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I really don’t think Tesla will have that level of Mercedes service for quite some time....if ever again.
I rank the daily enjoyment of my car as much more important than the (hopefully infrequent) service level. But that’s me.
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I really don’t think Tesla will have that level of Mercedes service for quite some time....if ever again.
I rank the daily enjoyment of my car as much more important than the (hopefully infrequent) service level. But that’s me.
How long are you planning on keeping it? If you're not planning on keeping it past the warranty then I would say you have very little to worry about. I would guess the odds are you wouldn't have to deal with any reliability issues at all.Having driven my friend's Model 3, I am complete enamored by the Tesla and seriously considering purchasing an new Model S.
While I think the technology and ideology of Tesla is amazing, but I am really weary of making the purchase due to all the information I read about quality issues and after purchase care.
It seems like a lot of the issues are consistent year over year for any particular Model.
So my question is, are purchasers with newer models experiencing the same issues or frequency of issues as the older models? Has Tesla improved their quality? It seems odd that a company focused on constant improvement of a vehicle would continue to have issues with say door handles year after year.
I guess what I looking for is a little comfort from actual owners that I can expect some improvement in quality and not have as many headaches as early adopters.
Having driven my friend's Model 3, I am complete enamored by the Tesla and seriously considering purchasing an new Model S.
While I think the technology and ideology of Tesla is amazing, but I am really weary of making the purchase due to all the information I read about quality issues and after purchase care.
It seems like a lot of the issues are consistent year over year for any particular Model.
So my question is, are purchasers with newer models experiencing the same issues or frequency of issues as the older models? Has Tesla improved their quality? It seems odd that a company focused on constant improvement of a vehicle would continue to have issues with say door handles year after year.
I guess what I looking for is a little comfort from actual owners that I can expect some improvement in quality and not have as many headaches as early adopters.
5) Yellow screens. I mean, what a disaster. Elon just loves making stupid decisions, and this one might cost them dearly. Who needs automotive grade screens, you say? Not Tesla apparently. So yeah, if you buy one, be aware it might develop a yellow screen any day. Really makes ownership exciting. The 4k mile loaner I mentioned had a yellow screen. A car with 4k miles. Sadness.
To me it sounds like he's talking about a completely different car. Compared to my two Lexus and one Honda, my Tesla feels like it's way better quality. The screen yellowing and headlight problems are concerning though since they don't seem to be addressing the problems with new parts that don't have issues.Depends what you mean by quality. When I bought mine, I didn’t notice any issues I notice now.
Drive units, batteries and motors are top notch, no question about that. The platform is amazing. So don’t worry about that part much.
The car itself, the cabin and other things are a complete mockery. I wish you lived closer to me so I could take you around and show you all the issues. You can even see all these if you go to a Tesla store and carefully look.
Examples:
1) I’ve recently driven a Dec 2018 75D with 4k miles. The thing rattled like crazy. From everywhere.
2) I currently have a 2017 100D loaner with 23k miles, since my car is in service. Rattles way worse than my 2015. Glass roof, driver door panel, speakers, trunk. Rattles from everywhere. Squeaks. Air suspension starts literally shaking the car occasionally when I want to go from high to standard. Sometimes works fine.
3) Go and take a look at a brand new Model S in store. Open the trunk and notice terrible fitment and quality of the plastic surrounding the hatch. Notice how you can see all the welding on the sides. Open rear doors and carefully inspect the rubber along
side the the door frame. It’s horrible quality. On every single S I’ve looked at. Plastic seat trim is sad to even look at. Look at the poorly cut rubber around the windows.
4) panel gaps. I mean, those really don’t matter much, but they certainly make the car uglier if the people/machines at the factory had a particularly bad day. I’ve seen some Model S and X vehicles where panel gaps made the car look like it just got out of an accident. Especially visible on white cars.
5) Yellow screens. I mean, what a disaster. Elon just loves making stupid decisions, and this one might cost them dearly. Who needs automotive grade screens, you say? Not Tesla apparently. So yeah, if you buy one, be aware it might develop a yellow screen any day. Really makes ownership exciting. The 4k mile loaner I mentioned had a yellow screen. A car with 4k miles. Sadness.
I won’t even go into Model 3 build specifics, that car is built like a go kart. Great platform,
terrible design and build.
Overall, the build quality is pathetic. Some people care, some don’t. I do more and more so it bothers me. Go check for yourself and see if you think a car like that is worth $100k or $50k, or not. If it is, you will have fun driving it and flooring it at every single traffic light. No other car matches this. Except maybe a $150k Taycan. If it’s not worth it for you, oh well. Be aware that rattles and noises aren’t covered under warranty anymore and you need to pay diagnostic fees just to have them reproduced with a technician. No wonder, Tesla really doesn’t give a *sugar* assembling these cars and also doesn’t want to waste their scarcest resource (money) fixing “non issues” that some “unreasonable” owners point out.
To me it sounds like he's talking about a completely different car. Compared to my two Lexus and one Honda, my Tesla feels like it's way better quality. The screen yellowing and headlight problems are concerning though since they don't seem to be addressing the problems with new parts that don't have issues.
No rattles in my 2013. I've had 2 loaners from sc, one was a 2015 and the other 2018. No rattles in the 2018 and the 2015 had a slight dash rattle. I've driven quiet a few other model s from 2013 to 2017 and only the only one that had any rattles was the P85+ which also had the drive unit whine. It's not fair to say ALL have the squeaks and rattles. In fact I'm pretty sure all cars can develop a rattle or squeak.Here is a few photo examples, I am literally at the Tesla SC/store waiting for my car and looking at a brand new Raven. Imagine how terrible panels and internal, invisible, plastic components are, if the visible parts are this bad. So yeah, build quality maybe has improved (I’ve never looked at 2012 ones), but is it actually good? No. No wonder they all rattle like crazy.
I have an early 2013 with 126K miles on it. Quality is as good as any car I've had, so my opinion is that features have improved but quality is just fine. I still have people who see the car and are surprised it's not a just purchased car--and my car lives outside. If you take a hard look at the complaints, it's usually the same people complaining over and over again.
Yeah sorry I'm not a European car guy like OP stated he was in post #5, so maybe comparing it to Japanese quality is useless information. I always thought it would be a bad idea to test drive the ultimate driving machine, and that I was better off not knowing what I was missing.Depends what you mean by quality. When I bought mine, I didn’t notice any issues I notice now.
Drive units, batteries and motors are top notch, no question about that. The platform is amazing. So don’t worry about that part much.
The car itself, the cabin and other things are a complete mockery. I wish you lived closer to me so I could take you around and show you all the issues. You can even see all these if you go to a Tesla store and carefully look.
Examples:
1) I’ve recently driven a Dec 2018 75D with 4k miles. The thing rattled like crazy. From everywhere.
2) I currently have a 2017 100D loaner with 23k miles, since my car is in service. Rattles way worse than my 2015. Glass roof, driver door panel, speakers, trunk. Rattles from everywhere. Squeaks. Air suspension starts literally shaking the car occasionally when I want to go from high to standard. Sometimes works fine.
3) Go and take a look at a brand new Model S in store. Open the trunk and notice terrible fitment and quality of the plastic surrounding the hatch. Notice how you can see all the welding on the sides. Open rear doors and carefully inspect the rubber along
side the the door frame. It’s horrible quality. On every single S I’ve looked at. Plastic seat trim is sad to even look at. Look at the poorly cut rubber around the windows.
4) panel gaps. I mean, those really don’t matter much, but they certainly make the car uglier if the people/machines at the factory had a particularly bad day. I’ve seen some Model S and X vehicles where panel gaps made the car look like it just got out of an accident. Especially visible on white cars.
5) Yellow screens. I mean, what a disaster. Elon just loves making stupid decisions, and this one might cost them dearly. Who needs automotive grade screens, you say? Not Tesla apparently. So yeah, if you buy one, be aware it might develop a yellow screen any day. Really makes ownership exciting. The 4k mile loaner I mentioned had a yellow screen. A car with 4k miles. Sadness.
I won’t even go into Model 3 build specifics, that car is built like a go kart. Great platform,
terrible design and build.
Overall, the build quality is pathetic. Some people care, some don’t. I do more and more so it bothers me. Go check for yourself and see if you think a car like that is worth $100k or $50k, or not. If it is, you will have fun driving it and flooring it at every single traffic light. No other car matches this. Except maybe a $150k Taycan. If it’s not worth it for you, oh well. Be aware that rattles and noises aren’t covered under warranty anymore and you need to pay diagnostic fees just to have them reproduced with a technician. No wonder, Tesla really doesn’t give a *sugar* assembling these cars and also doesn’t want to waste their scarcest resource (money) fixing “non issues” that some “unreasonable” owners point out.
Your experience does not equal everyone's experience.I find this hard to believe. I bought a 2015 Model S 90D in 2018 and I've had 4 warranty repairs in the one year that I've owned it. Here they are:
1. Front brake calipers seized up. Front brakes and rotors replaced under warranty.
2. Could not charge in below freezing temperatures. Battery coolant pump replaced.
3. Oily fluid leaking from the Autopilot camera housing. Rain sensor assembly replaced.
4. Gen 2 Master Charger replaced (could not Supercharge).
For comparison, I had zero warranty repairs on my Nissan Leaf in the first 5 years that I owned it.
Your experience does not equal everyone's experience.
That goes both ways too!
It's obvious there are still a lot of quality problems with tesla. The fact that not everyone experienced them, just means their QA is not good and build quality is very inconsistent. You can get one with zero problems for years or one which will make a service center your second home... pure gamble for now.
I've owned my 2018 MS 100D for 9 months and have put 22,000 miles on it. Only issues thus far: replacing yellowed running lights/headlights and yellow main screen. Tesla replaced the headlights at my home. Still waiting on resolution of yellow screen. I love my Tesla and have no regrets!!!