Out of warranty concerns about Tesla

[ChadS]

1. No extended warranty for CPOs
2. High per issue warranty deductible/copay per issue
3. No option to DIY most things
4. History of "replace a single big component" to solve drive-train related problems

I agree with the first three; but as noted up-thread, even if they replace a whole enchilada to repair something out of warranty, they only charge you for the piece you needed.

I've had an out-of-warranty Tesla Roadster for three years now; and my Model S will cross 50k miles next week. Extended warranties are not sold in my state. I fully agree Tesla can and should do more to comfort owners on this issue; but I feel the angst level in this thread is a little high. As somebody living through a potentially scary scenario, it's really not that bad. Of course, in my case #3 doesn't matter because I'm not a DIY guy so I'd be paying somebody else in any event; I can see how a normal DIY person would be more concerned than I am.

 

[MsElectric]

Actually many who buy a Model S come from more pedestrian vehicles than Mercedes..., not such as Mercedes...

I know... I was being a bit facetious to make a point For those who come from non premium vehicles with far fewer service and maintenance expenses, the issues I have raised would be even more significant.

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I agree with the first three; but as noted up-thread, even if they replace a whole enchilada to repair something out of warranty, they only charge you for the piece you needed.

Doesn't seem to be what they did with Yogi where they wanted to charge almost $1,000 to replace a part that a couple of well-known and respected forum members thought could be done in about an hour. These issues will keep coming up where repair bills are questioned and the only solution is a reasonable warranty program:

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...shings-on-rear-suspension-upper-control-links

 

[cab]

I agree with the first three; but as noted up-thread, even if they replace a whole enchilada to repair something out of warranty, they only charge you for the piece you needed.

I've had an out-of-warranty Tesla Roadster for three years now; and my Model S will cross 50k miles next week. Extended warranties are not sold in my state. I fully agree Tesla can and should do more to comfort owners on this issue; but I feel the angst level in this thread is a little high. As somebody living through a potentially scary scenario, it's really not that bad. Of course, in my case #3 doesn't matter because I'm not a DIY guy so I'd be paying somebody else in any event; I can see how a normal DIY person would be more concerned than I am.

Chad - I hear you and agree there is a little "the end is nigh, the end is nigh!" in the thread (I guess typical of forums), but it's not like I can head on down to Pep Boys, Autozone or any other auto parts store chain and pick up parts for a Tesla. I actually just checked Rockauto.com and basically going back to the roadster in 2008, all that is available are brake pads, wipers and light bulbs! Alternatively, I would normally head to a dealer's parts department or find a dealer online who wholesales parts and get any part I needed (emblem, sensor, fender, wiper motor, door handle, timing chain....whatever!). None of that seems to even be available for purchase from Tesla much less the aftermarket. It is a bit like owning an exotic from that perspective. In turn it makes it difficult to tell if Tesla is going to offer up individual repair parts for whatever pieces they are "fixing" in drive units (as an example). For all we know they may elect to sell only the entire drive unit with the old one turned in as a "core"...I cringe a bit as I imagine what the price might be. The short term alternative is an extended warranty which, in fairness, MIGHT be able to be purchased form the aftermarket, but those are risky on a number of levels (and I suspect most of the suppliers won't be interested in providing one for a Tesla just yet).

Now admittedly, Tesla might have plans to do all of this, but as a neophyte car company they are really just trying to survive I suppose and like any company have to prioritize certain items over others. Honestly, this is the kind of stuff that could seriously injure Tesla or minimally slow their growth much more than anyone thinks. At some point, every "big" company becomes a "big" company with big company problems. It's hard out there.

 

[sorka]

The bottom line is that the Model S is an expensive premium car and it will likely have very expensive repairs just like any other high end car.

But not every high end car requires expensive repairs. I've never had an expensive repair or any repair on any Lexus I've ever owned. My current Lexus was $65K new and I expect it to go over 300K miles like my last Lexus did without any problems.

I find it difficult to believe that Tesla would deny warranty coverage on say the 17" display unless there was required maintenance that you did perform. Extended warranties whether offered by the manufacturer or a third party still spell out what maintenance is required in mileage and or time intervals.

If Tesla really wrote the ESA to mean that the entire warranty is voided because you didn't do the $600 inspection every 12500 miles, I can't imagine there aren't consumer laws that would say no no to that. Now if a suspension component goes out because you they *would* have inspected it and would have done some minor preventative maintenance to prevent a more catastrophic failure later on, I could see that holding water.

But the first time someone with an ESA is denied warranty coverage for a part that doesn't require maintenance because they didn't do the $600 inspection every 12.5K miles, that's going to hit the press big time. I can imagine the field day CR has with that one. CR already warned that Tesla is right on the edge of being kicked off the recommended list because of the owner surveys.

So maybe the ESA was written that way and if so, it's a bad contract, but I seriously doubt Tesla is just going to void the entire ESA because you didn't give them $2400 previously for inspections.

I plan to change the battery coolant every 4 years and the brake fluid when the moisture exceeds 1% or the copper level exceeds 200 ppm.

 

[apacheguy]

I agree with the first three; but as noted up-thread, even if they replace a whole enchilada to repair something out of warranty, they only charge you for the piece you needed.

Wait, really? So if the Bluetooth turns sour and Tesla replaces the entire MCU, then they only bill be for labor + a new Bluetooth module. That's news to me and great if it's true.

 

[MsElectric]

But not every high end car requires expensive repairs. I've never had an expensive repair or any repair on any Lexus I've ever owned. My current Lexus was $65K new and I expect it to go over 300K miles like my last Lexus did without any problems.

Makes sense with a Lexus but try owning a similar premium car made by the Germans...

I find it difficult to believe that Tesla would deny warranty coverage on say the 17" display unless there was required maintenance that you did perform. Extended warranties whether offered by the manufacturer or a third party still spell out what maintenance is required in mileage and or time intervals.

Well, then why have that provision on the ESA? Why have provisions that they will or won't enforce on a whim? As far as I can see, as long as you do the fluid changes every 2 years or 25,000 miles there is nothing that I can imagine that should affect the car due to lack of servicing.

If Tesla really wrote the ESA to mean that the entire warranty is voided because you didn't do the $600 inspection every 12500 miles, I can't imagine there aren't consumer laws that would say no no to that. Now if a suspension component goes out because you they *would* have inspected it and would have done some minor preventative maintenance to prevent a more catastrophic failure later on, I could see that holding water.

I'm not aware of any preventive maintenance you can do on suspension components. At least as far as the air suspension is concerned, it works until it stops to work. Other car manufacturers cover the Air Suspension as a part of the extended warranty without these caveats.

But the first time someone with an ESA is denied warranty coverage for a part that doesn't require maintenance because they didn't do the $600 inspection every 12.5K miles, that's going to hit the press big time. I can imagine the field day CR has with that one. CR already warned that Tesla is right on the edge of being kicked off the recommended list because of the owner surveys.

So maybe the ESA was written that way and if so, it's a bad contract, but I seriously doubt Tesla is just going to void the entire ESA because you didn't give them $2400 previously for inspections.

But the point is this is how the ESA is written and based on that, I do consider it a bad contract. In fact after I compared it to competing products the ESA with the $200 per incident deductible is likely the worst Extended Warranty (ESA) in the industry for this segment. Why put an owner through a potentially bitter and frustrating experience with denying coverage before they do the right thing and cover the repair? Wouldn't it be better for owners (and Tesla) to just modify the ESA to be reasonable and do the right this from the beginning?

The $600 annual maintenance fee for even minor services seems almost like a hidden cost for ensuring that the $4,000 ESA that was paid for remains valid, as the ESA is presently implemented.

 

[sorka]

But the point is this is how the ESA is written and based on that, I do consider it a bad contract. In fact after I compared it to competing products the ESA with the $200 per incident deductible is likely the worst Extended Warranty (ESA) in the industry for this segment. Why put an owner through a potentially bitter and frustrating experience with denying coverage before they do the right thing and cover the repair? Wouldn't it be better for owners (and Tesla) to just modify the ESA to be reasonable and do the right this from the beginning?

Agreed. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds over the next few years as many MSs are starting to flood int the ESA window due to mileage.....which is where you'll find the highest concentration of owners not paying for 12.5 inspections since they have high mileage on a low amount of time.

I'll hit 12.5 in a month and I just got the car. No way am I spending $600 on an inspection for a brand new car.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

I didn't realize you can't get the extended warranty for CPO's... WTH? That ain't good. I have a good number of friends and co-workers interested in a Model S after seeing mine, and many were/are considering CPO's. Now I will have to share this info with them which will likely cause many to not move forward with their purchase. Especially considering all the service work mine has had now, including a DU replacement... which is making a funny noise when under full power from a stop... I'm going to try and get a recording of this today to post for others to hear

 

[Cyclone]

I didn't realize you can't get the extended warranty for CPO's... WTH? That ain't good. I have a good number of friends and co-workers interested in a Model S after seeing mine, and many were/are considering CPO's. Now I will have to share this info with them which will likely cause many to not move forward with their purchase. Especially considering all the service work mine has had now, including a DU replacement... which is making a funny noise when under full power from a stop... I'm going to try and get a recording of this today to post for others to hear

Not only have I not able to buy the extended warranty on my CPO, I couldn't buy the prepaid service plans either. Couple that with all the problems I've had with my specific CPO, I have regrets about my purchase and I'm concerned about more problems down the road. My car went though all is has the past four months even after it was "inspected and reconditioned". Had I known then that I would go through what I have been going through, I would have delayed my purchase a year or so until we see better long-term options.

 

[breser]

Even trying to do the maintenance to their schedule is hard. My 12,500 service didn't happen until I got to 17,000 miles due to their ability to schedule. So I suspect they'll have a hard time enforcing the maintenance schedule even if they tried because it's really not possible to follow it.

 

[sorka]

Even trying to do the maintenance to their schedule is hard. My 12,500 service didn't happen until I got to 17,000 miles due to their ability to schedule. So I suspect they'll have a hard time enforcing the maintenance schedule even if they tried because it's really not possible to follow it.

Yes, that's an excellent point!!!

 

[SeminoleFSU]

Even trying to do the maintenance to their schedule is hard. My 12,500 service didn't happen until I got to 17,000 miles due to their ability to schedule. So I suspect they'll have a hard time enforcing the maintenance schedule even if they tried because it's really not possible to follow it.

I've thought about that too... how do you stay within the mileage targets when who knows what their turn around time will be on appointments

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Not only have I not able to buy the extended warranty on my CPO, I couldn't buy the prepaid service plans either. Couple that with all the problems I've had with my specific CPO, I have regrets about my purchase and I'm concerned about more problems down the road. My car went though all is has the past four months even after it was "inspected and reconditioned". Had I known then that I would go through what I have been going through, I would have delayed my purchase a year or so until we see better long-term options.

Wow... :-/

 

[MsElectric]

Not only have I not able to buy the extended warranty on my CPO, I couldn't buy the prepaid service plans either. Couple that with all the problems I've had with my specific CPO, I have regrets about my purchase and I'm concerned about more problems down the road. My car went though all is has the past four months even after it was "inspected and reconditioned". Had I known then that I would go through what I have been going through, I would have delayed my purchase a year or so until we see better long-term options.

Wait, what? You can't buy the prepaid service plan for CPO cars? Are you serious that they would not sell you the 4 prepaid service plan package for your CPO car?!

 

[Cyclone]

Wait, what? You can't buy the prepaid service plan for CPO cars? Are you serious that they would not sell you the 4 prepaid service plan package for your CPO car?!

Yes. The prepaid plans were never available to purchase on my MyTesla login.

 

[MsElectric]

Yes. The prepaid plans were never available to purchase on my MyTesla login.

Have you checked to see if you can buy the 4 prepaid services at your Service Center?

 

[Cyclone]

Have you checked to see if you can buy the 4 prepaid services at your Service Center?

I have not. I've been focused on getting the car ready-to-go and wasn't sure if I wanted or didn't want the prepaid services (I wouldn't if the mileage restrictions were there). Thus, I never asked my SvC, but my portal has been blank about that am since I reserved my car.

 

[PaulusdB]

I share the concerns in this thread. My Model S is company owned by my private company.
I wonder how a driver of an operationally leased Model S's feels wrt their lease company handling warranty issues. These companies have floors full of legal staff with nothing else to do, I guess.
Any experiences yet, especially from the US?

 

[MsElectric]

I share the concerns in this thread. My Model S is company owned by my private company.
I wonder how a driver of an operationally leased Model S's feels wrt their lease company handling warranty issues. These companies have floors full of legal staff with nothing else to do, I guess.
Any experiences yet, especially from the US?

To the best of my knowledge the lease has nothing to do with warranty coverage. If you lease a Model S for 4 years and run up over 50,000 miles you will not be covered under the bumper to bumper coverage for the remainder of your lease and you are on your own for the cost of paying for those repairs. Presumably when you return the car you are supposed to return it with any applicable repairs already completed or the lease company will go after the lesee for the cost of any outstanding repairs. So the lease company is never in a position of handling warranty issues. They just expect the car back with all repairs done and the car in proper working order.

 

[PaulusdB]

You describe some sort of financial lease, I suppose.
The case I'm interested in is where the lease company buys and 100% owns the car until they sell it at the end of the lease period.
This would make it thoroughly their business to deal with the cost of possible out-of-warranty costs.

 

[MsElectric]

You describe some sort of financial lease, I suppose.
The case I'm interested in is where the lease company buys and 100% owns the car until they sell it at the end of the lease period.
This would make it thoroughly their business to deal with the cost of possible out-of-warranty costs.

As far as I know all US leases are structured the way I outlined it. Basically you are renting the car but you are required to pay all maintenance and repairs and deliver the car in fully operational condition minus regular wear and tear. I doubt many companies would assume the responsibility you are seeking as the car might then have its living daylights beaten out of it by the time the car is returned :scared: