Delivered With a Dozen Paint Defects...Am I Being Unreasonable?

[Reeler]

I have bought 6 new Teslas over the years. Two had dents on delivery, with one fixed paintless and the other required respray. One had misalignment so bad that it spent months in the shop the first year and I should have lemon lawed it with all the other issues. Another had light scratches that needed to be buffed out. When I tried to buy my 7th Tesla, it had many scratches with one clear through the paint. They said they wouldn't fix it EVER so I walked in frustration.

All I have is my personal experience. I am not a "car washer" or someone who is particularly anal about these things. In that same time period, I bought another 6 or so EVs from other brands and none of them had dents, misalignment or noticeable scratches to the same level as Tesla. I do a 5 minute walk around every time I buy a car as standard practice before I leave the lot with the car. Pretty standard stuff. I might have bounced a car or two in that walk through for others on the lot and got a Due Bill on another because of a dented trim piece.

That this is still an issue unique (at this level) to the Tesla brand is inexcusable. After that 7th failed purchase, I will never buy a Tesla again unless they reach modern quality and control standards. It is one thing to forgive a start-up car company, but they have a decade under their belt with hundreds of thousands of units to figure this out. For whatever reason, this is what you should expect from Tesla.

#TeslaDumpsterFire

 

[lkstaack]

I wonder how many rejecting cars based on pinhead-sized paint defects would clutch their pearls and faint if they knew they might be driving around a car that was fixed post-production without their knowledge - a common and perfectly legal practice.

That's exactly it. All auto manufacturers produce cars with manufacturing defects from time to time. The difference between Tesla and the others is the others have a quality assurance process where they identify and repair these post-production defects. Perhaps Tesla does perform QA, they just don't do it well.

 

[Reeler]

That's exactly it. All auto manufacturers produce cars with manufacturing defects from time to time. The difference between Tesla and the others is the others have a quality assurance process where they identify and repair these post-production defects. Perhaps Tesla does perform QA, they just don't do it well.

Because everything Tesla sells is pre-purchased kinda, there is no ability to swap easily. A good amount of inventory is pushed at the end of the quarter in a big rush too. Other brands have a few different ones on the lot. As folks reject those with poor build or quality, the dealer gets them fixed and charges that back to the factory. Because the dealer is somewhat adversarial with the factory, there is incentive to get these problems fixed before a salesperson loses their commission.

Tesla's model has non-commissioned delivery folks that are overworked and haggered at the end of the quarter pushing units that should be rejected. Since they work for the factory, they have no incentive insist on good quality product.

When I walked from my 7th Tesla purchase, the sales manager could care less. I had to drop by the next day to do some paperwork and he snickered at me saying, they used to care when they sold expensive cars exclusively. He bragged that my VIN was already sold earlier that morning to an unsuspecting buyer. It was snowing with outdoor deliveries so I am sure the buyer never noticed the scratch clear through the paint.

 

[alloverx]

Guess the painting robots are getting tired.

 

[jboy210]

But there is a PAINT chip INSIDE my WHEEL WELL!

I bought a $50k luxury car (I didn’t actually but lol it sure makes me feel better to say that) and I as a privileged self righteous consumer demand protection so that *I* may muff up my own car by driving it on public roads 3 miles from the factory.

If Tesla can’t deliver perfect hermetically sealed cars every time, they should send them back to the chipper, sustainability be damned.


I wonder how many rejecting cars based on pinhead-sized paint defects would clutch their pearls and faint if they knew they might be driving around a car that was fixed post-production without their knowledge - a common and perfectly legal practice.

Yep. People should read this about how they can and do legally fixed damaged new cars.

Your brand new car might not be completely new after all

 

[TLLMRRJ]

That guy sounds awesome, but I feel bad for him because he works for a company that makes it very hard for him to get good results for his customers despite his sincere efforts. I have worked for companies that don't value customers even though I do, and it hurt me to be the face of their disappointment. I left those companies, but I built lasting relationships with those customers because they knew I was doing everything I could for them even though it was an impossible situation.

Fingers crossed he can pull it off for you! But I am sure he hasn't been able to make everyone happy that he should have be able to.

Well the SC Manager called me today and expressed his sincere apologies. He was certainly empathetic to my concerns and would feel the same way if he was in my situation. I was not speaking to him in an indignant manner, but just the typical soft and frustrated tone.

Unfortunately he couldn't swap mine out with a new car, as I suspected. I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I didn't think it would hurt to at least initially ask.

He said I only had 2 options: get the defects resolved or do a trade-in with Tesla. He was honest in telling me I would come out on the losing hand if I did a trade-in. However, he did tell me with sincere compassion that he would do everything within his power to make sure I was happy with the paint job, even if it means taking it to another body shop.

I told him that I would agree to the work, and also thanked him for his efforts in trying his best to make me a happy customer. He mentioned several times during our conversation that he did not want me to leave unhappy, and will try his best to ensure I'm satisfied with the work.

I thought that was very admirable and demonstrates the level of compassion and care in customer service Tesla strives to achieve.

I hope the touch up and re-paint are not as bad as I'm imagining it. I'll post some updates when available.

 

[OCR1]

Too many people spend ten minutes looking over the car prior to delivery, and then hours venting about what is wrong with it after they take it home. If they spent more time up front inspecting the car they would have nothing to write about. They would have just rejected the car and moved on to the next one.

 

[Reeler]

Too many people spend ten minutes looking over the car prior to delivery, and then hours venting about what is wrong with it after they take it home. If they spent more time up front inspecting the car they would have nothing to write about. They would have just rejected the car and moved on to the next one.

I agree, but Tesla pressures you with end of the quarter and/or expiring tax incentives. They want your deposit before you show up often. There is no other car on the lot either if you reject. Deliveries are outside in the rain/snow. I do the 10 minute inspection myself, but I feel the pressure.

 

[OCR1]

I agree, but Tesla pressures you with end of the quarter and/or expiring tax incentives. They want your deposit before you show up often. There is no other car on the lot either if you reject. Deliveries are outside in the rain/snow. I do the 10 minute inspection myself, but I feel the pressure.

This will all change now that the tax incentives have gone away. The incentive was pressuring people to take delivery at the end of the year or lose the incentive.

 

[Reeler]

This will all change now that the tax incentives have gone away. The incentive was pressuring people to take delivery at the end of the year or lose the incentive.

They still hold you hostage with having to wait for a replacement that might take weeks since there is no inventory on the lot. Plus, they want you to pay your down payment or whatever isn't being financed in advance of the delivery so they have your cash if you reject a flawed unit.

With me, I put down some $5K including deposit. Even though I wired funds, they could only mail a check. It took over a month and several reminders to get my money back.

 

[boriszima]

Too many people spend ten minutes looking over the car prior to delivery, and then hours venting about what is wrong with it after they take it home. If they spent more time up front inspecting the car they would have nothing to write about. They would have just rejected the car and moved on to the next one.

yep! But many new Tesla buyers are likely not even aware this can happened. I did quick walk, brought my friend with me (who ended up ordered his car 2 days later) and my dad to help check it out. Couple of blemishes here and there but it did not bother me enough to not accept it.

Tesla does need to get its paint issues resolved soon. Otherwise they will continue to have issues and pay more to fix mistakes.

 

[OCR1]

They still hold you hostage with having to wait for a replacement that might take weeks since there is no inventory on the lot. Plus, they want you to pay your down payment or whatever isn't being financed in advance of the delivery so they have your cash if you reject a flawed unit.

With me, I put down some $5K including deposit. Even though I wired funds, they could only mail a check. It took over a month and several reminders to get my money back.

Regardless of what they may want, you are never required to pay them before you go down to the delivery center and fully inspect their car. They can ask for anything they want. All that matters is what you agree to.