Question for people who are far from a service center.

Ganesha said:

I'm in the serious consideration stage and I live about 180 miles from the nearest service center. I was wondering how people who live this far out handed servicing. I've always gotten dealer service on the cars I've owned.

There is a supercharger along the route so getting there and back isn't an issue. I'm just looking for personal experiences here.

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I live a couple hundred miles away, and I've been in twice in 16,000 miles; once for the underbody shield (not your problem) and once for the free tire rotation. They gave me a MS loaner and I ran some errands until they called me, then I went home.

Ranger service for me in Alaska. I'm happy and so is my P85!

I presently live about 50 miles from a Service Center and for three years have been there three times for yearly Roadster service. I have about 34,000 miles on old #992. We are moving soon and will be over 100miles from a Service Center. I have no concerns at all. I have, knock on wood, had no unexpected service needs for the Roadster or MS85. All service visits have been met with a MS loaner and great service. That is the main reason my wife insisted that she have a Tesla of her own.

Over 1500 miles to the nearest service center here so, like jweinstein, it's Ranger Service or bust for me.

Fortunately, I have not needed them in the first few thousand miles of driving. However, they are supposed to be sending one by (to check on a few minor things, perform TSBs, etc) the next time they have one in the area.

So far, so good, but it's definitely riskier living far away. 180 miles w/Supercharger access is nothing, IMO.

Can't you still get unlimited Ranger visits?

I live in Bozeman, Montana so my closest Service Centers are in Seattle, 677 miles away and Denver 694 miles away. Tesla has been awesome. They emailed me 6 months after receiving my Model S85. They said they pulled some data off my car and said they would like to replace my Steering Cluster Monitor and also to put on my Titanium Sheild. A ranger arrived at exactly 10:00 Tuesday morning from Denver and in less than 2 hours had the repairs done in my driveway while I watched. He warned me that it might be hard to watch him take my baby apart, but it was great and very educational. Then he tested my panoramic roof and told me that it was sliding with to much resistance so he would advise that it be replaced. The Seattle Service center took care of this by mailing all the parts to Bozeman, Flew a Technician to Bozeman, They made arrangements with a local body shop of my choosing and used one of their bays to replace my panoramic roof.
I could feel neglected way out here in Montana with no Service Center however instead Tesla makes me feel special and they do everything possible to get me any service I need so far. Just before Thanksgiving I needed service and Tesla drove a tech out to Bozeman from Spokane, Wa and he then trailered my car to Seattle. Got it fixed and they put it on an enclosed truck and had a 3rd party deliver my car to my office. I did have a rental from Enterprise for that one and Tesla covered the $800 expense. While no car is perfect and needs some service every now and again, Tesla sure has done all they can for me, and even gave me a Tesla lambs wool blanket as a little gift. I could not be happier with my purchase and the Service so far.

I'm really close to pulling the trigger on the Model S, distance from a service center is one of my concerns. I'm about 1,700+ km (1,100 ish miles) away from the closest one. I'm also 700km or so from the nearest Supercharger.

Somewhat related, does Tesla do annual service procedures via a Ranger visit?

InternetDude said:

I'm really close to pulling the trigger on the Model S, distance from a service center is one of my concerns. I'm about 1,700+ km (1,100 ish miles) away from the closest one. I'm also 700km or so from the nearest Supercharger.

Somewhat related, does Tesla do annual service procedures via a Ranger visit?

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In short, yes. There are somewhere between 6–10 Teslas in Alaska, and a ranger comes here several times a year from Seattle to do repairs and annual service visits. Their communication, attitude, and approach have been excellent.

-Josh

Al Sherman said:

Can't you still get unlimited Ranger visits?

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Yes but, due to the expense involved with sending someone up here (I'm too far from anywhere else to allow them to feasibly hit more than one customer), the time between visits would probably be pretty significant.

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jweinstein said:

In short, yes. There are somewhere between 6–10 Teslas in Alaska, and a ranger comes here several times a year from Seattle to do repairs and annual service visits. Their communication, attitude, and approach have been excellent.

-Josh

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@InternetDude I know this is contrary to what I told you. Tesla may have different policies for different regions, but I could have sworn I heard that there were parts of a service visit which cannot be performed by Ranger. Maybe I'm just mistaken.

I'm 350 miles from the nearest service center. I had a problem with a door handle. Ranger server drop shipped the parts they expected to need, a new 12v battery (based on telemetry that suggested I needed a new one), the titanium shield , and all their tools to FedEx. The Ranger flew in on Southwest Airlines, rented a car, and drove to my house, arriving 5 minutes early. I didn't stick around to watch him do the work in my garage. My wife reported he was there 3 - 4 hours. He left a note saying what he had found and done. Everything was flawless when I got back.

If you live far away from a service center, this is definitely the way to go.

When I first got my Roadster I was 400+ mi from the nearest service center. Most of my service was performed with Rangers and they did an excellent job. One time on a Saturday I had a problem. The next day (Sunday) Tesla showed up with an enclosed trailer and brought the car 400 mi back to service because it couldn't be repaired by a Ranger.

Now they have a service center 160 mi away and Rangers still perform most everything (what little there is). I wouldn't worry about the distance.

reddy said:

I'm 350 miles from the nearest service center. I had a problem with a door handle. Ranger server drop shipped the parts they expected to need, a new 12v battery (based on telemetry that suggested I needed a new one), the titanium shield , and all their tools to FedEx. The Ranger flew in on Southwest Airlines, rented a car, and drove to my house, arriving 5 minutes early. I didn't stick around to watch him do the work in my garage. My wife reported he was there 3 - 4 hours. He left a note saying what he had found and done. Everything was flawless when I got back.

If you live far away from a service center, this is definitely the way to go.

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This closely mirrored the experience I had when a charging unit died in Halifax (750 miles from nearest service center). They diagnosed the problem remotely, shipped the parts to Halifax, Ranger picked them up and drove out in a rental car. 4 hours later I was back on the road.

Only thing I could have had an issue with was the requirement of a covered, dry worksite for the Ranger. Being away from home like I was, this could have been challenging to find (Tesla offered no help in tracking one down). Fortunately, I was staying with a friend who had a garage I could use.

Mayhemm said:

@InternetDude I know this is contrary to what I told you. Tesla may have different policies for different regions, but I could have sworn I heard that there were parts of a service visit which cannot be performed by Ranger. Maybe I'm just mistaken.

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The only limitation I am aware of is the inability for rangers to perform an alignment. One time, I needed some type of wiring harness replaced, and Tesla arranged for the ranger to use a local Midas shop to get the vehicle off the ground.