Seeing advice for addressing damage noted at delivery or right after

[speedster3]

First would like to say thanks to all who post here — as a new owner, these forums have been invaluable.

Looking for a little advice from those owners who have taken delivery and noted MINOR but legitimate damage to the their vehicle at the time of delivery or shortly thereafter. I recently took delivery and after a pretty thourough check, I proceeded with purchasing the car. Drove immediately to get clear bra installed and they noted a small paint chip and adjacent dent on a panel. Notified Tesla immediately who is resolving the problem. It is very small but will need repainting of the panel and possibly blending with the adjacent one.

I know there are numerous threads on the topic of damage to new cars but I am looking for owners’ experiences with resolving this issues. Specifically, what has Tesla offered you as compensation (in addition to repairing it) for purchasing a car that should be be new but was damaged?

No matter how small the paint chip, defect or dent, repainting whole panels or adding touch up paint immediately causes the value of your supposedly new car to drop. Were you compensated for this reduction in value? They offered me approximately $500 in accessories but I’m not sure that is enough to compensate for the reduction.

Any and all advice would be most appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ZERO260]

Take pictures. Document all deals in writing with store manager. I Had a similar experience. Small scratch on hood and other minor stuff not found in the service center at delivery. Time is of essence get it fixed as soon as you can. They attempted to buff out scracth but it was to deep to completely remove. I didn't want to risk having anyone paint it. They noted it on service paperwork and said I would be responsible down the road if I decided I wanted the scratch fixed.

I had a crazy experience trying to make a change order within my seven day window. It took 3 months to resolve. I was offered 2 free years annual maintenance. All I have is email trail. They would not give me anything official at delivery. I was told its in the computer and is transferable to any Tesla Service Center. I imagine handling some of these issues are related to the experience and knowledge of the person handling it.

I THE LOVE THE CAR!

 

[idealsol]

I had paint issues at our December 2016 delivery
Probably wouldn't have noticed but I took my xpel installer with me to check the paint
There was a small but down to the metal scratch on a front panel. Also a chip on a rear panel.
They attempted to touch up the chip area but it didn't come out very well

So now the dilemma. Do you take the car and note the problems, or refuse delivery
Like many, we waited a while to get the car and we were anxious. We also wanted a 2016 tax credit. And at delivery they estimated it could be 6 weeks to get the paint fixed. I felt as if they were pushing me to complete the delivery.
I did take the car and did immediate xpel on the front

However, after some other minor issues that required taking the car in for service, I started having 2nd thoughts about the small paint defects.
This time they said they would repaint both problem panels, and quoted 2 weeks now

I got the car back in just over 2 weeks and was happy with the result

If I had it to do again, I might refuse delivery
Perhaps it would depend on the time required to fix the car
One real factor for me and many is once you take delivery you're paying for a costly car that might be sitting in the shop on your dime

 

[speedster3]

Take pictures. Document all deals in writing with store manager. I Had a similar experience. Small scratch on hood and other minor stuff not found in the service center at delivery. Time is of essence get it fixed as soon as you can. They attempted to buff out scracth but it was to deep to completely remove. I didn't want to risk having anyone paint it. They noted it on service paperwork and said I would be responsible down the road if I decided I wanted the scratch fixed.


ZERO260 -- Did you think that the result from painting would be more noticeable than the scratch?

 

[speedster3]

Good point re: paying for car and not driving it.

Did they compensate you at all beyond paint for the repaint?

I had paint issues at our December 2016 delivery
Probably wouldn't have noticed but I took my xpel installer with me to check the paint
There was a small but down to the metal scratch on a front panel. Also a chip on a rear panel.
They attempted to touch up the chip area but it didn't come out very well

So now the dilemma. Do you take the car and note the problems, or refuse delivery
Like many, we waited a while to get the car and we were anxious. We also wanted a 2016 tax credit. And at delivery they estimated it could be 6 weeks to get the paint fixed. I felt as if they were pushing me to complete the delivery.
I did take the car and did immediate xpel on the front

However, after some other minor issues that required taking the car in for service, I started having 2nd thoughts about the small paint defects.
This time they said they would repaint both problem panels, and quoted 2 weeks now

I got the car back in just over 2 weeks and was happy with the result

If I had it to do again, I might refuse delivery
Perhaps it would depend on the time required to fix the car
One real factor for me and many is once you take delivery you're paying for a costly car that might be sitting in the shop on your dime

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

I had paint issues at our December 2016 delivery
Probably wouldn't have noticed but I took my xpel installer with me to check the paint
There was a small but down to the metal scratch on a front panel. Also a chip on a rear panel.
They attempted to touch up the chip area but it didn't come out very well

So now the dilemma. Do you take the car and note the problems, or refuse delivery
Like many, we waited a while to get the car and we were anxious. We also wanted a 2016 tax credit. And at delivery they estimated it could be 6 weeks to get the paint fixed. I felt as if they were pushing me to complete the delivery.
I did take the car and did immediate xpel on the front

However, after some other minor issues that required taking the car in for service, I started having 2nd thoughts about the small paint defects.
This time they said they would repaint both problem panels, and quoted 2 weeks now

I got the car back in just over 2 weeks and was happy with the result

If I had it to do again, I might refuse delivery
Perhaps it would depend on the time required to fix the car
One real factor for me and many is once you take delivery you're paying for a costly car that might be sitting in the shop on your dime

Why didn't they give you a loaner?

 

[idealsol]

Why didn't they give you a loaner?

Perhaps I wasn't clear
If I left the car at initial delivery I believe they would have provided a loaner
When we did go back for service and left the car for 2+ weeks we did get a loaner
Not a Tesla tho and the whole loaner experience was brutal
Loaner 1 - a Mercedes , service nags for problems jet coming up. We were ok with that but car was chugging and surging badly at times when we came to a stop
Loaner 2 - Volvo 60 - seemed nice but half way home in driving rain we see ants literally crawling all over cabin - also found glove box with at least 4 Prior rental contracts in it and some filthy coffe cuos stuffed in - called quite upset now - they said they'd send a driver to our house with another loaner
Loaner 3 - Kia Optima - it was fine

I guess my point was I'm still paying for a Tesla and the Kia didn't seem like a comparable or near comparable loaner

 

[idealsol]

Good point re: paying for car and not driving it.

Did they compensate you at all beyond paint for the repaint?

No , and we had to reinstall the xpel on a front panel. My dime. That was ok but I've been told they've taken care of that before

I choose to put the xpel above on immediately after delivery so I was ok with reinstalling at my cost

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

Perhaps I wasn't clear
If I left the car at initial delivery I believe they would have provided a loaner
When we did go back for service and left the car for 2+ weeks we did get a loaner
Not a Tesla tho and the whole loaner experience was brutal
Loaner 1 - a Mercedes , service nags for problems jet coming up. We were ok with that but car was chugging and surging badly at times when we came to a stop
Loaner 2 - Volvo 60 - seemed nice but half way home in driving rain we see ants literally crawling all over cabin - also found glove box with at least 4 Prior rental contracts in it and some filthy coffe cuos stuffed in - called quite upset now - they said they'd send a driver to our house with another loaner
Loaner 3 - Kia Optima - it was fine

I guess my point was I'm still paying for a Tesla and the Kia didn't seem like a comparable or near comparable loaner

That sounds pretty awful. I've had an Optima rental car before. I like the exterior styling but it drove like a Kia. Definitely not an MS substitute. I'm currently on my 5th day with a P85DL loaner. I'm not trying to rub it in, but just trying to inform you and others that your loaner experience hopefully isn't the norm.