Friday, April 13, 2018

Buyer beware. Buying a CPO Tesla is a SCAM

Ill try to keep this short and to the point. I'll also keep names out of it as I really do not intend to cause anyone any harm.

First of all, I love Tesla. An amazing company that makes a kick ass car led by a true visionary.
For most of the past 10 years I've been driving different BMW's as they provide the best driving experience in my opinion -- that was until I drove a model S.

So, I spoke with a sales person at Tesla. We went over options and available CPO's.
Overall a very helpful and accommodating person.
KEY POINT:
me: I never bought a car that I haven't seen in real life, or taken out for a test drive. What guarantee is there that the car is in good shape.
him: All of our CPO cars go through the rigorous Tesla certification process and have passed the Tesla quality standards in terms of esthetics and function.

This was enough of an explanation for me. it made sense. If its good enough for Tesla, its sure as hell good enough for me.

So, I bought a sexy white MS85D with 40K miles. All i saw was a photo of the car in what looked like a Tesla workshop of some sort. I was referred to the nearest service center to my location (4 hours away) who were supposed to handle the delivery

There's a bit of a mini-fiasco story with the delivery but lets skip that to keep this post on point. All I'll say is that after the papers were signed via overnight FedEx back and forth (and people were super nice and friendly too) it felt like they forgot about me and sounded very annoyed every time I called to ask about when the car is getting delivered. Apparently it was being delayed because of the necessary detailing that had to be done.


Delivery:
delivery was in the late afternoon on a dark and gloomy day.
Took the car, signed the papers. Truck left.
I immediately call to ask about the cleanliness of the car. I was told that as a CPO it is within the Tesla standards.

Next day, in the sunlight, I had a better look at the car. and that's when I realized just how bad the car's condition is.
Issues:
- Headliner in TERRIBLE condition, Truly disgusting-peeling and hanging down.
- Steering wheel leather has what appears to be permanent damage. Maybe its just
- Blemish / paint chip on the front of the hood
- Leather seats have dark streaks of what looks like oil / grease stains
- Dirt and gravel pretty much everywhere.
- The rear trunk center storage compartment (requires lifting the trunk floor) has dirt and gravel, some weird clothing item, and most revoltingly a dental hygiene tool (an inter-dental floss -- is it used?? I hate to even consider the thought)
- Headliner is peeling and coming off in a couple of areas
- Center console has 2 deep gouges in it.

Other issues:
- BT audio connectivity SUCKS ( i have had to do a soft reset a total of 9 times now in 5 weeks).
- Wheels need alignment. The autopilot blue steering wheel looks funny at an 11 o'clock position when driving in a straight line.

Obviously I called and raised hell with the service dept. Sent them the photos. they apologize and say "let me see what I can do and ill call you back."
No call back, so I call next day. " Whats the update?"
"We are still looking into it, give me until the end of the day."
Car was delivered Monday. By Friday absolutely nothing was done. Each and every day I was told "I'll get right back to you with a way to correct this."
So, I call and tell them that ill take it to a local Auto detail specialist and get it cleaned up. Detail guy says headliner is beyond repair.
I call back and give the service team the update on Saturday. Service guy says "ok, we will have to send a truck to pick it up and bring it here. We will provide a loaner while we work on your car. Let me call you Monday when my manager gets here to get it set up for you."
Monday comes. Nothing. Late afternoon I call the sales guy I bought the car from. "Hello -- Here's he deal, if this car was in a dealership there is no way in hell i would have bought it. I trusted you and the company when you said it is within the Tesla quality standards being a CPO car. whats the return policy on the car? and don't worry, i'll purchase another CPO, I just don't want this one"
"There is no return policy. The car is in good shape. Just cause you don't like it, does not mean you can return it."
"i'll send you the pictures, then lets talk about the Tesla quality standards"

I sent the pics, with a written request to return the car and to have my money back.
this was 4 weeks ago. I have sent him maybe 4-5 other emails and called about 4-5 as well. Have not heard back from Mr. Sales guy.

The service team eventually got back Tuesday. "We are working on the details on the loaner give us a couple of days."
I call Friday "no movement yet. Please be patient"
Another week goes by with absolutely nothing happening. Dodging my phone calls, everyone is in a meeting, and people are getting sick all of a sudden. I called Tesla headquarters in CA. they say all they can do is have the service center in charge of the car handle the problem. But, they will send it over to the escalations department. they recommended I speak with the manager in the service department but refuse to say his name.


On a Monday I get in touch with the manager. Super rude individual.
verbatim : "We are not sending a truck to pick your car up -- it is too expensive."
My reply was : "you know whats too expensive? paying $70K for a car with black and brown grease marks all over, a peeling headliner, and dental hygiene products in the trunk."
He insists that its too expensive to send a truck to pickup the car and provide a loaner. He said the best he can do is fix it in a Tesla approved body shop, and order the parts necessary and have it sent there. And they will arrange for a Luxury rental from Enterprise.
I explain to him that if the repairs take a month, and I have already been dealing with a month, then I will have paid for a car that I am completely unhappy with for 2 months -- thats not cool. And who wants to pay for a Tesla and then drive a car with an ICE and have to put gas and stuff..??
All he could do is send the mobile unit to fix the issues, scheduled on Friday, which will be 25 days from delivery.

Mobile unit gets here, the poor guy is shocked. He takes photos, all the while shaking his head. Says there is no way this can be done in the field. Recommends the car be sent back. this was 10 days ago.

Despite the recommendation from the mobile unit, it took the service team a whole week to give me straight answer about sending a loaner and picking my car up.
this is supposed to happen by Saturday. It will be almost 6 weeks from delivery.


I don't know what to think about the whole thing. But I will definitely never buy CPO from Tesla again, and quite frankly I am questioning whether I should ever buy another Tesla at all.
For $70K I would have bought a very nice beamer, and would have received excellent customer service from a very reputable auto maker.
I paid $70K for a car that, and lets all be honest with each other here, is severely lacking on the inside. But, we are all ok with it because it drives amazing, and we all buy into the company and its mission as a whole. For me though, this touchy feely crap only goes a certain distance. Once I started getting treated like dirt, and spent my commutes alongside a lot of dirt, reality set in that I've been conned.

I would still love to be able to get my money back and give this dirt pile back.
 

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