Happy with your exterior Paint?

[MrMSS]

I'm looking for feedback on your car's paint quality, days/weeks/months after pickup. Are you happy with your selection and how it was delivered? There are countless discussions talk about Tesla's QC and paint quality issues, I'm unsure if that's an issue early on in production and has gotten better? Also dealing with Tesla on paint defects post delivery seems hit or miss to remediate.

I'm on the fence right now about paying additional and additional $2600 for Red.. or if I should stick with the free white as it's multi-coat and pocket the savings.

Can folks provide input on this?

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

I did PPF myself around the largest panels and treat the car like my 2008 civic when washing

 

[JenniferH]

I'm quite happy with my pearl white multicoat except for two flaws. I took delivery Dec.2019. I am still waiting for Tesla to arrange for a professional to remedy them (have to go 3rd party as there are no service centers on my island.) When I received the car, I noticed what looked like water marks covering a 12in area on the trunk near the back emblem. I had no experience with the water marks and just assumed it would wash right off (the car was quite dirty when it reached me across the Pacific.) It doesn't wash off and is in fact etched into the clearcoat. It will have to be polished out. There is also a red freckle just below the driver's door handle that I see every time I get in. No idea how that happened, it looks to be at the paint level. Other than these issues, the car's paint is great.

 

[jkoya]

I'm on the fence right now about paying additional and additional $2600 for Red.. or if I should stick with the free white as it's multi-coat and pocket the savings.

Another option would be to stick with white and use the money saved to help offset the cost of PPF....

Back to your question on paint quality. I was at the Rocklin, CA Tesla Store and they had a Red Multi-Coat Model 3 on display and the color of the bumper was definitely darker than the rest of the car. Asked two employees working there if the bumper was repainted and they said it was not, and that's the way the car was delivered from the factory. Both did admit the bumper color was way off from the rest of the car.

 

[Russ13]

M3 June 2019 As I posted on another thread I’m disappointed with my red paint. The circular marks from polishing and orange peel effect can be seen. I would not pay $2600 for the color red

 

[MrMSS]

Another option would be to stick with white and use the money saved to help offset the cost of PPF....

Good point. I'm looking to do a new car prep once I take delivery (decontaminate/clay bar/cQuartz ceramic coat) and then PPF the heavy hit areas, I don't see a full PPF being worth the cost I'm being quoted. I'm hoping the paint is solid enough that it doesn't require after delivery appointments with Tesla which would delay the PPF process.

It's odd to have these discussion for a $70K+ CDN car.

I am still waiting for Tesla to arrange for a professional to remedy them (have to go 3rd party as there are no service centers on my island.)

How was your process with resolving the issues with Tesla? Any push back from them to fix?

 

[MrMSS]

M3 June 2019 As I posted on another thread I’m disappointed with my red paint. The circular marks from polishing and orange peel effect can be seen. I would not pay $2600 for the color red

Hit or miss it seems.. that's too bad for your vehicle, the red really does pop on the TM3. Anything Tesla doing/can do to resolve?

It seems it's a coin toss with the quality you get in red, and if that's the case, an expensive one for $2,600.

Appreciate your input.

 

[jkoya]

Good point. I'm looking to do a new car prep once I take delivery (decontaminate/clay bar/cQuartz ceramic coat) and then PPF the heavy hit areas, I don't see a full PPF being worth the cost I'm being quoted. I'm hoping the paint is solid enough that it doesn't require after delivery appointments with Tesla which would delay the PPF process.

I took delivery in December 2018 (my car had a November 2018 build date) and my car had significant paint flaws. Two Mobile Techs said my car should have never left the factory. Tesla approved body shop charged Tesla about $3,749 USD to correct the paint and a 2 week loaner of a Model S 100D (which had worse panel fitments than our Model 3). Had to wait until April 2019 to get the PPF installed. It was a 2.5 month wait to get the body shop appointment, 2 weeks in the body shop and then the recommended 30 day wait for the paint to cure.....

 

[Manitoba Keith]

I did PPF myself around the largest panels and treat the car like my 2008 civic when washing

Same except it was a 2009 Altima or 2017 Volt delivered in September 2019. Basically, got PPF on major parts -- full hood and lower sides. Carefully pressure wash. No problems so far and I have driven in a LOT of slush, ice & cold. Not much salt though.

 

[TrevTremaine]

Had both of my Model S's delivered through Lawrence. First one was clean, second one had paint defects due to being transported by truck (I believe from Chicago). When I went to take delivery, they specifically went over each and every spot and scheduled a time to bring the car back in to fix it (rather than delaying delivery). I was given a loaner for the few days it was there, and I had a chat with one of the detailers who was a nice guy and did everything to perfection. Overall, it was a good experience - I can't complain. I love the red!

Now, that said, it may be a different situation with the Model 3 as the delivery style is different than for the S or X - I don't see that you've specified which car you're getting.

PPF is a good idea for a purchase. The other thing you can consider is doing a wrap. Personally, I've not done it, but it'll give you an unconstrained palate to choose from. Probably a bit more expensive, but then again it'll also provide some level of protection from chips and such from rocks.

 

[03DSG]

June '18 delivery MC Pearl white. Zero issues with factory paint. Pre-booked for PPF 1 month after delivery with Fabian @Evelyn Protective Films. Booked the appointment for a month after delivery to allow for any delivery issues. Got 2 very small chips on front bumper in that month. Has full frontal including headlights/foglights PPF and ceramic done. 20,000 km and the paint is still great. 3 very small stone hits on the bumper PPF. None anywhere else.

I paid for the MC White and would again if it wasn't free now. I would have really regretted not getting the colour I wanted and not getting the PPF done.
Regardless of the product used PPF is all about the installation. After seeing lots of other PPF installs I'm really happy I used Fabian. Personally I'll never go to anyone else. No regrets.

 

[MrMSS]

Now, that said, it may be a different situation with the Model 3 as the delivery style is different than for the S or X - I don't see that you've specified which car you're getting.

I'm looking at a TM3 LR AWD.. the red is my preferred colour, it suits the body lines well, imo. Again, it seems luck of the draw and I was hoping that Tesla had worked out their QC paint processes to be better at it now to get better assurance. One of those things that are small in the grander scheme of life but it's still worth hashing it out on the internet, lol. There was a new inventory car available (seems to have disappeared today) that I was mulling over - red on white for this particular reason.

 

[Premiertint]

This was a client's car that had just taken delivery. I was pretty shocked, honestly...

 

[JenniferH]

Good point. I'm looking to do a new car prep once I take delivery (decontaminate/clay bar/cQuartz ceramic coat) and then PPF the heavy hit areas, I don't see a full PPF being worth the cost I'm being quoted. I'm hoping the paint is solid enough that it doesn't require after delivery appointments with Tesla which would delay the PPF process.

It's odd to have these discussion for a $70K+ CDN car.



How was your process with resolving the issues with Tesla? Any push back from them to fix?

It has been a little exasperating actually. I was referred to a 3rd party guy who does detail work here and he at first suggested I take it to a random person who works out of the parking lot at the mall? I had to specify that this was a Tesla issue that came with the car upon delivery and he then sent me back to my Tesla delivery specialist. He then sent me BACK to the first 3rd party detail guy and indicated it would be taken care of but I have not heard from either if them in over a week. It is the price I pay I guess for owning a Tesla in a place without easy access to service centers. There are mobile rangers that come to me but I take it they don't do body work.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

This was a client's car that had just taken delivery. I was pretty shocked, honestly...
View attachment 505108

Looks like a repainted bumper. Way off on the colour.

 

[Premiertint]

I thought the same thing...but it really was just badly painted. When you looked under the car and opened the Fr-unk, you could see that the paint was extremely thin and lighter in some areas and thicker and more vibrant in others. I think they painted the bumpers separately and assembled the bumper afterward, from how the paint looked.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

I thought the same thing...but it really was just badly painted. When you looked under the car and opened the Fr-unk, you could see that the paint was extremely thin and lighter in some areas and thicker and more vibrant in others. I think they painted the bumpers separately and assembled the bumper afterward, from how the paint looked.

That's a body shop job on the bumper. I had my door dented and now it's slightly darker after they ordered a replacement panel and repainted it. It looked fine when I took delivery and inspected during a cloudy day.
But it's actually darker in the sun vs the rest of the car.

All body shops match the paint using the lighting they have in the shop. In other (brighter) lighting situations, it shows the difference if one exists.

 

[MexiCanuck]

Red, June 2019 delivery in Vancouver.

I took it the same day to RDI in Richmond for full-PPF.

I was happy with the paint. RDI was happy with it. They said they did limited correction before the PPF.

I have been happy with both the red paint and the PPF.

 

[Goodtohave]

I am biased of course because I own a PPF company here in Montreal but the paint has improved dramatically from the early ones.

I did full PPF on mine, over 15000 km in terrible conditions and the paint is as new.

Before PPF I hated washing my car and seeing new chips all the time. Now nothing .

You don’t have to do the whole car but if you do the full front end and rockers you can’t see it and your paint stays as new.

This applies to all new cars, paint is just much more fragile these days because it is water based and enviro friendly.

I do all makes and models, Tesla gets a bad rap but bring me any car after a month on the rowd and there will be chips.

 

[jkoya]

This was a client's car that had just taken delivery. I was pretty shocked, honestly...

Exactly what the Red Multi-Coat Model 3 on display at Tesla Rocklin looked like. There are a few posts on the forum with other owners with the same darker colored red bumper....