Did I make the right decision?

[Gsxr150]

Hi guys, I recently purchased a late model 2019 Model 3 and I'm absolutely loving it, but there's a few quirky things here and there! Such a cool car, but the general build quality and fit & finish seems to be lacking.

Question for the group: Do you guys look past the "Tesla quality issues" and enjoy your Model 3's no matter what? Or do you occasionally get frustrated with the build quality in general?

My latest is this...(pictured below). That can't be normal...haha.. Sometimes I wonder if the shady build quality is just the norm? Who am I kidding...Tesla could produce a turd and I'd buy it, ha.

Do you forgive Tesla for their overall build quality?

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[ChadS]

To answer your questions: no, no, no, and no need. Build quality has been great on all 6 of my Teslas.

Determining the delivery date was a pain for all 6 of them, but once I got the cars everything was good.

 

[jjrandorin]

Thats a good question. When I picked up my model 3 in 2018, the first car I had to refuse on pickup because there were too many issues. I was lucky in that they had another car with my exact build "in stock" and it was fine. I personally feel the car is not put together as well as the BMWs I have had in the past, but the driving experience of the car makes me forgive some stuff.

Also, tesla has been good at addressing anything I really needed them to address, even if it took a while. With that being said, when a choice is made to buy a used car, thats a bit different than new. With that being said, I am not sure about that seal you have a picture of. I would "ask" the service center about it, but would be prepared for tesla to say "to spec" even if it looks wrong.

 

[Mr. Big]

The Model 3 is put in the midsize luxury car class because of its price. In reality it's a 20k car with 30k worth of tech so I really don't expect much as far as build quality goes.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Latest Road & Track evaluation showed Tesla above average for panel gaps. They do seem to have some of them screwed together than others. Lots of people say their cars were terrific, but others flock to the forums to post any flaws. Few are going to post a bunch of pictures of well fitting panels.

Service centers seem to be able to refit most of those with complaints (but of course...not all)

 

[dmurphy]

Let me preface this by saying I love our 3 and X and wouldn't consider driving anything else, not for a second.

But that said... my Cadillac was a "better put together" vehicle. Heck, my Buick was too. Those probably had better aligned panels and more consistency from the factory. Heck, the Cadillac even had a cleaning cloth for the dashboard in the glovebox. It just depends on what you think matters.

Do I think "panel gaps" matter to the fractional millimeter? Nope.
Do I think "soft paint" matters? Nope.

It's a car. I drive it. It sits in the sun and rain and snow and ice. Sometimes it gets baked in 110 degree weather, sometimes it gets frozen in -5 degrees. Most times, I park it on blacktop or paverstones. But sometimes on sand, sometimes on grass and mud, occasionally on gravel.

If I ran a car museum, maybe I'd care about "build quality" more. But I don't. It's watertight, it's safe, it transports my family, it's a blast to drive, it's economical on energy and it's got more technology in its display computer than the sum of all the tech in all the cars I've owned previously.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Buying my late 2019 build Model 3 was much more like my experience buying a used sports car for me. Whenever I have bought a used sports car, I usually spend the first couple of months discovering all the issues and fixing them. At the end of that period, I have a very solid car that impresses.

It took a while to get everything sorted just right on this car (just did a suspension swap as the last piece of the puzzle), but now I am very happy with the car.

One of my windows was misadjusted, and I fixed it myself after a horrible first experience with the local SC on another issue. I have a DIY on here somewhere if you search under my name. It's very easy to adjust the door windows on this car.

 

[KenC]

The window gasket not filling the B-pillar gap is normal. I actually pull out the gasket to cover the glass all the way up and down, like the spot in the middle of your pic you question marked. Just feels better not to have the gap.

 

[quentinsf]

In reality it's a 20k car with 30k worth of tech so I really don't expect much as far as build quality goes.

I thought I was paying for a 20k car with 20k of tech and a 10k contribution to the charging network.

 

[Electroman]

I picked up my Y yesterday and I looked real hard, and to me it was spotless, perfect. I asked a few friends of mine and they couldn't find any. And of course they are not paint/panel perfectionists either. I am sure for those of you who are panel and paint nazis for whom the enjoyment of driving a car is somehow all related to the cosmetics of it, you will find a few or maybe dozen.

On the actual driving dynamics, I am not too pleased, as it is more noisy and less smooth than even my Honda car. I can't even compare it to my Lexus. But I knew that going in, having owned an S and 3 before this Y and I know I will get to used to it :-(. To me that is a big downer.

 

[JCtx]

I think Teslas are overpriced for what they cost, meaning they're reaping a ton of profits (probably even more than Porsche). But at the same time, they can get away with that because nobody has matched them overall yet, so I understand, and accept that. But yes, they should improve QC. If they want to become mainstream, they need to do that. Other folks are not as forgiving as EV fanatics.

 

[JCtx]

it is more noisy and less smooth than even my Honda car. I can't even compare it to my Lexus.

Hey, could you please elaborate more on that? To us, it's very important not to have a noisy cabin on trips. How does the M3 compare to the MS? And how does the MS compare to the Honda and Lexus? But I need to know which year and model Honda and Lexus you're talking about. And is your M3 2021? They should be quieter, due to dual-pane front windows. Thanks man.

 

[MexiCanuck]

I’ve had my SR+ for 18 months. The day I received it I took it for paint correction and full PPF. The shop said they couldn’t find anything to correct. I have put almost 50,00 km on it. have had no problems.

 

[Gsxr150]

Thank you so much for all the feedback. Honestly, I'm in love with the car no matter what, but it's interesting to hear some of your feedback. I read each and every comment so far. Rather than comment on each one, I'll summarize.

Truth be told I had a Model X for a while, then went Tesla-free and came back recently. Everyone wants a ride in the new Model 3 Stealth but I'm a little embarrassed by the excessive wind noise. The ride isn't too bad, but like someone said above, it's like a 20k car with 30k in tech haha.

I have a service appointment this week with Tesla to look at the wind noise issue. At the tail end of last week, I taped off the entire window (and seal) and narrowed down the noise to that picture (on both drivers and passenger front doors). It literally sounds like I have the front windows down a slight crack at about 35 MPH+. Suuuuper disappointing... I don't want to rip my new "baby", but that's my biggest let down right now. I compared it to my Volvo and it's a night and day difference. NOT good to hear that the pic above is normal - eeek!

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Not normal. Tesla misaligned a lot of door windows. As I said, it's an easy fix, and then you won't feel embarrassed.

BTW, a lot of tire noise is from misaligned wheels from the factory. I fix that on both my 3 and Y myself with very accurate alignment tools.

 

[Gsxr150]

Not normal. Tesla misaligned a lot of door windows. As I said, it's an easy fix, and then you won't feel embarrassed.

BTW, a lot of tire noise is from misaligned wheels from the factory. I fix that on both my 3 and Y myself with very accurate alignment tools.

Thanks for the heads up! I'm hoping the techs who test drive my car this week feel the same way, haha.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Thanks for the heads up! I'm hoping the techs who test drive my car this week feel the same way, haha.

About 10% chance they will, which is why I fix everything I can on my Telsa myself. You're likely to hear a lot of "in spec" talk.