Hey guys long time lurker ordered on July 27th just picked up my lr awd w/w M3 Friday from the brentwood, tn location. delivery went pretty well. Trim and gaps looked good.. tried the in within spec thing of course. Had a small paint issue on the door which a service appointment has been made for. My service advisor told me Tesla had recently started a new policy of basically as is sale for minor nit picky things. You’ll basically have to reject the car and wait for a new one. Has anyone else heard this? Looking to verify if it’s the case i really hope Tesla increases there QC off the line.
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- Thread starter Hybrid_GHOST
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Never heard of that and if someone said that to me I would for sure reject the car. The traditional car sales method has mistakes from the factory but dealers fix it before you see the car. Tesla's entire business model is based on sending out imperfect cars from the factory and hoping you will buy it and then they can correct it at service centers shortly after. If they were to start an "as is" policy for new cars I wouldn't buy one.
People say a lot of things. Doesn’t mean they’re true. I believe there would be legal ramifications if they tried to sell a new car ‘as is’.
And it could also backfire as once the word got out that they weren’t gonna honor warranty work on new car defects which forced people to reject a car for ANY little thing, then they would lose, or at the very least, delay sales.
And it could also backfire as once the word got out that they weren’t gonna honor warranty work on new car defects which forced people to reject a car for ANY little thing, then they would lose, or at the very least, delay sales.
I agree I was kind of shocked when he told me that.. car is phenomenal! As others have posted it’s nice to see EAP now avail for 4k. Posted pic of the issue that needs addressed. App is with the Marietta body shop for mid oct. if anyone has dealt with or heard good things about them. Work and turn around wise.
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As is for what they consider “nit picky things” ie fit and finish. I asked him what In spec was tolerance wise, I brought a gap measuring tool he wasn’t sure what the gap or alignment specs were. I work at a major car maker that is very anal about fit and finish. But until more reports of other owners imma take it with a grain of salt. 
LOL. ‘Nit picky’ isn’t a legal term. They have a duty to fix legit manufacturing defects. If they ever put forth an official policy to deny those claims there’d be a class action in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.As is for what they consider “nit picky things” ie fit and finish. I asked him what In spec was tolerance wise, I brought a gap measuring tool he wasn’t sure what the gap or alignment specs were. I work at a major car maker that is very anal about fit and finish. But until more reports of other owners imma take it with a grain of salt.
That being said, I’m sure some service managers may be unofficially trying to push that garbage, but I think if you push back hard enough they’re gonna have to do their damn jobs.
I didn’t make it known to the sales advisor at the time of him telling me he wasn’t sure of actual specs. Car has been phenomenal though! I definitely feel a lot better about the timing of my purchase and less fomo since Elon’s tweet about battery day implementation not reaching mass production till 2022.!
You didnt have to make it known to the delivery advisor at the time he was telling you he wasnt sure of actual specs. You are not the first person to bring a gap measuring tool to pick up their new tesla, and anyone saying "can you please tell me what the gap tolerance numbers are?" is either about to measure them in front of you, or take it home and measure it.
That (in tesla's eyes) would be "nit picky"... measuring panel gaps before pickup. Thats why its my guess that he told you what he told you. He suspected you were about to start measuring panel gaps since you asked for exact numbers, and anyone who does that is about to be "nit picky".
EDIT: Let me say I am not judging you at all. I am simply putting forth a reason the tesla person might have told you what they told you.
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He’s effectively correct, although I’m sure Tesla legal would have him rephrase it.
Tesla passes on the burden of quality control to the buyer, and they are increasingly reliant on obstructionism to decrease the burden even further. They know the industry standard for quality is higher than buyers rejection criteria.
Tesla further cuts costs based on the fact that once your leverage is gone after 7 days, they can further reduce the quality below industry standards by “with-in spec”.
This is all part of the “machine that builds the machine” lean production mantra Musk has touted. It is also in line with the ethos of a robo taxis and battery leasing company. The depreciation value of visual defects are marginalized when cars are viewed for their revenue potential as part of a robo taxis and energy arbitrage fleet rather than personal vehicles
Tesla passes on the burden of quality control to the buyer, and they are increasingly reliant on obstructionism to decrease the burden even further. They know the industry standard for quality is higher than buyers rejection criteria.
Tesla further cuts costs based on the fact that once your leverage is gone after 7 days, they can further reduce the quality below industry standards by “with-in spec”.
This is all part of the “machine that builds the machine” lean production mantra Musk has touted. It is also in line with the ethos of a robo taxis and battery leasing company. The depreciation value of visual defects are marginalized when cars are viewed for their revenue potential as part of a robo taxis and energy arbitrage fleet rather than personal vehicles
I would have accepted the followup work if that paint issue was the only thing.
I understand wanting to be careful with a big purchase, and I also inspected my new Model 3 for about an hour, but I also did not, and would never, bring a gap measurement tool when picking up the car. As long as all doors etc open and close correctly and the car looks reasonable to the eye, that’s good enough for me. Focus on strengths, not nit-picking weaknesses, and you’ll enjoy your expensive new car a lot more!
I understand wanting to be careful with a big purchase, and I also inspected my new Model 3 for about an hour, but I also did not, and would never, bring a gap measurement tool when picking up the car. As long as all doors etc open and close correctly and the car looks reasonable to the eye, that’s good enough for me. Focus on strengths, not nit-picking weaknesses, and you’ll enjoy your expensive new car a lot more!
The “don’t worry” about it remedy says it all about Tesla quality control.
I don’t mind panel gaps, but I’ll measure them on my next Tesla purchase as a means to gauge Tesla’s ethos. They’ve more than earned the rep of utilizing “with-in spec” as a way out of service, so the actual spec and measurement is the natural progression. They did the same with “clarifying” warranty.
Buying a Tesla is not like buying any other new car. There are aspects closer to buying used from a corner lot.