Today I was scheduled to pick up my new model Y. About an hour before my time slot, I receive a call from the dealer. They crashed my car into a wall while washing it. I said okay, get me an identical car and things are good. I know they have identical cars in the area because I was online just before I went to the dealer and saw several of them. BTW - all the identical cars on the website this morning in the area had different pricing on them and they were all higher than the price I was contracted to pay. Their response was that they could get me a car, but I would have to pay $4K more for the car. Keep in mind, the car they wanted to sell me after they crashed my car was identical in every way to the car I was contracted to purchase. Both cars were brand new, and both cars had just arrived at the dealership. They told me they couldn't give me the other car at the same price because the price is tied to the VIN. The person on the phone was apologetic and admitted that it seems crazy they couldn't just give me the other car at the same price. The Tesla rep said she would try to get with her manager to see what they could do. She did tell me that she probably couldn't get back to me until Monday. After spending the entire day driving to the dealership and back to my house (I live several hours from the dealership), I decided I no longer have much faith in how Tesla does business. I figured their employees are not empowered to make what should be obvious decisions to keep their customers happy. I decided to cancel my order and I sent in my text message asking to cancel it. The response back was that I could cancel it, but I wold lose my $250 deposit. I responded back with the story about my car being crashed. They responded back and said a company rep would be in contact with me.
The other thing that concerns me is how Tesla prices their identical cars. Before I settled on the car I was going to purchase today, I purchased the same car a week earlier. I was told I could pick up the car 3-7 days from the day I made the purchase. That day, I did all my paper work on the app and then received a message saying I could schedule the pick up of my new car. I went to schedule the appointment and the only day I was allowed to schedule the appointment was that very same day. I called Tesla and explained I couldn't get to the dealership where the car was located that day and that I was told, when I bought it, that I couldn't pick it up for several days. The day I bought it happened to be the last day of September. The Tesla phone rep told me if I didn't pick it up that day that I would lose my $250 deposit and I could no longer have that price. I told her to cancel the order and that I would fight to get my $250 back because it was deceptive to tell me I couldn't pick up the car for several days, then only several hours later tell me that I had to pick it up that day. The lady on the phone canceled the car and basically told me I could contact a manager to get my $250 back. About 5:30 the same evening, I received a call from the dealership and they said I could still do the deal and pick up the car later that week. I agreed to that. A couple days later, I go on the website and see 5 identical cars for up to $2500 less than what I was contracted to pay. All 5 identical cars had different pricing on them. I called Tesla and asked if they could give me the car I was contracted on at the lowest price they had on the website. They said yes, but I would have to switch dealerships and the VIN would also change. Okay, that seems weird, but I did it. This was the car they crashed today.
Is this stuff normal for Tesla?
What's their aftermarket service like?
If things are this weird now, what's going to happen if I have a warranty issue?
It sure makes me feel uneasy about doing business with them. I've never had a car buying experience like this before and it feels like I'm dealing with a budget used car lot and a salesman in a plaid suit.
The other thing that concerns me is how Tesla prices their identical cars. Before I settled on the car I was going to purchase today, I purchased the same car a week earlier. I was told I could pick up the car 3-7 days from the day I made the purchase. That day, I did all my paper work on the app and then received a message saying I could schedule the pick up of my new car. I went to schedule the appointment and the only day I was allowed to schedule the appointment was that very same day. I called Tesla and explained I couldn't get to the dealership where the car was located that day and that I was told, when I bought it, that I couldn't pick it up for several days. The day I bought it happened to be the last day of September. The Tesla phone rep told me if I didn't pick it up that day that I would lose my $250 deposit and I could no longer have that price. I told her to cancel the order and that I would fight to get my $250 back because it was deceptive to tell me I couldn't pick up the car for several days, then only several hours later tell me that I had to pick it up that day. The lady on the phone canceled the car and basically told me I could contact a manager to get my $250 back. About 5:30 the same evening, I received a call from the dealership and they said I could still do the deal and pick up the car later that week. I agreed to that. A couple days later, I go on the website and see 5 identical cars for up to $2500 less than what I was contracted to pay. All 5 identical cars had different pricing on them. I called Tesla and asked if they could give me the car I was contracted on at the lowest price they had on the website. They said yes, but I would have to switch dealerships and the VIN would also change. Okay, that seems weird, but I did it. This was the car they crashed today.
Is this stuff normal for Tesla?
What's their aftermarket service like?
If things are this weird now, what's going to happen if I have a warranty issue?
It sure makes me feel uneasy about doing business with them. I've never had a car buying experience like this before and it feels like I'm dealing with a budget used car lot and a salesman in a plaid suit.
