Model 3 delivery: My Existing inventory Car sold as new, but I don't think it is new

[muZeekal]

Hey everyone - hoping someone can shed some light on this extremely fishy circumstance that happened as I took delivery on my M3 today;

I saw a local availability of a new M3 LR pop up in inventory last weekend. I quickly ordered it to secure the VIN. I picked it up today, but noticed a couple of fishy things:

1) The temp registration that was printed/on the dash (California plates) was registered in someone else's name. I quickly asked the delivery associate, and they said that the person who ordered it failed to show up at their delivery timeframe and thus forfeited the vehicle. They quickly switched out the temp plate for mine, also providing the accurate temp registration.
2) There was a congratulatory note in the car addressed to this person. Perhaps a sloppy oversight to remove it.
3) As I drove it home, I browsed around the menu and got to the section where the registered key information was. This original person's iPhone was assigned as a key to the vehicle. This is super worrisome to me since I don't think there is a way to set up your mobile phone/device as a key UNLESS you take delivery on the vehicle — something the delivery associates said did not happen.

I'm really taken a back at this, and feel conned in more ways than one. Has anyone had/heard of a similar incident? Or is able to advise on this?

 

[muZeekal]

Also forgot to mention; the car had 51 miles on the odometer. I asked if this was normal on new cars, and the delivery associate said it's fully normal as the car may need to be transported around from one delivery location to another, and offsite charging etc. No discounts was received on this VIN either.

 

[SpencerR]

Someone took advantage of the 100 mile guarantee

Only two scenarios I can think of:
- Buyers remorse, got home and realized "I cant actually afford this new car"
- Didn't test drive one before ordering. Bought it, accepted it, drove it home and realized they don't like the car.

This happens with "brand new" cars at dealerships, too. My dad has done it before. Bought a car, got it home, realized he didn't actually want/need/like it enough to keep it, returned it next day. I guarantee you it still sold as brand new to the next person.

 

[muZeekal]

Someone took advantage of the 100 mile guarantee

Only two scenarios I can think of:
- Buyers remorse, got home and realized "I cant actually afford this new car"
- Didn't test drive one before ordering. Bought it, accepted it, drove it home and realized they don't like the car.

This happens with "brand new" cars at dealerships, too. My dad has done it before. Bought a car, got it home, realized he didn't actually want/need/like it enough to keep it, returned it next day. I guarantee you it still sold as brand new to the next person.

Wow ok. So can Tesla still technically sell it as new without any discounts? Also, wouldn't I be the second owner as far as the DMV is concerned? (thinking in terms of risking not getting the tax rebate)

 

[SpencerR]

Wow ok. So can Tesla still technically sell it as new without any discounts? Also, wouldn't I be the second owner as far as the DMV is concerned? (thinking in terms of risking not getting the tax rebates

Everything I said was purely speculative. In reality, I have no idea what the situation is. You need to take it to your service center and start asking some questions.

 

[Kmaya]

Interesting…a similar miles M3LR showed up to DC area that i passed on due to this concern

 

[M3_Performante]

With 51 miles and full warranty is nothing to worry about imo...I think all new Tesla's advertise as having "less than 50 miles" on them.

I'm guessing most, if not all of the "existing inventory" vehicles are cars that were either rejected or abandoned orders from people who couldn't afford them or just got cold feet.

I would just give it a good look over and if it all checks out....enjoy it. it's probably fine

 

[ucmndd]

Someone took advantage of the 100 mile guarantee

What 100 mile guarantee would that be?

 

[mgs333]

What 100 mile guarantee would that be?

I think it went away, per this article. A quick search didn't reveal anything of the sort in effect today. I do remember Tesla having some sort of a 'worry free return within X days/miles' some time back.

Tesla ditches its one-week return and refund policy, report says

Tesla has long offered seven days for new owners to return their car with a full refund, but it looks like that's not the case any longer.

www.cnet.com

Also, at least in California, there is a state law/policy that says there is no cool-off period after buying a car so you can't change your mind after you buy for any reason.

Also, for OP's 2), I didn't get any congratulatory note in my car (and I haven't heard of any such thing for Tesla deliveries)!

 

[muZeekal]

update: I reached out to the SA via text and was told that the person who was on the initial registration/key took delivery but realized it was the wrong vin. Then a few minutes later someone from the delivery location called me and said that the same person did order this car, but was not able to make the final payment at delivery (which doesn’t quite explain how they managed to pair their phone as a key because don’t you have to make a payment to take delivery and thus be able to set up your phone/key?). Either way 2 different stories so not sure which one to believe. Either way, details like this seem like no big deal, but when you’re paying 50k+ for a new vehicle…there are some standards in transparency and professionalism that I was expecting. Sad to see my very first experience with a Tesla delivery tarnished by this.

 

[Kmaya]

How was the car itself in terms of QA?

 

[muZeekal]

How was the car itself in terms of QA?

Pretty good all things considered. No major panel gaps or major issues. Some small things here and there that I submitted a service ticket for. But yea had I not ran into all that BS that I did, then I could've believe this came straight from the factory not via a potential "first owner".

 

[Originalando]

If it makes you feel any better, my new M3 came with mileage over the stated 15 on the MVPA (cant remember exactly what it was, it was no more than 50 though). But as someone who purchased using a certified check I can tell you I accepted delivery in the app before they had any time to process the payment. After allowing me to review the car inside and out, I literally handed over the check and forms as they told me to accept delivery.

 

[muZeekal]

If it makes you feel any better, my new M3 came with mileage over the stated 15 on the MVPA (cant remember exactly what it was, it was no more than 50 though). But as someone who purchased using a certified check I can tell you I accepted delivery in the app before they had any time to process the payment. After allowing me to review the car inside and out, I literally handed over the check and forms as they told me to accept delivery.

Got ya. So basically you were able to set up/gain access to all parts of the vehicle as your payment was processing?

 

[Clover]

update: I reached out to the SA via text and was told that the person who was on the initial registration/key took delivery but realized it was the wrong vin. Then a few minutes later someone from the delivery location called me and said that the same person did order this car, but was not able to make the final payment at delivery (which doesn’t quite explain how they managed to pair their phone as a key because don’t you have to make a payment to take delivery and thus be able to set up your phone/key?). Either way 2 different stories so not sure which one to believe. Either way, details like this seem like no big deal, but when you’re paying 50k+ for a new vehicle…there are some standards in transparency and professionalism that I was expecting. Sad to see my very first experience with a Tesla delivery tarnished by this.

I'd bet they both lied to you and never even asked anyone about it. If it was one of the SA's customers, they may know but they won't tell you the truth of it if they know. If it was not one of the SA's customers, they don't know unless there is a crazy story that got shared with everyone. I promise you they would never tell you, "First customer herd a repeated clunking that weirded them out and they brought it back but we don't know what is causing the noise." if the want to keep their job. Or, "X person's loan got denied" if that actually happened as that would be pretty unprofessional and they could get in big trouble sharing that if true. Not saying passing off a returned car is professional either. I'm just saying they don't care and even if they did, they could not share the real reason. It could be something that has nothing to do with the car, but you will never know.

 

[P90D]

I'd bet they both lied to you and never even asked anyone about it. If it was one of the SA's customers, they may know but they won't tell you the truth of it if they know. If it was not one of the SA's customers, they don't know unless there is a crazy story that got shared with everyone. I promise you they would never tell you, "First customer herd a repeated clunking that weirded them out and they brought it back but we don't know what is causing the noise." if the want to keep their job. Or, "X person's loan got denied" if that actually happened as that would be pretty unprofessional and they could get in big trouble sharing that if true. Not saying passing off a returned car is professional either. I'm just saying they don't care and even if they did, they could not share the real reason. It could be something that has nothing to do with the car, but you will never know.

"they lied" … that's the gist of it.
I've been "adjacent" to the auto industry for a long time. I've seen a few things. Especially in the USA.
Unless you're face to face with a person with their name on the registration or the title, what they say is hearsay, just their opinion.
If they're ever proven false or wrong, all they say is "oops, sorry, I was sure I right."

 

[TBrownTX]

Any damage or issues to report, or you're just bothered by the idea it may have been "owned" and has 51 miles on it? If the latter, just relax and enjoy your new Tesla.

 

[Resist]

"they lied" … that's the gist of it.

See, Tesla is just like every other auto dealership. It's sad because they used to be really good to their customers.

 

[tm1v2]

OP made their concerns clear and I think they're legit concerns:

1) Was the car registered already, or has pending registration waiting to be processed with someone else's name? If so that could have real implications on federal and state incentive eligibility, and also on resale value down the line (1 owner vs 2 owner car).

2) Are any known issues being hidden? (Whether they've been fixed / addressed or not)

For #1 you need to clear that up with the DMV. First, make sure all your paperwork from Tesla looks like it's for a brand new, never-registered car. Then call the DMV and find out if there's any real issue here. Hopefully not. Probably not. But it does seem worth verifying.

For #2, unfortunately as others have said, you'll probably never know the real story. Even if a story you were told is real, you won't *know* that it is - and there'd be a good chance it's made up and only coincidentally real.

I went through a similar dilemma buying an inventory car. It was clear from the beginning that it was someone's order, as most inventory cars were at the time. I asked the a Tesla rep if it had been rejected in person, they claimed no, they claimed it was never fully delivered, never seen in person by whomever ordered it. However it did have something like 15-25 miles on it whereas a fresh-off-the-truck/train Tesla straight from the factory will commonly have well under 10.

The phone rep said most likely it's because the buyer failed to get financing, but the rep couldn't or wouldn't say exactly why this buyer didn't buy this car. Ultimately we had to trust that the car wasn't rejected for glaring issues. We brought a cashier's check to pay in person after looking over the car inside and out. Which is what we would've done anyways, even if we had waited for our ordered car. (I've never in my life paid for a car sight unseen, new or used, and didn't see any reason to start for a Model 3.)

 

[@heist80]

you aren't the first person this has happeend to and that is one of the disadvantages of buying a tesla vs. say a bmw or mercedes. one of the FEW advantages of buying a bmw for example from a dealership is they will go out of their way to make you happy leading up to your pickup day and leading up to the day you fill out their stupid survey, then after that you are complete trash to them until it gets close to time for you to get a new car and then suddenly they are your friends!!

with tesla? they don't seem to give a F*** about you from start to finish. so if you go to pickup your car and you bring up any concerns they will pretty much tell you there isn't a thing they can do and you can take it or leave it, but if you leave it then you will need to wait a few weeks to get a new car.

over the past 20+ years i have leased or bought around new 7-8 cars. and in that span the mileage should be around 15 tops for a brand new car. but 51? its POSSIBLE with tesla if they had to drive your car to another location that was like 30 miles away but i doubt it. i had a friend pick up his car and it was dented and there was that space thing near the door that was letting in air and noise plus he was missing the rag to wipe the panel. he ended up taking the car regardless cause he didn't want to wait another 3 weeks for another. so your situation isn't the end of the world if all you got is an extra 35 miles