Model 3 Fit and Finish

[CurtJ]

Does anyone care to speculate on the targeted design's fit and finish ? I am sure the car will be built with quality as per design, but what level of construction would it be comparable to ? i.e. Honda Civic, Acura, Mercedes ?
I personally would rather pay a bit more for a nicely finished car but I am not sure what they can do at this price point.

 

[melindav]

It has been mentioned various times it will be comparable to the BMW 3 series, both in size and quality.
So no comparison to a Civic.

 

[Canuck1966]

I can't wait to see the spaceship feeling design. Elon's Tweet indicates that the interior is pretty much ready for production. Bring on Part 2.

 

[aesculus]

I would speculate the first 2,000 cars fit and finish will be hit or miss based on what has occurred with the roadster, Model S and Model X. And I will be happy for all of you Model 3 owners when I am proved wrong.

To be fair the fit and finish on my production VIN 152x Model X is perfect.

 

[Tam]

...I personally would rather pay a bit more for a nicely finished car...

I don't see how you pay more for vegan and cheaper for leather would properly align the chrome finish one way or another.

Unlike Roadster, Model S, Model X, Model ≡ were made with "mass" production in mind.

So if you don't like that idea, you'll just have to pay a little more for Model S or X instead of Model ≡.

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

I'm sure I'm gullible --- but did not EM say..."We don't make slow cars" and personally inspect the first few cars off the line to ensure his personal hand was in the quality? From these actions, I get a sense that the production line, mass produced image from the NUMMI plant of 40 years ago is a ghost. These new cars will be produced with a quality goal. If junk rolls off and is delivered to discerning buyers - the entire company will be at risk. The GM inertia and Union problems of old are not current or applicable. I expect fit and finish to be Model S classy. But then again, I'm gullible.

 

[melindav]

I want my leather to have been on a cow at some point, not made from petroleum to 'look' like leather.
Im sure some would disagree with that for their own personal reasons, but leather is a byproduct of all the meat-eaters, which I am not, and may as well be put to good use in a car

 

[Tam]

...Union problems of old are not current or applicable...

I would prefer STRONG unionized work force as in Germany rather than non-unionized work force as in Apple's assembly lines.

As for your non-unionized artistic work of fit and finish, here are a few proof from Edmunds.com


Slightly mis-aligned chrome trim:

Uneven gap:

Uneven hatch closure:

And from this year, 2016 Iflyplanes:

Huge door gap:

Uneven door closure:

Mis-aligned black window edges between front and back doors:

 

[Mr. Watts]

I would hope Tesla would put more focus on QC that it has in the past. Esp from the pictures posted above. Regardless of the price point it will be to their disadvantage to manufacture cars that aren't near flawless as it affects their brand as a whole, not just that model.

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

I heard that there was one car that got away...SN 200 something...and Tesla bought it back. They seem to be trying hard to produce quality, and fix whatever issue escapes into he wild. I hope this emphasis on QC continues.
As to Unions....I read the story on NUMMI - while a GM, then a Toyota/gm and now Tesla...good read and explains a lot about issues of the past. I hope those ghosts remain buried.
I think I don't know enough about unions to weigh in as to good or bad. Strong emotions on both sided. I don't want to open that topic. I just want Tesla to build Quality cars.

 

[Tam]

...trying hard to produce quality, and fix whatever issue...

That's why although Consumer Report does not give Tesla a "recommended designation" but it does acknowledge that "Tesla owner satisfaction is still very high: Ninety-seven percent..."

If you are not happy with fit and finish, Tesla will make it right for you.

 

[CurtJ]

It would be great if the M3 was going to be comparable to a BMW 3 series. Both would be about a 35k car. I would be surprised Tesla could build to that level at that price but I suppose the plan is to drive down the price of the battery to make this possible. Mostly I've been worried that the 35k Tesla would essentially be a 25k class car with a $10,000 battery. Very excited to see what happens....

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

the 35k Tesla would essentially be a 25k class car with a $10,000 battery


I just got the shudders.....my experience with $25k cars is that they start as junk econoboxes and then get cheapened from there to allow the dealerships to make some profit. My fantasy for MY Tesla is that I am going to get MS features at M3 prices. Changing to the fantasy of econobox...eeek.
So-lets review. Musk says "Tesla does not build slow cars" and I hear "Tesla does not build junk" and then enters the new image of a $25k econobox plugin.
As you can tell...I really hope your worries (the same as mine) are not realized.

 

[geoffreak]

the 35k Tesla would essentially be a 25k class car with a $10,000 battery

No. This will not be equivalent to a $25k car.

First, see the many other threads discussing battery costs. You're off by at least 20-40%. Most estimates put the battery around $6-8k. $10k is only accurate at Tesla's current, pre-Gigafactory price of under $190 per kWh and at 55kWh battery size (Tesla has stated <60kWh). Tesla has also stated they are aiming for $100 per kWh much earlier than 2024.

Second, you're not considering the costs exclusive to an ICE. There's at least $6-8k worth of ICE-only equipment and costs in a $35k BMW, if not more. This more than covers the battery and other EV-specific components.

 

[jkk_]

This actually occurred to me today. Currently driving a Volvo with which I've had no fit and finish issues. I just hope that Tesla can learn from their mistakes by the time they start producing the model 3 in force and not have these issues anymore.

Then again, being in Europe I feel relatively safe from at least the initial pains with the first vehicles produced.

 

[rv1458]

I'm a little worried about build quality. I was in the Tesla store last week and the S they had on display was horrendous, panel gaps and misaligned trim pieces everywhere. The X and other S's on the ' garage ' weren't any better. If they still don't have this nailed down for the S, I don't see much hope for a brand new Model 3.

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

The production line has never produced a M3. The Gigafactory has yet to produce the parts that will be the biggest component of the M3. The assembly line will be staffed with new-hires. Will there be some issues with the first few units? uhhh - YEAH. But--the folks learn, the kinks get found and every iteration is better. I have confidence that Quality will be there, right behind the oops. The question becomes - how many oops...10, or 10,000 !! one day or one year?

 

[ohmman]

I just detailed both my S and X this weekend, so I got a really good look at how they were put together. I'm not going to hold my breath for amazing leaps in fitment quality. There are issues on both of those cars that are surprising, even for a baby automaker. Hopefully the simplicity of the 3 will lend itself to easier, more linear builds. We'll see.

 

[jkk_]

I just detailed both my S and X this weekend, so I got a really good look at how they were put together. I'm not going to hold my breath for amazing leaps in fitment quality. There are issues on both of those cars that are surprising, even for a baby automaker. Hopefully the simplicity of the 3 will lend itself to easier, more linear builds. We'll see.

Care to elaborate? Or did you already post your findings in the respective sections? I suppose making things easy to manufacture should make it more easy to get it done properly but yeah, I won't hold my breath

 

[astrotoy]

My experience is that it is not an issue of union vs. non-union. Some of the worst QC cars came out of Detroit in the early '80's with UAW workers. However, it was strictly a management decision to do internal QC or to let the customer do the QC. It is also expectation. What will the customer accept? The widespread introduction of Japanese cars into the US beginning in the '80s, particularly Toyota/Lexus, increased the expectations of the customer and forced the quality of all the companies upward.