UK: buying from Tesla used inventory.

[AndyJen]

My most recent estimated date 28/4 has also now been and gone. Now 6 weeks since deposit paid.

Online chat just now. There are still works to be completed. What works? Can’t tell you that..

When will car be ready? As soon as possible we were working hard blah blah.

No new estimate date. Just 4-8 weeks

I honestly don’t think they’ve even started any sort of work on the car yet

 

[Canonicals]

My most recent estimated date 28/4 has also now been and gone. Now 6 weeks since deposit paid.

Online chat just now. There are still works to be completed. What works? Can’t tell you that..

When will car be ready? As soon as possible we were working hard blah blah.

No new estimate date. Just 4-8 weeks

I honestly don’t think they’ve even started any sort of work on the car yet

4-8 weeks from now or when you reserved the car? Either way that's pretty bad haha. I'm on week 6 now. Chat are useless

The only saving grace is how many people are saying Tesla's are genuinely a great car to drive. That's the only thing keeping me from cancelling so far.

The difficultly is getting hold of anyone who's knows something. The service team themselves. If there was a way of getting hold of the guys directly involved in fixing cars, life may be a little less stressful.

 

[AndyFov]

It's clear that it's pointless phoning, and even more pointless to use chat. The only difference is if you're going to be fobbed off by a bot or strung along by a human.

You either have to wait for an indeterminable amount of time, or you throw in the towel.

There's this naive optimistic side of me that likes to think that I'll ultimately be rewarded for my patience, but there's also the realist in me that knows I likely won't.

 

[AndyJen]

That’s the thing. I’m gonna stick it out for now

I just hope it’s worth the wait.

If I go to collect in however many weeks and the cars a dog I’ll be fuming

 

[redmamoth]

I've been told via chat that they have finally finished servicing my vehicle, all that's left to do valet it, someone will contact me on Tuesday to schedule delivery. I'm not holding out much hope, but let's see if that happens.

I could still be weeks away though is it did take them 3 weeks to wash and vac @SteveH13's motor.

 

[jstanthrevdrvr]

@jstanthrevdrvr You think you’ll get another Tesla, or have you been burned too much by all this?

Regardless if I get mine or not, I certainly won’t be, no matter how much I like the car.

I’ll decide after the return and refund of this one is complete. I’ll mostly go with another M3P but from another dealer. I don’t care about extended warranty or EAP.
Online dealers provide extended warranties for 300-400 quids, and EAP is a gimmick, so nothing is holding me to stick with Tesla.

Why Tesla - I need EV and Tesla charging infra is best at the moment.

 

[calvinoooooo]

They mentioned to me that all appointments need a week's notice to the logistics hub staff apparently(?)
So if they do contact you to schedule an appointment, it'd most likely be for week after. Fingers crossed!

 

[SteveH13]

I've been told via chat that they have finally finished servicing my vehicle, all that's left to do valet it, someone will contact me on Tuesday to schedule delivery. I'm not holding out much hope, but let's see if that happens.

I could still be weeks away though is it did take them 3 weeks to wash and vac @SteveH13's motor.

They said it was delayed due a recall being carried out and then the used car inspection / valet being in queue with all used cars.

Annoying bit prior to collection was me on holiday thinking about it and then demanding to speak to the service centre where my car was, this was while I was on the online chat. I did kick off a bit around the poor customer service and they phoned me instantly while I was still on the chat. And then he made the comment on why I feel the service was bad, which was very easy to answer Lots of apologies etc and then the most annoying also best comment, it’s ready so you can collect it now. So shows they could be ready to collect and they don’t reach out, unless it’s a coincidence it was ready at the point I made contact and they would have made contact later that day….

 

[Canonicals]

I've been told via chat that they have finally finished servicing my vehicle, all that's left to do valet it, someone will contact me on Tuesday to schedule delivery. I'm not holding out much hope, but let's see if that happens.

I could still be weeks away though is it did take them 3 weeks to wash and vac @SteveH13's motor.

Great news! Tried my luck on chat on the back of this, told parts/work still needed..

 

[WannabeOwner]

Frankly if they don't do something to address the problems we're having their reputation is ultimately going to be adversely affected.

Nothings has changed, except what has changed. I've been a customer, and reading these forums, since 2015. What you lot are chatting about is a new chaos. Previous chaoses have been resolved (or become tolerable). New chaoses have been added into the mix.

There were howls at each of the previous chaoses, and lots of "I'll never buy" etc.

Undoubtedly there are some Friday Afternoon cars, and unfortunate for anyone that gets one, but in the main people like the stuff, once they get their hands on it.

So my prediction is that this chaos, which (very reasonably) irks you, will be solved by the time you are in the market again ... but will have been replaced by a brand new chaos which, if you are unfortunately enough to encounter it, will irk you some more.

There's this naive optimistic side of me that likes to think that I'll ultimately be rewarded for my patience, but there's also the realist in me that knows I likely won't.

There are (a few) people here who have got their cars and (from memory) are pleased with them and not the "write-off repair" that they feared.

 

[Matrel]

I'm beginning to think telling Tesla where to go could be the best course of action.

I am so glad I did - and that car looks a great deal! I really regret how Tesla have treated me because much like @redmamoth I was done with Tesla, but driving the test drive reminded me how blown away I was when I had my first test drive with no serious intention of buying one.

Going through the process of buying a lovely car that I have laid hands on has really brought the excitement back. I know not everyone can just cancel and I know others will see it through and get a great car, but I realised whatever I got I was likely going to hate regardless.

Not how it should have been at all and Tesla should be ashamed!

 

[MrBadger]

I've been consistently told that the dates given are purely estimates so whenever we pass a particular 'promised' date that's the first excuse! All Tesla call centre staff generally seem to have zero idea and make up dates to keep you at bay. That's my opinion anyway.

You soon learn that you can ask 5 Tesla employees the same question and get 6 different answers - often the same employee will give a different answer to the same question you asked them before.

 

[ringi]

I’ll decide after the return and refund of this one is complete. I’ll mostly go with another M3P but from another dealer. I don’t care about extended warranty or EAP.
Online dealers provide extended warranties for 300-400 quids, and EAP is a gimmick, so nothing is holding me to stick with Tesla.

Why Tesla - I need EV and Tesla charging infra is best at the moment.

I expect Tesla would be very happy if many people did likewise as it would enable Tesla to send more ex lease and trade-ins to the trade.

 

[redmamoth]

They mentioned to me that all appointments need a week's notice to the logistics hub staff apparently(?)
So if they do contact you to schedule an appointment, it'd most likely be for week after. Fingers crossed!

Yeah, they told me they need 7 days notice to release the cars from site.

I said that’s ridiculous given the situation they are in currently and they should reduce / remove it. They said they can’t. This is a company with a 500b market cap ladies and gentlemen.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I expect Tesla would be very happy if many people did likewise as it would enable Tesla to send more ex lease and trade-ins to the trade.

It has seemed to me that they have done the reverse (might no longer be their plan though).

By offering a strong trade in price they have cornered the 2nd market and, in doing so, kept the trade in price high ... giving the appearance that 2nd had price would always?!! be strong. (Doesn't stop them, then, sending all those trade-ins to Auction of course)

You'd negotiate a discount at a regular dealer. Tesla don't do that ... but if you have a trade-in then the price they give you for that might include "incentive" and that was never labelled as "discount" and that bunce would depend on whether they want lots of 2nd hand cars on their forecourt ... or not.

I'm still amazed that they are taking in things that needs respray and a whole load of "Mods" removing and so on. I read into that that their business model is moving in the direction of cornering that market - but seems like hole-in-the-head territory to me. (And whilst they attempt to get there they are royally P-ing everyone off with the delays 'coz they didn't actually have the infrastructure in place for that new project. Again.)

If they let 3rd party people have them they have to support them - manuals, parts, dealing with anything done badly and so on. They've been in trouble for not providing Manuals etc. to date. They can't resist it, but at the very least it seems that they have sought to delay it as long as possible.

IDK whether any of this is the case, so just thinking-out-loud.

 

[Mike Yanagita]

Hello guys,

Apologies for the delay, as promised, here is my full experience purchasing a used Tesla M3SR+.

My situation:

1. I have been driving my beloved Honda Civic MK8 i-Shift for 6 years. The car is still good, but needs new suspension (still on 16 years original shocks LOL) which would cost me £700+ with labour. This got me thinking about getting something else other than investing into it…

2. Driving 300 miles a week to work, so typically spending £250 for patrol a month.

3. Moved into a new build 2 years ago and the house was fitted with a PodPoint charger.

Research and decision making:

1. Started looking at some used petrol cars and used Mercedes A-Class A200 at circa £20k was something I started considering.

2. Then I shifted my thoughts to EVs and calculated electricity vs petrol difference and came to the conclusion that I could be saving £200 a month switching to EV by taking advantage of Octopus Intelligent night tariff with 10p per kWh (they just lowered it to 7.5p). This made me realise that I could easily put this saved money into my monthly finance payment covering half of it.

3. The Tesla Model 3 was always something I desired, but seemed beyond my reach - until NOW.

4. Research: as probably everyone in my situation, started watching thousands of YouTube videos, reading reviews and convincing myself more every day that M3 is the right choice. Went to Auto Trader, Used Tesla Inventory and discovered Tesla buyers guides, worldwide inventory and support for owners which listed cars "hidden" on official Tesla Inventory with very detailed information. This was my go to page every 2-3h to check on latest offerings and familiarise with pricing vs mileage vs features vs how quickly these get booked and disappear from listings. There were plenty of 2019 & 2020 models, but 2021 (China made) happened to pop in every now and then…

5. After 2 weeks, made my mind and set my target specs:

- M3SR+ from Used Tesla Stock for max £32k
- 2020 (US made) or 2021 (China made with Heat Pump and LFP battery)
- less than 30k miles, EAP, 1-year Extra Warranty
- White with Black Interior and 18'' wheels
- location does not matter

Ordering process:

On March 18th (Saturday) midday just run my typical routine checking on Tesla Used Inventory and found:
2021 M3SR+ 17,425mi for £31,700.00, China made, registered in March 2021, located in London with status "Coming soon"
Decided to start my PC asap and have it secured paying a £200 deposit - managed to do all under 10 min knowing how fast it can disappear from the market.
Typical Order Confirmation received on email within minutes. Checked how long it can actually take to have it collected and found well known information on Tesla website 2-4 weeks.
In all this rush I did not save the car's reg plate which was listed, went back right after ordering, but obviously it was gone. On my Tesla Profile only VIN has been available at this stage, so I decided to email Tesla support asking for it and they replied on Monday with information.

Waiting game:

Started to dig on the internet (found this great thread among others) and realised that it can take from 1-8 weeks depending on vehicle location, works needed etc. Started reading stories how Tesla treats their clients particularly on Used Stock and how cars did not met their soon to be owners expectations ... this gave me anxiety.
Nothing else from Tesla at this stage.
Had a week abroad business trip scheduled for 14th-21st April, so I decided to check the status on March 30th (Day 12). Contacted them via chat midday and requested callback. Gent (forgot his name) called me back 1.5h later and kindly explained that the car is being prepared in the body shop and should be ready for collection within 1-2 weeks from Brent Cross or Park Royal. I mentioned that will be away for a week, but he said that this should not be a problem and they will get in touch when it's ready for collection.
Decided not to chase them at this point and went for my business trip as planned.
At this stage, I was checking this forum thread 6 times a day, getting more and more worried every day relating to fellow "soon" to be owners who ordered sooner than myself, having their collection day cancelled, rejecting cars due to their bad condition etc.
Returned to the UK on 21st and despite being terribly jet lagged, started chasing on Saturday morning April 22nd. Connected via chat and explained my situation, at this stage I have been sitting at Day 34. Advisor (aka chat "BOT") said that the car is still being worked on and is estimated to be completed on April 25th Tuesday. Took this as fair enough, but tried to manage my own expectations at this point.
Day 37 - Tuesday morning, contacted via chat again and requested callback. An hour later Anonymous ID rang my phone... Tom, a very helpful, calm, well mannered gent from "Tesla North London" was on the other side. He greeted me by checking if I'm back in the UK yet ?! What, just casually mentioned it to the other guy 3 weeks ago and would never expect that it must have been logged into their internal system! He said that car is ready at Park Royal and I can choose my pick up date this week. Asked for 28th April Friday 11am and we quickly agreed on it. He mentioned that the appointment date should show up in my Tesla app soon and text along with email containing payment instructions should follow shortly.

Payment stage:

Time to gather my finances... Decided to pay £11.5k from my cash savings and take a £20k loan for 5 years. Filled an application with NatWest in the evening and it has been instantly approved with mony to reach my account in up to 2 working days.
No payment details received from Tesla so far.
Day 39, Thursday morning, have all the cash, but still nothing from Tesla. No advisors on the chat, so decided to call Tesla Park Royal (number posted in one of the pinned topics on this forum). After 20 min waiting in a queue, I was connected to Shaunna from Dartford office, very professional and down to business advisor. She sent me an email with payment info PDF within 2 min. There was also email address provided to which I should send payment confirmation.
Ok, the most stressful stage for me just started. Realised that I have £20k max daily transfer limit on my personal account, so had to do it in two stages. Sent £11.5k first around 1pm and sent them confirmation email right after CC'ing Shaunna. Just an automated email came back, but checking my Tesla account after 15 min, Invoice along with registered £11.5k showed up - great ! Note that order status still showed "We are drafting your contract blah blah blah" was still there, in fact until collection.
At 4pm, received reminder text about my collection next day.
Right after 6.30pm (this is when my daily banking limits refresh), I transferred the remaining £20k. It registered after 10 min and my balance has been fully paid at this stage.
Time to sort out my insurance before the big day which went easy by adding another car to my Admiral policy online.

Big Day no. 40 - Collection:

8:50am - received text from Bethany (Tesla) stating that my they received my full payment and they cannot wait to introduce me to my new wheels.
9:20am - received email from Shaunna, who confirmed payment once again.
11:00am - Park Royal, walking into parking lot I suddenly see her from the distance waiting for me. Walked into building and reception be be greeted by friendly easy going chap who asked me to take a sit in a lounge. Two min later he was with me along with other rookie bloke who was on his training day.

Handed my driving licence, they did some 60 seconds magic on their iPad and gave it to me asking to sign. I was like, whoa how about seeing and checking the car first ? They said sure, no problem. We walked out to the parking lot, they opened the car and left me to it without applying any time pressure. Started to check everything beginning with outside first:
- Car has been quite nicely washed and cleaned (they apologised about small water marks at it has been some light shower earlier that morning)
- Paint - vary good condition, no noticeable marks or stone chips. Only one black mark on the bottom edge of front bumper (super minor) Hey car is 2 years old !
- Panel gaps - good no issue.
- Wheels - rims are spotless ! Aero covers fitted and still decent Michelin tires fitted.
- Windows and all glass in very good condition
- Interior, few dark marks on white upholstery by the roof post - nothing big and probably easy to clean. Someone just must have forgotten to wash their hands.
- Specs: VIN confirmed, millage at 17,442 (meaning only travelled 17 miles since advertised, potentially just shifted around North London sites), Heat Pump and LFP battery charged to 99%.
- Boot and Frunk spotless
- Accessories: Tesla Safety Kit, tow bar, CCS2 Type 2 cable and Tesla 2kWh charger in Frunk; Spare longer rear brand new mud flaps in Boot.
After about 20 min I made my decision to take it and returned to the advisor. Signed collection, they handled key cards and said that this is it. Chap asked me if I ever drove Tesla before (I did not) and offered how to tutorial. We both got back into the car and he showed me few things and gave tips and tricks. Fist bump and I was free to take my new wheels back home.

Summary:

Overall positive experience buying a car from Tesla Used Inventory. They have been returning my calls and always being truthful to their statements. No issues with Payment which required some chasing from my side. I think purchasing experience heavily depends on the car location (i.e Corby site) and element of luck as usual. Yes, it took nearly 7 weeks in my case rather than advertised 2-4, but it was definitely worth waiting in my opinion. Of course, everybody's experience and circumstances are different, so I will leave it for you guys to judge your own positions and next steps.
End of the story is I'm happy and actually about to take it for a spin in 30 min !

Good Luck Everyone and thank you for all your support !

 

[Rob Smith]

7 weeks for a used car
I am just starting week 3 (with zero update)…gonna lose interest soon

 

[Matrel]

Just collected mine from my non-Tesla dealer. All perfect from their end, lovely and clean, still cant find anything other than minor chips or alloy scuffs, which at 60K miles I can't believe there isn't more. Only irritation is that I have to wait until I get my V5 from DVLA before I can provide Tesla the necessary docs to get the car added to my account. 3rd Party Dealers definitely need to find a process to get previous owner to allow dealer to add a profile such that they can then add my profile. That said, not a massive issue as we have a key card - added PTD and deleted the 6 other phones/keys with access(!!) and am currently doing the software updates.

I also consider myself very lucky - when I went to view it on Friday is was plugged in to charge, which I thought was weird as we'd seen it the previous day and it was at a fairly reasonable 25%. Found out today somebody had booked to come and see it that evening and they had to tell them it was gone - sorry if that was anybody here. Also, their display of M3s had totally gone, they have sold 5 over the weekend, just 2 left, although they have a couple more in prep. He said they can't get them in quick enough and they can't get M3Ps for love nor money!

 

[DisneyEv]

Hi guys, we collected our model 3 LR 2020 on Friday from Corby after 7 weeks wait order date 7th March. Car was in good condition but with a few chips on front windshield, which they may a note of. Range was a small 36% 106 miles! We had a return trip of 186 miles so had to use the Tesla superchargers at Rugby. It charged fast from 19% to 80% in 28mins cost of £20.
Really really pleased with the car, cannot stop driving it! Best car ever for us. Good luck to all of you. Hopefully you all will get your cars soon.

 

[Canonicals]

Hi guys, we collected our model 3 LR 2020 on Friday from Corby after 7 weeks wait order date 7th March. Car was in good condition but with a few chips on front windshield, which they may a note of. Range was a small 36% 106 miles! We had a return trip of 186 miles so had to use the Tesla superchargers at Rugby. It charged fast from 19% to 80% in 28mins cost of £20.
Really really pleased with the car, cannot stop driving it! Best car ever for us. Good luck to all of you. Hopefully you all will get your cars soon.

Amazing got there in the end! I have my fingers crossed for next week