Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

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

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Quick update: All calls this morning to their delivery team went to voicemail. No emails were ever returned. I don't even care about the car now. Right now my only fear is them not answering the phone/email today and keeps delaying so I won't get my money back because the two-day return window ends today/tomorrow. Sent message using the account support option (with exec escalation). No response so far.

So at this point what are my options? Because once the window closes I don't know they will process the return. Take them to court? Attorney General's Office? Drive 200 miles there again today and just dump the car there?

By the way, the delivery center is Cleveland-Lyndhurst. Do yourselves a favor and stay away from that place.

Sorry to hear about these ongoing issues. I do not know how the laws work in your state, but do you have the option to opt out of arbitration and take them to court if necessary? In CA, the below provision is included in our Motor Vehicle Order Agreement. Hopefully Tesla would resolve your issues once it got raised to someone more senior, but from what I've seen in this thread I'd return the car ASAP given that two day return policy and ask for another.

---------------------

Agreement to Arbitrate. Please carefully read this provision, which applies to any dispute between you and Tesla, Inc. and its

affiliates, (together “Tesla”).

If you have a concern or dispute, please send a written notice describing it and your desired resolution to [email protected].

If not resolved within 60 days, you agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to any aspect of the relationship between you and

Tesla will not be decided by a judge or jury but instead by a single arbitrator in an arbitration administered by the American Arbitration

Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. This includes claims arising before this Agreement, such as claims related to

statements about our products.

We will pay all AAA fees for any arbitration, which will be held in the city or county of your residence. To learn more about the Rules

and how to begin an arbitration, you may call any AAA office or go to www.adr.org.

The arbitrator may only resolve disputes between you and Tesla, and may not consolidate claims without the consent of all parties. The

arbitrator cannot hear class or representative claims or requests for relief on behalf of others purchasing or leasing Tesla vehicles. In

other words, you and Tesla may bring claims against the other only in your or its individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class

member in any class or representative action. If a court or arbitrator decides that any part of this agreement to arbitrate cannot be

enforced as to a particular claim for relief or remedy, then that claim or remedy (and only that claim or remedy) must be brought in

court and any other claims must be arbitrated.

If you prefer, you may instead take an individual dispute to small claims court.

You may opt out of arbitration within 30 days after signing this Agreement by sending a letter to: Tesla, Inc.; P.O. Box 15430; Fremont,

CA 94539-7970, stating your name, Vehicle Identification Number, and intent to opt out of the arbitration provision. If you do not opt

out, this agreement to arbitrate overrides any different arbitration agreement between us, including any arbitration agreement in a

lease or finance contract.

Motor
 
Quick update: All calls this morning to their delivery team went to voicemail. No emails were ever returned. I don't even care about the car now. Right now my only fear is them not answering the phone/email today and keeps delaying so I won't get my money back because the two-day return window ends today/tomorrow. Sent message using the account support option (with exec escalation). No response so far.

So at this point what are my options? Because once the window closes I don't know they will process the return. Take them to court? Attorney General's Office? Drive 200 miles there again today and just dump the car there?

By the way, the delivery center is Cleveland-Lyndhurst. Do yourselves a favor and stay away from that place.

Well, the first thing you can do is write a letter documenting the issues and your desire to return the vehicle, and inability to get through to their customer service team. Document everything in detail. Time of calls, phone # you called from, names of associates you talked to, etc.

Then print out multiple copies of that letter and send them via certified mail;

1. Delivery center manager
2. Executive who oversees that delivery center region
3. Etc.

At that point, yes, I would say you would need to drive to the delivery center and express your desire to return/reject the car due to the problems you have documented. You can then also hand them a copy of the letter you have sent them certified mail.

Your unfortunately situation should be an example to others that it is far easier to reject a car that they are disappointed in BEFORE TAKING DELIVERY OF IT.

Once you take delivery of the car you greatly reduce the number of options you have.

From Tesla's perspective, your car is easily fixable. It's in THEIR BEST INTEREST to get you to keep this car and try to make things right.

A local detailer I've been working with to get an appointment to have my car ceramic-coated told me that he detailed one of the very first red/white P+ cars to arrive in the state. It had the appearance of fine debris broadcast all over the paint... hard to notice but very noticeable to a professional or someone who really pays attention. He did everything he could with this car and documented the condition but could not fix it via detailing.

Tesla offered to re-paint the car to make the customer happy. The detailer strongly advocated NOT to do this since aftermarket paint and aftermarket paint process never matches what is done when the car is painted at the factory. The client communicated to Tesla that this was not satisfactory.

Tesla ended up giving this customer quite a few freebies such as free wheels/tires and I believe they paid for all of the detail/PPF/ceramic work that was done on the car.

Tesla did not offer to take the car back and it is questionable if the customer would have had this option.
 
  • Like
  • Informative
Reactions: Dr. J and neroden
Even if you are going to return the car, I'd also recommend making a video (in addition to the photos that you already have) walking around of the car where you point out all of the issues. That could be useful later in convincing your local SC to do the right thing and also for educating execs on what occasionally slips through the cracks. I would consider this part of voip-ninja's recommendation to document everything...
 
  • Like
Reactions: neroden
Even if you are going to return the car, I'd also recommend making a video (in addition to the photos that you already have) walking around of the car where you point out all of the issues. That could be useful later in convincing your local SC to do the right thing and also for educating execs on what occasionally slips through the cracks. I would consider this part of voip-ninja's recommendation to document everything...

Thanks. I took multiple videos already and will follow your suggestion of doing a full "walk-through" video. All of these are currently housed in Google Drive and I might just make all the videos publicly viewable on Youtube as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cwerdna and neroden
Your unfortunately situation should be an example to others that it is far easier to reject a car that they are disappointed in BEFORE TAKING DELIVERY OF IT.

Tesla offered to re-paint the car to make the customer happy. The detailer strongly advocated NOT to do this since aftermarket paint and aftermarket paint process never matches what is done when the car is painted at the factory. The client communicated to Tesla that this was not satisfactory.

Tesla ended up giving this customer quite a few freebies such as free wheels/tires and I believe they paid for all of the detail/PPF/ceramic work that was done on the car.

Tesla did not offer to take the car back and it is questionable if the customer would have had this option.

The main issue is that they gave misleading statements that didn't even suggest this is an option. The first document you sign before even heading out to examine the car is the delivery sheet. They told me everyone has to sign all of that BEFORE they can even examine the car and made it sound like it's the legal requirement. I'm sure I'm not the only one they fooled.

Needness to say all of their names will be escalated to the appropriate executives.
 
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.

Very well said.

Thank YOU!
 
That car would be embarrassing even as a service loaner. Appalling!

I'll bet it WAS a service loaner, or a demo unit of some kind. Those chips on the leading edge of the hood are from being driven.

Most of the service center employees you meet cannot afford a Tesla. That is not your problem.

Just wondering what that has to do with anything? Elitist much?
 
The main issue is that they gave misleading statements that didn't even suggest this is an option. The first document you sign before even heading out to examine the car is the delivery sheet. They told me everyone has to sign all of that BEFORE they can even examine the car and made it sound like it's the legal requirement. I'm sure I'm not the only one they fooled.

Needness to say all of their names will be escalated to the appropriate executives.

I believe we've had examples of folks who either refused to sign the sheet before inspection or when doing the inspection forced Tesla to acknowledge the problems with their delivery and refused the car.
 
  • Love
Reactions: neroden
I'll bet it WAS a service loaner, or a demo unit of some kind. Those chips on the leading edge of the hood are from being driven.



Just wondering what that has to do with anything? Elitist much?

It has to do with the poor attitude and trying to convince the customer that they are stuck with the car. It is why someone will key your car. It is why your next door neighbor in Sweden will report you to the taxing authority as a crook if you buy a new car. The list is long.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacGreiner
I'll bet it WAS a service loaner, or a demo unit of some kind. Those chips on the leading edge of the hood are from being driven.

You know what, you might be right. There were some weird markings over all 4 tires (red dot paint and beige paint stripes across the entire tire). I'll snap some photos when I'm back from work today.

I also finally got in touch with a much nicer manager there, so hopefully we are within the 2-day return window. I'll see how soon we could get this resolved. I'm also curious to find out what the heck happened to this car because from all your replies these types of quality issues are not "normal" and don't seem to be factory-related. Bottom line is this car has no business whatsoever being delivered to a customer.
 
You know what, you might be right. There were some weird markings over all 4 tires (red dot paint and beige stripes across the entire tire). I'll snap some photos when I'm back from work today.

I also finally got in touch with a much nicer staff there. I'll see how soon we could get this resolved. I'm also curious to find out what the heck happen to this car because from all your replies this types of quality issues are not "normal" and don't seem to be factory-related. Bottom line is this car has no business whatsoever being delivered to a customer.

The red dots are standard from the factory. Don't let that distract you.

If it was a loaner then there will be mileage on the odometer. What does it say?
 
I also finally got in touch with a much nicer manager there, so hopefully we are within the 2-day return window. I'll see how soon we could get this resolved. I'm also curious to find out what the heck happened to this car because from all your replies these types of quality issues are not "normal" and don't seem to be factory-related. Bottom line is this car has no business whatsoever being delivered to a customer.

Nope this is definitely not normal. I have not seen a report of such bad quality car by anybody upon delivery. One of the things the delivery center is supposed to do is do a full inspection and detailing prior to releasing the car to the customers. If inspection finds things that need fixed, they either phone you and tell you there will be a delay as the car gets touch-up work done. Or if things are so bad they will tell you the car failed inspection and you'll be given a new VIN.

This is how it's supposed to be done, and how it's done for most people's Model 3. That's why you hear reports of delayed/reschedule phone calls, because sometimes the car gets damaged during transport and they need to assign a new VIN. Most people don't get delivered a vehicle that look this bad.

In your case, it seems the delivery center didn't even inspect the vehicle. Or if they did (I sure as hope they didn't), whoever did it needs to be fired. Definitely an issue that should be escalated so this doesn't happen to others.
 
Quick update: All calls this morning to their delivery team went to voicemail. No emails were ever returned. I don't even care about the car now. Right now my only fear is them not answering the phone/email today and keeps delaying so I won't get my money back because the two-day return window ends today/tomorrow. Sent message using the account support option (with exec escalation). No response so far.

So at this point what are my options? Because once the window closes I don't know they will process the return. Take them to court? Attorney General's Office? Drive 200 miles there again today and just dump the car there?

By the way, the delivery center is Cleveland-Lyndhurst. Do yourselves a favor and stay away from that place.
Drive 200 miles. Get going
 
  • Funny
Reactions: SoCalGuy
Well, the first thing you can do is write a letter documenting the issues and your desire to return the vehicle, and inability to get through to their customer service team. Document everything in detail. Time of calls, phone # you called from, names of associates you talked to, etc.

Then print out multiple copies of that letter and send them via certified mail;

1. Delivery center manager
2. Executive who oversees that delivery center region
3. Etc.

At that point, yes, I would say you would need to drive to the delivery center and express your desire to return/reject the car due to the problems you have documented. You can then also hand them a copy of the letter you have sent them certified mail.

Your unfortunately situation should be an example to others that it is far easier to reject a car that they are disappointed in BEFORE TAKING DELIVERY OF IT.

Once you take delivery of the car you greatly reduce the number of options you have.

From Tesla's perspective, your car is easily fixable. It's in THEIR BEST INTEREST to get you to keep this car and try to make things right.

A local detailer I've been working with to get an appointment to have my car ceramic-coated told me that he detailed one of the very first red/white P+ cars to arrive in the state. It had the appearance of fine debris broadcast all over the paint... hard to notice but very noticeable to a professional or someone who really pays attention. He did everything he could with this car and documented the condition but could not fix it via detailing.

Tesla offered to re-paint the car to make the customer happy. The detailer strongly advocated NOT to do this since aftermarket paint and aftermarket paint process never matches what is done when the car is painted at the factory. The client communicated to Tesla that this was not satisfactory.

Tesla ended up giving this customer quite a few freebies such as free wheels/tires and I believe they paid for all of the detail/PPF/ceramic work that was done on the car.

Tesla did not offer to take the car back and it is questionable if the customer would have had this option.
Agreed. Tesla can fix the car and turn it into a demo car. After a couple years it can sell it at a discount. Tesla has lots of options with it.
 
Thanks. I took multiple videos already and will follow your suggestion of doing a full "walk-through" video. All of these are currently housed in Google Drive and I might just make all the videos publicly viewable on Youtube as well.
Do that only if Tesla screws you over. If Tesla replaces it then take the car and move on. The video would simply be used by shortsellers to hurt Tesla
 
Quick update: All calls this morning to their delivery team went to voicemail. No emails were ever returned. I don't even care about the car now. Right now my only fear is them not answering the phone/email today and keeps delaying so I won't get my money back because the two-day return window ends today/tomorrow. Sent message using the account support option (with exec escalation). No response so far.

So at this point what are my options? Because once the window closes I don't know they will process the return. Take them to court? Attorney General's Office? Drive 200 miles there again today and just dump the car there?

By the way, the delivery center is Cleveland-Lyndhurst. Do yourselves a favor and stay away from that place.

I would email [email protected] IMMEDIATELY. They respond quick and I believe the average age is older than 20 over there.

They will respond to you much more quickly than the DSAs. I have experience in this.