It is *not* common practice at all. What *is* common practice is the dealerships leading you to believe that it is a requirement. But it is not (as codified by law). Again, the point was to make sure that Tesla was not going to get in trouble by making these demands actually in the warranty, which it is not. Therefore, GB simply misspoke, and there is no more issue to discuss (so long as they don't change the warranty to what he said!).
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It is *not* common practice at all. What *is* common practice is the dealerships leading you to believe that it is a requirement. But it is not (as codified by law). Again, the point was to make sure that Tesla was not going to get in trouble by making these demands actually in the warranty, which it is not. Therefore, GB simply misspoke, and there is no more issue to discuss (so long as they don't change the warranty to what he said!).
NigelM
Recovering Member
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
ModelS1079
Member
Hey Kev, no need to ever be enraged on this forum. We are all sisters and brothers of the battery, NICE because we are no ICE. Diverse in opinion, while One in cause. On a day when, exactly 150 short years ago, 22,000 Americans beat each other to death with bayonets, let us find ourselves enlightened but not enraged but the disagreements we share on this forum.
I love George's response (thanks, George for responding in our forum) - and it is transparent and needed and really informative and I drank the Model S Koolaid long ago so I am in for the four-year service, BUT I will never really understand why a service fee is required to maintain a warranty. Is the warranty getting the service or is the Model S getting the warranty service?
huntjo
Member
I'm not sure where they get these service costs or what prepaid options are but Motor Trend has this for the E Class.
2012 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E350 Sedan Cost Of Ownership - 2012 Mercedes E Class E 350 Insurance, Maintenance & Repair Costs - Motor Trend Magazine
2012 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E350 Sedan Cost Of Ownership - 2012 Mercedes E Class E 350 Insurance, Maintenance & Repair Costs - Motor Trend Magazine
chrissam42
Member
Ouch. This means Tesla is selling a car without a warranty. Not confidence inspiring! They can get away with this for the next year or two thanks to the pent-up demand, but it certainly won't fly with the general car-buying public. I agree with Trnsl8r above who said they're basically going with an all-stick-and-no-carrot approach, which is unfortunate since I know how wonderful Tesla generally is in supporting their customers.
A few people have compared this to AppleCare, but the difference is this: AppleCare just extends the already excellent one-year warranty for an extra year or two. If you pay nothing, you still get free repairs for the first year. (And Apple is usually generous in repairing things that may have been user error.)
A few people have compared this to AppleCare, but the difference is this: AppleCare just extends the already excellent one-year warranty for an extra year or two. If you pay nothing, you still get free repairs for the first year. (And Apple is usually generous in repairing things that may have been user error.)
Not quite. Service in 1st year is different if you have AppleCare vs without.
My iPhone 4 died within a week of getting it. I was offered a send-it-in and we'll repair and return it to you, or if you have AppleCare then we immediately send you a new one and you return the old one later. Kind of like ranger service.
The difference with AppleCare is that it is optional.
@chrissam42: you raise an interesting point. Presumably in the first year (or 12,500 miles) of MS ownership, everyone will also enjoy full warranty coverage -- after all, you haven't yet been expected to bring the car in for service.
Likewise, suppose you've been good about taking in your vehicle for checkups #1, #2, and #3 and are now in the final year (or final 12,500 miles) of the warranty period: you also are covered for the full warranty period, even if you skip checkup #4, which is supposed to come at the very end of the warranty period. (This second option, however, would be very foolish. That last checkup is going to be the most valuable as you can get all the warranty work done before the warranty expires, after which that same repair will be on your dime.)
Likewise, suppose you've been good about taking in your vehicle for checkups #1, #2, and #3 and are now in the final year (or final 12,500 miles) of the warranty period: you also are covered for the full warranty period, even if you skip checkup #4, which is supposed to come at the very end of the warranty period. (This second option, however, would be very foolish. That last checkup is going to be the most valuable as you can get all the warranty work done before the warranty expires, after which that same repair will be on your dime.)
Your post doesn't really make sense and is condescending for no reason. Sure, no one made anyone sign paperwork, they did it because they wanted to based on current information, this info has come out after MANY have already signed their paperwork.
Furthermore, an attitude of "you don't like, don't buy it" is silly and extremely unhelpful here. Everyone is here because to one degree or another they are really into tesla and want to see them succeed. Telling them to accept whatever tesla throws at them or walk away is an extremely poor attitude -- especially seeing how tesla has listened to valid feedback in the past and adjusted things.
There's no need to be afraid of the firing squad if you don't first b*tchslap the men with the guns.
Hi Ron,
I think that you are correct. However, although George did not use the correct legalese, I also think we both know that he spoke the practical truth unhindered by weasle-wording. :wink:
Larry
Indeed. Furthermore, pointing out the hypocrasy of advertising low maintenance then charging more for maintenance than many luxury conventional vehicles just isn't a good business model. I'm too invested (financially and emotionally) to give up the car. But that doesn't make me blind and stupid to the downstream potential consequences when this information starts getting blown up in the press and lands in the hands of those on the fence about buying an EV.
I love to brag not only what great MPG my Prius gets, but how little maintenance is for it. 130k miles and my brakes still have over 50% of the original surface. The ICE has maybe 80k miles of time on it b/c of the EV/gliding capabilities so it's not running all the time. Oil changes are only every 10k miles and probably not really necessary even that often for most drivers.
I can spout off about low EV maintenance, but then I have to admit it still costs the same...or more than other cars. I'll be able to soften that a bit by saying towing is included--but the obvious retort is 'If it's so reliable, why would you need to tow it, and how often that everyone who buys the car has to prepay for it?" Hard to answer that one.
For me, honestly, this works out to be a pretty good deal since I'll need and use the Ranger service since I live so far from any Tesla Service center (even when they put one in St.Louis it's at the outside of my practical driving range.), and for that package I think the price is quite fair and will be made up if I need even one "emergency" ranger call. For those who live but a few miles from a Tesla center it seems a bit of an unfair rip off to me.
Hi Marcus,
Perhaps heems could have worded his posting more tactfully, and of course there's nothing wrong with others being critical of the service plan. However, that doesn't alter the fact that we all had a 100% refundable deposit coupled with an ability to defer for as long as we wanted to permit time to obtain all the information each person needed to become comfortable. Many early adopters simply don't require that level of comfort and are able to proceed with more uncertainty. However, personally, I didn't find the $600/year pricing of the service plan surprising in the context of the already existing Roadster plan. I was pleasantly surprised by the ability to reduce that number to $475/year by paying in advance, by the greatly improved Ranger pricing, roadside towing, loaner cars, etc.
It is not unreasonable to say that people that are not comfortable in buying the the car shouldn't. George has said this in the past and I didn't find his remark silly or extremely unhelpful.
Larry
NigelM
Recovering Member
Maybe you are forgetting that those who live near a service center don't have to buy the "anywhere" plan. They get to buy service cheaper than you or I, that doesn't seem too unfair to me.
Agreed Larry, but it's not all or nothing. Financially, I'm still 100% comfortable buying this car, and I didn't buy it for the environment or to have lower operating costs. However, some did, and Tesla touted EVs as having lower operating costs. Then they spring this. People have the right to be upset about that (some haven't even locked in and are upset something like this could stop their purchase all together).
While I'm still comfortable buying, this, and previous issues, sure does kill some of the joy and love I've had for Tesla, and I'm imagining even more so for others who haven't consumed as much kool aid as I have. Is it OK to simply dismiss them and their concerns? Should they not have a say?
My point is, if you don't have a problem with what was announced, that's fine, but don't look down on, mock, or dismiss those who do. Unfortunately, that seems to be happening often here,
While I'm still comfortable buying, this, and previous issues, sure does kill some of the joy and love I've had for Tesla, and I'm imagining even more so for others who haven't consumed as much kool aid as I have. Is it OK to simply dismiss them and their concerns? Should they not have a say?
My point is, if you don't have a problem with what was announced, that's fine, but don't look down on, mock, or dismiss those who do. Unfortunately, that seems to be happening often here,
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
Just a reminder: The intent of this thread was to just keep to facts and let the discussion occur in the existing thread (Model S Service Contracts - the poll edition(tm)!)!). From the original post:
I know of no other car company that requires such a mandatory inspection plan to maintain their cars' warranties. There are a lot that have an optional inspection/maintenance plan, but they are not requirements for warranty maintenance.
What's different about Tesla is that there's no warranty on the car if you don't buy their maintenance plan.
A to ind if GB indeed mis-speak, let's hope they swallow their pride and clarify. They need to focus on getting the S ramped up in product and fix the little problems (just as panels not being lined up) rather than waste time trying to squeeze more $ out of their customers to increase their bottom line. Indeed the warranty has precedence over the service agreement - they should not waste time trying to back their customers into a corner...
Interesting that Toyota provides instructions for owner servicing for those that want to do the service themselves. Seems pretty simple from the instructions in the owners manual.
http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM42838U/pdf/sec_04-03.pdf
http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM42838U/pdf/sec_04-02.pdf
http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM42838U/pdf/sec_04-03.pdf
http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM42838U/pdf/sec_04-02.pdf
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