I have a Model 3 on order and decided to look on Social Media and on here to get a sense of how Delivery would go. I fell down a rabbit hole of horror stories and terrible Service Center experiences and am now I am starting to second guess even going through with purchasing the car. I know there are a lot of people on Social Media that like to put down Tesla. But as a first time buyer it has definitely given me anxiety about what is to come. Then I happen to find your post which has made me feel some what better. But I am still questioning in my mind if this is going to be a good choice. Hopefully everything goes smoothly.
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Social Media and Posts on here starting to give me anxiety.
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- Delivery experience questions
I have a Model 3 on order and decided to look on Social Media and on here to get a sense of how Delivery would go. I fell down a rabbit hole of horror stories and terrible Service Center experiences and am now I am starting to second guess even going through with purchasing the car. I know there are a lot of people on Social Media that like to put Tesla down. I mean some of them were clearly fake or lying. But I found a lot on here that seem truthful. As a first time buyer, it has definitely given me anxiety about what is to come. Does anyone have a great experience they can share? Are the bad experiences the norm? Hopefully everything goes smoothly.
I've purchased 3 Teslas; 2 MYs and 1 MSLR and have had minimal issues. I had a door handle not retract like it should on my MS, but they said they could get a mobile tech to my house in 2 days to fix it (they replaced it, but it took 3 days instead of 2) and I wouldn't have to wait at the SC or I could wait about 2 hours and have it fixed there. I also was missing the trunk cover, but I received that from the mobile tech as well.
You don't have to accept the car after delivery is something is wrong or they are being difficult, but I found it easier than a typical car dealership. There may be some blemishes, but from my experience they are polite and quick to fix them. A guy buying a M3 rejected his car because he felt the rear taillight was crooked when I was picking up. They fixed this, but he said he didn't want his new car to already have a repair and they didn't give him any real pushback other than letting him know he will have to wait.
You don't have to accept the car after delivery is something is wrong or they are being difficult, but I found it easier than a typical car dealership. There may be some blemishes, but from my experience they are polite and quick to fix them. A guy buying a M3 rejected his car because he felt the rear taillight was crooked when I was picking up. They fixed this, but he said he didn't want his new car to already have a repair and they didn't give him any real pushback other than letting him know he will have to wait.
I have purchased 3 Tesla's, all of the delivery experiences have been the fantastic car purchase experiences. My cars look great and it took mere minutes for the paperwork. This is a car forum and such is susceptible to having some pretty one off examples of the worst case scenarios.
This.
Most people who post are posting to complain, most of which are real issues. People without problems are less likely to speak of them as it's to be expected.
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
All Social Media gives me anxiety.
But not Twitter, I love Twitter (Elon, if you're watching
)
Shelburne
Member
We picked up our M3LR in September of 2020. It was a Saturday and the place was crowded when my wife and I got there. Within minutes of arriving, one of the staff approached us to ask if we were picking up a car or just shopping. I told him we were picking up a car and gave him our name. He was back in less than two minutes, took us inside where we filled out the usual paperwork. Then he brought us to the car and told us to take as long as we wanted to check it out. We spent about a half hour going over the car with a fine toothed comb. The fit and finish was great. We only found one mark on the bottom of the front passenger door. It was just a dirt smudge and they buffed it right out. The car was already charged to 80% but I asked if we could top it off because home was 107 miles away and I had some range anxiety. They topped the car off, put on the plates, gave us our paperwork, took our check and we were on our way. It was without a doubt the easiest and most pleasant experience I have ever had buying a car. Since then the car has been as close to perfect as one could hope. Only one issue - one of the cameras stopped working. They came to our house and fixed it in 20 minutes.
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
Tesla delivery guide and check-list
Things to know on the run up to and delivery of your Tesla including a delivery check-list
tesla-info.com
RayK
Active Member
I'm not on Social Media (other than here) so I can't really say anything about that. Other than, don't believe every negative thing you read. People vent on SM about all sorts of things. Some have truth behind what they are saying, while others can be bots that are trying to exert some influence. As others have said, people rarely sign up with web forums so that they can talk about all the great things their car, camera, computer, etc. has or does. If somebody has an issue about something, it's human nature to get up on a soapbox and shout.
Only a single model Tesla owner from July 2018 (Model 3 LR RWD VIN 444XX) here. Pickup experience was good (Fremont, CA). I inspected the car then arranged payment via bank transfer. Nothing about the vehicle was that far out of line. Sure there was some panel alignment inconsistencies but I've had that with other makes before (Mazda, BMW). In and out in about 90 minutes. I had read up on the features of the car and had rented one a few months before so I knew what to expect with the car. Minimal handholding by the sales personnel. Again, this was in July of 2018 when the first Model 3s were just a few months old. I'd think that the delivery experience is much different by now. Certainly the build technique is probably changed. Whether that's good or bad, I have no comment on.
One minor problem that I discovered while driving home with my new car was that the tire pressure system (TPMS) was not working correctly. This was fixed after a couple of months via an over-the-air update/reset. Second issue was that after a few months my car no longer completed software updates. I had scheduled a visit to a local service center but on the evening before they contacted me and said they performed a reformat on the SD card, again over-the-air, which fixed the problem.
I've had mobile service in my driveway a couple of times. Once to perform the HW3.0 update and another time for the upper control arm re-seal. I proactively replaced the 12V battery just before it reached four years old. Did that as I was going on a long trip and didn't want that to be an issue (many reports of the 12V failing around 4 years of age). Had mobile service replace the cabin filters too. Great service if you have access to it. Have visited brick-and-mortar service a few times (Santa Clara, CA), mostly as a walk-up (tire patching one time and when it got another nail, replacing both rear tires). I've also gone in to buy items such as keycards, rear quarter windows, charge port ECU and the charge port door sensor target; no issues. No major mechanical issues with the car in the nearly 5 years I've had it.
I don't know what Tesla service coverage is like in WV. I'm lucky to live near the factory (20 miles away) and have several service centers nearby.
Only a single model Tesla owner from July 2018 (Model 3 LR RWD VIN 444XX) here. Pickup experience was good (Fremont, CA). I inspected the car then arranged payment via bank transfer. Nothing about the vehicle was that far out of line. Sure there was some panel alignment inconsistencies but I've had that with other makes before (Mazda, BMW). In and out in about 90 minutes. I had read up on the features of the car and had rented one a few months before so I knew what to expect with the car. Minimal handholding by the sales personnel. Again, this was in July of 2018 when the first Model 3s were just a few months old. I'd think that the delivery experience is much different by now. Certainly the build technique is probably changed. Whether that's good or bad, I have no comment on.
One minor problem that I discovered while driving home with my new car was that the tire pressure system (TPMS) was not working correctly. This was fixed after a couple of months via an over-the-air update/reset. Second issue was that after a few months my car no longer completed software updates. I had scheduled a visit to a local service center but on the evening before they contacted me and said they performed a reformat on the SD card, again over-the-air, which fixed the problem.
I've had mobile service in my driveway a couple of times. Once to perform the HW3.0 update and another time for the upper control arm re-seal. I proactively replaced the 12V battery just before it reached four years old. Did that as I was going on a long trip and didn't want that to be an issue (many reports of the 12V failing around 4 years of age). Had mobile service replace the cabin filters too. Great service if you have access to it. Have visited brick-and-mortar service a few times (Santa Clara, CA), mostly as a walk-up (tire patching one time and when it got another nail, replacing both rear tires). I've also gone in to buy items such as keycards, rear quarter windows, charge port ECU and the charge port door sensor target; no issues. No major mechanical issues with the car in the nearly 5 years I've had it.
I don't know what Tesla service coverage is like in WV. I'm lucky to live near the factory (20 miles away) and have several service centers nearby.
LOL, even after what I went thru, I'd still buy a Tesla in a heartbeat.
I was scared initially as well but I will say again it was the least painful experience, getting it even after 3.5 months I don’t regret a thing other than not waiting till dec 15 and, the fact I still have to drive an ice car at work and even the best car in the motor pool that until dec 7 I thought was a good car is now a crap car lol my standards went way up.
The other thing you also have to remember human nature when things go great we don’t necessarily talk about it but boy when people screw up, we postit everywhere. And I have talked to many people that have had service at least in my area before I got mine only one of them ever had anything negative to say and that was how long it took to get a motor for his x 3 years ago in Jan(pre Covid) But they provided him with a loaner(m3 lr) that he had for ~2 months. The rest that had issues where happy or at least not dissatisfied.
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My wife and I picked up our M3 RWD last Sunday. There was no pressure and we were able to take as long as we wanted before finalizing. Tesla employees were readily available if we had any questions. It was an indoor facility, lighting wasn't great and when we got home we realized the driver side rear door card was not installed correctly. Didn't effect the function of the door or window.
Scheduled a mobile service visit on Monday and there were here today. Tech removed and reinstalled but due to the initial misalignment the card was warped and wouldn't install cleanly. So he put in an updated order and they will be back Monday with a new replacement part.
All of this is no cost covered under warranty and easy to setup and arrange. Meanwhile we've been enjoying the car and couldn't be happier!
Don't get to worked up about it, as was stated previously is there's something you're not comfortable at delivery you can always refuse. If there are minor things I'm sure they will be addressed.
Good Luck!
Scheduled a mobile service visit on Monday and there were here today. Tech removed and reinstalled but due to the initial misalignment the card was warped and wouldn't install cleanly. So he put in an updated order and they will be back Monday with a new replacement part.
All of this is no cost covered under warranty and easy to setup and arrange. Meanwhile we've been enjoying the car and couldn't be happier!
Don't get to worked up about it, as was stated previously is there's something you're not comfortable at delivery you can always refuse. If there are minor things I'm sure they will be addressed.
Good Luck!
I have nearly 180,000 miles on one of my 2018 Model 3s and almost 70,000 on the other. They’re both great; range anxiety is only an issue in some edge cases or if you have unrealistic expectations, and service really hasn’t been a problem. Just last week, Mobile Service came up and did some work in my driveway.
Cheers!
I'm not a Tesla apologist or Elon Musk fanboy and have been very critical of the company when it comes how they have handled certain things. But my ordering and delivery experience was not one of them. It couldn't have gone better and was an amazing breath of fresh air from the usual ordeal at the traditional dealership. My sales associate was very knowledgeable and friendly, the appointment was easy to set up and when I arrived I wasn't pushed into buying extra accessories/warranties that I didn't need. The car was in great shape, no build issues or anything like that and the car has worked fantastically ever since. (75,000 miles). There's some software glitches from time to time that are annoying but functionally the car has been perfect.
I picked mine up last Tuesday and had no issues or negative experiences. Other than waiting around an empty Delivery Room for 20 minutes while they were in the parking lot helping previous appointments, the two employees I worked with were kind, knowledgable, and the car was flawless.
Sell enough cars and someone out there will have a bad experience. I had a great experience taking delivery in my 2018 Model 3. Took less than 30 minutes, singed some papers, gave them a check and I was driving back home really quick. Have a 2023 model on order, 100% not worried at all.
srs5694
Active Member
As others have said, social media (including forums like this one) tend to attract complaints; people are more likely to post when something that should be routine goes badly than when it goes smoothly.
My own delivery experience was fairly smooth, but odd. When I bought my Model 3, in March of 2019, Tesla had no store in Rhode Island, where I live. The nearest stores (in Massachusetts) could not deliver a car with temporary plates, so I was offered a choice: Travel to New York State to pick up my car with temporary NY plates; or have my car delivered at my home, and then I'd have to go to the RI DMV to get plates once all the paperwork was finished. Because I live on a busy street, where a truck would have difficulty delivering my car, the latter would involve a Tesla employee driving my car to my house with dealer plates and then Ubering back to the Tesla store. I chose this option, and it went pretty well. The one complaint I had is that there was a small nick in the paint at the corner of one bumper. Tesla paid to have this fixed. I also had a brand-new Tesla sitting in my driveway and I couldn't legally drive it for three days until I got the paperwork and the DMV opened up.
A friend of mine bought a Model Y last summer, and I was there for his experience. (I drove him to the same Tesla store from which I bought my Tesla.) His experience was pretty smoothly, too. The worst of that was that there was a very fine scratch in the paint, but a Tesla employee was able to buff it out in about two minutes.
I don't have hard data on how common negative delivery experiences are with Teslas vs. other brands. My impression is that I see more problem reports with Tesla than with other brands, but that could be a matter of Tesla buyers being more vocal about problems or Tesla attracting more fake problem reports. OTOH, it could be real -- but even if it is, I don't think it's the norm. I do suspect, though, that Tesla does a poorer job of prepping cars for delivery than do most traditional car dealers -- things like the small nick in my car's paint and the faint scratch in my friend's car's paint would probably have been caught and fixed by most dealers before delivery.
My own delivery experience was fairly smooth, but odd. When I bought my Model 3, in March of 2019, Tesla had no store in Rhode Island, where I live. The nearest stores (in Massachusetts) could not deliver a car with temporary plates, so I was offered a choice: Travel to New York State to pick up my car with temporary NY plates; or have my car delivered at my home, and then I'd have to go to the RI DMV to get plates once all the paperwork was finished. Because I live on a busy street, where a truck would have difficulty delivering my car, the latter would involve a Tesla employee driving my car to my house with dealer plates and then Ubering back to the Tesla store. I chose this option, and it went pretty well. The one complaint I had is that there was a small nick in the paint at the corner of one bumper. Tesla paid to have this fixed. I also had a brand-new Tesla sitting in my driveway and I couldn't legally drive it for three days until I got the paperwork and the DMV opened up.
A friend of mine bought a Model Y last summer, and I was there for his experience. (I drove him to the same Tesla store from which I bought my Tesla.) His experience was pretty smoothly, too. The worst of that was that there was a very fine scratch in the paint, but a Tesla employee was able to buff it out in about two minutes.
I don't have hard data on how common negative delivery experiences are with Teslas vs. other brands. My impression is that I see more problem reports with Tesla than with other brands, but that could be a matter of Tesla buyers being more vocal about problems or Tesla attracting more fake problem reports. OTOH, it could be real -- but even if it is, I don't think it's the norm. I do suspect, though, that Tesla does a poorer job of prepping cars for delivery than do most traditional car dealers -- things like the small nick in my car's paint and the faint scratch in my friend's car's paint would probably have been caught and fixed by most dealers before delivery.
They are delivering thousands per day now and increasing.
People are more apt to write a negative experience.
Just get the vehicle and chances are overall it will be fine. Minor issues can be fixed too.
I’m glad I wasn’t scared off in early 2017 when I purchased my model S. Six years and 95k miles, I’m glad I bought it.
And back then it was the relentless naysayers claiming bankruptcy on a daily basis, etc.
When I bought mine, the closest service center was 3 hours away out of state because of my stupid state laws prevented it for the first 4 years of ownership but I never had to take it there.
People are more apt to write a negative experience.
Just get the vehicle and chances are overall it will be fine. Minor issues can be fixed too.
I’m glad I wasn’t scared off in early 2017 when I purchased my model S. Six years and 95k miles, I’m glad I bought it.
And back then it was the relentless naysayers claiming bankruptcy on a daily basis, etc.
When I bought mine, the closest service center was 3 hours away out of state because of my stupid state laws prevented it for the first 4 years of ownership but I never had to take it there.
Picked my m3 up last month. I’ve owned over 30 cars, mostly luxury, and this was by far the best buying experience I’ve ever had. I used to love the negotiation.
Unfortunately I had a rock break my window with 1200 on the odometer. I can’t believe how easy it was to schedule service for a new one. The service process is like no other.
I hope Tesla keeps the experience different. The industry will feel the pressure. Competition is good.
Buy the car and never look back.
Unfortunately I had a rock break my window with 1200 on the odometer. I can’t believe how easy it was to schedule service for a new one. The service process is like no other.
I hope Tesla keeps the experience different. The industry will feel the pressure. Competition is good.
Buy the car and never look back.
danarcha
Member
I have had my M3 since May 2020. Delivery experience was great, the car has been great, and my one interaction with service has been great. My pickup experience was not typical because I picked up in Chicago (1.5 hour drive from my house) during COVID. I did not see any Tesla employees. Everything was handled through a phone call and them remotely unlocking the car when I arrived. I was able to inspect the car and everything looked great. I found no quality issues at all. My paperwork was inside the car to sign. I signed and was instructed to drop it though a slot in the showroom door. I had talked to the sales rep on the phone the evening before and they knew I had a 100 mile drive so they made sure it was fully charged for my drive home.
The car has been the best vehicle I have ever owned and although it's almost three years old, I'm excited to drive it every time as if it were a new car. I have had NO issues at all with the car. I have heard the horror stories about the paint being thin, easily damaged, etc, so I take extra care with it. I only wash by hand or take to a touchless car wash during the winter, but the car still looks great. I wax it a couple times a year, but never used paint protection film. I think the car still looks brand new. And being a 2020, it has the beautiful chrome door handles and accent trim instead of that ugly black chrome delete! (I know this opinion isn't popular, but I'm a middle aged man who thinks cars need a little chrome. Go ahead and laugh at me.)
My only interaction with service was to take it to a service center for the two year service. Since I live in a snowy area, it is recommended to have the brake calipers cleaned and lubricated. I used the app to make an appointment for that service plus the cabin air filter change and brake fluid check. (I know I could do those myself, but decided to let Tesla do it along with the brake service.) Communication through the app was great. I had to drive almost two hours to the service center, but they gave me a Model X as a free loaner so I could get lunch and kill time at a local mall. The service only took 1.5 hours, cost $160, and they fully charged it for my drive home.
I couldn't be happier with the car. Don't be discouraged by negative reviews. I think most Tesla owners love their cars. Of course people are not going to post on a message board to say they are still not having any complaints, so all you hear are the bad stories or people looking for solutions to their issues.
The car has been the best vehicle I have ever owned and although it's almost three years old, I'm excited to drive it every time as if it were a new car. I have had NO issues at all with the car. I have heard the horror stories about the paint being thin, easily damaged, etc, so I take extra care with it. I only wash by hand or take to a touchless car wash during the winter, but the car still looks great. I wax it a couple times a year, but never used paint protection film. I think the car still looks brand new. And being a 2020, it has the beautiful chrome door handles and accent trim instead of that ugly black chrome delete! (I know this opinion isn't popular, but I'm a middle aged man who thinks cars need a little chrome. Go ahead and laugh at me.)
My only interaction with service was to take it to a service center for the two year service. Since I live in a snowy area, it is recommended to have the brake calipers cleaned and lubricated. I used the app to make an appointment for that service plus the cabin air filter change and brake fluid check. (I know I could do those myself, but decided to let Tesla do it along with the brake service.) Communication through the app was great. I had to drive almost two hours to the service center, but they gave me a Model X as a free loaner so I could get lunch and kill time at a local mall. The service only took 1.5 hours, cost $160, and they fully charged it for my drive home.
I couldn't be happier with the car. Don't be discouraged by negative reviews. I think most Tesla owners love their cars. Of course people are not going to post on a message board to say they are still not having any complaints, so all you hear are the bad stories or people looking for solutions to their issues.
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