Observations from recent Tesla service (they are far from perfect!)

[Henke]

So i read complaints about the Porsche service dept, PCM. etc and wanted to make some observations regarding a recent Tesla service appt.

• Tesla likes to do everything through the app which is convenient but also annoying. Sometimes you just want to talk to someone and they make it difficult
• My car was booked in for a recall to fix their Model S eMMC issue. This is the first time I had to go into the dealer in 3 years. The other two services I had were done at home (first was a warranty repair for the trunk not opening or closing and second was a standard service)
• Getting info prior to the recall was difficult. Call in, go on hold, provided info from the service guy that doesn't seem accurate
• They refused to give me a loaner. Tesla's policy is no one can reserve a loaner and loaners are only provided for things that take longer than 3 days. They instead give you a $200 Uber credit (which does not cover tips to the driver!).
• When I got the car back, they hadn't washed it. WTF - even my wife's Honda dealer washes her car. Not cool
• Also, when I got the car back, all of my settings were lost and I had to set everything up again. They told me this would not happen.
• Additionally could not connect to WiFi but a reset of the screen fixed the issue

So overall, while Tesla does do some things very well, they are far from perfect. Some other issues with the car include homelink being very flaky (it really shouldn't be a soft key on a screen, it should be a physical button IMO), door handles not presenting, car taking a long time to power up occasionally with no reason etc.

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[manitou202]

Not all Porsche dealers are the same, but here was my recent experience having the software updated on my Taycan.

• Called the service department to schedule the appointment - 5 minutes
• Dropped my car off at 7am - 5 minutes
• Drove away in a clean Taycan loaner - 5 minutes
• Received a daily text message on the status of the software update
• Picked up my car which was fully charged and detailed - 10 minutes

 

[Henke]

Not all Porsche dealers are the same, but here was my recent experience having the software updated on my Taycan.

• Called the service department to schedule the appointment - 5 minutes
• Dropped my car off at 7am - 5 minutes
• Drove away in a clean Taycan loaner - 5 minutes
• Received a daily text message on the status of the software update
• Picked up my car which was fully charged and detailed - 10 minutes

Oh yeah. They have a bunch of super chargers on site and I have free supercharging for life. All they had to do was park it at a supercharger for me and they didn’t. I spent 25 mins after picking up the car charging it up

 

[Gambler]

So i read complaints about the Porsche service dept, PCM. etc and wanted to make some observations regarding a recent Tesla service appt.

• Tesla likes to do everything through the app which is convenient but also annoying. Sometimes you just want to talk to someone and they make it difficult
• My car was booked in for a recall to fix their Model S eMMC issue. This is the first time I had to go into the dealer in 3 years. The other two services I had were done at home (first was a warranty repair for the trunk not opening or closing and second was a standard service)
• Getting info prior to the recall was difficult. Call in, go on hold, provided info from the service guy that doesn't seem accurate
• They refused to give me a loaner. Tesla's policy is no one can reserve a loaner and loaners are only provided for things that take longer than 3 days. They instead give you a $200 Uber credit (which does not cover tips to the driver!).
• When I got the car back, they hadn't washed it. WTF - even my wife's Honda dealer washes her car. Not cool
• Also, when I got the car back, all of my settings were lost and I had to set everything up again. They told me this would not happen.
• Additionally could not connect to WiFi but a reset of the screen fixed the issue

So overall, while Tesla does do some things very well, they are far from perfect. Some other issues with the car include homelink being very flaky (it really shouldn't be a soft key on a screen, it should be a physical button IMO), door handles not presenting, car taking a long time to power up occasionally with no reason etc.

I honestly hate TSLA and this car never attracts me for some reason. The anterior is ugly looking and the ride is garbage.

 

[Henke]

I honestly hate TSLA and this car never attracts me for some reason. The anterior is ugly looking and the ride is garbage.

I guess that wasn’t my point. It was more about how the experience with their service in several ways was kind of poor and certainly a lot worse than when the model S came out a few years ago.

 

[Reg]

what tesla does very well is their social media maketibg they do a prolific job polluting sites like this one with “but let me tell you about something tesla does well” in response to someone asking something specific like how to set charging profiles. lol.

 

[Henke]

what tesla does very well is their social media maketibg they do a prolific job polluting sites like this one with “but let me tell you about something tesla does well” in response to someone asking something specific like how to set charging profiles. lol.

Honestly have no time for fanboys or fangirls of any brand. We all have our biases but let’s try and be fair and objective wherever possible. The Elon Musk/Tesla fans are some of the biggest pains in the ass.

I’m switching to a Taycan for a reason. I’ve always loved the German car experience and the Taycan seems to take it to another level. But, as I said being honest, I have enjoyed several things with the Tesla. Flawless charging, near flawless software updates, tremendous acceleration, meaningful updates to the software and minimal servicing required. Really cool acceleration. I wouldn’t call that polluting, just an honest view.

But at the end of the day it’s not a luxury car and it is a fairly average drive for the money.

 

[feye]

I honestly hate TSLA and this car never attracts me for some reason. The anterior is ugly looking and the ride is garbage.

I don't hate. Maybe because our company driver handles all the service our MS90D needs. The rest you said is spot on!

 

[feye]

My car was booked in for a recall to fix their Model S eMMC issue.

Lucky you! Our driver picked up the car to get this recall done, but failed. Parts missing, too busy, I don't know. A few weeks later he went again. Then last weekend door handle broke...

 

[Torv]

So i read complaints about the Porsche service dept, PCM. etc and wanted to make some observations regarding a recent Tesla service appt.

• Tesla likes to do everything through the app which is convenient but also annoying. Sometimes you just want to talk to someone and they make it difficult
• My car was booked in for a recall to fix their Model S eMMC issue. This is the first time I had to go into the dealer in 3 years. The other two services I had were done at home (first was a warranty repair for the trunk not opening or closing and second was a standard service)
• Getting info prior to the recall was difficult. Call in, go on hold, provided info from the service guy that doesn't seem accurate
• They refused to give me a loaner. Tesla's policy is no one can reserve a loaner and loaners are only provided for things that take longer than 3 days. They instead give you a $200 Uber credit (which does not cover tips to the driver!).
• When I got the car back, they hadn't washed it. WTF - even my wife's Honda dealer washes her car. Not cool
• Also, when I got the car back, all of my settings were lost and I had to set everything up again. They told me this would not happen.
• Additionally could not connect to WiFi but a reset of the screen fixed the issue

So overall, while Tesla does do some things very well, they are far from perfect. Some other issues with the car include homelink being very flaky (it really shouldn't be a soft key on a screen, it should be a physical button IMO), door handles not presenting, car taking a long time to power up occasionally with no reason etc.

Your experience mirrors mine exactly for my 2015 Model S 85D and was one of the reasons I tired of the brand. The kicker for me though came when after ordering a Model Y I was planning to trade-in my S and Tesla offered an absurdly low price of $21K for my flawless, like new Model S which cost $103K new. I completely lost it, canceled the Y, ordered my Taycan and sold my S for $44K when my Taycan delivered 8 months later. By the way, my Porsche dealer offered me $35K in trade. So yes, Tesla sucks at every level.

 

[Henke]

Your experience mirrors mine exactly for my 2015 Model S 85D and was one of the reasons I tired of the brand. The kicker for me though came when after ordering a Model Y I was planning to trade-in my S and Tesla offered an absurdly low price of $21K for my flawless, like new Model S which cost $103K new. I completely lost it, canceled the Y, ordered my Taycan and sold my S for $44K when my Taycan delivered 8 months later. By the way, my Porsche dealer offered me $35K in trade. So yes, Tesla sucks at every level.

Out of interest how did you go about selling your car? Mine is a 2017 in good shape with under 30k miles. I’ve been offered 44k trade in by the dealer which is around what KBB says for a trade of a very good condition vehicle. Last 3 cars I’ve sold to family so it’s been hassle free.

 

[Torv]

Out of interest how did you go about selling your car? Mine is a 2017 in good shape with under 30k miles. I’ve been offered 44k trade in by the dealer which is around what KBB says for a trade of a very good condition vehicle. Last 3 cars I’ve sold to family so it’s been hassle free.

I'm sold my Tesla to my sister, but a lot of friends and acquaintances also wanted the car. Like I said, it was super clean, virtually indistinguishable from new. You'll have no problem selling yours. I wouldn't be surprised if you got $50K+ for it.

 

[Henke]

I'm sold my Tesla to my sister, but a lot of friends and acquaintances also wanted the car. Like I said, it was super clean, virtually indistinguishable from new. You'll have no problem selling yours. I wouldn't be surprised if you got $50K+ for it.

I will give it a try. I’ve had good luck selling cars to friends/family in the past. The difference this time is I’m not telling anyone I’m getting the Porsche, keeping it as a surprise so it will be harder to spread the word. Plus the previous cars I sold for 5-20k, a lot of people don’t want to spend 50k cash on a car

But I think the Tesla will be fairly popular so I think you’re right, I should get a decent price. It’s a 75D with low miles, autopilot, premium package, powder coated wheels, clear bra and ceramic. A couple of minor scratches but other than that in great condition. Not sure what happens to the free supercharging when I transfer ownership, I suspect that goes away.

 

[Torv]

I will give it a try. I’ve had good luck selling cars to friends/family in the past. The difference this time is I’m not telling anyone I’m getting the Porsche, keeping it as a surprise so it will be harder to spread the word. Plus the previous cars I sold for 5-20k, a lot of people don’t want to spend 50k cash on a car

But I think the Tesla will be fairly popular so I think you’re right, I should get a decent price. It’s a 75D with low miles, autopilot, premium package, powder coated wheels, clear bra and ceramic. A couple of minor scratches but other than that in great condition. Not sure what happens to the free supercharging when I transfer ownership, I suspect that goes away.

The free Supercharging goes away upon sale. A friend of mine had the same year car as yours and sold it to a friend of his telling him about free Supercharging. Much to both my friend and the guy he sold the car to surprise, free Supercharging for that specific year car is non-transferable. Yet another Tesla screw over. The moving target that is Tesla is pure bullshit.

 

[chrisk]

The free Supercharging goes away upon sale. A friend of mine had the same year car as yours and sold it to a friend of his telling him about free Supercharging. Much to both my friend and the guy he sold the car to surprise, free Supercharging for that specific year car is non-transferable. Yet another Tesla screw over. The moving target that is Tesla is pure bullshit.

I don't think that non-transferable free Supercharging is a screw up. The companies give incentives to people to buy their cars. Those incentives are no longer applicable to second owner.
BMW also made their free 3-year service non-transferable.
Btw, it is unclear if the free 3 year charging that comes with the Taycan is transferable either.

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