Is it FUD's or Ignorance from Dealers on Model 3

I

interestedinEV

Well-Known Member
I have not bought a EV yet, still watching and waiting and I went to the Tesla store and to three other dealerships within the last 10 days. (So I am not trying to showcase one side better than the other. This is a general statement across dealerships)

Tesla Store on competition. "We do not like to discuss other products, we are happy to tell you about our product". When asked specifically about I-Pace, the answer was, "We do not have any information on it".

Jaguar: "Model 3's are not available and if you could get one, there is no in Arizona who can service it for you. You have to send to California and wait". Not true as there is a service center 10 miles from the Jaguar dealership and Tesla has mobile service.

BMW: "Even if you get a car, which may take months to get, and then it is so badly built that it will start falling up apart. We read all these automotive reports and you will not believe the problems Tesla owners are having. People are trying to return their cars". The guy was tried to tell me cars were not available and when I challenged him, then told me that they were available but full of problems. Also, I do not see the level of concern in Tesla user groups.

Nissan: "Even today if give your money, they will take it and and not deliver for 6 months and keep putting you off. Ask any one who has tried it put their name on the list today."

I do understand some car salespersons can be ethically challenged (I am sure there are salepersons who are not), but not sure if this just a sales tactic using FUD or is it ignorance or a combination. The common theme was that Tesla Model 3's are not available. Are the other manufacturers oblivious to Tesla or do they leave it to the salespeople to handle it any way they can as they do not have a straight answer.
 
interestedinEV said:
I have not bought a EV yet, still watching and waiting and I went to the Tesla store and to three other dealerships within the last 10 days. (So I am not trying to showcase one side better than the other. This is a general statement across dealerships)

Tesla Store on competition. "We do not like to discuss other products, we are happy to tell you about our product". When asked specifically about I-Pace, the answer was, "We do not have any information on it".

Jaguar: "Model 3's are not available and if you could get one, there is no in Arizona who can service it for you. You have to send to California and wait". Not true as there is a service center 10 miles from the Jaguar dealership and Tesla has mobile service.

BMW: "Even if you get a car, which may take months to get, and then it is so badly built that it will start falling up apart. We read all these automotive reports and you will not believe the problems Tesla owners are having. People are trying to return their cars". The guy was tried to tell me cars were not available and when I challenged him, then told me that they were available but full of problems. Also, I do not see the level of concern in Tesla user groups.

Nissan: "Even today if give your money, they will take it and and not deliver for 6 months and keep putting you off. Ask any one who has tried it put their name on the list today."

I do understand some car salespersons can be ethically challenged (I am sure there are salepersons who are not), but not sure if this just a sales tactic using FUD or is it ignorance or a combination. The common theme was that Tesla Model 3's are not available. Are the other manufacturers oblivious to Tesla or do they leave it to the salespeople to handle it any way they can as they do not have a straight answer.
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The fact is that base Model 3s are not available and may not be available in the foreseeable future. A brother-in-law of mine was dead set on buying a base Model 3. Two months ago he cancelled his reservation and bought a Chevy Bolt. As a result, I consider the Nissan sales person's statement as truthful. The Tesla 3 which is being manufactured, costs $8,500 more than a top end Bolt. The 3 costs a whopping $12,700 more than a Honda Clarity PHEV Touring. Further, the $7,500 Federal tax break will begin phasing out next year for Tesla automobiles.

Never expect a car sales person to try to sell you a competitor's vehicle.
 
Didn't Tesla say 8 months for the base model? I suspect they will only make a handful of the $35,000 model unless they can get the battery cost down more. However, I think you will see a prices between $40,000 and $50,000.

I don't think the Bolt, Leaf or Clarity are in the same class. The response from folks looking at cars from last week's National Drive Electric Week seem to back my opinion. Folks went gaga over the four Tesla models that where there.

I did see another new model 3 today at the hardware store. This grey one still had the temporary paper license plate in the back window.
 
DaleL said:
Never expect a car sales person to try to sell you a competitor's vehicle.
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I don't expect them to sell me anything but their vehicle. But when I talked to them I was very clear on what I was looking for and did throw in the Tesla name where appropriate. They had no clue at least in Arizona, about EV technology, they could not talk much about their cars and their plans. The point I am trying to make is that other manufacturers dealer salespeople do not seem to recognize Tesla as a legitimate competitor. If while looking at an Accord, you casually mention to the salesperson that you are looking at another car say the Camry, they have canned responses and often scripts or training they can draw upon. With Tesla, it appears that the sales people have not really been trained how to respond. In California, it may be different, due to higher sales of EVs, you may have more salespersons knowledgeable about EVs and the competiton. In a smaller market, it does not appear to be so.
 
Tesla Store on competition. "We do not like to discuss other products, we are happy to tell you about our product". When asked specifically about I-Pace, the answer was, "We do not have any information on it".
Click to expand...

Great to hear they don't comment on the competition.

When I purchased my solar power system, I fully dismissed one supplier because they were pushing FUD on competitors products. Their sales pitch PowerPoint had pictures of unrelated burnt solar panels, he showed me a text from his manager about a competing product being recalled (not the actually manufactures recall announcement - because there was none). For most half intelligent people the FUD sales tactic is a real turn off.
 
marshall said:
Didn't Tesla say 8 months for the base model? I suspect they will only make a handful of the $35,000 model unless they can get the battery cost down more. However, I think you will see a prices between $40,000 and $50,000.
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This is my guess and only my guess. When the US sales start flattening out, Tesla will try international markets especially Netherlands, where cars over Euro 50,000 will loose tax breaks (thought it might cannibalize some S or X sales). When international sales stabilize, they will bring out a version around $42,000 (shorter range say 280 miles, less upgrades). Finally they will roll out a bare bones car around $37,000 (much longer charging times, 240 mile range under ideal circumstances, cheaper interior, smaller warranties say 3 year/36000 miles) and incentivize people to go for the higher versions. I expect that there will be an intermediate version between the $49,000 one and the base which I would say will be around $37,000 which is close enough to $35,000 but not quite.
 
"I don't think the Bolt, Leaf or Clarity are in the same class. The response from folks looking at cars from last week's National Drive Electric Week seem to back my opinion. Folks went gaga over the four Tesla models that where there."

Of course the Bolt, Volt, Leaf, and Clarity are not in the same class as a Tesla 3. The loaded versions of the Leaf, Clarity, Volt, and Bolt cost $10,000 or more less than the least expensive, base Tesla. Anyone can go into any Chevrolet, Nissan, or Honda dealer tomorrow and drive away in your new EV or PHEV within hours.
 
interestedinEV said:
I have not bought a EV yet, still watching and waiting and I went to the Tesla store and to three other dealerships within the last 10 days. (So I am not trying to showcase one side better than the other. This is a general statement across dealerships)

Tesla Store on competition. "We do not like to discuss other products, we are happy to tell you about our product". When asked specifically about I-Pace, the answer was, "We do not have any information on it".

Jaguar: "Model 3's are not available and if you could get one, there is no in Arizona who can service it for you. You have to send to California and wait". Not true as there is a service center 10 miles from the Jaguar dealership and Tesla has mobile service.

BMW: "Even if you get a car, which may take months to get, and then it is so badly built that it will start falling up apart. We read all these automotive reports and you will not believe the problems Tesla owners are having. People are trying to return their cars". The guy was tried to tell me cars were not available and when I challenged him, then told me that they were available but full of problems. Also, I do not see the level of concern in Tesla user groups.

Nissan: "Even today if give your money, they will take it and and not deliver for 6 months and keep putting you off. Ask any one who has tried it put their name on the list today."

I do understand some car salespersons can be ethically challenged (I am sure there are salepersons who are not), but not sure if this just a sales tactic using FUD or is it ignorance or a combination. The common theme was that Tesla Model 3's are not available. Are the other manufacturers oblivious to Tesla or do they leave it to the salespeople to handle it any way they can as they do not have a straight answer.
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From your description, it seems you went to other car dealers asking for Model 3. :) I never had any one bring up Tesla and I bought 2 Ev/FCEVs and shopped for EVs quite a bit few years ago. May be they can tell from the customer's attitude who is in to buy a vehicle and who is a Tesla fanboy in there to mock them? Just a thought.
 
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@TeslaInvestors, so you bought a FCV, was it a Mirai? Most of us on this site are anti-FCV as we believe the quicker filling is not worth the extra complexity and fuel cost. I am curious what enticed you to buy one? I assume you leased instead of buy and I guess 3 years of free fuel helps. I would think a used Mirai would be hard to sell because the buyer doesn't get free fuel, but pays highest fuel cost.
 
interestedinEV said:
I do understand some car salespersons can be ethically challenged (I am sure there are salepersons who are not), but not sure if this just a sales tactic using FUD or is it ignorance or a combination. The common theme was that Tesla Model 3's are not available. Are the other manufacturers oblivious to Tesla or do they leave it to the salespeople to handle it any way they can as they do not have a straight answer.
Click to expand...

The scams from legacy auto dealerships are well known. The techniques of high pressure salesmanship, of trying to "steer" a buyer into buying a certain car, the games auto dealerships play with customers they treat like con men treat their marks, juggling selling price and monthly payment and down payment and trade-in value of the old car... these are well documented. (My own one-and-only experience buying a new car certainly seems like a case of the salesman treating me like a "mark", lying to my face.) Scams such as double-billing by auto dealership service departments are also well documented. All these reasons, and more, are why many people posting comments to InsideEVs call them "stealerships" instead of "dealerships".

Also well understood is the fact that legacy auto dealerships make most of their money on service, not sale, so it's natural they would want to sell you the car that they think will make the most money for them on service... and that almost certainly won't be an EV.

That's not to say there are no honest auto salesmen; that's not to say there are not auto dealerships who genuinely try to get the customer what he wants. But from what most people -- not just some, but most -- say, those are definitely in the minority.

I don't think it's so much that being an auto salesman turns honest people into con men and scammers; I think it's more that the job attracts people who gravitate toward that type of activity.

DaleL said "Never expect a car sales person to try to sell you a competitor's vehicle." I'd go further than that: I'd say "Always expect an auto salesman to tell you why you shouldn't buy a competitor's car." After all, his income -- that is his commission -- depends on selling you one of his brand's cars!

Thank goodness Tesla sales reps don't work on commission. Well, mostly not; I understand they do (or at least did for awhile) get a commission for selling a Performance trim level Model 3.

At the risk of writing like just another Tesla fanboy, I'd say that with Tesla, the car isn't the only thing that's better. The buying experience is, too.
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