Declined my Model3 during delivery due to excessive paint swirls and now i am stuck

[tslaaustin]

March 14th was my Black Model3 delivery and as we walked into the delivery room we clearly see lines (paint swirls on a brand new cars) on the hood which seem to be due to someone not washing it the car before wiping it with cloth. Its everywhere on the hood and around the hood. In some spots very concentrated and excessive. When i questioned how this happend and how they are going to fix, they called in their lead detailer. The lead detailer answer was they already did their best buffing it and it cant be improved. The delivery person also mentioned that Tesla is not going to do many corrections for model3 in service center just as they have doing for Model S and Model X. The final statement from Tesla rep is "IT WILL BE SOLD AS IS" which i understood as "TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT" . Tesla rep also says black shows these swirls more visible which is fine but i dont expect this kind of damage on a new car and they (Tesla) didnt want to take any responsibility to address the situation. I even asked the Tesla rep if i should come back next day for them to fix it and the answer was "It will be sold as it".I declined to take delivery of Model3 due to the car condition and Tesla not offering to fix it.

I spoke to my DS and exchanged emails with him about this situation who assured me a new car will be built and offered to change the color (extra $1000) for which i agreed and chose red. He promied to give me delivery in a week now its more than 10 days and there is no update but its escalated and will go to production asap. I haven't told my bank yet about this whole situation and they may require me to refund the loan if situation is not cleared in timely manner. I dont knwo how else to escalate this situation as i am now stuck without much visibility after paying the full amount already to Tesla more than a month ago. Anyone have any suggestions or who to escalate ?

 

[Barklikeadog]

Blah... They screwed up, screwed you, wasted your time which probably cost you $$$ -and- got another $1,000 out of you?
People here who complain about dealerships should take notice. There are too many issues like yours going on.

 

[JonathanD]

You could try logging into your Tesla account, click Support, and then click Executive Escalation. No guarantees you'll get a response but it doesn't sound like you have a lot of other options.

 

[okcorral]

Black is notorious for showing every imperfection. A quality detailed should be able to do paint correction. And then promptly apply a paint protection film like Xpel.

Without pictures it’s hard to judge but you do sound a bit picky. You’ll likely have to wait another 3-6 weeks.

 

[andrewket]

I’m not sure what you’re going to escalate. They allowed you to re-order without penantly. It’s likely your replacement will arrive in a few weeks. Most loan checks are good for 30 days. You’ll have to update the VIN, though.

 

[tslaaustin]

Black is notorious for showing every imperfection. A quality detailed should be able to do paint correction. And then promptly apply a paint protection film like Xpel.

Without pictures it’s hard to judge but you do sound a bit picky. You’ll likely have to wait another 3-6 weeks.

I did make up mind before delivery that there is going to some minor cosmetic and alignment issues which i was going to let go but this visible paint swirls on a new car was not something i was expecting. I wasnt picky this time or the previous time when i tookd my Model S which had a dent on the drivers door not caught by anyone at Tesla until i showed it to them during the delivery. I took delivery of my model S but suffered through dealing with service center who initially told me it is paintless dent removal then decided to get it fully repainted by body shop without even telling me on a new car. Thats another long painful story and i didnt want to go through the same experience this time.
This time they declined to fix those excessive scratching/swirls eventhough they did accept the excessive swirls/scratches compared to other black cars in the delivery room. This made my decision easy to reject. Once again this is a $55k car and we pay extra $1000 for destination & delivery which makes it Teslas responsibility to handle the car and deliver with care as a new car.

 

[bonnie]

I did make up mind before delivery that there is going to some minor cosmetic and alignment issues which i was going to let go but this visible paint swirls on a new car was not something i was expecting. I wasnt picky this time or the previous time when i tookd my Model S which had a dent on the drivers door not caught by anyone at Tesla until i showed it to them during the delivery. I took delivery of my model S but suffered through dealing with service center who initially told me it is paintless dent removal then decided to get it fully repainted by body shop without even telling me on a new car. Thats another long painful story and i didnt want to go through the same experience this time.
This time they declined to fix those excessive scratching/swirls eventhough they did accept the excessive swirls/scratches compared to other black cars in the delivery room. This made my decision easy to reject. Once again this is a $55k car and we pay extra $1000 for destination & delivery which makes it Teslas responsibility to handle the car and deliver with care as a new car.

They declined to fix the scratches, but they did allow you to reorder.

As @andrewket asked, what exactly do you need to escalate to management?

 

[tslaaustin]

They declined to fix the scratches, but they did allow you to reorder.

As @andrewket asked, what exactly do you need to escalate to management?

A new delivery date for the new car and VIN is what I am looking for to inform the bank. By Wednesday it would 2 weeks since they promised to replace the car but no VIN yet.

 

[dknieriemen]

March 14th was my Black Model3 delivery and as we walked into the delivery room we clearly see lines (paint swirls on a brand new cars) on the hood which seem to be due to someone not washing it the car before wiping it with cloth. Its everywhere on the hood and around the hood. In some spots very concentrated and excessive. When i questioned how this happend and how they are going to fix, they called in their lead detailer. The lead detailer answer was they already did their best buffing it and it cant be improved. The delivery person also mentioned that Tesla is not going to do many corrections for model3 in service center just as they have doing for Model S and Model X. The final statement from Tesla rep is "IT WILL BE SOLD AS IS" which i understood as "TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT" . Tesla rep also says black shows these swirls more visible which is fine but i dont expect this kind of damage on a new car and they (Tesla) didnt want to take any responsibility to address the situation. I even asked the Tesla rep if i should come back next day for them to fix it and the answer was "It will be sold as it".I declined to take delivery of Model3 due to the car condition and Tesla not offering to fix it.

I spoke to my DS and exchanged emails with him about this situation who assured me a new car will be built and offered to change the color (extra $1000) for which i agreed and chose red. He promied to give me delivery in a week now its more than 10 days and there is no update but its escalated and will go to production asap. I haven't told my bank yet about this whole situation and they may require me to refund the loan if situation is not cleared in timely manner. I dont knwo how else to escalate this situation as i am now stuck without much visibility after paying the full amount already to Tesla more than a month ago. Anyone have any suggestions or who to escalate ?

It is interesting that you found so much wrong with your (almost) Tesla, but can't see anything wrong with your written words. dont, knwo, etc. I guess we all have our priorities.

 

[boaterva]

Do we need two threads also? Please only post once. If you want to move a thread or delete one, you can report it to the mods.

Declined model 3 delivery and now stuck

 

[fr100]

Did you take a photo of it that we can see?

 

[bhzmark]

A detailer who works on a lot of Teslas told me that the Tesla standard black is the worst Tesla paint -- it's very soft always has lots of defects and it takes them forever to try to correct and they can never correct it completely.

And he said the best paint is the pearl white which is more often flawless or very easy to correct.

 

[Trips]

Did you pay the $55k or $3.5k? It has been 10 days and I would not expect them to turn a car around in under 30 days. I think they are being generous but it does suck.

 

[jjh1234]

A detailer who works on a lot of Teslas told me that the Tesla standard black is the worst Tesla paint -- it's very soft always has lots of defects and it takes them forever to try to correct and they can never correct it completely.

And he said the best paint is the pearl white which is more often flawless or very easy to correct.

I had black and totally agree with this. I'm not a big fan of white, so I will be getting red next time. Hopefully red hold up much better.

 

[pcpro]

I don’t know if Tesla washes the car when they get it off the truck or not. But tell them to not wash your car...the less they touch it, the better off you will be. Red will still swirl if not washed correctly. Then take it to a detailer to do a new car prep and get ppf on it

 

[Uncle Paul]

Black cars are always the worst for swirls, no matter the manufacturer. Early Tesla's had a reputation for soft paint, however a while ago they invested millions in a state of the art, high end paint system, and that seems to have ended the soft paint issues.

Black cars tend to look spectacular, right after a good wax/polish, however that gloss finish does not last long, and just a little dust, dirt or tree pollen quickly shows up.

The paint on my white X is spectacular. Much better than the finish on G/F's BMW i3.
It looks pretty clean, even when dirty, washes easy and stays clean for a long time.
I just put my first coat of wax on it, after a year, and is simply glows.

Saw a silver Model 3 yesterday. It also looks fantastic, will keep clean looking for a long time, and gives it a classy appearance.

Paint and color on a car has the most emotional impact of any option. Choose carefully.

A Tesla is one of those cars that give a lot of satisfaction when you wash/wax it yourself. Kind of a personal statement that you care enough about your car to keep it clean.

 

[boaterva]

Did you pay the $55k or $3.5k? It has been 10 days and I would not expect them to turn a car around in under 30 days. I think they are being generous but it does suck.

Why would you expect it to take long? Almost no 3 is custom built. They have two options right now and one isn’t really a option. The main option is paint. The other is wheels, so it can be changed if there was a need.

We know there are tons on lots waiting to be processed for buyers. Some may be waiting for a part replacement if that needs to be done in some cases but they aren’t being built ‘for you’ and taking the sort of time an S or X does.

That’s why it says 3 to 6 weeks for a new configuration in the USA.

 

[dg2dg2]

I had the same problem when I went pick up at tesla store. Looks like the car got washed/wiped with rag that made excessive swirls not just one place but all over the car. It is end is year almost and they didn’t offer a solution other than buffing and take as is. Now I am stuck. See the attached pictures showing level of lines/scratches/swirls.

 

[StellarRat]

I had the same problem when I went pick up at tesla store. Looks like the car got washed/wiped with rag that made excessive swirls not just one place but all over the car. It is end is year almost and they didn’t offer a solution other than buffing and take as is. Now I am stuck. See the attached pictures showing level of lines/scratches/swirls.

View attachment 361025 View attachment 361026 View attachment 361027 View attachment 361028

That's pretty awful. I don't know how that car could have passed any type of quality inspection.

 

[ngogas]

Don’t take it. Not worth it. That’s pretty bad.