How did your snagging list go?

[Jon L]

Just had my first Service Centre visit. My snagging list that I gave them before I even drove the car was;

• A few paint issues, one scratch and some dust / dirt under the lacquer
• Passenger front door alignment
• Frunk alignment
• Under tray not secure
• Rear light moisture

So they had the car two days. Picked it up today and instantly my heart sank as I pulled into the SC to see the front of my car with its silly frunk gap. Parked the loan car behind mine to see a rear light full of moisture.

Went in to speak to them. They realigned the passenger door, did the under tray and replaced the rear light. Paint work it needs to go back in for and they couldn't resolve the frunk gap. They are suggesting it needs a new frunk and bumper. They adjusted it as much as they could but it wont sit right. As for the rear light, they said they couldn't find anything wrong with the rear light but they replaced it anyway. I asked them if there were sure because its full of moisture. They came out and just calmly said oh the replacement must have been faulty as well, we will order a new one.

So its booked in again in a few weeks time.

I am curious how everyone else is getting on with their snagging lists? Are you getting the issues you find sorted? This is my first Tesla, I have never had a snagging list on a brand new car before and I have had a fair few. I love so much about my M3 but at the same time hate it as compared to the 2018 A5 sportback it replaced it feels like a home made kit car for fit and finish. On the phone they were very reassuring that these would all be sorted, but I have come away feeling frustrated and expecting a number of visits to get these items resolved.

 

[LongRanger]

I am experiencing the opposite so far compared to brand new 2016 Passat Alltrack, 2 year old Golf GTI 2016 and ex-demo 6 month old BMW 6 GT 2019. All 3 of those had significant quality issues out of the gate, they then settled down (apart from the Golf) but both the Passat and BMW were rendered undriveable for more than 2 weeks very early on in ownership. The Golf never recovered from rattles so bad it had to be a lemon, and water pump failed at 30k miles.

Let's hope the model 3 doesn't paint the total opposite picture, but so far it's a couple of rattles, one of which I've fixed myself already and a few bits of glue, plus some very minor/picky light cluster alignment into bodywork measurements - so no grounds for complaint really - esp on a lease.

 

[Tonybvi]

No snags with my MX! Well prepared on collection and after nearly a year of ownership I have still not found anything to complain about.
Well done Edinburgh SC.

 

[Jeeves]

I had many snags on mine. Took almost nine months and five visits to get them resolved. They do get there, but you need to keep pushing.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Same here, several snags on collection, glass alignment, water in rear lights, broken front ball joints, paint scuffs and chips, etc. All now fixed, but wasted a lot of my time driving to and from the SC and waiting for things to be fixed. All the snags on my car were things that would have been fixed before collection, during PDI, by any other car supplier. I don't believe that Tesla bother with a PDI, they just get the customer to pick up the snags afterwards.

 

[Drew57]

I have reason to believe that some of these failings may be SC specific.

Two of three small delivery issues were promptly fixed by Stockport SC & the Service Manager spoke to me at the end to check I was happy after the work was finished. The third required a Ranger visit & I got two phone calls prior to update me on progress with the part & check I would be available (one was from from a Service supervisor in West Drayton) . The ranger was professional & friendly and also phoned on his way to confirm ETA.

In addition, the car was missing the tow hook on delivery late on a Friday afternoon, I called Stockport Saturday morning & it was couriered to my home for Tuesday (on the SC visit mentioned above the Service Manager even asked if I had been happy with the way the missing part had been resolved)

I also have a friend who has been entirely happy with everything at the Stockport SC, the whole team seem customer focused & I've heard similar with Leeds too. Very disappointing that not all act in this way, also that Tesla expect the Service Centres to routinely rectify the failings of a woeful Fremont QA department.

 

[boater291]

Hearing stories like this makes me dread getting my (huge) snag list fixed. It's booked in the Birmingham SC on Monday - when I spoke to them on the phone during the week I got a a 'wow, that's a big list of things'. After reading these stories, I doubt they'll all get fixed. To make it as simple as possible for them, I've create a clear, detailed list of all the things that need fixing (and were promised to be fixed by delivery centre), I'll print this out and hand it to them!

At least I've got a loaner out of them, would be a nightmare otherwise

 

[MrBadger]

I have reason to believe that some of these failings may be SC specific.

I'll go so far and be more specific - its down to continuity of staff at the service centre.

We have had more than our fair share of service centre visits and some couldn't be more varied. Granted, recent events has been challenging, but it goes as far to emphasise the point.

Take our collection experience. A major problem was encountered with our car on collection - they had lost it. They spent 6 hours sorting the problem on a very busy day, keeping us up to date with progress. Then we were passed to someone else for car handover - he was a complete arse who wouldn't allow us to check the car externally. 8 minutes we were allowed for handover.

Follow up SC visit at West Drayton. Brilliant experience until passed a query to someone else. Another complete arse. Turned sour. Went to collect at time agreed. Car not ready. Apologies and explanations. Great. Then got text saying that they were keeping car for another day. Thankfully service guy was just around the corner. He looked into it - system error. Work still outstanding, but we got car back.

Roll forward many months to the follow up appt that got postponed on several occasions, often the day before. We had changed at this point to a different service centre, Brooklands and due to losing track of several threads of repairs (one started by delivery team, one by us via app, one by virtual service and one by West Drayton initial service) we decided to check what the definite list of outstanding items was and agree timeframes - by this time we were on verge of lockdown. Chap at Brooklands was brilliant, came up with an agreed list, he even added some items that we had previously given up on, like condensation in the lights. Agreed car to go back when we knew what direction things were going.

Returned for that appt. Car kept for several days. Returned with half the items not done or previously agreed items 'within tolerance' - we had had several weeks of +30C so no wonder the lights had dried. Other items not fixed due to items not in stock - precisely the same items the original months of delays we for.

Follow up to next appt, work complete. Got car back, found damage to paintwork etc. Another SC visit agreed. Told day before that car was being sent to bodyshop - they were only minor chips - it didn't need a bodyshop. Cancelled appt until we could discuss remedial work required.

So remedial appt. Brilliant. Apologies for damage and as same chap as before, he was disapointed that some of the agreed items had not been carried out. They would have been had he been around, but he had been furloughed so lost continuity.

Oh, collected car from remedial appt. Found damaged paintwork not resolved. Queried it. They sorted it whilst we went for a short walk. So no need for that bodyshop visit. The chap who agreed to work, it was his day off...


The majority of staff are great, although some arses. But the biggest issues are lack of continuity and attention to detail and Tesla's own computer systems and procedures. I hope Tesla don't make software for mission critical systems...

 

[phil4]

I can’t wait to pick up my new M3 in a coupe of weeks

 

[DS8819]

I can’t wait to pick up my new M3 in a coupe of weeks

I'm actually dreading collecting mine.

I have been considering cancelling my order several times over the last few weeks in view of all the defects that owners are reporting, and all the hassle that they experience trying to get the car in the condition that they expected on collection day.

Actually, I might still cancel it, its 50/50 at the moment.

I have very little confidence in Tesla delivering my vehicle in an acceptable condition, it's not a feeling I anticipated when shelling-out £50k for a car.

I have a huge checklist, so I am expecting my collection inspection to last several hours.

If there is anything amiss I will certainly not be driving the car away just to get the car off the SC forecourt, in-so-doing inconveniencing myself weeks or months further down the line.

I will not be accepting any b.s. about faults being "in-spec" either, if they make such a statement I will be asking them to provide evidence of "the spec" that they are referring to for me to view.

I will give them the opportunity to re-prepare the car to MY "spec",- 48 hours when I will return to re-inspect it. If it is acceptable to me then I will accept and drive it away. If not I will reject it and order a polestar.

 

[nightowl]

I have very little confidence in Tesla delivering my vehicle in an acceptable condition, it's not a feeling I anticipated when shelling-out £50k for a car.

I have a huge checklist, so I am expecting my collection inspection to last several hours.

I brought along a checklist (compiled from various places online) when picking up mine and was there for probably a couple of hours opening and closing things, eyeballing paintwork, gaps, material etc. Definitely worth going prepared. I went with a mixed feeling of "I hope I don't find anything bad" combined with the joy of being able to explore my new car.

There was only one significant thing I noticed during collection - large discoloured patch of the rear seats (white). Purely cosmetic, and the part is easily replaced (e.g. not like paintwork needing a respray) so I accepted the delivery. Visited SC to fix it a month or two later, some confusion had occurred as the team dealing with service bookings requested seat to be cleaned rather than replaced. SC very apologetic and rebooked for a ranger visit whilst also ordering the part. Another month or so later, seat replaced at my workplace. Took about 5-10 minutes. Happy with it other than that.

I haven't had most of the other problems people have talked about. Frunk hasn't been stuck (yet?), wiring loom did need to be addressed for water ingress but I booked this as a preventative measure (it never caused me a problem). I do get condensation in the rear lights but I'm not bothered about it. Really happy with the car overall, despite the seat issue on collection and confusion over getting that fixed.

 

[geordie12]

So what's the deal when you visit a SC?

I am booked in to get my boot sorted (misaligned), but it's not clear it I have to sit and wait for however long they take to fix it or if they just keep it if they provide a courtesy car so I can get on with my day?

I won't be able to leave the car without having a replacement and there doesn't appear to be a way of specifying that on the app.

 

[phil4]

I'm actually dreading collecting mine.

That’s what I meant

I think we both need to keep in mind though that forums like this tend to amplify the bad. As in people search out places to solve problems or find others with problems, and find places like this. Almost no one bothers when everything is fine.

that’s not to say there won’t be issues. Just that if you want to find many examples of issues a forum is a great place to find them.

 

[freekie]

Long list put to rights over a couple of months of visits to Brooklands. Always given a replacement car. Disappointing at the time but heading for 1st anniversary of pickup and I love love my M3.

 

[Neilio]

Couple of snags, no game changers. Frunk slightly misaligned, but I only noticed yesterday so will have to raise a ticket

Wonky rear number plate and loose speak grill. Both fixed in 5 mins

 

[Londonb]

I can’t wait to pick up my new M3 in a coupe of weeks

I’m dreading mine too in a fortnight. Expecting it to be like picking up a rental car with a walk around and listing all the defects.

 

[Wol747]

No real issues with my M S LR: paint OK, boot didn't seem to open more than halfway but later came good, and panel gaps on the bonnet big enough to stick my hand in. Since I'm 250Km from a SC I can live with that.

 

[Dougall1248]

No snags with my MX! Well prepared on collection and after nearly a year of ownership I have still not found anything to complain about.
Well done Edinburgh SC.

I wonder if this is an Edinburgh thing. I got a M3LR 4 weeks ago. My son got a MXLR in April. We both used Edinburgh and were delighted with the staff and service. Both cars were pretty well perfect on delivery. I tried hard to find something wrong having read horror reviews but could only find a loose stud in a mudflap which was remedied in 3 minutes. My son's MX was, and still is perfect.
I have visions of customers travelling from the South of England to pick up their cars at Edinburgh.

 

[MrBadger]

I wonder if this is an Edinburgh thing.

Quite possibly. Edinburgh seems to get excellent reports.

Whilst I have not dealt with Edinburgh, I have with a member of their staff. He was en route back from Southampton and had stopped off to Supercharge. I asked him if I could have an opinion of a potential problem with our car - still had camera blocked issue after an hours driving. Once he had finished his breakfast, he came over to talk. He was very good and like many Tesla employees clearly cared and wanted everything to be 'just right'. I think he was in a position to ensure it was, much to Edinburgh's benefit.

But I also got the impression that sometimes, things are outside their control. I don't how many cars Edinburgh delivers, but not surprising that West Drayton who reported delivered ~200 cars on day we collected have problems.

As for camera blocked - engineering were aware. Roll on cold humid mornings... hopefully the issue now sorted for new arrivals.

 

[LongRanger]

Folks don’t always assume the internet is a reliable guide to what you will encounter in reality. Some are having bad experiences - but several hundred if not a thousand or more cars have gone out in the last month or so, we have seen very few forum members end up with serious issues.

Of course that’ll only a percentage of owners as not everyone is on the forum - but I’m not aware of any significant chatter going on to suggest that every car is a dog.

You can’t go through life expecting everything to be crap, at least I can’t. I agree that serious faults are very disappointing and not acceptable but keep an open mind and remember Tesla is not the only brand to have product issues.

Yes I’ll admit to being nervous when arriving at the collection centre but despite another member visiting the previous day and reporting bad things, what I saw was generally pretty good. The only 2 things I’m left with worrying about are a steering wheel one spline position out of alignment from “straight”, and a rear rattle. That’s no better or worse than a hundred other models for sale from all the usual suspect manufacturers.

There is also a limit to how anal you can be when inspecting a vehicle, absolutely be thorough but you can’t start inventing a level of inspection for a model 3 that you would never have done on any other car. It’s a road to disappointment if you want to find problems that have never bothered you previously on any other car. Be realistic and be pragmatic when you are dealing with SC staff, they need to be told firmly but remember they are people and respond better to a pragmatic view than an argumentative one.

That being said, you all deserve acceptable products so I hope folks are getting what they want and feeling the “buzz” that is inevitable when driving away in a brand new Tesla.

Good luck !