6 months with a Tesla
Recently i bought a used P85+ 2015 Tesla Model S and after a very bumpy and shaky experience i feel the need to share my knowledge with the people that have newly purchased one or the ones that are thinking of purchasing one. Disclaimer: This post is not for the hardcore, blinded, Tesla fan boys and girls that drink blood and tears on Elons name everytime before they go to bed. This is for people that are open minded and willing to accept the fact that Tesla, even though a hardcore pioneering company, they are a good distance away from being perfect. If you think Tesla is just freaking awesome and you could die for them please move to the next post.
After a 40 minutes test drive with the previous owner of the P85, i fell in love with it. I noticed a few minor issues that i accepted to take at the first service and we agreed on the sale. 2 days after i was a proud owner of a powerful Tesla Model S with 45000km (ca. 30.000miles) and 2,5 years old.In addition to that i had previously driven a P100D and i was blown away. That is basically when i decided to buy a Tesla.
I do not want to start on the wrong foot as mr.negative so i will start by saying some of the things that i mean, they make the car superior than the competition.
My review for Tesla Motors so far – always compared to similar price range cars:
Tesla innovation: 9/10
Tesla material quality : 6/10
Tesla service: 3/10
Tesla local customer support: 1/10
Tesla central customer support: 8/10
Tesla overall price/quality : 5/10
Tesla experienced-customer experience: 5/10 (Experienced customer: Having owned previously new or relatively new cars from 5+ different brands).
Keep in mind that if you purchase a Ferrari for 100.000USD, Ferrari doesn't treat you like a leper and snobby like they do at Tesla stores.
Remember these cars are marketed as performance luxury cars with 100.000+USD price tags. I know, dont even bother to tell me that the standard starts from 77.000USD. Nobody buys a standard. A 100.000USD , Audi, BMW, Merc, Porsche is unbelievably incomparable and superior.
If Elon continues with the same policy in service and material quality the first German luxury electrics will surely kill his company. In any case he can forget selling cars in Europe when BMW and Merc and Audi, Volvo come with full EV's in a couple of years.
With all that being said i am a hardcore Elon fan boy and the fact that he wants to go to Mars in my lifetime makes me oversee a good part of this ordeal. For the time being at least....
Improvement suggestions:
If anyone is doubting of how legit this story is i actually have documentation from each of the 3 visits in the last 10 weeks to document all the things i say above. Also Tesla has records of all my phonecalls...
In December i also got into a slight fender bender resulting that the left rear wing of the car to be damaged and needing replacement. The part it self is not expensive but since there are only 3 workshops in half of Norway that take these jobs i have been waiting for over 1,5 month for it to be repaired and still nothing.The car is also 100% aluminum which makes the requirement for repairs really high. Therefore i do not think there will ever be more than 10 shops in Norway for Tesla repairs. Now do your math on waiting time for fender-bender cases.
For me owning the car is not just how fancy or hi-tech or fantastic the ride is. It is more than anything the customer experience so i don't have to spend half of my life feeling like a lab-rat for companies like Tesla. Until now that experience is not there unfortunately.
With all that being said i have pre ordered my Model 3 since August last year (that recently got a 3 month delay for delivery well into 2019 territory) and i will give it a hard thought if i will buy it or not. If BMW comes with a 100% EV competitor by then, then unfortunately is a no go for Tesla.
Recently i bought a used P85+ 2015 Tesla Model S and after a very bumpy and shaky experience i feel the need to share my knowledge with the people that have newly purchased one or the ones that are thinking of purchasing one. Disclaimer: This post is not for the hardcore, blinded, Tesla fan boys and girls that drink blood and tears on Elons name everytime before they go to bed. This is for people that are open minded and willing to accept the fact that Tesla, even though a hardcore pioneering company, they are a good distance away from being perfect. If you think Tesla is just freaking awesome and you could die for them please move to the next post.
After a 40 minutes test drive with the previous owner of the P85, i fell in love with it. I noticed a few minor issues that i accepted to take at the first service and we agreed on the sale. 2 days after i was a proud owner of a powerful Tesla Model S with 45000km (ca. 30.000miles) and 2,5 years old.In addition to that i had previously driven a P100D and i was blown away. That is basically when i decided to buy a Tesla.
I do not want to start on the wrong foot as mr.negative so i will start by saying some of the things that i mean, they make the car superior than the competition.
- Power, power and more raw power. If you might be a fan of Top Gear then you know what i mean. In good Jezza fashion this car has unlimited power. And unlimited torque. It can compete with competition purpose cars on drag races. Tesla has power. And is immediate power. No turbos, no lag, no gear, nothing. Foot down-->Gone.
- Tesla has innovating ideas. Remote control your vehicle. OTA updates. OTA service and control of the vehicle. Central technical support that is independent of local working hours. And a few other things make Tesla a forward thinking company that no European or American company has ever thought of being close to before.
- The car has space. No drive shaft to back wheel no engine in the front means that you have legroom like you are sitting in a bus. Not good enough head room but that is a different issue... With that being said with great space comes great responsibility. Bus size leg room means also bus size car. Forget any type European sizing. All sizes here are in feet and yards. This car is huge. If you have garage from the 70s you can just forget putting that monster inside.
- The car is stable as a train. I haven't driven the car on snow/ice conditions but even though i have the rear wheel drive i have noticed that whenever the car slips the electric system corrects and repositions the car in milliseconds. Depending how fast you are going the correction can be in some cases quite rough to your neck but it will save your life.
- Tesla has a marketing god on its side. Elon is like Jobs. Besides an innovator he is also a tremendous marketing mascot. You say Elon and all trendy fan boys and girls go ahhhh like it's Justin Bieber at a pool party in Jamaica... With that being said Elon is not just a face. He is a forward thinker. He really supports his case and he knows when he is wrong. That is why many Teslas have gotten aftermarket drive units and titanium shields free of cost. He knows marketing is not just selling but also supporting what you sell (especially within the legal frame you are supposed to). For that alone I salute him. Oh and also because he wants to go to Mars.
- Save the planet. Green and all that nice stuff.
- Save your pocket. Depending where you live electric power cost against petrol might be a super argument to own a Tesla. Scandinavia has a big subsidizing program for Evs and they actually are a real bargain there.
- Tesla has Power, power and more raw power and no way to restrain it. Almost 95% of all performance cars have several different modes of drive train power distribution. For dry, wet roads for offroad for drifting for winter etc etc etc. Tesla has 1 for all. 400+ horse power, one torque fits all. This is, in an engineers eyes, straight out dangerous. Dangerous for safety and for structural integrity of the vehicle. No limited torque for winter climates. No limited power (torque not max speed!) for new drivers. No manual power distribution on FW/RW drivetrain on D models.
- Tesla has an all american quality. Anyone that has been driving a new BMW 4 series and a brand new Tesla P100D know exactly what i am talking about. German quality and fit, beats the crap out of any Tesla. Period. Even standard things like how the doors lock or close... Tesla lacks in any quality related aspect when it comes to series and production vehicles from Europe of the same price level. Deniers can deny but that is the hard truth. For 100.000 USD Porsche will not sell you a car that has misfitted panels, hood, lights etc etc. Tesla will.
- Tesla model S has absolutely no storage space for ANYTHING. Not on the doors, not in the middle console, not under the seats, not under the armrest, not a freaking single place. For the monstrous size of that car, the space for putting you stuff is non existing. Like gloves, a soda can, sunglasses, wallet you know all the things real people need in their everyday life. Yes the car is huge inside but you just have to hang your sunglasses from their ceiling with a thread. If you now buy a new super expensive model you get space for your sunglasses and thats it. If you have an old model with a yacht deck you need to pay 1200USD to get a box for your glasses.... tragic. The armrest soda-can holders are a joke, unless you enjoy spilling sugar drinks or coffee in your car. Then they are AWESOME. Really.
- Range is not what it seems. Tesla will tell you the range is 450km on a 85 model. Tested in a vacuum tube with the wind pushing behind the vehicle with 45km an hour. Now in real life with average careful driving the 85 model will give you 350km range. If you step your pedal hard for 2-4 minutes that is reduced to 300km. Now subtract cold climate from that capacity and you see at a max 200km range on a 85 battery in the winter. I know that petrol cars drink also more when you use your weight on the pedal but they dont have that inherited re''charging'' problem. If i want to blow some steam and use my 400HP on my new M4, i do so but then i can immediately pull in a gas station and drive home after. Not wait for 1,5 hour on a supercharger (that these days are getting fuller and fuller) and then go home. The range of those cars is a killer. Model 3 should have been 1200kg with an 85 battery. I dont think its even half way near to that. And what is really the deal with not being able to fill your battery to 100%??? Most of the Teslas under 85 they have 85 batteries which in practice it means that when they are at 100% charge the battery is not fully charged because it is software limited. Now if the issue with charging them to 100% is hardware then why can people with 70,75,60 batteries charge them to 100% all the time? And one second, let me get this straight. You should not let the battery fall under 10% but not charge it more than 90% unless you go on a long trip so if you have an 85 battery you can drive only 80% of the 380km range which is 304km and in the winter and a little air drag that is 180km or 125miles! 125 Miles on a 85 battery! That is the Tesla true range in anywhere else but California climates for at least half the year.
- Tesla has innovation but in some areas you feel like, what the hell is their problem really? What would it cost to have photobox warnings in all cars? Road speed limit info in all cars? Torque adjusting modes in all cars like winter mode? I would even pay 200USD for those upgrades. Why is traffic data shareable through the Tesla network but not speed limit data?
Some things that are missing really dont make sense. Come on you want to go to Mars and cant develop Winter Mode limitation??? And whats the deal with 3G and LTE? What is that 1999? We will soon have 5G in Europe... Come on Elon!!!
- Service Tesla is inadequate and rude. Period. By far the worse service experience i ever had between Toyota, Ford, BMW, Skoda, Audi, Mazda and Tesla has been the Tesla. And when i say by far i mean by very far. Let me elaborate....
After i purchased my used car i tried to order a service to take care of the annual service and a few minor issues i had. After explaining to Tesla support center those issues they told me to visit one of the Tesla service centers so they can check if this is really an issue and arrange an appointment local. Now, for every time i had to drive to Tesla i had to take half a day or a full day off work because of the limited amount of service centers in the area.
Nevertheless i took the first day off and drove there. A really young man greets me, i explain what my issues are and ask him if he could join me to the car (to show him, not to give him candy). He follows me, we sit in the car and i explain to him 7 issues (most of them being really classified as new EV owner questions), and while i do that he just shakes his head. I ask him then to confirm if those items are an issue and he says that he is not a technician really, he just books service for people so he cant answer but he can send those questions and i can get an answer some other time. Now having taken a day off from work for this, i get a bit annoyed and ask him politely to go get a technician. 5 minutes after a technician comes out. I explain while he shakes his head again and in the end he confirms that 4 of those things are completely normal while the other 3 are potentially serious for the car so we should book an appointment to fix them. He goes back in to ask the service managers opinion and they both come out. The service manager explains that the back half shafts are missing lubrication and that might be the issue for the constant noise that comes from the back. (that noise was not apparent when i tested the car but came 2-3 days after, it is also not audible with the windows closed, but it was clearly there). He says that its a 20-30minuttes fix. I ask politely again if they could fix it the same day so i do not have to worry, with me being an mechanical engineer and literally freaking out with metallic clunking noises under my car, but he says, no sorry we are overbooked today. Close an appointment and we can fix it then. Back to the young appointment man again, remember him? He tries to close an appointment and the first available time he has is 10 weeks after!!! I grunt, shake my head and leave.
Going home and listening to the clunking noise under the car i realize that i cannot live with this for the next 10 weeks and so i call Tesla service to try to rearrange to a different workshop. They say they would try but because it was late they would reach me the next day. Next morning they call me from the other workshop only to tell me that they dont have time there either and i should try on one that is even more further away. I try there and they say ok, if it is only for the back shaft we can take it here. I explain to them that also the sun roof seals are completely damaged and they leak water and they also have to be changed along with a list of other minor things i agreed to get fixed with the first workshop. Do you follow this far? Good. They agree, they say that it is ok, send us the list and we will fix it here in 4 weeks! Yey!! 4 down from 10! I felt i should be happy but the engineer inside me was still screaming. An hour later i send them the list with the things we have agreed with the first place to fix. No response for 4 days. I send them a kind reminder to confirm that they have received and read the mail. I get this answer: (without hi, dear sir or anything) We have received your mail and we will read it whenever we have time. Best regards etc .etc.etc.
3 more days pass and i ask again. No answer. I call and explain the whole thing again to customer support and they tell me that they will tell the workshop to call me the next day because they were closed at the moment.... Next day they call from the workshop: The young lady at the customer support says : we do not have the time to fix all that stuff. I only have registered here the roof and the year service. You need to come another time to fix the rest like the half shaft.... I get slightly irritated and start explaining in a high pitch voice that this is unacceptable. I push for about 15minuttes over the phone while she somewhat tries to explain to me that they have other more important customers to take care and my warranty issue was not a priority. She promises to call back and closes the phone. No answer the same day. Then next day after an all night call to the central customer service center, she calls and says, we will fix all your stuff sir with an obvious annoyed voice. I ask, will i be getting a loaner because it is 2 hours to my work from your workshop and she says, we cannot guarantee it but we can take you to the nearest bus stop... Yey!!
Two weeks later i deliver my car. In the meantime i realize that the car was also supposed to have a titanium battery shield so i ask them politely if they could check if it has and maybe put it on or give me a new appointment for installation. Otherwise i take them through the list yet again for the 5th time and they tell me to go talk to the people that give loaners to see if they had one for me. I get a loaner and head back to work.
In the afternoon i arrive home. The car was delivered to me with 200km battery range and when i was back home i had 80km range left. I go to the trunk to get the charging cable but there was no cable there.... I call them and tell them that i can either drive to a supercharger that is 40km away or i can drive to them and risk not geting there... They say DO NOT drive to us with empty battery. Go to the supercharger. I waste all my afternoon charging and driving another 80-90km extra then...
Two days pass and i call back to check what the status is and i politely ask if the car will be ready by friday so i can plan another supercharging. The same lady at the support answers: You have a dozen of things here to do! It wont be ready today nor tomorrow. Maybe next week! Good bye sir! ....... Two words came to my mind at that point, the one starting with F and the other with B and it was not Face-Book...
Next day i go to work and around 16.00 they call me to say that the car is ready and they are closing in 60minuttes. Remember i work 60minuttes away so i fly out the door and drive the loaner to Tesla hoping that my ordeal would end there.
I make it there just in time.... I get my car. All ''one dozen'' things supposedly fixed. I am exhausted and i drive home. On the way home one of the tire sensors go off. Tesla had just changed the tires and didnt check the sensors at all... I get home and as i put the car to charge i noticed that car is not charging and the charger cable is blinking red. I call support they say the cable is busted and i have to return it.... I have only 120km range cause they didnt bother to charge the car for 3 days at the workshop and i have a meeting the next morning 200km away.... I wake up really early and head for the nearest supercharger. I go to the meeting. On the way there i get a phone call from Tesla telling me that if i want those two issues fixed the same day i would have to be there between 12:00 and 13:00 or else is no candy for this boy.
I get to the meeting with my boss. We leave the meeting and i politely ask him if it would be ok to pass through Tesla to get this fixed and we can have lunch while we are there. He says ok so we get to Tesla. They take the car. 1,5 hour later they come back with new sensor and a new cable. Apparently they upgraded the charger to dual charging and didnt check the incompatible old cable so i had to get a new one...
I drive home again. This time very tired but i notice that the noise from the half shaft is still there..... i call again. No response. To make long story 'short' i sent them 10 emails with video explaining the issue and also another issue with a seatbelt sensor that is going on and off every 10 seconds in the car. I get no answer, i call 10 times support no answer. It clearly seems that now i am getting the cold shoulder treatment...
I go to the website, order a new appointment, escalate the old issue to management and call support again. No,no and no answer whatsoever for another 2 weeks.
Now, remember that first 10 weeks long appointment they gave me? Well guess what: they didnt delete it from the system. So the next day after 9 and 1/2 weeks (yea i know..) they call me to confirm if i still need or not that meeting since the other workshop ''took care of everything'' . I scream YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS while all my colleagues think i won the lottery and tell them that i am coming tomorrow cause those issues are not fixed!!!
I get there the next day. Get greeted and asked to get out of the workshop cause it was 08.00 and they are not opening until 8.15.... I get out for 15minuttes in 0 degrees and get in again.
They tell me that i do not have a meeting so i have to prove to them that i do. They finally find the meeting and tell me that they could drive me to work cause it will only take 3 hours and i do not get a loaner. I say no thanks i ll wait and explain to them that one of the plastic covers from the roof has come off from the last 'repair' the other workshop did 3 weeks ago.
They answer that they probably do not have time to fix it but will check it.
3 hours after come with my keys, half shaft fixed, roof fixed, belt sensor not fixed i have to go back in January... Apparently is completely normal to have an oversensitive belt sensor and they will need to escalate it to management in order to issue a warranty change. To make things clear there are 2 identical children seats on each side but only the one seatbelt triggers all the time. Their explanation : You should buckle the seat so the child seat wont hit you on the head. I answer: but i have ISO-fix. They respond: Hmmm ok... i guess then we have to escalate it... For the record all other cars i had never had a similar issue.
My review for Tesla Motors so far – always compared to similar price range cars:
Tesla innovation: 9/10
Tesla material quality : 6/10
Tesla service: 3/10
Tesla local customer support: 1/10
Tesla central customer support: 8/10
Tesla overall price/quality : 5/10
Tesla experienced-customer experience: 5/10 (Experienced customer: Having owned previously new or relatively new cars from 5+ different brands).
Keep in mind that if you purchase a Ferrari for 100.000USD, Ferrari doesn't treat you like a leper and snobby like they do at Tesla stores.
Remember these cars are marketed as performance luxury cars with 100.000+USD price tags. I know, dont even bother to tell me that the standard starts from 77.000USD. Nobody buys a standard. A 100.000USD , Audi, BMW, Merc, Porsche is unbelievably incomparable and superior.
If Elon continues with the same policy in service and material quality the first German luxury electrics will surely kill his company. In any case he can forget selling cars in Europe when BMW and Merc and Audi, Volvo come with full EV's in a couple of years.
With all that being said i am a hardcore Elon fan boy and the fact that he wants to go to Mars in my lifetime makes me oversee a good part of this ordeal. For the time being at least....
Improvement suggestions:
- Google database photo-box warnings (eventually with an anual fee)
- Google database speed limit info (eventually with an update fee)
- Customizable power modes (Wet, Dry, Snow, Full effect, New Driver – limit torque)
- Customizable climate control. (By time and week days)
- Plot course on cellphone that can be sent to the car.
- Allow customizable route based on -via- control.
- Customizable charging time based on end charge time of day not start time of day.
- Upgradable GSM speed. (maybe 4G in 2019...?)
- SSD for offline storing of playlists and podcasts (Tesla GSM is very unreliable in specific areas)
- Microtransaction software sale options. (Apps?)
If anyone is doubting of how legit this story is i actually have documentation from each of the 3 visits in the last 10 weeks to document all the things i say above. Also Tesla has records of all my phonecalls...
In December i also got into a slight fender bender resulting that the left rear wing of the car to be damaged and needing replacement. The part it self is not expensive but since there are only 3 workshops in half of Norway that take these jobs i have been waiting for over 1,5 month for it to be repaired and still nothing.The car is also 100% aluminum which makes the requirement for repairs really high. Therefore i do not think there will ever be more than 10 shops in Norway for Tesla repairs. Now do your math on waiting time for fender-bender cases.
For me owning the car is not just how fancy or hi-tech or fantastic the ride is. It is more than anything the customer experience so i don't have to spend half of my life feeling like a lab-rat for companies like Tesla. Until now that experience is not there unfortunately.
With all that being said i have pre ordered my Model 3 since August last year (that recently got a 3 month delay for delivery well into 2019 territory) and i will give it a hard thought if i will buy it or not. If BMW comes with a 100% EV competitor by then, then unfortunately is a no go for Tesla.
