11 issues on new car - Tesla SC quotes almost $700 to fix 7 of them?

[dchobo]

Well, hate to create another new thread just to complain ... but I guess I'm one of those suckers that took delivery of an M3 with cosmetic issues ... Delivery guy told me to use "schedule service" in the app to have those issues fixed, which I did promptly.

The service is scheduled for next Monday, but today I got an email from "Tesla" (email address is: [email protected] ?) to accept a $682.50 quote to fix 7 of the 11 issues. This is even before they have a chance to look at the issues. Of course I didn't sign it.

The 11 issues are:

Driver's side rear door, chrome trim not aligned at B pillar.
Paint pimple on passenger side rear quarter panel.
Creases on fabric of passenger side headliner frame.
Passenger side frame cover at headliner loose, not aligned.
Dent/scratch on trunk inside plastic cover near latch.
Front Passenger side door handle not flushed with door body.
Paint clear coat issue near C pillar near passenger rear door.
Front Passenger side triangular chrome piece (for autopilot) (near wheel / A pillar) not fitted fully in.
Rattle (intermittent) in front driver side dash.
Front passenger side speaker (near A pillar) not align to door frame.
Rubber seals at all top corners of BOTH rear doors are loose and not sealed properly

I have attached the email screenshot and a copy of the service quote in this post.

Is this their normal practice?

Of course it's 100% my fault... for not refusing delivery or returning the car within 7 days. Very disappointed in myself.

 

[Akikiki]

Before you came to post your thread, did you contact a person at Tesla to ask why you are being charged for what would be new car fixes or warranty work?

 

[Lee_B]

Don’t even need to call Tesla. I can answer. It’s just an estimate. If the warranty covers it and it does, the final bill will reflect $0. I just went through this but this is them improving their processes. They invoice all work now in warranty or not.

 

[PoitNarf]

Pics of the cosmetic issues would be helpful

 

[Holotype]

Do not e-sign the bill before your appointment.

When you visit the SC for your appointment you will typically need this to get classified as "due bill" work. If you reported these within a very short time of delivery (~72 hours?) you should be covered.

If not, you might have to convince them that the car arrived with those issue(s) before they will fix them gratis -- that would be very difficult if you reported them after the 7-day-return window.

 

[dchobo]

Before you came to post your thread, did you contact a person at Tesla to ask why you are being charged for what would be new car fixes or warranty work?

Yes I did call the phone number on the quote.
Press 2 for Service
Press 1 for upcoming appointment which confirms my Monday appointment
Press 5 for contact options - "please visit Tesla.com/support"...

The quote has Service Advisor by the name "Jack Lee". But no extension number given. I did search by name but there's no Jack in the 9 names that matched the last name Lee.

Should I email the sales advisor that helped me with the test drive?

Or who & how to contact "a person at Tesla"?

thanks

 

[ry-ballz]

Have you people never owned cars before?
Every brand does this.
This is the diagnostic fee if the issue ends up not being covered by the warranty.

It'd be like if you told them your airbag was on, they'd say bring it in and we'll look at it. If you forgot to tell them you crashed the car and the airbag blew, they'd charge you the diagnostic fee.

 

[boaterva]

Yes I did call the phone number on the quote.
Press 2 for Service
Press 1 for upcoming appointment which confirms my Monday appointment
Press 5 for contact options - "please visit Tesla.com/support"...

The quote has Service Advisor by the name "Jack Lee". But no extension number given. I did search by name but there's no Jack in the 9 names that matched the last name Lee.

Should I email the sales advisor that helped me with the test drive?

Or who & how to contact "a person at Tesla"?

thanks

You use the option for ‘contact the Service Center’. They may or may not answer the phone as sometimes they are swamped but it’s worth a try.

But, yeah, best to get these on a Due Bill before you leave.

 

[dchobo]

Do not e-sign the bill before your appointment.

....

@Holotype ... sounds like you have experience with SC in the SF bay area. Which one would you recommend? I have selected the Fremont SC... based on the assumption that if they build it there, they can fix it there!

 

[dchobo]

Pics of the cosmetic issues would be helpful

Here are the 9 pictures for 9 of the issues.
The paint pimple and blemish are hard to see on the pictures.
The door handle alignment is slightly off and hard to tell from the picture.
I don't have picture on the front speaker alignment issue, nor the rattle issue.

 

[PoitNarf]

Here are the 9 pictures for 9 of the issues.
The paint pimple and blemish are hard to see on the pictures.
The door handle alignment is slightly off and hard to tell from the picture.
I don't have picture on the front speaker alignment issue, nor the rattle issue.

Door handle looks normal to me, mine protrudes about the same amount. But that door alignment, damn. That is horrible! Not sure how that got out of the factory looking like that.

 

[Holotype]

@Holotype ... sounds like you have experience with SC in the SF bay area. Which one would you recommend? I have selected the Fremont SC... based on the assumption that if they build it there, they can fix it there!

I went to the Santa Clara SC but only because it was nearby/convenient for me. I saw a customer there have a pretty tough conversation with the employees there where I think they refused to fix his issues under warranty as they were "within spec". The gentleman had mentioned he had a really good experience in the Palo Alto and Sunnyvale SCs, but YMMV.

Absolutely get your SA involved. In my case, I had made a SC appointment in the app 6 days after delivery and emailed my advisor on the 7th day. Since I didn't get any due bill info at delivery, the SC associate and manager had to confirm these issues would be covered with my SA (via internal chat) before they would goodwill the service.

 

[dchobo]

Have you people never owned cars before?
Every brand does this.
This is the diagnostic fee if the issue ends up not being covered by the warranty.

It'd be like if you told them your airbag was on, they'd say bring it in and we'll look at it. If you forgot to tell them you crashed the car and the airbag blew, they'd charge you the diagnostic fee.

I don't remember any brand sending a quote BEFORE they look at it and asking you to "accept" it.

 

[tvad]

The window seal is an easy fix. You could do it yourself. Many Model 3s have the same problem. The interior rounded trim piece is probably another easy fix.

I don't know what you're showing us in 20190929_120038_resized.jpg.

I can't see anything wrong in any of the exterior paint shots other than the misaligned door (is that the door?).

The scratch in the interior of the trunk trim is minimal, and unless you place a blanket over the edge every time you put something in the trunk and remove something from the trunk, you're destined to get more scratches in the plastic. You may be asking for more trouble than it's worth if you have them replace it (misalignment of new piece, new rattles, etc).

 

[ry-ballz]

I don't remember any brand sending a quote BEFORE they look at it and asking you to "accept" it.

Because you never bothered to read the fine print.
My Audi service paperwork said $149 diagnostic fee plus $180 an hour for out of warranty work.

 

[T3SLAROD]

Don’t sign it, they will go over all your issues when you drop off and then have you sign this same invoice but with a $0.00 balance due

 

[ry-ballz]

Here are the 9 pictures for 9 of the issues.
The paint pimple and blemish are hard to see on the pictures.
The door handle alignment is slightly off and hard to tell from the picture.
I don't have picture on the front speaker alignment issue, nor the rattle issue.

That door alignment sucks. They'll fix it.
Dunno about the seal. My car has them like that. Haven't bothered to look into it.,

Hit the pillar trim with your palm and it'll click back in, the AP camera should click back in too.
As far as the scratch on the trunk plastic, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[dchobo]

I went to the Santa Clara SC but only because it was nearby/convenient for me. I saw a customer there have a pretty tough conversation with the employees there where I think they refused to fix his issues under warranty as they were "within spec". The gentleman had mentioned he had a really good experience in the Palo Alto and Sunnyvale SCs, but YMMV.

Absolutely get your SA involved. In my case, I had made a SC appointment in the app 6 days after delivery and emailed my advisor on the 7th day. Since I didn't get any due bill info at delivery, the SC associate and manager had to confirm these issues would be covered with my SA (via internal chat) before they would goodwill the service.

Thanks @Holotype - I did email my SA earlier with the issues but never heard back (nor did I push for a response since I already have the service appointment set up). I took delivery on 9/28 and the earliest appointment available was 10/9 - outside the 7 days window.

In any case, I'll see how my appointment with Fremont SC goes...

It may just take a few more trips to different SCs and talk to different Service Advisors to get things fixed... Haha I thought Tesla would be a different company service-wise but I guess it's like any other brand then like an earlier poster said.

thanks for your advice

 

[Holotype]

Thanks @Holotype - I did email my SA earlier with the issues but never heard back (nor did I push for a response since I already have the service appointment set up). I took delivery on 9/28 and the earliest appointment available was 10/9 - outside the 7 days window.

In any case, I'll see how my appointment with Fremont SC goes...

It may just take a few more trips to different SCs and talk to different Service Advisors to get things fixed... Haha I thought Tesla would be a different company service-wise but I guess it's like any other brand then like an earlier poster said.

thanks for your advice

I'd push for a response from your SA as my SC associate specifically asked me whether anyone at Tesla told me (in writing I think) that the issues would be covered -- she made it sound like a big deal.

It's fine if the service center appointment is outside the 7-day window if you created the appointment earlier -- in my case they asked when I created the appointment.

It sounds like different people have different experiences at different SCs though, so good luck.

 

[dchobo]

The window seal is an easy fix. You could do it yourself. Many Model 3s have the same problem. The interior rounded trim piece is probably another easy fix.

I don't know what you're showing us in 20190929_120038_resized.jpg.

I can't see anything wrong in any of the exterior paint shots other than the misaligned door (is that the door?).

The scratch in the interior of the trunk trim is minimal, and unless you place a blanket over the edge every time you put something in the trunk and remove something from the trunk, you're destined to get more scratches in the plastic. You may be asking for more trouble than it's worth if you have them replace it (misalignment of new piece, new rattles, etc).

Thanks for the feedback.

The picture 20190929_120038_resized.jpg above is showing some crease on the internal fabric. Perhaps it'll smooth out over time.

The paint shots are hard to see in the pictures due to the lighting... but they are there.

The biggest thing is the door/door trim alignment (the door seems a little off, and the trim is WAY off). And I can't seem to pop it in...

Yes I'm willing to DIY fix some of these issues if Tesla refuses to fix them.