Red - paint quality issues

[Stirfelt]

Another concern:

Today a notice arrived that new LR, RWD M3 are available right now!.
Would that be one of the stored 3's that we have read about?

What gives? Has the marked dropped on RWD, non performance new M3 Tesla's?
I might consider the offer at a reduced cost ..... say the $35k that they got everyone so excited about, but do not sell.
I'm sorry .... but it's a "bait and switch" scheme.

If it were not for the fact that I love the looks, mechanics and tech features of the M3, I would be out of the market. I just wish management could get the business and assembly side of the company to complement the design.

 

[lolder]

Got my red M3 July 24 vin 36xxx. Haven't seen one defect. There was a thin white line a few inches long on the rear bumper ridge. It wiped off with a damp cloth and was probably polish residue.

 

[alxwhy]

got my red in August, vin 58XXX and it has a number of minor issues such as dirt embedded into the paint and what seems like a thumbprint in the clear coat. also, the overall finish of the paint isn't very smooth - if you run your hand over the car certain parts feel slick and other parts feel sticky/bumpy. it does not feel like typical new car paint.

plus there's alot of orange peel over many parts of the car. disappointed in the paint quality for a 60k car. if it werent for the thumb print i probably wouldnt be too bothered by the other things.

 

[banned-66611]

got my red in August, vin 58XXX and it has a number of minor issues such as dirt embedded into the paint and what seems like a thumbprint in the clear coat. also, the overall finish of the paint isn't very smooth - if you run your hand over the car certain parts feel slick and other parts feel sticky/bumpy. it does not feel like typical new car paint.

plus there's alot of orange peel over many parts of the car. disappointed in the paint quality for a 60k car. if it werent for the thumb print i probably wouldnt be too bothered by the other things.

So what are they doing about it?

 

[alxwhy]

So what are they doing about it?

i'll find out on monday, finally scheduled a service appointment to get it looked at.

 

[Skione65]

i'll find out on monday, finally scheduled a service appointment to get it looked at.

@alxwhy,

Please keep us posted.

Ski

 

[favo]

TL;DR Minor paint issues, all taken care of to my satisfaction. Kudos to Tesla Raleigh for excellent service.

Took delivery of my red P3D+ on 8/28 (VIN 554xx, built 7/21/18). I brought my 1000 lumen flashlight and went over it thoroughly. I found a scuff and minor scratch on the front bumper and several dust nibs in the clear coat. Only one of the nibs was prominent enough for me to worry about. It was right on the upper crease of the rear quarter panel. My delivery specialist in Raleigh called over one of the detail guys. He buffed out the bumper in no time, then lightly sanded the dust nib. I agreed with that approach so as not to remove too much of the clear coat. It is still slightly raised, but very hard to find, unless you know exactly where to look. I am satisfied.

I was less worried about the very minor nibs, since I was planning to have full front XPEL Ultimate Plus and Gyeon MOHS+ on the whole car, which would include paint correction. When I brought it to the detail guys (TVP Auto) about 10 days later, we did a once over and noticed some flecks in the clear coat, mostly in the front fenders, but some on the hood and A pillars. These were hard to see in sunlight, but it was overcast that morning, which seemed to make them stand out. Some were a bit raised, others seemed smooth. He was concerned they would become more prominent with the XPEL on top.

I walked over to Raleigh Sales, which is conveniently about 100 feet away. Mike, the new delivery manager, took a look and agreed there was an issue. He then called the detail team to see what they thought. The whole team arrived in a Model X (kind of reminded me of the A-Team). They said it should be fixable and took it back to the shop. I heard back from TVP later that day that they got the car back from Tesla and couldn't see any of the flecks. Problem solved.

BTW, the panel gaps were excellent. On the interior, there was a 1/4" scratch on the lower, center plastic part of the steering wheel (to be replaced). I also later noticed some puckering in the rubber trim in the corners around the rear door windows. I think they will be able to reglue this when the steering wheel part is being installed.

 

[alxwhy]

@alxwhy,

Please keep us posted.

Ski

so i took the car into the service center today. they said they cant do anything about the issue until they receive a due bill, which needs to come from a sales/delivery advisor. luckily i am near the fremont delivery center, so i drove over there to talk to a delivery advisor. we went through the car and noted down the issues.

he wrote down the due bill and sent it to the service center. i drove back to the service center and dropped off the car. a lot of driving and detours, but the car will be sent to the body shop to address the paint issues. we'll see how everything ends up, i really didn't want things repainted but it seems like certain parts will need to be repainted.

the 1 disappointing thing is they say the orange peel is normal. i took a look at some other cars and they all have it. not sure what to do about that, i think its pretty bad orange peel throughout the car.

as others have mentioned, make sure you get a due bill for any paint defects you note. if you dont have a due bill, you need to take the car to your delivery/sales specialist or a delivery center so they can write you one.

when i called customer support they said the service center can address the issues directly, but that was not the case for me.

 

[Shizzrock]

so i took the car into the service center today. they said they cant do anything about the issue until they receive a due bill, which needs to come from a sales/delivery advisor. luckily i am near the fremont delivery center, so i drove over there to talk to a delivery advisor. we went through the car and noted down the issues.

he wrote down the due bill and sent it to the service center. i drove back to the service center and dropped off the car. a lot of driving and detours, but the car will be sent to the body shop to address the paint issues. we'll see how everything ends up, i really didn't want things repainted but it seems like certain parts will need to be repainted.

the 1 disappointing thing is they say the orange peel is normal. i took a look at some other cars and they all have it. not sure what to do about that, i think its pretty bad orange peel throughout the car.

as others have mentioned, make sure you get a due bill for any paint defects you note. if you dont have a due bill, you need to take the car to your delivery/sales specialist or a delivery center so they can write you one.

when i called customer support they said the service center can address the issues directly, but that was not the case for me.

every car has orange peel

 

[voip-ninja]

so i took the car into the service center today. they said they cant do anything about the issue until they receive a due bill, which needs to come from a sales/delivery advisor. luckily i am near the fremont delivery center, so i drove over there to talk to a delivery advisor. we went through the car and noted down the issues.

he wrote down the due bill and sent it to the service center. i drove back to the service center and dropped off the car. a lot of driving and detours, but the car will be sent to the body shop to address the paint issues. we'll see how everything ends up, i really didn't want things repainted but it seems like certain parts will need to be repainted.

the 1 disappointing thing is they say the orange peel is normal. i took a look at some other cars and they all have it. not sure what to do about that, i think its pretty bad orange peel throughout the car.

as others have mentioned, make sure you get a due bill for any paint defects you note. if you dont have a due bill, you need to take the car to your delivery/sales specialist or a delivery center so they can write you one.

when i called customer support they said the service center can address the issues directly, but that was not the case for me.

I think you are in for a bit of a shock if you think that having your car re-worked at a body shop is going to fix problems with orange peel. Orange peel is almost unavoidable with the types of paints that cars are now sprayed with.

One exception is Aston Martin... they actually have an entire stage in the paint production line where the paint of the car is worked on and polished to give it a perfect mirror finish. This takes many hours. This costs a lot of money. Tesla won't be doing this anytime soon.

Gaydon, Inspecting the paint on your new Aston Martin - what to look for., AMOC Forum | AMOC Aston Martin Owners Club

I, personally would be much more perturbed having my car re-worked by a body shop than some orange peel. I'm actually surprised that Tesla is going to eat the bill for this.

The only way I know of to "fix" this is to have a high end auto detailer polish the paint to get reduce it, not sure but this might also require stripping the clear coat off and then re doing the clear coat when they are done.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Believe one of the problems here is that these Tesla are being purchased by enthusiasts. They want every detail to be precise and right.

Most other manufacturers are more dealing with peoples transportation needs. They are more focused on haggling with the dealer on price, financing and payments, than a smudge on the paint.

Also believe that Tesla is upping their game on these deliveries. The cars are overall mostly in good shape for mass produced cars. People are generally happy with the quality, but the enthusiasts are all about posting their issues and giving follow ups as to their satisfaction with the cars after service getting another shot at it.

Most of the cars I see on the streets (Tesla are all over the place in San Diego) look pretty good, however I do not take out my handy 1.000 lumen flashlight to inspect their paint.

 

[alxwhy]

I think you are in for a bit of a shock if you think that having your car re-worked at a body shop is going to fix problems with orange peel. Orange peel is almost unavoidable with the types of paints that cars are now sprayed with.

One exception is Aston Martin... they actually have an entire stage in the paint production line where the paint of the car is worked on and polished to give it a perfect mirror finish. This takes many hours. This costs a lot of money. Tesla won't be doing this anytime soon.

Gaydon, Inspecting the paint on your new Aston Martin - what to look for., AMOC Forum | AMOC Aston Martin Owners Club

I, personally would be much more perturbed having my car re-worked by a body shop than some orange peel. I'm actually surprised that Tesla is going to eat the bill for this.

The only way I know of to "fix" this is to have a high end auto detailer polish the paint to get reduce it, not sure but this might also require stripping the clear coat off and then re doing the clear coat when they are done.

i don't expect the body shop to get rid of the orange peel. i expect the body shop to fix the thumb print in the clear coat and the dirt nibs that are embedded in the paint and noted by the service center.

this is my 1st red car so i really dont know the extent of orange peel that is acceptable in a new car. my recent new cars were hondas and bmws and the colors were white and silver, and i didnt really notice any. but i generally lease cars so i probably dont pay much attention.

 

[boiler81]

Believe one of the problems here is that these Tesla are being purchased by enthusiasts. They want every detail to be precise and right.

I had over a dozen paint defects on my MCR 3D, and have never found dust nibs on any new car I've ever purchased prior, be it a Mazda, Honda, or Mercedes. Tesla needs to fix their paint problems...it's not rocket science.

 

[Shizzrock]

i don't expect the body shop to get rid of the orange peel. i expect the body shop to fix the thumb print in the clear coat and the dirt nibs that are embedded in the paint and noted by the service center.

this is my 1st red car so i really dont know the extent of orange peel that is acceptable in a new car. my recent new cars were hondas and bmws and the colors were white and silver, and i didnt really notice any. but i generally lease cars so i probably dont pay much attention.

yeah those other issues are ridiculous, didn't mean to imply your concern was unwarranted. Just wanted to let you know about the orange peel. There's no way to avoid it with spraying unless you color sand the car, which no manufacturer does (except like the previous poster said super luxury cars). Granted, Tesla's may be more pronounced, which would be unfortunate.

 

[Shizzrock]

I had over a dozen paint defects on my MCR 3D, and have never found dust nibs on any new car I've ever purchased prior, be it a Mazda, Honda, or Mercedes. Tesla needs to fix their paint problems...it's not rocket science.

Gotta admit this is making me nervous.

 

[Shizzrock]

Believe one of the problems here is that these Tesla are being purchased by enthusiasts. They want every detail to be precise and right.

Most other manufacturers are more dealing with peoples transportation needs. They are more focused on haggling with the dealer on price, financing and payments, than a smudge on the paint.

Also believe that Tesla is upping their game on these deliveries. The cars are overall mostly in good shape for mass produced cars. People are generally happy with the quality, but the enthusiasts are all about posting their issues and giving follow ups as to their satisfaction with the cars after service getting another shot at it.

Most of the cars I see on the streets (Tesla are all over the place in San Diego) look pretty good, however I do not take out my handy 1.000 lumen flashlight to inspect their paint.

I don't know if enthusiast is the right word lol. Some of these interactions have me thinking Sheldon Cooper hangs out on the forum.

 

[Uncle Paul]

All these posts would make any one nervous. Call it Forum Induced Anxiety.

Without the forums people would feel much easier at delivery time.

 

[voip-ninja]

i don't expect the body shop to get rid of the orange peel. i expect the body shop to fix the thumb print in the clear coat and the dirt nibs that are embedded in the paint and noted by the service center.

this is my 1st red car so i really dont know the extent of orange peel that is acceptable in a new car. my recent new cars were hondas and bmws and the colors were white and silver, and i didnt really notice any. but i generally lease cars so i probably dont pay much attention.

It wasn't clear from your post that you had those issues, I just saw the objection to orange peel.

 

[alxwhy]

It wasn't clear from your post that you had those issues, I just saw the objection to orange peel.

i should of been more clear in the update post. i posted the issues that i wanted tesla's input on in the initial post. the update was just what happened at the service center.

they will fix the dust nibs and thumb print, it may require repainting. they said the orange peel was normal.

also things that i learned that have been mentioned by others before:

1. service center requires due bill to fix paint issues (unless you want to pay them for it)
2. you can get a due bill from any delivery specialist (easiest way if you can't connect with yours is to visit a delivery center).

 

[boiler81]

Gotta admit this is making me nervous.

Even though I had over a dozen paint defects, only a few warranted repair, and Tesla made it right by repainting the frunk lid and front bumper where the dust nibs were under the paint. The other defects were able to be addressed by my Detailer with polishing.

I am satisfied with the outcome, but would have much preferred first pass quality, rather than customer identified rework.