Big day came and went yesterday. Was excited to pick up my car as you can all imagine. There was a twin right next to it, VIN only a few before mine. Waited around a bit for the paperwork, which took about 10 minutes. I signed everything but the delivery acceptance as I wanted to go over it beforehand. Not that it would have really mattered, I’m sure they would have cancelled that and all the other paperwork in case I rejected delivery.... which I did unfortunately
The car had dirt inside the on the wood dash, also had several dirt smudges on the lining. Center console had several scratches/smudges. There was a 3 inch pen mark on the driver’s side door and in general did not look like someone had taken the time to properly prepare the car for delivery. On the exterior, most of the panel gaps were OK, the charging port stuck out a bit as has been the case for many. The rear bumper had several spots where the paint was raised and painted over, not sure how to describe it, but a bunch of several small pimples throughout. Hard to see from 10 feet away, but noticeable up close. The trunk was also raised higher on one side than the other. Several small scuffs all over the clearcoat as well.
I would have accepted the car at this point, the rims were fine, no curb rash, just some smudges on them. Overall from afar, the car looked solid. 9 miles on the odometer, though I did notice 400+ Wh/mile.... some spirited driving in its short lifespan I’m assuming. Wasn’t too happy about that number, but it could also have been done by the factory to make sure the car was up to snuff?
Then, I saw it, the one flaw I would not accept for a brand new car, no matter the price. As I looked over the trunk misalignment, it caught my eye, right on the passenger side rear glass, a crack!!
I had gotten a voicemail from one of the delivery people earlier in the week stating that my car had passed inspection with flying colors and I could take delivery 3 days before my scheduled date. When I called him back, he pushed pretty hard to push up my delivery date by a few days due to the lack of space at their facility. Initially I told him I couldn’t, but a day later it turned out that I could in fact take delivery sooner. The tone of his request made it seem like he was upset at me when I initially said I couldn’t move up my delivery date, as if it was my fault my undelivered car was taking up valuable space. I understand they want to push out cars and space is indeed an issue, but this isn’t the way.
Seems the bar for “flying colors” is set pretty low. Anyone that cared to give the car a once-over would have spotted the things I did, took me less than 5 minutes. There was also a bunch of flakes on the driver side rear quarter panel that were there due to their detailing process (buffing?). It was honestly embarrassing (as a customer and shareholder) to see people coming out with spray bottles and cleaner to clean the very obvious scuffs/dirt present on the car.
They apologized profusely of course and I kept my cool, I went in expecting the worst (to reject delivery) and unfortunately it came down to that. The crack itself wasn’t huge, maybe over an inch, but it would mean they would have to replace it, which would mean I’d be without the car for at least a couple weeks and then I’d have to worry about possible leaks and fitting, as the glass is a major part of his car.
I opted to wait for a new VIN, mine was 72xxx, as most DBM P3D’s w/ black interior have been (1st batch at least). I was able to get a loaner through them, though I had to fight for that as well. I’m thankful they did of course, but even that was a struggle. I realize they are not obligated to, so I happily took their gas-guzzling SUV as it was better than nothing. I waited 2.5 years, so what’s (hopefully) another 3-5 weeks.
Good luck to the rest of you all! Back to waiting I go.
