P85D damaged in transit / paint issue?

[island]

With tomorrow being my 2nd scheduled pickup day (with both front and back next gen seats missing), I get a phone call and email saying that the paint on the rear tailgate isn't up to par and it needs to be repainted. IMO that should of been noticed at the factory before even being shipped.

Sound like it was hit in the rear while they were taking cars off the truck and now it needs to be fixed. Has anyone else had a situation like this with their delivery?

Email I received is below. At this point I think it's best to cancel the order so I'm not stuck with a damaged 2014 that won't be ready until 2015.

This email is just confirming what we spoke about on the phone today:

1. Tesla Motors ******** will be sending a Model S P85 loaner vehicle to you tonight at the ****** where you are with your family. I will update you once I know it is on the way.
2. Tesla Motors ******** is bringing your Model S to our factory-certified paint shop for the correction needed on the rear tailgate. The current estimate is Monday 1/5, though we are having them prioritize your vehicle as much as possible.

I will continue to keep you updated as we progress towards delivery.

Thank you very much for your continued support and patience,

ADDED 12/29/14: The issue was indeed a paint problem across some owners with multi-coat paint. Here is the video they sent to corporate. Multi-coat

 

[markb1]

That sucks. Ask for pictures before they paint it.

You should know that repainting can be detected by someone with an eye for it. This might reduce the resale value of your car, though I think the effect will probably be slight.

On the other hand, dealers do this sort of thing all the time without telling customers.

 

[flankspeed8]

I get a phone call and email saying that the paint on the rear tailgate isn't up to par and it needs to be repainted. IMO that should of been noticed at the factory before even being shipped.

Sound like it was hit in the rear while they were taking cars off the truck and now it needs to be fixed. Has anyone else had a situation like this with their delivery?

Agreed that this probably happens to many cars, just never disclosed to the end consumer. BTW, how can you say they should have detected damage at the factory that happened in transit to you?

 

[bonaire]

At my Tesla shop, they had a white MS with pretty nasty scratches on the front bumper upon delivery, still had the front plastic wrap on it. This was back in October. I am sure it is fixable. A lot of people here have reported canceling orders so they can get a 2015 Vin #. You have more reason to cancel and reorder and let someone unsuspecting buy this one.

 

[Asphalt&Battery]

This happens all the time. I still can't believe 100k cars are shipped open carrier across the country. It will be worse in Q1 when winter is in full force. Either way, it seems minor. Definitely request pictures before it is fixed. As far as affecting value, collectors are the only folks that would ever use a paint meter to detect paint thickness. The fact the car is being sold in 2015 as a 2014 would be more of an issue for me. Best of luck.

 

[yobigd20]

Ask for pictures. All they said was "correction". Every car I've seen from the factory had swirls on it and needed third party 1 or 2 step paint correction to remove these. They could just be really bad rotary swirls they are polishing out for you. Everyone I know has gone to an independent shop after getting their cars to get the paint corrected anyway. All cars coming from the factory have paint swirls on them. Nobody really knows why. So you'll probably need to do this too. So IMO if it wasn't damaged (like a car bumping into it kind of damaged) and it's just paint swirls this is 100% expected. If you cancel and order a new one you'll still need to get it corrected anyway.

 

[GetAmped]

This happens all the time. I still can't believe 100k cars are shipped open carrier across the country. It will be worse in Q1 when winter is in full force. Either way, it seems minor. Definitely request pictures before it is fixed. As far as affecting value, collectors are the only folks that would ever use a paint meter to detect paint thickness. The fact the car is being sold in 2015 as a 2014 would be more of an issue for me. Best of luck.

The cars being delivered here in Toronto are coming in closed trailers which I have seen on a couple of occasions.

 

[island]

Turns out it actually is a paint issue, specifically with the multi-coat variety. Stopped by the service center Sunday night to see if I can spot my car through a window. Someone was working late came over to see what I was doing and after talking for a bit he was able to provide some details on what happened. I'll upload a video he gave me showing the paint mismatch as soon as I get back to my office tomorrow.

If you have a multi-coat paint job you might want to watch and see if you have a similar issue. Not easy to spot so stay tuned for the clip.

 

[Asphalt&Battery]

The cars being delivered here in Toronto are coming in closed trailers which I have seen on a couple of occasions.

Must be a Canada thing.

Best of luck on the color match. Traditionally, red is the most difficult to paint match. I have faith Tesla and Co will make it right.

 

[osama]

The cars being delivered here in Toronto are coming in closed trailers which I have seen on a couple of occasions.

Mine and 6 others came on an open trailer. I saw them being unloaded.

 

[Chipper]

To the OP I had this exact issue when mine was delivered a year ago. It had been damaged in a sand storm in Arizona or New Mexico while in transit. My delivery was postponed for a week while they had it spiffed back up for me. Tesla did an excellent job (!!!) and I have been totally content. My recommendation: accept delivery once it meets your approval.

 

[island]

Here is the video of the inspection that was sent to corporate. Multi-coat

 

[Asphalt&Battery]

Here is the video of the inspection that was sent to corporate. Multi-coat

It's hard to tell the discoloration by the video but this appears to be factory defect, not transport damage A simple sanding down and respray will fix things. Apologies, since you had P85D highlighted red in your signature, I thought that was the color. White is much easier to match. The question becomes, do you want to take delivery of a resprayed car in 2015 that's denoted as 2014?

 

[Tree95]

Mine and 6 others came on an open trailer. I saw them being unloaded.

Thanks for the COPA photos.

 

[flankspeed8]

Here is the video of the inspection that was sent to corporate. Multi-coat

As soon as it started playing my eyes focused on the tailgate and my eyes are not that good! It has a darker hue. Almost bluish or greenish?

 

[mknox]

The cars being delivered here in Toronto are coming in closed trailers which I have seen on a couple of occasions.

FWIW, I've witnessed cars come in to the Scarborough SC on open trailers as I sat and Supercharged recently. I've also seen open trailers on the 401 with Model S's on board. Not to say they don't use closed trailers, but the only ones I've personally witnessed have been standard open ones.

 

[island]

They definitely shipped mine in an open trailer. I took some close up photos of the car and it's pretty dirty as you can see below. The guy at the center said that's how the cars come during the ride over from CA, at least when shipped to CT.

 

[mdevp]

That tailgate is way off on color no doubt about it. You should try some moderate sunlight shots that would really show the contrast.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

paint isn't Tesla's strong suit apparently. Here's a story of what I had to do to mine to make it right. I bought a P85 service loaner with 5500 miles that apparently had paint that was really marred and scratched from improper washing and care while in service as a loaner. Once the car arrived in GA for CA, the appointment for pick-up was delayed until late evening because of problems on their end. So I was unable to closely inspect the paint in good daylight. As luck would have it, days of bad weather followed and I was unable to get the car in good sunlight and cleaned thoroughly enough to see the problems until a week or two after delivery. by then they refused to make it right... in the end paint correction, clear bra, etc cost me over $5k. The detailer did an incredible job and I'm satisfied with my car's exterior now... but IMO Tesla was stalling on me picking up the car because they wanted to try and buff some of this out (there was even buff marks on the hood like they started but ran out of time).. I love my car, but I warn anyone who's thinking about getting one (even new) to closely inspect their paint especially if they get a dark color.

Tesla Model S: Professional Car Detailing, Paint Correction and Clear Bra Installation | Ask a Pro Blog

 

[yobigd20]

paint isn't Tesla's strong suit apparently. Here's a story of what I had to do to mine to make it right. I bought a P85 service loaner with 5500 miles that apparently had paint that was really marred and scratched from improper washing and care while in service as a loaner. Once the car arrived in GA for CA, the appointment for pick-up was delayed until late evening because of problems on their end. So I was unable to closely inspect the paint in good daylight. As luck would have it, days of bad weather followed and I was unable to get the car in good sunlight and cleaned thoroughly enough to see the problems until a week or two after delivery. by then they refused to make it right... in the end paint correction, clear bra, etc cost me over $5k. The detailer did an incredible job and I'm satisfied with my car's exterior now... but IMO Tesla was stalling on me picking up the car because they wanted to try and buff some of this out (there was even buff marks on the hood like they started but ran out of time).. I love my car, but I warn anyone who's thinking about getting one (even new) to closely inspect their paint especially if they get a dark color.

Tesla Model S: Professional Car Detailing, Paint Correction and Clear Bra Installation | Ask a Pro Blog

Any unprotected MS will look like this after a few washes even if very careful and using proper washing techniques. It's all because of how soft the paint is. It's not the service center's fault at all. Many times they are even delivered straight from the factory like that. Even if it was delivered in perfect condition but unprotected it'll look like that in your first few months. It only takes a few washes on the unprotected paint for it to look that bad. Getting a full paint correction and permanent coating to prevent swirls RIDS etc is simply not optional, it's a requirement if you don't want your paint to look like that. Yes it's an extra cost but one that is well worth the money spent. Consider it part of the cost of buying the car.