Fit & Finish Issues - Which ones would you ask to be corrected?

[Audi2000]

Yeah, but I only paid $23,500 for a $42k MSRP Volt. That's two Volts for the price of a LR RWD Model 3. I traded my 16k mile Volt towards the new Volt and only paid $2,800 difference after all the tax and registration fees. It's pretty hard to pass at that price even if obsolete. And don't forget I have the gas engine that will go forever once the 60 miles of electric range is gone.

I think Tesla needs more time to work out the production issues plus the price will continue to fall. I'll consider the Model 3 once my Volt accumulates more miles.

My wife was due for a new car. We tested ICE vehicles and the Bolt and Leaf, we had already test drove the M3 and S, she didn't want to spend the money. We finished the Bolt test drive and as soon as we were in the car she said "lets go buy the M3". The huge advantage of an EV is simplicity, why buy a car with both a gas engine and an electric motor?
The ROI on a Tesla is a no brainer at $56K
The dealers have no interest in selling EVs, they make their money from service, selling a car just keeps doors open. It'll be interesting to see how the manufacturers deal with that fact.

 

[Durzel]

Our M3P had a 1mm x 2mm paint ding on the right front pillar. That was easily fixed when I had the car ceramic applied. Should never accepted that car. We're in SW Florida and have never used the service dept. Where are you?

How would ceramic coating fix a paint chip? Or do you mean the detailer did a touchup at the same time?

 

[Audi2000]

He touched it up

 

[jmatero]

So, I picked up my new car today and went in with low expectations (purposely) when it came to fit and finish. Spent a lot of time with the car and comparing what I found to the other vehicles waiting to be picked up. Overall, I have to say panel gaps and door alignment are all fine. But thought it might be helpful to folks picking up new cars to review what I found so they don't freak at delivery.

1. Exterior Door Handles: So, 2 of my door handles were sitting flush with the door, and the other 2 were slightly recessed. When I looked at all the other M3's, they were all pretty much the same. Some flush, others a little recessed. Since they all seem to be inconsistent. I saw a YouTube video of the removal of the door handle assembly and there doesn't seem to be any way to adjust how close to the surface the handle sits. My neighbor's car is also the same way.
2. Charge Port Door: On my car, the charge port door does not sit flush against the car so the transition from tail light to door is not smooth. Again, looked at 10 other cars and they were all at different levels of "flushness".
3. Front Seats: Wrinkles/indentations in the outer sides of the front seats. At first, I thought they were damaged but they are actually indentations caused by the seatbelt buckles resting agains the seats. Most of the other cars had the same indentations.
4. Software: Don't expect your car to deliver with the latest software. You'll most likely drive off the lot with an ancient version. There are multiple threads here with most reporting it will take up to 2 weeks to be updated to the lates version. That said, I connected my car to WiFi and 2 hours later the iPhone app is showing it's downloading the latest version. Your results may vary.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[IDRVSLO]

I’d like my steering wheel to be straight!!!

Maybe don’t leave smudge marks on my white door?

And I would like the rear shelf to be attached correctly. See the gap? Not like that on the left side.

 

[bxlewi1]

I have a similar gap on the drivers side. That's really the only cosmetic thing I've noticed. Took delivery last Saturday : M3/Blue. Only other thing I've noticed is when the climate system shuts off and the fans start to spin down it's a different noise right before they stop.

 

[TampaRich]

I've taken delivery of 2 M3s, one of which was an early Feb 2018. Zero defects. Tesla service center is 5 miles down the road. Nothing preventing me from swinging by for even the littlest issue. Haven’t had the need to.

 

[MK_krwn]

Good God, I’m supposed to pick my M3 up this Sunday and I was originally excited but now nervous with all the issues I’m seeing. Btw, I’ve also been told that my vehicle is on a “service hold” for what the delivery department thinks is a required software update. I really hope my car isn’t all messed up. It’s a bit concerning to me that these issues are a common theme with Tesla

 

[super20g]

Your experiences would be enough to turn me off the brand permanently to be honest.

Tesla don't seem to want you as a customer. It shouldn't be this difficult to get a standard level of quality from your newly purchased car.

Unfortunately if I were in your shoes I would've been inclined to reject the car to begin with. I don't think I would've been ever been happy with the car knowing it was a Friday afternoon rush job, especially given how they've treated you subsequently. Withdrawing mobile service is just petty. I presume that follows the car and will affect any subsequent owner too.

They got offended that I was offended at the issues with the car they sold me. Pretty comical. Now they just do whatever they can to screw with me. All the way up to their general council. I filed an arb case before the end of last year. They have had several past due letters and final notices and they just flat refuse to pay the fees to the point where the arb company told me they will make Tesla remove their name from their MVPA's and no longer do business with them. I should have inspected it closer, yes. I didn't expect a company to operate like this though.

 

[Mrmacmackey]

I’d like my steering wheel to be straight!!!

Maybe don’t leave smudge marks on my white door?

And I would like the rear shelf to be attached correctly. See the gap? Not like that on the left side.

View attachment 520166

Same here with the steering wheel. I believe the car pulls to the left a bit too. I'm bringing it in for that issue next week.

Also have the same trim piece out of wack like yours.

Also drivers door jamb near the latch has the weather tight seal for wires hanging off.
These things I didn't notice till later.

 

[IDRVSLO]

Same here with the steering wheel. I believe the car pulls to the left a bit too. I'm bringing it in for that issue next week.

Also have the same trim piece out of wack like yours.

Also drivers door jamb near the latch has the weather tight seal for wires hanging off.
These things I didn't notice till later.

Good thing is they corrected the rear shelf and steering wheel.

 

[Bubbatech]

Good God, I’m supposed to pick my M3 up this Sunday and I was originally excited but now nervous with all the issues I’m seeing. Btw, I’ve also been told that my vehicle is on a “service hold” for what the delivery department thinks is a required software update. I really hope my car isn’t all messed up. It’s a bit concerning to me that these issues are a common theme with Tesla

Don’t worry. This is reddit. Those of us who have had zero problems or significant defects don’t post nearly as much, so what you see here is a highly biased sample. The most likely outcome, by far, will be no significant issues. Also note that modern cars are very complex machines, so absolute perfection is rare. If you look hard enough at any car, you will find something. I have found only one minor cosmetic issue on my M3, which I picked up in late January. The fewest in any vehicle I have purchased.

 

[hellocar]

Good God, I’m supposed to pick my M3 up this Sunday and I was originally excited but now nervous with all the issues I’m seeing. Btw, I’ve also been told that my vehicle is on a “service hold” for what the delivery department thinks is a required software update. I really hope my car isn’t all messed up. It’s a bit concerning to me that these issues are a common theme with Tesla

I also felt worried, after spending my waiting weeks surfing forums, and reading about problems folks had been having. As it turns out, the car was basically perfect - there was just a tiny chip on the paint in one place, and a couple clearcoat scratches that would have happened someday anyhow. Everything works perfectly, and I keep discovering cool little things about the car that I hadn't known about.

My previous new car, a 2016 BMW, actually had more significant cosmetic defects on delivery!

Of course, just in case, you should be cautious - don't give them your money before you've inspected, and do set aside about 40 minutes to go over the car end to end in good light (bring a flashlight). Making or bringing a checklist will keep your mind on track during your inspection. I'd advise printing it out, because it turned out to be a pain to check things off in my phone notes app.

My general thinking was: if something was broken, like a rear seat belt didn't work or a light didn't turn on, I'd accept the car and get it fixed under warranty. If something cosmetic was wrong, I would assume that Tesla would never fix it (just like BMW refused to), so if it's not something I could live with, I would have rejected the car.

 

[Mrmacmackey]

Good thing is they corrected the rear shelf and steering wheel.

Did you use mobile service or bring it in?

Was it an alignment issue? Just curious thanks.

 

[mattack4000]

My alignment is off too on the car

 

[IDRVSLO]

Did you use mobile service or bring it in?

Was it an alignment issue? Just curious thanks.

I believe they did alignment. From what I’ve seen in videos, the wheel can’t be attached improperly due to the “key” when attached to the column so I don’t think it’s that. Yeah, brought it in.
Do you guys get a decent amount of wind noise coming from the window where the window meets the b pillar? If I press against the window at speeds greater than 65 I can really hear the wind. It’s as if the window doesn’t press against the seal enough.

 

[mattack4000]

It’s a frameless window, pushing it out will make wind come in

 

[NickZ]

All the little paint chips happen, as unfortunate as it is, that's common looking at any new cars, most dealers will correct them before they deliver a car. Others will setup a time to have them corrected at the their body shop. The car not being assembled properly is crazy too me! That tells me Tesla has absolutely no quality control, that is really unacceptable.

If it was me I would just have the clips and center console fixed by them and ask them to give you money to get the rest corrected at a body shop. Honestly if a shop does it it's probably on the order of $500 in work. If you like detailing you can fix all that yourself over a couple days.

The panel gaps are not crazy IMHO... But should not be like that on a car of this price...

I'm picking mine up today.. hopefully it looks better than yours. Good luck!

 

[IDRVSLO]

It’s a frameless window, pushing it out will make wind come in

Of course.. however it’s not like I’m experiencing no noise at all and then just push the window to make a problem. That was just to emphasize that the noise gets louder if I I push.

I haven’t driven another 3 for reference so all I have to go of is the X. Both are frameless and are of similar design yet I don’t have the same wind noise where the B pillar meets the corner of the window. Guess I should sit in the passenger seat too.

 

[mattack4000]

Read my post about the 3 vs the X. The 3 is a relatively noisy car, don’t believe in the fanboys saying how perfect it is. I like my car, but it isn’t perfect like a lot of reviews claim