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

[Spy021]

What a complete trainwreck of a situation... Sorry OP that your experience has been so abysmal, but thank you for sharing as I think there has been some useful information in this thread for many of that may soon be going through the delivery process.

 

[Chris Fox]

I can’t say any better.

Except fisker went bk

 

[Vitold]

If you want federal credit you better accept some flaws. With that said, panel gap in a second pic is appalling and makes one wonder what happened to quality control at Tesla. They should apologize to you and get you a replacement ASAP, if you still want the car.

 

[SoCalGuy]

So, they are gonna try to get a flatbed truck here today to pick up the car but that's not guaranteed. So I might end up having to drive 3hrs there today anyways and take their Toyota Corolla rental back. And right, it looks like the car does have to be PHYSICALLY returned within 2 days. However all the paperwork needs to be handled at the back end with business resolution. This is turning out to be a freak show of a delivery experience.

By the way, I haven't heard a peep from either of the email addresses that I sent my notification to. [email protected] and [email protected]. Not that I'm surprised. The lack of communication is truly shocking for ANY company, not to mention a premium auto maker. Again, if any of this happens at Mercedes or BMW (most of my cars are from them), heads will roll quickly, and I seriously, seriously doubt that many of Tesla's target customers (premium sedan/coupe buyers) would be willing to put up with this crap. I paid similar dollars (MSRP-8%) for an AMG C63 delivery in Germany and it's a truly amazing experience. Not because of the freebies (and there's a LOT of them) but because they genuinely care about their reputation and customer satisfaction. I paid MSRP on a $60000 Tesla and it's "mass produced and live with it". Truly mind boggling.

At this point my perception of the brand is quickly deteriorating and my only concern is to get this piece of junk back to them one way or another today so they can't say the car is not returned "on time". I certainly don't want them to forward the sales tax to MI or register the car in my name either.

Sorry for this mess you're going through. I think it would do the company better if you got the attention of Elon and Jerome.

I know you have your plate full, but if you have time, I would see if you can get through to either. I'd recommend:

1. Twitter (though this is like 1 in a million chance unless your MBKHD or Joe Rogan)
2. Call HQ and see if you can access the "dial by name" menu - leave a vm for both of them with your contact details).
3. Send emails - I used to have Jerome's direct email but I think he changed it last year. Elonoffice or something like that used to be Elon's but I'm not sure that works. Try looking up their assistants on LinkedIn and see if you can get through to them that way.
4. Contact the regional manager as well via phone and email.
5. Document EVERYTHING. Be precise with date, time and names. A timeline is hugely helpful when trying to resolve a customer complaint - I guarantee you the Cleveland SC won't be nearly as organized.

Good luck!

 

[SoCalGuy]

Except fisker went bk

Yeah although the reasons for the BK were unrelated to their service. Henrik and Barney lived like kings and were distanced from the day to day ops of the company - nothing like Elon. Part of me wonders how much better the Karma could have been if Elon and his drivetrain engineers really went to town on it.

 

[Adam3]

I wouldn't rely on a tow truck, I would drive it there and take a rental back.

 

[voip-ninja]

Yeah although the reasons for the BK were unrelated to their service. Henrik and Barney lived like kings and were distanced from the day to day ops of the company - nothing like Elon. Part of me wonders how much better the Karma could have been if Elon and his drivetrain engineers really went to town on it.

I believe Fisker went BK because their supply of batteries got yanked out from under them. Guess they didn't see that coming.

 

[Chris Fox]

So, they are gonna try to get a flatbed truck here today to pick up the car but that's not guaranteed. So I might end up having to drive 3hrs there today anyways and take their Toyota Corolla rental back. And right, it looks like the car does have to be PHYSICALLY returned within 2 days. However all the paperwork needs to be handled at the back end with business resolution. This is turning out to be a freak show of a delivery experience.

By the way, I haven't heard a peep from either of the email addresses that I sent my notification to. [email protected] and [email protected]. Not that I'm surprised. The lack of communication is truly shocking for ANY company, not to mention a premium auto maker. Again, if any of this happens at Mercedes or BMW (most of my cars are from them), heads will roll quickly, and I seriously, seriously doubt that many of Tesla's target customers (premium sedan/coupe buyers) would be willing to put up with this crap. I paid similar dollars (MSRP-8%) for an AMG C63 delivery in Germany and it's a truly amazing experience. Not because of the freebies (and there's a LOT of them) but because they genuinely care about their reputation and customer satisfaction. I paid MSRP on a $60000 Tesla and it's "mass produced and live with it". Truly mind boggling.

At this point my perception of the brand is quickly deteriorating and my only concern is to get this piece of junk back to them one way or another today so they can't say the car is not returned "on time". I certainly don't want them to forward the sales tax to MI or register the car in my name either.

Dude, what are you doing? You’re waiting for a flat deck? You need to drive it back! What’s a 3 hour drive when we are talking $60,000 on the line? Had you left when you posted this you’d be almost there by now

 

[SoCalGuy]

So what’s your rationale for getting a car from a company you hate so much and refuse to acknowledge their scaling difficulties?

Still a great company even if the recent 20’s something are messing up shop for SOME people.

You never addressed why your family friend didn’t take their Tesla in to have the fwd fixed. Mine was creaky and I got it fixed. Just like my misaligned charge door. I got it fixed and life goes on.

My main point is this. You have two options:

1.) Take delivery in 2018 with a potential chance your car *might* need a week in the shop for rework.

2.) Take delivery Jan 2nd 2019 and your car will be FLAWLESS.

It’s completely obvious to me that if Tesla “slowed it down” and just delivered 2500 cars per week those 2500 owners will be thrilled.

—Fanboy

This will be my last reply to your message in this thread since I think reason, logic and a cool headed discussion seem to be beyond your capacity (or at the very least, beyond your current desire). So let me indulge you this one last time.

1. I never said I hated Tesla - quite the opposite. And as I noted in a previous reply to you, good friends and good customers provide constructive feedback to enable improvement. Distorted fanboy mirrors allow a problem to go unabated.

2. Our MX friend did bring it in to service twice specifically for the doors. While there was improvement, they still have some issues with it and it was just no longer worth it to keep bringing the car in - after all, they do have regular lives to lead (eg work, kids, family, you know, non-Tesla activities).

3. You keep disparaging "20 somethings" and lay blame for Tesla's woes squarely on their shoulders. As a recent member of that group (who was kicked out for crossing into the "30 something" threshold), I find that remark particularly offensive and out of touch with reality. How old do you think the engineers are who designed and built much of the Model 3? Age has little to do with it (and I suspect, you are an example of a non 20 something who is not particularly helpful and shows a bit of attitude ).

4. Low volume isn't a guarantor of perfect production quality. We have all seen what quality came out when Tesla was only building a few hundred Model 3s by hand per week last year. Same issues as now. I have great confidence in Jerome and his immediate team and no doubt they will get these issues resolved in time. But they require customer input and unfiltered feedback. Constantly making excuses for Tesla and saying things are okay when they're in fact not okay are antithetical to the company's ultimate success.

Patience and tolerance have their limits.

 

[SoCalGuy]

I believe Fisker went BK because their supply of batteries got yanked out from under them. Guess they didn't see that coming.

That was a big part of it - there was a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes that was caused by a laissez faire approach to operational management. Many things could have been avoided with more competent and hands on leadership. But those stories are for a different time and thread (and multiple beers).

 

[seattlite2004]

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?

OP seems to me your issues are just form and fit...and not function. Wonder if this is an opportunity for you to ask for some "perks" for your troubles. Maybe Tesla can offer you lifetime supercharging, FSD, and/or extended warranty.

 

[MXWing]

At this point my perception of the brand is quickly deteriorating and my only concern is to get this piece of junk back to them one way or another today so they can't say the car is not returned "on time". I certainly don't want them to forward the sales tax to MI or register the car in my name either.

What doesn’t help your situation at all is the long drive.

I can completely understand the frustration of needing to go 3 hours to talk to a human being.

I hope they get you a Tesla loaner while this is all getting sorted out, you deserve one, bumping someone else for a lessor issue if needed.

How do you like the vehicle other than it being a damn ugly baby? I think with enough attention and eyes on the matter you should get a perfect baby round 2.

I burned a AMG C63 just a few days ago anecdotally that was driving hard.

For laughs you can google hot crazy matrix. Tesla is a 10 hot but unfortunately a 10 crazy RIGHT now. I think crazy goes down once they exit Q3, at the latest Q4.

Thanks for the updates hope it all works out.

 

[fnce_prof]

They did tell me that there "might" be some leeway w.r.t. when the car needs to be returned because I did send emails to everybody loud and clear about my intention to return on the same day. But not taking any chances. If no follow up by say later this afternoon I'll drive there myself. The issue is that no one at Tesla has any clarity about that return policy--it's as if somebody cooked up the idea in an office cubicle then bam announced it to the public. No one knows any detail about this at all. But I still doubt Tesla is willing to risk their reputation on this over one customer and the car will be returned.

About the form vs. function: it does drive very well (except that weird rattle which I assume is an easy fix). Not an AMG but with the instant torque and without the noise and the gas guzzling. I loved the handling and how markedly more steady it feels at corners. My wife drives the C63 now and strangely I kinda like this better and am in no hurry to switch back.

But again the form is absolutely abysmal. I had a detailer friend (premium auto only) take a look at it today and he flat out refused to work on it and said it's gonna take 30 hours just to get the paint corrected and even that it's not gonna look factory new. Interior quality is ok. I didn't see any issues except that slightly damaged headliner but again Model 3's interior is nothing to write home about. The fake leather looks quite cheap but that does seem to be the case on the model s and x as well (still better than the disgusting BMW vinyl stuff.)

 

[fnce_prof]

Oh yeah and he found a new issue: rear glass roof has a weird chip on the right edge (pic below). This one doesn't seem to be expanding but the front roof glass crack is expanding inward. I don't know what happened to this car maybe it was under a mudslide or something.

 

[Pollux]

OP, what mileage on car? Seeking to confirm / refute speculation on this thread re possibility your car was driven before delivery to you.

Tesla faces many challenges with scaling Model 3 deliveries, especially to a non-early adopter crowd. Glass chip in addition to all the rest. Ouch. Looks like I'm taking a checklist and a flashlight with me when I take delivery of mine on Monday.

I hope you wind up satisfied with your current delivery, a possible replacement, or another manufacturer's product.

Thanks,
Alan

 

[fnce_prof]

OP, what mileage on car? Seeking to confirm / refute speculation on this thread re possibility your car was driven before delivery to you.

Tesla faces many challenges with scaling Model 3 deliveries, especially to a non-early adopter crowd. Glass chip in addition to all the rest. Ouch. Looks like I'm taking a checklist and a flashlight with me when I take delivery of mine on Monday.

I hope you wind up satisfied with your current delivery, a possible replacement, or another manufacturer's product.

Thanks,
Alan

7 miles on the odometer. Not a loaner but I don't know maybe some staff decided to take it for a quick joyride around the block.

 

[frank69]

Seriously, return it...those are not acceptable for dishing out 50k+ for a car.

 

[frank69]

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!

OMG. Seriously, It didn't seem like they trained their people pretty well. I'd bring this up to Tesla Mgt and get these bozo's fired. That's unacceptable. It's like saying, oh, the Porsche Boxster is no 911, you can have it with dents.

But seriously, return it and put a complaint in. Wait for another one.

 

[Canuck]

What a complete trainwreck of a situation... Sorry OP that your experience has been so abysmal, but thank you for sharing as I think there has been some useful information in this thread for many of that may soon be going through the delivery process.

Let's not overreact, as if warning needs to be issued to people taking delivery. This amount of problems is concerning but it's not widespread. One or two of them is common. You're not buying a BMW when it comes to fit and finish (not that BMW don't have other problems). Tesla's a toddler still in diapers compared to a company making cars for over a century (and mostly based on last centuries technology).

Our charge port looked just like that but neither of us noticed it to be an issue until later, when I saw one that fit flush, and I mentioned it to Tesla who replaced it in my office parking lot while I worked. BMW never did that. Problems do happen and I feel bad for the OP. That's a reason for this forum -- to come here and get support -- and to keep Tesla's feet to the flames if this becomes something we need to issues warnings about if widespread. But we shouldn't cast one person's problems over the entire fleet. We need to look overall...

Car Brands Ranked by Owner Satisfaction

 

[C141medic]

You're not buying a BMW when it comes to fit and finish

I agree with your post but not the quoted statement. The OP’s issue with his vehicle is genuine and should be resolved however he and Tesla chose to resolve it. I don’t totaly agree with some of the fatalistic statements that have been made regarding his issue. Nevertheless, when one is paying hard earned money for a product one hopes it looks and functions the way it should.
That brings me to your statement about fit and finish. Are you implying that as Tesla customers we shouldn’t expect the same quality as other manufacturers such as BMW, etc? Just my few cents.