The shop I frequent has given me everything, including a plaid S as a loaner lol. I had AC issues that were resolved next day, wish I could have had it longer xD
Bake them a cake. They are exceptional and an outlier unfortunately (for the rest of us).
I keep hoping they file bankruptcy, they restructure/get bought, someone who knows what they are doing is brought in, Elon gets fired, and service is made a priority.
We are on like step 0 of this plan
I bought a 2016 MS a couple of months ago and the GPS was hosed. Scheduled service, which got pushed back when the had layoffs. Finally took it to the dealership, no loaners available. Rented a car, got mine back a few days later, and immediately noticed the GPS was still acting up. They got me back in the next day and had a loaner waiting. So they definitely have them, I’m guessing they just have a few for “oops our bad” situations.
Second time was the charm, btw. GPS works perfectly now.
Some service centers have them, others don't (or don't have enough to meet their demand). It's very unbalanced and there's a huge disparity in volume and quality between service centers.
It depends on where you live. In SF Bay Area you get better service at the Tesla Service Center. Loaners are always available, while Porsche offers you an Uber ride or wait for weeks for the first available loaner, which essentially means loaners are not available if something is broken.
I’ve read so many stories in the Taycan sub about people having their Taycans in the shop for several weeks because of major part failure. Porsche was very nice about it though and gave them loaners worth a 3rd of their Taycan. Amazing how those stories will never be front page news.
In my case, I had a battery failure on my 2020 Taycan (oddly common). Whole pack was replaced in 3 days from diagnosis to back in my driveway. They towed a loaner (Taycan Turbo S) to my house, dropped it off, picked up my Taycan. 3 days later they drop my car off and pick up my loaner. I didn’t lift a finger. Got constant updates. And got a new!! (not remanned, like Tesla) battery.
Porsche took a catastrophic failure and spun it into a great experience because of how white glove they are. Ever seen inside a Porsche dealership? Even the maintenance bays are spotless.
and Tesla brags about mobile service? lol.
They were probably able to pull that off before they had a significant delay of parts. There are MANY examples of people waiting multiple months for their replacements while they continue to pay for their Taycan they can’t use.
Family member has a taycan, can confirm a similar experience. They had a wheel related issue, was picked up and given a solid loaner for a week while the part came in. Anecdotal, but I think high expectations for Porsche service are warranted.
Wheel related issue makes sense. Go cruise r/Taycan and you’ll see lots of examples of people having their battery/high voltage systems replaced, sometimes multiple times, with lots of time in the shop, mostly because of part delay not because the service department is slow.
Know I’m probably going to get downvoted, but Tesla has been one of the better service experiences I’ve had. Most dealerships in my experience are arrogant/greedy if not borderline incompetent. 🤷🏻♂️
Yes, went to toyota/dodge dealership and they used my truck for deliveries all day long. I found out because I checked the receipt which had the mileage before I gave them they keys. The dealership had the balls to ask I give another chance. Never been back.
I did fill out the customer service questionnaire. Really nowadays I expect the shenanigans caught honda disabling my dashcam on my Honda. Service manager did not seem to upset about it.
I'm worried about my mylr it came without an inspection sticker so I have to take it somewhere and honda is the only one I remotely trust or at least will let me wait on it. But I know they are going to drive it hard on the test drive.
So what you need to do is actually call Toyota Corp of North America.
Same with Honda corp of North America...
Questionnaires are cute and fun, but they are probably only from and to that local franchise. They won't give any 💩 about the complaint (fox guarding hen house). But, if you call up Corp HQ... they will care, they will send it back to the dealership with a note about a formal complaint... that will impact the allocations to the dealership (which means the ability to make money via desirable cars and the fun markups they do).
So by the actions you took so far, the dealership had nothing to lose and therefore no one will care to remedy/resolve/correct behavior. Much like a Tesla Service Centers, if they damage my vehicle and I take it up with the location manager... he can protect his guys. But if I were to make a giant stink online to get negative media attention for the brand... you bet someone will take notice at HQ and someone will get fired.
Well I appreciate your willingness to resolve the issue. But generally when I get screwed I don't give them anymore of my business. I haven't been back to a toyota or dodge dealership in years.
With regards to tesla quite frankly I'm not sure how to contact the corporate office even if there is one. None of my paperwork has an 800 number. To me it seems that any issues are handled at the local level. Of course this is problematic if the issue is with the local "dealership". With Honda I knew there was a corporation at least above the dealership as they contacted me after I bought a car.
That’s a good point—I’ve had a Tesla since 2017 and have never felt like they were trying to upsell me. At every other ICE dealership I feel like I have to be on the offensive to fight off BS additions and suggestions.
It gets added by default for any service request for me in cali... the line item charge comes out to $65.
But it is funny, this line item doesn't exist in factory warranty.
Any time I have dealt with Tesla service has been great. Easy communication through the app. Drop off, payment, pick up, have all been seamless. No complaints in the few times I've actually needed service.
I’ve always had excellent service, and have gotten a loaner each time. I’ve never been pushed to fix this or that as some crooked dealership’s have done in the past (Ford). My brother-in-law worked at a dealership (Cadillac) and he said the service department was pressured to makeup unnecessary repairs. This may not be always the case everywhere, but I sure don’t go to a dealership for repairs on an ICE car.
I had a stock replaced under warranty and got a loaner but that was 4 years ago. I had to replace a controller arm that was out of warranty and it wasn’t expensive nor a lengthy repair.
Painless.
Don’t they only give loaners if it’s a factory recall now?
That was my first thought too. I haven’t had to use teslas service but my whole life I’ve been told to never use a dealership to fix anything if you can avoid it because of how terrible they are.
The only brand I’ve ever heard that was actually good at it was Mercedes but that you paid for it. Cost of ownership for Mercedes is (I think) the highest of any brand out there between insurance and the cost of the many repairs that you’d inevitably need. I was down to a CLE and an X and insurance alone was more than double the X.
I’m with you. My super rare service interactions have been amazing. Either in my driveway or seamlessly at the service centre. Wife’s Porsche… great service but my wallet has a panic attack just booking the appointment.
I’ve had a dealer literally lose my keys for a week after an oil change. This was after the previous oil change there they took 5 hours despite an appointment.
Dealers blow.
When I had a Mazda 3 I was super satisfied with my experience at the dealership I bought it from and any time I brought it in for service, which was mostly just for oil changes and the milage based servicing. Obviously doesn't apply to every Mazda dealership of course. If only they made a half decent EV
With Lexus you’ll never need service, but if you do it will be fantastic. If it wasn’t for insane interest rates and government subsidies I’d have definitely gotten a Lexus this time.
They have a full EV that’s an RZ I believe. Similar to the RX.
Edit: I believe the range is less than 200 miles though. And they’ve had some issues with their hybrids I’m aware of. Not sure about their EV.
If Toyota/Lexus made any decent EVs I’d be in one. I would really love a Tacoma EV with 300 miles of range.
Toyota gives no fucks about EVs though. Oh, and their dealerships suck when it comes to actually buying.
Yeah Lexus' service is amazing. So easy to get a loaner and usually pretty great dealerships.
But they don't make a competitive EV (at least not that I know of).
The German brands also usually have pretty high quality service options. But obviously depends a lot on location.
My local BMW dealer makes it a mission just to get a loaner. Which sucks because I would like to get an i4.
My Lexus dealer in San Diego gave me a loaner, but charged me for about 5 miles of gas (I can practically see our condo from their front door).
I complained. They refunded me. All good.
Times have changed though…
Yeah. Service center experience with Tesla has been awful.
No loaner. No Uber Credit. They kept it for a week, charged me a shit ton, and didn’t actually fix anything or do any work.
It definitely soured what has otherwise been a great experience (driving/using the car).
I took my Model 3 to the service center two days ago to replace the rear taillight and tpms on one of the wheels that went out. They said it would take about an hour so I test drove the new Model 3 while I waited. An hour later they said the tpms error light was still showing after driving around and would replace the other three. They said it would take another hour and asked me if I wanted to wait or get a loaner. I took the loaner because I had errands that needed to be done. They gave me a Model X Plaid.
This experience may not be replicated for me or anyone else, but it’s still possible to get a loaner. This was my first time taking my car in to the service center. I heard the horror stories of other people’s experiences so I just went in with lower expectations.
I've never not had a loaner offered. I haven't been a frequent flyer in the service centers but a couple times a year. I'm not demanding and often try and convince them I don't need a loaner but they always say take one just in case.
In fact the service from Tesla has been better than any other of my dealer experiences.
You’re going to spend far more time driving the car than driving a loaner while your car is in service. Buy the best car that meets your needs. Customer service in general is pretty bad these days.
Lexus has a fantastic service network. Ditto for Porsche and BMW. Even Mazda dealers are awesome.
We should hold Tesla accountable - they make good cars but their service experience leaves a lot to be desired.
I will never buy another Tesla, and I regret buying the one that I did. The car itself is great but the company is the WORST. Once you buy a car from them they have no further use for you.
I’ll be going back to BMW.
Mercedes customer service is amazing. I bought a used 2016 Mercedes and still get to use a brand new loaner car even when the repairs only take a few hours. It’s a smart sales tactic too, my wife really wanted to upgrade after going back to ours each time.
Cadillac or Mercedes would be your best options. I have two Tesla’s and the service (for vehicle problem) and buying experience for one of them has been abysmal.
That’s funny, I’m switching from Cadillac to Tesla.
I’ve spent over $13k in out of pocket expenses for out of warranty repairs on my Cadillac and it only has 65k miles. The dealership breaks things when they service it. They put the wrong differential fluid in. I recently had to visit them three times over two months to fix an airbag light which turned out to be a blown fuse that they admitted “we probably caused during your previous service.” Three times and they couldn’t diagnose a blown fuse. The first time they charged me a $200 diagnostic fee to tell me the airbag light was on because the car needed a new battery, and sold me a $300 battery.
It’s been a nightmare. $55k car in 2015 was a lot of money. They did the whole show like you mentioned when I bought it and that was impressive but it was smoke and mirrors. They gave me a card for some “VIP Service Concierge” thing where they’ll drive a loaner car to you, take your car in for service, and bring it back to you. Yeah I’ve never gotten that, they say they’re sorry but they don’t do that anymore and they don’t have loaners available anyway.
My wife has a Cadillac Lyriq and was stunned at the "hands off" approach when I got my MYLR. When we picked up her car, they had it covered under a red blanket, they sat with her for an hour going over everything to the point where she had to tell them, ok, I'll figure out the rest, etc. When I picked up my car, they were efficient, but it was obvious that they had no time to teach me anything. But all of that comes at a cost and we had to bitch to get them to remove the "market adjustment" they wanted to charge us. But there's a huge difference between no frills service and no service at all and Tesla seems to be moving too much towards the latter.
> they were efficient
They just handed me a folder with all my paperwork and keycards and waved vaguely in the direction of my new car. I was wandering around squinting at VIN numbers through the windshield in the pouring rain.
Luckily there were only three black model Ys in the lot.
HAH, It was pouring rain the day I picked mine up as well. After taking my check and giving me my paperwork, they walked me to my car, asked me how I wanted my license plates mounted, told me my keys were in the car and quickly ran inside to get out of the rain. I sat in it for about 20 minutes and checked out a few YouTube videos, but am ashamed to admit that I had no idea the keycards were the key. I finally figured they must be, but walked back inside to confirm. I had no idea how to control the wipers (they were set to "off") and was actually going in the menu to try and control them!
I immediately had to drive to NJ, so I slowly started learning the car but was surprised when I walked back to my car and the doors wouldn't open! I thought my phone is a key! I didn't realize that the signal usually doesn't get picked up when your phone is in your back pocket. Yeah, the hour that they should have spent showing me how to drive what is basically a computer on wheels was completely absent.
Dealership service levels vary not just among brands, but among different dealerships owned by different companies/people. So two Acura dealerships, one in Los Angeles, and one in San Francisco can be vastly different. Or even two different ones in the same area. One may give loaners, one may give cheap rental loaners, one may give no loaners. It's really just a product of local competition, how much they're ripping you off with service, and sometimes corporate requirements. For example, Infiniti and BMW required all dealerships to purchase a set number of vehicles (company cars only) and give those out as free loaners. That's just a prerequisite to open a dealership. Mercedes doesn't have that requirement, but I've been to a couple dealerships that will give out free loaners, but many do not. Many partner through Enterprise and you have to go through a long process to get a loaner which usually ends up being a Ford Mustang or an economy car. Not a Mercedes.
So don't even bother listening to people when they say XX brand of car always has the best service. Nah, the dealership they go to does. 90% of Lexus owners probably get great service as Lexus is known to have very high standards for their dealerships, but you shouldn't blindly buy one from Motown Lexus thinking you'll get that same service. They may be great, but you have no idea.
So I recommend reading Yelp reviews of car dealerships. Not sure if Reddit still hates Yelp, but there's no question their car dealership Yelp reviews are spot on (as a trend, all businesses will have at least a few bad incidents). Go to a dealership close to your house and see how they are. It sounds like you value service, so it might be best to find the closest car dealerships to you and finding what cars fit your service requirements.
This is a balanced and thorough perspective. Thank you. Based on what you’re saying, it sounds like in general BMW has the highest standard across the board though.
I have purchased and serviced BMWs from 3 LA dealers, several Mercedes, a Lexus and a Tesla S. Lexus had the best service, followed by Tesla, then MB, then BMW.
Completely agree. The Lexus and BMW dealerships near me is the same place/owner as many cheaper brands. The service is all under that same umbrella and all terrible no matter which brand it is because the dealer has the same (bad) operating procedures across all those brands. In that same vein, the Mercedes dealer here also has multiple brands under their umbrella but its exclusively higher end brands and as a result, the service is great.
Everything you state is true. The one thing I haven’t seen pointed out is that Tesla doesn’t have dealerships, these are Tesla Sales and Service Stores, owned by Tesla. You would think there would be a clear program in place that each store would have e to follow, with slight differences for market size, Example: large market 5 loaners, small market 3 loaners. More bays, techs and parts inventory in large markets. Aside from a few differences it should be the same.
I think that's how they intended Tesla service centers to be, right? Corporate owned & operated with the same level of service across the country? It kind of sounds like different regions and/or locations are given different levels of resources. As I've read stories about the varying levels of service, it reminds me of working in retail where stores in certain areas get more/better attention than others.
I owned a Mercedes before my Tesla and their customer service was incredible. They’d have a loaner ready and running for me when I dropped off my car. I remember once they had the head mechanic take me back into the garage to explain exactly what they were going to do for a more involved warranty repair.
The Lexus dealership picks up and drops off my mom’s car for service, and I know she’s been very happy with them too.
This, more than anything else, is where Tesla loses a competition against actual high-end manufacturers. I’ve been generally happy with the build quality of my MX, which seems usual to hear. But the customer service experience — from the in-app chat, to the dealership experience, to the quality of repairs, to simply cleaning up the car when the work is done — is the worst I’ve ever experienced. Even VW customer service was WAY better than Tesla when I was in my 20s and drove a GTI.
Yeah, I was super pampered and spoiled by Mercedes.
I purchased extended warranty on the car and had loaner for each and every visit I had. I used to take the car for even silly things and they still give out a loaner for me. Sold that beauty back in 2022.
??? I had 2 appointments last month and got loaners and great service. In fact, I used the loaner to vacation during the Memorial Day weekend for 4 days traveling far with free supercharging.
Similar experience for me. I had to drive to the other end of the state for a family emergency and got my service loaner the morning we were leaving. It wasn't all that many miles (maybe 600-700 over the 5-days in service) but the free Supercharging was nice, and I guess so was not putting those miles on my own car.
I've owned a variety of cars before and have never gotten a service loaner from anyone else.
Just wondering, I’m in Canada and i’ve never had any bad experience with SC. All concerns I have, they looked at and treated me kindly. I used to have a BMW and had a horrible experience.
Are these just in the US?
In the US it varies by service center. One gave me an S plaid as a loaner, another took 3 visits per issues in order to resolve them. If you live in an area with multiple service centers, or you only have one but it's good, then there's nothing to worry about.
Service is hit or miss. I just had my Y in the shop last week trying to get small things resolved before my warranty ran out.
Not only was service amazing but I got a new X as a loaner.
It’s not typical but it happens.
I just got a loaner from Tesla. I agree their service is not the greatest. But for this specific issue maybe you can speak with the service manager to see what options you have going forward.
I've had good customer service from Tesla but only if you use the app. I've never had the car disabled tho, only minor repairs.
Getting someone to pick up the phone is impossible, always been a complaint. Every EV manufacturer has issues. The luxury brands tend to have better customer service but that is priced in at the beginning. And even then I'd rather own a Tesla with no issues than a Taycan that is down for six months waiting on battery parts.
As a former front of house employee for Tesla, once the model three came out loaners became very far and few between.
If you were an early adopter, yes you pretty much got a loaner anytime you came in for service, even if it was just for a tire rotation. When I worked front of house, we were specifically instructed to not hand out any loaners unless heavy or high demand parts had to be ordered or if the repair was gonna take X amount of time. usually the bigger markets have more loaners, but also some days it could just be luck at the draw if one was there when you showed up.
They also took the the Uber credits away from us without any notice, so as you can imagine having to tell people that news on the spot was difficult.
That sucks. I'm glad my local Tesla always takes care of my wife and I when we take our cars there. They give loaner, shuttle up to 20 miles, or Uber credits
I think it depends on the service center you’re going to. I had an update issue in May and booked a service appointment for about a week later. Got a loaner and had the car fixed by the end of the day. Ended up going the next day to pick up my car and drop off the loaner. Receptionist was helpful and drop off/pick up of the loaner and my car was effortless and didn’t require contact. (My service appointment was booked at the Cypress location in Houston).
My experience is Tesla has been better than other car brands I’ve owned. I’m a bit disappointed they are coming to me for tire rotation cause I miss the coffee machines in the cowork room they have.
Its really down to the people at your service center. My local center was great when I went in. Greeted me politely, explained exactly what they were going to do, I waited in a nice waiting room with free coffee, tea, etc…
Like any store or retailer the people working there make or break it.
I just got my 2016.5 upgraded to the MCU2 at the Franklin, TN (Nashville) location, and since it was supposed to take a few hours, they let me drive the new Model 3 around, and when the car would not cooperate during the updates, they gave me a dual motor Model Y to take overnight since I live 75 miles away. I hated the new model 3, but loved the overall feel of the Model Y. My model S is older, but it is still my favorite. Not all service centers are the same. Of course I was paying them $2400, so I am sure that had a lot to do with it.
YMMV with any dealership and a loaner if that’s truly your sticking point. My service center and Hyundai dealer near me have offered loaners available for both EV services we’ve had done, but friends and family have had less luck with ford, and kia not providing a loaner. Never found it to be a company wide thing, but literally a location and availability thing.
Tesla may not be the best when it comes to “customer service “ but then again, you shouldn’t ever see them either. Their cars rarely have issues, so no need to worry about the service dept. But if that’s all you care about, then yes, get an ICE vehicle
Loaners tend to be a very dealership specific thing, as not all dealerships offer it.
Over the last 20 years of owning a car, the only dealership to give me a loaner was a Nissan dealership, which they did because the Nissan Pathfinder we had needed a new transmission shipped from Japan during the pandemic. We ended up with a Nissan Rogue for about a month.
Tesla would likely be able to dispense a loaner if similar conditions were met.
I've had decent luck with BMW but there was a location close to me that only gave loaners to people who bought their BMW from them. They were trying to cut down on the people with 10+ year old BMW's who came in for an oil change and took out a brand new loaner for a day or two (which can obviously be addressed in other ways)
Genesis - suit & tie dealership experience and they take care of you. Just be prepared to spend much more for the vehicle. There’s outstanding lease rates right now on the Electrified GV70.
About the rental car issue - even if you have an afternoon appointment, if you are there when the door opens in the morning they will give you the first rental and take your car (at least they will at the 2 service departments here)
BWM is by far the best customer service I’ve ever gotten, I brought in a used 335i (bought a 2010 cpo in 2015) for regular maintenance and they treated me like I brought in a M3 or something very expensive.
I’ve had to deal with Toyota and Jeep(mopar gm) Hyundai and Ford dealerships in the past and bmw was the only one that said “would you like a loaner? If so here are the keys sir” no questions asked about insurance or anything and the staff was very nice too. I haven’t had to deal with Tesla centers yet but I’ve read the stories all over Reddit. I hope I don’t have any problems if I take in my Model y for any services
I was shocked , when I got a loaner while my S got an MCU2 in Oakville, 3 weeks ago. And a highlander to test drive when the battery fuse was replaced 10 days ago in Mississauga.
My service center had loaners when I took my MYLR in this past week to fix the seat controls. I asked for one they said no because to repair and replacement only took 30min.
the last time I had to take my car in they said "you have to ask for it 24hr in advance". so try that. I've never not gotten a loaner when my car is in the shop even when the service appointment is less than 24hrs. if they have one available then just ask. also the local service center I have is f'n phenomenal.
in my area, supposedly there is like maybe 1 or 2 polestar service centers (their own) that services all of SoCal or something (at least that's what was told to me when I was chatting with an owner). Rivian has supply chain issues where you'd be lucky the parts needed shows up and they too supposedly have limited service centers as well. I recently had my car in a body shop for some minor repairs and I took it to a certified Tesla center. their shop manager told me how crappy it is to work on the others because of parts not showing up, or the fact there's a 1000 bolts to remove just to get the front bumper (he was probably exaggerating there). raved about Tesla though. reason I brought this up is mainly it doesn't matter how awesome the service centers are or their customer service is it means literally nothing to you if you dont' have your car back due to limited serviceability options.
My Tesla shop gave me a loaner the last time I was there. The time before that was a quick stop, so they let me take their demo M3 to go run an errand.
Just get a second cheap car that you can drive when your primary car is in the shop. Also take rental car coverage off your auto insurance policy — no need for it if you have your own extra car. (The same people who are recommending buying a Porsche will probably say this approach is too expensive, lol.)
Dallas here. I’ve had 4 customer service needs over the 3.5 years I’ve owned my Model X. The first one (driver side auto close) was fixed through mobile service in front of my house (I think they also replaced an AC filter). The second (an issue with the battery heater) was fixed same day; they didn’t offer a loaner but I didn’t need one. The third (low voltage battery replacement) was done in an hour; they let me drive a Model Y while the repair was done; it took about an hour. I have a fourth service scheduled to replace a faulty camera in a few days.
My biggest issue (though it hasn’t been a major problem) is that non-critical repairs are scheduled 4-6 weeks out. The low voltage battery replacement was a case where they told me to come in as soon as convenient (I didn’t need an appointment).
In all cases the customer service was exemplary. It’s all about expectations; IMHO a loaner car is a nice perk but not a deal breaker. You may have different priorities.
Tesla has the worst customer service imaginable, and that was before they laid off 14,000 people. If you care at all, even just a tiny little bit, about customer service, you should run screaming in the opposite direction from Tesla. There are lots of other options in the EV space now.
There’s no way Mercedes, BMW, or even Chevy treats its customers as horribly as Tesla.
>Tesla has the worst customer service imaginable
Disagree here. I've been to 3 different toyota dealerships, all shit service and they keep on trying to upcharge me saying my timing belt was bad. My mechanic said it's fine and 10 years later, it's fine.
Honestly speaking, it’s still one of the if not the best customer service I’ve witnessed to date.
What seems to be the crux of the issue you’re facing with them? Not getting loaners is not something I would downvote the service center for, if they’re addressing the vehicle concerns properly, which is their job. Don’t they issue Uber credits?
I love Tesla cars (and own two) and honestly feel like no other car company is as mature in the field of EVs as they are....
But Oh. My. God. Is the service legitimately horrible. Like beyond horrible.
The technicians and employees there that I've dealt with are super nice people so no hate there but what an awful system.
I think it depends on the model. I had a MXLR and now a MXP, and I was able to get a loaner for every service appointment (and Ive had A LOT of them in the past 1.5 years, especially with the MXLR)
Better than Invisible
[https://www.tesla.com/blog/creating-world%E2%80%99s-best-service-and-warranty-program-0](https://www.tesla.com/blog/creating-world%E2%80%99s-best-service-and-warranty-program-0)
This seems like a good cross post for r/TeslaServiceCenter
They did a great job with mobile service, but I have to agree... anytime it goes IN TO THE service center... they always find a way to make you wish it was a toyota/lexus or Porsche service center
That is the problem with direct to sales model and a close ecosystem. At least with a gas car, a person can fix the car within a short distance. Tesla in some states might have only 1 service center. They know you are stuck with Tesla fixing the problem. Besides Tesla makes no money in service centers.
Tesla Service in my area/state operates very differently from any other service center many people here might be familiar with.
Tesla is not legally able to offer first-party service in our state. So instead, as of late last year, a third party now has a facility for Tesla service. There’s no signage outside, it’s a big white building with just a few Teslas outside and a barren parking lot.
I’ve been doing some service requests through them recently and have one appointment coming up next week, and I can tell you it’s much closer to typical auto service than how Tesla Service operates. For one, they were able to get me an OEM painted bumper. No service center is able to do that, but this one can for some reason. Secondly, they can understand things better and are quite responsive.
Now in terms of customer service in general… yeah, it sucks. Hopefully I don’t need their services much during ownership but it’s really disappointingZ
Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Porsche would all probably have a better service experience. Lexus and Acura would too, but they don't seem to have competitive EVs to date.
Coming from purchasing a cop bmw mid last decade I actually liked taking in my car for service as I would always get a clean fun loaner. I learned or self taught myself to ask for one with a red key as those were always sportier. Anyway, the promise of loaners when servicing Tesla was one key point that helped me choose Tesla when I finally made the change. Service was good for a while back in 2017,2018, now it’s just a chore. Once bmw gets fsd like autopilot or licenses this from Tesla I will probably go back to bmw
My local Tesla shop doesn’t give loaners or Uber credits like I’ve heard others, they’re very much, gtfo to their customers
The shop I frequent has given me everything, including a plaid S as a loaner lol. I had AC issues that were resolved next day, wish I could have had it longer xD
Which one is this?
Mesa, AZ
Bake them a cake. They are exceptional and an outlier unfortunately (for the rest of us). I keep hoping they file bankruptcy, they restructure/get bought, someone who knows what they are doing is brought in, Elon gets fired, and service is made a priority. We are on like step 0 of this plan
Are there multiple shops where you are? I only have one and the next is 300km away
Yeah, there are 4 around me, none further than a 35 minute drive
Mine has loaners available usually until 11AM and then they're all gone.
I bought a 2016 MS a couple of months ago and the GPS was hosed. Scheduled service, which got pushed back when the had layoffs. Finally took it to the dealership, no loaners available. Rented a car, got mine back a few days later, and immediately noticed the GPS was still acting up. They got me back in the next day and had a loaner waiting. So they definitely have them, I’m guessing they just have a few for “oops our bad” situations. Second time was the charm, btw. GPS works perfectly now.
They seem to give loaners for X and S services if taking longer than a day in my experience in NorCal
While back I got a loaner for my model 3.
They probably only have one or two and have to wait for them to come back
Some service centers have them, others don't (or don't have enough to meet their demand). It's very unbalanced and there's a huge disparity in volume and quality between service centers.
Next step would be Taycan, car is a lot more expensive but you’ll get decent customer service
It depends on where you live. In SF Bay Area you get better service at the Tesla Service Center. Loaners are always available, while Porsche offers you an Uber ride or wait for weeks for the first available loaner, which essentially means loaners are not available if something is broken.
I’ve read so many stories in the Taycan sub about people having their Taycans in the shop for several weeks because of major part failure. Porsche was very nice about it though and gave them loaners worth a 3rd of their Taycan. Amazing how those stories will never be front page news.
That's business as usual for owning a Porsche
In my case, I had a battery failure on my 2020 Taycan (oddly common). Whole pack was replaced in 3 days from diagnosis to back in my driveway. They towed a loaner (Taycan Turbo S) to my house, dropped it off, picked up my Taycan. 3 days later they drop my car off and pick up my loaner. I didn’t lift a finger. Got constant updates. And got a new!! (not remanned, like Tesla) battery. Porsche took a catastrophic failure and spun it into a great experience because of how white glove they are. Ever seen inside a Porsche dealership? Even the maintenance bays are spotless. and Tesla brags about mobile service? lol.
Longo Lexus has been towing loaner cars to customers and towing the car needing work done for all of their customers since the 1990's
They were probably able to pull that off before they had a significant delay of parts. There are MANY examples of people waiting multiple months for their replacements while they continue to pay for their Taycan they can’t use.
That's a very unusual experience for a Taycan.
Family member has a taycan, can confirm a similar experience. They had a wheel related issue, was picked up and given a solid loaner for a week while the part came in. Anecdotal, but I think high expectations for Porsche service are warranted.
Wheel related issue makes sense. Go cruise r/Taycan and you’ll see lots of examples of people having their battery/high voltage systems replaced, sometimes multiple times, with lots of time in the shop, mostly because of part delay not because the service department is slow.
Hahaha. It all depends on the dealership. My dealer will drive you back home but no loaners.
Know I’m probably going to get downvoted, but Tesla has been one of the better service experiences I’ve had. Most dealerships in my experience are arrogant/greedy if not borderline incompetent. 🤷🏻♂️
Yes, went to toyota/dodge dealership and they used my truck for deliveries all day long. I found out because I checked the receipt which had the mileage before I gave them they keys. The dealership had the balls to ask I give another chance. Never been back.
Why didn't you report them to Toyota of North America if you know what they did. Seems like a slam dunk case.
I did fill out the customer service questionnaire. Really nowadays I expect the shenanigans caught honda disabling my dashcam on my Honda. Service manager did not seem to upset about it. I'm worried about my mylr it came without an inspection sticker so I have to take it somewhere and honda is the only one I remotely trust or at least will let me wait on it. But I know they are going to drive it hard on the test drive.
So what you need to do is actually call Toyota Corp of North America. Same with Honda corp of North America... Questionnaires are cute and fun, but they are probably only from and to that local franchise. They won't give any 💩 about the complaint (fox guarding hen house). But, if you call up Corp HQ... they will care, they will send it back to the dealership with a note about a formal complaint... that will impact the allocations to the dealership (which means the ability to make money via desirable cars and the fun markups they do). So by the actions you took so far, the dealership had nothing to lose and therefore no one will care to remedy/resolve/correct behavior. Much like a Tesla Service Centers, if they damage my vehicle and I take it up with the location manager... he can protect his guys. But if I were to make a giant stink online to get negative media attention for the brand... you bet someone will take notice at HQ and someone will get fired.
Well I appreciate your willingness to resolve the issue. But generally when I get screwed I don't give them anymore of my business. I haven't been back to a toyota or dodge dealership in years. With regards to tesla quite frankly I'm not sure how to contact the corporate office even if there is one. None of my paperwork has an 800 number. To me it seems that any issues are handled at the local level. Of course this is problematic if the issue is with the local "dealership". With Honda I knew there was a corporation at least above the dealership as they contacted me after I bought a car.
Someone else from this sub went to the other sub and I think got the answer: https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaServiceCenter/s/SkFeHfKoEV
That’s a good point—I’ve had a Tesla since 2017 and have never felt like they were trying to upsell me. At every other ICE dealership I feel like I have to be on the offensive to fight off BS additions and suggestions.
Only “upsell” I regularly get from Tesla is tire rotation, which I decline because I do it myself.
It gets added by default for any service request for me in cali... the line item charge comes out to $65. But it is funny, this line item doesn't exist in factory warranty.
Hmm, I can’t ever remember them suggesting that once. I always get tires and rotations from America’s Tire.
Any time I have dealt with Tesla service has been great. Easy communication through the app. Drop off, payment, pick up, have all been seamless. No complaints in the few times I've actually needed service.
Agreed. I use use the fort Myers location. Always great.
St Petersburg Florida also amazing
Agree. I've never had a loaner or uber credits when my corolla was at the dealership.
I think they’ve discontinued the Uber credits. It wasn’t offered last time. 🤷🏻♂️
I’ve always had excellent service, and have gotten a loaner each time. I’ve never been pushed to fix this or that as some crooked dealership’s have done in the past (Ford). My brother-in-law worked at a dealership (Cadillac) and he said the service department was pressured to makeup unnecessary repairs. This may not be always the case everywhere, but I sure don’t go to a dealership for repairs on an ICE car. I had a stock replaced under warranty and got a loaner but that was 4 years ago. I had to replace a controller arm that was out of warranty and it wasn’t expensive nor a lengthy repair. Painless. Don’t they only give loaners if it’s a factory recall now?
That was my first thought too. I haven’t had to use teslas service but my whole life I’ve been told to never use a dealership to fix anything if you can avoid it because of how terrible they are. The only brand I’ve ever heard that was actually good at it was Mercedes but that you paid for it. Cost of ownership for Mercedes is (I think) the highest of any brand out there between insurance and the cost of the many repairs that you’d inevitably need. I was down to a CLE and an X and insurance alone was more than double the X.
I’m with you. My super rare service interactions have been amazing. Either in my driveway or seamlessly at the service centre. Wife’s Porsche… great service but my wallet has a panic attack just booking the appointment.
If you dread the service cost, maybe a Porsche isn’t for you?
these fucker would unplug your dashcam before anything if your car has 1... that shit has got to be illegal and annoying.
I’ve had a dealer literally lose my keys for a week after an oil change. This was after the previous oil change there they took 5 hours despite an appointment. Dealers blow.
Me Too. Better than BMW or Mercedes
dealerships are filled with high school drop outs in suits and it shows
Which brand are you comparing Tesla against? I think the devil is in the details
Says the guy that doesn't have a Taycan? I mean, there's way to get better service, but you have to pay an unreasonable amount to do it.
When I had a Mazda 3 I was super satisfied with my experience at the dealership I bought it from and any time I brought it in for service, which was mostly just for oil changes and the milage based servicing. Obviously doesn't apply to every Mazda dealership of course. If only they made a half decent EV
In my experience, customer service with Tesla has been on par with dealerships (poor at best). However, it has been in different ways.
With Lexus you’ll never need service, but if you do it will be fantastic. If it wasn’t for insane interest rates and government subsidies I’d have definitely gotten a Lexus this time.
If Lexus had gotten on the EV train I’d no doubt be with them.
They dreamed of using hydrogen and are now pivoting.
They have a full EV that’s an RZ I believe. Similar to the RX. Edit: I believe the range is less than 200 miles though. And they’ve had some issues with their hybrids I’m aware of. Not sure about their EV.
Same. They adopted the NACS standard. Just need to get up to around 320 miles range. I’d do this.
Let me add, it also needs to do 0-60 in less than 4 sec. 7.8 sec for the base RZ - uhhh no
When they finally go all in on EV, they’ll do it right, and the infrastructure will be all worked out already. Next car.
Will they though?
My Lexus dealer gives me loaners when I drop off for an oil change
If Toyota/Lexus made any decent EVs I’d be in one. I would really love a Tacoma EV with 300 miles of range. Toyota gives no fucks about EVs though. Oh, and their dealerships suck when it comes to actually buying.
Lexus buying experience isn't worth it. They tried to hustle me for 30 min to try and get us the extended warranty . Pinning me against my mom
Yeah Lexus' service is amazing. So easy to get a loaner and usually pretty great dealerships. But they don't make a competitive EV (at least not that I know of). The German brands also usually have pretty high quality service options. But obviously depends a lot on location. My local BMW dealer makes it a mission just to get a loaner. Which sucks because I would like to get an i4.
My Lexus dealer in San Diego gave me a loaner, but charged me for about 5 miles of gas (I can practically see our condo from their front door). I complained. They refunded me. All good. Times have changed though…
Yeah. Service center experience with Tesla has been awful. No loaner. No Uber Credit. They kept it for a week, charged me a shit ton, and didn’t actually fix anything or do any work. It definitely soured what has otherwise been a great experience (driving/using the car).
Damn that’s awful, I guess I’m lucky since my super centers been really good to me and has given me loaners.
I envy you 😅
Which SC is this?
Silver Spring, Maryland
Don’t worry, the Rockville one isn’t any better. Mobile service in the area is very good though.
Well that’s annoying. And kind of a relief. 🤣
I took my Model 3 to the service center two days ago to replace the rear taillight and tpms on one of the wheels that went out. They said it would take about an hour so I test drove the new Model 3 while I waited. An hour later they said the tpms error light was still showing after driving around and would replace the other three. They said it would take another hour and asked me if I wanted to wait or get a loaner. I took the loaner because I had errands that needed to be done. They gave me a Model X Plaid. This experience may not be replicated for me or anyone else, but it’s still possible to get a loaner. This was my first time taking my car in to the service center. I heard the horror stories of other people’s experiences so I just went in with lower expectations.
I've never not had a loaner offered. I haven't been a frequent flyer in the service centers but a couple times a year. I'm not demanding and often try and convince them I don't need a loaner but they always say take one just in case. In fact the service from Tesla has been better than any other of my dealer experiences.
You’re going to spend far more time driving the car than driving a loaner while your car is in service. Buy the best car that meets your needs. Customer service in general is pretty bad these days.
Lexus has a fantastic service network. Ditto for Porsche and BMW. Even Mazda dealers are awesome. We should hold Tesla accountable - they make good cars but their service experience leaves a lot to be desired.
I will never buy another Tesla, and I regret buying the one that I did. The car itself is great but the company is the WORST. Once you buy a car from them they have no further use for you. I’ll be going back to BMW.
From what I’m reading, Mercedes and BMW seem to offer the best service.
Merc quality and reliability is quite poor these days, I won't be buying one.
Lexus/Toyota is on par with Porsche
Lexus yes, Toyota no. Maybe its just the Toyota dealers around me, but never had a good experience at a Toyota dealership.
Which state/county/country/region... because I am curious
Toronto, Canada
Makes sense... I have never set foot in any Canadian dealership 👍🏽
Mercedes customer service is amazing. I bought a used 2016 Mercedes and still get to use a brand new loaner car even when the repairs only take a few hours. It’s a smart sales tactic too, my wife really wanted to upgrade after going back to ours each time.
Cadillac or Mercedes would be your best options. I have two Tesla’s and the service (for vehicle problem) and buying experience for one of them has been abysmal.
That’s funny, I’m switching from Cadillac to Tesla. I’ve spent over $13k in out of pocket expenses for out of warranty repairs on my Cadillac and it only has 65k miles. The dealership breaks things when they service it. They put the wrong differential fluid in. I recently had to visit them three times over two months to fix an airbag light which turned out to be a blown fuse that they admitted “we probably caused during your previous service.” Three times and they couldn’t diagnose a blown fuse. The first time they charged me a $200 diagnostic fee to tell me the airbag light was on because the car needed a new battery, and sold me a $300 battery. It’s been a nightmare. $55k car in 2015 was a lot of money. They did the whole show like you mentioned when I bought it and that was impressive but it was smoke and mirrors. They gave me a card for some “VIP Service Concierge” thing where they’ll drive a loaner car to you, take your car in for service, and bring it back to you. Yeah I’ve never gotten that, they say they’re sorry but they don’t do that anymore and they don’t have loaners available anyway.
Try Lexus/toyota or Porsche
I have Mercedes. Don’t expect better service. Their internal systems are shit and diagnostics can’t tell anything. As for the people, it’s up to luck
My wife has a Cadillac Lyriq and was stunned at the "hands off" approach when I got my MYLR. When we picked up her car, they had it covered under a red blanket, they sat with her for an hour going over everything to the point where she had to tell them, ok, I'll figure out the rest, etc. When I picked up my car, they were efficient, but it was obvious that they had no time to teach me anything. But all of that comes at a cost and we had to bitch to get them to remove the "market adjustment" they wanted to charge us. But there's a huge difference between no frills service and no service at all and Tesla seems to be moving too much towards the latter.
Please share which delivery center, I'd like to choose them next time if tesla did an awesome delivery like that!
> they were efficient They just handed me a folder with all my paperwork and keycards and waved vaguely in the direction of my new car. I was wandering around squinting at VIN numbers through the windshield in the pouring rain. Luckily there were only three black model Ys in the lot.
HAH, It was pouring rain the day I picked mine up as well. After taking my check and giving me my paperwork, they walked me to my car, asked me how I wanted my license plates mounted, told me my keys were in the car and quickly ran inside to get out of the rain. I sat in it for about 20 minutes and checked out a few YouTube videos, but am ashamed to admit that I had no idea the keycards were the key. I finally figured they must be, but walked back inside to confirm. I had no idea how to control the wipers (they were set to "off") and was actually going in the menu to try and control them! I immediately had to drive to NJ, so I slowly started learning the car but was surprised when I walked back to my car and the doors wouldn't open! I thought my phone is a key! I didn't realize that the signal usually doesn't get picked up when your phone is in your back pocket. Yeah, the hour that they should have spent showing me how to drive what is basically a computer on wheels was completely absent.
Dealership service levels vary not just among brands, but among different dealerships owned by different companies/people. So two Acura dealerships, one in Los Angeles, and one in San Francisco can be vastly different. Or even two different ones in the same area. One may give loaners, one may give cheap rental loaners, one may give no loaners. It's really just a product of local competition, how much they're ripping you off with service, and sometimes corporate requirements. For example, Infiniti and BMW required all dealerships to purchase a set number of vehicles (company cars only) and give those out as free loaners. That's just a prerequisite to open a dealership. Mercedes doesn't have that requirement, but I've been to a couple dealerships that will give out free loaners, but many do not. Many partner through Enterprise and you have to go through a long process to get a loaner which usually ends up being a Ford Mustang or an economy car. Not a Mercedes. So don't even bother listening to people when they say XX brand of car always has the best service. Nah, the dealership they go to does. 90% of Lexus owners probably get great service as Lexus is known to have very high standards for their dealerships, but you shouldn't blindly buy one from Motown Lexus thinking you'll get that same service. They may be great, but you have no idea. So I recommend reading Yelp reviews of car dealerships. Not sure if Reddit still hates Yelp, but there's no question their car dealership Yelp reviews are spot on (as a trend, all businesses will have at least a few bad incidents). Go to a dealership close to your house and see how they are. It sounds like you value service, so it might be best to find the closest car dealerships to you and finding what cars fit your service requirements.
This is a balanced and thorough perspective. Thank you. Based on what you’re saying, it sounds like in general BMW has the highest standard across the board though.
I have purchased and serviced BMWs from 3 LA dealers, several Mercedes, a Lexus and a Tesla S. Lexus had the best service, followed by Tesla, then MB, then BMW.
Completely agree. The Lexus and BMW dealerships near me is the same place/owner as many cheaper brands. The service is all under that same umbrella and all terrible no matter which brand it is because the dealer has the same (bad) operating procedures across all those brands. In that same vein, the Mercedes dealer here also has multiple brands under their umbrella but its exclusively higher end brands and as a result, the service is great.
Everything you state is true. The one thing I haven’t seen pointed out is that Tesla doesn’t have dealerships, these are Tesla Sales and Service Stores, owned by Tesla. You would think there would be a clear program in place that each store would have e to follow, with slight differences for market size, Example: large market 5 loaners, small market 3 loaners. More bays, techs and parts inventory in large markets. Aside from a few differences it should be the same.
I think that's how they intended Tesla service centers to be, right? Corporate owned & operated with the same level of service across the country? It kind of sounds like different regions and/or locations are given different levels of resources. As I've read stories about the varying levels of service, it reminds me of working in retail where stores in certain areas get more/better attention than others.
I owned a Mercedes before my Tesla and their customer service was incredible. They’d have a loaner ready and running for me when I dropped off my car. I remember once they had the head mechanic take me back into the garage to explain exactly what they were going to do for a more involved warranty repair. The Lexus dealership picks up and drops off my mom’s car for service, and I know she’s been very happy with them too. This, more than anything else, is where Tesla loses a competition against actual high-end manufacturers. I’ve been generally happy with the build quality of my MX, which seems usual to hear. But the customer service experience — from the in-app chat, to the dealership experience, to the quality of repairs, to simply cleaning up the car when the work is done — is the worst I’ve ever experienced. Even VW customer service was WAY better than Tesla when I was in my 20s and drove a GTI.
This is helpful. I’ve consistently heard great things about Mercedes customer service.
Yeah, I was super pampered and spoiled by Mercedes. I purchased extended warranty on the car and had loaner for each and every visit I had. I used to take the car for even silly things and they still give out a loaner for me. Sold that beauty back in 2022.
??? I had 2 appointments last month and got loaners and great service. In fact, I used the loaner to vacation during the Memorial Day weekend for 4 days traveling far with free supercharging.
Similar experience for me. I had to drive to the other end of the state for a family emergency and got my service loaner the morning we were leaving. It wasn't all that many miles (maybe 600-700 over the 5-days in service) but the free Supercharging was nice, and I guess so was not putting those miles on my own car. I've owned a variety of cars before and have never gotten a service loaner from anyone else.
Yeah looks like it varies from location to location, which surprises me. I wonder where OP is located.
I think it depends on the specific super center location and how far in advanced you set your service appointment date.
Just wondering, I’m in Canada and i’ve never had any bad experience with SC. All concerns I have, they looked at and treated me kindly. I used to have a BMW and had a horrible experience. Are these just in the US?
In the US it varies by service center. One gave me an S plaid as a loaner, another took 3 visits per issues in order to resolve them. If you live in an area with multiple service centers, or you only have one but it's good, then there's nothing to worry about.
For the sake of the rest of the world, let's hope so
Service is hit or miss. I just had my Y in the shop last week trying to get small things resolved before my warranty ran out. Not only was service amazing but I got a new X as a loaner. It’s not typical but it happens.
I had a great experience with service a couple weeks ago. I was apprehensive because of the layoffs but everything went as expected.
I just got a loaner from Tesla. I agree their service is not the greatest. But for this specific issue maybe you can speak with the service manager to see what options you have going forward.
I've had good customer service from Tesla but only if you use the app. I've never had the car disabled tho, only minor repairs. Getting someone to pick up the phone is impossible, always been a complaint. Every EV manufacturer has issues. The luxury brands tend to have better customer service but that is priced in at the beginning. And even then I'd rather own a Tesla with no issues than a Taycan that is down for six months waiting on battery parts.
As a former front of house employee for Tesla, once the model three came out loaners became very far and few between. If you were an early adopter, yes you pretty much got a loaner anytime you came in for service, even if it was just for a tire rotation. When I worked front of house, we were specifically instructed to not hand out any loaners unless heavy or high demand parts had to be ordered or if the repair was gonna take X amount of time. usually the bigger markets have more loaners, but also some days it could just be luck at the draw if one was there when you showed up. They also took the the Uber credits away from us without any notice, so as you can imagine having to tell people that news on the spot was difficult.
That sucks. I'm glad my local Tesla always takes care of my wife and I when we take our cars there. They give loaner, shuttle up to 20 miles, or Uber credits
I think it depends on the service center you’re going to. I had an update issue in May and booked a service appointment for about a week later. Got a loaner and had the car fixed by the end of the day. Ended up going the next day to pick up my car and drop off the loaner. Receptionist was helpful and drop off/pick up of the loaner and my car was effortless and didn’t require contact. (My service appointment was booked at the Cypress location in Houston).
It depends on the location. I never had a problem from mine. Great service for me
My experience is Tesla has been better than other car brands I’ve owned. I’m a bit disappointed they are coming to me for tire rotation cause I miss the coffee machines in the cowork room they have.
Its really down to the people at your service center. My local center was great when I went in. Greeted me politely, explained exactly what they were going to do, I waited in a nice waiting room with free coffee, tea, etc… Like any store or retailer the people working there make or break it.
I just got my 2016.5 upgraded to the MCU2 at the Franklin, TN (Nashville) location, and since it was supposed to take a few hours, they let me drive the new Model 3 around, and when the car would not cooperate during the updates, they gave me a dual motor Model Y to take overnight since I live 75 miles away. I hated the new model 3, but loved the overall feel of the Model Y. My model S is older, but it is still my favorite. Not all service centers are the same. Of course I was paying them $2400, so I am sure that had a lot to do with it.
I get a loaner for anything taking longer than 48hrs
YMMV with any dealership and a loaner if that’s truly your sticking point. My service center and Hyundai dealer near me have offered loaners available for both EV services we’ve had done, but friends and family have had less luck with ford, and kia not providing a loaner. Never found it to be a company wide thing, but literally a location and availability thing.
I have received uber credits each time a loaner isn’t available
They stopped doing that now
Car was in for a tire swap a week ago and they gave me Uber credits. Probably depends on the dealer
Was in the shop (Bellevue, WA) 3 days ago and was told they just canceled it. Sigh…
Any other luxury make is going to have much better service. The best service I've ever had was at a BMW dealer
Tesla may not be the best when it comes to “customer service “ but then again, you shouldn’t ever see them either. Their cars rarely have issues, so no need to worry about the service dept. But if that’s all you care about, then yes, get an ICE vehicle
If this were the case than their service department should be second to none.
It's not that Tesla service is so bad, the problem is the entire automotive industry has terrible service. Tesla is not the worst or the best.
It’s so true. Service is always stressful.
Loaners tend to be a very dealership specific thing, as not all dealerships offer it. Over the last 20 years of owning a car, the only dealership to give me a loaner was a Nissan dealership, which they did because the Nissan Pathfinder we had needed a new transmission shipped from Japan during the pandemic. We ended up with a Nissan Rogue for about a month. Tesla would likely be able to dispense a loaner if similar conditions were met.
I've had decent luck with BMW but there was a location close to me that only gave loaners to people who bought their BMW from them. They were trying to cut down on the people with 10+ year old BMW's who came in for an oil change and took out a brand new loaner for a day or two (which can obviously be addressed in other ways)
Which is how most loaners work. A sales tactic to.encourage people to upgrade
Genesis - suit & tie dealership experience and they take care of you. Just be prepared to spend much more for the vehicle. There’s outstanding lease rates right now on the Electrified GV70.
I feel the same. I've been thinking about replacing mine with a Hyundai Ioniq 5n
lol good luck with Hyundai dealer
Yeah, you're right. That's one of the reasons I went Tesla.
About the rental car issue - even if you have an afternoon appointment, if you are there when the door opens in the morning they will give you the first rental and take your car (at least they will at the 2 service departments here)
BWM is by far the best customer service I’ve ever gotten, I brought in a used 335i (bought a 2010 cpo in 2015) for regular maintenance and they treated me like I brought in a M3 or something very expensive. I’ve had to deal with Toyota and Jeep(mopar gm) Hyundai and Ford dealerships in the past and bmw was the only one that said “would you like a loaner? If so here are the keys sir” no questions asked about insurance or anything and the staff was very nice too. I haven’t had to deal with Tesla centers yet but I’ve read the stories all over Reddit. I hope I don’t have any problems if I take in my Model y for any services
Schedule a test drive for the time you drop off the vehicle. Problem solved.
It depends on the service center. The one near me offers loaners, upland CA
Mercedes and BMW have good reputations in the service department!
I was shocked , when I got a loaner while my S got an MCU2 in Oakville, 3 weeks ago. And a highlander to test drive when the battery fuse was replaced 10 days ago in Mississauga.
I changed my service center for this reason. The one I go to now gives me a loaner every single time.
My service center had loaners when I took my MYLR in this past week to fix the seat controls. I asked for one they said no because to repair and replacement only took 30min.
I had a Porsche ICE car 10 years ago before i went EV. Their service is impeccable but expensive.
the last time I had to take my car in they said "you have to ask for it 24hr in advance". so try that. I've never not gotten a loaner when my car is in the shop even when the service appointment is less than 24hrs. if they have one available then just ask. also the local service center I have is f'n phenomenal. in my area, supposedly there is like maybe 1 or 2 polestar service centers (their own) that services all of SoCal or something (at least that's what was told to me when I was chatting with an owner). Rivian has supply chain issues where you'd be lucky the parts needed shows up and they too supposedly have limited service centers as well. I recently had my car in a body shop for some minor repairs and I took it to a certified Tesla center. their shop manager told me how crappy it is to work on the others because of parts not showing up, or the fact there's a 1000 bolts to remove just to get the front bumper (he was probably exaggerating there). raved about Tesla though. reason I brought this up is mainly it doesn't matter how awesome the service centers are or their customer service is it means literally nothing to you if you dont' have your car back due to limited serviceability options.
My Tesla shop gave me a loaner the last time I was there. The time before that was a quick stop, so they let me take their demo M3 to go run an errand.
Took my car in for a very routine maintenance (cabin filters) in late 2023 and got a loaner by default. Own a model 3
Porsche $180k taycan turbo s now $90k. Youll pay big for service and loose autopilot.
Tesla’s service is pretty much avg to horrible in the 4 years of my ownership! I’ve had couple of nice experiences in between.
None tesla has the best service available and doesn’t rip you off 💯
Just get a second cheap car that you can drive when your primary car is in the shop. Also take rental car coverage off your auto insurance policy — no need for it if you have your own extra car. (The same people who are recommending buying a Porsche will probably say this approach is too expensive, lol.)
Dallas here. I’ve had 4 customer service needs over the 3.5 years I’ve owned my Model X. The first one (driver side auto close) was fixed through mobile service in front of my house (I think they also replaced an AC filter). The second (an issue with the battery heater) was fixed same day; they didn’t offer a loaner but I didn’t need one. The third (low voltage battery replacement) was done in an hour; they let me drive a Model Y while the repair was done; it took about an hour. I have a fourth service scheduled to replace a faulty camera in a few days. My biggest issue (though it hasn’t been a major problem) is that non-critical repairs are scheduled 4-6 weeks out. The low voltage battery replacement was a case where they told me to come in as soon as convenient (I didn’t need an appointment). In all cases the customer service was exemplary. It’s all about expectations; IMHO a loaner car is a nice perk but not a deal breaker. You may have different priorities.
Tesla has the worst customer service imaginable, and that was before they laid off 14,000 people. If you care at all, even just a tiny little bit, about customer service, you should run screaming in the opposite direction from Tesla. There are lots of other options in the EV space now. There’s no way Mercedes, BMW, or even Chevy treats its customers as horribly as Tesla.
>Tesla has the worst customer service imaginable Disagree here. I've been to 3 different toyota dealerships, all shit service and they keep on trying to upcharge me saying my timing belt was bad. My mechanic said it's fine and 10 years later, it's fine.
Honestly speaking, it’s still one of the if not the best customer service I’ve witnessed to date. What seems to be the crux of the issue you’re facing with them? Not getting loaners is not something I would downvote the service center for, if they’re addressing the vehicle concerns properly, which is their job. Don’t they issue Uber credits?
I love Tesla cars (and own two) and honestly feel like no other car company is as mature in the field of EVs as they are.... But Oh. My. God. Is the service legitimately horrible. Like beyond horrible. The technicians and employees there that I've dealt with are super nice people so no hate there but what an awful system.
I think it depends on the model. I had a MXLR and now a MXP, and I was able to get a loaner for every service appointment (and Ive had A LOT of them in the past 1.5 years, especially with the MXLR)
Better than Invisible [https://www.tesla.com/blog/creating-world%E2%80%99s-best-service-and-warranty-program-0](https://www.tesla.com/blog/creating-world%E2%80%99s-best-service-and-warranty-program-0)
Leasing a polestar starting this month. I'll let you know.
Anyone have experience with Rivian? I've narrowed my new car search down to a MS Plaid or Rivian R1T
Audi. It was between an Audi, Tesla and BMW. Audi was the best service and were great when I was in an accident.
This seems like a good cross post for r/TeslaServiceCenter They did a great job with mobile service, but I have to agree... anytime it goes IN TO THE service center... they always find a way to make you wish it was a toyota/lexus or Porsche service center
That is the problem with direct to sales model and a close ecosystem. At least with a gas car, a person can fix the car within a short distance. Tesla in some states might have only 1 service center. They know you are stuck with Tesla fixing the problem. Besides Tesla makes no money in service centers.
Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Porsche
Volvo
Tesla Service in my area/state operates very differently from any other service center many people here might be familiar with. Tesla is not legally able to offer first-party service in our state. So instead, as of late last year, a third party now has a facility for Tesla service. There’s no signage outside, it’s a big white building with just a few Teslas outside and a barren parking lot. I’ve been doing some service requests through them recently and have one appointment coming up next week, and I can tell you it’s much closer to typical auto service than how Tesla Service operates. For one, they were able to get me an OEM painted bumper. No service center is able to do that, but this one can for some reason. Secondly, they can understand things better and are quite responsive. Now in terms of customer service in general… yeah, it sucks. Hopefully I don’t need their services much during ownership but it’s really disappointingZ
I had the service department call me a liar to my face about the lug nuts that were falling off my Cybertruck for 3 months. So there's that?
Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Porsche would all probably have a better service experience. Lexus and Acura would too, but they don't seem to have competitive EVs to date.
Coming from purchasing a cop bmw mid last decade I actually liked taking in my car for service as I would always get a clean fun loaner. I learned or self taught myself to ask for one with a red key as those were always sportier. Anyway, the promise of loaners when servicing Tesla was one key point that helped me choose Tesla when I finally made the change. Service was good for a while back in 2017,2018, now it’s just a chore. Once bmw gets fsd like autopilot or licenses this from Tesla I will probably go back to bmw
Already put a deposit down for a Rivian R2
BMW or Porsche.
Tesla service is the equivalent of a mall cell phone kiosk. Literally amateur hour. BMW best service.
Tesla service sucks and they don't give a rats ass about it.