Rejected delivery today, Costa Mesa, CA

[_austin6650]

Took delivery on 5/31 at Costa Mesa. When I walked up to the car, I noticed a scratch in the bumper. I didn't say anything right away becasue I didnt want to "kill the experience". When we made it back to the front of the car to check out the frunk, I mentioned the scratch to the delivery specilaist, he apologized, and the detailer comes over to try and remove it(I knew it wouldn't buff out). We went back to the normal delivery process. Along the way we found another ding in the rear wheel well and a little bubble in the paint on the trunk lid. The team from Tesla were all very apologetic and promised they'd make it right. I could've refused delivery, but I trusted Tesla to make it right.

I dropped off my car on Monday to get the paint issues fixed - since multiple panels needed work and one of the panels was aluminum they wanted to send the car to a Tesla approved body shop in Burbank that has done over 1,000 Teslas and specializes in high-end cars. They sent a flatbed and away it went. Just got an update that it will be finished towards the end of this month. All though I don't have my new Model 3, I know the car will look great when it's done! BTW They gave me a new 2018 75D as a loaner.

 

[eCharcoal]

I was told either I wait 7-10 days to let the body shop fix it which would involve repainting the car or have to wait 4-6 weeks for tesla to build me another car. I opted for a new vehicle.

Just curious. If you choose to have the car repainted, do you need to take ownership before they do that? If not, you will still be able to inspect the new paint before making the final decision.

 

[Dante]

Sorry but Tesla does try to reassign VINs that are rejected for delivery. Here is a sequence I am close to:
- Car was rejected upon delivery here in Texas due to damage. I recorded the VIN number in alternate thread.
- Tesla repaired car with third party who logged the work onto Carfax report.
- Tesla assigns VIN without telling about damage to new buyer.
- New buyer sees my posting earlier and gets nervous about situation. Pulls the carfax; gets mad at Tesla for not telling; and I think he rejects the car.
- As of last sunday, that car is still on the Tesla lot.

So important question: should we be getting Carfax reports before. We take delivery? How much does that cost? Does it indicate if a delivery was rejected, or just lists any work done on the car?

 

[jelloslug]

So important question: should we be getting Carfax reports before. We take delivery? How much does that cost? Does it indicate if a delivery was rejected, or just lists any work done on the car?

It won't show anything. Manufacturers and dealer are not required to disclose work done to a car before it has been titled for the first time, though some states have a max value threshold on the non-disclosure.

 

[vinnie97]

Body shops vary dramatically. One near me regularly paints Ferrari's and other exotics. I bet they would do better then Elon's $100 million flame throwers

That's what I'm hoping after 2 fails from contracted Service King. Exoticar is now on the task. I'm over 7 weeks without the car.

 

[vinnie97]

Took delivery on 5/31 at Costa Mesa. When I walked up to the car, I noticed a scratch in the bumper. I didn't say anything right away becasue I didnt want to "kill the experience". When we made it back to the front of the car to check out the frunk, I mentioned the scratch to the delivery specilaist, he apologized, and the detailer comes over to try and remove it(I knew it wouldn't buff out). We went back to the normal delivery process. Along the way we found another ding in the rear wheel well and a little bubble in the paint on the trunk lid. The team from Tesla were all very apologetic and promised they'd make it right. I could've refused delivery, but I trusted Tesla to make it right.

I dropped off my car on Monday to get the paint issues fixed - since multiple panels needed work and one of the panels was aluminum they wanted to send the car to a Tesla approved body shop in Burbank that has done over 1,000 Teslas and specializes in high-end cars. They sent a flatbed and away it went. Just got an update that it will be finished towards the end of this month. All though I don't have my new Model 3, I know the car will look great when it's done! BTW They gave me a new 2018 75D as a loaner.

Maybe it will, maybe it won't (as far as looking good courtesy of a Tesla-approved body shop). Since the shop specializes in high-end cars (which I had to take it upon myself by way of my detailer to utilize), I hope you have better luck than me.

 

[Sneakerbuddy]

So important question: should we be getting Carfax reports before. We take delivery? How much does that cost? Does it indicate if a delivery was rejected, or just lists any work done on the car?

Yes you sure should....A car in Texas was refused for body work. Then sent to a repair shop and then offered to a new customer. He checked a car fax report and found evidence of the body work. The problem is the Carfax is permanent and will reduce the value in subsequent resale.

 

[Moderatefan]

Yes you sure should....A car in Texas was refused for body work. Then sent to a repair shop and then offered to a new customer. He checked a car fax report and found evidence of the body work. The problem is the Carfax is permanent and will reduce the value in subsequent resale.

Would paint jobs show up there? Like the car OP has rejected. I'm guessing no...

 

[Dante]

Is it legal for the. To sell you a car as “new” if someone else refused its delivery and then it subsequently had work done on it to fix it? Sounds sketchy. I’m getting stressed about talking delivery. My last car was a Mazda 3. I think I rushed the delivery guy through the inspection because I just assumed “hey, it’s a new car, what am I inspecting it for? Of course it’ll be perfect, and if not, what can I do about it? Not like I’m gonna refuse the car...” this forum is really opening my eyes (though I really don’t want to find anything wrong with the car). Fingers crossed for a flawless delivery.

 

[octoad]

Sorry but Tesla does try to reassign VINs that are rejected for delivery. Here is a sequence I am close to:
- Car was rejected upon delivery here in Texas due to damage. I recorded the VIN number in alternate thread.
- Tesla repaired car with third party who logged the work onto Carfax report.

That sucks. I'd hate to be surprised by a carfax hit when trying to sell my car 8-10 years from now. Should running a Carfax report be on the delivery check lists now?

 

[brkaus]

Is it legal for the. To sell you a car as “new” if someone else refused its delivery and then it subsequently had work done on it to fix it? Sounds sketchy. I’m getting stressed about talking delivery. My last car was a Mazda 3. I think I rushed the delivery guy through the inspection because I just assumed “hey, it’s a new car, what am I inspecting it for? Of course it’ll be perfect, and if not, what can I do about it? Not like I’m gonna refuse the car...” this forum is really opening my eyes (though I really don’t want to find anything wrong with the car). Fingers crossed for a flawless delivery.

Yes, it is perfectly legal as long as the repair costs are under the threshold for the state. Nothing says your Mazda wasn't repaired when it got off the ship (or truck).

 

[TaoJones]

Kudos for refusing delivery. I wouldn’t even consider accepting a new car in this or any other price range that required “repainting” before I took delivery.

Both of mine required significant paint correction - which Tesla paid for, directly to the master detailer of my choice.

However, that’s different than “repainting” which implies an entire panel or panels. Good luck with that blending if it’s metallic paint. There are *maybe a handful* of shops in SoCal that I’d even consider to do that level of work. And that’s *now* if/when I end up with damage.

These aren’t work trucks or winter cars (in general) that we’re talking about. Besides which, any competent appraiser can figure out if a car has been repainted *most of the time*, and it’s *not a value add*.

And with regard to 10 days or 7 weeks referenced above - Am fairly sure Tesla’s not picking up the tab wrt the payments during that time.

I guess some people are willing to take one for the team. Well, goooooooooooo team.

Suffice it to say, I am not now, have never been, nor will ever be one of those people (Dan Akroyd voice, original Blues Brothers).

Heh - as I think of all the damage I’ve let slide at SvCs over the years - dented trim/fascia, scratched tint, scuffed kick plates, nicked rims... we’ll just call that a different (post-delivery) team.

 

[Epwr]

Well here is my experience with vehicles gettting repainted with a metallic finish it never looks uniform/blends in with the original paint from the factory. As mention before in the post above mine any competent appraiser can take a paint thickness meter and figure out a vehicle has been repainted despite having a clean car fax.

Good luck trying to explaining the repair story and not get dinged on the appraised value.

For those members about to take delivery don’t feel pressured or use blind faith things will go smoothly on delivery day. Best way to prepare is to gain knowledge on what to expect on delivery day, tactics used to notify owners of delays or imperfections, and what the most likely outcome will be if an event pops up given the numerous posts shared by members on this forum to make the best logical choice.

I specifically asked my delivery person to find out what would be involved in the repair process and get back to me. Once I heard the explanation I knew right away this was just not “scratches” on the areas. I simply decided this is not a problem I should be dealing with a new vehicle and given the history of owners getting paint job repairs hasn’t been stellar.

I’m grateful that other members were forth coming with their delivery experiences and posted for other members to read. It sure helped me on what to expect and how to react given the situation from my delivery experience.

I will update this thread once I get updates on my situation.

 

[vinnie97]

It's not taking one for the team necessarily, I was just caught between a rock and a hard place with the nearest deliver/service center 2 hours away. I had sold my only vehicle on the day of delivery but in hindsight should've refused/canceled everything when they called me late that morning about the paint chip.

It's not like Tesla isn't paying dearly for this either, with 3 separate body shop service visits so far. Any actuary review of my case should help them do better in the future (and already did make an impact since they started applying protective films for transport 2 weeks after my "delivery").

If I ever get an opportunity to buy a vehicle of this caliber/price range again, I now have a better expectation of how to proceed. There's no point in fretting about reduced appraisal values and whether it blends. The Service King blending job was good enough to my naked eye, it was the dirt/blemishes that gave it away. Hopefully, this joint that fixes up high-end vehicles will employ better workmanship.

 

[ebmcs03]

I took a tour of the BMW vehicle distribution center in Oxnard. They repair cars there all the time before shipping it to the dealers. They dont disclose those repairs as far as I remember.

 

[Candleflame]

Repainting a brand new car? 100 million dollar robotic paint booth vs Jose at the local paint-n-shine...no thanks.

maybe a detailer can shine some light on this but I was under the impression that an average joe manually will do a better job painting a car than a robot?

 

[Epwr]

got an update, new delivery is July 7th, VIN 25664

anyone know the history on this one? seems kinda of low to be freshly built from the factory

 

[ninpb]

Just curious. If you choose to have the car repainted, do you need to take ownership before they do that? If not, you will still be able to inspect the new paint before making the final decision.

I'm very interested in this question as I'm going to assume and hope that I'll be in this situation with the full federal tax credit ending... Wait for next VIN or accept delivery to secure credit and trust it will get fixed...

 

[eye.surgeon]

I put mine under an electron microscope and found excess space between several molecules. Rejected it.

 

[vinnie97]

Well, Dr. Eye Surgeon, my 83-year-old father could see the the unevenness of the passenger panel in comparison to the driver side on a vehicle that I should have rejected (paint chip), and he has one eye with a cataract and the other with cloudiness from a prior cataract removal (both being sorted now).