Demo Model Y not as advertised

[Gidget15]

Hi all-

I recently purchased a 2021 Model Y but my SA asked on the way out the door if I would be willing to accept a demo model with all the specs I wanted if I could get it sooner than the 3 month waiting period. I said sure expecting it to be a demo model with a couple 100 miles on it from reading the forums. However, the car was a disaster... not cleaned ( sticky soda residue over the interior), pet hair all over the trunk and the back seat mats, sticky residue along the front of the bumper... and the tow hitch was not visible, but I was told I can pry off the plastic at home with a tool that they didn't have to get access to it. Plus there was a big white sticker on the roof that was only partially removed and it doesn't look like they were able to scrape it off. Not to mention to my dismay that after I drove it home 10 miles from the pickup site to discover it had almost 200 plus more miles than what I had agreed upon when buying it ( and the discount they gave me originally was less than 200 dollars off for 500 plus miles originally). I definitely feel I was duped. Do I have any recourse? They would not allow me to not accept delivery, so I am quite frustrated. Anyone else have this experience? I refuse to drive the car out of my garage until I get all of these issues resolved, since with close to 1000 miles on it, I paid almost full sticker price for a new car and instead got a very well used car.

 

[Mulkogi]

That’s nuts they even think delivering a car like that is ok. If everything else in the car looks good you should probably do a service appointment and have them correct the issues. You should be able to reject delivery too, worse case you would be put back of the line which sounds like you were there already anyways.

 

[Gidget15]

That’s nuts they even think delivering a car like that is ok. If everything else in the car looks good you should probably do a service appointment and have them correct the issues. You should be able to reject delivery too, worse case you would be put back of the line which sounds like you were there already anyways.

Yes, it's frustrating. My SA suggested I bring in the car and he was personally going to see if he could help me clean it. I know the demand is high but I have had rental cars that were cleaner and in better condition than this.

 

[Fourdoor]

They would not allow me to not accept delivery, so I am quite frustrated.

Unless they physically restrained you, there is no such thing as not allowing you to not accept delivery. You should have walked away.

Now it is too late to walk away but hopefully you can get the issues resolved by taking the car to a detail shop and having them do an interior and exterior detailing of the car... I wouldn't expect a service appointment to take care of cleaning issues.

As far as the hitch goes, it looks like crap without that cover in place, you only remove it when you are going to tow something or mount a bike rack / luggage box on the receiver.

Keith

 

[Mulkogi]

I also grabbed a demo car but mine came cleaner than any other tesla i saw and exterior wash fully waxed and shiny. Very thankful about that. The other day I removed the hitch cover for the first time after I forgot i even had it. Like many said, its a bit harder to pop the first time so i cut some of the extra clips on the back of the cover.

 

[jeffbco]

Hi all-

I recently purchased a 2021 Model Y but my SA asked on the way out the door if I would be willing to accept a demo model with all the specs I wanted if I could get it sooner than the 3 month waiting period. I said sure expecting it to be a demo model with a couple 100 miles on it from reading the forums. However, the car was a disaster... not cleaned ( sticky soda residue over the interior), pet hair all over the trunk and the back seat mats, sticky residue along the front of the bumper... and the tow hitch was not visible, but I was told I can pry off the plastic at home with a tool that they didn't have to get access to it. Plus there was a big white sticker on the roof that was only partially removed and it doesn't look like they were able to scrape it off. Not to mention to my dismay that after I drove it home 10 miles from the pickup site to discover it had almost 200 plus more miles than what I had agreed upon when buying it ( and the discount they gave me originally was less than 200 dollars off for 500 plus miles originally). I definitely feel I was duped. Do I have any recourse? They would not allow me to not accept delivery, so I am quite frustrated. Anyone else have this experience? I refuse to drive the car out of my garage until I get all of these issues resolved, since with close to 1000 miles on it, I paid almost full sticker price for a new car and instead got a very well used car.

Very disappointing to hear...but it sounds like you put some miles (500 ??) on the car before you started to actively pursue a remedy to this. You may just have leave your garage and "camp out" at the dealer to get the fixes done. Good luck.

 

[rohiggidy]

Hi all-

I recently purchased a 2021 Model Y but my SA asked on the way out the door if I would be willing to accept a demo model with all the specs I wanted if I could get it sooner than the 3 month waiting period. I said sure expecting it to be a demo model with a couple 100 miles on it from reading the forums. However, the car was a disaster... not cleaned ( sticky soda residue over the interior), pet hair all over the trunk and the back seat mats, sticky residue along the front of the bumper... and the tow hitch was not visible, but I was told I can pry off the plastic at home with a tool that they didn't have to get access to it. Plus there was a big white sticker on the roof that was only partially removed and it doesn't look like they were able to scrape it off. Not to mention to my dismay that after I drove it home 10 miles from the pickup site to discover it had almost 200 plus more miles than what I had agreed upon when buying it ( and the discount they gave me originally was less than 200 dollars off for 500 plus miles originally). I definitely feel I was duped. Do I have any recourse? They would not allow me to not accept delivery, so I am quite frustrated. Anyone else have this experience? I refuse to drive the car out of my garage until I get all of these issues resolved, since with close to 1000 miles on it, I paid almost full sticker price for a new car and instead got a very well used car.

sorry to say but you gambled and lost. Why would you buy a DEMO vehicle. You saw the car with the problem so why did you drive off the lot or why didnt you tell the delivery center to fix the issues or if it was delivered at home? otr check the mileage to confirm. People needs to be patient and wait for a NEW car. The only thing yu can do is clean up the vehicle and dont worry about the mileage. tesla is not going to do anything for you outside of maybe fix certain issues.

 

[Kuro Houou]

Here is the thing, they can't force you to sign a piece of paper to buy a car. It is on you to visually inspect and verify the car is what you want before buying it. The fact that it was dirty, more miles then you wanted etc. would be a red flag to me. You should have just walked away with your money in hand. Before I bought and signed for my car I made sure they showed it to me, its not a big ask.

 

[Clark_Kent]

I often read threads like this on the forums and it's truly sad folks aren't performing more due diligence when making large purchases. Why did you accept a vehicle you didn't thoroughly inspect for condition and mileage? You have little to no recourse at this point. Take the vehicle to a detailer and have them get it to showroom condition. You'll need to hold this 'L', move on, and vow to be better next time.

 

[rohiggidy]

I often read threads like this on the forums and it's truly sad folks aren't performing more due diligence when making large purchases. Why did you accept a vehicle you didn't thoroughly inspect for condition and mileage? You have little to no recourse at this point. Take the vehicle to a detailer and have them get it to showroom condition. You'll need to hold this 'L', move on, and vow to be better next time.

Exactly......Not only that. People refuse to wait for a NEW car smh. Who spends 50k on an used vehicle or even 45k. The person couldn't wait 3 months. People need to get off this forum because its driving them crazy.

 

[Daekwan]

When I purchased back in March I originally went with a demo car with 400miles on it, for immediate delivery and a small (less than $1000) savings. It just never felt right. I was thrilled to find a freshly built NEW car with the same specs & only 16 miles on it just a few days later. I could not call my SA fast enough to switch. The new car was located in Chicago, about 800 miles away. And it was worth every single ounce of effort/time/money to get a new one instead. Instead of paying $1000 to ship it to DC, I actually drove it home. With the free 1000 SC miles from the referral.. and using airline/hotel points to pay for the one-way flight & hotel room in PA.. I spent a whopping $24 in food & drinks and about 12 hours of actual driving to get the car home

Long story short. Dont bother with a demo. Be patient and search outside your normal area for a new build. Its probably never worth 1-2% savings on the MSRP to deal with someone else's hand me down.. on what should really be a brand new vehicle with perfect quality. I used the https://ev-tsla.com/ site to search nationwide and would absolutely buy another Tesla out of state and drive it home, if I had to choose between a demo or new build.

 

[DanDi58]

Hi all-

I recently purchased a 2021 Model Y but my SA asked on the way out the door if I would be willing to accept a demo model with all the specs I wanted if I could get it sooner than the 3 month waiting period. I said sure expecting it to be a demo model with a couple 100 miles on it from reading the forums. However, the car was a disaster... not cleaned ( sticky soda residue over the interior), pet hair all over the trunk and the back seat mats, sticky residue along the front of the bumper... and the tow hitch was not visible, but I was told I can pry off the plastic at home with a tool that they didn't have to get access to it. Plus there was a big white sticker on the roof that was only partially removed and it doesn't look like they were able to scrape it off. Not to mention to my dismay that after I drove it home 10 miles from the pickup site to discover it had almost 200 plus more miles than what I had agreed upon when buying it ( and the discount they gave me originally was less than 200 dollars off for 500 plus miles originally). I definitely feel I was duped. Do I have any recourse? They would not allow me to not accept delivery, so I am quite frustrated. Anyone else have this experience? I refuse to drive the car out of my garage until I get all of these issues resolved, since with close to 1000 miles on it, I paid almost full sticker price for a new car and instead got a very well used car.

This sucks, hope you get it resolved. After today (Quarter end) things might get a little less hectic at your local service center.

You can use a flathead screwdriver to pry off the tow hitch cover. It's probably the least of your concerns now, but check YouTube for a video by Living Tesla that shows a mod to the cover to make it much easier to remove.

 

[electricloris]

Where was this tesla? Thats absurd

 

[jeffbco]

Where was this tesla? Thats absurd

Based on her address, somewhere in Orange County California.

 

[mikemarmar]

For what it's worth I bought a demo MY with 3k miles on it for a $2400 discount. It was nicely cleaned and detailed and the only problems with it was some minor curb rash on one side and a few very small paint chips. After bringing it home I discovered a small dent which tesla has agreed to fix for free. I am very happy with the decision to go with a demo as I got the car immediately instead of waiting until september or later, and mine also has radar so the autopilot is fully functional.

I'm sorry yours has so many problems, but report them immediately through the app and hopefully they will fix them.

 

[GreenT]

Based on her address, somewhere in Orange County California.

Her? What makes you draw that conclusion?

 

[stopcrazypp]

Hi all-

I recently purchased a 2021 Model Y but my SA asked on the way out the door if I would be willing to accept a demo model with all the specs I wanted if I could get it sooner than the 3 month waiting period. I said sure expecting it to be a demo model with a couple 100 miles on it from reading the forums. However, the car was a disaster... not cleaned ( sticky soda residue over the interior), pet hair all over the trunk and the back seat mats, sticky residue along the front of the bumper... and the tow hitch was not visible, but I was told I can pry off the plastic at home with a tool that they didn't have to get access to it. Plus there was a big white sticker on the roof that was only partially removed and it doesn't look like they were able to scrape it off. Not to mention to my dismay that after I drove it home 10 miles from the pickup site to discover it had almost 200 plus more miles than what I had agreed upon when buying it ( and the discount they gave me originally was less than 200 dollars off for 500 plus miles originally). I definitely feel I was duped. Do I have any recourse? They would not allow me to not accept delivery, so I am quite frustrated. Anyone else have this experience? I refuse to drive the car out of my garage until I get all of these issues resolved, since with close to 1000 miles on it, I paid almost full sticker price for a new car and instead got a very well used car.

I think it's too late at this point. It sounds like you put 200+? miles on it already? In general, even for new cars, the grace period for Tesla to fix delivery issues is within 100 miles, and even then you can't "refuse delivery" after you take possession of the car.

At this point the best you can do with work with your SA to get the car cleaned. Overall, the issues you mention seem fairly mild as it seems to only involve cleaning. You should examine the car for more serious issues (like dents/scratches or any equipment not working properly) as those are a bigger deal that affects value.

 

[acarney]

Hi all-

I recently purchased a 2021 Model Y but my SA asked on the way out the door if I would be willing to accept a demo model with all the specs I wanted if I could get it sooner than the 3 month waiting period. I said sure expecting it to be a demo model with a couple 100 miles on it from reading the forums. However, the car was a disaster... not cleaned ( sticky soda residue over the interior), pet hair all over the trunk and the back seat mats, sticky residue along the front of the bumper... and the tow hitch was not visible, but I was told I can pry off the plastic at home with a tool that they didn't have to get access to it. Plus there was a big white sticker on the roof that was only partially removed and it doesn't look like they were able to scrape it off. Not to mention to my dismay that after I drove it home 10 miles from the pickup site to discover it had almost 200 plus more miles than what I had agreed upon when buying it ( and the discount they gave me originally was less than 200 dollars off for 500 plus miles originally). I definitely feel I was duped. Do I have any recourse? They would not allow me to not accept delivery, so I am quite frustrated. Anyone else have this experience? I refuse to drive the car out of my garage until I get all of these issues resolved, since with close to 1000 miles on it, I paid almost full sticker price for a new car and instead got a very well used car.

Demo's usually aren't a great deal with Tesla, They are usually discounted $0.50 to $1.00 a mile, maybe more if you're lucky but that's rare. If it had almost $1,000 miles I would expect probably $800 to $1,000 discount, but make sure you price everything including that tow hitch to see what the actual cost of brand new is vs the demo. I've heard they're usually clean and in pretty good condition, and if there is noticeable wear (say a seat worn down or white seat is stained blue) they will replace that. However, being end of the quarter, they probably literally pushed it out the door to get the delivery numbers up. Welcome to the world of wall street controlling the Tesla experience. The stock lives and dies on sales numbers still and that has a big affect on Tesla. I would talk to them about getting the car detailed and cleaned up. The milage and discount, you're probably stuck with that since you signed the papers... but you should have read the paperwork first and documented the miles on the car. I don't think Tesla could legally document it only had 500 miles at the sale when it really had 1,000 or something. In fact, when buying brand new they often say the car has 50 miles on it when it's really between 2 and 8 miles, just to have that buffer so they're not writing up paperwork for less miles than when the car is actually delivered and signed for.

 

[jeffbco]

Her? What makes you draw that conclusion?

User name "Gidget15"...maybe I'd guess male if the name were "Gadget15"

 

[Gidget15]

sorry to say but you gambled and lost. Why would you buy a DEMO vehicle. You saw the car with the problem so why did you drive off the lot or why didnt you tell the delivery center to fix the issues or if it was delivered at home? otr check the mileage to confirm. People needs to be patient and wait for a NEW car. The only thing yu can do is clean up the vehicle and dont worry about the mileage. tesla is not going to do anything for you outside of maybe fix certain issues.

Very disappointing to hear...but it sounds like you put some miles (500 ??) on the car before you started to actively pursue a remedy to this. You may just have le