I purchased a brand new Tesla model S in 2018 through one of my best experiences with car sales. No-haggle, accommodating salesperson, and an effortless process.
However, immediately after pick up, everything changed. I soon realized that Tesla pays little attention to the workmanship of their products. The car's technology is impressive, but the actual quality of the vehicle leaves a lot to be desired.
I won't bother you with all the details, and will only share a few of my issues: car was misaligned at pick up (I had to turn the steering wheel about 10-20 degrees to the left to make the car go straight)----Tesla sales department asked that I make a service appointment as I had already signed the contract and nothing else they could do. My Bluetooth started echoing (on the receiver's end), my air suspension made a funny vibration noise at random hours even when the car was parked at 4 am, and my screen started turning yellow (The yellowing of the screen borders is the same issue as with 1000s of other Model S/X owners).
When I brought these issues to Tesla's attention through many service appointments, emails, videos, etc., I was confronted with an arrogance that I found disturbing. The attitude I got from the service department was basically: The car is "drivable"; these are mostly aesthetic issues (yellow screen) and stop complaining, or they would say: "it will get fixed with a future firmware upgrade," but could not tell me when.
It seems like Tesla has gotten the hard part, bringing new technology to the automotive industry, right but is completely inept when it comes to customer service/retention and making a high-quality automobile.
Tesla was relentless in trying to say the defects effecting my car were not covered by warranty calling the suspension noise "Louder than normal" rather than abnormal. Saying the yellow screen could be "healed" at some future date, "free of charge for the first attempt, through a "goodwill" something or other. They even admitted, after it was leaked, that the yellow screen was due to a defective glue curing process they used during manufacturing. When I asked to have my yellow bordered screen replaced, they asked for $1700.
I was bewildered by the disreputable attitude portrayed by Tesla. Tesla is a young company with high potentials; only if they change their current customer service culture.
Unfortunately, for me, I had no choice but to file a legal claim against them and go through the arbitration process. Tesla decided to fight me all the way with having two expert witnesses and two attorneys present during the two-day arbitration.
Even during the arbitration, Tesla's arrogance was apparent through their attorney and their arguments. I prevailed. The judge found the yellow screen, the noise, the Bluetooth issue, and a couple of other issues were indeed nonconformity and held Tesla liable for not fixing these defects within 30 days and not upholding their pledge for customer service.
Something that could have cost Tesla much less, even if they had given me a brand new replacement car, ended up costing them significantly more.
Do not let Tesla tell you the Yellow screen or other issues are not covered under warranty. Make sure you document all your conversations with them and speak to an expert.
If you are finding yourself in the same situation of having to fight Tesla, I highly recommend getting an attorney and going through arbitration/trial. If you want the contact info for my attorney, whom I thought was excellent, PM me.
However, immediately after pick up, everything changed. I soon realized that Tesla pays little attention to the workmanship of their products. The car's technology is impressive, but the actual quality of the vehicle leaves a lot to be desired.
I won't bother you with all the details, and will only share a few of my issues: car was misaligned at pick up (I had to turn the steering wheel about 10-20 degrees to the left to make the car go straight)----Tesla sales department asked that I make a service appointment as I had already signed the contract and nothing else they could do. My Bluetooth started echoing (on the receiver's end), my air suspension made a funny vibration noise at random hours even when the car was parked at 4 am, and my screen started turning yellow (The yellowing of the screen borders is the same issue as with 1000s of other Model S/X owners).
When I brought these issues to Tesla's attention through many service appointments, emails, videos, etc., I was confronted with an arrogance that I found disturbing. The attitude I got from the service department was basically: The car is "drivable"; these are mostly aesthetic issues (yellow screen) and stop complaining, or they would say: "it will get fixed with a future firmware upgrade," but could not tell me when.
It seems like Tesla has gotten the hard part, bringing new technology to the automotive industry, right but is completely inept when it comes to customer service/retention and making a high-quality automobile.
Tesla was relentless in trying to say the defects effecting my car were not covered by warranty calling the suspension noise "Louder than normal" rather than abnormal. Saying the yellow screen could be "healed" at some future date, "free of charge for the first attempt, through a "goodwill" something or other. They even admitted, after it was leaked, that the yellow screen was due to a defective glue curing process they used during manufacturing. When I asked to have my yellow bordered screen replaced, they asked for $1700.
I was bewildered by the disreputable attitude portrayed by Tesla. Tesla is a young company with high potentials; only if they change their current customer service culture.
Unfortunately, for me, I had no choice but to file a legal claim against them and go through the arbitration process. Tesla decided to fight me all the way with having two expert witnesses and two attorneys present during the two-day arbitration.
Even during the arbitration, Tesla's arrogance was apparent through their attorney and their arguments. I prevailed. The judge found the yellow screen, the noise, the Bluetooth issue, and a couple of other issues were indeed nonconformity and held Tesla liable for not fixing these defects within 30 days and not upholding their pledge for customer service.
Something that could have cost Tesla much less, even if they had given me a brand new replacement car, ended up costing them significantly more.
Do not let Tesla tell you the Yellow screen or other issues are not covered under warranty. Make sure you document all your conversations with them and speak to an expert.
If you are finding yourself in the same situation of having to fight Tesla, I highly recommend getting an attorney and going through arbitration/trial. If you want the contact info for my attorney, whom I thought was excellent, PM me.
