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No Extended Warranty in WA?

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While I am waiting for my car I am starting to think about services. I met an MS owner here in WA that said you can't purchase the extended Warranty in the state. Is that true? Is that worrisome? Do we think there will be an option in < 4 years that lets us do so?
 
Florida law does not allow us to get it also but that hasn't stopped the S ownership from growing. FL equates extended warranties with insurance and requires the company to have a license to sell insurance. Nothing to do with options from Tesla.
 
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I met an MS owner here in WA that said you can't purchase the extended Warranty in the state. Is that true? Is that worrisome? Do we think there will be an option in < 4 years that lets us do so?
Yes, it's true.

Yes (to me) it's worrisome -- not because I think Tesla vehicles need it, but I like to protect myself from the unknown sometimes.

I hope so.
 
it's very unfortunate that Tesla has not given any updates on this. an extended warranty is critical for peace of mind with new technology, IMHO. It's totally legal here in the state, there is no good reason they aren't offering it as far as I can tell.
 
it's very unfortunate that Tesla has not given any updates on this. an extended warranty is critical for peace of mind with new technology, IMHO. It's totally legal here in the state, there is no good reason they aren't offering it as far as I can tell.
My recollection is/was that it's something about OEMs not being able to sell extended warranties. It's a fuzzy recollection but my mind thought "oh, another dealer shenanigans type thing" back when.
 
Except that we're likely already screwed on the price increase.

Yeah, probably. I did ask the Tesla rep I talked to back in July when they announced the warranty price hike if they could consider offering the WA one at the old price for a short while when it finally materialized. She said that was a reasonable request and she'd pass it on, but I'm not holding my breath over that. At least us pre-July folks benefited from missing many other price hikes since.
 
I did ask the Tesla rep I talked to back in July when they announced the warranty price hike if they could consider offering the WA one at the old price for a short while when it finally materialized. She said that was a reasonable request and she'd pass it on, but I'm not holding my breath over that.
I made the same request via email months ago, partly to make Tesla aware and partly to have a record of the request prior to the increase.
 
Someone at the Seattle service center told me months ago that the Legislature has to make an exception or something, and that with the budget wrangling, they didn't get to it last session. I was also told that Tesla expected to make it available retroactively to all owners, once the legalities are settled. Time will tell. Maybe there is a legislator to target??
 
Someone at the Seattle service center told me months ago that the Legislature has to make an exception or something, and that with the budget wrangling, they didn't get to it last session. I was also told that Tesla expected to make it available retroactively to all owners, once the legalities are settled. Time will tell. Maybe there is a legislator to target??

Oh, nice, if it happens, but would be very cool!
 
Someone at the Seattle service center told me months ago that the Legislature has to make an exception or something, and that with the budget wrangling, they didn't get to it last session. I was also told that Tesla expected to make it available retroactively to all owners, once the legalities are settled. Time will tell. Maybe there is a legislator to target??

I don't think that's the issue. The extended warranty is considered a service contract, and Tesla Motors is considered a service contract provider, under chapter 48.110 RCW. In order to sell a service contract, the service contract provider must have a valid registration issued by the Washington State Insurance Commissioner (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=48.110.030). In addition, the service contract itself must be filed with and approved by the Commissioner (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=48.110.073). As far as I can tell, TM does have a valid and active registration as of April 24, 2013 (http://www.insurance.wa.gov/consumertoolkit/Company/CompanyProfile.aspx?WAOIC=500829#LicInfoIndex). But I found nothing indicating that TM had filed the service contract or that the service contract had been approved (I didn't look very hard, however). My guess is that they are in the process of filing and negotiating the language of the service contract, and that this is taking a while. Whether that is because TM is slow or the bureaucracy is slow, I can't say.
 
For months I've been monitoring this closely and can provide a little more detail. Tesla submitted the Extended Warranty Contract and it was approved in June. I obtained a copy. However, I've been in direct contact with TM and they won't acknowledge that an Extended Warranty will be offered.

I can only speculate as to why. I've dealt extensively with the WA Insurance Commissioner's office and can say they act very effectively as consumer advocates (good folks). TM may be a little concerned by their sincere involvement.

For comparison, I reviewed the process TM went through in CA. In CA, Tesla received a rubber-stamp approval that appears to be merely documentation of the submission. As I recall, the "approval" took a day or two.

I carefully read the Extended Warranty that TM submitted to WA. In my opinion, it could expose TM to lawsuits. In summary, it covers absolutely nothing (and appears to be written by an idiot). It says TM will fix things when it's convenient for TM, and TM can change the terms at any time without notice. What kind of warranty is that?!

More speculation: I suspect TM is searching for a national auto warranty provider to execute and administer the warranty. Because some parts of the car are so expensive to repair, I think TM may be having trouble finding a carrier that will agree to the $4000 price.

In my opinion, the price should be $2500 for owners who purchased a car prior to June. The price was raised before we were given an opportunity to purchase the warranty. That's not what was promised/documented when I agreed to purchase the car.
 
For months I've been monitoring this closely and can provide a little more detail. Tesla submitted the Extended Warranty Contract and it was approved in June. I obtained a copy. However, I've been in direct contact with TM and they won't acknowledge that an Extended Warranty will be offered.

I can only speculate as to why. I've dealt extensively with the WA Insurance Commissioner's office and can say they act very effectively as consumer advocates (good folks). TM may be a little concerned by their sincere involvement.

For comparison, I reviewed the process TM went through in CA. In CA, Tesla received a rubber-stamp approval that appears to be merely documentation of the submission. As I recall, the "approval" took a day or two.

I carefully read the Extended Warranty that TM submitted to WA. In my opinion, it could expose TM to lawsuits. In summary, it covers absolutely nothing (and appears to be written by an idiot). It says TM will fix things when it's convenient for TM, and TM can change the terms at any time without notice. What kind of warranty is that?!

More speculation: I suspect TM is searching for a national auto warranty provider to execute and administer the warranty. Because some parts of the car are so expensive to repair, I think TM may be having trouble finding a carrier that will agree to the $4000 price.

In my opinion, the price should be $2500 for owners who purchased a car prior to June. The price was raised before we were given an opportunity to purchase the warranty. That's not what was promised/documented when I agreed to purchase the car.

You have some interesting info about the warranty that I haven't heard anywhere else. I sent several emails to Tesla about wanting to buy the extended warranty and would purchase an extended warranty in an instant if they offered it at the original price. I did buy the prepaid maintenance, and then when details came out that it seemed to have little value, I asked for and got a refund. Since they continue to offer the extended warranty in most states, it's really weird that they don't offer in Washington. There must be something about the operating rules in our state.
 
For months I've been monitoring this closely and can provide a little more detail. Tesla submitted the Extended Warranty Contract and it was approved in June. I obtained a copy. However, I've been in direct contact with TM and they won't acknowledge that an Extended Warranty will be offered.

I can only speculate as to why. I've dealt extensively with the WA Insurance Commissioner's office and can say they act very effectively as consumer advocates (good folks). TM may be a little concerned by their sincere involvement.

For comparison, I reviewed the process TM went through in CA. In CA, Tesla received a rubber-stamp approval that appears to be merely documentation of the submission. As I recall, the "approval" took a day or two.

I carefully read the Extended Warranty that TM submitted to WA. In my opinion, it could expose TM to lawsuits. In summary, it covers absolutely nothing (and appears to be written by an idiot). It says TM will fix things when it's convenient for TM, and TM can change the terms at any time without notice. What kind of warranty is that?!

More speculation: I suspect TM is searching for a national auto warranty provider to execute and administer the warranty. Because some parts of the car are so expensive to repair, I think TM may be having trouble finding a carrier that will agree to the $4000 price.

In my opinion, the price should be $2500 for owners who purchased a car prior to June. The price was raised before we were given an opportunity to purchase the warranty. That's not what was promised/documented when I agreed to purchase the car.

Interesting. I called the WA Insurance Commissioner's office, but the guy I talked to could find no record that a service contract had been submitted (he suggested that I file a Public Records request to get access to the archives). How did you learn about the June approval and get access to the proposed Extended Warranty?

I agree with you that the Commissioner's office is an effective consumer advocate. If so, however, why did they approve such a poor warranty agreement? I looked at the warranty agreement sold in another state (I can't remember which), and I didn't think it was that bad -- not as good as the new vehicle warranty, but definitely something of value. Regarding a third-party service contract provider, I would be much less likely to buy an extended warranty that was not backed by TM.
 
Interesting. I called the WA Insurance Commissioner's office, but the guy I talked to could find no record that a service contract had been submitted (he suggested that I file a Public Records request to get access to the archives). How did you learn about the June approval and get access to the proposed Extended Warranty?

I agree with you that the Commissioner's office is an effective consumer advocate. If so, however, why did they approve such a poor warranty agreement? I looked at the warranty agreement sold in another state (I can't remember which), and I didn't think it was that bad -- not as good as the new vehicle warranty, but definitely something of value. Regarding a third-party service contract provider, I would be much less likely to buy an extended warranty that was not backed by TM.


I filed a Public Records request and obtained copies. If you file a request, ask for records regarding the Extended Warranty Contract. The Service Contract is currently sold in WA so that's not a concern.
 
Hey all,

I just wanted to bump this thread and see if anybody has any more information on this.

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One more thing, I contacted Tesla Ownership to see if they have an update on the status of the extended warranty in Washington State.