How long will Tesla's current retail model be feasible?

[daniel]

I'm sorry to hear all the unpleasant experiences people have had with dealers. I've never paid over MSRP for a car. I've never had a dealer do unsatisfactory repair work, and I've had all service and repair done by dealerships. I've had salesmen treat me badly, and I just walked away and never went back. Obviously, there will be inconsistency, and I can see how people with a Tesla service center nearby would prefer that. I'd prefer that too, if there was one. I'm hoping that with or soon after the release of the S they'll open one here. Or at the latest, with the release of Bluestar. It's a better model, but only if you have coverage. I'd drive a couple of hours to a service center. But not more.

[smoothoperator]

I'd drive a couple of hours to a service center. But not more.

Are you not a fan of the Ranger service? The Rangers exist is so they do not have to open a bunch of service centers.

[stopcrazypp]

Are you not a fan of the Ranger service? The Rangers exist is so they do not have to open a bunch of service centers.

I think the biggest opposition to the Ranger service is the cost. If the service center was an available option, I think most people would pick that instead given that consideration.

[jerry33]

I meant nationally (although I think dealership experience can vary in locally; I'm in the Bay Area, so I'm within the proximity of many different cities with extremely different personalities). With the dealer model, it can help to shop around different dealers

Based on forum comments in various car groups, I'd say good dealer experiences are rare exceptions. If you're very lucky you live near one of those exceptions. As far as I'm concerned the dealer model is a failure and needs to be done away with.

[jerry33]

I think the biggest opposition to the Ranger service is the cost. If the service center was an available option, I think most people would pick that instead given that consideration.

I think so too.

[smoothoperator]

I think the biggest opposition to the Ranger service is the cost. If the service center was an available option, I think most people would pick that instead given that consideration.

I really think Tesla should include maintenance for the duration of the warranty period in the purchase price (at least for the 85 kwh models?)....At the very least they should give people the option to pre-pay for maintenance. Tesla has touted electric vehicles as being cheaper to maintain than ICE cars but if the Model S and future models require yearly maintenance, it would be hard for Tesla to corroborate this assertion. Even Fisker "includes" maintenance for the duration of the warranty.

Do you think people who have to use the ranger service, would be more apt to accept the ranger mileage fee if the actual service was free?

[dsm363]

Do you think people who have to use the ranger service, would be more apt to accept the ranger mileage fee if the actual service was free?

I think so. If it's included in the price, then it 'disappears' once you make the purchase. It really should be included as long as the car is under basic 4 year warranty. They may not have factored the service price into all the models or at least the 40 kWh model and still protect the margins they're looking for.

[AnOutsider]

We haven't gotten warranty info yet, but it would be cool if they did something similar to Audi care where your services are 100% covered for a period (or mileage)

[jerry33]

The VW I had cost 22 cents per mile for dealer maintenance over the 95,000 miles I kept it--and that was with the first three year bumper to bumper. I can understand why Audi (part of VW) needs to do this. I'm really hoping that the Model S will be far less expensive than the POS VW.

[daniel]

Are you not a fan of the Ranger service? The Rangers exist is so they do not have to open a bunch of service centers.

I'm not a fan of having to pay $600 and schedule a month ahead for any non-warranty service. I see Ranger service as the best way to deal with buying a unique car from a distant store. I'm not complaining because I knew up front this was a price I'd have to pay if I wanted this car.

But I accepted it only after the electric Porsche conversion flopped, and after Nissan spent six months figuratively spitting in my face over my Leaf order. I only considered the Tesla after I had waited six months for the Leaf, and no car in sight, and I could not get any information about them other than promises, broken time after time, and I finally got so angry at Nissan that I swore an oath that I'd never buy a car from them.

Only after that did I accept, reluctantly, a service model that would cost me $600 per non-warranty visit, and likely long waits to schedule service.

As for including maintenance and ranger fees in the price of the car, that will not fool anyone who can count, though admittedly there are many Americans who cannot.

So I'm not complaining. I'm just saying they won't sell Bluestar in Spokane without a local service center, or at least a ranger stationed here, and they will sell far fewer Model S cars here without a service center than they would with one. People will not buy a $30,000 car if they know they'll have to pay over a thousand dollars every year in required maintenance and $600 for any non-warranty service call, plus shop time. The Roadster is a unique car. There's literally nothing else like it. The Model S is a very special car that stands out. The Bluestar will compete directly with the Leaf, even if there is a performance version, and people will choose the Leaf (which by all accounts is an excellent car) if Tesla keeps the present service model and does not have local service.

Maybe their attitude is that they cannot meet the demand for cars nation-wide, so they don't care if they lose Spokane and similar-sized cities. That's a legitimate attitude. They'll remain a niche car maker, while Nissan and Mitsubishi and Ford become the principal suppliers of electric cars. Or maybe they're just going to expand slowly and wait for the public charging network to reach places like Spokane before opening a store and service center here. I hope they do that soon.