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Rejecting my 2020 Tesla M3P after 4 months of ownership. Sad day
- Thread starter M3PBOSS
- Start date
Yep! This was fixed by the way. The vehicle is fully operational and fit for purpose now but the main issue is that it requires further service centre visits (which there has been 7 in total) to fix a further 4-5 issues all relating to build quality/fit and finish but my question to Tesla at what point do we agree that this vehicle is not of satisfactory build quality?
I picked up a MiC M3 LR AWD on May 22nd: it is easy to check where the car was built by looking at the VIN: made in China cars start "L". Interesting comment about the 100% charge: the car was delivered with a 100% charge from the Superchargers at Cribbs Causeway.
Other than lacking 4 valve caps...as did all the new MiC M3s in the car park, the car is basically flawless. Fit and finish up to Mercedes levels...and I've had a few... and all have had issues resolved by the dealer. But I know that Mercedes owners do reject cars for many of the same reasons cited in this thread.
With 110 miles run I'm happy, although I'm less convinced by the "Vegan Leather", the now gone C63 had nappa leather, the Tesla stuff looks the same, but doesn't feel the same.
Other than lacking 4 valve caps...as did all the new MiC M3s in the car park, the car is basically flawless. Fit and finish up to Mercedes levels...and I've had a few... and all have had issues resolved by the dealer. But I know that Mercedes owners do reject cars for many of the same reasons cited in this thread.
With 110 miles run I'm happy, although I'm less convinced by the "Vegan Leather", the now gone C63 had nappa leather, the Tesla stuff looks the same, but doesn't feel the same.
I've been to SC 8 times since having car in December. 3 times were for same charging issue fault (which has now been fixed I hope) but I've now developed a faulty liftgate. At first it would open but then when pressing button wouldn't shut, now sometimes when I press button it just beeps twice and opens/closes right away.
It's in on Wednesday for a fix in the worst SC the UK has (Manchester) any more issues after this and I'll be doing the same as you. Frankly a 55k car shouldn't come with this many issues and spend a total of almost 8 weeks in SC. The car is amazing, but holy *sugar* there QC and aftercare is a disgrace, also some of the 'loaner' cars I had from the SC during COVID were absolutely disgusting.
Fingers crossed this liftgate is the last time I ever have to request a SC appointment. I wish you luck in getting it resolved and hope they don't cause problems.
It's in on Wednesday for a fix in the worst SC the UK has (Manchester) any more issues after this and I'll be doing the same as you. Frankly a 55k car shouldn't come with this many issues and spend a total of almost 8 weeks in SC. The car is amazing, but holy *sugar* there QC and aftercare is a disgrace, also some of the 'loaner' cars I had from the SC during COVID were absolutely disgusting.
Fingers crossed this liftgate is the last time I ever have to request a SC appointment. I wish you luck in getting it resolved and hope they don't cause problems.
I am surprised Mercedes and particularly AMG’s dont have the same level of negativity as Teslas if I’m honest, my last 4 cars have all been AMG’s and every single one of them had to go in for something. Failed headlights on my A45, C63 had a failed puddle light and a permanently opened rear view camera which caused issues opening the boot, GLC63S was probably the worst, 5 visits for squeaking brakes which they never resolved properly, both puddle lights failed and the ventilation fan in the dash failed.
Despite all the issues i loved the cars but many people would not put up with that, consequently i feel well conditioned to Tesla ownership!
Agree on the vegan leather tho, Nappa performance seats and the dinamica steering wheel are hard to beat. I do like the size and chunkiness of the M3 wheel tho, feels very similar leather to AMG wheels.
Rustybkts
Member
My Feb 2020 SR+ is still as good as new after 12,000 miles. I do realise I am one of the lucky ones and can only guess that good labour is hard to find at the right price around the plant as most of the faults mentioned happened on the line. There is no doubt that there isn't any quality control at the end of the line and if the car drives its gone. I feel for those with issues and oddly most seem to be with M3P's.
Ha ha! ... the Tesla "vegan leather" is pretty good (in my view) but I don't think anyone is going to honestly claim that it is going to compete with proper soft (expensive) real Nappa leather. I would think most of us give wry smile when we say "vegan leather"! Let's be honest here ... it's just rather nice quality vinyl.
ACarneiro
Active Member
Despicable behaviour. I am increasingly fed up with Tesla as a company. I said it before and I'll say it again, sooner or later they're going to be in for a rude awakening...
(Although in fairness my car is great and the staff at service centres are lovely, if of variable competence)
pdk42
Active Member
I was talking about my car (and comparing it to my wife's VW ID.3) with a group of friends, one of whom was another Tesla owner. The non-Tesla owners were all interested in our experiences and many were contemplating an EV as their next car. What was interesting was that most of them were very well aware of Tesla's reputation for poor build quality and lamentable service. So, this less-than-stellar reputation is certainly getting widely shared now. Tesla do need to be careful here - reputation once lost can be very hard to win back.
As some balance, us two Tesla owners (two Model 3s and an S between us), while admitting the build quality wasn't great in comparison to other brands, had few real issues to complain about. A few minor delivery snags between us and then 100% reliable motoring since.
As some balance, us two Tesla owners (two Model 3s and an S between us), while admitting the build quality wasn't great in comparison to other brands, had few real issues to complain about. A few minor delivery snags between us and then 100% reliable motoring since.
You say "reputation for poor build quality and lamentable service". Yet I and plenty of others have a flawless car, and have had fantastic service from them (at Bristol). They even gave me a free part that was worth £300 just because they couldn't find the box for it.
It's my experience in life, that if you approach a company (which, lets face it, is just people doing a job) with a friendly smile, and understanding tone and are polite yet persistent with your problems, you can get an awful lot resolved. If on the other hand you approach a situation saying "I know my rights!", saying how awful it is and making threatening statements, you will be met with resistance. This is human nature.
From all accounts I've heard the MIC cars are a step up in terms of consistency. It's a shame there are still quirks like the heat pump sensors being DOA, but that would be less of a concern to me buying a car today than fundamental things that you can't easily fix, like panel gaps and crap paint.
My Fremont March 2020 M3P is for the most part good, but it is not flawless. There were dust nibs and overspray in some areas in the paint, and the usual QC issues like sticker residue, etc. My chrome trim alignment wasn't perfect and neither was the bonnet, but both were resolved (the former by Tesla, the latter by myself)
Curious as to what that free part that costs £300 was though!
I did get a Tesla brolley and flask from Bristol SC, but I did ply them with some drinks at the same time.
My Fremont March 2020 M3P is for the most part good, but it is not flawless. There were dust nibs and overspray in some areas in the paint, and the usual QC issues like sticker residue, etc. My chrome trim alignment wasn't perfect and neither was the bonnet, but both were resolved (the former by Tesla, the latter by myself)
Curious as to what that free part that costs £300 was though!
I did get a Tesla brolley and flask from Bristol SC, but I did ply them with some drinks at the same time.
Jason71
Well-Known Member
Are you though "one of the lucky ones"?. Forums always bring out the worst. That is what they are there for. My 2019 LR is generally fine. 1 visit to an SC for a non build quality related issue. Clearly Tesla are not in the top echelons when it comes to quality I am just not clear as to how bad they are. Or is it more about how bad they are at taking responsibility for and fixing the issues when they do occur?
if there was a Tesla dealership a few miles from most of us and all the issues we have were fixed quickly and without fuss I think we would spend a lot less time talking about the ( admittedly sometimes poor) build quality.
The lack of pre delivery inspections is also part of the problem. I suspect most of us have bought cars in the past from other brands with factory build issues but they have been resolved before we even saw the cars so we never even knew.
I've had a similarly positive experience of quality and service but clearly the frustration does get to people if they have issues that require attention. All manufacturers share similar problems but they do vary in the prevalence and Tesla needs to improve. I suspect that the difference between brands is probably not as great as the acquired "reputation" often suggests. Once the word gets around everyone starts looking very closely! I was barely aware of the panel gap variations in cars before the Tesla publicity ... now I see uneven gaps on many different makes! One area of establishing a brand is through quality marketing. You know a Mercedes is a quality car before you even start looking because of the places it is advertised and the glossy promos that emphasise that aspect. The reality is that, in general, luxury car brands are the least reliable as evidenced through surveys of owners by Which magazine.
I would agree with this in terms of initial perception and the unfortunate reality of ownership.
So far nothing i have read on here sounds worse than my experience at Mercedes. What is different and I hadn’t really thought about is that they dont have that luxury brand recognition yet which buys them some leway on the service side.
Tesla "suffers" from not having the advertising and marketing promotion to give people that extra luxury feel-good factor. That is a choice by the company but it does make the brand even more sensitive to customer responses. Despite this, on balance, I am in favour of Tesla's choice ... the product is supposed to sell itself and so far that has been working.
It works both ways - Tesla used to throw a set of alloy wheels or a wall charger at owners if they could get somebody else to buy one which consequently meant lots of owners were talking them up. Now the benefits aren't so great the truth is coming out a little more but people are also naturally drawn to confirmation bias at times. The classic "would you buy it again" or "is it as good as you expected", given its a new type of car for most, is met with positive comments to avoid admitting a mistake. So arguably, owners commenting negatively is an admission they made a mistake, whereas if an AMG Merc had a problem, people would be surprised and think you'd been unlicky so admitting it is easier. Things are also linked to expectation, issues with Tesla are now so commonly talked about, 3 or 4 problems isn't seen as a bad car, a single issue on an AMG and its being talked about. We've had BMWs for 20 years before trying Tesla and I have to say Tesla isn't as good on quality of materials, build or reliability. My Model S is a good one by all accounts, buy its still needed 5 service visits in 3 years (rear camera, autopilot failings, steerting universal joint seizing which is damn scary when it happens, door card coming away every time I closed the door etc) and now the seat is having problems and I'm told its normal and they've suggested I don't have it as far back on the runners to stop it squeaking. Oh, and not to mention the eMMC issues. I ran a 6 series before and in 80k miles it had not a single problem.
Tesla goes its own way in many ways: they seem to take perverse pleasure in being different!
The sales and ordering is process certainly different from that of all the car suppliers I've ever used and to be honest I think I prefer it.
They certainly don't spend on marketing the way the "big brands" have for as long as I can remember with the result that as the big brands have managed customer perception for years, we are almost conditioned to know what we think we are buying into, even though the reality can be quite different. The downside is that it is easy for a minority to paint an overly positive or an overly negative view through social media.
So far it has all worked for Tesla, but I do think as the brand gains market share Tesla need to be a bit more proactive and try to steer the growth of brand identity.
The sales and ordering is process certainly different from that of all the car suppliers I've ever used and to be honest I think I prefer it.
They certainly don't spend on marketing the way the "big brands" have for as long as I can remember with the result that as the big brands have managed customer perception for years, we are almost conditioned to know what we think we are buying into, even though the reality can be quite different. The downside is that it is easy for a minority to paint an overly positive or an overly negative view through social media.
So far it has all worked for Tesla, but I do think as the brand gains market share Tesla need to be a bit more proactive and try to steer the growth of brand identity.
UPDATE: Tesla today responded to me stating that my issues are related to "the cosmetic appearance" of my car therefore are not reasonable grounds to reject the car. They have also stated as a side note that some of the issues (misaligned interior trims and rear spoiler peeling off) are not covered by the warranty. Fantastic and thank you Tesla for this wonderful experience you are giving me
MrBadger
Badger out
I think its best left to a judge to decide.
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