My ISA initially offered me an 8 am slot. He then called to say they are closed at 8 am and would I accept a 9 am (I did). I later spoke to the delivery center, and they confirmed me at 9 am, but said they would, in fact, be open at 8 am because of high volume, and did I want to switch back. I did not. I feel I got the least capable ISA out there, God bless him. Name withheld to protect the guilty and the innocent alike.
I showed up at 9 am and was shown to my car. Noticed that MSM accounted for half of the cars waiting for delivery, so failed to guess which one was mine. Yes, I have good taste. No, I am not very original.
They wanted to start with paper signing and then give me the tour. They warned me right away that they were busy. I warned them I wanted to check some things out. They said I was welcome to check them out after I have driven the car out of the backroom, which I could do after I had signed. I signed most of the papers, it probably took less than the projected 10 minutes, only I had to sign the DMV paper twice -- the first one got dated wrong, not by me. They asked for the check from the lender for the balance, but accepted a FedEx tracking number in lieu of it.
Then my guy gave me a tour. I think I knew most of it. He sounded like he was playing back a recording for me, must have done this once or twice before.
Closing of the frunk is a hassle, believe the stories and be very careful. The "press on the badge with one hand vs. press on both sides of the badge with both hands" controversy will live on. The guy was of the two-hand persuasion.
I then did the first part of the inspection based on this checklist, thanks again to the OP of Model 3 Delivery Checklist I had screenshot it, which fit the first two parts: the items the author said are essential to check out before taking delivery (Part 1) and the ones to be checked before leaving the premises (Part 2). Printing it out would have been a better idea, but having prepared for this day for 2 months and a few days I did not find the time to do that.
All items in Part 1 of the list checked out. My guy said I was the first one to ask to compare the VIN to the paperwork. On the other hand, he said he had had a guy check out the car until midnight. From 5 pm that is.
Having gone through Part 1, I signed off and drove off to a one-person applause. May have been two or three people clapping, by then I developed somewhat of a tunnel vision. I was supposed to meet @SoCalDude who later said he had seen me, but I did not see him even if I looked right at him.
Having driven out to the parking lot, I started on Part 2 of the checklist and found the following to be problematic.
1. There was a generously sized smudge/scuff in the middle on the backrest of the passenger seat. Maybe 3 inch by 1 inch, and its little brother at about 1 1/2 by 1/2 inch. Neither the nature nor the origin of the scuff/smudge was apparent to me, and also it was not visible in the fluorescent light inside the backroom, but was obvious in the daylight. I decided to first give them a chance to fix it, and then worry about whether it's dirt or a scuff if it did not come out.
2. One of the door trim panels (chrome or chrome colored, you tell me) stuck about 1/2 inch at the widest above the door. I checked the other side and it was flush, so, no, it was not the extravagant design, but a flaw.
I called the guy and while pointing these two things to him, noticed and pointed out the third:
3. The insulation at the driver's door frame was jagged, half tucked/glued in, half coming out. I was sure this was nothing, but pointed it out to him anyway.
The guy took the news to the tech and returned shortly saying they'll drive the car into the service area and try to take care of it then and there.
My daughter and I waited in the showroom for about 15 minutes. We were offered water and unexciting selection of teas and coffees, I think it was Keurig. I was all coffeed up, but took a water. I spend the time watching the video of the Powerwall where all houses in the neighborhood go dark in a storm except for one, you guessed which one. I am sold. My daughter examined the available colors and concluded I should have gotten a red, or perhaps a blue.
They brought the car back and the trim panel was miraculously fixed. If it's that easy to fix, how could they let it out like that in the first place? It had been... ugly. I should have taken a picture, I didn't. The insulation was also fixed, I could not even remember where exactly was the seam that bugged me.
The smudge on the seat was less prominent. I told myself (and the guy) that after all it's just a seat and there will be scuffs and smudges on it in no time. I may have even said "it's just a car". Except, as you know, it's not. So I corrected myself. The guy agreed with me.
Since they were so efficient in fixing the trip panel gap I decided to point another gap to them. The passenger side rear door stuck a good 1/4 in from the rear fender. The driver side -- more like 1/2 inch. Maybe 3/8 inch. Now, if both were 1/2 inch, I'd probably said nothing, but I decided to call it.
The guy brought the tech out this time. The tech looked it over and declared that both gaps are within parameters, "otherwise they would not have let the car out of the shop", and moreover the gaps were not that different between them. I pointed out that they let it out with the trim panel gap. She said that, too, was within specs. Ouch. She wondered whether my concern was mostly aesthetic, since mechanically she guaranteed the insulation was adequate. I allowed that it was. She said that to close the gap required a very intrusive procedure, which presented as much risk as benefit. She did not say no, but made a strong play. I let it go and drove off.
They gave me the car with a charge for 210mi. I did not see how to switch the display to % and agree that mi is a more useful measure. I drove my kid home, then to work, and arrived at 178mi charge. I do feel the miles trickle off a bit faster than I had expected. So the L2 charging at home is probably more than a nice-to-have. The car has been plugged into an L1 outlet at work for the past 3 hours and climbed to 190mi, as advertised. With 3 more hours to go, I may find that free charging at work just about covers my daily commute.
The family loves the car. The little one likes the glass roof, the big one likes the acceleration, the fact that the car plays music off her phone, and the wife likes the status that the car comes with. I sort of love the car because that's just how it had to be, but my first unpleasant surprise is a very narrow visibility through the rear view mirror. Basically, you see the trees and the roofs windshields of the cars following you, but you don't see the headlights of the car that follows you at 2-4 car lengths. It could be a good thing if someone is trying to blind you with their ultra-mega-krypto-xeno-halogens, but might also be a problem if someone is trying to flash you for a good reason. I now think I have read about this, but though: how bad can it be? Well, it's bad, or rather, unexpected. I think I'll get used to it.
I am available to both answer any questions about the first experiences as well as to hear any DOs, DON'Ts and AHAs! for the new owners from those who were new owners at some point.
I showed up at 9 am and was shown to my car. Noticed that MSM accounted for half of the cars waiting for delivery, so failed to guess which one was mine. Yes, I have good taste. No, I am not very original.
They wanted to start with paper signing and then give me the tour. They warned me right away that they were busy. I warned them I wanted to check some things out. They said I was welcome to check them out after I have driven the car out of the backroom, which I could do after I had signed. I signed most of the papers, it probably took less than the projected 10 minutes, only I had to sign the DMV paper twice -- the first one got dated wrong, not by me. They asked for the check from the lender for the balance, but accepted a FedEx tracking number in lieu of it.
Then my guy gave me a tour. I think I knew most of it. He sounded like he was playing back a recording for me, must have done this once or twice before.
Closing of the frunk is a hassle, believe the stories and be very careful. The "press on the badge with one hand vs. press on both sides of the badge with both hands" controversy will live on. The guy was of the two-hand persuasion.
I then did the first part of the inspection based on this checklist, thanks again to the OP of Model 3 Delivery Checklist I had screenshot it, which fit the first two parts: the items the author said are essential to check out before taking delivery (Part 1) and the ones to be checked before leaving the premises (Part 2). Printing it out would have been a better idea, but having prepared for this day for 2 months and a few days I did not find the time to do that.
All items in Part 1 of the list checked out. My guy said I was the first one to ask to compare the VIN to the paperwork. On the other hand, he said he had had a guy check out the car until midnight. From 5 pm that is.
Having gone through Part 1, I signed off and drove off to a one-person applause. May have been two or three people clapping, by then I developed somewhat of a tunnel vision. I was supposed to meet @SoCalDude who later said he had seen me, but I did not see him even if I looked right at him.
Having driven out to the parking lot, I started on Part 2 of the checklist and found the following to be problematic.
1. There was a generously sized smudge/scuff in the middle on the backrest of the passenger seat. Maybe 3 inch by 1 inch, and its little brother at about 1 1/2 by 1/2 inch. Neither the nature nor the origin of the scuff/smudge was apparent to me, and also it was not visible in the fluorescent light inside the backroom, but was obvious in the daylight. I decided to first give them a chance to fix it, and then worry about whether it's dirt or a scuff if it did not come out.
2. One of the door trim panels (chrome or chrome colored, you tell me) stuck about 1/2 inch at the widest above the door. I checked the other side and it was flush, so, no, it was not the extravagant design, but a flaw.
I called the guy and while pointing these two things to him, noticed and pointed out the third:
3. The insulation at the driver's door frame was jagged, half tucked/glued in, half coming out. I was sure this was nothing, but pointed it out to him anyway.
The guy took the news to the tech and returned shortly saying they'll drive the car into the service area and try to take care of it then and there.
My daughter and I waited in the showroom for about 15 minutes. We were offered water and unexciting selection of teas and coffees, I think it was Keurig. I was all coffeed up, but took a water. I spend the time watching the video of the Powerwall where all houses in the neighborhood go dark in a storm except for one, you guessed which one. I am sold. My daughter examined the available colors and concluded I should have gotten a red, or perhaps a blue.
They brought the car back and the trim panel was miraculously fixed. If it's that easy to fix, how could they let it out like that in the first place? It had been... ugly. I should have taken a picture, I didn't. The insulation was also fixed, I could not even remember where exactly was the seam that bugged me.
The smudge on the seat was less prominent. I told myself (and the guy) that after all it's just a seat and there will be scuffs and smudges on it in no time. I may have even said "it's just a car". Except, as you know, it's not. So I corrected myself. The guy agreed with me.
Since they were so efficient in fixing the trip panel gap I decided to point another gap to them. The passenger side rear door stuck a good 1/4 in from the rear fender. The driver side -- more like 1/2 inch. Maybe 3/8 inch. Now, if both were 1/2 inch, I'd probably said nothing, but I decided to call it.
The guy brought the tech out this time. The tech looked it over and declared that both gaps are within parameters, "otherwise they would not have let the car out of the shop", and moreover the gaps were not that different between them. I pointed out that they let it out with the trim panel gap. She said that, too, was within specs. Ouch. She wondered whether my concern was mostly aesthetic, since mechanically she guaranteed the insulation was adequate. I allowed that it was. She said that to close the gap required a very intrusive procedure, which presented as much risk as benefit. She did not say no, but made a strong play. I let it go and drove off.
They gave me the car with a charge for 210mi. I did not see how to switch the display to % and agree that mi is a more useful measure. I drove my kid home, then to work, and arrived at 178mi charge. I do feel the miles trickle off a bit faster than I had expected. So the L2 charging at home is probably more than a nice-to-have. The car has been plugged into an L1 outlet at work for the past 3 hours and climbed to 190mi, as advertised. With 3 more hours to go, I may find that free charging at work just about covers my daily commute.
The family loves the car. The little one likes the glass roof, the big one likes the acceleration, the fact that the car plays music off her phone, and the wife likes the status that the car comes with. I sort of love the car because that's just how it had to be, but my first unpleasant surprise is a very narrow visibility through the rear view mirror. Basically, you see the trees and the roofs windshields of the cars following you, but you don't see the headlights of the car that follows you at 2-4 car lengths. It could be a good thing if someone is trying to blind you with their ultra-mega-krypto-xeno-halogens, but might also be a problem if someone is trying to flash you for a good reason. I now think I have read about this, but though: how bad can it be? Well, it's bad, or rather, unexpected. I think I'll get used to it.
I am available to both answer any questions about the first experiences as well as to hear any DOs, DON'Ts and AHAs! for the new owners from those who were new owners at some point.
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