Bad, confusing, misleading delivery experience. Do NOT buy a used P90DL from Tesla.

[DontDoIt]

I put down a deposit on a P90DL (advertised on their website as 270 mile range / 2.6sec 0-60). They had no pictures on the website but later they sent me pictures of some mild curb rash on the wheels, due billing them. This obviously made me think if they're sending me that, they would send me any other possible damage that's at this level or worse.

On delivery day I was made to sit down and sign papers immediately before being shown the car. When I was uncomfortable with this the delivery person said I could return this car in 7 days if I didn't like it. I specifically asked if that policy was valid for used cars and not just new, and she said yes. So I signed the papers (very dumb, I'm aware) and got the car. The whole thing was so rushed and confusing that I didn't even realize they didn't give me charging cables (worse, neither did they).

After I came home I uncovered a WHOLE bunch of problems with the car, exterior interior sound performance range etc etc. whatever I could think of. But now of course Tesla tells me there's no return period for this car. Even though I'm not asking for a full return, I just wanna exchange it for a P100DL Even though I was TOLD I could return it. Even worse, they don't even acknowledge any of it and are completely dismissive.

• The car has twice the expected range degradation from a car with this many miles (10% degradation)
• We've measured 0-60 times for this car and it's 3+ seconds (launch mode & heated). Literally 20 percent slower than advertised. The same equipment measures my friend's P85D at ~3.15 and P100DL at ~2.4
• Upon research I've found that there are versions to 90kWh batteries and mine is of course the worst one with the worst perf. and highest degradation. The V1 batteries were literally never even capable of 2.6 and those P90Ds are way closer to P85Ds than P100DLs. Tesla knows this and what battery my car has, but saw no problem advertising it as if it had literally the best possible battery. How more misleading can you be?
• I guess what we measured for my car is even worse than what's expected from a V1
• There are a lot of scratches and dents on the exterior, at least 3 very visible ones including a long 'line' on the brake light
• A lot of scratches on the seat leathers
• Damaged alcantara on driver headliner, about 35% of it is filled with white cottony spots
• So many noises coming from everywhere. I counted at least 3 different types of noises coming from different sides of the car, all loud, sometimes all together to form some sort of shitty cacophonic orchestra. Creaking, rattling, shaking, you name it it's there.
• Unbearable wind noise.
• They didn't give me a charging cable that's how rushed it was
• The passenger side 'potato chip' door thing just ... fell off the first and only time someone sat in it. Obviously very minor issue but it just fell off, showing how little care went into the delivery of this car

The last 2 things are easy to fix. The 2 before that are potentially fixable by service center although I know it's gonna take many visits and many months.

Again. I am aware that a lot of this is my fault, since I did sign the papers and I did take the delivery. It's a dumb thing to do, and there are no excuses for me, but there are explanations. And the explanation is that I was pretty clearly misled by Tesla from the very beginning to the delivery at every turn.

1. Misleading website: They advertised wrong 0-60 times. They know that with my battery I could never get 2.6. But they see no problem grouping my car with clearly superior cars
2. Misleading pre-delivery communication: They were very selective with what pictures they shared with me, leading me to think the curb rash had to be the worst damage on the vehicle
3. Misleadingly (outright falsely) ensuring me I could return the car in 7 days while I was signing the papers

I told them a billion times I don't wanna return the car and get my money back forever. I just want another car, one that isn't so disappointing in every area I can think of. I'm even considering getting a new P100DL. Not only they aren't budging, they are not acknowledging the possibility of having misled me. They don't even seem to acknowledge that there might be some validity in my disappointment, they're dismissing it as "buyer's remorse". Buyers remorse is not the same as getting something far inferior to what you were advertised.

I'm sure many people here will tell me I've been stupid and should not have been stupid. I get it. Others will tell me I still have a super fast car and should be happy. To them, I say that if I wanted 3+ second 0-60, I could have easily gotten a P85D, which would have been about $13,000 cheaper, and probably have a less degraded battery.

Learn from my stupidity and do not trust Tesla in any way. Don't trust they are telling you the trust and for SURE don't trust they will try to make something right after they've got your money. And do not get a P90DL until you can confirm it's a better battery pack. And ask for pictures. Lots and lots of them.

 

[darxsys]

And then people on this forum will tell you "there will always be horror stories." ROFL. My disgust towards Tesla just grows every day.

Also, from my experience, don't expect Tesla to fix rattles or squeaks. They will blame it on the age of the car, on the fact that you're not the first owner so they can't know how people before drove it, on the magical forces of wear and tear, on the fact that they don't reproduce them, without even trying properly, and so on. I wish you had posted here *before* buying it so that we could advise you against doing it.

I am currently trying to find a way to sell my Model S with a minimal loss of money, and would probably advise you to do the same. No matter what the fanboys say, it's not worth it. Come back in 3 years and see if the company got its *sugar* together in the meantime or not.

 

[iqless]

I think it's generally well accepted at this point that Tesla used delivery & new car delivery is completely different from each other

 

[L-P-G]

Depending on how you made your payment you could reverse but that may open you up to issues since there is a signed contract, but i guarantee that when there is no payment for the vehicle someone WILL take you seriously.

Then again when I bought my used P90DL they didn't request funds from my credit union for 3 months. They tried to do the same thing to me. Sign here and we'll take you to the car, I refused and told him I wanted to see the car first, they said it was in an area where customers aren't allowed so I told him, "it's a car, grab the key and drive it out front. I'll wait"

 

[ewoodrick]

Did you really expect a used car to be perfect?
Sounds as if you may be more upset with yourself not doing the proper research for what you wanted and then upset when you got a good deal on something cheaper.

 

[glide]

It’s really gross that they are making people sign papers before inspecting the vehicle now. And this is not the first I’ve heard of it happening.

It’s quite telling of how they feel about the product they are selling.

No “shady used car dealer” would even try to pull that stunt.

 

[glide]

Did you really expect a used car to be perfect?
Sounds as if you may be more upset with yourself not doing the proper research for what you wanted and then upset when you got a good deal on something cheaper.

Maybe OP wasn’t expecting deceptive sales tactics and poor customer service.

Don’t blame the victim.

To the OP, if I were you I would raise hell about how they owe you a 2.6 second car. If that means a new battery, then that’s what they owe you.

 

[darxsys]

Did you really expect a used car to be perfect?
Sounds as if you may be more upset with yourself not doing the proper research for what you wanted and then upset when you got a good deal on something cheaper.

I love people like you. If you were in OP’s position, I am certain you would be complaining a lot more. Don’t be a piece of *sugar*, but a normal human being with some empathy, please.

Also, where is that guy who was so vocal on some other thread about how it doesn’t matter if it’s a V1 or V2 or V3 battery and that Tesla will make it right if there are any issues? Would love to hear his perspective here.

 

[glide]

morbidz

You work for Tesla or something? Please explain to the class how this behavior is justifiable?

 

[Fleer]

It’s really gross that they are making people sign papers before inspecting the vehicle now. And this is not the first I’ve heard of it happening.

It’s quite telling of how they feel about the product they are selling.

No “shady used car dealer” would even try to pull that stunt.

Seems to be service center dependent. I was allowed to fully inspect mine and give them a list of damaged items/repairs to be done before I signed anything and turned over payment. (Salt Lake City)

 

[cruiserlarry]

This is not a Tesla problem - this is an automotive industry problem.

The stereotypical "used car salesman" has always existed (hence the stereotype), regardless of vehicle brand. Not every used car salesperson uses misleading information or shady tactics to sell a vehicle, but there will always be some, and those working for Tesla are no exception. Used car purchasing has always been "buyer beware" transaction, and for good reason. While there is no condoning what was allegedly said to you, it is ALWAYS your job to do your homework BEFORE you sign a contract. Or, have the person put down IN WRITING any conditions of the sale you feel are important so you have something to work with (although that still does not assure you will come out on top; most automotive contracts specifically state that nothing the salesperson or any representative says should be considered binding unless it is also found in the actual contract you sign).

I'm not trying to be unsympathetic, or flame you in any way - but a search of this or any automotive forum (or a google search in general) will find hundreds of horror stories just like yours, almost all of which were avoidable by using the same research and common sense you use when buying a cell phone, shoes, or groceries. Additionally, dings, dents, scratches, rattles, squeaks, and general wear and tear can be normal when purchasing a used vehicle; if the vehicle was perfect, it would be a rare find indeed, and likely no bargain, price-wise.

Best of luck to you. I hope Tesla takes care of the vehicle fixes you need, as it is an amazing vehicle to own and drive.

 

[DontDoIt]

T
I'm not trying to be unsympathetic, or flame you in any way - but a search of this or any automotive forum (or a google search in general) will find hundreds of horror stories just like yours, almost all of which were avoidable by using the same research and common sense you use when buying a cell phone, shoes, or groceries. Additionally, dings, dents, scratches, rattles, squeaks, and general wear and tear can be normal when purchasing a used vehicle; if the vehicle was perfect, it would be a rare find indeed, and likely no bargain, price-wise.

No I do agree with you. If I dug deep into research before the purchase, this wouldn't have happened. We can all agree here that I haven't been vigilant with my massive purchase. But does this justify what Tesla is doing?

For example, if I left my door unlocked and went to the grocery store, and returned half an hour later to find my house robbed, I understand I would have been greatly at fault for leaving the door unlocked. But, does that justify going into somebody's house and robbing them? By not digging into the forums, I allowed Tesla to quite majorly screw me over. But they did screw me over. If they had good intentions, they could easily have not. Instead, they chose to be shady (and at times they just straight up lied) at every single turn!

And yeah... I really didn't realize Tesla could just state 'alternative facts' on their website about a car. It just flat out says the car can do 2.6 0-60. It can't - that's not even due to 'wear and tear' (the way battery range can be, although even in that instance I got the super short end of the stick), which would potentially justify putting that number out there because it's a used car and at some point it could. The fact is, the car never could, it just never had powerful enough internals to do so. It's not very much different from selling someone an AP1 car and say one day it's gonna be able to drive itself because it's autopilot.

When it comes to the scratches and dents - those are really not my biggest issues, but they are issues, and I was misled there too. Everybody else gets pictures of their cars - I didn't. I only got a very selective collection of them that didn't show any of the damage.

And I'd still like to remind people reading that I was made to sign purchasing papers before being shown the car and was straight up lied to about being able to return the car in 7 days when I expressed concern about it. Again - signing is my fault, but how on Earth is Tesla lying to me (to get me to sign) acceptable? I am disappointed so many people are either so content with bending over backwards for a Cool Company, or they just enjoy pointing fingers and laugh at the stupidity of the sufferer while finding no fault at all at what's at best shadiness from the Cool Company.

 

[DontDoIt]

New development:

Just got word from my service center that "rattles and noises are not covered" under the warranty, and diagnosis starts at $87.50. God knows what they would charge to fix all of them. I had a Tesla before and they were always very courteous about all kinds of noises back then and diagnosed & fixed them under warranty.

I don't know what happened, but Tesla is literally being as shitty as they can to me. I am regretting everything so much - I have half a mind to sell this horrible disappointment, take a giant loss on it, and get an Audi.

 

[Nrazar]

New development:

Just got word from my service center that "rattles and noises are not covered" under the warranty, and diagnosis starts at $87.50. God knows what they would charge to fix all of them. I had a Tesla before and they were always very courteous about all kinds of noises back then and diagnosed & fixed them under warranty.

I don't know what happened, but Tesla is literally being as shitty as they can to me. I am regretting everything so much - I have half a mind to sell this horrible disappointment, take a giant loss on it, and get an Audi.

That’s how it is for everyone now their service is being annoying. I would sell it too if I was you or try to get a lawyer if your ready to stick it to them

 

[EVDRVN]

The 0-60 thing is a tough battle to fight and it's the spec of the original car, etc. Cosmetic issues are on you for accepting and noises can be considered normal wear so unless you test drive first then you are accepting the car as inspected. On the other hand Tesla CS and the used car buying experience is horrific unless you don't have an issue. I've been battling with them for 6 months after an undelivered promise in writing which they finally acknowledged but still have not resolved by "keying" it into the system. Complete incompetence or greasy stalling tactics which if true will not work ultimately.

 

[Merle]

Like when I talk to women, sometimes it's good to know if you are looking just to vent, or want to get things fixed?

You have a car now that you paid for, and aren't happy. Sell it if it's that frustrating. Otherwise, fix forward.

<SNIP>

• The car has twice the expected range degradation from a car with this many miles (10% degradation)

How did you determine the degradation of range? I don't believe that doing the "divide by percentage" is an adequate measure.

Are you running 21" wheels? Have you charged up to 100% and discharge back down to 10%?

E.g. Buy an ICE car and look at the gas tank capacity. Drive until you're out of gas (BTDT) and use the spare 1 gallon tank you brought along. Go to a gas station and fill up. You don't get the full capacity (in aviation, it's called "usable fuel")

• We've measured 0-60 times for this car and it's 3+ seconds (launch mode & heated). Literally 20 percent slower than advertised. The same equipment measures my friend's P85D at ~3.15 and P100DL at ~2.4
• I guess what we measured for my car is even worse than what's expected from a V1

How did you determine the 0-60 times for the vehicle? What tool / application did you use, and what methodology? There are many factors that can affect 0-60 including tire condition, weather and driver experience.

• Upon research I've found that there are versions to 90kWh batteries and mine is of course the worst one with the worst perf. and highest degradation. The V1 batteries were literally never even capable of 2.6 and those P90Ds are way closer to P85Ds than P100DLs. Tesla knows this and what battery my car has, but saw no problem advertising it as if it had literally the best possible battery. How more misleading can you be?

Would you have refused delivery if you knew? Especially if everything else was just perfect?

• There are a lot of scratches and dents on the exterior, at least 3 very visible ones including a long 'line' on the brake light
• A lot of scratches on the seat leathers

Have you had the car professionally detailed, including polished?

E.g. I had some "scratches" on a side door in the clearcoat that caught the light on a black car. Polished, waxed and ceramic coated ... gone.

Have you tried using something like Doc Baileys (presuming you have black leather) interior? I've had black cars where "black" portion (due to wear) became light gray/blue and a few drops of the this stuff fixed it up so you can't tell. It happens on wear spots for drivers who use their vehicles a lot.

• Damaged alcantara on driver headliner, about 35% of it is filled with white cottony spots

Spots as in "lint" or from discoloration of something like bleach?

• So many noises coming from everywhere. I counted at least 3 different types of noises coming from different sides of the car, all loud, sometimes all together to form some sort of shitty cacophonic orchestra. Creaking, rattling, shaking, you name it it's there.

Where (specifically) and what?

E.g. I can hear a creak on my sunroof. Open and close, the noise goes away.

• Unbearable wind noise.

Have you tried figuring out where it was coming from (e.g. lose rubber molding) and fixing?

E.g. I had a misaligned rubber trim on the "triangle" window piece. Fixed and noise went away.

• They didn't give me a charging cable that's how rushed it was
• The passenger side 'potato chip' door thing just ... fell off the first and only time someone sat in it. Obviously very minor issue but it just fell off, showing how little care went into the delivery of this car

The last 2 things are easy to fix. The 2 before that are potentially fixable by service center although I know it's gonna take many visits and many months.

1. Misleading website: They advertised wrong 0-60 times. They know that with my battery I could never get 2.6. But they see no problem grouping my car with clearly superior cars

[/QUOTE]

Without know the exact methodology that you used (and used the same that Tesla used) it would be difficult to understand how off things are. Well, how off are they ... specifically?

1. Misleading pre-delivery communication: They were very selective with what pictures they shared with me, leading me to think the curb rash had to be the worst damage on the vehicle

That's how buying a used car over the internet is - you don't get to see every singular inch. But there are going to be problem areas. For example, I've never seen an image below the vehicle, including the front bumper lip to determine if a person scraped it on a curb, or over a speed bump.

1. Misleadingly (outright falsely) ensuring me I could return the car in 7 days while I was signing the papers

Someone can always argue "he said, she said" situations, unfortunately.

I'm even considering getting a new P100DL.

<SNIP>

Learn from my stupidity and do not trust Tesla in any way. Don't trust they are telling you the trust and for SURE don't trust they will try to make something right after they've got your money. And do not get a P90DL until you can confirm it's a better battery pack. And ask for pictures. Lots and lots of them.

If find it interesting that, even after this experience, you'd consider a higher end P100DL.

I understand buyers remorse, particularly if your support structure defends your current negative attitude of the situation.

 

[hcdavis3]

I put down a deposit on a P90DL (advertised on their website as 270 mile range / 2.6sec 0-60). They had no pictures on the website but later they sent me pictures of some mild curb rash on the wheels, due billing them. This obviously made me think if they're sending me that, they would send me any other possible damage that's at this level or worse.

On delivery day I was made to sit down and sign papers immediately before being shown the car. When I was uncomfortable with this the delivery person said I could return this car in 7 days if I didn't like it. I specifically asked if that policy was valid for used cars and not just new, and she said yes. So I signed the papers (very dumb, I'm aware) and got the car. The whole thing was so rushed and confusing that I didn't even realize they didn't give me charging cables (worse, neither did they).

After I came home I uncovered a WHOLE bunch of problems with the car, exterior interior sound performance range etc etc. whatever I could think of. But now of course Tesla tells me there's no return period for this car. Even though I'm not asking for a full return, I just wanna exchange it for a P100DL Even though I was TOLD I could return it. Even worse, they don't even acknowledge any of it and are completely dismissive.

• The car has twice the expected range degradation from a car with this many miles (10% degradation)
• We've measured 0-60 times for this car and it's 3+ seconds (launch mode & heated). Literally 20 percent slower than advertised. The same equipment measures my friend's P85D at ~3.15 and P100DL at ~2.4
• Upon research I've found that there are versions to 90kWh batteries and mine is of course the worst one with the worst perf. and highest degradation. The V1 batteries were literally never even capable of 2.6 and those P90Ds are way closer to P85Ds than P100DLs. Tesla knows this and what battery my car has, but saw no problem advertising it as if it had literally the best possible battery. How more misleading can you be?
• I guess what we measured for my car is even worse than what's expected from a V1
• There are a lot of scratches and dents on the exterior, at least 3 very visible ones including a long 'line' on the brake light
• A lot of scratches on the seat leathers
• Damaged alcantara on driver headliner, about 35% of it is filled with white cottony spots
• So many noises coming from everywhere. I counted at least 3 different types of noises coming from different sides of the car, all loud, sometimes all together to form some sort of shitty cacophonic orchestra. Creaking, rattling, shaking, you name it it's there.
• Unbearable wind noise.
• They didn't give me a charging cable that's how rushed it was
• The passenger side 'potato chip' door thing just ... fell off the first and only time someone sat in it. Obviously very minor issue but it just fell off, showing how little care went into the delivery of this car

The last 2 things are easy to fix. The 2 before that are potentially fixable by service center although I know it's gonna take many visits and many months.

Again. I am aware that a lot of this is my fault, since I did sign the papers and I did take the delivery. It's a dumb thing to do, and there are no excuses for me, but there are explanations. And the explanation is that I was pretty clearly misled by Tesla from the very beginning to the delivery at every turn.

1. Misleading website: They advertised wrong 0-60 times. They know that with my battery I could never get 2.6. But they see no problem grouping my car with clearly superior cars
2. Misleading pre-delivery communication: They were very selective with what pictures they shared with me, leading me to think the curb rash had to be the worst damage on the vehicle
3. Misleadingly (outright falsely) ensuring me I could return the car in 7 days while I was signing the papers

I told them a billion times I don't wanna return the car and get my money back forever. I just want another car, one that isn't so disappointing in every area I can think of. I'm even considering getting a new P100DL. Not only they aren't budging, they are not acknowledging the possibility of having misled me. They don't even seem to acknowledge that there might be some validity in my disappointment, they're dismissing it as "buyer's remorse". Buyers remorse is not the same as getting something far inferior to what you were advertised.

I'm sure many people here will tell me I've been stupid and should not have been stupid. I get it. Others will tell me I still have a super fast car and should be happy. To them, I say that if I wanted 3+ second 0-60, I could have easily gotten a P85D, which would have been about $13,000 cheaper, and probably have a less degraded battery.

Learn from my stupidity and do not trust Tesla in any way. Don't trust they are telling you the trust and for SURE don't trust they will try to make something right after they've got your money. And do not get a P90DL until you can confirm it's a better battery pack. And ask for pictures. Lots and lots of them.

Where did you take delivery? I took delivery in Dedham MA. I asked the DA the day before and the day of on my way to Dedham when was my car built? No answer available. I had already begun to sign the paperwork and was clearly caught up in the new car experience. Only then was I told that my car was a June 2018 build. Delivery day was March 5th 2019. I was basically screwed at that point. The whole experience was just too slick for me. Thankfully the car was perfect. I believe the delivery advisor was purposely being evasive so they could offload an old car. Basically told “Stay in your lane bro “.

 

[KArnold]

No lemon law for used cars there? Certainly it seems you have grounds for misrepresentation.

 

[robg]

Having read enough of these delivery horror stories, I"ve noticed a pattern where when the delivery center tries to insist that you sign the papers before seeing the car it's almost always a bad sign. For posterity, here's a summary of some of the lessons I've gleaned from reading these stories:
1. Don't pay to have the car delivered from another state. It will take longer than you ever thought imaginable and you wont get any updates during the ordeal. Plus, if the car arrives and it's filled with issues you won't be able to walk away without losing that $2k delivery charge.
2. If you are flying to take delivery of your Tesla, book a ticket that can be changed. Alternatively, dont book the flight until the day of the supposed delivery (they are very bad at keeping promised delivery dates/times). Then if they dont cancel last minute you can be confident the car is actually there and ready. At that point, change the delivery date and book a flight. Book a round-trip and be prepared to return empty handed should the car not be up to snuff.
3. As mentioned in this thread, never sign the papers before inspection. If they insist you might even consider walking out right then and there because it's sure to be bad news.
4. When you take delivery, take a checklist with you. Go through the car in detail and don't assume anything. Test everything. Pretend you are buying from a very shady craigslist seller who you are certain is trying to scam you. Make sure to put all issues in writing and get something signed by the delivery center for the items they claim will be fixed. Look under the car to the extent you can as well. Dont be afraid to walk away - you will almost certainly be able to get your "non refundable" deposit refunded.
5. Consider mentally adding about $1k to the price to get the car to the level you'd expect when buying a used car from a typical luxury car dealership. You'll likely need that for a proper detailing, plus dent/scratch/wheel rash repair. And even if you don't use all that, set aside the rest for repairs that should be covered under warranty but that Tesla may randomly refuse to do (see the whole yellow screen debacle).
6. Book a service appointment immediately. Even if you don't find issues on delivery, things will crop up during your first few days of ownership.
7. Read up on various sources/solutions to squeaks/rattles on these cars cause you'll be on your own to fix them.
8. Don't allow yourself to get excited about the car just yet. Pretend that you work for Tesla and your job is to inspect used cars, test them and get them ready for delivery. Your job starts at delivery and ends after that first service center appointment is completed. At that point, you can be excited and "deliver" the car to yourself.
9. Be ready to standup for yourself throughout this whole process. Get comfortable with the idea of hiring a lawyer.

 

[AMPd]

It’s crazy and sad to see people defend tesla when they are clearly in the wrong

The people defending tesla, you are aware that these types of business practices will create a horrible reputation for tesla? By defending the company you are not doing them any favors, in fact you’re hurting the company in the long run.
I get that you might be a shareholder so you’ll defend tesla for financial reasons, but if tesla gets a reputation as a company that refuses to honor warranty claims and sells cars using false advertising, your stock WILL hit 0