Random EV thoughts.....

Bovakinn

I had a service appointment in Dublin on the 20th of last month and it couldn't have gone worse. I was booked in for 10:30, and arrived at about 10:20. It was after 1 pm the car still hadn't been looked at, was first told that it would be looked at before the end of the day and that the service technicians had more important jobs to do, then was told my car was the very next on the queue. Then when I saw a service tech approach my car I thought that it was my turn, he then got into the car beside mine which arrived hours after.

I was told I couldn't get a loaner because they only go to people whose cars are in for 4 days or more. Was told I couldn't get uber credits because my car wouldn't be long enough in the service centre never mind that at this stage I was waiting almost 3 hours for the car to be brought into the service centre. Had to cancel the appointment because I had to go to work in the evening.

unkel

That's pretty brutal, @Bovakinn and exactly what I would fear if I was just hanging around there. They don't seem to be very organised. That's why I just insist on getting a loaner.

@slave1 - the previous loaner I had was a 2020 Model 3 Performance. I love that wee car but the rest of the family were giving out. Harsh ride and not really big enough in the back for 3 teenagers. And not suitable for us as our main family car as we have a dog

kanuseeme

Maybe it's just me, but a lot of people are spending a lot of time at the Tesla service center, I can understand the Model S and its battery replacements, being a test car.

In the last 2 years only 1200 or so y, s, and 3's registered, and 4 of which were Model S, using 1200 cars, its less than 5 cars a day, for 5 days a week,50 weeks a year, plus they have a ranger service.

How or why can a place be so busy?

Maybe give more details of what is needed to be done with your cars for future buyers to consider.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119426500#Comment_119426500

Yes maybe C19 helped there and they kept it longer. They still have a 192 M3P as a loaner in black as I had that back in April for a week while they were returning my wheels.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119427174#Comment_119427174

Very limited staff and very limited appointments available.

It’s a small centre giving the area that it covers (the whole of Rep. of Ireland).

Uts no busier than a bmw or Audi garage it’s just there’s a dedicated Tesla group that chat. There’s none for bmw. But if you read the i4 thread, those owners have been back a few times.

Also things like wheel refurb requires service Centre entry.

unkel

Most of the cars being worked on in the service centre are Model S. They are hand built cars (that's not good), very high tech (lots to go wrong), with lots of features that have never been in any other car before (sure they will all just work, right?) made in the USA (worst built cars in the world coming from there) made by a start up car manufacturer (lots of beginner's mistakes) so with several things that can and will go wrong on them. Also there are no or very few indy workshops who can work on them. And parts are hard to get new or second hand. And the owners tend to just bring the car to Tesla even for standard work that can be done by any mechanic or tyre place.

Sure we all know that very well at this stage? 😂

slave1

Parts are a big issue, all Tesla parts are held centrally in the Netherlands, nothing held locally, they also ship by road so long waiting times, your car could be there for weeks waiting on a simple part

kanuseeme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119427225#Comment_119427225

I understand one service center, I don't know anything about staff, I do know the numbers of cars sold, even the problem/test/excuse Model S of which there is 226 of them registered in the country, and 2111 model 3's.

Those numbers speak for themselves, something is not being spoken about.

You will hear snotty remarks about every other car make and type of drive there is.

kanuseeme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119427452#Comment_119427452

OR

"4 batteries is of course crazy stuff. I don't really know what Tesla do differently these days, but failure of packs put in in the last 5 years or so is nearly unheard of. Motor failure has also been pretty much unheard of for longer than that. And it's not new batteries they put in. In my last car (2014 Model S) they put in a new battery in late 2020, which was actually a refurbished battery from a 2013 car originally. So older than my car! There is a high mileage Model S in Germany that has had a few motors and a few batteries but it has done over 500k km on the last motor and battery. That seems a lot more typical now

Also the "needs a battery replacement" is a bit of a typical OEM solution. There is almost certainly only an issue with one of the modules (the cars have about 15 of them) and third party companies, even in Ireland, can now fix Tesla batteries for a fraction of the cost of a new pack installed by Tesla."

The model s is around since 2012, and only 226 of them are in this country since I forget, busy counting, I think 2014, honestly if I had a 2014 model S in 2022, I would also be after selling it.

I love it when I hear Tesla referred to as premium, prestige, or luxury or whatever, then I remember the other luxury American brands like GM, Ford, Chevrolet, and Chrysler.

PaulJoseph22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119426683#Comment_119426683

Thats a dreadful customer experience.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119428064#Comment_119428064

They have been actively advertising for technicians as they need them.

A few being trained in the last time I was there collecting my car.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119428123#Comment_119428123

There are not many premium or luxury car brands in Ireland at present.

Look at BMW and Audi. They don’t even offer an Uber lift home. Drop car and make your own way home.

Bmw batteries failing, chargers failing. One guy left his i4 in the dealers and it sat in the car park for 2 months. With staff sitting on it smoking.

People fall for the advertising, fantastic machines because they read it on a bill board, when in fact they are just as good as any other brand.

The Asian brands are actually better put together than the Germans now, who are using Asia to build some cars too 🤣🤣

markpb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119427973#Comment_119427973

Can attest to this. I waited almost six weeks for a door actuator and over two months for a FWD. The snails they’re using to transport stuff into Ireland are vastly overworked!

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119428215#Comment_119428215

Kia the same. 5 weeks waiting on the rear glass for the rear doors to come in for the eNiro.

slave1

...and all I'll say is good luck if you need a Model 3 or Y front windscreen replacement

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119428249#Comment_119428249

6 months waiting I’d say you would be!

wassie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119428064#Comment_119428064

Was talking to a tech a while back and he said the quality issues between the MIC cars vs and the pre-2021 Fremont cars are chalk and cheese just going by the raw numbers of service appointments. If you are buying today you can be reasonably assured your MIC M3 has been well assembled.

creedp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119404417#Comment_119404417

Be great for the public with reduced fares..... likely!!

creedp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119404684#Comment_119404684

What spare parts would a new EV need? Isn't that one of the selling points of EVs.. less to go wrong

creedp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119419048#Comment_119419048

In fairness all manufacturers do it to a certain extent and claimed economy is hopelessly optimistic. Very few cars achieve 80% of claimed economy

Dubwat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119429184#Comment_119429184

As a taxi vehicle, drunk passenger could climb on bonnet and damage it. Or break the infotainment unit. Or smash windows. Or soil seats so much they need replacing. Passenger could damage one of the USB ports. All would need OEM parts, apart the windows maybe?

In my last diesel taxi, the back door was opened and closed so much, the cable connecting the door handle and release mechanism snapped. Twice.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119429184#Comment_119429184

True but it's still a greater than 0% chance of failure, and when the car is your livelihood then minimal downtime is important

cannco253

Is this the first time charging costs have been displayed on a board in the UK or Ireland? I don’t think the Shell ev hub in London displays prices like this.

I wonder if this means they expect the price to change more frequently than in the past. Nice set up for a supermarket.

https://twitter.com/evmanuk/status/1554896767686262786?s=21&t=PVWAe1IbLtR8bgwpZ23Oxw

slave1

Progressive move, some serious power there, probably better charging options than most towns in Ireland and all in a single supermarket car park!

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119431280#Comment_119431280

I'm pretty sure that's more rapid chargers than in all of Cork city and is pretty close to Dublin

Love the idea of the sign, helps to advertise the chargers, rather than shoving them in the back beside the bins which seems standard practice in most places

There's regulations for petrol stations requiring them to have the lit sign with prices and other requirements. Those should be extended to rapid chargers

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119429173#Comment_119429173

Not really as the owner needs to build a slush fund to replace the battery.

Taxi owner this morning got a €15k bill from Nissan to change the HV Battery. 2018 40 kWh Leaf but has 165,000 km on the clock so no warranty.

Any advice anyone?

Indy to check individual cells?

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119431335#Comment_119431335

Definitely speak to an Indy, pretty sure I've seen reconditioned 40kWh packs going for nearly half that. And the issue might be something simple like a bad cell or connection

Might be worth asking Nissan for a reconditioned pack too, they were saying a few years back that they were going to start making them available to customers

slave1

Don't know of any Indy in Ireland capable of checking the cells, I've seen the YT guys on other cars but never heard of a Leaf battery failure (ignoring the lizards). YT lads quote around €15k for the proper equipment to put in place for safety and cell checking (not my figures) so probably no appetite yet for that. The €15k does not sound a million miles off in terms of a brand new battery and although the taxi owner will have to come up with the cash it will be an allowable expense. The current battery is also worth money in the used market but other's can chip in on the value.

There may be places in the UK that can help but I've only seen full replacement and not repairs (on a Leaf).

If it was a Tesla then I'd say water related failure, it being a Leaf I'd think heat related failure...

Thumper Long

Just came across this, this morning the BYD Seal not a great review given it’s static but the car looks well looks to be finished to a very high standard https://youtu.be/QTWbjJPlwt8

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119428205#Comment_119428205

This

you can pay a 6 figure sum now for a bmw or an Audi and make your own way home from service centre, at least Mercedes’ will get you home.