Slate announces Tesla supercharger access + 4,000 service / repair shops RepairPal partnership!

[OldGoat]

Hoping the repair network (RepairPal) is going to have many of the locations culled out and not even listed when you enter your vehicle make/model. This would allow Slate to work with ONLY the shops that would undertake and accept factory service procedures for Slates. Back when I was active in outdoor products, we only listed dealers on our website who a) carried a good slug of our products in stock b) were kept in the loop with consistent clinics and in some cases employee certification. We even tried back then to give these dealers some geographical space so consumers wouldn't be tempted to tell lies about "I can get it cheaper from so and so". Instant price shopping sounds great doesn't it? But as profit margins erode-so does the quality of service and corners get cut. Slate would be wise to vet these shops carefully before allowing any connection with them.
I'm betting they will.

 

[KevinRS]

I see 4 independent shops shown, I've never been to any of them. If I choose EV repair, 2 go away, the other 2 are a chain of 2 as far as I know. Most work the Slates will need will be going in for probably won't be "EV" work, instead they will be installing accessories and basic car work: tires, brakes, suspension, etc.
The only EV components to be worked on are the battery, motor, charging, and control system. If you need work on those, you will probably be calling around to see what locations have the capability to do the work anyway, but mostly it would be just swapping out components. Any shop with the right tools and availability of parts, and of course training on EVs should be able to do that.

 

[OldGoat]

Any shop with the right tools and availability of parts, and of course training on EVs should be able to do that.

Ah.. you said the magic word “training”.
I agree that most shops could service Slates but first some have to pull their head out of their …..When I first got my EV I called 3 local shops to see about having a hitch put on. They gave me various noise about how they don’t work on EV‘s because their insurance won’t cover them. Or too much fire risk. One said flat out NO EV’s! They are poison! So I put it on myself. At a later date I wanted my local Indy mechanic to do tire rotation and he refused saying his lift was not strong enough. (BS…I’ve seen huge pickups in his shop on the lift)
So don’t assume every auto shop will welcome you with open arms or minds. As pointed out by those above we will have to carefully check out service shops and hopefully, relay those that excel to others on this forum.

 

[danielt1263]

Sorry for you, but the Firestone I already use for my 2015 Kia is in the network, so I'm good.

 

[kcht66]

this news are amazing.!!! Very good.!!! Thanks for the updates.!!

 

[cadblu]

Ah.. you said the magic word “training”.
I agree that most shops could service Slates but first some have to pull their head out of their …..When I first got my EV I called 3 local shops to see about having a hitch put on. They gave me various noise about how they don’t work on EV‘s because their insurance won’t cover them. Or too much fire risk. One said flat out NO EV’s! They are poison! So I put it on myself. At a later date I wanted my local Indy mechanic to do tire rotation and he refused saying his lift was not strong enough. (BS…I’ve seen huge pickups in his shop on the lift)
So don’t assume every auto shop will welcome you with open arms or minds. As pointed out by those above we will have to carefully check out service shops and hopefully, relay those that excel to others on this forum.

I hope these small, neighborhood independent shops follow procedure and don’t lift the truck at the wrong jack points, otherwise you risk damage to the battery. That is a huge mistake you only make once!

 

[Luxrage]

Of all the options in my area, christian brothers is probably the best. I wouldn't let my worst enemy do Kwik Kar.

Haha, definitely know you're in the same area as me without looking at your location. As soon as I saw Kwik Kar, I was like aw hell no. The Kwik Kar in my town isn't even one of the partnered ones, it was showing the Van Alstyne location. Makes me even more leery than I already was of our local place.

I know of a few reputable shops in town, would be great to get my hands on one early so I could do my own Slate tour of taking it to those shops to have them get an idea of what customers are going to have.

 

[null98115]

In my book, this is a capital letters FAIL on the service issue.

In my zip code, I have terrific options. I guess it's a case of your milage may vary.

 

[cadblu]

Looks like Repairpal is the preferred repair outfit for CarMax. They were chosen for their expertise with ICE engines, transmissions, and drivetrains.

Now if that doesn’t instill confidence…

 

[KevinRS]

That repairpal site does let you filter by vehicle type, and repair type. Hopefully before Slate launches it will be updated with which shops are ready for it.
If a shop refuses to work on an EV because of "weight" they could easily look at the sticker inside the door and read the weight, and compare that to the spec on their lift.
What's scary is the "tire shop" like a mile and a half from my house. It's at an old building, full width garage type door, but the building is full of tires, and the mounting machines. They do the work outside on the concrete, using floor jacks. Plural floor jacks. I've driven by to see an SUV balanced on 3 floor jacks, one on each side and one center front, with all 4 wheels off of the car.

 

[YDR37]

For all other auto companies, sales and service are handled by a network of independently-owned dealerships, or (in the case of Tesla or Rivian) by a network of company-owned stores. Slate apparently thinks they can manage without that kind of local presence.

So the deal with RepairPal explains how they plan to provide local service. But what about local sales? Where do you go if you want to kick the tires on a Slate, sit inside, check out the SUV kit, or go for a test drive? Doesn't sound like they plan to use the RepairPal network as a sales channel.

Slate's only answer seems to be that test drives will eventually be offered at Slate Tour events. OK, but how often will the Slate Tour actually be in (or anywhere near) your town?

 

[E90400K]

I'm not sure why this is such a concern. Because an EV has so many less moving parts and is so simple in operation, it will never break.

We already went over this.

 

[RetiredOnPaper]

Whoa there cowboys! Here in the motor city shops have to have certified mechanics before they will even touch your car. True, a steering knuckle is rather standard across brands, but the specialized components of an EV will require a service tech with the knowledge AND access to the manufactures service documents, parts, etc. Slate specific; None of this will be started until the final production model is built. Slate recently mentioned looking at alternate battery suppliers now that the incentives are gone. So until then, no one will be certified. Slate said they will try to use "off the shelf parts". So, do we know who the motor will be manufactured by? This is all early in the game and I am glad to see they are thinking about it. Just because an app pulls up a bunch of shops does not mean they will all service Slates or do upgrades. I have a thousand questions about Slate and what it can and/or can not do...will I be able to get a V2L or V2G module, a cab pass thru to the bed, etc.? Sadly I fear we will not get all of these answers for a year. If lucky.