Why Tesla's Direct approach to sales will fail

[Ken7]

Well when you look at the entire country, it's a small minority that's evaded the dictates of the regular car companies. Their lobbying group remains strong. In the NY/LI area, the Service Centers service cars. Period. We have a sales location in Manhasset and a mall location in Huntington.

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[Ken7]

The problem is how Tesla is limited to a small number of retail outlets. As an example, Tesla is allowed to sell direct in NY, but the number of sales outlets in NY is greatly limited. I forgot the exact number, but it's something like 5 or so. No mainstream car manufacturer faces such limitations.

 

[mark360]

Depends. The KC center is Service and Sales.

I've been very vocal against the model that Tesla uses .. but i just bought a Model 3 and cancelled my Mach E order. The closest service center to me is 2.5 hours away BUT they have mobile service in my area. The team in KC is was amazing the whole time. I nit picked every thing on my car when it arrived (2 weeks from order to delivery). They fixed everything on the spot including swapping out a mirror that had gotten scratched at some point in delivery.

I don't know how the long term will look with service and all that but i verified with them that if the car can't be serviced mobile they will tow all the way to KC. The buying process was definitely smoother than any dealership purchase I've made. We will have to see if the service matches up.

For reference, I went ahead and got the model 3 for a few reasons. The build I wanted (LR AWD, White interior, 19" rims, autopilot but not FSD) was still cheaper than buying the Mach-E even factoring in the tax credit. On top of that, it's faster, longer range, and has access to the superchargers (way cheaper/faster charging than the 3rd party networks). On top of that, I'm still skeptical that Ford will truly offer a comparable software product. Haven't been impressed with the demo Sync 4 that has been shown (obviously pre-release). Nor am I confident that they will truely offer OTA and not start locking stuff behind model years like they have done in the past. The neat things that Tesla has done with their OTA really pushed it over the top. I have the option to purchase a half second increase in 0-60 via OTA. I don't see Ford ever doing that stuff, but I hope I'm proven wrong. If Ford steps up over the next 2-3 years and proves me wrong on this and doesn't have major issues, I'll like sell and get a Mach-E then. Just a little leary of all the unknowns of how Ford will handle this drastic change.

Wow, now that is very surprising that they fixed everything on the spot. Must be a totally different service center experience, mine was terrible and they couldn't do anything on the spot. I would double check if mobile service is available, I was told mobile service is available as well but they won't let me use it in my area. That experience almost sounds too good to be true.

I am just worried you made a buying decision too soon. Should have waited, but if you're happy you're happy.

As far as price goes, you're comparing a car to a SUV crossover. The price difference is only ~$1,000 between a comparable Mach E. Certainly not enough to concern one's self over. That is actually an incredible value when you think about it. Especially since you're adding more room, power lift gate, much better build quality, etc.

If you were concerned about those specs and those specs only, you would have never bought a Mach E to begin with (speed, range, etc.) Those were never going to be as good as a Tesla, question is - Is it good enough for you? The Mach E was never going to match Tesla out the gate, on anything really. But neither does a F150 vs a 1500 Silverado.

Tesla is way over hyped, and I'm sure as you own the car you'll start to understand that aspect of it. But it is a great car non the less.

The mach E will still be a blast to drive just like a Tesla, and the infotainment will be more than adaquite to suit 99% of all people. The whole premise of buying a Tesla was that buyers really had no alternative, because all other's Technology was "7 years behind". When actually, in about two more years Ford will have a comparable car spec wise. Not as far behind as people say.

Enjoy!

 

[Stickboy46]

Wow, now that is very surprising that they fixed everything on the spot. Must be a totally different service center experience, mine was terrible and they couldn't do anything on the spot. I would double check if mobile service is available, I was told mobile service is available as well but they won't let me use it in my area. That experience almost sounds too good to be true.

I am just worried you made a buying decision too soon. Should have waited, but if you're happy you're happy.

As far as price goes, you're comparing a car to a SUV crossover. The price difference is only ~$1,000 between a comparable Mach E. Certainly not enough to concern one's self over. That is actually an incredible value when you think about it. Especially since you're adding more room, power lift gate, much better build quality, etc.

If you were concerned about those specs and those specs only, you would have never bought a Mach E to begin with (speed, range, etc.) Those were never going to be as good as a Tesla, question is - Is it good enough for you? The Mach E was never going to match Tesla out the gate, on anything really. But neither does a F150 vs a 1500 Silverado.

Tesla is way over hyped, and I'm sure as you own the car you'll start to understand that aspect of it. But it is a great car non the less.

The mach E will still be a blast to drive just like a Tesla, and the infotainment will be more than adaquite to suit 99% of all people. The whole premise of buying a Tesla was that buyers really had no alternative, because all other's Technology was "7 years behind". When actually, in about two more years Ford will have a comparable car spec wise. Not as far behind as people say.

Enjoy!

I not only checked with the service center, I talked to a few people that live in my area. All confirmed that mobile service is available.

I could have waited, but it's not an end of the world if I end up wanting a Mach E. (who knows if the world will still be here anyways!). Also if you don't need the extra room or power lift gate (i rarely haul stuff or people) then comparing a Model 3 to Mach E is appropriate. The main reason I wanted the Mach E was the looks, but the Model 3 grew on me as I was still researching. The build quality of the Model 3 So far is as good or better than my SHO IMO. In a year or two that may be different but I had lots of rattles and stuff show up in my Ford too. So not like I was expecting perfect build quality from the Mach E either.

To your last paragraph .. i don't think we can how far behind (or ahead) Ford is until the Mach E actually comes out and is in the market for a bit. Really talking probably 2 years from now until we have an understanding of how well they did and how well they support it. The first model year change will REALLY tell you if they have changed their ways. If there are a ton of software items (or even hardware... cough Sync 3) that are locked behind model year walls .. it's already lost out.

As I stated, I'm still going to be watching the Mach E. I HOPE ford knocks it out of the park so I can have a reason to upgrade in 2-3 years.

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