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So much for cheaper to maintain... $140 for my first tire rotation!

35K views 162 replies 65 participants last post by  Unplugged 
#1 ·
So I just got off the phone to schedule my first tire rotation on Helga. I called up Tesla and I was shocked when they told me the cost to rotate the tires! $140. I think I pay $32 at the Honda dealer for that. I might need to start looking around because I can't imagine paying $140 every 3 months for a tire rotation. It might be cheaper to never rotate and buy new tires sooner.

I'll pay it this time but either I'll buy one of those jacks with jack stands that can hold the tesla so I can rotate myself or I'll find another tire shop I can trust to lift the car correctly and pay them $50 or whatever.
 
#4 ·
Not sure yet I'll ask when I take it in. This was the cost I was quoted for making the appointment on Monday.

Most cars need tire rotation so this is nothing unique to Tesla, paying $140 for this is ridiculous and completely unnecessary, not sure why anyone would pay this much for tire rotation

First ..... you DONT need to go to Tesla to rotate your tires... any tire shop can do that for a small fee or if you are inclined you can do it yourself for $0

Second .... after you burn through your first set of tires and purchase a new set, most tire shops will give you Free rotation for the life of your new set of tires that you purchased from them, if they don't I would suggest shopping elsewhere.
I know this but the issue is who can reliably lift a Tesla Model 3? That is the issue. If it is done wrong it will damage the battery pack. The Model S/X use a different type of jack point than the Model 3. I just need to call around and see who actually knows what they are doing and if they can do it. I have two other items that need to be addressed so I'll let Tesla do it this time but I'll be calling around to see who can do it for the next time.

The other funny thing is say the tires last 24k miles and I pay for Tesla to rotate 3 times that would be $420. If a new set of tires is about $1k or so then is it worth it to rotate them at all? The cost they charge to rotate would almost be 1/2 the cost of a new set of tires.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Most cars need tire rotation so this is nothing unique to Tesla, paying $140 for this is ridiculous and completely unnecessary, not sure why anyone would pay this much for tire rotation

First ..... you DONT need to go to Tesla to rotate your tires... any good tire shop can do that for a small fee or if you are inclined you can do it yourself for $0

Second .... after you burn through your first set of tires and purchase a new set, most tire shops will give you Free rotation for the life of your new set of tires that you purchased from them, if they don't I would suggest shopping elsewhere.
 
#6 ·
The thing about Tesla’s prices for this is that they don’t want to mess with tires or these cars have so little need for service they’ve got to make some money off of something. Maybe both. My recommendation for Discount Tire above came from a Tesla employee.
 
#8 ·
The thing about Tesla's prices for this is that they don't want to mess with tires or these cars have so little need for service they've got to make some money off of something. Maybe both. My recommendation for Discount Tire above came from a Tesla employee.
Thanks a lot!
 
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#7 ·
I just got mine done for free. Local tire shop that has done a few tesla's already.

I kind of think Tesla might charge a lot for things they really don't want to do and you can easily get done someplace else as an incentive to get it done someplace else.
 
#9 ·
I did my first rotation last week at a local indy shop for $15

I agree with your thread title though. While Tesla’s don’t require a lot of service, non-warranty work through Tesla is very expensive.
 
#10 ·
I did my first rotation last week at a local indy shop for $15

I agree with your thread title though. While Tesla's don't require a lot of service, non-warranty work through Tesla is very expensive.
This will be the first/last time I let them rotate my tires. I just needed it done because I just got done with a road trip and am above 6k miles and haven't had any time to figure out who can safely rotate them. I wanted to make sure I did some homework first to know who people trust to jack their Tesla's before I went and just had some random shop do it.
 
#11 ·
So for Jack Points, are you guys leaving it up to the shop, or did you purchase/build adapters?

I'm looking at this set of 4 jack point pucks on Ebay for $75 that looks pretty nice. Billet Aluminum.
 
#12 ·
I would like to purchase some so if you get some let us know how it goes. You never know when you need to jack a car and it would be handy to have some in the frunk/trunk if I need them on short notice.

My detailer uses these for his business and has no complaints but they are a bit pricier. They have magnets on them so you put them on the car and they stick and then you jack the car. I guess they were designed/made by someone here in Austin.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/142709055354
 
#20 ·
Having to carry around these jack pads just seems like a pain in the xxx to me. You will always have to explain it to the tire shop, and more likely than not the guy doing the work will not get the message or forget to use them, and/or loose them in the shop. Just seems like some sort of low profile pad at the jack points should have been built into the vehicle. Are there any after market pads that can be installed and just left on the jack points?
 
#21 ·
Well I always use the same shop since one price is lifetime rotate and balance and road hazard Warrenty. With a case I know I won't be missing any when I leave and I always make an appt and wait so it won't be there without me. And being type A, I won't be leaving without them.

I guess you could make something to fit in there and stay but it may get ripped off by low curbs or somehow fall off.

For me I am gonna take the UMC outta the trunk so I figure it will be a net lose of weight.
 
#26 ·
I wanted to update this thread that I just got a call from Tesla out of the blue. They called to tell me my tire rotation would be free for the first rotation and I was misquoted the price and it is $87.50 for each subsequent rotation. Maybe they saw my forum post? :)
 
#28 ·
MAN! I will have to make my first FREE rotation at 12k miles then!
 
#27 ·
Well - will have to remember the first one is free. Figure we all might get different stories on that since Tesla has done a pretty poor job of documenting the standard services and charges for the 3. I’m not one to ever have those done on any traditional ICE vehicles. I don’t want any issues with this one though so would consider it if it has to do with maintaining the drive system and or battery.
 
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#30 ·
Wait. What do you mean? You called mobile service for a tire rotate? And they said free?
 
#31 ·
Everyone only wants free stuff from Tesla but when its time to spend money they bypass them. Just an FYI as a motorcycle dealer, this puts a tremendous strain on the Service Centers. You'll be sorry when their gone and support is sparse. I see this on a daily basis, customer tries to save 50-100 dollars and either does the service himself or takes it to some third party shop. Customer has either more problems than when he started or the work was sub par and brings it in to us to make it right. Yes we are more expensive but we also spend all kinds of money on training our techs for the OEM we sell. You get what you pay for. I for one will support Tesla 100% as I want this company to succeed and also want more support for these cars. I only wish I had a Service center less than 3 hours away.
 
#39 ·
Yes and I was told it's always free. (not having had the car years though, always might have multiple meanings)

I asked many times to confirm, always the same answer

View attachment 13805
Ok. well the Mobile Service is coming Friday to look at the BT issues :rolleyes:, replace a taillight that gets water in it and check why sometimes the car doesn't lock or shut down when I walk away. I will be asking him about this!
 
#37 ·
I had actually scheduled a regular service in the service center for my rotation; they called me and offered to do it mobile instead. If they need to ramp up mobile service to handle people that are too far from the service center anyways now that there are a lot more Tesla cars on the road, I'm betting they volunteered it to keep the load off the main service center.
 
#43 ·
...and he was never hear from again. :(

/Roll credits to somber music

;)
So mobile service was here and I asked him about the tire rotates. He said that is not something they do as a matter of course.
There might be a reason he would do it as a courtesy but he wouldn't just do it if you asked and he led me to believe they would not send him out to do that.
Of course in your area that may be different.
 
#44 ·
That's interesting - and I guess unexpected they would have such different policies by location. Here (Ca Bay Area) I got the sense they really prefer you not come in and mobile is a big deal (and growing the tech told me)
 
#45 ·
Well I cant believe that that would be something that will last very long. Having guys just come out and do free rotates with so many Model 3 on the road (especially the Bay Area) would not be sustainable for any company let alone one trying to make its first profit.
 
#46 ·
My take on that is

1) they have mentioned to me a number of times they are trying to prevent service calls at centers so they seem to want to come to you
2) I've seen zero doc on what kind if any maintenance plan comes with these cars - is this related and it won't go forever just based on that
3) no argument but not going to look a good service in the mouth
4) i don't know where the biggest concentration of Tesla's are, 3 or other - but there sure seems to be a huge load of them out these parts..
 
#48 ·
I wonder if a mobile van fleet is not significantly cheaper than costs for a whole facility - if they could somehow never have actual service centers at all, I could see that math working out.. big if...
 
#49 ·
Th

The interesting part about that "van fleet" is that some of them drive modified S's with slide out tool boxes in back. Had not thought about the offset of having more physical facilities so that could be a big deal, but still a lot of wasted man time with a mechanic driving between locations.
 
#50 ·
I got my tires rotated for free. However, they were replacing my windshield for ~$900 and I asked if they could also rotate my tires and install the wheel locks I bought. I didn't explicitly ask them to do it for free but the fact they were charging me a thousand bucks already they might have just decided to throw in the tire rotation for free.
 
#52 ·
I think this is exactly what the mobile tech was talking about. A courtesy :eek:
 
#51 ·
They called to tell me my tire rotation would be free for the first rotation and I was misquoted the price and it is $87.50 for each subsequent rotation.
Maybe the first quote included balancing the wheels also? I will do my own tire rotations unless I detect the need for a rebalance.
 
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#53 ·
Well, I was looking at these. They seem pretty nice and a set of 4 for $75 ($21 for 1, $40 for 2). Other colors available.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SR-Billet-...224350?hash=item3fa716bade:g:QygAAOSwyglbY8FS
Those sure look nice and the price is reasonable for billet aluminum. An alternative approach is to make them yourself using hockey pucks and grommets, held together with a screw -- cost drops to about $10 for a set of four... (Lots of posts on that on various TOO forums.)
 
#54 ·
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