So, this was - by FAR - the worst purchase experience EVER.
In our last episode, I was approaching 1-week since they took it back a second time to correct some pretty major issues on the exterior. I let them know that I wanted a new car at this point or if mine was repaired to my satisfaction, a new 7 day trial from the date I actually get the car.
They made it clear another 7 day trial was out of the question because from their standpoint, they were doing me a favor in correcting the issues at the factory vs me having to make a service appointment some time in the future. Uh, ok. They also said they were done and I could come up to the factory and the car would be in stall-2 ready for pickup. We drove up as quickly as possible to inspect the car before it got too dark and there were at least 7 other MY waiting to be picked up. On the way up, we reviewed the repair invoice and turns out they replaced the hood, both front doors, one headlight, one tail light, one side mirror trim, and the entire rear bumper. No mention of any of the interior items being fixed.
When we got there, we looked over the car with a fine toothed comb and I'm happy to report:
- Both front doors almost completely flush with rear doors and all doors aligned beautifully.
- The hood was replaced and perfectly aligned.
- The damaged headlight was replaced and both were sitting perfectly flush with the bumper.
- The rough, jagged body seams visible from the side under the hatch (when closed) were MUCH better.
- The damage to the paint by the door striker was repaired beautifully.
- The overall condition of the exterior (body panel gaps, door alignment) was better than any of the other MYs we inspected which tells me Tesla CAN get fantastic door/hood/hatch alignment and consistent panel gaps BUT it may require replacement of entire body panels - something the service centers are just not equipped to handle (nor is Tesla willing to pay for so I consider myself lucky). What's the deal with quality control and their stampings???
- The rear hatch at the bumper seems pulled in more on the drivers side than the passenger side. However, EVERY car there looked exactly the same so I'm not concerned.
The interior, however wasn't touched so multiple trim panels are incorrectly installed, several aren't even attached, the ceiling has scratches and smudges, and there are new small chips in the paint by one of the door strikes. Also, when we looked the next day in the sun, during the process of replacing the rear bumper, they failed to install all of the fasteners so there are some gaps between the black and painted trim around the rear wheels. These are all things that the service folks can't say "it's within spec" so I'm confident they can fix them all.
All that said, I took the car home and immediately made a service appointment to repair the outstanding items. My appointment is next week so I'm hoping this saga will be over soon.
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