PLAID damaged by TESLA minutes before delivery!

[Doanster1]

Wait to see how your SC responds. You could get solid acknowledgment of the letdown you’re feeling. While I highly doubt it will be $10K FSD acknowledgement, just being treated “solidly” may actually make the decision easier for you. Service quality is highly location specific. As @Daniellane stated above, our Portland SC is stellar. Always actually listen and honestly try to do the right thing. Def harder to interact/contact, but comms and discussion are always realistic and common sense prevails.
We all feel for you, for sure, and would be upset as well, but at the end of the day, it was an accident. I would want a new panel only if choosing repair over new allocation. Diminished value not a big concern here IMO. Good luck!

 

[oktane]

This is a horribly shitty experience and would cause any of us "car enthusiasts" stress.

However, this is a Tesla and not a museum piece. The paint quality of a brand new Tesla typically isn't that great to begin with. If getting the car now is more important than getting a "perfect" car you could just accept it for what it is and move on. Life is too short to waste bandwidth on stuff you can't control. Also, life isn't fair and Tesla customer service is hit-or-miss.

Sorry this happened to you, and hopefully you don't lose too much sleep over it.

 

[PLAIDsky]

I am feeling a little bit better about everything after venting and getting some perspective and positive input. Thanks again

 

[kizamybute']

Sh#t happens. Sucks. Unfortunate. Always had the option to back out of the contract since you hadn't taken delivery. To expect them to give you $10,000 for an innocent unfortunate accident is just feeling like you're entitled. It's life. Sucks when it happens, but most everyone in the world has to deal with something they wish they didn't have to. I wish I didn't have to go trough the hassle of fixing my car after some lady backed into it......accidentally. She didn't give me $10,000 on top of the repair cost.

Hey, maybe people would be more careful if there was a $10,000 penalty every time you made a mistake!! But, obviously that's not going to happen. You have a right to be upset about it. But, to expect a $10,000 reward on top of it, certainly goes too far.

You actually got better treatment than I did. One Tesla I purchased, had a good sized dent in the fender well. I tried to refuse delivery until it was fixed and they basically said, you can't do that, you signed the contract. They wouldn't let me see the car before I signed the contract and then twisted my arm to make me take delivery of it the way it was. They didn't even want to write a "due ticket" on the car. Saying, just bring it in and we'll fix it. That aspect, I absolutely had to stand my ground. With the treatment I was getting, what's to say they wouldn't have tried to charge me for it. With nothing in writing, I would have had no proof. An hour later, finally got them to send me an e-mail to confirm the damage and that they would repair it. Given, this was when Model 3's were just starting deliveries and they were slammed with deliveries and just wanted to rush everyone in and out in 10 minutes or less.

 

[STLUCIE]

It became too frustrating, so I couldn't go on reading the responses that you were getting from other members of the forum. Bottom line is, if you go to trade the car in to another dealer, let's say, a BMW dealer - or sell it to a savvy private buyer - they will spot the repair that was done and gig you at least 10% of the trade-in value for the previous repairs or accident history. Also, if this car gets hit by someone later on and you try to make a diminished value claim against their insurer, if they inspect your car and see the previous paint work, they will likely refuse your diminished value claim altogether by claiming that any diminished value occurred at the time of the first incident. Tesla absolutely does owe you a payment for diminished value.

 

[PLAIDsky]

It became too frustrating, so I couldn't go on reading the responses that you were getting from other members of the forum. Bottom line is, if you go to trade the car in to another dealer, let's say, a BMW dealer - or sell it to a savvy private buyer - they will spot the repair that was done and gig you at least 10% of the trade-in value for the previous repairs or accident history. Also, if this car gets hit by someone later on and you try to make a diminished value claim against their insurer, if they inspect your car and see the previous paint work, they will likely refuse your diminished value claim altogether by claiming that any diminished value occurred at the time of the first incident. Tesla absolutely does owe you a payment for diminished value.

This is more along the lines of what I was originally thinking. I’d bet most people that are saying that $10k is ridiculous aren’t really considering that it’s only like 7% of the value of the car. If this was a much less expensive $40k Model 3 , then I would absolutely agree that NO it’s not worth 25% of the value… but this isn’t a $40k Model 3.

I will get it sorted one way or another.

 

[brkaus]

It became too frustrating, so I couldn't go on reading the responses that you were getting from other members of the forum. Bottom line is, if you go to trade the car in to another dealer, let's say, a BMW dealer - or sell it to a savvy private buyer - they will spot the repair that was done and gig you at least 10% of the trade-in value for the previous repairs or accident history. Also, if this car gets hit by someone later on and you try to make a diminished value claim against their insurer, if they inspect your car and see the previous paint work, they will likely refuse your diminished value claim altogether by claiming that any diminished value occurred at the time of the first incident. Tesla absolutely does owe you a payment for diminished value.

By law, no dealer is required to offer DV for repaired damage if it is under certain limits in most states. They don’t even have to admit it.

 

[PLAIDsky]

By law, no dealer is required to offer DV for repaired damage if it is under certain limits in most states. They don’t even have to admit it.

It’s pretty crazy though bc I think we can all at least agree on the fact that there would be some form of diminished value if I would take this new car, trade it into a dealer tomorrow and the different levels of thickness on the paint would be discovered. Its not right they can sell this car as new and at full retailer to me or unknown to some other buyer when we all know that if discovered it would immediately have DV due to a pre-delivery repair by the manufacturer. I’m not completely up on the laws regarding this in Texas but I will find out and I’m already in the process of contacting people that surely would.

Someone mentioned it earlier, which I don’t have enough knowledge about to speak much on, but it was stated that BMW was selling repaired cars and got in trouble for it. So obviously there is some precedence set and there are legal options that I could take. If I hadn’t already paid for the car it would also change the scenario but at the end of the day I have a brand new car that has been damaged and now repaired AFTER I paid for it in full. The closest thing I can relate this to is a manufacture refurbishment. They might not have to admit it but in this scenario (the damage occurring only minutes from when the vehicle was supposed to be delivered) they had to. I also have the pictures so there’s no denying the damage. Yes, it was obviously an accident but regardless that still doesn’t change the potential of DV down the road.

I think the best solution is that they ship in a door panel painted from factory so the depths all match (not sure if this is even possible). Or I will have to work something else out with Tesla.

Again, I’m just going to see what the results are and how they chose to repair the vehicle when it’s ready which should be this coming Friday last I heard.

 

[brkaus]

@PLAIDsky I do agree with you in theory, Tesla should try to do something. They were forthcoming and told you which is positive.

This article links to a few various state laws -

Your brand new car might not be completely new after all - Autoblog

New cars can get damaged in transit or on the dealer lot, and in many cases the dealer is not required to tell you if any repairs have been completed.

www.autoblog.com

Here is the BMW case -

BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Repainting an entire car would probably go over most laws.

I cannot find the Texas law at the moment, so I don’t know the $ value of the repair to trigger disclosure. I would assume in most cases disclosure would result in some sort of compensation negotiated with the buyer, at the buyers request.

Not quite sure what I’d do in your shoes.

 

[dmurphy]

Alright… sooo add into the fact that this was a brand new $130-150k car with close to no miles. You’re telling me that it would have no impact on value.!?

Absolutely no impact on value whatsoever. If you had any idea how many cars need repairs - including major ones - before delivery, you’d be shocked.

There’s even a legal threshold as to the value of said repairs before they even need to tell you about it.

I can assure you this repair is well, well under that threshold. Even if they had to replace the entire door, it’d still be under the threshold where they’d even have to mention it.

I’m very sorry for the situation, but it’s good that the delivery folks are keeping you so well informed of what’s going on and why. It really will have no impact at all in any way. Not to the value, not to the vehicle, not at all. Even any miles they put on the vehicle; your warranty will begin after that mileage.

It’s normal to have miles on a new car (not just a Tesla - any new car); even up to 100-200 miles. Sometimes they have to be driven to the delivery facility. I’ve bought brand new cars with 200 miles on the odometer before - it was a dealer swap. No problem at all.

So, sit back, relax, wait a few days and you’ll love the car, I promise. And unfortunately, no, they don’t owe you anything — if car companies had to pay out for every pre delivery damage, they’d be broke.

 

[BMWM3Man]

[I am a new member here, and to Tesla. I apologize if this isn’t posted in the appropriate category. If that is the case, could a moderator please relocate to the correct location.]

I am soo frustrated, irritated and upset. Literally minutes (less than an hour) before my new Tesla Model S PLAID was to be delivered to me this past Thursday -Oct 28th,Tesla called to tell me that strong wind caught the door of another car and slammed into the side of my car during them prepping the car for delivery. They sent me pics and asked if I wanted the car still delivered or if I wanted to have them keep the car repair it. I already had my PPF, ceramic coating and tint scheduled out well before the delivery date that I had to cancel. The car door hit hard enough that it went completely through the paint and caused 2 points of impact on the door according to the Tesla rep and will require both body and paint work, PDR is not possible.

So here I am now waiting on my car even longer that I have been waiting for months to receive. I’ve already purchased the car and I don’t have it and have to wait at least a week or more longer to receive. My BIGGEST issue is that I am now receiving a new car that has been damaged and will already have both body and paint work done on it post-production. This is much different than a defect from manufacturing. I basically feel like I have purchased a REFURBISHED Model S PLAID at FULL retail price. I am completely disappointed and I’m very dissatisfied at this point.

I feel like I should be offered something from Tesla in this situation. Maybe FSD (which I did not elect to purchase as most seem to think at THIS MOMENT still it’s not all that worth it at least from what I gather) or maybe the upcoming Track Pack wheels that will be coming out sometime soon for the Model S Plaid (the ones they are setting Nürburgring records with).

I just feel like I am being gipped as I’ve paid full retail price on this car just to be delivered to me essentially as a Refurbished vehicle. To add insult to injury im sure they are going to put miles on my brand new car that I had built to take back and forth from their repair facility. This is not a good first experience for me with Tesla, especially at this tier of a purchase.

Anyone else have any experience with a situation like this? Thoughts? Advice?
I’m ears open.

I haven’t officially contacted or approached Tesla yet with my dissatisfaction as I wanted to get some advice first.

Thank you in advance.

It is not yours until you sign. You are owed nothing for this accident.

 

[CyberGus]

When I bought my first new car ('92 Miata) I was determined to keep it Perfect Forever. Before inspecting the interior, I set down the drink I'd been offered, since there was to be no food or drink in my car ever. After opening the convertible top, I was rudely reminded that I has set down my soda on the car's roof. The can spun as it fell, spraying onto the body, the dash, and the interior. It landed upside-down, wedged between the seat and the back wall, with an audible glug glug glug of sticky sugar-water soaking the carpet and upholstery.

The dealer saw my horror and quickly helped me clean up, but the experience forced me to accept that it was a pointless exercise to obsess over the car's condition. I still did for awhile (even washing it in the rain lol) but it helped me let go of the things outside of my control, which furthered my enjoyment of driving the car.

Whatever you decide @PLAIDsky, I hope get to enjoy driving your Plaid. You bastard. Give me demo ride lol

 

[PLAIDsky]

When I bought my first new car ('92 Miata) I was determined to keep it Perfect Forever. Before inspecting the interior, I set down the drink I'd been offered, since there was to be no food or drink in my car ever. After opening the convertible top, I was rudely reminded that I has set down my soda on the car's roof. The can spun as it fell, spraying onto the body, the dash, and the interior. It landed upside-down, wedged between the seat and the back wall, with an audible glug glug glug of sticky sugar-water soaking the carpet and upholstery.

The dealer saw my horror and quickly helped me clean up, but the experience forced me to accept that it was a pointless exercise to obsess over the car's condition. I still did for awhile (even washing it in the rain lol) but it helped me let go of the things outside of my control, which furthered my enjoyment of driving the car.

Whatever you decide @PLAIDsky, I hope get to enjoy driving your Plaid. You bastard. Give me demo ride lol

This made me literally LOL. Much love and much appreciated. =)

 

[No2DinosaurFuel]

Agreed with some here on the forum. You got 2 options. Either to accept the car and live with the repaint/repairs/diminished values/etc. Or Reject the car and wait for the next one and hope they don't mess up again.

A) If you analyze which options is better for you, I would say if you can wait for a new one, then wait. Otherwise accept the car and the repair Tesla will do and move on.

B) If you analyze which his better for Tesla? Well that is easy. They want you to accept right away so they can pay little to fix and now have a car sold in their books. But if you refuse, they would most likely have to fix and put this car in inventory which might cost them more, but given how cars are these days, it might still be a benefit because some people will pay anything for a car these days. But during normal times, I will argue it will cost them more in logistics, people, inventory storage, repairs, etc.

So I would weigh your decision with the 2 above and how you want to go about it. I'll leave the rest to you. Best of luck!

 

[Doanster1]

As others have stated, unless this shows up on a Carfax report, no dealer, private party, etc. will pull out a paint depth meter when you eventually trade it in. They do a gloss over and make an assessment on how much they think they can sell it for vs how much they’ll have to put into it. That’s why I said DV is not in play here even though to you and I, the value certainly has diminished in our discerning eyes/minds.

 

[ucmndd]

It became too frustrating, so I couldn't go on reading the responses that you were getting from other members of the forum. Bottom line is, if you go to trade the car in to another dealer, let's say, a BMW dealer - or sell it to a savvy private buyer - they will spot the repair that was done and gig you at least 10% of the trade-in value for the previous repairs or accident history.

I think this is an absurd overstatement. A repaired door ding is going to reduce trade value by 10%?

Even if OP left the car exactly as it sits in the pictures provided it wouldn't reduce the value by anywhere near 10%.

 

[PLAIDsky]

I think this is an absurd overstatement. A repaired door ding is going to reduce trade value by 10%?

Even if OP left the car exactly as it sits in the pictures provided it wouldn't reduce the value by anywhere near 10%.

I understand what they are saying. IF it was discovered that there is paint/body work who knows what I would be covering up. Also, the damage would be unknown at the time and worst case they could assume the car got side swiped or t-boned. An extreme granted but seeing the damage AS-IS would definitely be better than having no idea what damage was covered up. Thus, they would be offering significantly less for the vehicle as we all know anyone that takes a car in on trade or even buys one used for that matter looks for every and any reason to offer the least amount possible. They would absolutely jump on the opportunity to offer less in a heartbeat. Especially with a higher priced vehicle. Anything other than front bumper re-sprays due to normal rock chips is a major red flag. A door panel would be one of those flags. It may or may not be 10% but in my experience with a vehicle that would have a value of over six-figures used… it may very well be an UNDERstatement. You don’t have to agree with me but unless you have bought and sold several vehicles that are in this price range or higher and felt that pain and had that experience, like I have, your disagreement to the statement is just theory. Which is why my concern isn’t exactly misplaced or irrelevant here. Now granted, the current market we are in makes this a bit less of a concern selling to individuals but it’s still valid.

 

[snellenr]

FWIW, there’s an entire corner of the Fremont factory *on the factory tour route* where they hammer out dents and other imperfections in the panels as they come off the presses.

And then they install them on cars… or send them to body shops.

 

[lbowroom]

3 months from now, let alone 3 years... no one will care one iota about your door that had a ding repaired.

 

[ucmndd]

3 months from now, let alone 3 years... no one will care one iota about your door that had a ding repaired.

+1. This is a mass-produced Tesla, not a Lamborghini or Ferrari. 30% of them probably leave the factory with post-production paint and body work.

Nobody is going to be buying these as collectible museum pieces.