Tesla reliability and cost of ownership.

[Longranger]

I have enjoyed following this forum and any other news cybertruck related since placing a reservation on reveal night. Cybertruck is the first utility EV that has checked enough boxes to interest me. In recent months I have become increasingly concerned by the reports of below average reliability of existing Tesla EVs in the new car marketplace. That combined with the lack of a well established network of service centers really worries me. Would love to be enlightened if my concerns are not warranted. To be clear I hope to own a Cybertruck ASAP but could be talked out of completing a purchase if red flags continue to pop up as my reservation comes up.

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[CyberGus]

I have enjoyed following this forum and any other news cybertruck related since placing a reservation on reveal night. Cybertruck is the first utility EV that has checked enough boxes to interest me. In recent months I have become increasingly concerned by the reports of below average reliability of existing Tesla EVs in the new car marketplace. That combined with the lack of a well established network of service centers really worries me. Would love to be enlightened if my concerns are not warranted. To be clear I hope to own a Cybertruck ASAP but could be talked out of completing a purchase if red flags continue to pop up as my reservation comes up.

Perhaps you could cite the data sources that lead you to believe Teslas are unreliable? I know that Consumer Reports makes hay about Tesla's "initial reliability" such as panel gaps and cosmetic damage, but that says nothing about actual reliability.

JD Power shows that Teslas are well-regarded by their owners, but they are ineligible for awards since Tesla will not provide them with customer information.

I'm sure they are many empirical cases of bad ownership experiences, but that's true of any vehicle.

 

[HaulingAss]

I have enjoyed following this forum and any other news cybertruck related since placing a reservation on reveal night. Cybertruck is the first utility EV that has checked enough boxes to interest me. In recent months I have become increasingly concerned by the reports of below average reliability of existing Tesla EVs in the new car marketplace. That combined with the lack of a well established network of service centers really worries me. Would love to be enlightened if my concerns are not warranted. To be clear I hope to own a Cybertruck ASAP but could be talked out of completing a purchase if red flags continue to pop up as my reservation comes up.

My family has over 8 years of ownership experience with two Model 3's and perfect reliability when it comes to the "real" definition of the word (which is does it work or not). If it works everytime you want to use it, and it doesn't require expensive or time-consuming repairs, it's reliable. Our cost of ownership beyond tires, windshield wiper fluid, cabin air filters and one brake fluid refresh has been zero. Brakes are still nearly new. This experience is common but, with millions sold and an army of anti-Tesla people trying to slow them down, you will always find a few stories of unreliability. That is true whether it's a Ford, Chevy, Mazda, Volvo, BMW, Audi, Toyota or Nissan.

What matters is the statistical rate of reliability problems and, as has been pointed out, the "initial reliability" ratings done by Consumer Reports is not going to tell you that. IMO, those numbers are highly skewed towards super minor problems that many new car buyers would never notice or wouldn't care about. I found a little pinhole bubble in the clearcoat a year or two after taking delivery. Do I consider it a problem? No, only if I needed a new problem in my life. I bet I couldn't even find it now because I forgot where it was. But it will keep some Tesla owners up at night because, once discovered, their car is no longer perfect.

It is physically impossible to win the highest consumer satisfaction ratings every year by a large margin if the product is unreliable. People don't have a lot of time to be constantly servicing their cars although that is necessary with every ICE car ever built, even if Consumer Reports doesn't count service visits for oil and filters as a reliability problem.The only filters I've ever had to replace in our Model 3's are the cabin air filters. The amount of attention these cars require is shockingly little.

 

[Ogre]

Tesla regularly tops the charts on CRs customer satisfaction surveys and does poorly on their “reliability” charts.

That suggests to me whatever criteria they use is not checking for things people care about.

When I hear “reliability” I think broken down on the side of the road. From what I’ve seen CR includes things like panel gaps, paint, and other things which I care far less about.

 

[RMK!]

I have 2 Tesla's and several years and many miles of driving experience in the Teslas. Much of what you read from conventional media exploits FUD (Fear Uncertainty Doubt). Constand recall notices and crash/fire reports are often aimed at making anything Tesla seem dangerous/risky.

Tesla threatens all ICE vehicle manufacturers, energy companies, traditional media advertising, insurance ... I could go on and on. They are a disruptive force and so get a tremendous amount of negative stories that are mostly fiction. Most (99%) of the recalls are fixed by Over The Air (OTA) updates that are a regular occurance and never intrusive. I understand (as does Tesla) that their is a perceived reality about a lack of Service response and availability. They are opening new Service Centers every week.

In some cases, the lack of Tesla Service Centers near you could be an issue and that might be a reason not to purchase a Tesla. Honestly, the single biggest issue people have with EV's is charge infrastructure. Tesla is miles ahead of anyone with Superchargers conveniently located in most states, cities and towns in the US and abroad. We do 90%+ of our charging at home so that is nice when we travel, but not a huge issue for our family and they are great road trip cars. .

Just this AM I read a Yahoo news report of GM claiming that they have serviced 11,000 Teslas primarily due to Tesla's poor support availability. At the end of this hit piece, they acknowledge that these service visits were for accident body repair, tires and brakes. These are standard ICE and EV components and it should be reassuring that you can get these simple repairs and services done by non-Tesla eneties. But the headline was poor Tesla service led to this Article rather than economics or expedience being the real reason for these services being done by someone other than Tesla. Again, that's a good thing.

The simple truth is if your Tesla comes with no manufacturing defects (which are 99.% cosmetic" there is no service of Tesla vehicles outside of Tires @ 40K miles and brakes @ 200K+ miles due to 1 pedal driving. They are very solid cars built to last and they do. We have several friends with early Model S Tesla's and had some initial quality problems but these folks are still driving their with over 200K miles on the odometer and thousands of dollars saved in fossil fuel and regular service costs of ICE vehicles.

You will find Tesla owners amongst the happiest most loyal customers and the exceptions are edge cases who are mostly non-reliable reporters. For me as a "car guy" having owned many very nice cars in my long life, my first drive in a Model Y sold me. All my experiences since that initial Tesla purchase have been exceptional. Really the best automotive purchase I've made and I will be getting more Tesla's including a CYberTruck ...

 

[Longranger]

As best as I can tell trustworthy objective data on true reliability and cost of ownership for Tesla vehicles does not exist. Same can be said for All the new models from legacy companies. All the ”data” I can fInd appears to be statistical manipulations and thinly veiled corporate marketing. It is very frustrating. To be sure he data exists but no one is sharing it.

 

[Ogre]

Just this AM I read a Yahoo news report of GM claiming that they have serviced 11,000 Teslas primarily due to Tesla's poor support availability.

How many Fords do they service?

Without some kind of baseline… it’s a useless number. Likewise without knowing what kind of service is being discussed it is worthless.

Tires need to be rotated. Wipers need to be replaced…

 

[Bill906]

How many Fords do they service?

Without some kind of baseline… it’s a useless number. Likewise without knowing what kind of service is being discussed it is worthless.

Tires need to be rotated. Wipers need to be replaced…

Oil needs to be changed... oh... wait... never mind.

 

[ED_SFO]

Got my first Tesla MYP in April. No problems at all and I've already racked up 13k miles. I DC fast charge for free at the mall down the street so I've been driving a lot more than I normally do. But it's been amazing so far, and would say best car I've owned. I've owned 4runners, wranglers, several BMWs and 3 Bmw M3's...my last car was the V8 M3. Love the fact it's pretty zero maintenance and the fastest car I've owned too. The power is just ridiculous and can just make a shitty day much better by flooring it for about 2 seconds lol. Most Tesla owners I know love their cars. Best selling cars in America for a reason.

 

[CyberGus]

It's true that some repairs (like crash damage) can take a long time, and your ability to get service is limited by your proximity to the Service Centers.

 

[Ogre]

I had exactly one service issue, when a tire went flat. Got roadside assistance with similar response to AAA.

24k miles and tire rotation and maintenance is all I’ve dealt with so far.

 

[BillyGee]

After putting 47000 miles on my model Y in the last year I have no interest in buying any other brand of car anymore. The car blows everything else out of the water.

In terms of service and cost of ownership, I've found the local service center to be super responsive and good to work with. For cost of ownership I've saved $20k in a year compared to my previous work vehicle.

I can't wait to have multiple cyber trucks with my company logos on the sides.

 

[Longranger]

Gotta admit, these opinions and testimonials are helpful. Thanks!

 

[kbolt]

I have enjoyed following this forum and any other news cybertruck related since placing a reservation on reveal night. Cybertruck is the first utility EV that has checked enough boxes to interest me. In recent months I have become increasingly concerned by the reports of below average reliability of existing Tesla EVs in the new car marketplace. That combined with the lack of a well established network of service centers really worries me. Would love to be enlightened if my concerns are not warranted. To be clear I hope to own a Cybertruck ASAP but could be talked out of completing a purchase if red flags continue to pop up as my reservation comes up.

If you decide that you don't want to buy a CT and your reservation number is lower than 369,420 then I'll take it off your hands.

 

[Deleted member 5322]

Got my first Tesla MYP in April. No problems at all and I've already racked up 13k miles. I DC fast charge for free at the mall down the street so I've been driving a lot more than I normally do. But it's been amazing so far, and would say best car I've owned. I've owned 4runners, wranglers, several BMWs and 3 Bmw M3's...my last car was the V8 M3. Love the fact it's pretty zero maintenance and the fastest car I've owned too. The power is just ridiculous and can just make a shitty day much better by flooring it for about 2 seconds lol. Most Tesla owners I know love their cars. Best selling cars in America for a reason.

Can say the same for my GMC Acadia I took delivery on April 2020- not even a single issue since that 65k miles on it. Oil change cost $120, twice a year. The vehicle price is 20k less than MY. For this money difference I don't care paying for changing oil.
2018 Jerp Grand Cherokee - no issues at all. Owned for 2 years, took brand new(around 50k miles)
2016 Jeep Cherokee - no issues. Owned for 2 years(45k miles)
And so on...
Every new car I bought and owned for 2-3 years ( I like buying new cars, when the ‘old’ does not smell as new ) had never had any single issues.
I think reliability is mostly applied to cars 8-15 years old...

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