Things are going from bad to worse at Fisker. As cash runs short, the company is getting desperate for income, slashing prices on its electric Ocean SUV and courting a buyout. But the way Fisker handled its finances seems to also be how it handles warranty repairs, as employees allegedly report Fisker is cannibalizing pre-production cars to fix ones already delivered to customers.
Speaking with “several people familiar with the issue,” Business Insider reports that Fisker has taken to parting out existing cars to fix faults on those that it has already sold. The Fisker Ocean has been the subject of many consumer complaints about quality, not to mention safety, as the NHTSA is investigating three separate safety hazards associated with the vehicle. Mounting problems have caused a lengthy service backlog exacerbated by a shortage of parts, which has allegedly led Fisker to start picking apart cars in its “graveyard.”
Fisker’s “graveyard” is said to be a site where it stores a mixture of pre-production test vehicles and returned customer cars. Unsold inventory is also said to be a source for some parts, and grave-robbed items have reportedly included items like door handles, windshields, body control modules, and tires. Fisker has supposedly been raiding these cars for parts as far back as June 2023, when deliveries began, and has relied on them for as many as 15 percent of fixes in recent months. The company denied engaging in the practice in a statement to Business Insider.
Shortcuts on warranty work could be the least of Fisker owners’ problems should the company fail to find a buyer. Getting repairs at all could become impossible if Fisker goes under, as its parts supplies would likely dry up in short order. Fisker owners’ best hope at this point would seem to be the company (or its assets) being bought up, just like Fisker’s last attempt at an electrified luxury car. Some things just never change, huh?
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