I stoped reading when the writer admitted, that he bought a Tesla in a country without official dealership. Common sense tells me not to do this. That’s the situation when EU consumer laws start failing. That’s very brave, but not clever move at all!!! Having service center 300 miles away is too far. It’s not lot of statistics, but I know cases where guys needed replacement parts before new other brand car reached 5000 miles. Importing car can go well, but can go horribly wrong as it’s written in the article. Especially when Tesla is known for being rather young car brand with varying car quality.
> That’s the situation when EU consumer laws start failing
That is not true at all. You have EXACTLY the same protections no matter where you purchase from in the EU, and there is a lot of assistance set up specifically to help handling cross-border issues.
I do agree that the distance is definitely an issue for service though - its exactly why I haven't purchased a tesla
In theory same EU consumer protection everywhere. In the reality one needs layers in seller’s and buyer’s countries. Then the law can be exercised for many thousands euros.
Edit: had this situation in 2024. BMW sold a faulty car with international warranty. When the buyer found broken rear differential BMW offered to cover 3% repair cost. So the question was to sue BMW or pay 4000€ for by warranty covered repair out of own pocket.
> In the reality one needs layers in seller’s and buyer’s countries
That is also not true at all. Under EU consumer law, the consumer can bring a case against the seller in the consumers country. Please stop spreading misinformation.
So how do you start? Send a letter? Make a call? Serious question, how you force a megacorp to listen to your problems?
Edit: there is this classical problem description at the very end of the article: “He promised me that on Monday, January 6, 2025, someone from the Sales Department would contact me.” And that’s the end. Nobody will listen to an individual. Lawyers know the back door and suddenly things start happening.
They will inform you of your rights and tell you what to do next.
Generally you need to register a grievance with the company and wait 28 days for resolution. If it is not resolved, then it depends on the form and value of grievance as to how it would proceed. In your example of BMW, for example, as it is below 5000 it would likely be a small claim (which would probably cost around 200 to file - the fee is charged by your jurisdiction so will vary - and you would claim the money back as part of the judgement if you win).
But I would recommend just contacting ECC-NET and doing what they say.
Thanks. Sounds reasonable. But I never solved anything without lawyer. After a letter from a lawyer everything is solved my way next day. There must be some magic.
No problem. A lot of people are unaware of their consumer rights, so please share it forward.
In the case of making a small claim (where it is a monetary claim under 5000), it may have more weight than a lawyers letter (as you are effectively suing them at that point), and they will then be on the hook for settling the filing fee as well, whereas you would otherwise be paying for a letter from a lawyer (although sometimes that cost could also be recovered through the small claims track). You just need to make sure you follow process (28 days notice, etc - again just contact ECC-NET to be aware of the correct process).
Of course, there are occasions where a lawyer may be needed (just as there are for domestic disputes), but being aware of your rights in advance will let you know if you have grounds without the need to pay a lawyer for consultation.
Also worth pointing out again that your EU consumer rights are identical for domestic and cross-border disputes - but for domestic disputes, you can contact your local consumer protection agency instead of ECC-NET as you may have MORE rights domestically (higher small-claims limits, for example) - although i expect ECC-NET would simply refer you in such a case
How is it related to having a car that basically doesn't work? When you buy something, you expect this thing to work, then, maybe in a few years, you will need to go to a dealership.
You know, when I buy brand new car I expect it not to work. Some adjustments must be made. As valid for BMW as for Tesla. Start with level of all lamps, angle of wiper arms, tire balance and silly wheel alignment. It’s enough to leave the factory, but mostly poor settings for daily driving. And since the car is under warranty I will not fix these by myself.
Even if the OP had purchased Tesla from an official dealership, but he will still have to wait three months for the part. Nothing in the blog will change if he has bought in an official country. Additionally, Tesla does not have official dealership models; they operate through direct sales.
He also bought it without test driving one. Not the best judgment. Now I love my Tesla as much as when I bought it 3 years ago, but with it being my first EV I treaded as carefully as I could. I booked multiple test drives for the Tesla as well as for other EV brands before taking the plunge.
