It may help to know what work was being done that cost $1,800 and $3,200.
Yes, it would be helpful to know. My car has over 26,000 miles (not 24,000 as I mistakenly said earlier) and I’ve paid for one service at $475. That was soup to nuts and included things like tire rotation, new key fob batteries and wiper blades and a thorough interior an exterior cleaning on the house. I was also given a free loaner. It’s not cheap, but it was great not to have to wait around for the service to be done or to have to come in multiple times for things like oil changes.
I love my Tesla but it’s not for everyone. Anyone who tells you they got a Tesla to save on gas costs is either lying to you or to themself. I drive my car a ton (the aforementioned 26K in 13 months) and electricity is not particularly expensive here but I make back a couple of grand a year at best.
Sue22, As far as you know can any good body shop do the repairs or does it have to be Tesla only?
I know Tesla used to verify 3rd part shops to do their auto body repair before they opened their own auto body repair shops but to tell you the truth I don’t really know how their system works.
About all he can remember is that the tires are/were about $500/ea. The other negative for him is that when he makes a maintenance appt., they’ll tell him it will be “4 weeks from next Tuesday.”
OK a little more info. He had to replace a wheel at $1,100. The other 3 wheels had slight bends but not enough to replace at this time. It appears the Tesla’s 21" wheels are soft and bendable, because he has a similar commute to mine. Damage was caused by “potholes in roads.”
If I were a current S or X owner, I’m not sure I would be “happy” with a half million Model 3s coming into the country in the next 2 years. My engineer S says “don’t worry Elon Musk will figure it out”. That’s a big jump in Teslas and I am one to think that there will be some growing pains. What we don’t know is just WHAT that pain level will be?
Are 21" wheels standard on a Tesla? I think wheels that large on any car are know to be more subject to damage plus more expensive to replace (and usually a rougher ride).
@sushiritto, You can put lots of different brands on a Tesla. Pirellis, Michelins, Continentals, Firestones…
If he hit a pothole hard enough to pop one of these I wouldn’t be surprised by some wheel damage. You may just be a better driver!
4 weeks from next Tuesday would be a serious hassle. I would bet he lives in an area with higher Tesla density than mine. I made my maintenance appointment a few days in advance.
21" come on the sports package.
I’m happy about having more Teslas on the road because it will mean more superchargers. I haven’t had to deal with range anxiety but I like the free charging and more superchargers will be less spacing between them.
You can check on the web…
Model S: 19" or 21" wheels
Model X: 20" or 22" wheels
Model 3: 18" or 19" wheels
Tire Rack lists various tires for a Tesla Model S with 21" wheels. Most of them cost significantly less than $500 each.
With very little sidewall with 35-series tires, it is more likely to damage wheels on potholes.
@ucbalumnus @Sue22 Better driver? I doubt it. And his commute is no different than mine. He’s not hitting any more potholes than me. Potholes exist in the SF Bay Area, but they’re not that bad IMO to bend a wheel, let alone all 4 showing signs. I haven’t had any wheel replacements on any of my cars EVER. I’m a car buff and belong to car buff forums. Forums about performance cars with very big wheels. No one is replacing their big wheels either.
IMO, I’d say the Tesla wheels seem soft to me, relative to other performance cars, if all four wheels are showing signs of being bent regardless of wheel size. Yes, the smaller the tire sidewall (larger size wheel), the more likely to damage, but I haven’t heard of other performance cars where all 4 wheels are showing signs of damage. One maybe, but all four?
Lastly, new tires usually require an alignment, though admittedly I’m not familiar with a Tesla, valve stems, toxic waste fees, balancing and installation. The tires themselves on TireRack.com run as low as $183/tire up to $480/tire for Run Flats. Shipping is not included from Tire Rack. I would NEVER “cheap out” on a tire on any of my cars, let alone a $100,000 +/- performance car, and I’m sure my co-worker feels the same.
“I have no dog in this hunt.” Tesla’s are great cars. The OP is about Prius Plug Ins and we’re far afoot now.
I, too, took it slightly “afoot”. I was curious about Tesla on a couple of issues. I am a little surprised that Tesla Model 3 comes with 18" or 19" wheels. Even that’s not me. I am probably where I need to be. My 15" wheels do look small. Small but affordable!