How to fight this? Suffering excessive stone chips

[Jon L]

Moderator comment - renamed thread from 'How to fight this?'

Hi all. I need some advice. My model 3 LR is two months old and I have noticed that the paint is coming off the lower sills on both sides. Being told its stone chips that are causing the damage which I don't dispute. However this is a 2 month old car with only 2100 miles on the clock. Of which 510 was one trip up north and back and 400 are trips to the service centre to rectify issues.

I have a 4 year lease and if this is the wear its showing after 2 months its not going to last 4 years. Not only is it unsightly the lease company will most likely say its not fair wear and tear and when I hand it back will charge me.

How do I get Tesal to rectify this?

 

[Jason71]

There is supposed to be a layer of stone chip guard under the paint on the sills. I assume that grey is that and not actually metal?
Doesn'took like your paint is adhered properly to the lower layer. Does not look normal. I have done 12k and have nothing like that.

 

[NorfolkMustard]

It looks like it has no clear-coat ? Paint shouldn’t be flaking off like that, that’s not just stone chips.

perhaps take it to an independent paint specialist for a report, ask your lease company or insurance company who they suggest.

 

[Durzel]

Agree with the above. Stone chips should not be taking paint off like that.

 

[Js1977]

I agree with others.. those are not a pattern of stone chips to my untrained eye. I wish I could be of more help

 

[Ant M3]

I’d ask a specialist to have a look and give their opinion .... I’m not an expert at all but it looks like the paint hasn’t bonded in that area

 

[Alistairuk]

I see your drive way / parking spot is made of small stones... do you find they stick to the tyres when you drive off? I’ve had to drive ridiculously slowly off my gravel drive way and I can still hear the stones hitting the bottom of the car...

 

[Dilly]

My drive is 200 metres of pea shingle. I did fit mud flaps after a couple of months but there’s not a mark on my sills.

 

[Rooster6655]

Independent analysis, take it back to Tesla with this, either speak to service manager in person or get their email and email them, if they fail to sort anything out then look into getting a third party quote for fixing and then follow up with a letter to Tesla head office with intention of claiming money through the court system.You may then suddenly find the service centre to be helpful

 

[Cnixon]

Independent analysis, take it back to Tesla with this, either speak to service manager in person or get their email and email them, if they fail to sort anything out then look into getting a third party quote for fixing and then follow up with a letter to Tesla head office with intention of claiming money through the court system.You may then suddenly find the service centre to be helpful

Th need to involve the lease company. They will be ok with you doing all the work but you need to tell them what in you said in your first post

Hi all. I need some advice. My model 3 LR is two months old and I have noticed that the paint is coming off the lower sills on both sides. Being told its stone chips that are causing the damage which I don't dispute. However this is a 2 month old car with only 2100 miles on the clock. Of which 510 was one trip up north and back and 400 are trips to the service centre to rectify issues.

I have a 4 year lease and if this is the wear its showing after 2 months its not going to last 4 years. Not only is it unsightly the lease company will most likely say its not fair wear and tear and when I hand it back will charge me.

How do I get Tesal to rectify this?

You need to involve the lease company. They will be ok with you doing all the work but you need to tell them so they have a record and agree with them that if you are not satisfied you want them to get involved. I have just reached that point with my paint woes and my recommendation is get them involved now because dealing with Tesla is going to ruin your sanity!

 

[Cnixon]

Sorry post went wrong comment was for OP.

 

[Jonslatt]

I also have similar issue. 13000 miles and just over a year old. Jet washed my car yesterday with a domestic Karcher jet wash (K4) using the medium car setting. A section of paint about 3” by 2” has peeled off just in front of the left rear wheel exposing the plastic sill.
Thank fully I asked them to check the paint quality in this area about 4 months ago as I was concerned about the quality. Haven’t broached it with them yet as still locked in a legal dispute about misrepresentation.
Took M3P in for squeaky front suspension thinking warranty issue as know problem. Told had three buckled wheels that were unsafe and needed replacing and suspension obviously due to impact damage. £2600 bill. Got the alloys back and took them to an independent wheel specialist. Minor dent to the inside rim on two of the wheels which was of no consequence and not even worth repairing. Couldn’t actually find damage on third wheel. Attached photo is the worst wheel. Awaiting a reply from UK customer services/legal dept but suspect going to small claims court courtesy of my free household legal insurance so nothing to lose.

 

[Jon L]

So nearly a month on from when I originally posted this. Still no joy. The Service Centre have said its caused by stone chips and therefore not covered by the warranty.

I have challenged this and said a 2 month old car with barely over 2000 miles on it should not be suffering from road rash. I appreciate one or two big stones may chip the paint but there are over 10 on each side of the car. I drive mainly on A roads with a small bit of motorway.

Not sure what else I can do.

 

[Zakalwe]

Contact Trading Standards.

 

[SpareHeadOne]

So nearly a month on from when I originally posted this. Still no joy. The Service Centre have said its caused by stone chips and therefore not covered by the warranty.

I have challenged this and said a 2 month old car with barely over 2000 miles on it should not be suffering from road rash. I appreciate one or two big stones may chip the paint but there are over 10 on each side of the car. I drive mainly on A roads with a small bit of motorway.

Not sure what else I can do.

Write them a letter or email detailing the timeline and explaining that you believe you have a case under the Consumer Rights Act for the car not being of satisfactory quality (it is a £40k+ car after all).

You have the right to a repair or replacement: if you find a problem after the first 30 days are up and within the first six months, the retailer is given one chance to take remedial action – either by repairing it or replacing the car; they get to choose which, though, and most will opt for the cheaper option of repair.

If the car is repaired then you need to declare that you are satisfied with the repair and they are not allowed to repeatedly attempt the same repair - they get one go and then they have to replace the car or offer you a refund.

I had to go down exactly the same route when my PowerWall stopped working after about six weeks because they just kept claiming it was working properly (it only held about 20% charge, so it wasn't) and they replaced it.

Mostly I think these problems boil down to people on the front line not being briefed about the legal obligations because the companies (this is not limited to Tesla) don't want to deal with the inconvenience and expense.

As others have noted, that damage should not be happening on a vehicle that's so new, I've had cars with over 100k miles on them that didn't have a 10th of that.

 

[NewbieT]

Write them a letter or email detailing the timeline and explaining that you believe you have a case under the Consumer Rights Act for the car not being of satisfactory quality (it is a £40k+ car after all).

You have the right to a repair or replacement: if you find a problem after the first 30 days are up and within the first six months, the retailer is given one chance to take remedial action – either by repairing it or replacing the car; they get to choose which, though, and most will opt for the cheaper option of repair.

If the car is repaired then you need to declare that you are satisfied with the repair and they are not allowed to repeatedly attempt the same repair - they get one go and then they have to replace the car or offer you a refund.

I had to go down exactly the same route when my PowerWall stopped working after about six weeks because they just kept claiming it was working properly (it only held about 20% charge, so it wasn't) and they replaced it.

Mostly I think these problems boil down to people on the front line not being briefed about the legal obligations because the companies (this is not limited to Tesla) don't want to deal with the inconvenience and expense.

As others have noted, that damage should not be happening on a vehicle that's so new, I've had cars with over 100k miles on them that didn't have a 10th of that.

Send the letter to the lease company - your contract is with them.

 

[Jon L]

Thank you all for your help. I have sent all the photos and exchange of emails from the service centre to the lease company and they are going to look into it. As the Service Centre wanted lots of photos before I took the car in, over and above those from the App. At no point did they say we won't do that, they said thanks we have it booked in with the paint booth.

 

[Wol747]

I've heard that the California environmental regs don't allow the "normal" paints and the ones Tesla has to use don't have the same staying power. I don't know if this is correct, or what the real world difference is.

 

[Rooster6655]

I have challenged this and said a 2 month old car with barely over 2000 miles on it should not be suffering from road rash.

There is most definitely something wrong with their paint, as I had a few chips in the first week of a replaced part but never had any in the next year, I believe the paint wasn't put on properly or the repaired paint was not built to last.

So nearly a month on from when I originally posted this. Still no joy. The Service Centre have said its caused by stone chips and therefore not covered by the warranty.

Just wondering what have you said/done to them in the past month?

Tesla are not some company that will just give in if it comes at a cost to them (Premium internet exception), seems you expect them to change their mind without being harsher with them. Be prepared to return the car, even though you like it you can't accept faulty good.

Here is what I would do:
-Monday send a letter signed for to their head office and service centre addressed to branch/service manager informing them you will be filing court action in 10 working days if your issues is not resolved.
-If no response then continue with court action

 

[Rooster6655]

I've heard that the California environmental regs don't allow the "normal" paints and the ones Tesla has to use don't have the same staying power. I don't know if this is correct, or what the real world difference is.

Yes but doesn't explain why 95% of cars don't have the problem, its just they are inconsistent