Unbelievably pathetic. I don't think you realize how much self-humiliation you've imposed on yourself with your "suspicions."
VA isn't entirely without justification. We've been around long enough that having to put up with the "care bears" can be tiresome, and detrimental to our investment in $TSLA, and the company in general. Sometimes we're a bit quick to judge. I've been guilty of that a time or two.
Baby? Really?? I read OP's post a few times, and all I am reading is scratches at places closer to the bumper. And is it worth losing sleep over? Those scratches could have happened much after it rolled off production, and Tesla will fix it. Whats the big deal? For all the trouble, once OP gets a new car with no scratches even on the tires, what then happens when someone does a door ding in grocery store parking lot the very next day?
Wait, you NEVER leave your baby alone unless your baby is safe in his or her crib, i.e. garage. So you drive your Model 3 to the grocery store and let your S/O go in and shop while you slowly cruise around, or park way in the back with no parking spots in use and stand guard. I mean, that's what any parent does with their firstborn. If it's your second Tesla, then, all bets are off.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Just took delivery of a white M3 last week. The car was near perfect. I inspected the car for 45 minutes with a very discerning eye. The only minor issue was a small rinkle in the leather on the base of the rear seat. I decided to let it go. Overall very happy with the car and tesla delivery experience.
Except that Tesla said they would not fix it. There's another thread with another owner who reported that his DS said the car will be sold as is. This was in Austin and he, too, refused delivery. What is marginally acceptable is Tesla acknowledging the damage, adding reference to it as a line item to a due bill, and directly reimbursing the detail shop of the owner's choice when the paint correction is completed. Even then, the owner is out time and inconvenience. Happened to me twice with Tesla. "Door dings" with these cars can cost thousands of dollars to repair optimally. We don't get to choose whether that "door ding" occurs on a door or on a fender panel. Multicoat paint takes skill to match so that the repair is neither visible today *or* next year. Parking lots. Heh. Here's the thing. If you're an owner in a snowy environment, driving the car in winter with all the dirt and grime and slush and other inhospitable things that can kill a paint job, then I maybe see your point - what's one more blemish from a botched or poorly-covered-up detail job. However, that's still no reason to lower one's standards for a $60K out the door car. Back to parking lots. I don't park adjacent other cars - never in between 2 cars and rarely adjacent 1 car. And if someone parks next to me within the radius of their door while I'm away, I photograph their license plate and *then* check for damage. Coming up on 3.5 years and 2 Model S later, no door dings and no swirls. Will that matter when I trade in this AP2 experiment for another AP1 car? Not in the slightest, to your point. Will it matter if I sell it on the private market? Versus having door dings and swirls, it certainly should. Your mileage may vary
Is it possible to complain enough to the point that they can compensate someone with a free EAP upgrade?
This. Like the flight safety program in the RCAF that began decades ago, look for the systemic reason why "the scratcher" was put into a position (both figuratively and literally) to create the scratch. Three dimensional challenges are not solved with two dimensional solutions.
Hi Dan- A most interesting post and cautionary tale. With my delivery upcoming in a few days, was wondering at what financial stage you were when you refused. I plan to walk in with a cashier's check...after handing it to them, it seems it might be hard to refuse when the car is pulled around to the front in good daylight. So...how much of your money did they have at that point?...I presume they had something or they wouldn't have given you the loaner.
I wish I would have taken photos of the damage, because this wasn't an "oh *sugar*, a parked car hit my bumper" scratch. This looked like someone vandalized my bumper. It was a set of horizontal scratches, between 6-8" in length and about 10 of them. Maybe the paint cracked somehow? Yeah, this was an option, and not my favorite one. Just feels wrong to take a brand new car into a service center or body shop for cosmetic issues/body work. I would much rather postpone delivery and then only go to a service center when I have an actual issue. They have full payment. I made a ~$22,000 down payment and handed them a $35,000 check from my credit union at the delivery center. They haven't cashed the credit union check but kept it on file. I have ZERO issues with this. I really really want my Tesla. Especially after driving the S. The Model 3 is a superior car in my opinion. I have about 300 miles on the S and drove the 3 for about 200 miles back in January. -Dan
This OP doesn't sound "fake". While the headline of the discussion thread sounds scary, the actual complaints were scratches. Issues like this occur daily on every car delivered in the world. Transport damage, etc. is a huge culprit. Scratches are one thing, entire lemons are another. This car doesn't sound like a lemon. FWIW, I scratched up my perfectly delivered Model S within a month of taking delivery... some kid rode his bike into it. Couldn't get mad at the kid, he was probably 9 or 10 yrs old and by himself. Whatever, tiny scratch. The first scratch is the worst, thereafter it doesn't really matter.
Thats my point. There is no reason for this outsized outrage. I am looking at you @AmpedRealtor . Cosmetic exterior damages happen. They will take care of it... and guess what, it will happen again in your hands after a week or after a month. As for me, I am not buying an eye candy. There are other things that will drive me crazy. Excessive wind noise? tire noise? less than acceptable efficiency (Wh/mile). I can't accept anything less than what everyone gets on the driving characteristics and performance.
@dan180 do you remember when you configured and when you got assigned a VIN? Mine is also a 68xx MSM Aero EAP but i suspect not in the same build batch - I configured late January and received VIN late Feb.
Do you have any high res pictures of the paint defects? I'd like to have an idea of what to look out for.