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VINs assigned way too early

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I've ordered on October 1, 2015 for earliest delivery in 2016. Well, Tesla doesn't care, since production hasn't started yet. And delivery estimate changed 5 times already. It's "Late February - March" now, same as for all new reservation, even though I've ordered 4 months ago. In addition to that, what worries me, is that my VIN 120,682 was assigned 40 days ago, on December 13! It's a 40-days-old car already! Why would they do that?

I know about "reaching-delivery-goals-for-the-year" issues, and "ramp-up-Model-X" issues, but so far I have horrible experience with Tesla...

PS: I love what they are doing, I love the car, and I respect Elon, but it's not OK to treat some customers like that.
 
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How are you equating a VIN assignment, to the car actually physically existing? I'm not sure how something can be over a month old if it hasn't been built yet... Although I do feel for you regarding the lengthy wait, that's really crappy.
 
How are you equating a VIN assignment, to the car actually physically existing? I'm not sure how something can be over a month old if it hasn't been built yet... Although I do feel for you regarding the lengthy wait, that's really crappy.

VIN, to some extend, defines value of the car. So on paper my car is older then those (already produced cars), for example:

120,688
120,729 (US)
121,092
121,326 (US)
121,425
121,501
121,694
122,114 (US)
122,714
122,857 (US)
123,094
123,178
123,597
124,857

PS: data from Model S Order Delivery - Google Sheets

Tesla doesn't care what your VIN number is, and neither should you. Of all the things to complain about, this has to be the most trivial. What's going to happen when you actually receive the car?

Yes, it doesn't worry me as much as long wait, but it's unfair that 120k VIN and 125k VIN may be delivered to east coast at about the same time. So why would I get older? It's ridiculous.
 
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VIN, to some extend, defines value of the car. So on paper my car is older then those (already produced cars), for example:

120,688
120,729
121,092
121,326
121,425
121,501
121,694
122,114
122,714
122,857
123,094
123,178
123,597
124,857

PS: data from Model S Order Delivery - Google Sheets
That's ridiculous. VINs a few thousand apart would have no effect on the value of the car, unless there was a hardware change in that time period. Anyway did you buy the car to drive it or resell it?
 
That's ridiculous. VINs a few thousand apart would have no effect on the value of the car, unless there was a hardware change in that time period. Anyway did you buy the car to drive it or resell it?

I will drive it daily for about 3-4 years, and then I will sell it. But it's not the point. Why would they assign in advance, instead of during actual process of producing the car?

And here is another question - if new hardware something is introduced now, would I get it? Or only vehicles after certain VIN, so mine would be skipped?
 
I will drive it daily for about 3-4 years, and then I will sell it. But it's not the point. Why would they assign in advance, instead of during actual process of producing the car?

And here is another question - if new hardware something is introduced now, would I get it? Or only vehicles after certain VIN, so mine would be skipped?

I think they (TESLA) transition from the reservation number to the VIN number and I suspect the VIN number is one of the key data elements which organize and track your ordered configuration.
The VIN carries on into the world of Tesla service and service tracking and analysis.... I bet Tesla maintains a Bill of Materials associated with your VIN, and your VIN explodes with others to create
purchase orders and material movement orders and eventually the bill order for your car.
 
I thought Tesla prioritized US deliveries in Q4 (especially in the latter half), and just about emptied US demand? hm

Two things I worry about too much about are the X ramp and overall demand, although I think the X will sell itself just fine once word spreads. Two things I'm really not at all worried about are the Model 3 reveal and becoming free cash flow positive. FCF+ in my opinion will be a close call in Q1, but in my mind almost a certainty in Q2. I'm pretty sure this market correction stays a correction.
 
I've ordered on October 1, 2015 for earliest delivery in 2016. Well, Tesla doesn't care, since production hasn't started yet. And delivery estimate changed 5 times already. It's "Late February - March" now, same as for all new reservation, even though I've ordered 4 months ago. In addition to that, what worries me, is that my VIN 120,682 was assigned 40 days ago, on December 13! It's a 40-days-old car already! Why would they do that?

I know about "reaching-delivery-goals-for-the-year" issues, and "ramp-up-Model-X" issues, but so far I have horrible experience with Tesla...

PS: I love what they are doing, I love the car, and I respect Elon, but it's not OK to treat some customers like that.


The car production date is printed in Month/Year format on the Monroney Sticker (the window sticker with all the details). That is the production date and that is the "age of the car". Vin # is not important unless you really want "the highest Vin #" and really care so much about that.

Tesla has given Vin #s out as much as 3+ months in advance of production. This is nothing new. Your best bet is to order in late January for late March delivery to get the "best" Vin # for a US delivery.

Tesla has to constaintly show vin # growth as it indicates company growth and giving out Vin #s early is apparently part of that. Other car companies assign a Vin # when the car body enters the painting process or close to that.

In 3-4 years, it will be valued at about half the sticker price of today. The Vin # specifics will matter very little.
 
OP: I gotta tell you - if this bothers you, Tesla ownership may give you a heart attack from all the stress. If you kind of go with the flow you will likely end up enjoying the ownership experience a lot more. It has it's own idiosyncratic oddities but they aren't worth stressing about. The fun of the car will outweigh all the other stuff - but it's hard in your position because you don't have the car yet. Once you do it will all be cool.
 
I've ordered on October 1, 2015 for earliest delivery in 2016. Well, Tesla doesn't care, since production hasn't started yet. And delivery estimate changed 5 times already. It's "Late February - March" now, same as for all new reservation, even though I've ordered 4 months ago. In addition to that, what worries me, is that my VIN 120,682 was assigned 40 days ago, on December 13! It's a 40-days-old car already! Why would they do that?

I know about "reaching-delivery-goals-for-the-year" issues, and "ramp-up-Model-X" issues, but so far I have horrible experience with Tesla...

PS: I love what they are doing, I love the car, and I respect Elon, but it's not OK to treat some customers like that.

Vitaliy -- Do you have your full VIN assigned already?

If so, what is the 10th digit - F or G?

- - - Updated - - -

OP: I gotta tell you - if this bothers you, Tesla ownership may give you a heart attack from all the stress.

I have to agree with this. If a lower VIN by 5000 bothers you this much, the Model S isn't the car for you. Your head is going to explode with all the other idiosyncrasies that is Tesla Motors and the Model S.
 
Ah, vitaliy is my Tesla purgatory buddy! It's funny, we both have cars destined for the SC in D.C. and both ordered in October for Jan deliveries. But we won't see our cars until March at the earliest as just about every car on the spreadsheet and ordered after ours gets built first.

:eek:

I've figured out the magic code for Tesla to build your car and to get out of purgatory! Order the car, wait for three months, cancel the order, order it again and it get's built right away! Obviously ordering the car in October for a January delivery is way too complicated for the mouth breathers at the Tesla factory.
 
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Thanks all, I feeling better about my VIN now.

*********GF120682
10 is G, 11 is F

Well, you're in luck then that you're getting a 2016 model year Model S ("G") and not a 2015 ("F"), even though the VIN was assigned well before 2016. And that's really the only thing that should concern you with the VIN, and even then, it's a pretty small concern since the car itself doesn't really change over the model year designation like conventional car makers do. But down the road resale value might be somewhat affected with a 2015 vs 2016 MY.

The 11th digit F just means it was made in Fremont.

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/7638-Decoding-Tesla-Model-S-VINs
 
I ordered my car end of September, 2014, changed it 85D Oct 2014, took delivery March 2015. Was it a long wait? Yeah, but the more you stress about it, the longer it takes. Once you get your car, it won't matter how long it took to get there anymore. I'd do it all over again.
 
I understand your concern, but I did have to chuckle. I ordered my Ford and then promptly waited 149 days until delivery. I figured if I was spending this much money (ha, compared to the 2.5x of this car) I wanted to get exactly what I wanted. THEIR customer service really sucks as far as giving you ANY info until the dealer calls. Luckily for me I had and inside line and was able to get factory updates and even the train car# so I could track 'her' from Mexico, AZ, NM, and through to Texas.

I wonder if the delivery charge is less if you pick up the car in Fremont...
 
Well, you're in luck then that you're getting a 2016 model year Model S ("G") and not a 2015 ("F"), even though the VIN was assigned well before 2016. And that's really the only thing that should concern you with the VIN, and even then, it's a pretty small concern since the car itself doesn't really change over the model year designation like conventional car makers do. But down the road resale value might be somewhat affected with a 2015 vs 2016 MY.

A person who truly understood how things worked wouldn't care if it's a 2015 or a 2016 if all features are identical. That's especially true if the 2015 had less mileage and less wear and tear. But the reality is that most people won't understand, and even those who do might be concerned with the resale value of their car. If I wanted to sell my car, I could tell people it's a 2014, but that would be misleading. I could say that it's a Model S with all 2015 features, that Tesla introduced it (i.e. added autopilot) at a time when other manufacturers were selling 2015 cars, and that my car is just as new as anybody else's 2015. I could even say that it's marginally different from 2016s at most. But I'd have to call it a 2014 simply because Tesla chose to do so. They could have just as easily called it a 2015 and the choice was entirely arbitrary.
 
But even still, actual age does matter. The actual age difference between a 2015 Model S and a 2016 Model S could be as much as two years.

There's nothing magical about these cars versus other cars -- they still experience wear and tear just like any other, and two years less wear and tear could make a big difference. Sure, as new cars, there are very minor differences between model years, but that doesn't automatically make them immune to time and road use.

Model year still does matter. Maybe not as much because Tesla doesn't use it to introduce new features or changes, but that doesn't mean it's meaningless either just because two cars are essentially and otherwise "identical".