UK: buying from Tesla used inventory.

[redmamoth]

Apparently someone from team will reach out to me when my order comes in the que.. but no one knows when after waiting over a month now.

They should be paying handsome overtime and getting people in over the weekend to work through this backlog, but they won’t because they don’t give a s**t about their customers.

Hold tight, if they do have any sort of queue in place you should get a date for the second week in May. We now have 2 people who ordered < 10th March collecting next week.

Still absolutely insane waiting 7+ weeks for a Used vehicle though. I thought 2-4 was bad when I read it on the website, but wow, I had no idea what was to come!

 

[Matrel]

I think the thing that's upsetting me is that every apparent step forward is actually another half-truth. Had a great call last week, all reassurances that parts were going to be in this week and they were confident that the vehicle would be ready for collection on the 28th as it is/was currently scheduled. Foolishly, I believed them, just like I believed them when they told me it would be the 14th. It looks like it's likely to be at least a week after.

That said, I am wondering if the blame actually lies with BCA. The sparky who fitted my charger was saying how they focus all their efforts on their vehicles that are going straight to Cinch and the 3rd party contracts they have just get done as and when. I don't know if Corby is exclusively for Tesla, but it was an interesting viewpoint - I didn't even know Cinch was BCA, so interesting for that alone. Could all be nonsense of course - just looking for any excuse to justify sticking with it.

 

[Mike Yanagita]

Hello "Tesla Used Inventory" mental support group,

Just came back to the country and despite being terribly jet lagged, started chasing my Tesla order. Just to recap 5 weeks total since order and single call back on March 30th stating 1-2 more weeks.

Contacted via chat and here is their reply:

"Your order vehicle is still in refurbishment and is currently estimated to 25/4 at the moment

Just note that date is still an estimation and if the refurb is completed you will be contacted about scheduling and payment"

Looks like I will be chasing Tuesday again ... frustrating, but I still have hope that completion will happen within next 2 weeks. Just worried about the car overall condition.

Keeping my fingers crossed for all with collection dates scheduled !

 

[WannabeOwner]

They should be paying handsome overtime and getting people in over the weekend to work through this backlog, but they won’t because they don’t give a s**t about their customers.

I reckon its a growth problem. I don't know why they have wound up with a bunch of cars that need 3rd party mods removing (e.g. why they didn't just send them to auction), but they are making a rod for their back a) having to fix them and b) back office support staff spending time on phone to customers and c) bad PR, but I suspect they have far more than ever before, and weren't expecting them and certainly weren't tooled up for them. I expect they are using overtime / similar to solve the problem, but are also trying to implement a longer term solution - even if this problem is new, its not a temporary blip and ain't going away!. So problem may be with getting a "refurbishment site" on stream - might be something out of their hands - Red Tape for the new site/solution - rather than just their normal chaos.

I wonder if the time is coming when there will be an option to switch to a new trade-in, for the new Quarter - i.e. choosing one without any 3rd party mods / refurbishment required

 

[redmamoth]

More delays and cryptic updates from my side, looks like another bank holiday weekend without a car for me.

I'm now being told that, despite the car being in for "outstanding cosmetic repair" on Wednesday, it has failed pre-delivery inspection on a few cosmetic imperfections so has to go back to the team to refurbish. I now have to wait until "early" this week for completion and confirmation it meets their "high standards".

So they either had Stevie Wonder working on my car on Wednesday, or it didn't get worked on at all. Alas, I guess it's just more delay tactics and BS while they work through the backlog. I'll chase them again later in the week when, inevitably, I get no updates.

The worry now is that we have 3x 4 day weeks in May, which is only going to compound their problems further.

 

[redmamoth]

The risk is that, WHEN you get it, you love the car, enjoy driving it, find that all you newbie EV mates, in other marques, are constantly complaining about public charging and how little range they have ... and that smugness will mean next time around you put up with it all over again.

This thing could run 1,000 miles powered only by a single fart and I still wouldn't recommend Tesla to anyone.

 

[Matrel]

This thing could run 1,000 miles powered only by a single fart and I still wouldn't recommend Tesla to anyone.

I've been chatting with three friends recently all who have electric cars, two non-Tesla, one Tesla. The Tesla owner was driving from Durham to Berkshire yesterday afternoon/evening and twice arrived at a Supercharger to find it full and to have to queue. The other two have had similarly long journeys over the Easter break and relayed very positive experiences of easily finding affordable high speed chargers with no queues. Admittedly, the Tesla owner is new to it and would likely just rely on Tesla's route app rather than a third-party one that may offer better options, but I'm not sure that the apparent benefits of buying into Tesla are quite as cool as they would have us believe. This is likely to get worse too as they open Superchargers to non-Tesla traffic.

As for the car - I'm not even chasing anymore. The repeated experience of being strung along is just too demoralising. Like you @redmamoth, I'd realised that we're on a drastically reduced set of full weeks this month, so can only see things getting worse. On the upside, I am hopeful that by the time it is ready I can collect it from the NEC again, rather than Corby. I'm still irritated by the amount of warranty that's been carved out of it though.

 

[Mrklaw]

they shouldn’t even put them in the inventory unless they’re available to supply. do the refurb/whatever and then put them up.

 

[Canonicals]

they shouldn’t even put them in the inventory unless they’re available to supply. do the refurb/whatever and then put them up.

That would make too much sense!

 

[AndyFov]

I'm presently 40 days away from my deposit.

You may recall that last Thursday I posted an enthusiastic update, relaying news I'd hear from them later in the day.

That didn't happen. I've heard nothing from them since.

My daughter's gone back to uni and I've access to her Ford Ka. I'm left wondering whether I'll need a classic car insurance policy by the time I take ownership.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I'm not sure that the apparent benefits of buying into Tesla are quite as cool as they would have us believe

I reckon your "Tesla found nowhere to charge" and "Other EVs charged with ease" is an outlier (or, as you say, Newbie Tesla Driver and worst-case bank holiday weekend charging).

User Comments on Zap-Map and Plugshare show negligible instances where a Supercharger stall was faulty, but loads of such incidents on 3rd party chargers - and often the comments continue for weeks (I tried to charge at RHS Wisley, didn't work, I looked up Plugshare and that stall hadn't worked for YEARS <sigh>)

they shouldn’t even put them in the inventory unless they’re available to supply. do the refurb/whatever and then put them up.

No argument from me on that, but I read a comment that that was an accidental listing. That might have been "#1 Excuse" from the "Boys Own Book of Excuses" though ...

But, yeah, Tesla Back Office service is all too frequently appalling. I'm clearly offering far too posh a service in order to be the richest man in the world ...

 

[mkislam]

The car I am waiting on.. MOT was due for the 23rd April.. I guess once that is done then I am hoping car might be ready for pickup or another step closer to readiness

 

[SteveH13]

The car I am waiting on.. MOT was due for the 23rd April.. I guess once that is done then I am hoping car might be ready for pickup or another step closer to readiness

I don’t think Tesla carryout MOTs so will be booking it elsewhere, which could be delaying it further. Unless they do now have the ability to perform an MOT issue.

 

[mkislam]

Car was suppose to be ready for 21st April.. but delays with getting tyres spoiler and lights without any eta! Not sure how long it’s gonna take before ready for pickup

 

[Dommmm]

they shouldn’t even put them in the inventory unless they’re available to supply. do the refurb/whatever and then put them up.

Well said. Or give a timescale when it is available. I had the feeling that the car got worked on once you bought it. But 5/6 weeks after ordering the car just….. doesn’t get worked on!

I’m still without even a courtesy call off the back of my order off teslas own back. Now I understand a delay may have been caused for whatever reason but taking two minutes out of a day for customers who spend said money on a car is a very normal experience. But none leaves a bad taste.
I already own a Tesla and am quite close to cancelling this order.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

Browsing I noticed Tesla Info now tell you the refurb status. I presume this only helps those looking to buy and doesn't help after the event, buy might be a good indicator for those reading this and worried before pulling the trigger. Not sure what the differences are but I've seen a "Complete", and this one.

 

[Mike Yanagita]

My estimated refurbishment completion was for today, so decided to start chasing from early hours via chat. They advised that Park Royal centre will give me a call back later today with an update ...

 

[AndyFov]

Meanwhile, at Tesla:

 

[Mike Yanagita]

Well ... Tom from Park Royal just called me back, he said that car is there waiting to be cleaned and charged. Gave me options for pick-up this week, I said Friday 11am and he said that would be perfect. He said that I should shortly get a text and email will confirmation for payment details and checked if I have car reg info for insurance (which I already had). With payment, they advised to process it 2 days before scheduled collection as their account is abroad in Amsterdam, NL and it takes 24h typically before they receive it.

Tom was very helpful and sounded like we actually going to finalize it on Friday.

Trying to keep myself reserved, but I must say it got me excited ... will keep you posted on the progress.

 

[AndyFov]

That's good news, Mike. Hoping that timeline's met for you.