Rejected Delivery of Tesla Model 3

[MJVZ]

Well, I just ripped Tesla a new one....
I just rejected delivery due to the vehicle having a dent. Read on...it’s an entertaining story.

So...my wife and I arrived at 9:05am for a 9am appointment (imagine, we were feeling guilty as we approached the front door). Upon trying to open the front door of the dealership, it was locked (no problem...can happen to any business). So my wife quickly approached a different door, happens to have been double doors that lead into the Service room where cars are staged for delivery. My wife noticed a group of employees all standing between two M3’s (one was ours), one of the employees quickly stepped out (but did not let us in through). The employee walked us to the opposite side of the building, but those doors were closed as well (another employee came to the rescue from the inside).

Once inside we were greeted by a couple of folks, one of them took us to the Service room (now empty of employees except for one that was buffing the second vehicle).

The employee who escorted us asked us to inspect our M3...and then things went downhill. Rapidly and easily noticeable was a dent on the back passenger side of the vehicle. We also noticed a number of paint scratches (most probably from improper buffing practices). Oh....did I say my wife and I had driven an hour to Tesla...?

Long story short, the ripping began with the young man...and continued with whom I guess was the site or duty manager this morning. It wasn’t pretty....

I’ll post the Second part to this post in a while....driving back home now.

 

[Skateboardgolf]

OMG – you had to go to a different door, your car had poor paint buffing, and there was a dent (which is easily fixable).

Not to mention you yelled at a couple Tesla employees!

Can’t wait for part II.
/sarcasm

 

[Fobble]

pictures to come with part 2, please ....

 

[MaryAnning3]

Was this car white?

 

[shrspeedblade]

I didn't make a big deal about it and post on the forum, but when I took delivery there was a very small paint defect, but it was near the charging port where I would see it whenever I plugged the car in. I also didn't like the frunk alignment as it was slightly too high.

I brought both of these up at delivery. My delivery specialist noted them for future correction. I then took the car home and a week later brought it back for the fix(es) and they gave me a Model S to drive for a couple of days. I live about as far from the nearest service center as you do, so it was an inconvenience but they worked hard to make it right.

In my feedback email that they requested, I was polite but firm in my tone that the best scenario would have been the car not being delivered with these issues in the first place, but I was grateful that they followed through and made it right. I was constructive rather than destructive, maintaining my composure and not verbally abusing employees who work for the company but were in no way directly responsible for the defects. It is unfortunate that the attitude in this country is that being a customer gives you that right. It does not.

Tesla needs to grow into a company where in this scenario the least that would happen is in advance someone would come out, own that the car was not suitable for delivery, and promise in writing to make it right. They are a very young, rapidly growing company and are not there yet, but how you choose to respond can have a deciding impact on your experience with them.

<edit> I've been deliriously happy with the car ever since!

 

[woodisgood]

“Ripping someone a new one” isn’t something I’d take pride in.

Good luck - I hope Tesla makes it right for you. Based on my experience as well as reading others’, I don’t think verbally berating employees (and subsequently bragging on this forum about it) was necessary to get resolution.

 

[Hall-Morin]

I didn't make a big deal about it and post on the forum, but when I took delivery there was a very small paint defect, but it was near the charging port where I would see it whenever I plugged the car in. I also didn't like the frunk alignment as it was slightly too high.

I brought both of these up at delivery. My delivery specialist noted them for future correction. I then took the car home and a week later brought it back for the fix(es) and they gave me a Model S to drive for a couple of days. I live about as far from the nearest service center as you do, so it was an inconvenience but they worked hard to make it right.

In my feedback email that they requested, I was polite but firm in my tone that the best scenario would have been the car not being delivered with these issues in the first place, but I was grateful that they followed through and made it right. I was constructive rather than destructive, maintaining my composure and not verbally abusing employees who work for the company but were in no way directly responsible for the defects. It is unfortunate that the attitude in this country is that being a customer gives you that right. It does not.

Tesla needs to grow into a company where in this scenario the least that would happen is someone would come out, own that the car was not suitable for delivery, and promise in writing to make it right. They are a very young, rapidly growing company and are not there yet, but how you choose to respond can have a deciding impact on your experience with them.

We had a similar experience with our Model X - a day after it was delivered, we noticed a dimple/dent in the door frame and a slight misalignment of the falcon wing doors. We contacted Tesla and they promptly arranged for a ranger and a dent remover to address the issues. The car was perfect after that. Prior to the Model X, we purchased a demo Model S. I politely pointed out a scuffed wheel and asked if they could have it refinished. I also inquired about a rear spoiler (it was a P85+ but did not have one). They completed delivery of the car, with the wheel replaced and a spoiler installed at no extra cost. I should add that we're on Hawaii Island and the service center is in Oahu. Their rangers fly in to service the cars and they do an awesome job.

Employees make the company and are empowered to make certain decisions. They also don't have control over every thing, as you've suggested.

MJVS - Sorry to hear of your experience. I hope that they made it right for you. If they have not yet, give them the opportunity.

 

[MJVZ]

“Ripping someone a new one” isn’t something I’d take pride in.

Good luck - I hope Tesla makes it right for you. Based on my experience as well as reading others’, I don’t think verbally berating employees (and subsequently bragging on this forum about it) was necessary to get resolution.

Not bragging...nor taking pride, but taking a stance on expectations.

Tesla, as with any other retailer, should know better than to try to deliver (in this case a $67K vehicle) with a dent. Great Customer Service would have been the dealership calling in advance, notifying us of the damage, and offering solutions. To have a customer show up, knowing their product has damage and expecting acceptance is simply wrongful. If one wouldn’t expect that from BMW or Mercedes, y would one simply accept it from Tesla???

Hey, I love the car, and will get it, but for $67K, it better not come with a dent. It’s just not acceptable.

 

[MJVZ]

We had a similar experience with our Model X - a day after it was delivered, we noticed a dimple/dent in the door frame and a slight misalignment of the falcon wing doors. We contacted Tesla and they promptly arranged for a ranger and a dent remover to address the issues. The car was perfect after that. Prior to the Model X, we purchased a demo Model S. I politely pointed out a scuffed wheel and asked if they could have it refinished. I also inquired about a rear spoiler (it was a P85+ but did not have one). They completed delivery of the car, with the wheel replaced and a spoiler installed at no extra cost. I should add that we're on Hawaii Island and the service center is in Oahu. Their rangers fly in to service the cars and they do an awesome job.

Employees make the company and are empowered to make certain decisions. They also don't have control over every thing, as you've suggested.

MJVS - Sorry to hear of your experience. I hope that they made it right for you. If they have not yet, give them the opportunity.

Absolutely. I love the car, plan to enjoy it for years to come.

 

[ngogas]

Being an a$$ isn’t always the right solution. Berating an employee isn’t the way to do it either. Let them have a chance to get you a new car or address your issues before you yell at everyone. Stop being a hot head. You can get what you pay for without verbally abusing another human being.

 

[MJVZ]

Being an a$$ isn’t always the right solution. Berating an employee isn’t the way to do it either. Let them have a chance to get you a new car or address your issues before you yell at everyone. Stop being a hot head. You can get what you pay for without verbally abusing another human being.

Really...?

 

[MJVZ]

OMG – you had to go to a different door, your car had poor paint buffing, and there was a dent (which is easily fixable).

Not to mention you yelled at a couple Tesla employees!

Can’t wait for part II.
/sarcasm

Nope, never yelled.

 

[Gavyne]

Cosmetic blemishes are easy to fix. Hope they prep the car properly for you next time.

 

[outie]

Not bragging...nor taking pride, but taking a stance on expectations.

Tesla, as with any other retailer, should know better than to try to deliver (in this case a $67K vehicle) with a dent. Great Customer Service would have been the dealership calling in advance, notifying us of the damage, and offering solutions. To have a customer show up, knowing their product has damage and expecting acceptance is simply wrongful. If one wouldn’t expect that from BMW or Mercedes, y would one simply accept it from Tesla???

Hey, I love the car, and will get it, but for $67K, it better not come with a dent. It’s just not acceptable.

My $100k+ Model X came with a dent up front on the hood. It’s not obvious but it’s there. I gladly took delivery because there was nothing else wrong with the car. If I rejected it no one knows if the next car is better. I don’t expect my BMW or Porsche to have the same issue, but Tesla is not BMW. Of course everyone’s tolerance and expectation are different so I understand your frustration.

Sorry to hear about your experience. Meanwhile I’ll enjoy driving my X and P3D this weekend.

 

[svp6]

Agree that you should expect good quality on delivery. Not sure ripping couple Tesla employees helped you in any way. Enough to say "I expect more - fix it", then walk away. Rejecting the delivery is what provides educational value to the local store and feedback to Tesla; ripping provides animosity, which is never helpful....

 

[MJVZ]

Well, I just ripped Tesla a new one....
I just rejected delivery due to the vehicle having a dent. Read on...it’s an entertaining story.

So...my wife and I arrived at 9:05am for a 9am appointment (imagine, we were feeling guilty as we approached the front door). Upon trying to open the front door of the dealership, it was locked (no problem...can happen to any business). So my wife quickly approached a different door, happens to have been double doors that lead into the Service room where cars are staged for delivery. My wife noticed a group of employees all standing between two M3’s (one was ours), one of the employees quickly stepped out (but did not let us in through). The employee walked us to the opposite side of the building, but those doors were closed as well (another employee came to the rescue from the inside).

Once inside we were greeted by a couple of folks, one of them took us to the Service room (now empty of employees except for one that was buffing the second vehicle).

The employee who escorted us asked us to inspect our M3...and then things went downhill. Rapidly and easily noticeable was a dent on the back passenger side of the vehicle. We also noticed a number of paint scratches (most probably from improper buffing practices). Oh....did I say my wife and I had driven an hour to Tesla...?

Long story short, the ripping began with the young man...and continued with whom I guess was the site or duty manager this morning. It wasn’t pretty....

I’ll post the Second part to this post in a while....driving back home now.

So here how it ends...
The car will be taken to a body shop for repair. If the repair is satisfactory, then we’ll proceed with delivery. This includes an assurance of the repair NOT being VIN-reported (oh yes, that could happen since it would be taken to an outside body shop).

The other option would have been to become untagged to the vehicle and wait for another to come in. The risks here are: another wait, not knowing in advance the condition of that vehicle, new bank paperwork (since it would be a different VIN), and finally...missing out on this year’s level of tax credit. Not all critical, except for missing out on the credit.

In the end, the site manager did recognize that they have a process in place to check vehicles in and prior to delivery to a customer, and that they had indeed dropped the ball.

I’m sure Tesla and the body shop will fix things.

Oh...by the way...remember the part about the employees in the Service room in between the two M3’s....the damage was visible from many feet away....no way to miss it. Everyone knew there was damage, and even so, the attempt to have us accept delivery, as-is, was made. This was disappointing.

 

[C141medic]

Great Customer Service would have been the dealership calling in advance, notifying us of the damage, and offering solutions.

Totally agree. I was in a similar situation when I picked up my car in September. It would’ve been great if they had contacted me prior to delivery to explore repair options but this was during the 3rd quarter “madness.”

Tesla needs to establish an infrastructure where the cars are fully inspected and have any minor repairs completed prior to customer delivery as other traditional dealers currently have in place. I believe they’re slowly implementing this though.

Although I didn’t “rip” into anyone I can understand your frustration. I don’t think it would’ve been helpful to lose my cool and berate any employee. In the end the SC worked with me to make sure all my concerns were addressed and repairs completed to my satisfaction. My SC in Cherry Hill, NJ has been great. And the most important thing out of all this is I love the car and enjoy the sh*t out of driving it.

 

[MJVZ]

Agree that you should expect good quality on delivery. Not sure ripping couple Tesla employees helped you in any way. Enough to say "I expect more - fix it", then walk away. Rejecting the delivery is what provides educational value to the local store and feedback to Tesla; ripping provides animosity, which is never helpful....

Perhaps instead of ripping I should have said that I was ‘very stern’. Think I may have led folks to believe the wrong sentiment and action.

 

[MJVZ]

Totally agree. I was in a similar situation when I picked up my car in September. It would’ve been great if they had contacted me prior to delivery to explore repair options but this was during the 3rd quarter “madness.”

Tesla needs to establish an infrastructure where the cars are fully inspected and have any minor repairs completed prior to customer delivery as other traditional dealers currently have in place. I believe they’re slowly implementing this though.

Although I didn’t “rip” into anyone I can understand your frustration. I don’t think it would’ve been helpful to lose my cool and berate any employee. In the end the SC worked with me to make sure all my concerns were addressed and repairs completed to my satisfaction. My SC in Cherry Hill, NJ has been great. And the most important thing out of all this is I love the car and enjoy the sh*t out of driving it.

Never berated.

 

[ABC2D]

.it’s an entertaining story.

What's so "entertaining" about it?

"Ripped Teska a new one" - lol, aight