
Tesla: Customers should order by Monday to lock in $7,500 tax credit - extraterra
https://arstechnica.com/?p=1393213
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zaroth
I reserved last year and ordered the AWD Model 3 on July 5th ($2,500 down
payment) and I’m still waiting for a VIN.

I got a text a couple weeks ago asking if I could take delivery that weekend
and immediately replied “YES!”. A day later they texted back that someone
would be in contact with me “in a week or two”. Something wonky happened, my
rank speculation is they had a matching vehicle which was slated for someone
else and they initially said they couldn’t take delivery that weekend so they
reached out to me, but then the original buyer went back and said they could
take it? I have no evidence to support that, could just be shitty logistics,
or even worse, intentionally testing my buyer readiness to gauge their true
demand queue.

But I’m happy to wait as my current 2006 ICE with 104k miles is running fine.
I would prefer even waiting another year or two if not for the expiring
credit.

The fact that they’re claiming delivery backlog for Model 3 is down to ~10
weeks bodes well for the base model becoming available to order in Q1 I would
think.

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dragontamer
I'm confused by these stories, mostly because a standard dealership would
never treat you this poorly.

If I gave money to a dealership and they didn't give me a car within a few
days of my delivery date, I'd cancel the check and buy a car from some other
dealership.

Sure, people don't like playing the dealership game, but the fact of the
matter is... you have options. There are other dealerships you can work with
if your current one becomes abusive.

\-------

I think about the Tesla model of sales and I see these complaints like yours
here and there. But I just don't know what kind of recourse I'm supposed to do
in that situation. Especially if I set my mind on a particular car.

It could be that effect where the complaints are heard loudest (very few
people post online when things go fine... the main people who complain are the
people treated poorly). But still, I wouldn't know the strategy for dealing
with Tesla sales issues if I were a hypothetical buyer.

This is a major issue with the $7500 credit on the line. If a M3 buyer orders
today, but gets delayed like in your case, they'll effectively lose $3750
credit... AND the credit will be delayed to 2019 taxes instead of 2018 taxes.
That's a huge difference.

~~~
51lver
Thats a reasonable point, but this isn't a standard product. Only one company
in the world is making them (of this level of quality and performance), and
the market has been far more receptive than they can handle.

If you want your new car now, don't buy a tesla. If you want a tesla, then get
in line. Alternatively, they could raise the price to shorten the line a bit,
but something tells me profit isn't their end goal here. Moving the market
away from ICE is the goal, and they are succeeding wildly.

~~~
newuser12344
Yes. I agree with this comment. The last quarter of Model 3 production nearly
doubled from the previous quarter and I assume that the number of staff to
handle all the paperwork and logistics did not increase in proportion.

Anyway, I took delivery of my Model 3 Sep 28th and here's my experience. They
emailed me two weeks in advance to schedule pickup at the delivery center in
Fremont on Saturday Sep 29th. Then a week later they called me and let me know
that they could deliver the car to my house on a Monday. I was set to take
delivery on Monday but then after the delivery time had passed, a manager
called me to let me know they weren't able to get the car out that day and
they'd get back to me to schedule another delivery date. A couple of days
later they emailed me and said they could bring the car to me on Friday, and
this time they showed up with the car, a little late, around 10:30pm. Overall
it was a great experience. I really appreciate that they drove the car to me
and it only took a few minutes to sign the paperwork.

Despite the delays and rescheduling several times it was a much much better
experience than the (first, last and hopefully only) experience I had at the
Toyota dealership in buying my previous car.

I am just over the moon thinking about the fact that I may never have to visit
a gas station or get a smog check or have to discuss the problems of idling
solenoids with mechanics ever again.

~~~
davidgould
I'm on my second (first was a lease) Chevy Spark EV, which is about as plain
as an EV can be, and I rented a Model 3 for a couple days and decided it was
lovely, but too much car for the amount I care about cars. But even after five
years I'm still "over the moon ... about the fact that I may never have to
visit a gas station or get a smog check or have to discuss the problems of
idling solenoids with mechanics ever again." That shit never gets old.

