Partial Tesla Model S recall

That paragraph just made me want a Model S even more. :-)

No? And not just in the automotive industry.

Apple comes close, but from stories like smoke being considered a biohazard, I'd say no (they did offer replacement if you broke your screen on iPad IIRC). That said I don't consider that Tesla won't ever have a gaffe, but they are doing things perfectly so far.

In small towns any car dealer will do that.

High-end luxury car dealerships frequently offer loaner cars, often times nicer than the car that needed servicing, and some of them definitely do pick-ups.

When I had a high end BMW the dealer did that on a couple of occasions.

Very cool. I doubt they can keep it up when they start producing cars in high volume though. Here's hoping I'm wrong :)

I have had two similar experiences with my Amazon Kindle. (This is in the UK, in case it's relevant).

The first time, it broke. I called on a Tuesday at 6pm, they acknowledged the problem, and the day after I had a new one at 10am. I can't remember exactly how I returned the broken one, but I think I did it myself on the following days, to their freepost address.

The second time, I lost it. A couple of days later, they contacted me saying somebody had found it and called them. They shipped it back to me for free.

Canon, if you're a pro photographer. I assume Nikon has a similar support system for professionals. It's pretty amazing. Test/Evaluation loans on $15k lenses for weeks, emergency equipment loaners, dedicated support at major events (Superbowl, etc.).

The high end models of "regular" high end car manufacturers also get service like this -- at the Audi dealer I use for dealer service (Stevens Creek), they have 2 dedicated mechanics for R8s. If you have an R8, you get essentially the Tesla service -- it's picked up at your home or office, you're chauffeured in an A8L if necessary, etc. For my 7 year old used A4, I just get a free loaner A4, TT, or Q5 for as long as service takes, which is fine too. I still go to an indy shop (Advanced Autowerks in SF) for non-warranty stuff now that I'm out of Audi Care service period, though, where they just give you $4 for the 3rd St Muni roundtrip. I assume MB SLS and other similar cars get similar treatment. Although, outside of San Francisco (parking), it seems unlikely anyone who owns a $200-300k car only owns that one car.

Maybe. I've never had to deal with a recall but, when my Alfa was serviced the dealership collected it from my workplace, dropping off a courtesy car (a better model than mine) for me to use.

I did need to drive to the dealership to collect it again, but I also had to be there to pay for the work done (giving me a chance to talk to the mechanic at the time).

You're most likely to find this service if the company in question is dealing with

1) Innovators/Early Adopters (their goodwill, word of mouth etc. is highly desired as is the feedback you can get)

2) High end stuff that is bought because it is high end (some level of service similar to this is standard for Porsche etc...also a good chance to sell you a new car :P)

3) Equipment that professionals use, it's basically an implicit insurance policy (cameras, lab equipment)

Lexus did exactly the same thing when their first US model required a recall. There were stories of them flying mechanics by helicopter to do work with customers. It was a very effective stunt for covering for the cock-up, and establishing them in peoples' minds as a genuine luxury brand rather than a badge-engineering exercise.

Some of the BMW and Audi dealerships do, even for routine service visits. It's typically called a "Valet service".

Actually you'll find that most dealers that sell cars at a similar price to the Model S offer these kinds of services.

$70-100K cars are a most definitely a luxury item.

Other manufacturers have a dealer network. Presumably the official Tesla service center is in California; a bit unreasonable to expect every owner in the world to be able to drive there. Likely they will have a local contractor do the work in various countries and far-flung states.

Jaguar does (or did when my parents had one). I think other luxury car dealers typically do as well.

Unfortunately they currently have 2 loaners, a p85 and 60, in the entire DFW metroplex. I took mine in for service and they gave me a Yaris from enterprise because the loaners were being used. I'm just glad I got something for free, although a p85 would of been fun. :)

Well, the loaner part is not that uncommon I think. I get a loaner if there is anything that needs to be fixed on my not high end Nissan.

But the fact they do it at a place of your convenience seems really good.

Last summer a friend of my wife's was visiting from Japan. She spent a few days in Vegas, staying at the Bellagio hotel. Then she came to spend a week with us in Los Angeles. We went to eat one night, and she noticed she didn't have her sweater. "Oh, no, I left it at the hotel in Vegas" she said (in Japanese). From the parking lot at the restaurant, I called the hotel, gave my friend's name, room number, and dates of stay, and asked about the sweater, not hoping much. They had it. I asked if they could ship it to LA. They said yes, that it would take 3 days. My wife's friend was leaving for Japan in 3 days. I asked if they could ship to Japan instead, and that I would pay for the cost. They replied: "We'll ship it to Japan. There's no charge."

We were all very, very impressed. That's service!

Porsche has done that.

any high end car dealer will offer something like this, especially if you have one of the nicer models.

when hyundai launched the equus, they specifically offered this feature as a selling point to people who couldn't afford a 7 series, and would other wise get a 5 series.

Unless it's BRK.A ;)

Not necessarily, there are cheap $1 brokers like Interactive Brokers. I've used them, they get the job done.

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/?f=commission

(Assuming this was meant as a reply to my comment) - I do understand that, I pretty much just bought a single share to say I had one, and see how it would perform, more as an experiment and out of curiosity than an actual business interest.

Presumably the advice should be "it's never worth it to only buy a few hundred dollars worth of shares", since buying a single share worth $10,000/share is a decent deal (with respect to the commission, at least).

Also slightly OT, but Loyal3 (http://www.loyal3.com) provides fee-free stock trading - both entry and exit. Unfortunately they don't carry TSLA on their platform yet.

Meh, it's not a huge deal. All car makers have recalls of some sort and many car model-years end up with at least one recall eventually. My car, a Corolla, is one of the most reliable on the planet but it has two recalls on comparatively minor things.

And it's good to remember that an automotive recall is very different from other sorts of product recalls. People bring their cars in and get them repaired.

It is only for cars manufactured in such a limited time frame. This is part of what it means to be a responsible auto maker. Tesla is growing up, and this is par for the course. I seriously doubt this will have any long-term significance in terms of its stock price.

This kind of recall happens all the time. Critically, it has absolutely nothing to do with the electrical/drivetrain systems, a similar (if not virtually identical) problem could have happened with any car at any manufacturer.

Tesla's going to spend a little money fixing ~1000-2000[1] brackets and that'll be the end of it.

[1](Last I heard, they're building about 2000 cars/month.)

> I saw the headline and my heart sank.

You should consider getting out of the stock market until you have better nerves, or you're gonna have a bad time.

According to google finance, it seems like their stock actually went up from this headline.

Meh, every single new car I've owned has had a recall on it.

(This isn't meant to ding Tesla)

They have to offer this level of customer service because other luxury makers do. I don't have a luxury vehicle (I own a 2001 VW Eurovan), but my mechanic, who services European cars, offers rides and loaner cars to his customers because that's what someone who owns an Audi or a BMW expects. Anything less than this would have meant lost sales.

I for one don't think an employee should get the blame or punishment for a production error like this; after all, he was taught by someone, was instructed by someone, was overseen by a foreman / manager, and his work was checked (possibly numerous times) by QC and seen by other employees.

"[D]ue to body side alignment adjustments in the factory, the bonded section of the joint was compromised and the welded section of the joint was weakened in some cars."

Sounds more like the frame isn't holding tight enough tolerances for the body to be "right," so they are pushing or pulling the frame into position on the factory floor. The forcing of the frame into position is what broke the weld.

Well played. An explanation for others: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calculus_of_negligence)

Fight Club quote: "A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."

They should loan out a higher end version of a Tesla to tease them with it.