Upset at Major Headliner Issue - Anyone notice this? (resolved)

[carrerascott]

I would get a quote from a auto repair shop on how much it would cost to replace the interior with alcantara. Get it in writing. Start with that price when negotiating. If they quote $1200, ask for 2 years of service. If they say $1800, ask for 3. And it depends how much you wanted the alcantara. If you really wanted it, ask for more. Mine came with it, so I don't know how I'd feel.

I was promised the alcantara retrofit earlier in the week also by my delivery specialist and the Ownership Team and kept waiting for service to contact me to schedule, which they never did. This morning I received an apologetic call from Ownership saying that the attempted retrofits this week were not going well and too hard to do, so they are not going to be able to offer this after all. As consolation, Peter initially offered me Tesla apparel, which I promptly declined. His 2nd offer was first year of service free ($600 credit applied to my pre-paid 4yr service plan). I'm still deciding and may see if I can get 2 or 3yrs. Has anyone else due for the alcantara retrofit been contacted or been offered anything different?

 

[JRP3]

I don't understand how the retrofit could be so difficult. The headliners were installed at the factory obviously, and aftermarket shops can do it, so what's the problem? Is Tesla saying if a headliner ever needs to be replaced for some reason it's not possible?

 

[Elshout]

I think the fabric if first rate. If you want to see cheap, look at the Toyota RAV4 EV

 

[carrerascott]

I think the fabric if first rate. If you want to see cheap, look at the Toyota RAV4 EV

Only problem with this comparison is the RAV4EV doesn't cost $100k.

 

[jerry33]

I don't understand how the retrofit could be so difficult. The headliners were installed at the factory obviously, and aftermarket shops can do it, so what's the problem? Is Tesla saying if a headliner ever needs to be replaced for some reason it's not possible?

My guess would be that Tesla doesn't have enough people in the field that are trained on how to install the headliners properly so they are trying to find alternatives.

 

[gobagheera]

I'm looking to get the headliner replaced at the Fremont service center. I was told that the design of the headliner is now different from my current headliner (I think it had something to do with the seat belts) and they would have to special order the parts that would fit my vehicle. It's interesting that my headliner design is obsolete since I took delivery only 2 weeks ago. So I am currently waiting word on when the parts would come in.

Also, when the parts come in, I am told that it is a 3 day job since the windshield has to be removed to put the headliner in.

I really wish they would have just put the alcantara in there in the first place.

 

[brianman]

I must admit that if I was (a) aware due to TMC, (b) took delivery recently (last week or so), and (c) didn't have the Alcantara on my Perf, I'd be tempted to ask Tesla to either (1) fix it or (2) deliver me a new vehicle and resell my current vehicle.

For the Signatures, this would be "more complicated" but for general production they should be able to make you a new no-drama vehicle that matched what you ordered.

My sympathies that this is such a hassle for the recent Perf deliveries.

 

[EMDoc]

Wow...I haven't heard of any cancellation. My advisor told me they have parts on order (I hope they get the visors correct) and it should be a 3 day job. He said they would have to either remove the windshield or take off a door. Not sure which. Either one doesn't sound appealing and I too wish they didn't cause this mess in the first place. I would prefer they remove a door instead of the windshield. Either way, 500 doesn't cut it. I looked into black alcantara and the job is at least 2k (good upholstery shop in SD that has done Seinfeld's Porsches).
Anyway, I need this corrected asap and all the other things on the due bill as well. It's as if the car is half complete and they pushed it out before the end of March to exceed their targets. Not cool.

 

[NigelM]

Only problem with this comparison is the RAV4EV doesn't cost $100k.

Price comparison is immaterial as the RAV4EV only has a range of ~100 miles.

 

[ohmslaw]

So I'm confused by the current status of this. Are they going back to alacantara going forward? My car is in production for the end of this month, and I'm wondering if I have to call the reservations people and ask them what's up.

 

[gobagheera]

My understanding is they have gone back to alcantara for performance models.

So I'm confused by the current status of this. Are they going back to alacantara going forward? My car is in production for the end of this month, and I'm wondering if I have to call the reservations people and ask them what's up.

 

[EMDoc]

My understanding is they have gone back to alcantara for performance models.

agreed. and they better figure out how to retrofit it as I don't want a whole new set of problems afterward. either that or reimburse a private upholstery company to come out to the service center to have it fixed.

 

[ohmslaw]

Guess I'll know for sure in a few weeks

My understanding is they have gone back to alcantara for performance models.

 

[Corinna]

Update: After hearing some of the feedback on here (thank you for your input) and sleeping on it, I called back Ownership this morning and unfortunately had a very frustrating conversation. Having the Alacantra headliner in there completes the car (in addition to a wish for power close button for the frunk - not in any of the designs but a wish of mine nevertheless) and anything less than that cheapens the car - making it the factory defect car that gets shipped off to an outlet mall (so to speak), so I insisted to Peter that they find a way to retrofit the car (whether via service center, factory, or outsourced) and that this claim that the company can't retrofit the car is ridiculous given what bigger feats Elon Musk and Tesla have accomplished beyond installing a headliner in a car. He admitted that when he hung up with me he anticipated I would come back with a "no" and he went back to his VPs with a "What if she says no?" To which they replied to him - get her to compromise. They don't want to do it, which is really upsetting to me that they don't care about integrity and Tesla is untrustworthy. I am starting to feel like it's going to be a crapshoot what you get upon delivery and they don't care about doing the right thing or doing enough to maintain the company's reputation. This is a shame because it has tarnished my ownership experience and relationship with TM. I LOVE my car and the features that did come with it and I love showing off my car to everyone (the technology stands on its own), but the company's handling of this situation really calls into question whether I can trust and believe in the company behind the product. At this point, Peter told me he would take me response back to his VPs and try to advocate for me, but he warned me they are going to say no. I'm not sure where this leaves me or anyone else in this situation. This really sucks.

 

[AnOutsider]

Would they not consider swapping the car?

 

[Electric1]

Update: After hearing some of the feedback on here (thank you for your input) and sleeping on it, I called back Ownership this morning and unfortunately had a very frustrating conversation. Having the Alacantra headliner in there completes the car (in addition to a wish for power close button for the frunk - not in any of the designs but a wish of mine nevertheless) and anything less than that cheapens the car - making it the factory defect car that gets shipped off to an outlet mall (so to speak), so I insisted to Peter that they find a way to retrofit the car (whether via service center, factory, or outsourced) and that this claim that the company can't retrofit the car is ridiculous given what bigger feats Elon Musk and Tesla have accomplished beyond installing a headliner in a car. He admitted that when he hung up with me he anticipated I would come back with a "no" and he went back to his VPs with a "What if she says no?" To which they replied to him - get her to compromise. They don't want to do it, which is really upsetting to me that they don't care about integrity and Tesla is untrustworthy. I am starting to feel like it's going to be a crapshoot what you get upon delivery and they don't care about doing the right thing or doing enough to maintain the company's reputation. This is a shame because it has tarnished my ownership experience and relationship with TM. I LOVE my car and the features that did come with it and I love showing off my car to everyone (the technology stands on its own), but the company's handling of this situation really calls into question whether I can trust and believe in the company behind the product. At this point, Peter told me he would take me response back to his VPs and try to advocate for me, but he warned me they are going to say no. I'm not sure where this leaves me or anyone else in this situation. This really sucks.

This whole matter is very distressing. They should not have created the problem (poor form at least, deception at worst), then they deepend the hole that they dug by coming out with a "PR driven" response, which promises what they don't intend to deliver and they are now putting some lower level employees in a tough spot.

While I love my car, and am not personnally involved in this mess, but if this is the scenario, as seems to be the case, I am truly disappointed. I have already "sold" a MS and am working on a second, but perhaps I shall have to stop until I am more reassured about te organization.

 

[zero]

Just received my P85 this week with NO alacantra headliner. I had read this thread and had mentioned it to my DS. Hopefully they will resolve this, but the responses thus far don't sound too optimistic.

By the way, the cloth like headliner that is there now is no where near the quality if the Alacantra.

 

[ohmslaw]

Hmm. Hope the issue was just that your car was too close to completion by the time they changed their policy.

 

[Shakespear]

I assumed that this was fixed and there would be no further MS performance EV without the Alacantra headliner. I was waiting for this to be fixed before I order my Performance "S". Will not order until this is handled by Tesla.

 

[DavidNJ]

I would get a quote from a auto repair shop on how much it would cost to replace the interior with alcantara. Get it in writing. Start with that price when negotiating. If they quote $1200, ask for 2 years of service. If they say $1800, ask for 3. And it depends how much you wanted the alcantara. If you really wanted it, ask for more. Mine came with it, so I don't know how I'd feel.

Dealers of various brands regularly send cars for sunroof/convertible top installation and repair. Their are many shop that specialize in this. Very few auto dealers have this expertise in their service department. Some may have it in their collision repair shops. Those collision shop do remove headliners, but often send out convertible tops and sunroofs.