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Is Tesla cheating customers by selling damaged vehicles as New ?

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Hello All,

I received the MVPA 2 days before my delivery date and it said this car was a Previous service/demo vehicle. Upon asking why I was not told about this before, the ground team at Cleveland said it is something that you will have to talk to your sales advisor about.

My sales Advisor called me one day before the delivery and he told me this is not a demo vehicle, instead this was a defective piece which is now repaired. I again asked him why I was not told about this before. He had no answer. He said he will see what he can do about this. I emailed the sales advisor and called the Cleveland ground team to send damage disclaimer and all other details.

3 hours before delivery, I called the Cleveland ground team to see if they had an update. An hour before the delivery, i received a call from Operations Advisor at Cleveland and now I AM BEING TOLD THAT THIS CAR WAS A PART OF HAIL DAMAGE AND SEVERAL DOOR PANELS WERE DAMAGED. Irrespective of whether the car is repaired or not, customers have every right to know what they are buying. Hiding such a thing and writing the description in the MVPA is CHEATING.

I cannot get help from anyone at this point and lost trust in sales and customer service.

Has anyone experienced similar issue ?
 
...Hiding such a thing and writing the description in the MVPA is CHEATING...
To clarify: Did you 1) "customize" a new car or did you get an 2)"inventory" one?

1) Customize: There are state laws that exempt certain damage disclosures on new cars such as flat tires or the brand new car fell off the transport truck or a rookie worker tried to park but got into a collision that requires the new bumper replacement...

2) Inventory: The reasons it is priced that way is it could be a perfect car or with wears and tears after thousands of guests in the showroom get in and out of that car. It could be an orphan car because the owner dropped out or because the owner spotted some imperfections....
 
To clarify: Did you 1) "customize" a new car or did you get an 2)"inventory" one?

1) Customize: There are state laws that exempt certain damage disclosures on new cars such as flat tires or the brand new car fell off the transport truck or a rookie worker tried to park but got into a collision that requires the new bumper replacement...

2) Inventory: The reasons it is priced that way is it could be a perfect car or with wears and tears after thousands of guests in the showroom get in and out of that car. It could be an orphan car because the owner dropped out or because the owner spotted some imperfections....
Tam,

Thank you for the explanation. I think it is an inventory one. I was under the impression that inventory ones are the one that people refused delivery (changed their mind after booking).
I refused the delivery until i get a proper explanation from the sales advisor. I totally understand damage can happen but i also feel it is important to the let the customer know. Its up to them to go ahead any way or wait for another one.

My other problem is the communication gap between the advisor who sits in a different state and the ground team. The service sucks and i cannot tell you the degree to which it does. I dont think a descriptive word exists. They get back to when ever they want to . . .
 
You never said if you accepted the car and took delivery - did you? And as Tam asked, was this an inventory car? Because people are waiting months for NEW MY's now.
I did not take delivery yet. I was shocked when i came to know about this like an hour before delivery. They told me about the damage after asking them questions and demanding a proof for it. This would never come out if i did not stress so much. It would have been a normal sale and god know if this damage would appear in carfax.
 
If it turns out you don't want that one and want another one from inventory it may be a long wait - seem to be very few anywhere in inventory. Yes the communication can be very poor unfortunately. As most of us came from luxury cars we've gotten used to a certain level of service you won't find with Tesla. If and when you finally take delivery you'll likely have few interactions with service and some centers tend to be much better than others, but they're great cars once you get through the initial purchase part - good luck!
 
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If it turns out you don't want that one and want another one from inventory it may be a long wait - seem to be very few anywhere in inventory. Yes the communication can be very poor unfortunately. As most of us came from luxury cars we've gotten used to a certain level of service you won't find with Tesla. If and when you finally take delivery you'll likely have few interactions with service and some centers tend to be much better than others, but they're great cars once you get through the initial purchase part - good luck!
Dennisis,

They bluntly told, if you don't want this car you ll be put back in the queue and a new car will be delivered to you by March. As much as i love their cars, it looks like there is no value for the dollar amount you put it. . .
 
I did not take delivery yet. I was shocked when i came to know about this like an hour before delivery. They told me about the damage after asking them questions and demanding a proof for it. This would never come out if i did not stress so much. It would have been a normal sale and god know if this damage would appear in carfax.
This type of pre-sale repair will not show up in Carfax. Most dealers would never have told you they replaced a couple panels or repainted due to lot or transportation damage. As someone else said, this is totally normal.
 
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Dennisis,

They bluntly told, if you don't want this car you ll be put back in the queue and a new car will be delivered to you by March. As much as i love their cars, it looks like there is no value for the dollar amount you put it. . .
Yea, you're pretty much screwed on that account. They know the cars are in demand so they can get away with the poor service. I've had my car (pre-existing inventory) for a few months and STILL waiting on replacement trim. There's always one excuse or another... the previous tech put it in wrong, etc... All I know is I get an email every 2 weeks pushing my appointment out another 2 weeks. This has literally gone on for >10weeks.

When I got my car, it had 100 more miles on it than the website indicated. What are you gonna do? refuse delivery over that? They're not going to adjust the price and know you want the car... it's "take it or go to the back of the line". I took mine and am overall satisfied. The trim thats damage is hard to see, but I'd still like it replaced... its the last remaining fix from delivery (2 others were mechanical issues with the car).
 
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I have the right to know what vehicle i am buying.
Strictly speaking, you might not. The law (especially here in Ohio) specifying what you’re owed in this case was almost certainly commissioned and written by a conglomerate of dealership owners, then handed directly to Larry Householder with a substantial “campaign donation.”

It’s weird that the car got labeled as demo instead of new, but others here are probably correct. Transport damage happens all the time, repairing that damage is factored into the timeline for delivery, and most people — whose MVPA still show the vehicle as brand-new — never know.

There’s another whole population of vehicles which will have failed QA before leaving the factory. They don’t throw those out or sell them as used; they remediate whatever defects they can find and ship them out.
 
Here's Tesla's definition. :oops:

A new car = a car that has never been registered even if it has 1000 miles on it (which is laughable).
Demo = Still not registered in some states thus sold as new with little or no discounts.
Then there are previous service loaners which would have been registered as company leased vehicles and sold with larger discounts.
 
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Dennisis,

They bluntly told, if you don't want this car you ll be put back in the queue and a new car will be delivered to you by March. As much as i love their cars, it looks like there is no value for the dollar amount you put it. . .
I’m not sure what you expect them to do? Conjure a new car out of thin air? If they had another available car on the lot with your customizations I’m sure they would be willing to sell you that one instead. But they don’t have that option. You seem to have unrealistic expectations for a car where the wait time is currently ~5 months.

And finally - why does the previous damage even matter IF (note the IF) they have repaired it fully? Inspect the car carefully and reject it if you find faults. But it seems very silly to reject it before you have seen it.

Having said that, them not telling the whole story about what happened is indeed frustrating. They should be more forthcoming about it.
 
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