Trouble in Paradise

[glenn]

Five weeks ago I brought my roadster in for new brakes, to see why the trunk would not open and a couple of alerts which did seem to effect the car. I was given an estimate of three days to fix this. Unfortunately although I made the appointment with several weeks notice, the parts were not at the dealership. The roadster technician then left for two weeks to work at another dealership.

For some reason when he got back he inspected the car and informed me I needed new brakes. While in the shop, I asked to have the suspension adjusted. He insists my car did not come with an adjustable suspension. When I told him it was modified by Tesla, he was not impressed. A week has gone by and I cannot get him to examine the suspension.

I am a stockholder and contacted stockholder relations. I have also contacted customer relations. There has been no reply from either. Due to central processing of calls, most of my calls go directly to voice mail. Most are not returned.

To date, I have been a proud Tesla owner and stockholder. Unfortunately this has been so disheartening I am considering selling the stock, selling the roadster and not considering a Tesla when my wife's trusty SAAB gives out.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Glenn

 

[Roadster]

Hi @glenn. Sorry to hear about your situation. As you can imagine, bonafide Roadster techs are hard to come by at any local Tesla Service Center these days and those that know their stuff get shipped off to cover other jobs regionally as in your case. However, judging from the fact that this is only your second post on TMC since joining back in 2013, should we assume you've enjoyed six uneventful years with your car? If that's the case, I'd say the car's served you well

Overall Tesla service will continue to decline as a proliferation of Model 3s enter the market. For some of us, finding an independent shop with a former Roadster tech at the helm has been a great alternative. Not sure if there's one in your area but hopefully the good folks in NY can steer you in the direction of one locally.

As for selling your stock, well... that depends on how much Tweeting and weed Elon's doing on any given day

 

[gregd]

Note that Tesla's practice is that they only schedule for when you can drop off the car, not when they will actually get around to working on it. It's as if the critical resource being scheduled are the folks checking you in, writing up the paperwork, and taking your keys. Especially for a unique car such as the Roadster, I find this incredible, and not in a good way. No other "service" organization that I know of operates this way.

 

[hcsharp]

For the suspension, inform the tech that I also have a base model Roadster with the adjustable suspension. Many Roadsters were ordered that way even though they were not sport models.

My advice is keep the stock and the car. This service issue will pass.

 

[X.l.r.8]

I’m not sure being a stockholder means much, any more than owning one of the first Tesla’s. Parts are scarce and technicians few. The original tech have long since moved on. If you can’t talk to your tech or get ahold of the SC you need to pull your car out and put it elsewhere.
An independent would be a much better option. A Lotus shop would be able to align and adjust your suspension and change brakes, would also put some decent pads in at the same time.
It’s frustrating for sure but it’s time to accept that Tesla has moved on and support for the car is dwindling at the SC but growing by enthusiasts and independent shops.