CEB

say what?

The insurance company doesn't have a dog in this fight. They will tell you to go fly a kite.

Insurance covers physical damage and has nothing to do with "I don't like the car."

I fully agree that the Germans haven't figured out customer service yet.

K-A

And this is one of the many reasons why Tesla in their quest to revolutionize the archaically stuck in the 70's auto industry, are challenging the nations dealer networks to be able to sell cars directly to the consumers themselves.

Cyber GS

^^ I do the same exact thing, I walk around with the SA and I will even make comments to him about how clean the ML is and how there isn’t a mark on it. I will also walk around it before picking it up so if there is any damage it is noticed before I drive it away, my wife even does this. I also never let them wash my cars.

Only once in the past with an Infiniti dealer did one of my vehicles get damaged. During routine service they somehow broke one of the fog lights, and of course repaired it free of charge.

CEB

Stuff happens and it is alright as long as they own up to it and fix it.

They know when they crashed your car into a pole or slammed a car door into another car. It's OK to say "a gust of wind caught a car door and put a ding in your car, but we'll fix it >"

What isn't OK is when they try to hide it and hope you'll drive off the lot without noticing it.

JALLEN4

And exactly why is it the manufacturer can inherently do it better? They would establish one outlet in major population centers and force others to drive long distances to purchase or service. No competition between independent dealers would certainly raise prices to the consumer.The manufacturer still would need to rely on hired people to function and remove the entrepreneur from the on-site equation.

Tesla is certainly not the first manufacturer to desire this business model. Various manufacturers have owned retail outlets for years, including Mercedes. With rare exception these stores have been abject failures in terms of customer satisfaction and sales results. Musk is barking up the wrong tree here and needs to concentrate on solving the riddle of making the vehicle a practical one that can actually leave town the way most people use a car.

K-A

So far, the way Musk is handling Tesla's retail and customer service mimics Apple's style of revolutionizing the entire worlds Retail outlook.

Tesla is very small, so it's hard to say how it would go if they had millions of cars on the road, but so far, Tesla's customer service is superb. Musk just declared a *SELF CHOSEN* recall for a very slight number of cars where they will send a guy to pick the car up from you, give you another Model S to drive around, and fix immediately.

Tesla offers a no-haggling model. Salesman get no commission. You won't have Tesla cars looking like low-brow overpriced products by discounting the hell out of them simply to move them (like what has plagued the W212's and Mercedes/BMW alike as their MSRP's look like jokes these days). The car is worth one price, which will protect and solidify resale value, and not contribute to wild used car prices due to the fact that like the E-Class, you see it getting slashed 20% before the first papers are even signed. I guarantee Tesla's cachet and prestige can accelerate if they keep at this.

I think Tesla's model will allow them to control the customer experience, and considering how well Musk is doing with that right now, I have no doubts Tesla will provide a very rich, classy and catering service, not intent to suck every penny out of you at every given chance. As they grow, they can either penny pinch and lose the initial customer-centric approach, or they can enhance it. I'd assume the latter from Musk. Just like Steve Jobs before him.

At the same time, he knows that he can't trust the dealer network to handle Tesla and get the word out like he can his own company. And it's smart. If you read what he wrote on the Tesla website, he makes a multitude of great points.

I'm a big believer in Tesla and Musk. I think they will revolutionize the auto market like Apple did the technology market, which means it'll revolutionize the Retail aspect and customer service aspect as well.

And as a concluding point: Go to any car dealer and chances are you have a guy who doesn't know or care about the product he sells, gives you cheap lines, is intent to get his commission check and nothing else. I have no issues with this "guy" as this is how he makes his living, but the Dealer network is what is the problem as its culture is for "him" to act like this. I've had some great buying experiences, namely my recent purchase, but it was a very unique and fortunate experience. At a Tesla "Store", the guys are incredibly knowledgable, not the least bit pushy, will chat with you, talk shop, friendly, very controlled and "hand-picked" like. Again, just like Steve Jobs and Apple before him.

JALLEN4

While I also am an admirer of Apple and Lusk, the marketing approaches are more dissimilar than similar. Apple sells a commodity in huge numbers worldwide. Their average product price is less than a thousand dollars compared to a very low volume transportation device selling for $70,000 plus.

Factually, the bulk of Apple product is sold through dealers. Walk into any cell phone store or Best Buy and their product is prominently displayed. The Apple Stores account for a very small percentage of product distribution and are more window dressing than sales outlets in the big picture.

Tesla has no owner base of in service product to worry about and their total sales are miniscule in comparison to any mainstream manufacturer. Lusk would not be the first "smart" guy who thought he could eliminate dealers but in the 100 year history of selling cars and trucks, he would be the first to figure out how to do it.

There is a reason that the franchised automobile dealer model has lasted. The uninformed state the reason to be political in nature which is simply not true. The dealer brings investment to build the retail stores, stock the inventory, and train the people. It allows the manufacturer to invest in product research with those saved dollars.

Tesla is riding the wave of public discovery and Government backing to build what is a rich man's toy albeit one that cannot fulfill the mission which most people buy a vehicle for.