Pre-purchase inspection

[Rster85]

Hello,

Just recently placed an order for a M3 LR-P and it's going to be here in 2 weeks. Looking for some advice on what to look out for and inspect upon delivery. This is my first electric vehicle so I don't know too much about them, coming from a Supra and Type R. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[bruce4000]

There are some pretty good you tube videos on this although I think Tesla has addressed many of these on recently built cars. I just tried out everything and checked fit and finish. I got my MY 6 months ago and didn’t have any issues that needed fixing. I tried out charging at a SC on the home which is the main difference on EV.

 

[jalynn2]

Just look it over like you would any new car. There is really nothing special you will need to look for. You should try to watch the tutorial videos on your Tesla web account to familiarize yourself with the vehicle operation. I picked up a new M3 LR near the end of last month, and it seemed that the delivery people weren't planning to do much instruction. It was the end of quarter push, and my second Model 3, and I told them up front that I didn't need instructions. You can probably get more help during a slower period.

 

[MLXXXp]

teslaprep/model_3_checklist.md at master · mykeln/teslaprep

A comprehensive guide on buying and owning a Tesla - mykeln/teslaprep

github.com

 

[TesToTheMoon]

Some folks have reported some gap issues between panels

 

[ss_lemonade]

Check the leather stitching on the seats I guess. Also check for any panel separation. Mine had the passenger side mirror trim separating from the car's body, which I only realized about 2 weeks later.

 

[holeydonut]

There's a panel gaps/other mega-thread. While the gaps are going to be subjective (only you can determine if you care about panel gaps). There are some insightful things to at least glance at since they are unique to Tesla and not really things you find in other cars.

1) the B pillar camera may have a plastic film over it. If you don't get this film off when the car is new, it's kind of a pain to remove the sticky gunk later. It's very easy to miss this since the film is such a good fit when new. But on my car, I had the film on the passenger side but not the driver side.

2) the model 3's with a power rear trunk may have a problem along the driver side to accommodate the power-strut. some people have seen this misalignment actually mar the metal.

3) Bring some baby wipes so you can try to clean the interior to get rid of the stains. Anything that you can't get with a baby wipe may be best done by Tesla just in case you end up marring something and they blame you. My car was home-delivered with a bunch of black fingerprints all over the white seats, headliner, steering wheel, etc. For the most part, baby wipes got the stains off. But I figure Tesla should at least clean those before you take delivery of a brand new car at a showroom if you're going in.

4) The black trim along the beltline (lower part) of the side windows could be touching. I didn't notice this until a few weeks of ownership, but the metal was kissing when the front door was opened. Tesla says they'll eventually (it's been a few weeks) send someone out to repair the trim.

Pics from the interwebs:

 

[tm1v2]

Check the leather stitching on the seats I guess. Also check for any panel separation. Mine had the passenger side mirror trim separating from the car's body, which I only realized about 2 weeks later.

The black triangular piece? My Model 3 had that issue at pickup last week, it's loose at the top. Same with the two new Model 3s parked next to mine.

Mine also has weatherstripping next to that triangle piece partially separated from the car. That issue was only on my car, not on those other two Model 3s.

They wouldn't / couldn't fit it at the delivery center, and first available service appointment was weeks out, so still waiting to get it fixed. I'm about to get the car PPF wrapped though, not sure if this needs to be fixed first, but seems like it should be.