Since I got my car on September 24th without the Autopilot sensors I've been disappointed (as I've mentioned elsewhere). To resolve this I'm trading my slightly more than a month old S85 for an S85D. Figured I'd make a post detailing the experience in case anyone else was interested.
I started off the process by using the value trade-in link off the website front page on October 16th. Had a call back from Tesla on the 17th where the only thing they really wanted to know was if I was trading my S and what the mileage was. Got an email with a PDF "Pre-Inspection" offer on October 20th. Offer was for $82,000 versus the original cost of $86,820 (after tax credit). Offer was good until the 24th. After seeing the offer I'd realized I'd neglecting to mention the XPEL Ultimate, Opti-Coat Pro and Formula One Pinnacle 30% tint I had. Asked about it that day and was told on the 21st that they would need pictures to confirm it. Sent pictures that evening and after calling on Thursday (23rd) afternoon and again on Friday (24th) morning I finally got a call back and told they couldn't give me anything for those things because it was a risk for them since they'd have to stand behind it.
Thought about it and then called back to accept the offer the same day. Selling for that price in a private sale would lead to a cost higher for the buyer than a new vehicle, so I figure this is probably very good. I had a couple concerns about the transaction. One I wanted to handle the trade as essentially a separate transaction, since there was no benefit to me in letting them sit on my money for 4 months since there's no sales tax on new EVs here. Was told that shouldn't be a problem. Also I had not received the plates or the title yet. I was told that we should be able to work something out, that they didn't want to penalize me for that. The inside sales guy who was handling the trade-in offer and I agreed to move this back to the Owner Advisor I'd used on my first order. I sent him an email and he called me back that afternoon.
I chatted with him on the phone and he was very conciliatory about the situations that had happened with my first order. I wanted to have a different DS this time since the previous DS didn't communicate, he agreed to see to it that I had someone different this time. I wanted to see a sample of the Alcantara headliner (since I was thinking of getting it this time since I thought the black looked better with the grey interior). He said he'd get an inspection setup for that weekend for my existing vehicle. He told me to swing by the store that he would be working the whole weekend. We had dinner plans that evening so we stopped by on the way. While waiting for the Owner Advisory (he was on the phone when we arrived), we looked at the Alcantara. He got off the phone and we had a chance to sit down and talk. He told me he was wrong that the inspection people didn't work on the weekend so it'd be sometime the following week. We talked about how to handle the trade-in, he agreed it didn't make sense to pass the trade-in value as a credit on the new order. We talked about the tires (since site no longer mentions the Michelin's, he said he would find out for me). Then we put in the order for the new car. Only differences from my existing car is the headliner and AWD. I was wearing a Tesla jacket my girlfriend had bought me for my birthday. On our way out he asked if she wanted and jacket and provided one to her for free.
Monday comes and goes and I don't hear anything about the inspection. Tuesday afternoon I send an email to my Owner Advisory and he replies that he's forwarded it to the trade-in team. Soon I have a call from someone in California that I believe to be on the trade-in team. He apologizes for the delay saying that they had been really slammed with the D announcement. Tells me that I should be hearing from them within 48 hours to setup the inspection and that I should call back if I don't. That evening I receive an email from Alliance Inspection Management about being added as a dealer contact and a URL to set my password. I do so and log in and realize that this doesn't make much sense. So I try calling the guy in California back, get no answer so I send an email to my Owner Advisor. Soon I get a callback from the guy in California. I explain to him what happened and he puts me on hold for a while. Says that some mistake was made either on their part or on the inspection companies part and noting that I would be getting a call from them soon to setup a time.
I got a call the next day to setup the inspection, which was for Friday October 31st between 9-11am. The morning of the inspection the inspector called me. He came out looked over the vehicle carefully, checked that everything worked (radio, heater, windows, sunroof, horn, etc...). We go for a brief ride. The inspector honestly was asking a lot of questions about the car. He needed a photo of the dash with the car running and no warning lights on, which he was trying to take from the backseat but obviously couldn't since the car turns itself off when nobody is sitting in the driver's seat. I ended up sitting in the driver seat. He jokes about how strange it is to mark the "check engine compartment for fluid leaks" box as not applicable. He asks if the manual is with the car and I explain that the manual is built into the car but there's a brief quick start guide. He takes a picture of the two key fobs with the quick start guide. He did know to ask if the charger was with the car. He told me he needed to look under the car at the frame, I pointed out there wasn't much he was going to be able to see down there. He left and then shortly after called back because he'd forgotten to take a picture of the underside of the car. He left again.
So at this point I'm waiting for Tesla to look at the report and I assume set up a time to complete the transaction. I haven't confirmed my new order since I'm hoping to have this done before I do that. It's going to be a long wait till February. I'll post about how things go as the situation develops. I've got some work to do on the garage that I didn't get done before the first vehicle arrived that I'll post about that stuff as well here. Ultimately, I hope this ends up being a better experience than the last time.
I started off the process by using the value trade-in link off the website front page on October 16th. Had a call back from Tesla on the 17th where the only thing they really wanted to know was if I was trading my S and what the mileage was. Got an email with a PDF "Pre-Inspection" offer on October 20th. Offer was for $82,000 versus the original cost of $86,820 (after tax credit). Offer was good until the 24th. After seeing the offer I'd realized I'd neglecting to mention the XPEL Ultimate, Opti-Coat Pro and Formula One Pinnacle 30% tint I had. Asked about it that day and was told on the 21st that they would need pictures to confirm it. Sent pictures that evening and after calling on Thursday (23rd) afternoon and again on Friday (24th) morning I finally got a call back and told they couldn't give me anything for those things because it was a risk for them since they'd have to stand behind it.
Thought about it and then called back to accept the offer the same day. Selling for that price in a private sale would lead to a cost higher for the buyer than a new vehicle, so I figure this is probably very good. I had a couple concerns about the transaction. One I wanted to handle the trade as essentially a separate transaction, since there was no benefit to me in letting them sit on my money for 4 months since there's no sales tax on new EVs here. Was told that shouldn't be a problem. Also I had not received the plates or the title yet. I was told that we should be able to work something out, that they didn't want to penalize me for that. The inside sales guy who was handling the trade-in offer and I agreed to move this back to the Owner Advisor I'd used on my first order. I sent him an email and he called me back that afternoon.
I chatted with him on the phone and he was very conciliatory about the situations that had happened with my first order. I wanted to have a different DS this time since the previous DS didn't communicate, he agreed to see to it that I had someone different this time. I wanted to see a sample of the Alcantara headliner (since I was thinking of getting it this time since I thought the black looked better with the grey interior). He said he'd get an inspection setup for that weekend for my existing vehicle. He told me to swing by the store that he would be working the whole weekend. We had dinner plans that evening so we stopped by on the way. While waiting for the Owner Advisory (he was on the phone when we arrived), we looked at the Alcantara. He got off the phone and we had a chance to sit down and talk. He told me he was wrong that the inspection people didn't work on the weekend so it'd be sometime the following week. We talked about how to handle the trade-in, he agreed it didn't make sense to pass the trade-in value as a credit on the new order. We talked about the tires (since site no longer mentions the Michelin's, he said he would find out for me). Then we put in the order for the new car. Only differences from my existing car is the headliner and AWD. I was wearing a Tesla jacket my girlfriend had bought me for my birthday. On our way out he asked if she wanted and jacket and provided one to her for free.
Monday comes and goes and I don't hear anything about the inspection. Tuesday afternoon I send an email to my Owner Advisory and he replies that he's forwarded it to the trade-in team. Soon I have a call from someone in California that I believe to be on the trade-in team. He apologizes for the delay saying that they had been really slammed with the D announcement. Tells me that I should be hearing from them within 48 hours to setup the inspection and that I should call back if I don't. That evening I receive an email from Alliance Inspection Management about being added as a dealer contact and a URL to set my password. I do so and log in and realize that this doesn't make much sense. So I try calling the guy in California back, get no answer so I send an email to my Owner Advisor. Soon I get a callback from the guy in California. I explain to him what happened and he puts me on hold for a while. Says that some mistake was made either on their part or on the inspection companies part and noting that I would be getting a call from them soon to setup a time.
I got a call the next day to setup the inspection, which was for Friday October 31st between 9-11am. The morning of the inspection the inspector called me. He came out looked over the vehicle carefully, checked that everything worked (radio, heater, windows, sunroof, horn, etc...). We go for a brief ride. The inspector honestly was asking a lot of questions about the car. He needed a photo of the dash with the car running and no warning lights on, which he was trying to take from the backseat but obviously couldn't since the car turns itself off when nobody is sitting in the driver's seat. I ended up sitting in the driver seat. He jokes about how strange it is to mark the "check engine compartment for fluid leaks" box as not applicable. He asks if the manual is with the car and I explain that the manual is built into the car but there's a brief quick start guide. He takes a picture of the two key fobs with the quick start guide. He did know to ask if the charger was with the car. He told me he needed to look under the car at the frame, I pointed out there wasn't much he was going to be able to see down there. He left and then shortly after called back because he'd forgotten to take a picture of the underside of the car. He left again.
So at this point I'm waiting for Tesla to look at the report and I assume set up a time to complete the transaction. I haven't confirmed my new order since I'm hoping to have this done before I do that. It's going to be a long wait till February. I'll post about how things go as the situation develops. I've got some work to do on the garage that I didn't get done before the first vehicle arrived that I'll post about that stuff as well here. Ultimately, I hope this ends up being a better experience than the last time.
