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While this seems very painful for the shop and causing long wait for consumers, it seems like Tesla is being pretty serious about quality control?

by houqp 7y ago

userbinator 7y ago
Ironically, it wouldn't surprise me if the aftermarket parts may actually be better --- those companies built their reputation over many years, after all.
- thereisnospork 7y ago
  Aftermarket quality is hit and miss though. In three categories there is usually: A. Chinesium crap that is worse than OEM B. Fair OEM replacement (often same toll manufacturer as OEM) C. Improved quality and/or design to OEM, often to overcome a design oversight (see: Porsche IMS bearings, premium suspension dampers) A healthy aftermarket will have all three available, however it is easy for uninformed (and informed) drivers to wind up with A. Understandable why Tesla would want to avoid that even if theirs isn't a perfect solution.
  - threeseed 7y ago
    Except now you have people waiting over a year for a repair. Seems like their perfect solution is less than perfect.
  - BoorishBears 7y ago
    No shop respectable enough to be Tesla certified is going to try and put “chinesium crap” in your car anyways. The good thing about those cheap parts is they don’t try to pretend to be good parts, they’re “You get what you pay for” exemplified. So if a Tesla certified shop can fix a Tesla with a reputable aftermarket part (which they do for non-Teslas already) why not allow it?
    - TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
      I can't fathom why your comment was downvoted. If the vehicle is within warranty Telsa should provide replacement parts anywhere in the US the next day. If the vehicle is outside of the warranty period the customer should be able to use any replacement part that meets or exceeds specifications. There nothing controversial about this. Edit to add: To be clear, I want Tesla to fail because I think Elon Musk is a massive jerk.
      - dang 7y ago
        Would you please not post flamebait to HN? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
    - Spooky23 7y ago
      Tesla wants vertical integration and is willing to reopen the battle lost by GM years ago about warranties and parts to save a few bucks. It makes sense as long as the PR machine generates new customers faster than their operations teams piss off old ones. It’s also one of the big reasons Tesla fought so hard against normal franchised car dealerships. They can save money by providing shitty service and don’t need to worry about dealers making noise about Tesla issues or dealers telling them to piss off.
      - greglindahl 7y ago
        Can you point out any survey which shows that Tesla customers are pissed? Because Tesla has scored extremely well for brand loyalty in every survey I've seen.
        Spooky23 7y ago
        I don’t track industry surveys and have no idea who is credible. I’d venture to guess that Model 3 waiting list folks who just got screwed won’t be very happy. ( https://electrek.co/2019/03/04/tesla-owners-protest-price-cuts/ https://electrek.co/2019/03/04/tesla-owners-protest-price-cu... ) Sounds like things went bad in 2017. Surveys tend to lag 2-3 years.
modeless 7y ago
Yeah, this may be a reason why Tesla resale values are high.
twblalock 7y ago
> While this seems very painful for the shop and causing long wait for consumers, it seems like Tesla is being pretty serious about quality control? If Tesla requires mechanics to use Tesla-made parts, then Tesla should provide those parts in a reasonable amount of time. This isn't rocket science. Every mainstream (i.e. not Ferrari) car company is able to do it.
- jayd16 7y ago
  Other car companies are not doing this. The equivalent to a certified repair would be a dealer shop, right? They can hold on to a ready supply of OEM parts, unlike every mechanic.
  - twblalock 7y ago
    Third party mechanics do not generally have trouble obtaining OEM parts for mainstream car models. I've never heard of anyone waiting months for a suspension part for a BMW 3-series or an Audi A4 or a Mercedes C-class, all of which compete in the same price bracket as the Model 3.
    - jayd16 7y ago
      The backlog is indefensible but with that said it's a different situation. The fact that no one cares if your BMW has an after market part reduces the demand for OEM parts.
      - Scoundreller 7y ago
        Could also be restrictions on the suppliers. I get the impression that the Tesla part makers go a lot further to make sure they don’t supply the aftermarket too than BMW does.

While this seems very painful for the shop and causing long wait for consumers, it seems like Tesla is being pretty serious about quality control?

by houqp 7y ago

While this seems very painful for the shop and causing long wait for consumers, it seems like Tesla is being pretty serious about quality control?

userbinator 7y ago

Ironically, it wouldn't surprise me if the aftermarket parts may actually be better --- those companies built their reputation over many years, after all.

thereisnospork 7y ago
Aftermarket quality is hit and miss though. In three categories there is usually: A. Chinesium crap that is worse than OEM B. Fair OEM replacement (often same toll manufacturer as OEM) C. Improved quality and/or design to OEM, often to overcome a design oversight (see: Porsche IMS bearings, premium suspension dampers) A healthy aftermarket will have all three available, however it is easy for uninformed (and informed) drivers to wind up with A. Understandable why Tesla would want to avoid that even if theirs isn't a perfect solution.
- threeseed 7y ago
  Except now you have people waiting over a year for a repair. Seems like their perfect solution is less than perfect.
- BoorishBears 7y ago
  No shop respectable enough to be Tesla certified is going to try and put “chinesium crap” in your car anyways. The good thing about those cheap parts is they don’t try to pretend to be good parts, they’re “You get what you pay for” exemplified. So if a Tesla certified shop can fix a Tesla with a reputable aftermarket part (which they do for non-Teslas already) why not allow it?
  - TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
    I can't fathom why your comment was downvoted. If the vehicle is within warranty Telsa should provide replacement parts anywhere in the US the next day. If the vehicle is outside of the warranty period the customer should be able to use any replacement part that meets or exceeds specifications. There nothing controversial about this. Edit to add: To be clear, I want Tesla to fail because I think Elon Musk is a massive jerk.
    - dang 7y ago
      Would you please not post flamebait to HN? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - Spooky23 7y ago
    Tesla wants vertical integration and is willing to reopen the battle lost by GM years ago about warranties and parts to save a few bucks. It makes sense as long as the PR machine generates new customers faster than their operations teams piss off old ones. It’s also one of the big reasons Tesla fought so hard against normal franchised car dealerships. They can save money by providing shitty service and don’t need to worry about dealers making noise about Tesla issues or dealers telling them to piss off.
    - greglindahl 7y ago
      Can you point out any survey which shows that Tesla customers are pissed? Because Tesla has scored extremely well for brand loyalty in every survey I've seen.
      - Spooky23 7y ago
        I don’t track industry surveys and have no idea who is credible. I’d venture to guess that Model 3 waiting list folks who just got screwed won’t be very happy. ( https://electrek.co/2019/03/04/tesla-owners-protest-price-cuts/ https://electrek.co/2019/03/04/tesla-owners-protest-price-cu... ) Sounds like things went bad in 2017. Surveys tend to lag 2-3 years.

modeless 7y ago

Yeah, this may be a reason why Tesla resale values are high.

twblalock 7y ago

> While this seems very painful for the shop and causing long wait for consumers, it seems like Tesla is being pretty serious about quality control? If Tesla requires mechanics to use Tesla-made parts, then Tesla should provide those parts in a reasonable amount of time. This isn't rocket science. Every mainstream (i.e. not Ferrari) car company is able to do it.

jayd16 7y ago
Other car companies are not doing this. The equivalent to a certified repair would be a dealer shop, right? They can hold on to a ready supply of OEM parts, unlike every mechanic.
- twblalock 7y ago
  Third party mechanics do not generally have trouble obtaining OEM parts for mainstream car models. I've never heard of anyone waiting months for a suspension part for a BMW 3-series or an Audi A4 or a Mercedes C-class, all of which compete in the same price bracket as the Model 3.
  - jayd16 7y ago
    The backlog is indefensible but with that said it's a different situation. The fact that no one cares if your BMW has an after market part reduces the demand for OEM parts.
    - Scoundreller 7y ago
      Could also be restrictions on the suppliers. I get the impression that the Tesla part makers go a lot further to make sure they don’t supply the aftermarket too than BMW does.