# Disappointed with Tesla loaner vehicle quality



## Protect1989

I’ll start by saying it great that Tesla gives our loaner vehicles (situation depending). Always makes things easier. 

That being said, the quality of the loaners they are giving out is embarrassing. I was given a Gen 1 P85 with 70k miles on the odometer. It creaks and rattles like crazy too. 

Other manufactures like BMW, Volvo, Mercedes, etc, give their newest model vehicles so that you can see what other vehicles they have to offer as well as keeping the customer happy. Tesla should really only be giving out vehicles 3 years of age or less and under a certain mileage limit. 

If I spent 100k+ on a Model S or X only to be given a loaner that is worth maybe 30k used, I would not be too happy with Tesla.


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## Firewired

I have two Teslas and have had a couple of appointments in the last 6 months. No P100Ds here, they seem to have switched to loaning out the most beat up, oldest cars they have.


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## TomT

Hey, they are free and at least they give loaners... Lighten up.


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## Protect1989

TomT said:


> Hey, they are free and at least they give loaners... Lighten up.


Totally agree. That's why I started this post saying that it's great they provide them.

It's also totally acceptable to be appreciative of a service but also willing to point out how it can be improved. The two don't have to be exclusive of one another. Service loaners are great and much appreciated, however there is certainly room for improvement.

This is a huge area of marketing for Tesla that they are missing out on. If I am in a model 3 and you provide me with a very poor example of a Model S or X, it's not going to make me want to upgrade or talk highly of the model to other people


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## MelindaV

as a stock owner that hopes it will actually get back above my buying prices, I don't see the need for them to give out a brand new car for a loaner. with prior cars, I may have been lucky enough to get a loaner that was the Econo model of whatever dealership it was - most times they offered to rent the Econo for $50 a day (for their warranty work). 
so it is generous for Tesla to include a loaner at all, even if it is not the brand new P100D.
The loaner I got from my local service center was a Signature Model S. Probably with 70k miles. If anything, it made me appreciate the improvements they have made since that car came out of Fremont.


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## M3OC Rules

Protect1989 said:


> This is a huge area of marketing for Tesla that they are missing out on. If I am in a model 3 and you provide me with a very poor example of a Model S or X, it's not going to make me want to upgrade or talk highly of the model to other people


It's not exactly the same situation as say BMW. If you have a Model 3 it's basically new. And I think a lot of Tesla owners already talk highly of Tesla. I think they are more concerned with profitability. Now if they loaned me a P3D I probably would be tempted to upgrade so maybe they would grab a few.


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## Mr. Spacely

I'm not sure I understand. These cars need maintenance? You have to drop them off to be fixed in some way?


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## shareef777

Protect1989 said:


> Totally agree. That's why I started this post saying that it's great they provide them.
> 
> It's also totally acceptable to be appreciative of a service but also willing to point out how it can be improved. The two don't have to be exclusive of one another. Service loaners are great and much appreciated, however there is certainly room for improvement.
> 
> This is a huge area of marketing for Tesla that they are missing out on. If I am in a model 3 and you provide me with a very poor example of a Model S or X, it's not going to make me want to upgrade or talk highly of the model to other people


I don't know, I feel the opposite. Just seems wasteful to take a new car and have people put added wear and tear on it only for Tesla to turn around and sell it as a demo/used. I too had an older Model S when my 3 was in service for a month. It actually confused me as it had no center console and only 3G coverage so navigation was pretty slow to load. I'd still recommend an S/X to anyone if they're looking for more room than the 3 has. As for marketing, I don't think someone else testing a $100k vehicle would sway my decision on making a purchase. I'd want to try it out for myself.


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## shareef777

M3OC Rules said:


> It's not exactly the same situation as say BMW. If you have a Model 3 it's basically new. And I think a lot of Tesla owners already talk highly of Tesla. I think they are more concerned with profitability. Now if they loaned me a P3D I probably would be tempted to upgrade so maybe they would grab a few.


They'd do that at the time of purchase or when initially checking out the car. I went in to test the LR DM 3. The salesman put me in the Perf instead and had me sold before we got to the end of the block. I'd imagine there're very few people that purchase a Tesla from the site without actually getting in one to try it. Once at a store you can check out the various models and options available.

What I mean is that they DO have perf models that get used by customers, but they can't give them out as loaners as they need to keep them around for test drives.


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## iChris93

A good compromise to brand new vehicles would be to use cars returned during the 7 day/1000 mile guarantee. They are already going to take a loss on those selling them as inventory vehicles.

Though I agree with @MelindaV that I would rather them focus on profitability before providing top of the line courtesy loaner vehicles.


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## Protect1989

Totally agree with everyone. Take a brand new Model S or X just to use it as a loaner car would be a waste of potential revenue. 

A 3 year old lease return or( as u/ichris93 mentioned) using the returned vehicles is a much better option then giving out 7-8 year old vehicles. 

There are definitely ways to improve the loaner program without substantial financial hits


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## Madmolecule

At least you got a loaner. When I took my wife's 3 in to have Homelink installed (which is frustrating in itself), they said they could not get to it, made it very clear that they have no obligation to provide a loaner and gave me an Uber credit to get home. I understood the no guarantee of a loaner part, I never requested a loaner and could not imagine why it would take more than an hour to install the Homelink. This is with a two week reservation. I don't know if the reservations do anything. Every time I have been in, they pull up the reservation and I feel the planning and scheduling starts at that moment. There is massive room for improvements in service delivery and customer communication. The service reservation are about as beneficial as making a bug report. I could probably yell the bug report out the window to achieve the same results. The Tesla is a revolutionary car not a revolutionary stock investment.


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## Mr. Spacely

Madmolecule said:


> The Tesla is a revolutionary car not a revolutionary stock investment.


I wouldn't be so sure about that. When the China factory comes on line soon, and the Model Y rolls out next year, sales will explode. TSLA is one of the most shorted stocks out there, and when these FUDs have to cover it will result in an epic short squeeze. I'm not even counting on the eventual pick up truck or true self driving. When we get there TSLA stock will look like AMZN...


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## ymilord

Thou, I agree they should show there best foot forward when it comes to customer service and loaners. But, I disagree with is the inconsistency on how they do it. i.e. I took our model X in for service and got Uber credits on the 23rd of this month. The secondary thing is the person at the Service center at that appointment said that Mobile could have done this if the uber credits were an issue. When I set up the initial appointment over the phone (this is a whole other issue as they favor the 'chat' box on their website.)- they said that it was out of the scope of mobile and it had to be done at a service center. It seems that you can not get a consistent answer from anyone via phone, email, chat or physically at the service center. Its a dice roll every time. I truly hope they attack this issue as they have on other things. And soon.


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## iChris93

Mr. Spacely said:


> When we get there TSLA stock will look like AMZN...


I want to believe this but I am not sure that Tesla will ever dominate the market as much as Amazon does.


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## M3OC Rules

shareef777 said:


> They'd do that at the time of purchase or when initially checking out the car. I went in to test the LR DM 3. The salesman put me in the Perf instead and had me sold before we got to the end of the block. I'd imagine there're very few people that purchase a Tesla from the site without actually getting in one to try it. Once at a store you can check out the various models and options available.
> 
> What I mean is that they DO have perf models that get used by customers, but they can't give them out as loaners as they need to keep them around for test drives.


When I got mine the Tesla store staff there had never driven a Model 3 and the performance version wasn't out yet. I believe it was quite a while before test drives were available. Late 2018, they called me to try to get me to try the performance but I told them I wouldn't because then I would want it. But ya if you just bought your car I don't think there are many people that will trade in because they got a nicer loaner right now. Perhaps people with older Model S cars would be a target.


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## Dr. J

When I used to take my Toyota Prius in for service, I was fortunate to wait around for an hour until the service van departed to drop people off at work or home, which took another hour. Then I pressed my wife into service to haul me back to the dealership to pick up the car, burning up an hour or more of her time. An Uber credit sounds lovely, and a loaner car is like a distant, faraway dream.....

So, I guess it depends on where you're coming from. Some of us aren't used to being pampered by lux brands.

Edit: And, yes, I did have to walk to school barefoot, in the snow, against the wind (both ways).


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## Needsdecaf

I once brought my $85k Porsche in for an emergency service. No loaners. I got an Enterprise grade Mazda 3.

Was I thrilled? No. Did I complain? No. 

Better than walking.


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## shareef777

Dr. J said:


> When I used to take my Toyota Prius in for service, I was fortunate to wait around for an hour until the service van departed to drop people off at work or home, which took another hour. Then I pressed my wife into service to haul me back to the dealership to pick up the car, burning up an hour or more of her time. An Uber credit sounds lovely, and a loaner car is like a distant, faraway dream.....
> 
> So, I guess it depends on where you're coming from. Some of us aren't used to being pampered by lux brands.
> 
> Edit: And, yes, I did have to walk to school barefoot, in the snow, against the wind (both ways).





Needsdecaf said:


> I once brought my $85k Porsche in for an emergency service. No loaners. I got an Enterprise grade Mazda 3.
> 
> Was I thrilled? No. Did I complain? No.
> 
> Better than walking.


My Honda dealership offers either getting a loaner or they'll shuttle you a reasonable distance. Even for something as basic as an oil change. I actually took them up on their offer for a loaner once while getting an oil change. Took the car to a nearby mall. Less than an hour later they called saying my car was ready. Last time I took a loaner for just an oil change lol.


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## M3OC Rules

I try to avoid getting a loaner. I've had issues twice where there was damage to the car that I was positive didn't happen while it was in my possession. One time I freaked out for half the day while they said they had no record of the damage (I didn't notice it until I got to work) and then later they said oh ya I guess we do. The worse one happened after I returned the car. They threatened me but I fought it because there was no way for that damage to happen while the car was parked and I would have noticed if it happened while driving. Eventually, they dropped it because I'm guessing they don't keep very good records and did not check it right away when I dropped it off. Maybe someone confessed.

The service experience is a good point though. You've got some people coming from Toyotas and Hondas and then some from BMWs and Lexus which can vary quite a bit in terms of expectations.


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## Jim Brown

If you have to take your car in for warranty work, and you can't just sit there a wait for them to do the work now, then you should get a loaner car. No question. That's the car dealer's problem. And you shouldn't be inconvenienced because of that. Hopefully, the loaner is at least as nice as the car you are getting fixed.

I did a dumb thing and had to take my Model 3 into the Service Center in Pensacola. Not a warranty fix. Chris was my Service Technician. Instead of bringing the car in to see what parts needed to be ordered. Which is what I figured would happen. He said, "Let's get it in here and get it done." I was back on the road in a little over an hour. No. I won't say what the "thing" was that I was having work done on. Like I said, it was dumb.

If your car is out of warranty, and you get a loaner you don't have to pay for, just say "Thank you". If you get an Uber credit, taxi or the shop gives you a ride, just say "Thank you". If your significant other or family member gives you a ride, tell them "Thank you".


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## FRC

What? No whining, no complaining, no "woe is me"? Who the hell are you @Jim Brown , and what are you doing on an internet forum?


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## Madmolecule

Mr. Spacely said:


> I wouldn't be so sure about that. When the China factory comes on line soon, and the Model Y rolls out next year, sales will explode. TSLA is one of the most shorted stocks out there, and when these FUDs have to cover it will result in an epic short squeeze. I'm not even counting on the eventual pick up truck or true self driving. When we get there TSLA stock will look like AMZN...


Hopefully the stock will get there. Amazon did have an up hill battle from some pretty established brands like Walmart. I hope Elon's wealth will dwarf Bezo's in the future, as everything he is involved in is amazing has unlimited worldwide potential. The point I was trying to make is I get very frustrated with this forum defending everything Tesla does that we just don't understand what we are experiencing with our car or the service centers etc. I don't know if it is fear of the shorters or just trying to protect your stock investment. I believe Tesla is strong enough to withstand some constructive criticism. I thought I was I was posting to the Tesla Owners forum not the Tesla fan club. The few weaknesses Tesla have won't even require revolution. They can copy sound installation, infotainment options, delivery and service from other auto and non-auto companies. I keep returning to this forum to find owner experiences to improve my Tesla experience and investment. I love the civilness, (I guess it's not a word but spellcheck keeps trying to replace it with evilness), of this forum but if it is just a forum of Tesla owners high-fiving each other won't add much value to Tesla owners as the cars become more familiar. Maybe I'm wrong and there are still very active Prius forums discussing every detail of the new model.


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## MelindaV

Madmolecule said:


> I don't know if it is fear of the shorters or just trying to protect your stock investment


for me personally, it is neither of those, but instead seeing all the good outweighs any bad. and generally I tend not to be someone that complains about the little things (a la @Jim Brown style)

and seeing everyone else ***** about the slightest thing is not really what I want to get out of my time on line.


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## iChris93

Madmolecule said:


> I love the civilness, (I guess it's not a word but spellcheck keeps trying to replace it with evilness),


Civility, maybe?


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## shareef777

MelindaV said:


> for me personally, it is neither of those, but instead seeing all the good outweighs any bad. and generally I tend not to be someone that complains about the little things (a la @Jim Brown style)
> 
> and seeing everyone else ***** about the slightest thing is not really what I want to get out of my time on line.


This is why we're all Tesla fans, their good far outweighs their bad, but ignoring the bad completely doesn't do anyone good. This place would just be a fan club and all posts would consist of "I :hearteyes: Tesla!"

I've personally gained from even the slightest criticism. Some of the earlier posts I read was in regards to checking for slight imperfections in the glass. Something I never did with any car I've bought before. That led me to finding a small chip that likely would have expanded during the winter leaving me with a large expense for the replacement and being disgruntled with Tesla.


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## Madmolecule

MelindaV said:


> f (a la @Jim Brown style).


I love me some James Brown. 
"You can't teach others if you are living the same way" 
"The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing"


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## SoFlaModel3

Most of the Tesla loaners that I received were in extremely poor condition and were returned trade-ins that they must have gotten really cheap. At some point they switched to Enterprise and a brand new fleet of Model S' which was much nicer. I have heard more recently that they've been issuing Uber/Lyft credits.

Hopefully more and more is possible with mobile service and it's a moot point!


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## Dr. J

Madmolecule said:


> I love me some James Brown.
> "You can't teach others if you are living the same way"
> "The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing"


Get on the good foot!


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## Casey_S

Received Uber credits last time I was in service, and as far as I know the new company policy will be to dispense credits with an option to rent a loaner for a daily fee. It was something like $100 in credits a day though, so... I Ubered everywhere I could to rack up the reward points.


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## Madmolecule

I think the Uber credits are only for a limited time. I loaded my $200 in credit are used it once. I’ve been out of the country for the last month and now they don’t show up anymore. It might be my confusion but I think you have a limited time to use them


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