Horrible delivery experience at Tesla Mesa AZ

[gaspimp]

Wanted to share my story here. This is my 4th delivery over the years at Tesla Mesa AZ and each experience is worse than the last. I've shared some other comically bad stories later in the thread, but this one is the worst.

Tl;dr First delivery appointment: truck damaged in transit, endless communications mishaps. Second delivery appointment: transit damage again but very minor. Accept delivery because I'm exhausted from dealing with this.

Pre-delivery timeline

• 10/2021 - preorder RN115
• 10/25/2024 - cancel preorder RN115 and place RN123 for Non FS because they won’t apply the referral credit to my original order
• 11/07/2024 - Receive VIN
• 11/08/2024 - Receive invite to schedule delivery
• 11/08/2024 - Schedule delivery for 11/11 11AM
• 11/09/2024 - All tasks/payments completed in advance
• 11/10/2024 2PM - Receive phone call + voicemail from delivery manager that detailing team found “a small scratch on the drivers door”. Said service team can deal with it first thing in the morning and promised a follow up first thing in the morning. Rescheduled delivery to 11/11 3PM just in case but suggested 11AM might still be OK.
• 11/10/2024 3PM - I reply via Tesla app message saying I got the voicemail and totally understand. Looking forward to connecting again in the morning. I also mention that I intend to reject delivery if any follow-up appointments are needed, which I feel to be reasonable given appointments are being booked 45 days out.
• Context: this is my 9th Tesla delivery in total and 4th at Mesa AZ…Not my first rodeo. I appreciated the heads up. Everyone has been super professional so far and I’m not too worried. It's just a small scratch, right?

Delivery day #1 timeline

• 11/11 9AM - no follow up, sent a message inquiring as to the status
• 11/11 10AM - receive a message saying service hasn’t even looked at the car yet.
• 11/11 10:15AM - I send a reply saying that I’m unhappy it wasn’t dealt with first thing in the morning as promised and I’m coming in to discuss in person to make sure we’re on track.
• 11/11 10:30AM - while I’m driving there, my delivery gets rescheduled to 11/19. Absolutely no comms or explanation, no phone call, no message.
• 11/11 10:45AM near my original appointment time - arrive in person understandably quite frustrated and speak to a very unsympathetic and rude delivery employee. Tells me they’re super busy and that he already explained this over a Tesla app message.
  • I assert I received no message and show him my Tesla App. He pulls out his Tesla laptop to prove it at my request and there’s a giant red X beside his message showing it wasn’t sent. Asserts it’s not his problem the system didn’t send it - from his perspective it was sent.
  • His message (even if it had sent properly) was unapologetic to the point of being absurd. Paraphrasing here since I only saw it for a split second, but basically to the tune of “Service needs parts, 11/19 ETA. Thank you”. Absolutely 0 attempt to make it right. 0 offers to accommodate in any way or consider an alternate solution. 0 explanation as to what was discovered and what changed. 0 interest in whether or not I'm OK with this. 0 apology for the inconvenience.
  • I express frustration that I didn’t even get so much as a phone call to discuss how we went from worst case 3PM but probably still 11AM to rescheduling the delivery appointment by 8 days, much less in a timely fashion “first thing in the morning”. We get into a lengthy debate about what "first thing in the morning" means.
  • I make it clear that I'm rejecting delivery given my principled objection to receiving a new vehicle damaged in transit that needs repairs, and my lack of confidence that the repairs will be done properly and/or in a timely fashion.
• 11/11 1:30PM - after nearly 3 hours making me wait while assisting countless customers who came in later than me, employee gets delivery manager on the phone and they finally offer me an overnight demo Model Y. No conclusion on another VIN. Delivery manager promised to call me back again first thing in the morning (LOL, heard that one before).

Final delivery day thoughts

I’m a Tesla shareholder and love Tesla products but holy moly their customer service is trash. If you get assigned VIN 7G2CEHED3RA049081, you’re getting my reject.

Post delivery day timeline

• 11/12 10:19AM - Receive phone call from rude employee from day 1. Not from the delivery manager as promised.
  • Tells me they have nothing for me. No new VIN locally, no new VIN from the factory.
  • Not particularly apologetic or interested in how I feel about it. Very short conversation.
• 11/12 10:45AM - I head to the Mesa AZ location again to talk to the delivery manager in person. Have to be honest I'm 10/10 pissed at this point. At the end of yesterday's fiasco, she promised me again that she'd call me in the morning herself, and did not call.
  • Admits she dropped the ball in numerous ways. This was appreciated and a fresh change from yesterday's complete lack of accountability.
  • I formally reject this VIN as I'm not taking delivery of a new vehicle that was damaged in transit and requires repairs.
  • Has explored options for new VINs locally. Nothing worked out. She has to go back to the factory for a new VIN.
  • I ask her to escalate with the factory real-time while I'm there given that we're day 2 into a string of broken promises around prompt communication. She claims to have no way to do this on the spot and provides commitments to do so later and get back to me again tomorrow. Fair enough.
  • I ask for daily updates going forward from her directly and assert I never want to talk to her subordinate from Day 1 ever again. She agrees.
  • I ask if she can just give me one of the 50 Foundation series trucks gathering dust on the lot and just strip the accessories. I am doing FSD transfer so I'm not trying to cheat my way into FSD. Nope. She did offer me a FS if I pay the price premium though . Consider this the death of the rumor going around that Tesla will fill non-FS orders with FS.
  • She did extend my overnight demo Model Y, which is a small but appreciated gesture.
  • I stress that I've rescheduled a ton of personal and work commitments around this, sold one of our vehicles to Carvana already the morning of delivery, and now have to reschedule my wrap appointment... All while they sit on my hefty down payment. Not that this is in any way productive, but I had to vent about it.
• 11/12 later in the day - I knew she put my order on hold, but now I'm reading all the fine print and email alerts I got as a result. I have all kinds of nasty warnings from Tesla that I was "unable to accept delivery" and that my order will be canceled if I put the order on hold one more time. I hope to god this is boilerplate language because I was smiling at the prospect of accepting delivery and it was Tesla that wasn't able to deliver the vehicle and ruined 4 years of excitement for us.
• 11/12 6:00PM - Running an unrelated errand nearby, head to the lot and try to find my previous VIN. Discover that the damage was not "a small scratch" but some short deep gouges on one of the door panels. Would never have been repairable and needed to be replaced, and this should have been plainly obvious.
• 11/13 10:30AM - Delivery manager calls and leaves voicemail as promised. Much appreciated. No changes to the situation but evident they're working on the issue and trying to secure a new VIN.
• 11/14 12:30PM - Another sales employee who I've had very positive dealings with during my test drive appointment calls on behalf of delivery manager who wasn't in. No changes to situation, but again I'm appreciative that they're working on the issue and honoring my request to communicate in a timely fashion.
• 11/15 - No communication
• 11/16 - No communication
• 11/17 - No communication
• 11/18 - New VIN assigned with notification in app. No personal communication.
• 11/19 - Scheduled delivery date for 11/21. Phone call from Tesla team to discuss timeline and confirm. Super appreciated.
• 11/20 - No communication

Delivery day #2 timeline

• 11/21 Early AM - Head to the lot and locate the vehicle. Do a preliminary inspection. Find a small but obvious stone chip on the windshield. Everything else OK.
• 11/21 Late AM - Sent message asking to confirm vehicle has been detailed and no transit damage found. Receive prompt reply from delivery manager saying no issues, good to go. I already knew about the stone chip when I asked... Just further confirmation they're not paying attention.
• 11/21 Early PM - Arrive for delivery appt. Gentleman who helped me is a true gem - the only one there who I've had consistently good experiences with. Have damage noted and accept delivery anyway. Mobile service will fill the chip later. Did not bother asking for the delivery manager to complain to her again...it clearly doesn't stick and I'm not willing to roll the dice on a 3rd delivery attempt.

Conclusion

The Cybertruck is incredible. The delivery experience at Mesa AZ needs work.

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[DAE1]

Their customer service is getting worse and worse as demand goes up. Once companies like Lucid catch up on the technology, Tesla’s gonna be in trouble.

 

[Macgreiner]

Yep. Tesla service, busy or not has never been a highlight of the company.

 

[eswimm]

While I don't have anything useful to contribute to the delivery SNAFUs, why are you paying for insurance on a car you don't have? Coverage shouldn't start until you have that vehicle in hand and I never add a new vehicle to my policy until a day or two after I have it.

 

[gaspimp]

While I don't have anything useful to contribute to the delivery SNAFUs, why are you paying for insurance on a car you don't have? Coverage shouldn't start until you have that vehicle in hand and I never add a new vehicle to my policy until a day or two after I have it.

They rescheduled my delivery 30 minutes before the original appointment time. I didn’t think it was unreasonable to set up insurance that morning after the assurances provided the night before, but point taken! That’s a valuable lesson for next time.

 

[BillSirloin]

Sorry you had this experience. I’ve only been to the Mesa location once to check out the Cybertruck they had on display and to show my parents a Model X and I found the employees not very knowledgeable. I took delivery of my Cybertruck at the Raintree location and it was just ok. I had some minor warranty issues that I noticed within my 2 week window and the service department would hassle me on a lot of them saying they are normal. Ended up taking my truck to the Tempe Center and got everything resolved after showing photo proof of the issues with timestamps. This is my 3rd Tesla and also a long time shareholder so I hope they can improve and make their service more consistent. I hope you receive your truck soon and can forget about all of this!

 

[igs]

So this is my 9th Tesla delivery in total and 4th at Mesa AZ…Not my first rodeo.

You must have had really good experience then because this all sounds typical Tesla. They hire Gen Zers at the service centers that cannot bothered to give you the time of day.

 

[gaspimp]

You must have had really good experience then because this all sounds typical Tesla. They hire Gen Zers at the service centers that cannot bothered to give you the time of day.

You’re not wrong. Every experience is worse than the one before it. Was treated so nicely for our first Model 3s and exceptionally great for our first 2017 X. So/so for 1 model Y and second X. Absolutely absurdly bad for another model Y, the 3rd X, and CT.

The bad experiences have all been comically bad, and all at Mesa AZ. Scottsdale-Raintree was fine, as were other locations outside the state. One of the Model Ys we got was during a monsoon rain and they refused to bring it inside for delivery. Like what? We were speechless… We couldn’t even inspect the exterior. This was during the backlogs and crazy demand. They said they’d just sell our car to another customer if we didn’t accept delivery.

The third X had a ton of minor issues that we were promised would be dealt with on a “due bill” if we accepted delivery. We fell for it. Took over a month and 4 service appointments to get it done. Culminating in them saying they can’t reproduce an issue with the liftgate which I provided a video of and reproduced in front of their service manager on the 1st try.

 

[HaulingAss]

Yep. Tesla service, busy or not has never been a highlight of the company.

Relative to Rivian Service, Tesla Service is astoundingly good. But the best service is no service and Tesla gets me closer to that ideal than any other brand I've ever owned.

Sometimes perspective is everything. I've had mostly very good service experiences (and never a terrible one). Tesla focuses on servicing your vehicle when it needs it. And they do a very good job at that.

 

[HaulingAss]

You must have had really good experience then because this all sounds typical Tesla. They hire Gen Zers at the service centers that cannot bothered to give you the time of day.

Tesla picks from the same pool of potential employees that other local dealerships pick from. In my experience, they tend to get a cut above your typical car dealership employees.

 

[gaspimp]

Relative to Rivian Service, Tesla Service is astoundingly good. But the best service is no service and Tesla gets me closer to that ideal than any other brand I've ever owned.

Sometimes perspective is everything. I've had mostly very good service experiences (and never a terrible one). Tesla focuses on servicing your vehicle when it needs it. And they do a very good job at that.

I’d agree that Tesla Service is overall good. Even when I’ve had issues, they’ve been immediately apologetic and willing to make it right. Sometimes it takes a while to get there, but we get there. And they don’t gouge on parts which is awesome.

The delivery/pre-delivery teams are another matter. They need more tools in their toolbelt to rebuild trust. “Sorry we tried to sell you a damaged car and you noticed, would you like a new VIN or a long tail of service appointments to fix it?” is kinda like someone robbing your house and offering to give you the items back after. This is made much worse when payment is asked for before delivery. They should do proper QA and PDI to avoid 90% of these in the first place, and follow up immediately with discounts and loaner vehicles in the odd case when they miss. Right now they offer absolutely nothing up front, and maybe if you beg/complain enough you might get a loaner.

 

[CarMan ElecTruck]

Tesla will always ‘appear’ better in this regard because you don’t have to spend 8hours sitting in the dealership to wait in line for the step by step ‘paper work’ to be processed, coaxing of extended coverage, trying to get talked into other options or other cars which benefit the dealer, 4 different people trying to make their quota and get their cut.. good cop/bad cop games to help sway you… yadda yadda

But the attitudes of the people on the other side of the counter can be very similar… unfortunately

 

[ABILISK]

They DEFINITELY need to screen and train their advisors better. I’ve always felt like they have no clue what they’re talking about when I have to deal with them. Little things like not knowing the stats and what the different wheels are called is just unacceptable. They should be experts on the cars, experts at how their process works, and expert communicators but they seem to be none of those things in general.

 

[xbeast]

Tesla will always ‘appear’ better in this regard because you don’t have to spend 8hours sitting in the dealership to wait in line for the step by step ‘paper work’ to be processed, coaxing of extended coverage, trying to get talked into other options or other cars which benefit the dealer, 4 different people trying to make their quota and get their cut.. good cop/bad cop games to help sway you… yadda yadda

But the attitudes of the people on the other side of the counter can be very similar… unfortunately

Yeah, I had did not have to sit and wait 8 hours for paperwork LOL. It took just 6 hours to get my Beast that was already there. Then after 6 hours of waiting, was given the choice of coming back the next day or taking delivery and driving to a Super Charger to charge it. Seriously?

 

[Mini2nut]

Did you officially reject your assigned Cybertruck?

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