Picked up my car this morning at the factory. Only issue is a single nick on the edge of the frunk lid (not visible unless open) and a charger door that is very slightly misaligned. I could get the second item fixed, but only I would notice and that is only from a specific angle. All other panels appear aligned.
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Delivered With a Dozen Paint Defects...Am I Being Unreasonable?
- Thread starter 6thDAY
- Start date
Picked up my car this morning at the factory. Only issue is a single nick on the edge of the frunk lid (not visible unless open) and a charger door that is very slightly misaligned. I could get the second item fixed, but only I would notice and that is only from a specific angle. All other panels appear aligned.
it's a fricking car. not a piece of jewelry. for godsakes try paying 5 figures for a watch and seeing that even there are "imperfections." nothing in this world is "perfect." grow up people.
Never surrender, never give up! The company that makes the software has probably released several new versions since then. Maybe they've added the feature, and TMC just needs to turn it on?
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
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.
Do you think when Ford starts rolling Mach E's off the line next year you could pull 10 cars aside and find a single paint imperfection in the bunch? I doubt it. I wouldn't be surprised if Tesla pays people to troll these forums convincing people it's ok to accept cars with inferior build quality.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
It’s darling you think Ford is immune from paint problems. I had a couple Mustangs that might like to have a conversation with you.
Anyway. That said, if you value flawless paint above all, I agree there are better options out there for you to buy. Tesla is not one of them. A $50k BMW or Mercedes is probably much more to your liking. For the rest of us the $50 touch up kit and acknowledgement that cars, you know, tend to have imperfections goes a very long way.
In no world is this level of paint imperfection acceptable on a brand new car, regardless of price, but especially for a car over $50k. As a new member of this forum, it is shocking to me how willing the faithful are to accept this kind of thing. Sure the car is otherwise great, and I get overlooking minor panel gap / fitment issues, but this level of forgiveness for flaws on a brand new car is insane.
Not an owner (yet) but would refuse delivery if I had this level of issues, and in complete honesty the generally poor paint quality gives me huge pause about the long term durability of the paint and is the primary reason I’m considering other EV’s though will still probably end up with a M3 given how good the car otherwise is...assuming it’s delivered in reasonable condition.
Not an owner (yet) but would refuse delivery if I had this level of issues, and in complete honesty the generally poor paint quality gives me huge pause about the long term durability of the paint and is the primary reason I’m considering other EV’s though will still probably end up with a M3 given how good the car otherwise is...assuming it’s delivered in reasonable condition.
I’ve only been unfortunate enough to own one Ford vehicle in my lifetime - a Ford Taurus. It was just awful. The thing broke down constantly. Who cares about the paint job when the car won’t drive.
All this fuss about paint is just silly. Most Model 3’s have extremely high quality paint jobs. If they try to sell you one that does not just say no thank you, I’ll take a different one. No need for us to have pages of discussion about it.
All this fuss about paint is just silly. Most Model 3’s have extremely high quality paint jobs. If they try to sell you one that does not just say no thank you, I’ll take a different one. No need for us to have pages of discussion about it.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
Ironically, I’d be far more irritated with panel gap and alignment issues. Paint chips the size of a pinhead or inside the wheel well? Ain’t nobody got time for that.
For the record, I’ve never said OP should just “forgive”, but rather maintained its only logical to allow Tesla to fix it. LOTS of cars have post-production paint correction. Most of it you never know about as a buyer.
I've probably told this story before but I had my 458 in for paint protection film last fall and the owner of the shop walked me over to a tesla they were wrapping to show me how bad the paint job was. He knew I was looking at them. It was a black car, had spots where the primer was showing through, drips, scratches and even a hair in the paint. He said it was the worst paint job he's ever seen on a new car. You wouldn't see if from 10 feet away but close up and under shop lights the paint job was terrible. That's completely unacceptable in a car at this price level.
Panel gaps and fitment don’t affect the car, assuming they don’t lead to leaks, etc. Paint imperfections lead to bigger paint imperfections and potential damage to the underlying panels. And yes I understand the car is mostly aluminum...that’s not an excuse to allow paint issues. Sure you’ll pick some up after driving the car, but I don’t expect to start from behind on a brand new car.
jebinc
Well-Known Member
I just read this thread and concluded I just wasted ten minutes of my life that I’ll never get back. Happy New Year, all!
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.
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.
Rejecting a car for some paint chips? Wow. Talk about a disproportionate response to something small.
Maybe because I've had like 8 different cars in the past 10 years, but who the heck cares? Unless you're keeping the car hermetically sealed inside your living room forever, this sort of stuff will happen as it's exposed to the elements. Unless it's going to rust just use a ask for a free touch up pen and move on.
Now if the motors failed or the windows were delivered with cracks then that'd be a separate issue.
Maybe because I've had like 8 different cars in the past 10 years, but who the heck cares? Unless you're keeping the car hermetically sealed inside your living room forever, this sort of stuff will happen as it's exposed to the elements. Unless it's going to rust just use a ask for a free touch up pen and move on.
Now if the motors failed or the windows were delivered with cracks then that'd be a separate issue.
That’s how I feel about it. I’ve bought plenty of cars over the years, and always give them a cursory glance, make sure the dashboard isn’t lit up like an Xmas tree, and off I go. Worst I’ve had was a Cadillac that was missing the cargo mat I bought and paid for. That was an easy fix.
As for paint, the way I see it, small scratches and dings are going to happen as you drive. No sense stewing over something that’s going to just happen anyway.
My Audi lease is ending, had it for almost three years. After that time have no significant rock chips (and of course flawless paint from the factory), so the argument that “it’s going to end up that way” is flawed from the start.
If it were a single chip or a couple in not noticeable places, fine. But it’s totally reasonable to expect clean paint on a brand new $50k+ car.
I agree but from my glance at the pics (in my book): 2, 4 8 and 9 should be addressed.
I agree. The paint defects (at least 2, 4, 8 and 9) to me would be unacceptable even on a new $20K Toyota or Honda. I've taken delivery numerous new cars from Toyota and Nissan and none have any paint flaws like that, if any at all. My '19 Bolt doesn't have any flaws like that either.
At least at a traditional dealer, if a new car has some flaws, you can often find another one on the lot similarity or identically equipped in the same color/another acceptable color and take that. When I went around the lot w/the sales droid (looking for equipment level and color I wanted) when buying my Bolt, I did see one that had a door that seemed to stick out too far, so I passed on it.
Between my own car shopping, my helping some friends buy new cars and when I was present shopping for cars w/my parents, I can only remember one time when we had a paint defect repaired. It was bubbles in the paint on the front of an '86 Olds Cutlass Ciera. That's it. This spans many cars.
The flawed cars that are being delivered to customers indicates one or several of these:
- Tesla's under the gun to just get cars out there and book revenues ASAP, to hell w/quality and/or cosmetic issues
- delivery folks are also under the gun to book revenue and can't worry about (or doesn't have the bandwidth to) fixing flaws before delivery
- Tesla wants to keep unsold cars/inventory really low, so just ship it
- Tesla's quality control is very sloppy or understaffed or under the gun w/little time to actually inspect or has a quality bar that isn't very stringent
To me, it seems like it'll cost Tesla more to fix these after delivery than before. So, it may come back to bite them.
