My First Experience with Tesla Mobile Service

in #storylast year (edited)

Thumb.jpg

Imagine your car needs to be serviced by a mechanic. It could be a complicated problem, routine maintenance, or you could be on the side of the road somewhere. Then imagine you live in a world where you just open up an app on your phone, choose from a dropdown list of services (or type out your own issue), schedule a time, approve the estimate, then the mechanic comes to your location and performs the work on your car right there.

Well, my friends, I just described Tesla’s Mobile Service, it's been available for over five years, and I got to try it for the first time last week.

T4.jpg

It was time for a tire rotation on my Model 3 and I couldn’t make it to my regular mechanic (sorry Raks). I must admit I was a little skeptical of having Tesla do this at first, I imagined it would be way more expensive than a traditional mechanic. I was originally quoted $89 for the rotation but a day after scheduling Tesla sent me a message that the price was being reduced to $65. My regular mechanic would probably have charged $40 but I was fine paying an extra $25 for the convenience. I did some research and the average price for a tire rotation in the US is between $60 and $72, according to Kelly Blue Book.

T6.jpg

On the morning of the appointment the mechanic, Ryan, arrived right on time and messaged me via the Tesla app that he was there. He was driving a Model S that had been converted into a mobile service vehicle and had most of his tools in the frunk (front trunk). Ryan had all wheels swapped in a matter of ten minutes. While he worked we chatted about Teslas, camper vans and life in general. As luck would have it, he was from Ohio too.

T1.jpg

T2.jpg

As my entire ownership experience has been with Tesla in the past two years, the process, from A to Z, was extremely streamlined and futuristic. It left me wondering, why in the world doesn’t everyone do it this way? This company's outside of the box thinking never fails to impress me.


I Stay Charged With a Little Help From My Friends

T5.jpg

My good friend, tattoo artist Greg Lehman, was kind enough to make me this phone charger and holder for me as a gift a few weeks back. Greg is easily the most creative person I know. Along with being one of the most respected tattoo artists in the Twin Cities area he's also a "maker" which means he has the knowhow and the tools to create and invent pretty much anything he can dream up. He designed the miniature Tesla Supercharger phone charger and actually printed it on his 3-D printer. These have to be some of the most thoughtful gifts I've every received in my life. I stay charged with a little help from my friends. : )


Borscht, A Cure for the Frigid Cold.

Borsht.jpg

My Russian/Ukrainian genes were singing last week. I found a great recipe to make this traditional beetroot soup and we were stuck at home in the bitter cold so I figured I'd try it. It was simpler to make than I imagined and it was absolutely delicious. The recipe made ten portions and the taste just seems to get better then longer it's in the fridge. I've been experimenting with adding different proteins to it like grassfed beef and chicken. Of course, no bowl is complete without a monstrous glob of sour cream and dill.

~Eric Vance Walton~

Thanks for reading!

(Photos are original.)


Growing weary of the ads and divisiveness on mainstream social media? If so, why not try Hive? Click on this link to sign-up and join our growing global community.


alt text

Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.

Pick up a copy of Ephemera today on Amazon.



alt text

Most of us have experienced a moment of perfect peace at least once in our lives. In these moments we lose ourselves and feel connected to everything. I call these mindful moments. Words can’t describe how complete they make us feel.

These moments are usually fragile, evaporating in seconds. What if there was a way to train your mind to experience more of them? It’s deceptively easy and requires nothing more than a subtle shift in mindset. My new book, Mindful Moments, will teach you to be much more content despite the chaos and imperfect circumstances continuing to unfold around you. Upgrade your life experience today for only $15.99 on Amazon.com.



Let’s Keep In Touch

www.ericvancewalton.net

Sort:  

Tesla sound an excellent vehicle, solid in build and nice to drive, would never buy one here due to lack of electricity to support such a vehicle.

Soup from different parts of the world, each prepared in it's own fashion good to experiment and find what pleases you most, change is as good as a holiday most times!

Teslas are solid vehicles and will continue to evolve and get better with time through the software updates. The most important part of owning one is, first, deciding if they fit your needs. There are a few big differences between them and regular petrol cars. I definitely wouldn't recommend an EV to anyone who has to tow/haul or those who do a lot of long distance road trips. If you drive mostly round town and do the occasional road trip EVs work extremely well. One day the battery tech will be good enough that they will fit every lifestyle but it's not quite there yet.

I discovered borscht in a local Russian restaurant and love it but this is only my second time making it.

Having EV here would be a waste unless you have a charge where electricity is a definite, Wouldn't travel too far or could be stuck in an expensive asset no one knows much about.

Never seen a Russian restaurant over here nor met any in person, have seen TV series where they talk about borscht (soup) which apparently is eaten daily, well rounded tasty meal in one dish.

Don't know anything about cars, so I checked out the recipe... women :))
Anyway, I found it intriguing as here in Romania we use the term borsch for a sour liquid made with fermented wheat or barley, and for the soup made with this liquid... Great idea for a cold day! With sour cream or yogurt!

Interesting! I've never heard of Romanian borsch but I bet the fermentation process makes it healthy. This sour cream we get is from grassfed dairy and is divine. I could eat it alone, with a spoon. I have about two portions of this left to eat and I'm not tired of it yet. : )

... why in the world doesn’t everyone do it this way?


The answer to this question is simple, but hard: Elon Musk and Martin Eberhard (co-founders of the brand) had a similar experience with a well-known fossil fuel vehicle brand. Their vehicles were stranded in the garage and the well-known company did not respond to their needs. If you pay for a service, a guarantee, you must have everything in your favour; it was from a bad experience that the Tesla venture arose, its fundamental principle is “total customer satisfaction”. I know a friend in Spain who bought one of these vehicles, and it arrived with some damage, and in less than three days, they had already exchanged the unit for a fully functional one… Other companies, their motto is to get rich, but Tesla is already rich from the cradle…

Very interesting! I've never heard that story before (thanks for sharing it) but it explains a lot. The company seems to be constantly striving to improve the customer service experience. Even ordering the car was futuristic, all done from the computer.

The same happened with Starlink, the satellite internet venture that Elon Musk is running and has deployed worldwide. The interesting thing about this venture is that the user literally does not have to do anything to enjoy the service at home, just put the antenna with a view towards the horizon and the antenna itself SELF-POSITIONING. The user has found in this service a low latency internet, with acceptable speeds “average 300 Mbps” and without intermediary, which makes it very economical (self-installable), it is a marvel.

The purchase and replacement for warranty or improvement of the equipment is done directly with them via internet…

I have a friend who has Starlink and absolutely loves it. He lives out in the middle of nowhere in South Dakota and has significantly better internet speeds that we do in the Twin Cities.

I wouldn't mind getting a service like that here. I hate having to book into a garage!

It can be such a pain! Thankfully I have an honest mechanic but there’s always that worry too that tbey’ll try to bleed you dry.

Curiously, because I have nearly no interest whatsoever in automobiles of any kind, I always enjoy your posts about your Tesla!

no bowl is complete without a monstrous glob of sour cream

I agree with you on that one.

I'm glad you're enjoying them! I've always been into cars for as long as I remember. I think I get that from my DNA, my Dad was a muscle car guy and the first car they drove me around in was a 1969 Dodge Charger. The sour cream really complements this soup! I wish you a wonderful weekend. Keep warm!

I recently developed a longing for an old, blue Mustang, I gotta admit. I have no idea where that came from, but there it is, a mystery. I want to learn how to do my own repairs on the thing too. Go figure.

It's cold here! I imagine it's even colder where you are.

Wonderful weekend to you as well.

Those were nice cars and probably fairly easy to work on. You could learn easily with YouTube! It's saved me when I've found myself in the 'DIY weeds" more than once. I've always wanted a vintage VW Beetle.

It was crazy cold here this morning (-13) but will be warming up next week into the 30's. Hallelujah!

Thank you!

That is pretty cool about the Tesla service. I usually try to do my tires myself, but sometimes it's just easier to have them do it when they are changing the oil. I get the first couple free with my wife's new car anyway. I bought one of those battery powered impact wrenches to keep in the truck for camping and it is awesome. Totally game changing. Is beet root the same thing as beets? I had some beets for the first time at a polish place and they were not my favorite :)

I was impressed! It makes all of the negativity surrounding the company in the media now seem even all the more outrageous. With all of my previous cars I would just have them rotate the tires every time I had the oil changed. That worked out well. They ended up being rotated more than necessary but I think it made the tires last a little longer. When I have my own garage I will definitely invest in a floor jack and one of those battery powered impact wrenches. That's what the Tesla Service Tech used. Yep beetroot is beets but even if you don't like the taste of beets by themselves I'd encourage you to try borscht. If made correctly there's not a hint of the "earthiness" that turn most people off to beets.

Good to know about the borscht. It's definitely nice having a garage to do that sort of stuff in and tinker around. Gives you that testosterone boost you need every now and then. 😃

I cannot wait to have my own garage space. I've never had a decent garage in my life but plan on having at least a three car garage when we move out of this condo (hopefully this year). I'd be perfectly content with a tiny house and a pole barn for the vehicles.

Haha, I totally hear you there. That's redneck Michigan right there... A lot with a single wide and a huge pole barn!

It's the same way in many parts of rural Ohio and Minnesota.

Yes, I expect you are right! :)

You are a lucky boy! Having that work done by Tesla's own people gives you a 100% guarantee. Here in Venezuela it is very difficult to find an honest and good mechanic. Mostly: if he is honest, he is not good and if he is good, he is not honest. People are afraid to leave their cars in garages and get ripped off. As for the soup, I have seen how cold it is in those parts, so I can't think of a better way to warm up the body. So, eat well, warm up, wrap up warm and continue to delight us with your texts. Hugs, Eric!

I know, I sure am. When it comes to mechanics that's how the environment is here is too for the most part. I was SO lucky to find a great and honest mechanic but I rarely see him now that I own the Tesla. We still take my wife's truck to his shop though but we drive so little that it's usually just a couple of times a year for oil changes. We only have about another four days of subzero weather left and then it warms up close to 40 degrees (F). That will feel tropical at this point. I abhor this time of the year in the Upper Midwest.

I was originally quoted $89 for the rotation but a day after scheduling Tesla sent me a message that the price was being reduced to $65.

I imagined much higher prices for Tesla. A car itself is a luxury, and the Tesla is especially.

I was pleasantly surprised too. I'm finding my Tesla is very cheap to run and maintain. I'm saving about 50% to charge over what I'd pay for gasoline and there's almost zero maintenance except for tires, windshield wipers, and wiper fluid.

That's the kind of special treatment Tesla owners get to enjoy and that is one of the things that sets the brand apart from others. I believe it's enough to give the company a great edge over its competitors. And it will take a long time before other automobile or electric car brands start offering this kind of service.

For sure, most legacy automakers, especially American ones, are easily a decade behind Tesla at this point.

The Tesla car I actually believe it will be around for a good number of years but at the same time I am also thinking how it will be accessible to some part of the world and countries that their roads might be a bit bad

The new $25k model will allow Tesla to introduce their products to many more parts of the world. It sounds like this new model should be ready for the market in 2025-6.

If every company starts providing this kind of service, it will be very good for people because some people don't like to go up to the workshop like that because it is crowded and there are vehicles and so on. It is a very good service if there is a fear of the car breaking down, that's why we are seeing that this company is becoming more popular in the world and electric cards are starting to become more popular because of this. They have installed their charging station everywhere, people don't have problem while traveling, otherwise this technology could not have become popular so quickly, the way it has not become popular in our country yet, people still drive with petrol here.

I think EVs will be creeping into a lot of other countries very soon. Manufacturers are starting to focus less expensive vehicles now. Tesla should have their $25k car on the market in a year or two but I think the Chinese car companies will beat them to the punch.

Wow, that's a great service. And the price is fine; I thought it would be more expensive. To your point "why other brands aren't doing the same": I remember when all the electronics turned red on the dashboard of my Audi and nothing was working, not even the breaks. I was on the freeway and managed to pull up to a parking lot. The car was new, only 3 years old on a leasing contract. I had to wait 4,5 hours for someone to come, lift the car, get me to a nearby dealer and give me a new Audi to be able to drive home. Yes, they fixed the car the next day and brought it to me, but waiting for so many hours when the service center was only 45 km away was beyond insane.

I was a little nervous about trying the mobile service for some reason but it ended up being a great experience. What a nightmare you had with Audi! It's awful that even the brakes failed. I've only owned Hondas, Toyotas, and Saturns before this Tesla and I rarely had bad experiences with them. I had one 1991 Honda Civic that was a lemon (or possibly cursed, Lol). Its headlights and tail lights would fill with water when it rained and plastic interior parts would sometimes just snap off in extremely cold weather, not typical for Honda.

Sometimes we ignore brands that provide a great value bc we focus on the shiny, super expensive xyz. I heard good things about Toyota and Honda. Glad you enjoy your Tesla. I've driven it a few times and I love it. Love the speed aka how quickly it accelerates 😉

I think some of the German car brands are amazing though! My brother has a BMW and loves it. Thank you, I can't say anything but good things in my (nearly) two years of ownership. The acceleration never gets old. I have the dual motor version so the 0-60 time is around 4.2 sec. The car has fairly responsive handling too, but then I'm coming from a Prius so there's that. : )

It seems that Tesla provides the best service for every user. You are lucky to have this car.
The soup looks delicious. yummy.. Have a nice day, Eric.

I never imagined a car would bring such joy but it really has. I've always been a tech geek and a car geek so I think this is just the best of both worlds for me. I was very happy with the soup. I just defrosted the last few servings and will finish it off in the next few days. Do they eat beetroot in your country?

Yesterday, I just read that electronic cars will be junk in a few years after the battery gets old. Also, replacing wouldn't give the same performance. What do you think?

I think those kinds of stories are disinformation for the most part. I belong to a group called High Mileage Tesla Club. There are many of them with over 250,000 miles on the original battery and they're still working great. There is some battery degregation when they get past a certain age. For example, a ten year old Tesla with 250,000 miles on the odometer might only get 75% of its original range.

Wow, now that's service! I'd love to try Telsa, but they are just out of my price range right now. When Bitcoin (and/or Hive) moons and I don't have to worry about money anymore, a Telsa will be one of the first things I buy.

That charger your friend made is really neat!

Pretty impressive! Their $25k (rumored to be called Model Q) is due to hit the market in '25 or '26. I'll probably trade in my Model 3 at that point for two of the less expensive ones and give one to my Mom. She's approaching 80 years old and her eyesight isn't the best...with full self driving it might allow her to maintain her independence for a few more years that she otherwise would. Supposedly version 12 of FSD will reach Level 4-5 autonomy. I'm expecting their Pure Vision approach to autonomous driving will allow them to hit that benchmark around the same time as this new model (Q) is released.

Thanks, I really like it. Greg is definitely a master craftsman!

Obviously, Tesla cars are the ones taking ground and it is just a matte of time actually before they take the world by storm. But I am afraid of the maintenance level over there in the future and hope it will continue as time goes on

This company is doing a good job to satisfy the customer and it is a good service that you can call people at your home and get all the work done on your car

Looks like you got impressed by the service they provide.

Sharing on Twitter.

Congratulations @ericvancewalton! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)

You received more than 224000 HP as payout for your posts, comments and curation.
Your next payout target is 226000 HP.
The unit is Hive Power equivalent because post and comment rewards can be split into HP and HBD

You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

I totally get where you’re coming from with wanting reliable service for your vehicle. I've had my share of experiences with different service centers, and one that I found quite reliable was tire kingdom. I’ve used them for several tire-related issues and repairs, and their service has always been pretty solid. They handle a range of tire needs, from replacements to balancing and alignment. If you’re looking for a service center that consistently delivers good work and customer service, checking out some Tire Kingdom reviews might give you a clearer picture of what to expect.