Where's the LOVE Elon?

[WhiteKnight]

Hi,
Thanks for the response. I know the check-up fee is about $600. My question is are the ranger fees waived while under warranty.
Larry

If a Model S owner has to pay $600 per year for an annual check up then this eliminates all the perceived maintenance benefits of an electric vehicle. That money would buy a lot of oil changes, filter replacements, etc.

 

[Mycroft]

The maintenance on my Mercedes is at least $1,000 per year. So it really depends on what kind of car you're moving from.

 

[ckessel]

The maintenance on my Mercedes is at least $1,000 per year. So it really depends on what kind of car you're moving from.

Depends on how you define maintenance as well. Oil changes are cheap, but clutches, timing belts, spark plugs/cables, fuel injector cleaning, mufflers, catalytic converters, alternators, starters, water pumps, normal car batteries, AC recharge, radiator flushing, transmission fluids and so forth can really add up. They're all mostly every few years and not all will require attention, but a good chunk of those will crop up within 60k miles or so.

 

[smorgasbord]

BMW charges nothing for all regular maintenance AND many wear items (brakes, wipers, belts) during the first 4 years/50,000 miles. So, rack up $2400 in additional maintenance costs for the Model S versus BMW.

 

[AnOutsider]

Guess we have to see what the warranty covers

 

[Larry Chanin]

If a Model S owner has to pay $600 per year for an annual check up then this eliminates all the perceived maintenance benefits of an electric vehicle. That money would buy a lot of oil changes, filter replacements, etc.

Ok, we know that the Roadster annual check up is about $600. I repeat, my question is are the ranger fees for Roadsters currently waived while under warranty?

Thanks.

Larry

 

[dsm363]

Ok, we know that the Roadster annual check up is about $600. I repeat, my question is are the ranger fees for Roadsters currently waived while under warranty?

Thanks.

Larry

You pay $600 + $1 per mile with I think a minimum of $100 (if you live a 10 miles away they still charge $100 if you don't want to bother to drive it to the service center). The ranger fee is not waived for the annual visit. I guess they might waive the ranger fee if they also were doing some warranty work during the same visit though.

They haven't announced what their plans on with ranger fees although they do seem to indicate that rangers will still be available for Model S customers.

 

[3lectronica]

Ok, we know that the Roadster annual check up is about $600. I repeat, my question is are the ranger fees for Roadsters currently waived while under warranty?

Thanks.

Larry

Tesla does not charge the ranger fee for vehicles that need warranty work.

 

[Doug_G]

Ok, we know that the Roadster annual check up is about $600. I repeat, my question is are the ranger fees for Roadsters currently waived while under warranty?

Ranger fees are charged for the annual checkup.

I have yet to be charged for Ranger fees for a warranty repair... that said I've not seen that policy in writing anywhere.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

BMW charges nothing for all regular maintenance AND many wear items (brakes, wipers, belts) during the first 4 years/50,000 miles. So, rack up $2400 in additional maintenance costs for the Model S versus BMW.

Yeah, sounds wonky if Tesla claims to have a lower cost of ownership over the years - yeah, I get the gas vs electricity cost savings but still...

Would not getting the annual checkup void the warranty?! Why do I need to fork out $600 per year for the 4 (or 5) years under warranty if I don't see any problems with the car?!

 

[dsm363]

Yeah, sounds wonky if Tesla claims to have a lower cost of ownership over the years - yeah, I get the gas vs electricity cost savings but still...

Would not getting the annual checkup void the warranty?! Why do I need to fork out $600 per year for the 4 (or 5) years under warranty if I don't see any problems with the car?!

I believe not getting the annual checkup would void the warranty. That's how it is with most cars but would need to look at the Roadster's actual warranty. I only drove my Jetta a little over 3,000 miles last year so had 7,000 miles to go on my 20,000 mile checkup. I happened to call the dealership and they said I hadn't been there in 15 months and needed to come in for my 20,000 mile (2 year) checkup or the warranty would be void. Someone else may know about the warranty for the Roadster but I'd imagine the Model S will be similar.

 

[AnOutsider]

It makes sense though. We have a warranty/insurance on my wife's ring, and in order to keep it current she has to get it checked out every 6 months or so. Better to keep up with the maintenance and fix small things before they become big, costly things. They also want to make sure you're properly maintaining during the warranty period.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Agree with both of you. Was essentially getting at why a diagnostic check (that'd probably be mostly electronic and automated) should cost $600! That'd probably pay for several weeks worth of driving! A 90K mile heavy duty service on a gas car would cost much less. And, it's not as if we would have a choice as to where to get this checkup done :frown:

 

[strider]

It's actually illegal under the Magnussen-Moss Act for a company to require you to pay them for maintenance work and void your warranty if you don't. If they provide the service for free then they can void your warranty or not doing so (ie BMW). I've never used a dealer for maintenance work on any of my ICE cars yet if something breaks under warranty I bring it in and they fix it.

Roadster owners have thusfar been willing to pay the $700/year for the check-up but future buyers may not be willing to do so. It'll be interesting to watch this develop.

 

[neroden]

Roadster owners have thusfar been willing to pay the $700/year for the check-up but future buyers may not be willing to do so. It'll be interesting to watch this develop.

I probably wouldn't be willing to, not *every year*. If the car's working perfectly, why pay $1046 (yep, that would be the ranger costs plus $600) to have it looked at? Given the mileage I expect to accumulate (5000 miles a year), it seems like overkill. It would be different if anything started actually acting up.

 

[VolkerP]

You would pay 20cent per mile, eating up a fair bit of the difference in energy costs between EV and ICE.

 

[Robert.Boston]

I would venture that the Model S's annual maintenance costs will be lower than the Roadster's, not because the Model S is simpler (though it may be), but because there will be more of them over which Tesla can spread fixed costs of its Ranger team--not only personnel costs, but also parts inventories, rent, etc.

 

[Jaff]

Possibly Robert, but doesn't the Model S have far more ancillary systems (than the Roadster) that might go awry and require Ranger visits?...I agree that there should be better economy of scale on the annual checkup.