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Used Tesla Model S 70 2015 situation

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So I put in my deposit for a used Tesla Model S 70 2015 on 4/18/2019 and after reading the stories of other used Model S buyers I was under the assumption it would probably take around 1-2 weeks before I heard anything from Tesla. But voila I hear from my Delivery Specialist that my car is at the Delivery Center I chose on 4/23/2019, and I thought to myself "Oh wow that was quick and I will get to pick up my car that following Saturday on 4/27/2019." Meaning it would have only taken about a week from deposit to pick up my car and I was ecstatic.

So after I receive that email I ask my Delivery Specialist if I can pick it up on Saturday (4/27/2019) and they say sure and send me an Appointment Confirmation on 4/24/2019. So here I am thinking awesome I will get to pick up my car this Saturday. Boy was I wrong, come that Friday (4/26/2019) around 5:00pm the day before my Saturday Appointment I get a call from one of the Delivery Specialists at the Delivery Center I was suppose to go to and they tell me they found an issue with the charging system and their technicians have order a part for it and it should take about 3 days tops and that I cannot pick up the car on Saturday 4/27/2019 but hopefully 3 days later. But as I have work until 4:30pm and the Delivery Center stops doing delivery for cars at 5:00pm, I had to reschedule my Appointment for the next Saturday (5/4/2019). And I was a bit frustrated as they had the car since 4/23/2019 and if they have inspected the car then and assuming the part takes 3 days to come in and fix that means I would have still been able to pick up my car on Saturday 4/27/2019 but that was not the case.

So even though it was delayed I would have been okay if I were able to pick up my car today 5/4/2019. And throughout this week I have been emailing and texting my Sales Adviser and Delivery Specialist to see if everything was on track for the pick up on Saturday 5/4/2019. But lo and behold around Wednesday it seemed like they could not figure out what was causing this charging system issue and that it could take about another week, which I believe is unacceptable at this point because I was given an Appointment Confirmation date of 4/27/2019 so I had my Insurance for the car started that Saturday before I got the call of delay and had gotten the loan cashier check ready for the purchase of the car. I did not think to call my insurance as it was going to only be a week delay and I would not be charged for the insurance until a day before I was suppose to pick up my car at my newly appointed appointment.

Now they are telling me it could take up to 2 weeks to repair this charging system issue they found the Friday before my first Appointment. So it seems like they do not really know what is causing it still because last time I asked for an update I was not really given one but instead that they are still working on it but have not found a solution for it. If I were to wait for this car now, I would basically be paying insurance and a loan payment for a car I do not own or have seen. So with that in mind I started thinking about cancelling this order as this whole ordeal of getting delayed for a car that was listed as "Ready For Delivery" on Tesla's website was in fact not "Ready For Delivery" has been super frustrating. So when talking on the phone with my Sales Adviser, I asked about cancelling and they told me yeah I should be able cancel and get my $2500 deposit refunded as I have probable cause (the constant delaying of delay for a car listed as "Ready For Delivery." Then later they retracted that statement and say I would not get my deposit refunded if I cancel. I find that absurd and I understand that deposit fee is sort of like a fee for Tesla for getting the car ready for you and finding it for you but in my case while they started to get my car ready for me, they for one should never have given my an Appointment Confirmation for my car when in fact it was no where near ready to be delivered and it is not like I am refusing to pick up the car on site during pick up because of how it looks and etc. I haven't been given the opportunity to even have seen this said car.

Any thoughts on what to do?

Do I take the deposit hit and cancel or do I just wait and keep on paying insurance and loan payment for a car I do not have until I get it?
 
Demand to talk to regional manager. Holding you to their end of the bargain while falling to deliver is not right. I assumed you paid via CC for deposit. Tell them you will contact card company to open a dispute before it gets too late. On the other hand, if the deal is so good it is worth some pain, or, there is another car they can identify as ready, you might be able to go forward. In any case, who and where are these stellar folks ?
 
I paid the deposit via Debit Card, hopefully I can issue a chargeback on that if I have too. Well my current options are to wait or try to swap cars but swapping cars would not be immediate and could also take another additional 1-2 weeks. The internal SA and DS are in Fremont, the local DS is in Tesla Marina Del Rey.

But on a side note if I decide to wait, I also have a trade-in and waiting would make me go over the 1000 mile limit, which I do not want to happen so I asked Tesla directly for a loaner when I heard about the 2nd delay and was offered for myself to go out of my way to get myself a rental and have Tesla reimburse me, which is a nice offer but I do not see why I would have to go out of my way to help resolve my inconveniences that are currently being caused because Tesla gave me false hope with an Appointment confirmation twice and then delayed them twice and as of right now I have been given a 2 week time frame of repair with no 3rd Appointment confirmation.
 
Well that would be the same as waiting for this dang car, 1-2 weeks or even more because of how unreliable Tesla is with communication and delivery it seems. Plus the used market for AP2.X cars seems low and the ones that do show up are quite up there and at those prices you can probably go inventory or new and not used.
 
Well that would be the same as waiting for this dang car, 1-2 weeks or even more because of how unreliable Tesla is with communication and delivery it seems. Plus the used market for AP2.X cars seems low and the ones that do show up are quite up there and at those prices you can probably go inventory or new and not used.

Correct ..however a lot of cars coming off lease now and with new refresh S/X hopefully that lowers prices somewhat more on older AP2.x cars
 
So update, my delivery appointment has indeed been pushed back 2 more weeks until 5/18/2019, which means if I wait it will almost take a month to get the car I put in a deposit for after being given 2 delivery appointment days on 4/27/2019 and 5/42019 which have both passed and both been delayed to the 5/18/2019 delivery date now.

I have requested for a cancellation of this order as Tesla has not met their end of the deal twice for my used car purchase and I will not stand by and wait for a third time just to be bamboozled into getting delayed a third time if another issue arises in these coming 2 weeks as it seems Tesla does not check the cars they are selling be it Coming Soon or Ready For Delivery until the day before the "automated Delivery Appointment confirmation" comes to be. Also I do not believe the Appointment Confirmation is automated at all but in fact my Internal DS set up my Delivery Appointment and it was not automated.

Now since I am going to be cancelling I am possibly not going to be able to receive my initial deposit refunded to me as my Internal DS said it probably was not possible. They told me they should be able to ask management on Monday but since it seems like they were adamant I was not going to be receiving this refund I have already filed a claim with my bank. As this is an event that I have no control over and it is an issue created by Tesla for me the consumer.

This whole notion of having a stress and hassle free transaction for having us buy cars online is not true at all in my opinion. Rather if i were to have gotten to a traditional dealership and bought a used Tesla on 4/18/2019, I would probably be driving that car already as the purchasing phase of the car in a traditional dealership may take a lot longer than via doing it all online but I would definitely say the delivery process would be far quicker then what I have experienced with this used Tesla purchase. But I decided to go the Tesla route as that was the only viable option of being able to get the 4 year warranty on a used car. It is not like these used cars Tesla are selling are even CPO any more, in fact for the past few months they are just regular used cars like in any traditional dealership, the exceptions being the actual cars listed as CPO at these other more traditional dealerships.

Now all I can hope is Tesla comes to their senses and rectify this whole ordeal for me.
 
So update, my delivery appointment has indeed been pushed back 2 more weeks until 5/18/2019, which means if I wait it will almost take a month to get the car I put in a deposit for after being given 2 delivery appointment days on 4/27/2019 and 5/42019 which have both passed and both been delayed to the 5/18/2019 delivery date now.

I have requested for a cancellation of this order as Tesla has not met their end of the deal twice for my used car purchase and I will not stand by and wait for a third time just to be bamboozled into getting delayed a third time if another issue arises in these coming 2 weeks as it seems Tesla does not check the cars they are selling be it Coming Soon or Ready For Delivery until the day before the "automated Delivery Appointment confirmation" comes to be. Also I do not believe the Appointment Confirmation is automated at all but in fact my Internal DS set up my Delivery Appointment and it was not automated.

Now since I am going to be cancelling I am possibly not going to be able to receive my initial deposit refunded to me as my Internal DS said it probably was not possible. They told me they should be able to ask management on Monday but since it seems like they were adamant I was not going to be receiving this refund I have already filed a claim with my bank. As this is an event that I have no control over and it is an issue created by Tesla for me the consumer.

This whole notion of having a stress and hassle free transaction for having us buy cars online is not true at all in my opinion. Rather if i were to have gotten to a traditional dealership and bought a used Tesla on 4/18/2019, I would probably be driving that car already as the purchasing phase of the car in a traditional dealership may take a lot longer than via doing it all online but I would definitely say the delivery process would be far quicker then what I have experienced with this used Tesla purchase. But I decided to go the Tesla route as that was the only viable option of being able to get the 4 year warranty on a used car. It is not like these used cars Tesla are selling are even CPO any more, in fact for the past few months they are just regular used cars like in any traditional dealership, the exceptions being the actual cars listed as CPO at these other more traditional dealerships.

Now all I can hope is Tesla comes to their senses and rectify this whole ordeal for me.

Try putting deposit 9/30, being promised 10/31 and actually receiving your vehicle 12/11. Needless to say Tesla screwed up and made sure to take care of me when it was apparent to them they screwed up. Be patient if you can, if not push a little harder on them.
 
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Try putting deposit 9/30, being promised 10/31 and actually receiving your vehicle 12/11. Needless to say Tesla screwed up and made sure to take care of me when it was apparent to them they screwed up. Be patient if you can, if not push a little harder on them.
Yeah, that is a much longer wait then me. But since I have a trade in and it is my only method of transportation it is a lot tougher for me to wait as the longer I wait the more I creep closer to the 1000 mile limit. With that said I was told once I past this 1000 mile limit I would probably have to get my trade in value reevaluated even when if this was a Tesla issue (i.e., selling a broken car as ready for delivery).

To be honest, I asked my internal SA for a loaner and all would be well even if there was a possibility that I would be paying insurance and a loan payment for a car I do not own, but was offered that I go out of my way to get myself a rental and have Tesla reimburse me later, which was a nice offer but I do not really see why I have go out of my way to rectify these delays when they are issues I had no control over but Tesla did (i.e., they could have never sent out the Appointment confirmation to me before actually seeing if the car was ready to go). If they had never sent me the Appointment confirmation I would have gladly waited with occasional updates about the status of my car. But since they did I would think they would try a little harder to take care of me but they didn't. All they offered me was to either wait (again for this route I asked for a loaner from Tesla but instead was told to go get myself a rental and send them the receipt for reimbursement later and I don't think asking for a loaner directly from Tesla was too much to ask as they listed a non-deliverable car on their website as deliverable hence causing me to purchase said car to find out in fact it was not deliverable) and hope no more issues arise or swap cars which would also take another 1-2 weeks if there are no hiccups again with their 70 point inspection before actual delivery and not before these cars are listed on their website. If I were to have gone this route, what would the difference from waiting for the current car to a newer car. be There would be none, I was not given a way for me to get into a used Model S any quicker.

It is hard to be patient when the delays kept happening one day before actual appointment time. Also none of this would be a problem if they would offer me my refund of my deposit back after canceling as I am only canceling because the problem at hand is something I have no control over and I was sort of tricked by Tesla into putting a deposit on a car that I thought was good to go and ready for delivery in probably a 1-2 time frame which is not bad at all. But to later found out that there is a major charging system issue which for an all electric car is a big deal, as you would not be able drive the damn thing anywhere because you would not be able to charge it once it drains is not right. I mean if anything shouldn't Tesla at least check these used cars for any major issues before listing them on their website. I mean currently they said they do a 70 point inspection but do they really because this is what is listed now (these were not listed at the time of my purchase) :

This Model S has passed a full 70 point mechanical and cosmetic inspection

Mechanical inspections include:
  • Confirmed odometer of less than 100,000 miles
  • No evidence of structural repairs
  • Tires (4/32" minimum)
  • Steering and suspension components
  • Powertrain system
  • Brake pads and vehicle braking system
  • Exterior lighting systems
  • Driver controls
  • Safety restraint systems
  • Charging system and equipment functionality
So if the 70 point inspection is to be believed and they do this before listing it on their website my car should have never been on the list as it would have not passed this 70 point inspection but of a charging issue but somehow it was.

Okay let say they do this test and somehow the charging system worked then but as it waited on the lot for purchase it failed, which would be a cause for alarm as that would mean the components in the Tesla Model S I would be buying are prone to failure when they are doing nothing so I hope that would not be the case. So at this point once they figured out the car I purchased has a charging system failure they would expedite the parts needed and hopefully use next day shipping to get this resolved quickly so I could have my car quickly as I can but what I have been told is the charging system repair is tedious and requires rare parts hence why the additional 2 weeks. And since that is the case then I truly believe Tesla should be the one offering me a loaner and not having me go out of my way to get a rental as they are the ones causing the delay and having to wait will definitely cause me to go over the 1000 mile limit and with that I am told my trade in value will get reevaluated which is insane as it is not like I wanted to keep driving my trade in but I have no other choice as the car I purchased is not ready for delivery because of Tesla. I mean if anything they should be offering to keep my trade in value even after a 1000 miles or possibly a loaner and maybe a bit of a price deduction as I was not looking to purchase a salvage or broken vehicle to has Tesla repair for me, I was looking to purchase a fully working vehicle from Tesla but that is not the case. And now they are saying they cannot guarantee my deposit refunded to me for who knows what reasons if I cancel, which now has me filing a transaction dispute via my bank...
 
I’m sorry that the situation is not being rectified in a timely manner. I was in a similar boat; however I sold my car the day before the original delivery date. After explaining the problem my SA, he spoke to his manager and put me in a loaner. I drove that loaner for 1.5 months until my car was ready and all was well. My SA also provided service for two years. All in all the process took forever and had many setbacks but in the end I was completely taken care of. A month after I got my car I was rear ended by a drunk hit-n-run driver which caused my car to be at the body shop for another two months.
Just try to stay positive, I’m confident when tesla can do something for you they will.
There aren’t any other cars available to switch to?
 
Go into your online account and read the terms of the original motor vehicle purchase agreement. Mine said you could cancel up to time of delivery with a full refund. That may have changed since then
Yeah that has changed. If I were to be cancelling because of an issue I had control over like I had changed my mind or did not like how the car looked like on delivery or any other issue I had control over, then fine the original deposit should not be refunded or I would gladly wait to swap to another vehicle but since this is an issue I had no control over and Tesla states that the cars put on their websites pass a 70 point inspection which includes charging system and equipment functionality. If that were truly the case then that would be a breach of agreement between Tesla and myself as the car I purchased did not have a functioning charging system and equipment functionality. And I would not have agreed to the price I agreed to purchase it at if I known it needed repairs done even before I got the car. I was under the assumption these cars go through the 70 point inspection before being listed because it says on the website they have already passed it but I guess they don't and it is really done before delivery and they hope that all goes well.
 
I’m sorry that the situation is not being rectified in a timely manner. I was in a similar boat; however I sold my car the day before the original delivery date. After explaining the problem my SA, he spoke to his manager and put me in a loaner. I drove that loaner for 1.5 months until my car was ready and all was well. My SA also provided service for two years. All in all the process took forever and had many setbacks but in the end I was completely taken care of. A month after I got my car I was rear ended by a drunk hit-n-run driver which caused my car to be at the body shop for another two months.
Just try to stay positive, I’m confident when tesla can do something for you they will.
There aren’t any other cars available to switch to?
Yeah, I explained to my internal SA that if I were to wait my trade in would go over the 1000 mile limit for the 2 week time given and if Tesla could provide me a loaner for the 2 weeks I would have to wait. So they spoke to their manager and I was offered to go out of my way to get myself a rental and send Tesla a receipt for reimbursement later, which was nice but not what I preferred. As I do not see a reason for myself to go out of my way to rectify a situation Tesla has caused me. As for another car to drive not really, we do have 3 cars available in my house hold but one is my moms and she needs it for her work, the other mine, and the third is equipped for handicap driving.

If Tesla had provided me a loaner all would be well, but since they did not and only offered me a reimbursement after the fact I pay for my own rental while I wait or swap to a different car and possibly have to wait another 1-2 weeks which would be the same as waiting for this car and only if no issues arise like the car I was currently waiting for.

Hard to stay positive when it seems like they aren't really trying to rectify the situation at all when the car listed did not pass the 70 point inspection and after the fact they had found the charging system issue I would honestly believe they should be trying to expedite it as fast as they can or really trying to rectify the situation for me but it seems like they aren't. I mean whose is to say that I did plan on waiting and then I would have had to wait as long as you did because they keep on finding issues one after another within the 2 weeks I waited. I can't have that especially if I would be paying for a rental out of my pocket until Tesla reimburses me. Now plus since they kind of lied about having the car I purchased passed the 70 point inspection before being listed, now they won't offer to have my initial deposit refunded after not really trying to rectify this situation for me is absurd.
 
Welcome to tesla. Utter chaos. It's so embarrassing.
Well I put in a cancellation request for my order with my internal SA already since they don't seem to be trying to keep me as a customer and they said they will get back to me about the refund after they talk with management but I have already filed a transaction dispute with my bank as my internal SA was saying I would probably not be getting my deposit refunded even when I was straight up lied to about the car I purchased having passed a 70 point inspection on the the buy now page of the car when in fact the charging system and equipment did not function so it should not have been listed as it has passed the 70 point inspection until after the the charging system was functional.

If everything was in order and I cancelled then fine the deposit should be nonrefundable but everything has not been in order and I was lied to about the 70 point inspection, I bet if I were to have asked for this supposed 70 point inspection sheet that shows that it has passed they would not have even given it to me because it does not exist. So I mean they aren't willing to rectify this situation at all, the agreement I made with Tesla was for a car that has already passed this 70 point inspection as that is how it is listed on their used web page before purchasing and not for a car that may or may not be deliverable and may need repairs since they do not really do any type of inspection before posting on their website until the day before delivery it seems.

I mean even as I complain here, nothing will come out of it as nobody from Tesla will probably even see/read this. But I don't think it was too much to ask for a loaner directly from Tesla to hold me over without any costs to me until they repair the car I purchased that they sold as having a working charging system when it did not. Or if they can't even offer the loaner then I would hope that I would be able to cancel this order without any problems as it was not what I paid for and get my deposit refunded to me since the problems I currently am facing are because Tesla listed a car with a non-working charging system as having a working charging system and got me to purchase said car and now here I am in this whole mess of an ordeal.

The cars Tesla make all seem so nice and amazing but yeah the customer service and delivery service I have encountered does not seem up to par with the cars they are selling being it used or new. It does seem just utterly chaotic and embarrassing for Tesla. But it is not like this is brand new news, it seems like the bottom-line for Tesla is to just sell cars really.

I guess I will become part of the many few that are fighting Tesla for my refund because of their mistakes and not really receiving any sort of help to rectify my current situation...
 
I was told when I purchased my Tesla that the inspection of the car is not done until the car is on site at the delivery center and they are prepping it for delivery. The reason is because there is no way to tell if any damage occurred in the (what could be a long) time the car was sitting on the Manheim lot.

It makes sense that the charging issue was not uncovered until right before delivery but better they found it and you have options vs. taking delivery and then having the issue show up.

I am sure this will all work out in the end and you will get a great car.
 
I was told when I purchased my Tesla that the inspection of the car is not done until the car is on site at the delivery center and they are prepping it for delivery. The reason is because there is no way to tell if any damage occurred in the (what could be a long) time the car was sitting on the Manheim lot.

It makes sense that the charging issue was not uncovered until right before delivery but better they found it and you have options vs. taking delivery and then having the issue show up.

I am sure this will all work out in the end and you will get a great car.
Well then they should not currently say that the cars have passed the 70 point inspection test on their website then.

So I know having found the charging system issue before delivery is a lot better then after delivery but I was not really given any viable options after the fact when this repair was given a long repair time. It was to either wait and because I have a trade in I asked for a loaner from Tesla to avoid going over the 1000 mile limit on my trade in but instead was offered that I go get myself a rental on my own time and with my own money then have Tesla reimburse me later. So essentially for the time being I would be paying out of pocket for a issue Tesla has created for me until they actually reimburse me or have me swap to a different car and potentially go through this same ordeal again because like you said "they can't tell if any damage occurred in the (what could be a long) time the car was sitting on the Manheim lot."

I mean at this point I really just wanted to be able to cancel and have my money refunded without any hassle. I have already put in the request for cancellation via my internal SA and all they have said is that they are putting it in and have not heard back from them yet, hopefully today. But they are saying I probably will not get my initial deposit back without any valid reason, I mean I believe I do have probable cause for my refund, I was not really given a viable option to actually wait 2 more weeks for this car and I do not think it would be smart to keep on waiting and not have a loaner and keep driving my current car and go over the 1000 mile limit and then have the evaluation redone as I had no choice but to go over the 1000 mile because of Tesla. They were pretty sure I would not be able to get my deposit refunded so I have already filed a transaction dispute with my bank as Tesla does not seem willing at all to help at the moment. But I will hopefully find out more today...
 
Well then they should not currently say that the cars have passed the 70 point inspection test on their website then.

So I know having found the charging system issue before delivery is a lot better then after delivery but I was not really given any viable options after the fact when this repair was given a long repair time. It was to either wait and because I have a trade in I asked for a loaner from Tesla to avoid going over the 1000 mile limit on my trade in but instead was offered that I go get myself a rental on my own time and with my own money then have Tesla reimburse me later. So essentially for the time being I would be paying out of pocket for a issue Tesla has created for me until they actually reimburse me or have me swap to a different car and potentially go through this same ordeal again because like you said "they can't tell if any damage occurred in the (what could be a long) time the car was sitting on the Manheim lot."

I mean at this point I really just wanted to be able to cancel and have my money refunded without any hassle. I have already put in the request for cancellation via my internal SA and all they have said is that they are putting it in and have not heard back from them yet, hopefully today. But they are saying I probably will not get my initial deposit back without any valid reason, I mean I believe I do have probable cause for my refund, I was not really given a viable option to actually wait 2 more weeks for this car and I do not think it would be smart to keep on waiting and not have a loaner and keep driving my current car and go over the 1000 mile limit and then have the evaluation redone as I had no choice but to go over the 1000 mile because of Tesla. They were pretty sure I would not be able to get my deposit refunded so I have already filed a transaction dispute with my bank as Tesla does not seem willing at all to help at the moment. But I will hopefully find out more today...

Oh I completely agree with you. At least they recently updated the website to list some of the items they check in their so-called inspection. Before that, it just said 70-point inspection with no mention as to what was checked.

The process makes no sense whatsoever and simply underscores the point that Tesla needs to figure out a better way to handle their used car sales in general. The non-responsiveness and lack of training of the sales and delivery advisors is magnified greatly when an actual issue occurs and it's not 'business as usual' for them. Rich Benoit (RichRebuilds on YouTube) documented a similar experience where he purchased a Model X in October of 2018 and due to a number of issues with the car and Tesla staff, did not actually take delivery until the middle of February 2019.

I don't think you should have an issue getting your down payment back especially going through your bank as the car was clearly not in operable condition.
 
Oh I completely agree with you. At least they recently updated the website to list some of the items they check in their so-called inspection. Before that, it just said 70-point inspection with no mention as to what was checked.

The process makes no sense whatsoever and simply underscores the point that Tesla needs to figure out a better way to handle their used car sales in general. The non-responsiveness and lack of training of the sales and delivery advisors is magnified greatly when an actual issue occurs and it's not 'business as usual' for them. Rich Benoit (RichRebuilds on YouTube) documented a similar experience where he purchased a Model X in October of 2018 and due to a number of issues with the car and Tesla staff, did not actually take delivery until the middle of February 2019.

I don't think you should have an issue getting your down payment back especially going through your bank as the car was clearly not in operable condition.
Yeah I followed Rich Rebuilds used Tesla Model X purchase debacle and in the end it took someone from Tesla going out to where his car was located and having them basically do what an actual CPO program should be doing to their CPO cars but I digress as Tesla no longer has a CPO program, to receive his car. I doubt they would have then done that for a regular customer who does not have a big following and doesn't make videos that receive a good amount of views.

Even after watching what happened to Rich Rebuilds I still wanted to buy a used Model S as it is an amazing car and wanted to believe this was sort of an outlier case in what could go down during a used car purchase. But nope, Tesla's used car system is broken and they don't seem to really want to even fix it.

I mean they aren't really even trying to help rectify my situation when they were the ones selling a non operable car that I put a deposit down for thinking it was a operable car.

I really do hope my bank can help get my money back, as I was told by my ISA he would update me on my cancellation and if I will receive a refund or not today. But currently radio silence, I have texted him and called him and no reply as of yet.