Time for repairs have made Tesla a laughing stock in my family

[KarenRei]

It worries me too, hearing all these horror stories, but I guess I’ve been fortunate. I suffered a stress fracture on the windshield a few weeeks ago and Tesla replaced it the next day.

Note: how many people do you think go online to post "Something broke, but it was fixed in a reasonable length of time"? Obviously people posting online are inherently going to represent a form of selection bias.

Again, that's not to say times on Teslas are inherently going to be the same as any other vehicle. This is just a caveat emptor about getting the impression about how common something is based on reading those who had bad experiences only.

 

[206er]

ugh, this was terrible to read. My wife is cross shopping the Model 3 with Hondas, with her only criteria for our next car purchase being safety, reliability, and heated seats. She couldn't care less about going electric, and regularly asks if I know how much Honda we can get for $35k...

If repairs are this much of a nightmare for Tesla's flagship vehicle, it doesn't bode well for the Model 3/our plans to buy one, especially since we've always driven Hondas that have never needed more than a day for service (rear bumper replacement after wife backed into a concrete pillar).

 

[jeffro01]

ugh, this was terrible to read. My wife is cross shopping the Model 3 with Hondas, with her only criteria for our next car purchase being safety, reliability, and heated seats. She couldn't care less about going electric, and regularly asks if I know how much Honda we can get for $35k...

If repairs are this much of a nightmare for Tesla's flagship vehicle, it doesn't bode well for the Model 3/our plans to buy one, especially since we've always driven Hondas that have never needed more than a day for service (rear bumper replacement after wife backed into a concrete pillar).

With all due respect, there is absolutely zero comparison between a Honda and a Tesla. They aren't even in the same ballpark in every conceivable way except they both have 4 wheels...

Jeff

 

[RAW84]

Just another data point. I was rear ended. Quarter panel and rear bumper needed replacement. It took 11 weeks! Most repair stories are similar.

Echoing this, it took two months for the body shop get a quarter panel for me, then one month for the shop to repair it. Thankfully, the damage wasn't pretty much cosmetic, so I could drive it whilst I waited for the parts. I would've been devastated if I was without my car for three months.

Note: how many people do you think go online to post "Something broke, but it was fixed in a reasonable length of time"? Obviously people posting online are inherently going to represent a form of selection bias.

Again, that's not to say times on Teslas are inherently going to be the same as any other vehicle. This is just a caveat emptor about getting the impression about how common something is based on reading those who had bad experiences only.

Ehh, but it's not like most people came here to post about their bad repair experiences. Most of us are enthusiasts who started posting here long before we had our accidents. Selection bias is certainly at play, but it's not as dramatic as if the reports were coming primarily from people who signed up, initially, to vent about their repairs.

 

[jon1478]

I got rear ended on June 30 and the work on my car is still not complete, which has made Tesla a joke in my family. It's so bad that I have a Model 3 on reservation and I don't think anyone in my family will want it.

The repairs have been a comedy of errors, starting with Criswell, a Tesla licensed body shop in Annapolis, to SDR, a body shop near me, and finally the Tesla service center in Owings Mills. Wrong parts were shipped to both body shops and, of course, I was a victim of the standard Tesla parts delays, which by now have become legion.

Regarding the latter, my car has been at the Owings Mills service center since November 17. Today, November 27, they finally got the part they needed from California (a wire harness) to complete the work. My wife suggested that because it took 10 days for the part to arrive that maybe Tesla shipped the wiring harness via Pony Express, which is about the time a horse could get to Maryland from California.

Based on what they've observed in my experience they longer trust anything I say about the car and repair work. That's what it's come to: I can no longer defend the company or the car among the people nearest and dearest to me.

Sad...

 

[ACA Man]

Potential buyers can compare Tesla to any other car(s) they wish. At the end of the day, it is their money after all.

All we can offer them is our own experiences with our Tesla; be it good, bad, or ugly.

 

[artsci]

I picked up the car today, and all is well. I have to withdraw my criticism of the slow delivery from California of the wire harness needed for the final repairs. The Owings Mills service manager shared the FedEx manifest with me, and the slow delivery was caused by FedEx delays and was not Tesla's fault. Owings Mills, Jonathan and Dave, at Owings Mills went out of their way to make sure I understood the reasons for the delay and wanted to be sure I was satisfied. So chalk one up for Tesla -- this is what good customer service is all about.

 

[pilotSteve]

Not true. Some of the panels are aluminum and some are steal.

... no, most appear to be unobtanium, the rest are $teal

 

[ACA Man]

I picked up the car today, and all is well. I have to withdraw my criticism of the slow delivery from California of the wire harness needed for the final repairs. The Owings Mills service manager shared the FedEx manifest with me, and the slow delivery was caused by FedEx delays and was not Tesla's fault. Owings Mills, Jonathan and Dave, at Owings Mills went out of their way to make sure I understood the reasons for the delay and wanted to be sure I was satisfied. So chalk one up for Tesla -- this is what good customer service is all about.

Excellent.

 

[run-the-joules]

It's so bad that I have a Model 3 on reservation and I don't think anyone in my family will want it.

If that's a plea for someone to volunteer to move up in the queue and let you order under their name, I supppppppooooseeeee I'll do that for you.

Glad you got it back, though. Getting hit is going to be my biggest fear when I get my 3.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

With all due respect, there is absolutely zero comparison between a Honda and a Tesla. They aren't even in the same ballpark in every conceivable way except they both have 4 wheels...

I agree they are different categories of vehicles, of course. However, I think you are failing to see @206er 's wife's perspective.

For a buyer looking for "safety, reliability, and heated seats", plus price judging by the post and, I assume, most importantly going from A to B, there certainly is a comparison in the sense of which category of cars to choose to go for.

Both can go from A to B, rest is about what is important to the customer. Honda will likely do it in many ways more reliably (no range anxiety, no Tesla repair anxiety) and cheaper, though that of course depends on how much one drives it.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

@artsci Glad you got your car back and the episode is finally over!

 

[TravisT]

The issues such as the "shudder" under moderate acceleration (that Tesla cant seem to fix)

Both mine and my wife's MS have a slight shudder under hard acceleration at highway speeds. I assumed it was normal.

 

[McHoffa]

ugh, this was terrible to read. My wife is cross shopping the Model 3 with Hondas, with her only criteria for our next car purchase being safety, reliability, and heated seats. She couldn't care less about going electric, and regularly asks if I know how much Honda we can get for $35k...

If repairs are this much of a nightmare for Tesla's flagship vehicle, it doesn't bode well for the Model 3/our plans to buy one, especially since we've always driven Hondas that have never needed more than a day for service (rear bumper replacement after wife backed into a concrete pillar).

The more of a car there are on the road, the more parts are made for said car. The Model 3 should be better, not worse, in this respect, because it is a mass production car. Maybe not in the first year (and hopefully not many people will need them in the first year), but once the factory is churning out 500k per year, there will be a lot of spare parts.

 

[meomyo]

The more of a car there are on the road, the more parts are made for said car. The Model 3 should be better, not worse, in this respect, because it is a mass production car. Maybe not in the first year (and hopefully not many people will need them in the first year), but once the factory is churning out 500k per year, there will be a lot of spare parts.

Thats logical thinking but tesla doesnt always take the logical route and seems to be running the company on a shoestring type budget even if the stock is sky high. The parts issue is REAL and a huge issue but most dont see it or realize it untill an accident or issue.

 

[mongo]

The more of a car there are on the road, the more parts are made for said car. The Model 3 should be better, not worse, in this respect, because it is a mass production car. Maybe not in the first year (and hopefully not many people will need them in the first year), but once the factory is churning out 500k per year, there will be a lot of spare parts.

Maybe from tier 1s, but there are only going to body repair panels if Tesla stamps them.

 

[McHoffa]

Thats logical thinking but tesla doesnt always take the logical route and seems to be running the company on a shoestring type budget even if the stock is sky high. The parts issue is REAL and a huge issue but most dont see it or realize it untill an accident or issue.

I know it's real, but should be LESS of an issue with the Model 3. Not that it will be as easy to find parts as a Civic, but easier than a Model X.

 

[AMPd]

Not true. Some of the panels are aluminum and some are steal.

So that’s how tesla is able to achieve high profit margins on their cars.

 

[Krugerrand]

So that’s how tesla is able to achieve high profit margins on their cars.

Yep! Thank goodness for the fortuitous auto correct working exactly when you need it.

 

[ikjadoon]

Note: how many people do you think go online to post "Something broke, but it was fixed in a reasonable length of time"? Obviously people posting online are inherently going to represent a form of selection bias.

Again, that's not to say times on Teslas are inherently going to be the same as any other vehicle. This is just a caveat emptor about getting the impression about how common something is based on reading those who had bad experiences only.

True, but I think you need to include the other variables here.

1) Tesla has a relatively tiny number of cars on the road here in the USA; any incident will affect a proportionally huge percentage of Tesla owners and the "average Tesla experience". That means, Tesla has far fewer part orders to handle and ship, anyways, so any screw-up is made worse.

2) Tesla's average selling price is $95k to 100k, which is relatively very high (article source is from the Q2 2017). They are repeatedly billed as "Premium" vehicles by Tesla.

3) No source, but I imagine there are more Tesla owners who use forums, leading to relative over-reporting of issues.

4) This should be automatically handled by Tesla and shouldn't need extra reporting by the customer. Instead, customers should be made aware of these issues early--that manifest and delay from FedEx should've been shared much earlier! Waiting for parts to be delivered is a 100% Tesla-owned problem. They contract the shops, they make the parts, they ship the parts. If wrong parts were ordered, the shop's fault. If the customer lied about the incident, customer's fault. But waiting on parts? It's Tesla.

Being distressed or anxious about Tesla after reading these kinds of posts is rational. The most recent failure was communication. Communication is a low-cost, high-benefit action from any business.