I hear a lot about the various EVs on the market and their drivetrain/software/ride quality but I rarely hear about the quality of service that comes post-purchase. Perhaps because it’s not an exciting topic.

Which brand would y’all say has the best or worst reputation in the regard? How would you say Chevy compares to Tesla or Hyundai?

  • bhauertsoBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I don’t have experience with super-car tiers, but I have experience with several “luxury” cars from higher-end brands over the years (BMW, Infiniti, Acura), as well as cars from some mainstream brands such as Toyota, Nissan, Volvo, and Honda. Most recently, my experience has been with Tesla.

    Because Tesla provides at-home service—they even delivered my first Tesla to my driveway—I find it to be uniquely superior to the alternatives. When I have had to take a car to the service center, I have found the overall experience significantly better than a traditional dealership:

    • I schedule an appointment in a few moments via the app, not having to call up and navigate a phone tree. Just write up the issue and take photos if that helps.
    • When dropping the car off for the service appointment, I just park anywhere on the service center’s lot and click “I’ve dropped the car off” in the app. Again, no need to fuss with a waiting room or interact with anyone if I don’t want to.
    • During the service appointment, a loaner car is added to my app’s vehicle list and adopts my driving preferences seamlessly. I get in, and it configures itself to my tastes.
    • When I return the loaner car, again I just park it anywhere on their lot and click “Returned loaner car.” No need to go into the service center at all.
    • I walk over to my own car and it unlocks automatically and I drive away. If there is a payment (so far, I’ve only paid for a seasonal tire swap), that can also be done right in the app via Apple Pay.

    The whole experience feels tuned to (a) minimize the amount of time wasted managing the service appointment, allowing you to get back to work or whatever you are doing that day and (b) minimize the need to deal with staff, though I have walked in and talked with the staff, and they all seem friendly and knowledgeable.

    The luxury of never waiting in a depressing auto dealership waiting room is so worth it.

    It’s also interesting that because they only work on electric cars, the workshop is incredibly clean and the service rep kiosk is partially on the workshop floor. It’s quiet and clean, oddly like a modern concrete-floored office building, but with cars being worked on. The tires squeaking on polished concrete is the most notable noise.