Service for paint defect

[Plug-n-Play]

Took delivery of my 3P last month and the only issues were some paint “drips” that dried up on the leading edge of the passenger door and a passenger lumbar control that doesn’t respond. I finally brought it in to the local service center (Syosset NY) today and I guess they have to send the car out to a certified body shop as they don’t perform that work themselves.

They estimate needing a week for the work. They provided me a Model S 85 as a loaner which is appreciated, but it definitely does not compare to my Model 3 Performance. I hope they do a good job with the paint and I don’t regret just accepting the factory defect...

 

[WilliamG]

Annoys me to read stuff like this. No, the OP did nothing wrong. Just annoys me that Tesla can't fully get its act together. Come on, Tesla. To change the world, you actually do need to sweat the small stuff!

 

[MountainJedi]

Annoys me to read stuff like this. No, the OP did nothing wrong. Just annoys me that Tesla can't fully get its act together. Come on, Tesla. To change the world, you actually do need to sweat the small stuff!

But what did Tesla do wrong here? Sure, there were some minor paint defects from the factory. Tesla's taking care of the OP while providing a loaner and sending the car to a body shop.

I have the same on my Ford F-150 and it wasn't fixed/I didn't notice it when I bought it. I would guess you could walk onto any brand of car lot right now and find multiple vehicles with the same paint issue.

I don't get why people think every unit delivered should come perfect from the factory. There are margins built in for failures of quality control within every mass manufacturing process. Are Tesla's margins larger than some others? Sure, they are now, but that should those should be refined over time as the process improves, which anecdotal evidence seems to suggest it is improving.

 

[WilliamG]

But what did Tesla do wrong here? Sure, there were some minor paint defects from the factory. Tesla's taking care of the OP while providing a loaner and sending the car to a body shop.

I have the same on my Ford F-150 and it wasn't fixed/I didn't notice it when I bought it. I would guess you could walk onto any brand of car lot right now and find multiple vehicles with the same paint issue.

I don't get why people think every unit delivered should come perfect from the factory. There are margins built in for failures of quality control within every mass manufacturing process. Are Tesla's margins larger than some others? Sure, they are now, but that should those should be refined over time as the process improves, which anecdotal evidence seems to suggest it is improving.

Sure, anything is possible with any vehicle. I can only speak for myself when I say that the build and fit and finish quality of the Model 3 is not up to what it should be for how much it costs. Now, don't equate that with me saying it's BAD. It's far from BAD. But there are some rough edges that simply should be ironed out. It's still worth every penny of its asking price, and then some. Just some things should be tightened up.

 

[Plug-n-Play]

Honestly I agree that for 70K, this car should not have been delivered with paint defects. That said, I am more than satisfied with what Tesla is doing to rectify the situation. We’ll see how it pans out.

 

[WilliamG]

Honestly I agree that for 70K, this car should not have been delivered with paint defects. That said, I am more than satisfied with what Tesla is doing to rectify the situation. We’ll see how it pans out.

Yes, that's the key. What they do when presented with this stuff and how they handle it is all that matters. Keep us updated!

 

[super20g]

If that is all yours had wrong with it fit and finish wise, you are lucky... I am sure that will be fixed quick and you won't be able to tell.

 

[Nopantz]

My M3D is in for paint rectification on my bumper this week while I’m having my door ding fixed. I didn’t notice the bumper on delivery and they agreed to take care of it without issue.

My only complaint, to date, is that you need to drop the car at the SC for them to take it to the body shop (or it turns out vice versa and waste a day with the car sitting in the SC).

 

[lynnpt2001]

But what did Tesla do wrong here? Sure, there were some minor paint defects from the factory. Tesla's taking care of the OP while providing a loaner and sending the car to a body shop.

I have the same on my Ford F-150 and it wasn't fixed/I didn't notice it when I bought it. I would guess you could walk onto any brand of car lot right now and find multiple vehicles with the same paint issue.

I don't get why people think every unit delivered should come perfect from the factory. There are margins built in for failures of quality control within every mass manufacturing process. Are Tesla's margins larger than some others? Sure, they are now, but that should those should be refined over time as the process improves, which anecdotal evidence seems to suggest it is improving.

Never time to do it right but always time to do it over....

 

[boiler81]

I had paint defects on my 2018 MCR M3D. Tesla fixed it right, but I was without the car for a couple weeks, The upside is that I was provided a P85D loaner.

All that said, Tesla needs to get their paint shop up to Luxury car standards.

 

[James88]

I sent mine in recently and they didn't do that good of a job. The "certified shop" left overspray in the edge of the door panel, scratched my trunk, and used touch up paint to fix a section where the door meets the fender like OP.

Waiting for them to call me back for a "game plan" it's been 2 days.

 

[Whitehawk]

I was fortunate - I’ve only had a few minor misaligned panels. I am really shocked OPs car made it past quality control. That is blatantly sloppy. I like my M3, but the competition is gather ing strength - I suspect future EV consumers may be less tolerant of poor quality compared to the tolerance of early adopters.

 

[Glamisduner]

I have been in a few times for paint, it should be taken care of. Annoying but don't sweat it. Mine was in the shop for 6 weeks right after I first got it and another 2 weeks later when I found some paint cracking on the inside of the trunk. Although it's not perfect since in the right light, I can see the tape line in the hood where they repainted, I guess it will do. But it's almost a year old now and will soon have 20k miles on it. So it's not new anymore anyways....

 

[CanadaCarCare]

Sure, anything is possible with any vehicle. I can only speak for myself when I say that the build and fit and finish quality of the Model 3 is not up to what it should be for how much it costs. Now, don't equate that with me saying it's BAD. It's far from BAD. But there are some rough edges that simply should be ironed out. It's still worth every penny of its asking price, and then some. Just some things should be tightened up.

Very well said, couldn't agree with you more. If my 20k cars can be properly painted without major defects, Tesla shouldn't have issues either.

 

[super20g]

Are the public financials granular enough to see what they pay out for all the re-do body work? I bet it would be staggering.

Seems like the process should be fixed upstream by now but the years keep ticking by.

 

[CanadaCarCare]

If that is all yours had wrong with it fit and finish wise, you are lucky... I am sure that will be fixed quick and you won't be able to tell.

Truth, I'm really wondering if they will do anything for me where there's missing paint on the doors and door jambs.

 

[super20g]

Truth, I'm really wondering if they will do anything for me where there's missing paint on the doors and door jambs.

Depends on how long it has been, and how nice your service advisor is feeling that day. I get some stuff fixed and told 'within spec' on others. Then buy another one and some stuff gets fixed that they didn't fix on the previous car and other stuff is 'within spec'.Good luck on the door jambs... But missing paint on the doors seems like they would fix. Mine is in right now for several things. Needed a new trunk lid because of how bad the seam sealer was applied all the way around. Also the front and rear bumper are thin in places but they don't want to respray it... They replaced them with pre-painted factory replacements last visit and they are thin just the same... Personally I think it should be fixed since you can see through to the bumper material... Tesla's standards are low and they make you put up a fight to get some things fixed.

 

[SoccerMan94043]

Sorry, responding how they do to issues is the LEAST Tesla should do. What they should be doing is improving the quality of their builds and their quality control process... no car should ever make it out the door with that kind of issue.

 

[jkoya]

My Performance 3 came with multiple paint defects and two different Mobile Techs both said my car should never had left the factory....

 

[groovidad]

Recall that Elon’s vision was to “kick start” the “EV Revolution”. He has stated he didn’t want Tesla to be a “Auto Company”. That said, with the Model 3, they went from “Production Hell”, to “Delivery Logistics Hell” and “Debt Hell”. Tesla has to pay back it’s loans and to do that you have to produce and deliver high volumes of product to make it. QA tends to take a “back seat” when attempting to stay “viable “, at least in Tesla’s current position.

That aside, the issue is that most of us that have owned Luxury or high-end vehicles, have come to have expectations on fit and finish...Quality associated with the increased costs at upper tier. Also remember, Tesla is a neophyte in the auto production game. Given time and learning curve, Tesla is, if not will, improve upon QA. Some of us have had exceptional experiences with fit and finish, to include me. Others have had issues, some minor and some major.

In the end, Tesla has made corrections and satisfied their obligations to their customers. I was fully prepared for “issues” before taking delivery but, I knew all would be made right. Is it an inconvenience? Absolutely! Was I willing to make the plunge, knowing what I did? Absolutely!