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Model 3 - A surreal story of my soon to be car but probably not soon now

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New to the forum and this happened last Friday and i was still kinda shocked by the unexpected turn of events.

So, here's the long story. Got my reservation in on 3/31 standing probably 11th in line out the store early morning 5:30 am, waited patiently and saw my reservation move to configure on 2/22 and configured my M3 that night in my favorite color Red with EAP and base wheels.

Got a call from Nevada to schedule my delivery on Apr 6th and was told car would be arriving soon to Indianapolis and i could figure out financing and the next steps. Got all my financing pre-approved and kept in touch with the Nevada Tesla rep. So, last week, while talking about financing and going over some trade-in estimates for one of my cars, i asked for my car's whereabouts and he says that it's already in the local service center. So i get my pro forma agreement for my bank and this was Thursday. I didn't get in touch with my bank again and wanted to follow it up on Friday but I got busy and I couldn't do it on Friday but decided, hey, why not snoop on the Tesla service center lot and check out my car since i already knew my VIN.

So, after work, me and family go to the service center and look in the lot and see a few M3's and a couple of them were in Red but had the sport wheels. Hmm, not there. I still went out and checked the Red car's VIN's to see the range and i was pulling up my tesla page to check my VIN. Curiously, it went back to my reservation code. Strange i thought. Maybe it was in the back or in the service bay or at a different location, so, i figured i would go in and ask if i could take a sneak peek of it before i schedule for delivery next week. While going in, i spot an M3 in the service bay, with the base wheels, kinda dusty but looking sharp. I thought it could have been another customer's M3 but that's exactly like mine.

The service receptionist greets me and after a bit of small talk, i state my reason for driving around the lot a few times before coming in and he understandably can sense my enthusiasm and asks me if someone reached out to me and i told him the Nevada Rep said my car was already here and i wanted to take a look before i squared away the money part before planning for delivery. So, he asks for my name to look up and the moment i finished my first name, he was like..uh, you are 'selective'? Um, you might want to take a seat in the lounge, my manager would like to speak with you. That sounded a bit unnerving but i thought maybe they were trying to clear out cars for delivery and wanted to speak about finalizing everything for delivery, so i waited in the lounge.

A few mins in, the delivery manager and a OA come in from the service bay area and they were shocked to see me there and that they were deciding if they should have called me or not. They tell me that unfortunately, my M3 had a bit of a mishap and it literally happened a few hrs before i came in and they were still figuring out how to proceed and what the next course of action is before they reach out to me. Apparently, the new cars were parked to the side of the service center adjacent to a construction area and a piece of rebar from that site flew, pierced the rear glass and the rear passenger side seat. I was kinda dumbstruck and dazed by what i heard. Never did i imagine something like that to happen. Still dazed, i kinda heard vaguely the manager explaining how they were doing their best and would figure out options etc but i just wanted to see my car.

At this point, wife walks in and she kinda had the same reaction i did and we couldnt believe it but we wanted to see our car. The delivery manager then points out that the dusty Red one in the bay was mine. After speaking with the service manager(i think) who was in the bay area about liability concerns etc, they asked us not to document any of it since it's still their vehicle(so no pics), and we walked to the car. It was beautiful. We walked around the back and we see about a 2 or 3 inch hole in the rear glass and a tear to the rear passenger shoulder part of the seat.

I walked to the front near the drivers seat, touched the seat and door and felt like crying in a long time. I didnt want to see it anymore and walked back into the lounge without looking back. They said they are working on options and are figuring out what they can do and present them on Monday/Tuesday. Still in shock and it all feels like a dream but it's not.

Last i checked, on the tesla page, i have a new VIN allocated. This is a higher VIN than mine. I'll hear them out.

TLDR; Found out my M3 was in town, snooped, asked and got shellshocked by knowing a piece of rebar impaled my car.

Moral: Pick your M3 before something can happen to it.
 
Wow... that really sucks. On the bright side, a later VIN should mean less early production kinks.

I can't help but wonder how a piece of rebar was shot in a way and with enough velocity to break glass and tear into the seat... did someone throw it javelin-style directly at the car?
I am not sure how either and the construction area was like over 50 feet away atleast although it was a 4 or 5 story building.Not sure who was doing what for that to fly over. They mentioned that one of their guys were walking past and they saw the rebar lodged in.

If you noticed, the date for friday was the 13th :/ Never believed this stuff but now makes me conscious.
 
Actually I can't believe they let you in to the same location to see the car after a flying piece of metal went thru the glass of the car just a few hours ago. I think if anyone higher up at Tesla read this, that manager who let you in would get into some trouble.
 
Actually I can't believe they let you in to the same location to see the car after a flying piece of metal went thru the glass of the car just a few hours ago. I think if anyone higher up at Tesla read this, that manager who let you in would get into some trouble.

I think the car was in the service bay when they looked at it and they had already gone around the outside of the building before entering.

So, after work, me and family go to the service center and look in the lot and see a few M3's and a couple of them were in Red but had the sport wheels. Hmm, not there. I still went out and checked the Red car's VIN's to see the range and i was pulling up my tesla page to check my VIN.
After speaking with the service manager(i think) who was in the bay area about liability concerns etc, they asked us not to document any of it since it's still their vehicle(so no pics), and we walked to the car. It was beautiful. We walked around the back and we see about a 2 or 3 inch hole in the rear glass and a tear to the rear passenger shoulder part of the seat.
 
Pretty sure the car was in the service bay, not out in the lot next to the construction area where the mishap happened. Sugar happens, do people just not have anything better to do with their life? Omg, a new window and seat, someone will surely be receiving a sub par vehicle! Smh.
 
I think the car was in the service bay when they looked at it and they had already gone around the outside of the building before entering.

Now that I read OP's post again, he did mention the service bay in the beginning. If OP was there a few hours early and asked to see his car, I wonder if they have taken him to the lot next to the construction to take a look when that piece of metal flied toward the car? Or if OP never went there, would they have just fix the problem and delivery that car to him a week or 2 late without telling him? I think OP is very very lucky!
 
On the bright side, the SC truly sounds concerned and looks to be taking care of the situation. It does make me wonder if the rebar story wasn't the full truth, but it's irrelevant since they are spotting you a whole new car.
I think the story in genuine because another customer who was having his Model 3 in(was on a tow truck) walked while towards us we were looking and brought up the rebar story, so i doubt it was something else that caused it. Besides its almost a clean 2-3 inch hole that looks be something that poked in. I didnt see the rebar though.

The rep said they have all this documented on their end.
 
Now that I read OP's post again, he did mention the service bay in the beginning. If OP was there a few hours early and asked to see his car, I wonder if they have taken him to the lot next to the construction to take a look when that piece of metal flied toward the car? Or if OP never went there, would they have just fix the problem and delivery that car to him a week or 2 late without telling him? I think OP is very very lucky!
Glad i wasn't there when the rebar flew in. That could turn ugly that i wouldn't even want to imagine.
 
Maybe, maybe not. There are limits to what can be done with a car in the way of repair and still be sold as "new". So it will either be sold as new or it will become a display/demo car and then get sold at a discount later.

You'd be amazed at how high that bar is. Apparently in Indiana, glass and tires don't count, and anything else needs to be above 4% of the MSRP:

Automobile Dealership Fraud :: Indianapolis Car Sales Fraud Attorney Robert Duff

So, the glass isn't a big deal, Tesla is totally allowed to replace that. Any other damage would need to be above $2,000. And of course, that can be $2,000 at Tesla's cost, not at what a normal person would pay, because as long as they have an invoice for $2,000 or less, they are OK.

I once bought a new car and after I got it, found glass all over under the carpets, a huge scratch on the interior door, and when I took the door apart, they had left off a bunch of parts putting it back together. I looked into it, and it was totally legal for them to have not disclosed any of that. It was up to me to look the car over more carefully before buying it even though it was "new"
 
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ah really sorry you're having to wait a bit longer for your Red Model 3 but sounds like another is on it's way to you. Glad they are taking care of you quickly. If it was going to happen to the car count yourself lucky that it happened before you signed your papers and took it out of the delivery center. We've had a few stories shared here on the forum of people who have had their cars get in an accident while at the service center while being prepped or some cars in an accident being delivered to it.

Look at it this way, you have an interesting story to tell and count your blessings! You have to come back and post photos of your car when it gets delivered.
 
Last i checked, on the tesla page, i have a new VIN allocated. This is a higher VIN than mine. I'll hear them out.

I don't know what happened to my Model 3, but I was a 5:30am, 2/22 Config and VIN assigned 2 weeks later.

Then a week after they had assigned my VIN, they removed it back to a reservation number. So, my wait was longer and my VIN is now higher... let the wait begin, again :)