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Master thread: Delivery issues (panel gaps, delivery delays / issues / problems etc)

Discussion in 'Model 3: Ordering, Production, Delivery' started by Protect1989, Dec 13, 2020.

  1. Peteski

    Peteski Active Member

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    Wondering why people don't reject their cars on dodgy panel gaps or wondering why Tesla don't fix the issue?
    I think the answers to both are pretty simple really. Most buyers don't really care all THAT much about panel gaps unless they are truly horrific and Tesla have figured that out too, although they do sometimes push the limit of what an average person might consider "horrific". Mine is not so bad really and I very doubt my wife (main driver of this car) would even notice. But she has already noticed how nice it is to drive around in!
     
  2. Peteski

    Peteski Active Member

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    A quick look around any carpark will confirm that this is not actually true. Plus there's a lot of (IMHO) brainwashing about certain brands being "perfect", when in reality they are not much better than Tesla in many cases.

    At the end of the day nobody buys a Tesla for its perfect build quality, but there are other far more compelling reasons to consider one. If Tesla build quality was known to be flawless and I was unlucky enough to receive one with several quality issues then of course I would reject it and get another perfect one. But I know from experience this is not likely to happen. I would just get another one with a slightly different set of issues.
     
  3. royinla

    royinla Member

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    So I was supposed to have a delivery tomorrow. Got a call today from DC saying the car is coming but they know there is a "small" scratch by the passenger door and first will send it to the SC for fixing and it could be a few more days until I actually able to take delivery (depending on the turn around of the SC). I asked if I can take delivery and then get it fixed along with any other items if I find, and they said no because the SC was already scheduled and it will also look at anything else that needs to be inspected and fixed. On the one hand seems fine with me to get the car inspected and ready to go, but on the other hand, does that ring any red flags here? I must note that I found this car in inventory on 12/30 which is the same config as my mid-November order that got pushed to March, so technically someone may have rejected it? Should I care?
     
  4. Peteski

    Peteski Active Member

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    You could ask for photos of the "small" scratch to see what damage they are actually repairing. The fact that they have even noticed it probably means it's a pretty big scrape in reality.
     
  5. geekflyer

    geekflyer Member

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    #105 geekflyer, Jan 5, 2021
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2021
    Many of us, incl. me would probably better been off with rejecting our cars at delivery, but I believe there is a psychological component and unfamiliarity with the process consequences of rejecting a car for most first time tesla buyers.

    Generally speaking, while this is not my first car, it was the first car I ever ordered. All other cars I previously purchased, I only made the decision "to purchase it" after checking out / test driving that particular vehicle and it was always a car that was simply in the inventory of the dealer. If you take a car from a dealers inventory there's not really a "rejection" process involved, since you only file *any* paperwork after you've seen and driven the car.

    With Tesla, you order the car, pay 100$ deposit, wait for multiple weeks, tell your friend your getting a Tesla at day X, secure financing, register insurance (the last two steps are usually even VIN-specific) etc.
    By the time you get to actually "inspect" your new car, you're already half-way committed to this car plus you had probably weeks of anticipation. At that point it simply feels more "painful" to reject the car/abort the transaction (if you were lucky enough to know that you can even reject the car, which some folks don't know), compared to simply walking off the lot of a traditional car dealership.
    Furthermore when you consider to reject the car, tesla will usually not give you any good estimate on how long it'd take to get another one (and you're being told you may lose out on benefits like 1-year free supercharging), so rejecting a car creates additional days of uncertainty.

    One of my takeaways is that with Tesla, you really have to prepare yourself mentally and organizationally to the event of rejecting the car.
    As someone said well on TMC, or was it reddit?:
    "When you pickup your tesla, go there with the expectation that you're going to reject the car and consider yourself lucky if you didn't have to.".

    One can't basically rely on Tesla to deliver a car in time and quality.

    For some people the wait time and uncertainty is acceptable, since the end-product (if you get a "good" tesla) is without any real competition/comparison at the moment.
    However, if you desire a frictionless experience, getting a car right now, and not having to deal with checklists and other tesla-specifics, you should go to a traditional brand or dealership.

    Really someone should create a tesla order and delivery crash-course that goes over all these things and makes sure you're not getting ****ed by tesla. I'm aware of all these checklists users have created, but they typically only talk about what to check for, but not what is acceptible / normal "gaps", and how a potential rejection process works.
    I'm in fact thinking of creating one myself.
     
    • Like x 1
  6. Peteski

    Peteski Active Member

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    All good points above.

    With Tesla I think you have to go in with the view that you are buying a car that has NOT had a full PDI that a conventional dealership would provide before customer hand-over. So a snag list is pretty much inevitable and IME our local Tesla SC has been very good at sorting out such issues (IME better than most conventional dealerships, but I guess that depends on the staff in your local SC).

    Our MX had maybe half a dozen minor snags on delivery and they were all resolved quickly by the SC without any fuss or drama. Having just taken delivery of a new Model 3 it's pretty much the same story so far, although the SC has still to resolve the snags on this car. But they are all minor (it's easy to blow up trivial issues out of all proportion when you start reading stuff on these forums) and don't detract from the overall experience. Frankly, rejecting this particular car would be a waste of my own time, unless for some reason the SC refused to resolve the obvious issues raised.

    I would only consider rejecting a Tesla on the spot if there was something fairly serious wrong with it e.g. multiple electrical faults/warnings that couldn't be resolved there and then or some obvious crash damage in transit. Stuff like panel gaps and other minor QC issues are par for the course with Tesla and usually can be resolved to an acceptable degree with the assistance of a good SC. For those who can't live with that scenario a Tesla is probably not the best car for them. Personally I much prefer Tesla to the complete BS I got from many conventional car dealerships over the years. Absolutely no regrets here!
     
  7. Cleo-n-Company

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    I'm totally with you as far as the conventional car dealership model. It's a total pain in the ass - kind of like a boring sitcom episode you have seen 8 times, and are being chained in a chair to watch it for the 9th time.

    But... at the end of the day... those conventional dealerships send you on the way in a car that received a 96 point "final check" sheet completed before delivery. The car was detailed to a shine. If you see some annoying or niggling little issue before driving away, the sales guy rushes the car back to the service / detailing department. He also calls you a couple days after delivery. If you can't provide a "10" across the board for the sales and delivery experience, he'll practically plead for you to return to the dealership pronto.

    Tesla can leave its current sales ordering model intact. There's a lot to like about it. But fanatics and trolls aside (who are way too embedded to have much objectivity in this issue) I kinda doubt the general buying public will accept the current delivery and service process in the long term.

    When the cybertruck shows up - that's going to bring in a different kind of buyer. The launch will become a major flame-out if the current bugaboos aren't soon addressed.
     
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  8. Cleo-n-Company

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    Thanks for your thoughtful response.

    I'm no psychologist (Elon could use one, but I digress), but I think it's really interesting how you describe the pain of rejection and uncertainty at the time of delivery.

    Those kinds of emotions usually don't enter my mind's equation during the car purchase, but maybe there are many changes afoot in the consumer car buying process.

    Regardless - am hoping your Tesla treats you well. I'm a little cynical at this point, but still want other owners to enjoy their cars (at least when they're behaving themselves!)
     
  9. rrohde

    rrohde Member

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    #109 rrohde, Jan 7, 2021
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2021
    I've spotted this almost v-shaped mark on my left rear wheel after delivery - what could have caused that? And, what will Tesla do here for me? Also, looks almost like someone used a magic marker to hide it...

    2021-01-07_14-42.png

    Edit:

    I wonder if the delivery guy backed over this taut restraint the metal hook snapping against that wheel? That's the only thing I can think of. I did notice him stopping abruptly, getting out of the car, messing with something, getting back in, and then rolling off the trailer.

    2021-01-06_22-25.png
     
  10. Shadowfox

    Shadowfox Member

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    After two Teslas all I can say about quality is that if this is what is considered “bad quality” I’m actually a bit peeved that other companies have better (and presumably more expensive) QA processes because it means I’ve been paying all my life for a quality level I don’t actually want/need.
     
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  11. Peteski

    Peteski Active Member

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    I would expect a replacement wheel simple as that.
     
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  12. Peteski

    Peteski Active Member

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    I agree. Tesla spend the money on really important stuff like design and genuine innovation. A lot of turd polishing goes on elsewhere for sure.
     
  13. Cleo-n-Company

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    Surely you jest. So you're telling us you wouldn't care if you opened up your new iPhone box and there was a big gouge on the back?

    You wouldn't care if your new laptop had a few burnt out pixels out of the box ?

    Gee.. I'd like to sell stuff to you for sure :eek:
     
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  14. Cleo-n-Company

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    I'd ask for a new wheel. If nothing else - if your Tesla is leased - this is exactly the kind of thing they will ding you for and charge you big bucks upon lease return.
     
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  15. Peteski

    Peteski Active Member

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    Using that analogy, I’d rather have an iPhone with cosmetic damage than an old Nokia dumb phone.

    Relating it to my latest Tesla M3, it had a few slightly dubious panel gaps on delivery, but it still massively outperforms a 3 series BMW in every single respect I can think of that really matters. Overall quality is also actually very good aside from the niggles on delivery.

    It would be the icing on the cake if the build quality was perfect, but it’s not so bad in the vast majority of cases unless you get really anal about stuff - and some people clearly do. It’s obviously a different matter if you have serious operational issues or significant damage. I haven’t personally experienced that in my 2 Teslas so easy for me to say!
     
  16. jmbloom_m3p

    jmbloom_m3p Supporting Member

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    That's called "Whoops, we curbed his wheel and tried to cover it up"
    Ask for new wheel. Ridiculous.
     
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  17. natman316

    natman316 Member

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    Got my Model 3 yesterday, funny enough not much quality issues outside but my center screen has crashed twice already! First it was behaving weird , restarted and was fine. This morning got in the car and the screen didnt turn on (but I was able to drive) for about 3 minutes. Anyone had this issue before? Kind of unexpected to have software issues rather than build quality
     
  18. Peteski

    Peteski Active Member

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    Software crashes are not unusual in my 3 year Tesla experience. But never had anything that a quick re-boot hasn’t sorted. I’ve only had my Model 3 for a week and so far no issues.
     
  19. Cleo-n-Company

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    I was never expecting a perfect build and perfect reliability from my S. But since the car was warrantied, not to mention pretty damn expensive, I was expecting what one would refer to as a "premium" service experience.

    What I do find rather interesting... it seems like the service experience is superior in the UK - Canada - and some of the other European markets.

    It's really sad that the Tesla corporate culture doesn't place the same emphasis in its home market.
     
  20. royinla

    royinla Member

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    Hi all - so I finally picked my M3P yesterday! LOVE IT. This is my first Tesla and I did notice driving today on the freeway that I could hear the wind from the front side windows. I know the new 2021 has double pane glass which supposed to help but I just wanted to ask if this is something somewhat normal? It is not loud in a way that I can't listen to music or talk on the phone, but noticeable at least for someone coming from Audi which I can compare to. Thoughts?
     
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