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CPO Buying and Delivery Process
Last week Wednesday we pulled the trigger on a CPO Model S. The car is located in NJ, and when we were discussing the purchase with the manager (before we paid our deposit) we were told it would be ready in about 2 weeks.
Unfortunately, after we signed the paperwork and paid the deposit, communication has been lacking. We've been unable to get updates as to the status of the car, aside from vague comments from our local delivery specialist (who the manager handed us off to after we were done with the deposit & paperwork). Earlier this week, we were told that delivery logistics takes awhile to arrange, and they'd let us know when they would ship. Last night I was told the car is undergoing additional testing in NJ, and they thought we'd may get the car in "early August."
From what I've been hearing, it appears that transportation itself is 3-4 days (excluding the time it takes to set up logistics for shipping). PRIOR to that point, all the reconditioning work is done at the center where the car is located. After the car arrives locally, it takes a day for them to detail it, HOWEVER, if the shop is backed up it could sit at the service center for a week.
Based on this, I inquired about picking up the car in NJ, and foregoing the extra detailing work. I was told by my local office that this wouldn't save any time -- which I found confusing, as I could avoid 3-4 days of transport (minimum), plus 1-7 days of waiting for the car to be detailed. (Drive time would be a day or two.) I'm not sure if the local office loses some commission (if any?) if I pick up the car in person in NJ.
To try to get some answers, I called the Tesla sales number and was told they were going to be transferring me to the local center for questions, and that they don't recommend people buy CPO cars out of separate locations (which is the first I've heard from that). As the local shop didn't seem to have further information, I was told they would transfer me to the NJ center. There, I spoke to a wonderful guy who apologized for the confusion and said he'd get back to me in an hour with an update. That didn't happen either. He did tell me that he says CPO's can take up to a month to deliver - not the information I had from the local center.
There are logistical issues involved with selling our current car (we aren't trading it in) and a trip we had planned, so the delivery date is important. That said, what's most critical at this stage is that I can't get a solid answer as to what's going on, and that there have been inconsistent and contrary messages among the local shop, the NJ center, and the Tesla sales center phone rep. I also can't understand how picking up the car won't get it to me faster than waiting for it to ship and get detailed. At this point, I'm concerned that there are either issues with the car that I'm not being told about, which are taking additional time to resolve.
On a local forum, I was told that communication "sucks" after you pay your deposit and that logistics are a "nightmare" - not promising. Any insight from other CPO buyers would be appreciated.
Unfortunately, after we signed the paperwork and paid the deposit, communication has been lacking. We've been unable to get updates as to the status of the car, aside from vague comments from our local delivery specialist (who the manager handed us off to after we were done with the deposit & paperwork). Earlier this week, we were told that delivery logistics takes awhile to arrange, and they'd let us know when they would ship. Last night I was told the car is undergoing additional testing in NJ, and they thought we'd may get the car in "early August."
From what I've been hearing, it appears that transportation itself is 3-4 days (excluding the time it takes to set up logistics for shipping). PRIOR to that point, all the reconditioning work is done at the center where the car is located. After the car arrives locally, it takes a day for them to detail it, HOWEVER, if the shop is backed up it could sit at the service center for a week.
Based on this, I inquired about picking up the car in NJ, and foregoing the extra detailing work. I was told by my local office that this wouldn't save any time -- which I found confusing, as I could avoid 3-4 days of transport (minimum), plus 1-7 days of waiting for the car to be detailed. (Drive time would be a day or two.) I'm not sure if the local office loses some commission (if any?) if I pick up the car in person in NJ.
To try to get some answers, I called the Tesla sales number and was told they were going to be transferring me to the local center for questions, and that they don't recommend people buy CPO cars out of separate locations (which is the first I've heard from that). As the local shop didn't seem to have further information, I was told they would transfer me to the NJ center. There, I spoke to a wonderful guy who apologized for the confusion and said he'd get back to me in an hour with an update. That didn't happen either. He did tell me that he says CPO's can take up to a month to deliver - not the information I had from the local center.
There are logistical issues involved with selling our current car (we aren't trading it in) and a trip we had planned, so the delivery date is important. That said, what's most critical at this stage is that I can't get a solid answer as to what's going on, and that there have been inconsistent and contrary messages among the local shop, the NJ center, and the Tesla sales center phone rep. I also can't understand how picking up the car won't get it to me faster than waiting for it to ship and get detailed. At this point, I'm concerned that there are either issues with the car that I'm not being told about, which are taking additional time to resolve.
On a local forum, I was told that communication "sucks" after you pay your deposit and that logistics are a "nightmare" - not promising. Any insight from other CPO buyers would be appreciated.
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I know exactly how you feel. We too purchased a CPO back in late February, just as Tesla launched their program. Our wait time was over two weeks before we had the car, despite the fact the car was local (30 miles away). We were very frustrated with the lack of communication to answer our questions.
Three weeks ago my husband's boss purchased a CPO from another state. Tesla told him the wait time would be anywhere from 3-5 weeks before he would have the car in his possession. After three weeks of zero communication from Tesla, my husband emailed the sales consultant we worked with to see if he could get some information on the car. He apologized for the lack of communication and said that this is an area Tesla still needs to work on. Within a few minutes a representative called his boss, and today he has a sales agreement! (It could be a few more weeks before he actually has the car).
I think we are so used to going to a car lot, getting what we want, and taking it home that day. For now, it's definitely a different purchasing experience when you deal with Tesla. I will say, when we picked up our car from the local service center, the presentation could not have been any more fantastic. My car looked and smelled brand new and the walk through was thorough. In hindsight, I would have waited months to be able to drive my Tesla. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel like I'm the luckiest gal around when I'm behind the wheel!
What's not to like--they even let him drive that specific car, which is apparently unusual. The car had 6,665 miles, tech package, pano roof, tan leather, Michelin primacy tires, and my favorite color blue. Didn't expect to get all those options and color too. Others waiting to drive the car were told sorry, it's sold. Financing process painless, Tesla beat the rate of our credit union. Ginny the sales person was very helpful. We could not take car that day, but Tesla arranged delivery to Tigard, OR, within a few days. We've been all-electric for 2 years with LEAFs and do a lot of events to promote EVs. Tesla sped up their process to get the car to us in time for our local 4th of July parade.
The car was delivered in beautiful shape--perfectly clean inside and out and our car was obviously well cared for by previous owner. An immediate issue was our upgraded tires disappeared somewhere along the delivery chain. Some phone calls were made and we were assured Tesla would make it right. A time was scheduled and Tesla put on a brand new set of upgraded tires. We also found the pano roof had air/water leaks and the moving glass seemed arched along the back side. Moving glass was replaced and the seal repaired. Found the service team in Tigard to be very attentive and responsive. We feel our car will be well cared for in the future.
Communication has been good overall. The CPO situation was clearly a new experience for them and the Tigard facility is very busy, but they always got back to me eventually. Getting the registration from DMV was a little slower than usual because the car came from out of state. At this point, we are ecstatic to own this car and looking forward to extending our horizons with the range the Tesla has to offer.
Have to say the Tesla Forum has been a great source of information to a new owner. One feature I found out about on the Forum was something called the BackMat. It's a heavy-duty fabric liner that is custom made to fit the trunk area. We have two beagles we haul now and then. The BackMat protects the trunk from being scratched and corrals them (and their shedding) in back. It protects the backs of the seats also so if you fold them down to haul something, they are covered by the BackMat. Contact [email protected] Highly recommended, looks and works great, and reasonably priced too.
Sorry to hear about your experiences, I hope things worked out well in the end and that you have the amazing car in your garage by now.
I was wondering if you could share how it ended up...
Thanks
Sounds frustrating. Anything happening now?
+1
Tesla is a very young car company, they are not yet prepared for the used car resale business, they main focus is Mfg & selling new cars.
As for your issue, there may be a silver lining. Whenever the car actually shows up, before you take delivery, check the available CPO's again the see whether a better or less expensive option became available (prices do go down over time), and if so, inform Tesla that while they were dragging their feet the prices went down, see if they will discount it for you to account for price drops. The new CPO option may be worth foregoing $1K deposit, though I suspect that AMEX is right, if they gave you 2-3 weeks in writing and the car was not delivered within promised time window, you have a solid dispute to get back your deposit.
It only took a few days for my car to arrive from Orange County to Chicago, but a lot of this has to do with the timing with shipping companies, and is out of the hands of Tesla. In the last year I had a custom ordered vehicle that took 8 weeks to get delivered to me that was sitting just a few states away. I couldn't even go get it on my own, nor could the dealer pick it up due to "policy. It's annoying indeed, but I learned in this experience, and from talking with others, how low we are on vehicle shippers, and how high the demand can be.
However, please consider searching for service experiences once you own the car. Tesla has a great reputation for everything once you own the car, despite not being so hot before you do. (The exact opposite of other car companies in my opinion.)
It's also a really great car and missing out on the joy of having one just because Tesla isn't yet great at selling CPOs would be a shame.
The only awkwardness with my purchase was the transition from the sales person to the delivery specialist. There was some serious confusion at that point because I was being told conflicting things. Once I decided to consolidate all communication on the delivery specialist, things continued to go smoothly.
Car was listed in the website allegedly "ready to go", yet my delivery contact does not reply to the two messages I've sent them.
After this, I don't think I'll purchase another Tesla, because the customer service for orders such as this is horrible.
As frustrating as that wait was, I now drive what I firmly believe is the best car and I'm very pleased with tesla service since I've taken delivery. I just had the 50k mile service performed. The car had 32k on it when I took delivery 6 months ago. I love almost everything about the car. The cup holders are not good at all. Otherwise it is so good and so sharp.
I will not buy another car made by anyone other than tesla unless it proven that they have a better car, charging network, and a business model that isn't centered around screwing customers at time of purchase and time of service.
You will love the car.
Mozap