Hello TMC, I was so frustrated with my recent experience with my brand new 2022 Model Y that I decided to join this community so no one else has to go through what we went through and also ask for advice on what I should do. Disclaimer: We love Tesla and everything that it stands for, but extremely disappointed by the quality and customer service. You would expect the service to be phenomenal, if not on par with most luxury vehicles out on the market but the difference is substantially lacking.
Storytime: We picked up our new Model Y in Brooklyn and was extremely excited, but upon the inspection noticed that there was some minor issues on the exterior of the car. I noticed there was smudges on the hood/side of the car and the sales associate saw me meticulously checking so she came over with a rag and started wiping the car, explaining that the car just got detailed and "don't worry about it". Upon this interaction, she mentioned she'll give us another minute or two to inspect the vehicle before setting up everything and handing the key cards to us. I also noticed that the car plates were already installed, whilst another couple's sale associate was installing it during their inspection. This already felt like a red flag to me so I was trying to inspect the car carefully, but the process was so quick that all of a sudden we were setting up everything inside the car. The attention to detail was evidently lacking-- the sales associate misread my husband's name a few times and even set it up wrong in our car, which I finally corrected her for and then she still proceeded to say his name wrong throughout the experience
The name isn't even hard... literally a regular English name...
During the inspection, I did also mention that the car wheels and side doors were dirty and she didn't have much to comment on it since another department details the car and sends it over to them... I would think that they would check everything before just handing the car over to the owners? Another thing to note is that the car only had one paper car mat in the driver's side, but she was sitting in the passenger side and obviously stepping on the floor during the inspection and didn't bother to put another one there. I basically had to ask her for another one before she drove the vehicle out of the garage for us. She ended up taking a paper place mat from another vehicle and mentioned that they usually come with one... I don't know if this is a policy, but sounds to me like carelessness or just being cheap...
Upon leaving the garage, I immediately noticed that the car dashboard is extremely dusty/dirty. I was already annoyed by the entire experience and attributed it to the fact that Tesla focuses on the technology and not the luxury experience that most car dealerships provide and tried to keep a positive mindset. However, it was also clear to me that the car was not detailed and definitely not inspected prior to handing it off to us-- I ended up finding hair in the cup holders, random scratches in the interior, and the left panel was broken near the hazard lights. There was also spider webs in the rear doors, like wtf?? In addition, the key cards that she gave us was also scratched up...
That's when I started to feel extremely frustrated. We just paid 60K+, but did not have the "new car" experience. Later on in the day, someone who knows more about cars happened to see our brand new Tesla Y and pointed out that there was a dent on the driver side of the car... Can this get any worse? Spoiler, YUP
We ended up going back to the Tesla center and an associate inspected the vehicle, took photos of the dent, and apologized for the horrible experience we had. They both explained that this is a one-off situation and would have the service team fix the dent and give us a credit for detailing. So far there's just a bunch of going back and forth and sending in photos for the issues, which I had to adamantly follow up on. Tesla asked for more photos and that's when I noticed that my rear door was bulging out slightly, thinking I left my door open, but nope. The door isn't aligned correctly so it can't properly close all the way. Upon further inspection, I realized that there is uneven gaps between panels in the trunk area and basically the entire backside of the car is not aligned properly. All this has been documented and provided to the original associate assisting up, but he has handed our issues over to someone else.
We just received a call from her today and she mentioned that she would need more photos of the dent. When we brought the car in, the associate took photos and we have sent in images, plus a video which clearly indicates the dent. And now she wants more photos? At this point, I feel like they're just pushing it off and wasting my time. We also brought up the issues with the gaps and our door not closing properly, but read online that other issues can arise from getting this fixed. Her advice was practically saying that what we read online is true and it's up to us if we want to get it fixed. What would you guys advise in regards to this situation? Is it worth it to get it fixed? Is it possible to just get a brand new vehicle? Has anyone else ever experienced something like this?
I hope no one else experiences this and make sure you meticulously check everything in daylight before signing any paperwork!!!
He pumped it up and off we went. Next day was a road trip to Virginia and in Maryland, the light came on again on a Friday evening. Guess what? I had a big honking nail next to the sidewall. I'll spare you the details but Tesla was very good with the service. We pumped up with tire temporarily and continued to Virginia. Tesla called us at 10:30 PM to make sure that we were ok and to make an emergency appointment for the replacement of the tire when service was open again in Virginia Beach.
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