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Another aspect is repair. Speaking as someone who works full time as an engine mechanic, sourcing parts or even being allowed to do repair work for a Tesla is

Another aspect is repair. Speaking as someone who works full time as an engine mechanic, sourcing parts or even being allowed to do repair work for a Tesla is a tedious process. Everything comes from one factory with no distribution network, so a door panel repair can take months to fix . In contrast, I can get nearly any part for an Audi delivered to the shop in 2 days and the digital books for service interval and installation are all at my fingertips.

kenhwang 7y ago
My personal experience with Audi was what you described. Car was involved in a fender bender. Insurance said bring the car to any shop. New parts were ordered (presumably pre-painted) and installed with the car returned in 3 days.
alexkiritz 7y ago
That's an issue Tesla has, but I don't think that would at all explain a drop in Model 3 sales.
- icelancer 7y ago
  I think it has some impact. People who would buy a Tesla are clued into doing online research, and see the news about their repair problems. I personally would have already leased/bought a Model 3 if I didn't have serious concerns about their supply chain and repair issues brought to light by people like Rich Rebuilds and others. I am waiting it out to see if it improves, or if Tesla goes bankrupt/forced merged and their IP lives on elsewhere.
kevstev 7y ago
This to me is the biggest issue with Tesla- they aren't a startup that just did its first big product release and is struggling to keep up with demand, they are a 16 year old company that is still failing to keep up with demand and can not support its customer base. They aren't building on a scale never seen before, this is relatively small scale for the traditional manufacturers. Yet you hear stories about how 3's in particular seem to be in some cases thrown out the door out of sheer will. Tesla is just kind of fascinating this way- pushing the envelope in so many places, but just floundering to get the basics right in so many others. I really hope they succeed, and may even buy a model 3 when I am next in the market for a new car, but I feel they are still selling to "early adopters" when they really should have been out of these growing pains years ago. I would never recommend one to my less tech enthused family members.
avgDev 7y ago
I considered a Tesla but Tesla simply sucks as a car company. Body gaps are quite bad, apparently a bit improved on model 3. However, TFL (youtube car review channel) damaged a quarter panel/bumper on their car. It took 4-5 months for the whole repair because waiting on parts. This is simply unacceptable. I cannot comprehend who would want to own a car like that. Plus, there was a guy rebuilding a crashed model S and had issues sourcing some components, then Tesla gave him issues activating the car.

kenhwang 7y ago

My personal experience with Audi was what you described. Car was involved in a fender bender. Insurance said bring the car to any shop. New parts were ordered (presumably pre-painted) and installed with the car returned in 3 days.

alexkiritz 7y ago

That's an issue Tesla has, but I don't think that would at all explain a drop in Model 3 sales.

icelancer 7y ago
I think it has some impact. People who would buy a Tesla are clued into doing online research, and see the news about their repair problems. I personally would have already leased/bought a Model 3 if I didn't have serious concerns about their supply chain and repair issues brought to light by people like Rich Rebuilds and others. I am waiting it out to see if it improves, or if Tesla goes bankrupt/forced merged and their IP lives on elsewhere.

kevstev 7y ago

This to me is the biggest issue with Tesla- they aren't a startup that just did its first big product release and is struggling to keep up with demand, they are a 16 year old company that is still failing to keep up with demand and can not support its customer base. They aren't building on a scale never seen before, this is relatively small scale for the traditional manufacturers. Yet you hear stories about how 3's in particular seem to be in some cases thrown out the door out of sheer will. Tesla is just kind of fascinating this way- pushing the envelope in so many places, but just floundering to get the basics right in so many others. I really hope they succeed, and may even buy a model 3 when I am next in the market for a new car, but I feel they are still selling to "early adopters" when they really should have been out of these growing pains years ago. I would never recommend one to my less tech enthused family members.

avgDev 7y ago

I considered a Tesla but Tesla simply sucks as a car company. Body gaps are quite bad, apparently a bit improved on model 3. However, TFL (youtube car review channel) damaged a quarter panel/bumper on their car. It took 4-5 months for the whole repair because waiting on parts. This is simply unacceptable. I cannot comprehend who would want to own a car like that. Plus, there was a guy rebuilding a crashed model S and had issues sourcing some components, then Tesla gave him issues activating the car.