was too late as the dealer said it was already picked up by another dealer. But they passed my info on and that other dealer promptly reached out to me. I was subsequently blown away with by the customer service.
The guy at Tesla made me feel like just another customer and he felt like just another salesman. He failed to answer some of my questions, he was light on details with the ones he did answer, and he tried upselling me on a new car a few times. Again, nothing bad... but in comparison, this 3rd party dealer made me feel like a king!.
First off, his responses were thorough and quick. Often just minutes after asking, I'd have the answer. And talk about details! I'd ask about wheel damage (that I thought I could see on the original listing photos) and I'd get 10 high resolution photos from various angles with such close-ups that there was no question what I was getting! I asked about what appeared to be a blemish on the back of the driver seat, and he told me it was improperly applied leather conditioner from the previous owner but they'd have that all taken care of and he followed up with before and after photos. So many photos and detailed descriptions, in all, that I was very comfortable with the condition without even seeing the car in person.
And this isn't just typical car stuff. This guy knows his Teslas! He offered up helpful tips and proactively showed me screen shots from the car's display, for example showing me both the rated and ideal ranges and expressing how some sellers might "accidentally on purpose" overstate the range. I would bet money that he knows far more about these cars than most any Tesla employee at the local showroom floor level - certainly compared to the Vancouver one (no offense guys). I mean he really knows his stuff!
Remember when I said the Vancouver guy never bothered to answer me about the winter tires? In contrast, this guy understood my concerns and detailed 4 outstanding options for me, including accepting the 21's that came with the car (which I really didn't care about, and in fact preferred the 19's for practical reasons) in trade for some credit and brand new 19's with rubber of my choice. The tires I chose were not ones he could supply, so he went out and bought them from another supplier to keep his word!
Every step of the way, he kept blowing me away with his attentiveness, knowledge, professionalism and promptness. It feels elitist to say there's a way one "should be treated" when buying a $100k car, but if there is such a way... this is it. I have no doubt, however, that this is a function of his passion for the brand just as much as it is catering to a type of clientele. But either way, if you want the red carpet rolled out... this is the guy to buy from.
But wait, there's more...
Being over 4000km away doesn't make it easy to drive it off the lot, but he did his best. He offered to arrange transport (and man I wish I had taken him up on that), or I could find my own guy (I did) or if I chose to fly there he'd pick me up from the airport and take me to the permitting office, etc. I really wish I had gone that route, but the drive home seemed too risky considering I'd have to leave the country and cross several states to do it (no chargers across Canada at this time).
By arranging my own transport, I ran into problem after problem. Delay after delay. All the while, he kept the car clean, safe, and on trickle charge and made every possible effort to accommodate the bizarre problems the truck(s) kept running into. So yes it has taken well over a week extra to get my Tesla to me, but that's not at all his fault in any way, shape or form.
Now that its here, I'm very VERY happy with the car, and equally as happy with who I chose to buy it from. My family is safer and my world is cleaner. And I want to say THANK YOU PAUL.
Paul Repar of Shift Motors in Burlington, ON. Hands down the best experience you can have buying a used Tesla.
Whether you're in Ontario or anywhere in Canada (or possibly even in the US - its worth a look!), I highly HIGHLY recommend Paul and his crew at Shift. You simply can't get a better overall experience and if you're buying sight unseen like me... all I can say is my hair went grey for nothing as I really had nothing to worry about. If you do give them a call, I recommend contacting Paul directly and telling him Steven from Kelowna referred you. People like this deserve to know word of mouth is working.
Paul Repar of Shift Motors in Burlington, ON. Hands down the best experience you can have buying a used Tesla. Tell him Steven from Kelowna sent you.
I've wanted an S since Day 1, thinking they were the most beautiful cars from the most forward thinking company working toward my goal of ridding at least my roads of fossil fuels. I couldn't afford one but I saved and saved. A month ago I decided it was time and I began my hunt for a used Tesla.
I think most people just assume getting a Tesla means buying it from Tesla. And that's what I was going to do. I spent days scouring through sites like teslainventory.com and ev-cpo.com (both awesome) as well as Tesla's own CPO list.
I've never cared at all about the performance aspect of Tesla, but for whatever reason, the lowest price CPO options in my area were all P85D cars. I was fine with the very cheapest one and contacted Tesla to make the deal.
Now, I'm not going to say Tesla did anything wrong. They wouldn't budge on the price when I asked, but that's the way they operate. He answered my questions and sent me a few photos. He even sent me the CPO reconditioning report so I could see the minor things that one would expect with a 2 yr old car. I asked if they might throw in some winter tires and he didn't bother to respond. But nothing I'd say that qualified as a "bad" experience.
But then... thankfully... I decided to broaden my search a bit and I found an ad for a nearly identical car on AutoTrader priced over $8k lower. It was 4400km away (2700 miles) and at some dealer that wasn't Tesla. That's scary though, right?
I almost didn't bother to contact them, to be honest. I figured if I'm going to buy a Tesla, it should be from Tesla and some part of me questioned if it was too good to be true.
But I did send a message. At first it seemed I was too late as the dealer said it was already picked up by another dealer. But they passed my info on and that other dealer promptly reached out to me. I was subsequently blown away with by the customer service.
The guy at Tesla made me feel like just another customer and he felt like just another salesman. He failed to answer some of my questions, he was light on details with the ones he did answer, and he tried upselling me on a new car a few times. Again, nothing bad... but in comparison, this 3rd party dealer made me feel like a king!.
First off, his responses were thorough and quick. Often just minutes after asking, I'd have the answer. And talk about details! I'd ask about wheel damage (that I thought I could see on the original listing photos) and I'd get 10 high resolution photos from various angles with such close-ups that there was no question what I was getting! I asked about what appeared to be a blemish on the back of the driver seat, and he told me it was improperly applied leather conditioner from the previous owner but they'd have that all taken care of and he followed up with before and after photos. So many photos and detailed descriptions, in all, that I was very comfortable with the condition without even seeing the car in person.
And this isn't just typical car stuff. This guy knows his Teslas! He offered up helpful tips and proactively showed me screen shots from the car's display, for example showing me both the rated and ideal ranges and expressing how some sellers might "accidentally on purpose" overstate the range. I would bet money that he knows far more about these cars than most any Tesla employee at the local showroom floor level - certainly compared to the Vancouver one (no offense guys). I mean he really knows his stuff!
Remember when I said the Vancouver guy never bothered to answer me about the winter tires? In contrast, this guy understood my concerns and detailed 4 outstanding options for me, including accepting the 21's that came with the car (which I really didn't care about, and in fact preferred the 19's for practical reasons) in trade for some credit and brand new 19's with rubber of my choice. The tires I chose were not ones he could supply, so he went out and bought them from another supplier to keep his word!
Every step of the way, he kept blowing me away with his attentiveness, knowledge, professionalism and promptness. It feels elitist to say there's a way one "should be treated" when buying a $100k car, but if there is such a way... this is it. I have no doubt, however, that this is a function of his passion for the brand just as much as it is catering to a type of clientele. But either way, if you want the red carpet rolled out... this is the guy to buy from.
But wait, there's more...
Being over 4000km away doesn't make it easy to drive it off the lot, but he did his best. He offered to arrange transport (and man I wish I had taken him up on that), or I could find my own guy (I did) or if I chose to fly there he'd pick me up from the airport and take me to the permitting office, etc. I really wish I had gone that route, but the drive home seemed too risky considering I'd have to leave the country and cross several states to do it (no chargers across Canada at this time).
By arranging my own transport, I ran into problem after problem. Delay after delay. All the while, he kept the car clean, safe, and on trickle charge and made every possible effort to accommodate the bizarre problems the truck(s) kept running into. So yes it has taken well over a week extra to get my Tesla to me, but that's not at all his fault in any way, shape or form.
Now that its here, I'm very VERY happy with the car, and equally as happy with who I chose to buy it from. My family is safer and my world is cleaner. And I want to say THANK YOU PAUL.
Paul Repar of Shift Motors in Burlington, ON. Hands down the best experience you can have buying a used Tesla.
Whether you're in Ontario or anywhere in Canada (or possibly even in the US - its worth a look!), I highly HIGHLY recommend Paul and his crew at Shift. You simply can't get a better overall experience and if you're buying sight unseen like me... all I can say is my hair went grey for nothing as I really had nothing to worry about. If you do give them a call, I recommend contacting Paul directly and telling him Steven from Kelowna referred you. People like this deserve to know word of mouth is working.
