Staggering amount of issues found at/after delivery. Considering returning the car.

[fnce_prof]

Ok so I drove to Cleveland today to pick up the black RWD LR model 3, and right off the bat noticed some issues that they noted on the due bill. Then I found a ton more back home. I'm just gonna let the photos speak for themselves. The amount of issues seem too numerous to be coincidence, and suggest major prior rework. Do you think I should ask for a replacement car or return the car altogether?

1. Hairline crack of the front glass roof (sorry no pic for this one; they are going to replace the roof)
2. Crooked front hood leaving a 1/2" gap
3. Grossly misaligned charge port door and rear headlight, even to the point of showing a gap behind the seal (they said it's "within spec" ????)
4. Scratches all over the hood and body.
5. Smudges and fingerprints under the clear coat. Too many to count.
6. Clear signs of prior over buffing/paint oxidation
7. Something's loose in the left door panels and was making noises when driving.

I'm only allowed 10 pictures but the issues are too many to count. Is this a lemon, contaminated paint area, or a prior reject? The delivery 'agent' actually said this (his very words): This ain't a model X. You gotta live with them. Really? Are you kidding me?? I'm going to follow up with the senior delivery manager and see what should we do from here. What do you guys think? Have them rework the entire car over? Get a new car? Return it?

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

I'm a little confused here.

You said they noted on a due bill as if they wrote it before you got there. Normally that's written based on things the customer sees.

So why would you accept the car, and sign the paperwork?

My recommendation for you would be to return the car, and ask for a new VIN. My understanding is you have two days to do this. I would not accept this car. This is a complete disaster of a car.

If the new VIN has problems then I'd get a refund and walk away.

 

[fnce_prof]

I'm a little confused here.

You said they noted on a due bill as if they wrote it before you got there. Normally that's written based on things the customer sees.

So why would you accept the car, and sign the paperwork?

My recommendation for you would be to return the car, and ask for a new VIN. My understanding is you have two days to do this. I would not accept this car. This is a complete disaster of a car.

It seems that tthe delivery "agents" don't understand the difference between "due bill" and "service concern" and use them interchangably. Nothing was noted prior to delivery. They opened a "service concern" whatever that is and said they would schedule to have the car picked up after the glass gets here. No ETA.

I agree this is a complete disaster. I don't have much confidence in the replacement car either. Two days to return the car you say? That's good to know.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Two days to return the car you say? That's good to know.

Yeah, I didn't see this until a couple days ago. I may have done that with my car because I knowingly accepted delivery of my car which had a misalignment of about 3mm between the bumper and the body on the right front.

I debated about it for about an hour while they were detailing some other complaints I had.

For some reason I opted to accept the car, and then signed the paperwork. Now I'm waiting for the service appointment to have it repaired.

It's a little funny to be waiting for a service appointment to fix a body issue on a brand new car.

I think I made the wrong decision, and I should have asked for a different VIN. It probably won't really matter in the end as I drive in Seattle and we're some of the worst drivers in the US.

 

[fnce_prof]

Yeah, I didn't see this until a couple days ago. I may have done that with my car because I knowingly accepted delivery of my car which had a misalignment of about 3mm between the bumper and the body on the right front.

I debated about it for about an hour while they were detailing some other complaints I had.

For some reason I opted to accept the car, and then signed the paperwork. Now I'm waiting for the service appointment to have it repaired.

It's a little funny to be waiting for a service appointment to fix a body issue on a brand new car.

I think I made the wrong decision, and I should have asked for a different VIN. It probably won't really matter in the end as I drive in Seattle and we're some of the worst drivers in the US.

So that's two days (for home delivery, I guess for SC delivery too) to decide whether to return the car and get a refund? So basically tomorrow. At this point I might just ask for the money back. The issues are too many to be of mere coincidence. This must have been a complete reject/rework (and shoddy rework to boot). What do you guys think?

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

It seems that tthe delivery "agents" don't understand the difference between "due bill" and "service concern" and use them interchangably. Nothing was noted prior to delivery. They opened a "service concern" whatever that is and said they would schedule to have the car picked up after the glass gets here. No ETA.

I agree this is a complete disaster. I don't have much confidence in the replacement car either. Two days to return the car you say? That's good to know.

How about getting a replacement car at a different SC?

Sure my car had some things I had them detail, but nothing like what they tried to deliver to you.

The SC I went to was really solid with exception to not noticing the bumper thing. The detailers spent a good hour or more addressing issues I noticed while picking up (while other people were doing the sign and drive).

So part of why I didn't ask for a VIN is it felt like I was being treated well.

If I got a car like you did I'd go to a different SC if at all possible.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

So that's two days (for home delivery, I guess for SC delivery too) to decide whether to return the car and get a refund? So basically tomorrow. At this point I might just ask for the money back. The issues are too many to be of mere coincidence. This must have been a complete reject/rework (and shoddy rework to boot). What do you guys think?

It's pretty much a 50/50 thing.

You cancel now and you'll likely miss out on the full federal tax rebate. But you could get a better car in a year where it's either a better made 3 or an Audi.

Or you can roll the dice and get a new VIN. You'll likely get it really soon.

Either way that SC sucks, and should be avoided.

 

[C141medic]

It sounds like you’ve already made your decision. Return the car for a replacement and as others have said if the replacement isn’t any better go elsewhere. I’m really feeling anxious now since I’ll be picking mine up on Monday. Good luck to you and hope it gets better.

 

[voip-ninja]

It's pretty much a 50/50 thing.

You cancel now and you'll likely miss out on the full federal tax rebate. But you could get a better car in a year where it's either a better made 3 or an Audi.

Or you can roll the dice and get a new VIN. You'll likely get it really soon.

Either way that SC sucks, and should be avoided.

If the Car is returned or rejected for legitimate reasons like that he should be prioritized for a new order and definitely get it before the end of the year.

 

[TaoJones]

That’s a 100% return, tweet to Elon and an executive escalation through your MyTesla/My Account page.

If only everyone who received grossly substandard cars would do this, perhaps quality would have already improved. Instead, *now* Elon says it’s a priority.

As a shareholder, I wouldn’t mind this topic being discussed at the next quarterly. As an owner, I’m disgusted that anyone associated with “Service” or delivery would either feel that they could get away with this, or felt pressure to do so.

Customer first, or so it used to be not so many years ago with Tesla. The “it’s just a Model 3” bs doesn’t fly when many are yet twice the cost of the (US) natl avg for new cars ($36K). I don’t care if it was a $35K car. That list of problems is disgraceful for a new or inventory car especially.

 

[Trevor B]

That’s a 100% return, tweet to Elon and an executive escalation through your MyTesla/My Account page.

If only everyone who received grossly substandard cars would do this, perhaps quality would have already improved. Instead, *now* Elon says it’s a priority.

As a shareholder, I wouldn’t mind this topic being discussed at the next quarterly. As an owner, I’m disgusted that anyone associated with “Service” or delivery would either feel that they could get away with this, or felt pressure to do so.

Customer first, or so it used to be not so many years ago with Tesla. The “it’s just a Model 3” bs doesn’t fly when many are yet twice the cost of the (US) natl avg for new cars ($36K). I don’t care if it was a $35K car. That list of problems is disgraceful for a new or inventory car especially.

Agreed. Instead of making excuses on why we should be doing our part to help Tesla's mission by accepting crappy cars and relying (hoping) Tesla will fix them later

 

[Trevor B]

The delivery 'agent' actually said this (his very words): This ain't a model X. You gotta live with them. Really? Are you kidding me?? I'm going to follow up with the senior delivery manager and see what should we do from here. What do you guys think? Have them rework the entire car over? Get a new car? Return it?

I hope you got his name ... what an embarrassment.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Car looks rough.

 

[fnce_prof]

Thank you for the tip on executive escalation. Just did it. Yeah I did get his name. By the way he left after 20 mins and was nowhere to be found (said he has another delivery coming up--busy man!). His name is now forwarded to the executives.

By the way I was also promised a list of items documented by email asap. Nothing received. I then called them after I got home today. Promised a call back. Again nothing. What should I do at this point? The car will have to be returned by tomorrow per their new two-day "policy" and I'm afraid they might just ignore that.

 

[TheLocNar]

Return that garbage, man. I'd give them another chance at a newer VIN. If that's f'd up to, walk away. Nobody would blame you. It would be too bad though, because it really is a great car. But if they can't even get you one that's not messed up, their loss.

 

[fnce_prof]

Too bad. The car drives GREAT. No complaints there (except the rattling in the left door) and this is from an AMG owner. Quality is absolute JUNK.

Do you know if I ask for a replacement in the two-day window and it's also screwed up, could I get my $$$ back?

 

[LM-5]

Unless otherwise mandated by the state you live in, there's no way anyone should ACH the final payment without first inspecting the car and then making the decision to take delivery. Too many of these crazy stories and bad looking cars.

 

[voip-ninja]

Unless otherwise mandated by the state you live in, there's no way anyone should ACH the final payment without first inspecting the car and then making the decision to take delivery. Too many of these crazy stories and bad looking cars.

I am sadly forced to agree. I explained this to my local delivery advisor at the service center where I am doing pick up and told them if there are serious issues with the car they won’t be getting a check.

Fortunately the service center by me has a good reputation.

 

[Jedi2155]

I'm going to agree with everyone else here. Return that car, and ask for another VIN, else do the full refund and order another 3.

 

[fnce_prof]

Unless otherwise mandated by the state you live in, there's no way anyone should ACH the final payment without first inspecting the car and then making the decision to take delivery. Too many of these crazy stories and bad looking cars.

Well I was given completely misleading information then. Here's my delivery experience:

1. I was greeted by an agent named "X" (the card he gave me had only the generic SC name on it; withholding his name for now as I'm escalating this to the executive level). His first words were "I have another delivery at XX. So we have 5 minutes to do the paperwork in the delivery bay, and we are gonna move your car out there to the lot." Very professional indeed.
2. He insisted that I have to give him the cashier's check BEFORE inspecting the car and doing any paperwork. I'm serious. He said before any paperwork is done, I have to give Tesla the check. I believed him so I did. Well, I'm getting that money back one way (new car, new SC) or another (refund).
3. When I started noticing issues right away, he said all of them are "within spec" even when I pointed to him that the cars in the lot and the demo car didn't have these issues. Then when I started to compare the cars in the lot he said "these are customer cars and you are not allowed to examine them."
4. Then he said "these cars all have variances and yours just happen to be that way."
5. When I insisted, he brought a detailer named "Y" (no card) who buffed out one scratch. He then refused to work on the car and pointed me to a service agent.
6. Then the golden words from "X":

"This isn't a Model X man. It's a mass produced car. You just gotta live with 'em."

Executive escalation here we go!