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

[super20g]

Hey Guys,

I took delivery of a white on white Model 3 the other day.

Here are the fit and finish issues I noted. Don't bust my chops for some of them being nit picky. This is just what I noted when I observed the car and I just wanted to see what others thought of this condition and what you would ask to be corrected or if you would return it for a different car.

Passenger rear door requires more force than the others to fully latch. Usually need to close it twice or remember it is the passenger side so close it harder.

Driver side trunk gap

passenger side trunk gap much narrower

driver side wide shot

passenger side wide shot

tool marks in plastic

stained headliner

trunk rubs against rear quarter and rubs paint off

trunk seal wonky

trunk seal wonky

missing paint on hood nuts

all 4 wheel inner lips finish scraped off

missing clips on fender liners

paint chip on corner of rear bumper on both sides

paint chip on corner of rear bumper on both sides, paint thin on corner

paint thin on corner of rear bumper on both sides

dust nibs around rocker areas

dust nib example

dust nib example

scrape on paint, chip in paint down to metal, dust nibs

same as above different angle

dust nib example

dust nib example

dust nib example

dust nib example

glue on door jamb painted over

scrape on paint

runs on edge of panel?

thin scrape your finger nail can catch on that goes across both passenger doors

paint chip on door with touch up paint attempted

paint chip above fog light

edge of door chipped, dust nib

minor damage to rocker panels on both sides

both plastic pieces do not stay in place

thin paint on front bumper

thin paint on front bumper - hard to see with this lighting

rough edge, paint falling off on front bumper

rough edge, paint falling off on front bumper

rough edge, paint falling off on front bumper

rough edge, paint falling off on front bumper

paint chip on bumper

corner of panel pushed in

corner of panel pushed in

small paint runs on edge of panel

paint chip on rear bumper

center console not fully assembled

Imgur link to album: 2019 Tesla Model 3 Fit & Finish Issues

 

[OCR1]

None of these items individually seem like a big issue to me. But when taken as a whole there are just too many little things wrong with this car. Personally I would have rejected it. Taking delivery and then returning it is a major hassle. Either reject it or keep it, but it’s never a good idea to accept a car that you are not sure if you want to keep. It will take at least 60 days for Tesla to get you your money back.

 

[super20g]

None of these items individually seem like a big issue to me. But when taken as a whole there are just too many little things wrong with this car. Personally I would have rejected it. Taking delivery and then returning it is a major hassle. Either reject it or keep it, but it’s never a good idea to accept a car that you are not sure if you want to keep. It will take at least 60 days for Tesla to get you your money back.

I was surprising my wife which added pressure to not reject it over the minor issues I saw in person and then saw more at home when I washed it. I sent pictures to the delivery manager. The delivery manager got back with me earlier and more or less told me this is the condition of model 3's she sees at the present time, most people just don't look very close at the finished condition.

 

[OCR1]

I was surprising my wife which added pressure to not reject it over the minor issues I saw in person and then saw more at home when I washed it. The delivery manager got back with me earlier and more or less told me this is the condition of model 3's at the present time.

Not it is not. That’s ridiculous and he should be embarrassed for saying that to you. I have two Model 3’s and both were flawless at delivery. Many others here have reported the same thing, or at worst a few minor blemishes. It’s a tough situation for you at this point because if you return it you will wait 60 days to get a refund and you will have a reduced tax credit on the next purchase. At a minimum you should have received a due bill agreeing to correct all of those discrepancies prior to taking delivery of the car. It’s never a good idea to be under pressure to take a car that is not up to your expectations.

 

[davewill]

I agree it is not. Mine had some issues. My trunk was a little out of alignment, not as bad as yours, and there were some very minor scratches on the chrome trim under the driver's side window. They replaced the trim (on both sides although I had only complained about the driver's side) and realigned the trunk. It wasn't perfect, but was much, much better, and I'm happy with the result.

I would not have accepted the car in that state, myself. It's way over the top. I have no doubt it all can be fixed, but you might be out of a car for quite a bit, and you might have to push and push. Returning it might be the best option. The thing to ask yourself is whether you will be happy if they do the repairs or if you'll end feeling like you settled for an inferior car.

 

[super20g]

Not it is not. That’s ridiculous and he should be embarrassed for saying that to you. I have two Model 3’s and both were flawless at delivery. Many others here have reported the same thing, or at worst a few minor blemishes. It’s a tough situation for you at this point because if you return it you will wait 60 days to get a refund and you will have a reduced tax credit on the next purchase. At a minimum you should have received a due bill agreeing to correct all of those discrepancies prior to taking delivery of the car. It’s never a good idea to be under pressure to take a car that is not up to your expectations.

Yea, I hear you. Most of the issues I didn't pick up on until I got it home and gave it a good bath the next day. They told me if I order another one, chances are that the new one will have the same issues. Based on what you said, sounds like they are trying to blow smoke up my ass.

Now I guess I just have to decide if I want to go through the hassle of having the concerns repaired, or return and re-order and pay $1875 more. Guess I could order the free plain white paint and it would be about a wash. I asked if they wanted to comp software in favor of not doing the stuff that would require body shop rework because I had a bad experience last time with that on a different model 3 but they said no. Guess they would rather me return it and hope the next guy doesn't care about the quality of fit and finish.

 

[davewill]

I realize we haven't addressed which items to have fixed. I'd say start with all of them, and then maybe be willing to overlook one or two of the very minor ones after they have tried hard. You can always take items off the list, but once you take them off, they'll never put them back on.

 

[DJVoorhees]

Wow, It's my opinion you should return that car right away. You have 7 days and 1000 miles to return it.
Thats WAY too much wrong, it looks like that car has been reworked all over.

 

[TampaRich]

Would have rejected for the pic of the corner panel pushed in because that would clearly affect resale value.

 

[Scott7]

My mind as I was reviewing your pictures:

Minor, minor, minor, etc
.
.
.
Wow, this is quite a lot of minor things!
.
.
.
Panel pushed in?! Oh hell no!

Sorry about the bad luck with your delivery. I’d return it even if it takes 2 months to get a refund. Just not worth being without a car while they take who knows how long to repair it.

 

[jkoya]

Wow - I thought all my paint and alignment defects were bad, but this is so much worse. Mine was sent to a Tesla approved body shop for repair and every panel with a nib, scratch, scrape, etc was resprayed.

I took delivery on 12/5/18 and I would have rejected mine, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get a replacement car in time before 12/31/18 for the full tax credit.

Did you ask if this car was previously rejected or returned by another customer ?

 

[OCR1]

I always tell anyone I know who is getting ready to pick up their Tesla to plan on spending an hour at the facility thoroughly inspecting the vehicle, and be prepared to reject the vehicle if it is not in acceptable condition.

 

[gobble]

I just picked up a new Chevy Volt last Tuesday. The fit and finish is perfect. I can't find a flaw on the entire car.

I purchased a different Chevy Volt last December. Guess what, the fit and finish was perfect on that car too.

Tesla's build quality is to s***ty for me to pull the trigger.

 

[VT_EE]

Yea, I hear you. Most of the issues I didn't pick up on until I got it home and gave it a good bath the next day. They told me if I order another one, chances are that the new one will have the same issues. Based on what you said, sounds like they are trying to blow smoke up my ass.

Now I guess I just have to decide if I want to go through the hassle of having the concerns repaired, or return and re-order and pay $1875 more. Guess I could order the free plain white paint and it would be about a wash. I asked if they wanted to comp software in favor of not doing the stuff that would require body shop rework because I had a bad experience last time with that on a different model 3 but they said no. Guess they would rather me return it and hope the next guy doesn't care about the quality of fit and finish.

Take it back and get the plain white. You have too many paint issues and the multi-coat is a pain to try to fix.

 

[OCR1]

I just picked up a new Chevy Volt last Tuesday. The fit and finish is perfect. I can't find a flaw on the entire car.

I purchased a different Chevy Volt last December. Guess what, the fit and finish was perfect on that car too.

Tesla's build quality is to s***ty for me to pull the trigger.

Congratulations.

So what are you doing hanging out in a Tesla forum?

 

[gobble]

I've been kicking around the idea since they brought the standard range down to $36,200. I've read just about everything there is to read about the Model 3. I want it to be a great car but just can't pull the trigger because of all the build quality issues. I pop back here once in a while to see if there is anything new (discounts, etc.).

 

[OCR1]

I've been kicking around the idea since they brought the standard range down to $36,200. I've read just about everything there is to read about the Model 3. I want it to be a great car but just can't pull the trigger because of all the build quality issues. I pop back here once in a while to see if there is anything new (discounts, etc.).

You are posting in a forum where even people with the worst delivery experiences post about how this is the greatest car they have ever driven and you are letting a small minority of Tesla owners who have had some paint and finish issues hold you back from buying the car?

Do you realize that if you order the car and go to pick it up you get to inspect it first? And if you don’t like it you can just ask for another one? Or ask for a refund of your deposit?

There’s nothing wrong with a Volt. I drove one for several months and have several friends who used to own them before buying their Teslas. But Chevy doesn’t even make them any more. And Tesla sells more Model 3’s in one month than Chevy will sell Volts and Bolts combined the entire year. There is a reason for this.

 

[Nevada Jen]

When I first started reading your post I thought you were being picky. Until I got to about the third issue. The pushed in panel is way not acceptable and that is a really horrible paint job. I wouldn’t return the car but I would make them fix it. My SR+ was pretty much perfect by the way. So tying to get out of fixing it by implying you should be happy with what you got is insane.

 

[russelljohnson]

I returned my car on day 6 after more or less the same issues as you have. The final straw was the wheel alignment was 2-degrees off center and I didn't want a new car to have 15+ issues to be fixed.

The Tesla folks didn't give a rats ass either about issuing a due-bill to fix the issues. So the car is going back until they can actually manufacture well. Now the wait begins for a refund.

 

[Octo]

I would return it. Too many issues that are not acceptable for a new vehicle.

About some of the comments here about accepting the car at delivery: Here in Texas, the convoluted Tesla sales process requires one to effectively give Tesla credit in the sense that you must fork over full payment to complete the purchase in California (for legal reasons) before Tesla ships the car.

So you are out tens of thousands of $ days before you even see the car. It’s an awful position to be in having to wait TBD time to get your money back if you would not accept delivery. So this is a massive shift of power from the customer to Tesla, esp. if the customer is not ultra rich and the cost of the car is significant to the budget.

Personally I was extremely uncomfortable ordering my P3. I went with an inventory car to make the tax deadline and even though it was already in Dallas, they would not let me see it until I paid in full. It’s really a non competitive way to sell cars and I was right on the edge to just cancel. Unfortunately there is no attractive EV alternative right now, to me personally but if the other car manufacturers get their act together, Tesla will have to change.

My car was almost perfect (a small paint chip) and essentially new (inventory with 90 miles sold as new) but had mine looked like the one from this thread, I’d be pissed off to no end and now I’d be waiting without a car, an unknown time for Tesla to return $60+k at their leisure.

Oh and the delivery “specialist” that worked with the OP is a disgrace. If this car is “typical” and that’s an official Tesla statement, this is exactly what will destroy their business in Europe, where the local manufacturers and the magazines are using the “panel gap and poor quality” description as the main weapon against Tesla.