Slate / RepairPal Partnership

[socalwalker]

I’m curious about how far along the Slate/RepairPal partnership is. First, I’m not a mechanic, and I don’t particularly want to be one, but I’m very interested in Slate. So I googled RepairPal, entered my zip, and a shop about a mile from my house with great reviews popped up at the top of the list. Encouraged and curious, I went to the shop and talked to the service adviser behind the desk. Sadly, he had obviously never heard of Slate. He said he could work on a Slate, especially if he had access to company software, but it might take him a day or two to get parts, depending on where they had to be shipped from. Needless to say, all this was a little disconcerting. I’m located in inland SoCal, so I’m sure there are other RepairPal shops nearby. I guess my question is if Slate has published a list of certified, affiliated shops. I paid my reservation over a year ago, but I haven’t pulled the trigger on preordering yet, and the repair/maintenance situation is a big factor. Thoughts?

 

[GrizzlysGhost]

I’m curious about how far along the Slate/RepairPal partnership is. First, I’m not a mechanic, and I don’t particularly want to be one, but I’m very interested in Slate. So I googled RepairPal, entered my zip, and a shop about a mile from my house with great reviews popped up at the top of the list. Encouraged and curious, I went to the shop and talked to the service adviser behind the desk. Sadly, he had obviously never heard of Slate. He said he could work on a Slate, especially if he had access to company software, but it might take him a day or two to get parts, depending on where they had to be shipped from. Needless to say, all this was a little disconcerting. I’m located in inland SoCal, so I’m sure there are other RepairPal shops nearby. I guess my question is if Slate has published a list of certified, affiliated shops. I paid my reservation over a year ago, but I haven’t pulled the trigger on preordering yet, and the repair/maintenance situation is a big factor. Thoughts?

I think it's a valid concern. I'm kind of in the same boat with no RepairPal stations of any kind anywhere near me. I have the same questions about Carvana; I don't think I have seen anything really solid about their relationship to Slate either (other than rumor).

 

[ack154]

I'm not sure why you're surprised the guy didn't know anything about it (reminds me of seeing people being surprised their insurance company can't provide a quote - of course they fucking can't - the truck isn't even available yet). Just because they've announced they're partnering with RepairPal doesn't mean all of that information has even filtered to the shops - and it may not even be all of the shops. RepairPal also has an "EV certified" option you can select (was that shop one of them?). So maybe it will be just those ones, we don't know.

Eventually they'll publish a list and provide some more info but none of that is known yet.

And just to throw this out there - the closest listed RP shop to me is almost 70 miles. And that's not one of their EV certified options.

 

[FlyHappy]

I’m curious about how far along the Slate/RepairPal partnership is. First, I’m not a mechanic, and I don’t particularly want to be one, but I’m very interested in Slate. So I googled RepairPal, entered my zip, and a shop about a mile from my house with great reviews popped up at the top of the list. Encouraged and curious, I went to the shop and talked to the service adviser behind the desk. Sadly, he had obviously never heard of Slate. He said he could work on a Slate, especially if he had access to company software, but it might take him a day or two to get parts, depending on where they had to be shipped from. Needless to say, all this was a little disconcerting. I’m located in inland SoCal, so I’m sure there are other RepairPal shops nearby. I guess my question is if Slate has published a list of certified, affiliated shops. I paid my reservation over a year ago, but I haven’t pulled the trigger on preordering yet, and the repair/maintenance situation is a big factor. Thoughts?

Take what you will from an Intenet Rando, but if you in/near a decent sized metro areo (and I assume inland CA qualifies), then "normal" auto maintenance for the Slate shouldn't be too big of a concern - at least not to an extent of a buy/no buy decision.

Buying a Slate is a risk because of 2 factors -
1) its a startup
2) it does not use a dealer or company owned servicing model

the first we obviously can do nothing about.
the second, most of us loathe dealers, and only Tesla and Rivian have successfully built reasonable service organizations. They can "afford" to, because the started and continue to sell high margin vehicles; something that isn't in the cards for Slate.

Let's talk about what is statically probable and what isn't.

likely:
you get a Slate and a door is squeaky and appears misaligned.
you reach out to Slate support and they give you some DIY suggestions that you may/may not be willing to take on yourself. you aren't satisfied, so maybe they refer you to an RP location, who might be able to adjust to your satisfaction, or maybe not.... if its something that can be resolved with a replacement part, then its likely Slate will ship, RP will install.

your windshield wiper motor/door lock solenoid/power steering motor fails.
after remote triage, Slate refers you to an RP location, they verify, get authorization for repair, receives replacement part and replaces for you. This is extremely standard stuff, and waiting for a shipped part is absolutely quite normal. We have largely been spoiled in the US by the vast inventory of replacement parts stashed in every corner of the country, in warehouses, at dealers, in parts stores, often available same day... but not always. UPS/Fedex and the like deliver auto parts around the country overnight, 2nd day, ground, constantly, even for Fords and Toyotas.

Neither of those two warranty repair scenarios will likely require any special certification. It is very modestly skilled mechanical work, and also largely DIY-able, for those inclined.

less likely:
a truly fatal error/failure that renders the vehicle undrivable. Something in the charging/display system, main battery failure/traction motor does not operate, vehicle does not sense key.
It'll need to be towed to a shop, in this case, possibly "Slate certified" (maybe not), but this will be at the direction of Slate remote support. This is why they've included 4/50 roadside assistance; they know that for the few cases their vehicle are immobilized, under warranty, they must have a process that can reasonably hold up in the face of expectations.

will it suck? yes. Will a major repair be slow? possibly.
tbf - I've personally seen EV's from major brands fail and end up stuck at dealership repair center for months awaiting parts. Now its true that often either HQ or dealer was able to provide long term loaners or reimbured for a rental car. I do not expect that a lean operation like Slate will provide such consideration. OTOH, I also don't think they can leave a vehicle with an independant RP shop like this, so for these rare cases, I can see something very novel happening.



You've got to put some faith in Slate as a compay, if you want one soon, before they have a track record. If you aren't comfortable with that, you should not be an early adopter.

 

[MontesDesigns]

I would also assume other slate owners in your local community can help with some stuff for those who aren't so mechanical inclined to diy. Would be cool to get an official slate u certificate or recognition for those who do diy.

 

[ScooterAsheville]

>> If you aren't comfortable with that, you should not be an early adopter.

Probably the most grounded reply I've ever seen on this forum.

 

[ElectricShitbox]

Take what you will from an Intenet Rando, but if you in/near a decent sized metro areo (and I assume inland CA qualifies), then "normal" auto maintenance for the Slate shouldn't be too big of a concern - at least not to an extent of a buy/no buy decision.

Buying a Slate is a risk because of 2 factors -
1) its a startup
2) it does not use a dealer or company owned servicing model

the first we obviously can do nothing about.
the second, most of us loathe dealers, and only Tesla and Rivian have successfully built reasonable service organizations. They can "afford" to, because the started and continue to sell high margin vehicles; something that isn't in the cards for Slate.

Let's talk about what is statically probable and what isn't.

likely:
you get a Slate and a door is squeaky and appears misaligned.
you reach out to Slate support and they give you some DIY suggestions that you may/may not be willing to take on yourself. you aren't satisfied, so maybe they refer you to an RP location, who might be able to adjust to your satisfaction, or maybe not.... if its something that can be resolved with a replacement part, then its likely Slate will ship, RP will install.

your windshield wiper motor/door lock solenoid/power steering motor fails.
after remote triage, Slate refers you to an RP location, they verify, get authorization for repair, receives replacement part and replaces for you. This is extremely standard stuff, and waiting for a shipped part is absolutely quite normal. We have largely been spoiled in the US by the vast inventory of replacement parts stashed in every corner of the country, in warehouses, at dealers, in parts stores, often available same day... but not always. UPS/Fedex and the like deliver auto parts around the country overnight, 2nd day, ground, constantly, even for Fords and Toyotas.

Neither of those two warranty repair scenarios will likely require any special certification. It is very modestly skilled mechanical work, and also largely DIY-able, for those inclined.

less likely:
a truly fatal error/failure that renders the vehicle undrivable. Something in the charging/display system, main battery failure/traction motor does not operate, vehicle does not sense key.
It'll need to be towed to a shop, in this case, possibly "Slate certified" (maybe not), but this will be at the direction of Slate remote support. This is why they've included 4/50 roadside assistance; they know that for the few cases their vehicle are immobilized, under warranty, they must have a process that can reasonably hold up in the face of expectations.

will it suck? yes. Will a major repair be slow? possibly.
tbf - I've personally seen EV's from major brands fail and end up stuck at dealership repair center for months awaiting parts. Now its true that often either HQ or dealer was able to provide long term loaners or reimbured for a rental car. I do not expect that a lean operation like Slate will provide such consideration. OTOH, I also don't think they can leave a vehicle with an independant RP shop like this, so for these rare cases, I can see something very novel happening.



You've got to put some faith in Slate as a compay, if you want one soon, before they have a track record. If you aren't comfortable with that, you should not be an early adopter.

This needs to be a top-of-the-forum sticky

 

[danielt1263]

Sadly, he had obviously never heard of Slate. He said he could work on a Slate, especially if he had access to company software, but it might take him a day or two to get parts, depending on where they had to be shipped from.

If it's any consolation, the company software will be free of charge, unlike with other car companies which charge a hefty fee or even a subscription service, for diagnostic information.

Something that might put your mind at ease is the sales pitch Slate and RepairPal created for the independent shops...

https://pages.repairpal.com/slate-webinarondemand

Basically, any RepairPal shop that can already handle EVs should find the Slate certification process a breeze. So the main thing to ask them is, can they handle High Voltage repairs?

 

[cadblu]

He said he could work on a Slate, especially if he had access to company software, but it might take him a day or two to get parts, depending on where they had to be shipped from.

Yes, and that also assumes that parts are sitting somewhere on a shelf in Slate’s warehouse. For new model releases, repair parts are generally on back order. For example, I once waited on a OEM Toyota windshield replacement for 3 months. No glass available from 3rd parties. And Toyota has been around a bit longer than Slate. Just something to consider about repair parts availability on newly released vehicles.

 

[FlyHappy]

Yes, and that also assumes that parts are sitting somewhere on a shelf in Slate’s warehouse. For new model releases, repair parts are generally on back order. For example, I once waited on a OEM Toyota windshield replacement for 3 months. No glass available from 3rd parties. And Toyota has been around a bit longer than Slate. Just something to consider about repair parts availability on newly released vehicles.

counterpoint: the Slate is designed extensively with "off the shelf" components, sourced from established suppliers, so depending on the part needed, it may be something easily availble, and possibly something used on other makes.

 

[Kopsis]

tbf - I've personally seen EV's from major brands fail and end up stuck at dealership repair center for months awaiting parts.

Been there, done that ... over 16 weeks from tow to pick-up. And it was a collision repair, not warranty, so no loaner. And to make matters worse, it was 800 miles from home.

There are simply no guarantees. Every car on the road is a potential service nightmare. Set aside a rental-car/Uber fund to cover you if it happens and worst case you'll get a good tale of woe to share with friends and family

 

[MadKemist]

I have my concerns as well. The biggest is that the nearest RP location is 3 hrs south in St. Louis. The distance is within the battery range so I’m not too worried.

 

[danielt1263]

I have my concerns as well. The biggest is that the nearest RP location is 3 hrs south in St. Louis. The distance is within the battery range so I’m not too worried.

Ack, where is the nearest RP location that is set up for handling high voltage issues? (You can find out by going to "Find a Location" and selecting "Electric Vehicle" instead of the default of "General Diagnosis".)

 

[MadKemist]

Ack, where is the nearest RP location that is set up for handling high voltage issues? (You can find out by going to "Find a Location" and selecting "Electric Vehicle" instead of the default of "General Diagnosis".)

I was afraid.
My other option is Springfield. I’m reaching out to Slate to see my options. There are dealerships in town that sell EV so maybe that will work…

 

[KevinRS]

The thing with looking for HV shops is, you most likely won't need one.
If you do have a HV issue, it's probably a call a flatbed to take to the shop type issue anyway. In that case, Slate pays for the tow to whatever shop can fix it? If it's within the 10 years/110,000 miles anyway?
More and more shops will be adding HV over time, they've just got to to survive as more EVs sell.