The Carrier Dented My Car

[MikeK]

First things first: Liz, I really feel for you. So sorry for the upset. And, GeorgeB, you're a class act. I hope I can shake your hand in person at some point!

Now. I had to have a repair made to my panoramic roof the first week I had the car -- the little pin that pushes the windscreen down slipped off the ramp that it rides on, and the next time the roof opened, the pin was under the ramp, so it broke the plastic ramp piece of the windscreen. I suspect the ramp was misaligned or missing a spacer or something because it doesn't seem like the pin can come off the ramp as it is installed now.

Anyway, that's just background to say this: in order to replace the windscreen, they had to remove the black painted strips on both sides of the roof, and evidently these are not designed to be reinstalled, so they were replaced.

If the fascia above the windshield is a similar piece, it should be a very simple repair that I personally wouldn't worry about at all.

The critical question is: why is the windshield cracked? If the same part of the truck that hit the roof also hit the glass directly, then chances are good that there's no underlying damage to structure. If anything flexed and caused the windshield to crack, well, I'd be pretty nervous about that.

 

[Martini]

I'm surprised so many people here think this warrants a whole new car. I think in the long run Tesla will have to give up on the idea of individual delivery and have people only collect cars at service centres or the factory. Too many variables out of their control otherwise.

 

[PeterW]

I think in the long run Tesla will have to give up on the idea of individual delivery and have people only collect cars at service centres or the factory. Too many variables out of their control otherwise.

Then why don't they put themselves back in control. Purchase their own fleet of trucks and deliver the cars themselves, especially in the US.

 

[jerry33]

Then why don't they put themselves back in control. Purchase their own fleet of trucks and deliver the cars themselves, especially in the US.

1. We are mostly hearing about problems, what we don't have the number of cars that have been delivered without body damage. Is it 1%, 0.5%, 3%? No way to know. It's expensive to run a trucking fleet and Telsa would be new to it.

2. Once the delivery process gets ironed out, most cars will go to a service centre before being delivered. This will allow a pre-check rather than the Christmas rush method of direct delivery (other than places such as TX anyway).

3. Even if they had their own fleet, damages would still happen.

4. I wouldn't expect Tesla to have their own fleet until they have enough volume to warrant one. Sometime after GENIII goes into production.

 

[dsm363]

If Tesla did their own deliveries then at least they might be able to tell you where the truck with your car was though. That would be an improvement.

 

[NigelM]

I'm surprised so many people here think this warrants a whole new car.

Short explanation: Here in the U.S. car repairs are recorded against the VIN. If you sell a car that has been repaired the buyer can easily check and you'll get a lower price versus a car that has never needed damage repair.

 

[PeterW]

1. We are mostly hearing about problems, what we don't have the number of cars that have been delivered without body damage. Is it 1%, 0.5%, 3%? No way to know. It's expensive to run a trucking fleet and Telsa would be new to it.

2. Once the delivery process gets ironed out, most cars will go to a service centre before being delivered. This will allow a pre-check rather than the Christmas rush method of direct delivery (other than places such as TX anyway).

3. Even if they had their own fleet, damages would still happen.

4. I wouldn't expect Tesla to have their own fleet until they have enough volume to warrant one. Sometime after GENIII goes into production.

1. I agree we do not know the percentage of car that recieve damage during the delivery process, you always hear about the bad stuff.
Yes it is expensive to run a trucking fleet and yes, Tesla would be new to it. The same argument could be put regarding owning their own stores. It cuts out another middle man who wants to make a profit.

2. Maybe.

3. True, damages would still happen. Ownership is potentially better in this regard, I believe there would be less.

4. They could start with a small fleet and build on that. I would think if they were looking at this then they should have something up and running before GENIII goes into production

 

[jerry33]

Yes it is expensive to run a trucking fleet and yes, Tesla would be new to it. The same argument could be put regarding owning their own stores. It cuts out another middle man who wants to make a profit.

I don't know if you've ever been involved in the trucking industry, but a trucking fleet is far more expensive than stores to set up and operate. True, it's not as expensive as opening up a new car manufacturing facility but it has the same logistical nightmare of setting up service facilities (I doubt you'd want the Tesla service centres to also be servicing 18 wheelers) dealing with permits in each state, etc.

 

[mknox]

Short explanation: Here in the U.S. car repairs are recorded against the VIN. If you sell a car that has been repaired the buyer can easily check and you'll get a lower price versus a car that has never needed damage repair.

Ditto in Canada. I know someone who bought a brand new car at a discount because carrier damage was recorded and the dealer couldn't "hide" the fact that body work had been done. (They were happy to get the deal because they were confident the repairs were done right). It does affect re-sale or trade in value when these facts are disclosed as well.

Now, I was thinking about this in the context of the normal dealer model vs. Tesla's direct sales model. In the dealer model, the end consumer doesn't own the car until they drive it off the lot, and can refuse delivery or negotiate a discount when prior damage is disclosed. In the case of Tesla, I believe ownership transfers when the car leaves the factory (am I correct?), and shipping damage is to a car you already own, so the options for recourse may not be the same.

 

[jerry33]

In the case of Tesla, I believe ownership transfers when the car leaves the factory (am I correct?),

That is true for a direct shipment. It's not true for delivery by a delivery specialist or store. In those cases ownership transfer takes place on delivery. The before-year-end rush had a lot more direct deliveries than normal.

 

[mknox]

That is true for a direct shipment. It's not true for delivery by a delivery specialist or store. In those cases ownership transfer takes place on delivery. The before-year-end rush had a lot more direct deliveries than normal.

Thanks. I plan to take delivery at the Service Center near my home. One of my "checklist" items will be to get a disclosure that no shipping damage or repairs were done before I accept delivery.

 

[FalconNinetyD]

Thanks. I plan to take delivery at the Service Center near my home. One of my "checklist" items will be to get a disclosure that no shipping damage or repairs were done before I accept delivery.

I'm not sure if the local Tesla folks will be willing to sign that. You will probably want to have that disclosure in corporates hands to review well before your pick-up date.

 

[Martini]

Then why don't they put themselves back in control. Purchase their own fleet of trucks and deliver the cars themselves, especially in the US.

Tesla have proven themselves to be real champs at vertical integration, but this might be a bridge too far. Think about the return on investment of their limited capital with respect to the choice between buying a fleet of trucks or investing in building and designing electric vehicles. It is generally true that companies should keep a strong focus on their core business and contract out all the peripheral stuff. As they build out their service network, it seems reasonable that a larger share of deliveries will be made through service centres, and that is probably a good thing. They may introduce an additional charge for home delivery to further discourage the practice.

 

[yobigd20]

I was going to say I would push for option #3, rejecting the delivery and demanding a new vehicle. The amount of immediate depreciation that would be caused by repair work would be far greater than 10% IMHO, which is not fair whatsoever, then I saw GB's response. Awesome! Happy to see Tesla is taking care of it's customers. I'm curious to know what actually happened. I don't know how you can have a "dented roof" when it's mostly pano. Could it have actually shattered? Yikes. Anywho, I hope they put your new car at the top of the list. I don't mind if I'm pushed back 1 car to make sure your priority and get your's first. You deserve it

Oh, and I hope either that carrier isn't used anymore or that driver gets fired if it was shown to be his fault. It sounds like there's been a few carrier issues recently, between the hydraulics failing in one (thus all the Tesla's being stuck in the carrier and not able to be unloaded), chips in paint because car covers weren't used in another, and now this.... I think there needs to be better standards here to ensure all of our Tesla's arrive in pristine condition! I understand accidents happen every now and then but it seems like a few too many to me.

 

[Electric1]

Tesla have proven themselves to be real champs at vertical integration, but this might be a bridge too far. Think about the return on investment of their limited capital with respect to the choice between buying a fleet of trucks or investing in building and designing electric vehicles. It is generally true that companies should keep a strong focus on their core business and contract out all the peripheral stuff. As they build out their service network, it seems reasonable that a larger share of deliveries will be made through service centres, and that is probably a good thing. They may introduce an additional charge for home delivery to further discourage the practice.

There is something in between the apparently disorganized process that is the experience of SOME with the current contractor (UPS?) and TM "buying a fleet of trucks" and that is to bring the logistics component back in house by hiring some Tesla quality logistics people. UPS (if they are the contractor) does some things very well (such as delivering packages to my business) and some things very poorly (ever try to ship a package "retail" with them at one of their counters (not a second party franchise "UPS STORE"). The experience is horrible compared to Fedex). IMHO Tesla should either hold their contractor to a 5 9's level of service, get another contractor or do it themselves before the less dedicated start getting deliveries.

 

[jerry33]

IMHO Tesla should either hold their contractor to a 5 9's level of service, get another contractor or do it themselves before the less dedicated start getting deliveries.

My guess is that there is a limited choice of contractors in this field.

 

[Electric1]

My guess is that there is a limited choice of contractors in this field.

As a car collector who goes to a lot of big shows, with dozens of very expensive and rare cars shipped from everywhere, and with significant competition among a number of carriers, I expect that not only is there enough capacity out there if someone goes looking for it, but that there is likely competitive pricing. Remember, many of these are the guys that UPS is using who are delivering many cars successfully for TM. It is just a matter of having appropriate logistics people weed out the bad ones and keep tract of things. Perhaps a little personal attention to the delivery of our bespoke cars, rather than having them on a list with someone's backhoe and another's nuclear reactor parts.

 

[jerry33]

Perhaps a little personal attention to the delivery of our bespoke cars, rather than having them on a list with someone's backhoe and another's nuclear reactor parts.

I don't need the backhoe but the nuclear reactor parts might come in handy.

 

[swegman]

What was the resolution to this incident? I don't recall seeing that.

On a related matter, i received a communication from Tesla today that if you take delivery from a Tesla store, ownership (and hence risk of lose/damage) does not transfer to the purchaser until the purchaser inspects the vehicle at the store, completes the paperwork, pays and "drives off the lot" (as they put it). I've opted for store pickup to avoid any possible problems.

 

[jerry33]

What was the resolution to this incident? I don't recall seeing that.

On a related matter, i received a communication from Tesla today that if you take delivery from a Tesla store, ownership (and hence risk of lose/damage) does not transfer to the purchaser until the purchaser inspects the vehicle at the store, completes the paperwork, pays and "drives off the lot" (as they put it). I've opted for store pickup to avoid any possible problems.

That works in areas where it can be done. Unfortunately, that's not everywhere.