Slate Delivery- Home Address

[Sl8rGrl]

I called in to ask about delivery options to see if there was anything new in the works, but heard pretty much the same news they've been saying. However, the girl mentioned I didn't have my home address in my Slate account, and that it helps them know where they'll be sending my Slate once they start production.

This got me thinking, I wonder if home delivery will end up being the primary source of deliveries. I'd love to see how this plays out, whether picking up or home delivery- where would these cars be coming from once they reach my state? I doubt they'd be sending it directly from the factory to my front door, so I wonder who their "delivery partner" is...

(also if you don't have your address in your account, add it. it definitely makes sense that this is needed, since they won't know where to send your car if they don't know where you live and could cause delays [personal speculation]).

 

[Adam W]

Don’t know anything about truck delivery plans, but they did send out a nice Thank You card to early reservation holders a while back. So thats another good reason to update your address: potential for free Slate swag.

 

[AeroWolf]

I have two imagine two delivery options: 1) Home Address, or 2) nearest Repair Pal partner location. Customer can specify which delivery location is more convenient.

If any message board member has Tesla, or Carvana, experience regarding vehicle delivery, they can probably provide more insight.

 

[E90400K]

I recently had an uncrated motorcycle delivered to my home from the mid west to the mid Atlantic, it was just under $800. Other shippers quoted around $600, and those have a nodal delivery system that hand off vehicles between delivery trucks to eventually get to your home address.

Looking at destination charges across numerous manufacturers the price is around $1,200 to $1,400 to deliver to a car to a dealership. And thats for an established network logistics system that has been in place for decades (and subsequently effed up by COVID).

 

[AZFox]

I have two imagine two delivery options: 1) Home Address, or 2) nearest Repair Pal partner location. Customer can specify which delivery location is more convenient.

Repair Pal is the Service Partner. Deliveries will be via a separate Delivery Partner, as yet unannounced.

 

[AeroWolf]

I know they are a service partner, but they may be a convenient trusted pick-up location for customers who do not have a home/work location that can receive a vehicle delivery.

It could also be convenient for those customers ordering SUV kits/wraps, and want someone "certified" to do that work at time of delivery.

 

[E90400K]

I know they are a service partner, but they may be a convenient trusted pick-up location for customers who do not have a home/work location that can receive a vehicle delivery.

It could also be convenient for those customers ordering SUV kits/wraps, and want someone "certified" to do that work at time of delivery.

So, like a dealership.

 

[AeroWolf]

So, like a dealership.

No. I do not expect it to be any type of dealership adding markup fees or trying to pressure Family Truckster sales.

More akin to the Carvana warehouse vehicle vending machines that just happen to attached to known repair shop.

I fully expect most of Slate buyers, including me, to have the vehicle delivered, And start having fun modifying it to our heart's content and desired pace.

 

[E90400K]

No. I do not expect it to be any type of dealership adding markup fees or trying to pressure Family Truckster sales.

More akin to the Carvana warehouse vehicle vending machines that just happen to attached to known repair shop.

I fully expect most of Slate buyers, including me, to have the vehicle delivered, And start having fun modifying it to our heart's content and desired pace.

I was sarcastically making a point that there are some positives to the franchise dealership concept. It is going to cost you to have it delivered and it will not be inexpensive for you. It just further degrades the conceptual price advantage Slate thinks it has over the legacy manufacturers.

I get it that most people hate dealing with dealerships for the point-of-sale experience; personally, I don't because I enjoy the challenge - LOL. Physical hand-over of the vehicle regardless of how it is accomplished requires labor, which means cost. In other threads I have jokingly advanced the idea that I'd like to pick up my Slate from the Carvana vending machine, but in reality there are just 30 such vending points across the entire USA. The closest one to me is over an hour and one-half away. If I were to buy Ford's $30K pickup (assuming it's a desirable product) it would be just 15 minutes from my abode.

Slate should make a deal with CarMax IMO. But I'm not sure CarMax would want to participate considering Slate's concept is to offer a new car at used car pricing.

Further, once Slate finds the desire for its Truck wanes a bit and it becomes not a perfect direct-to-consumer (one-to-one) sales process, they are going to need real estate to store unsold inventory. A few years into it, and especially with the Cybertruck, Tesla found out why the franchise dealership concert has some advantages, which is storage of unsold vehicle inventory.

Tough on Slate how they figure this out. Maybe the new CEO with all his "digital transformation" experience can figure it out. He IS the business kahuna from my understanding. LOL.

 

[Sparkie]

I called in to ask about delivery options to see if there was anything new in the works, but heard pretty much the same news they've been saying. However, the girl mentioned I didn't have my home address in my Slate account, and that it helps them know where they'll be sending my Slate once they start production.

This got me thinking, I wonder if home delivery will end up being the primary source of deliveries. I'd love to see how this plays out, whether picking up or home delivery- where would these cars be coming from once they reach my state? I doubt they'd be sending it directly from the factory to my front door, so I wonder who their "delivery partner" is...

(also if you don't have your address in your account, add it. it definitely makes sense that this is needed, since they won't know where to send your car if they don't know where you live and could cause delays [personal speculation]).

The current benefit of a correct address in your profile is the free swag that @Adam W already mentioned.
It's possible that Slate wants addresses in our reservation profiles for the "home delivery" option that other's posted.

However, I imagine there is a more important reason - regardless of how owners receive their Slate. As production ramps up in serious numbers, Slate Auto won't want a bunch of vehicles sitting around on a lot. They'll need to optimize production volume and delivery schedules, and it might be tied to regional logistics. Your address will determine your region and quite possibly your vehicle's production start date.

 

[mikell]

Somehow, I feel the Teamsters will be involved in the end.