Summary:
Hopefully this (long) post, in good faith, will provide some reference point(s) to folks, who are in a similar situation as me. My inventory car purchase did not work out well for me & the cost of saving about $6000/- was not worth the experience I went through.
I would like to consider myself 'lucky' to a certain extent; Portland, OR (PDX) Macadam team was customer focused at all levels & understood the gravity of our concern. They addressed it instead of pushing it under the rug. And resolved my problem to my satisfaction. For that I'm thankful.
Old Car Order Dt: 26th Jul
Delivery: 6th Aug
Buyback Approved: 12th Sep
New Car Order Dt: 15th Sep
Delivery: 25th Sep
TL;DR
Background:
Early July we started looking for a 2019 MS 100D (inventory) or LR (new), with the help of a rep in Wash. Sq, Portland, OR, with a lean towards inventory to save $$$. We located an inventory car (316 miles/MSM/Tan/EAP) right away in California & put a hold on it. Next day it was removed, stating there was some scuffs in the interior and they removed it from sale. We put a deposit (Jul 13th) on another inventory car in Virginia, but that car 'lost its way'!!!. We were not off to a great start.
24th Jul, my rep reached out & told me the first car is back in the system and we got some pix of the interior, exterior & everything looked good. We asked him multiple times whether anything was wrong (accidents, test rides gone wrong, etc.) and he said there was nothing wrong with it, as best as he sees & nothing that he could see in Tesla records, that would indicate anything other than new. (except it was a demo/floor model). It was sold as new & nothing wrong with it.
We put the deposit down on 25th Jul. On Aug 7th we picked the car up & did our own inspection. We found some stuff & Tesla agreed to take care of it. (Side note: The delivery experience was awful.).
Once we got the car, we decided to wrap & tint it; the wrap guys are a month out. So we drove the car as minimal as possible to avoid getting chips, dings, etc ... Essentially we did not treat the car as a car; but babied it!!!. By end August, we even got our DMV registration documents & the car was registered under my name.
On Sept 2nd we take it in for a wrap & that's when everything fell apart. The adage "Ignorance is bliss" could be applied here. If only we did not get the wrap done, we would have never known these hidden issues.
Don't want to add to the already long post, but the XPEL guys discovered paint anomalies, unmatched rear quarter panel windows, weld/glue separation, etc... Essentially this car was in an 'accident' on the right rear side & the whole area was worked on. And Tesla did not divulge that.
Called Tesla immediately & after multiple conversations, over an hour, they told me "everything was within specs", "we don't need to advise customers of internal work", "the car is in perfect condition", etc. With no avenue (I was well past the 7 day return period) I decided to complete the wrap, so as not to lose out on the XPEL schedule and deal with it after I get the car back from the wrap. Cost of wrap was $6K. (Previous Post)
I picked the car from the XPEL guys on 6th Sept & showed it to my rep that day. I asked him to walk around the car to see if he finds any problems, etc ... When he could not, I showed him the mismatched windows, weld separation, uneven bumper paint, etc. He said he'll try to escalate it up but I knew, based on past history there, it was going to be dead end OR a significantly long hold time. Left a VM with the delivery manager @ PDX Macadam, not expecting any call over the w/end.
Sep 9th, Monday, we took it to delivery center & met with several managers. We asked them all to walk around the car & tell us if they found any anomalies. And none did. If they, who sell these vehicles by the dozen every day, can't find errors in their own cars, how do they expect a layman to do the same was my question. And how many customers are aware of soft paint, misaligned panels, separated welds, mismatched windows and other QC issues? Some are; but I can bet a f6 pack, that most are not.
They asked me what I thought was a resolution, since I had only 3:
1) Buy the car back.
2) Buy the car back & get me into another Tesla
3) Repair & give warranty extension on the current one.
They debated among themselves & told me they were going to try to look @ all three above and get back to me in a couple of days. But they did promise me, they will get it resolved and assured me the car was safe to drive. While waiting for their callback, I took the car into several body shops & each of them had a different approaches. But bottom-line, all agreed to, Tesla should not have sold this car to me 'as new', when it was very evident that paint work, replaced windows, improper welds / JB Weld, etc happened on the car.
Resolution (Happy Ending):
They called me back a couple of days later, 12th Sep & told me the buyback was approved. They also told me, that they could not find any repair records, but upon calling each place the car was in, they investigated & found that one of the centers did do a job on the car, but failed to record it.
They offered to 'compensate' us by giving us 2 free options (deviations) & I could choose the maximum $ (Red/21" Carbon). I tried to rationalize, their compensation is going to be more expensive than my option request (MSM/Tan/19" Carbon). They did not relent & I gave up.
They agreed to buyback for the *total* amount as recorded in the MVPA sans bank interest for 1 month ($250/-) & wrap cost ($6K). We asked them multiple times & at one juncture in the night due to the stress, we decided to call it quits & just take our money. Separating the emotion from the objective was tiring and every request to Tesla was getting shot down. Their take was simple:
- Yeah, we sorta agree that we sold you a car that had defects. We are sorry about that.
- Yeah, since we did the above, we are going to give your money back. Period.
- You can buy another car or not. We would like you to, but we are not going to extend ourselves if you do so.
- If you do, we (PDX Macadam) will do within our means to make sure this transaction will be a great experience. (Which it was in the end.)
Fortune or not, this was the same time Tesla was offering EOQ incentives to spur sales according to several forums. I confronted Tesla about this & they brushed it off saying it was a mistake; applies only to inventory models; Tesla is withdrawing any such offer for new cars; etc. Anyway, by this time we were mentally exhausted & said whatever. We ordered the car on 15th Sept and maximized the 'cost to Tesla'.
Tesla, by no complete measure, solved all of our financial burden; but it is what it is. We are under by ~$6K due to this experience. We were advised to reach out to a lawyer, but prelim research showed that path could have been even more exhausting - time & money wise. I have to chalk this up as a 'life experience' and move on. Yeah, $6K is a lot of money- the same amount we wanted to save when we looked at inventory cars!!! Penny saved, pound lost!!!
Between the buyback & new car delivery, Tesla gave us a Model X loaner (wife insisted on this & they delivered it at home for her) for the 1 week; they updated me daily when my new car was in production, VIN assignment, loading dock, to arrival. The 2nd car delivery was about 100X much better than the first one; and overall the Macadam center seemed to be more customer oriented than th the Wash. Sq is.
With the new car, I get the latest & greatest including FSD. The red color with the 21" wheels looks GREAT; much better than the MSM with 19". The older car had EAP, this one has FSD. And I still get to claim the Fed tax rebate twice for this year.
I'm walking ... driving away with the past behind me & looking forward to the new car. I understand my expenses relating to the wrap was personal. I could have also walked away from Tesla altogether & spending my $ on another car. But once I drove the Tesla, my other cars, including my Merc convertible, seems old. The torque, the unnecessary buttons, dials, look tepid and unnecessary.
So in a small way, it was Hobson's choice. And imo and $0.02/-, Tesla stood by their car & took ownership. I know and read, not all manufacturers do that. The PDX team was extremely supportive, responsive & managed my concerns.
Last but not least, not to forget Kinecta Credit Union and TCT Wraps. Both were patient thru' the above; Kinecta helped secure the 2nd loan quickly, same terms as the first one, without much delay; TCT came by when I picked my 2nd car to make sure no issues & helping me get the wrap done asap. It was nice to not to worry about these things as well,
In closing, I can truly say, imo, Tesla does stand behind their customer. They took care of me. Did I get everything I wanted? No. But it could have turned a lot more uglier as well & I could have spent more sleepless nights. I'm able to rest now. I have read posts, where Tesla service levels are abysmal too. But my own, has been good. And it ended happily.
G'nght & looking forward to V10 now. Santa cannot come soon enough.
Hopefully this (long) post, in good faith, will provide some reference point(s) to folks, who are in a similar situation as me. My inventory car purchase did not work out well for me & the cost of saving about $6000/- was not worth the experience I went through.
I would like to consider myself 'lucky' to a certain extent; Portland, OR (PDX) Macadam team was customer focused at all levels & understood the gravity of our concern. They addressed it instead of pushing it under the rug. And resolved my problem to my satisfaction. For that I'm thankful.
Old Car Order Dt: 26th Jul
Delivery: 6th Aug
Buyback Approved: 12th Sep
New Car Order Dt: 15th Sep
Delivery: 25th Sep
TL;DR
Background:
Early July we started looking for a 2019 MS 100D (inventory) or LR (new), with the help of a rep in Wash. Sq, Portland, OR, with a lean towards inventory to save $$$. We located an inventory car (316 miles/MSM/Tan/EAP) right away in California & put a hold on it. Next day it was removed, stating there was some scuffs in the interior and they removed it from sale. We put a deposit (Jul 13th) on another inventory car in Virginia, but that car 'lost its way'!!!. We were not off to a great start.
24th Jul, my rep reached out & told me the first car is back in the system and we got some pix of the interior, exterior & everything looked good. We asked him multiple times whether anything was wrong (accidents, test rides gone wrong, etc.) and he said there was nothing wrong with it, as best as he sees & nothing that he could see in Tesla records, that would indicate anything other than new. (except it was a demo/floor model). It was sold as new & nothing wrong with it.
We put the deposit down on 25th Jul. On Aug 7th we picked the car up & did our own inspection. We found some stuff & Tesla agreed to take care of it. (Side note: The delivery experience was awful.).
Once we got the car, we decided to wrap & tint it; the wrap guys are a month out. So we drove the car as minimal as possible to avoid getting chips, dings, etc ... Essentially we did not treat the car as a car; but babied it!!!. By end August, we even got our DMV registration documents & the car was registered under my name.
On Sept 2nd we take it in for a wrap & that's when everything fell apart. The adage "Ignorance is bliss" could be applied here. If only we did not get the wrap done, we would have never known these hidden issues.
Don't want to add to the already long post, but the XPEL guys discovered paint anomalies, unmatched rear quarter panel windows, weld/glue separation, etc... Essentially this car was in an 'accident' on the right rear side & the whole area was worked on. And Tesla did not divulge that.
Called Tesla immediately & after multiple conversations, over an hour, they told me "everything was within specs", "we don't need to advise customers of internal work", "the car is in perfect condition", etc. With no avenue (I was well past the 7 day return period) I decided to complete the wrap, so as not to lose out on the XPEL schedule and deal with it after I get the car back from the wrap. Cost of wrap was $6K. (Previous Post)
I picked the car from the XPEL guys on 6th Sept & showed it to my rep that day. I asked him to walk around the car to see if he finds any problems, etc ... When he could not, I showed him the mismatched windows, weld separation, uneven bumper paint, etc. He said he'll try to escalate it up but I knew, based on past history there, it was going to be dead end OR a significantly long hold time. Left a VM with the delivery manager @ PDX Macadam, not expecting any call over the w/end.
Sep 9th, Monday, we took it to delivery center & met with several managers. We asked them all to walk around the car & tell us if they found any anomalies. And none did. If they, who sell these vehicles by the dozen every day, can't find errors in their own cars, how do they expect a layman to do the same was my question. And how many customers are aware of soft paint, misaligned panels, separated welds, mismatched windows and other QC issues? Some are; but I can bet a f6 pack, that most are not.
They asked me what I thought was a resolution, since I had only 3:
1) Buy the car back.
2) Buy the car back & get me into another Tesla
3) Repair & give warranty extension on the current one.
They debated among themselves & told me they were going to try to look @ all three above and get back to me in a couple of days. But they did promise me, they will get it resolved and assured me the car was safe to drive. While waiting for their callback, I took the car into several body shops & each of them had a different approaches. But bottom-line, all agreed to, Tesla should not have sold this car to me 'as new', when it was very evident that paint work, replaced windows, improper welds / JB Weld, etc happened on the car.
Resolution (Happy Ending):
They called me back a couple of days later, 12th Sep & told me the buyback was approved. They also told me, that they could not find any repair records, but upon calling each place the car was in, they investigated & found that one of the centers did do a job on the car, but failed to record it.
They offered to 'compensate' us by giving us 2 free options (deviations) & I could choose the maximum $ (Red/21" Carbon). I tried to rationalize, their compensation is going to be more expensive than my option request (MSM/Tan/19" Carbon). They did not relent & I gave up.
They agreed to buyback for the *total* amount as recorded in the MVPA sans bank interest for 1 month ($250/-) & wrap cost ($6K). We asked them multiple times & at one juncture in the night due to the stress, we decided to call it quits & just take our money. Separating the emotion from the objective was tiring and every request to Tesla was getting shot down. Their take was simple:
- Yeah, we sorta agree that we sold you a car that had defects. We are sorry about that.
- Yeah, since we did the above, we are going to give your money back. Period.
- You can buy another car or not. We would like you to, but we are not going to extend ourselves if you do so.
- If you do, we (PDX Macadam) will do within our means to make sure this transaction will be a great experience. (Which it was in the end.)
Fortune or not, this was the same time Tesla was offering EOQ incentives to spur sales according to several forums. I confronted Tesla about this & they brushed it off saying it was a mistake; applies only to inventory models; Tesla is withdrawing any such offer for new cars; etc. Anyway, by this time we were mentally exhausted & said whatever. We ordered the car on 15th Sept and maximized the 'cost to Tesla'.
Tesla, by no complete measure, solved all of our financial burden; but it is what it is. We are under by ~$6K due to this experience. We were advised to reach out to a lawyer, but prelim research showed that path could have been even more exhausting - time & money wise. I have to chalk this up as a 'life experience' and move on. Yeah, $6K is a lot of money- the same amount we wanted to save when we looked at inventory cars!!! Penny saved, pound lost!!!
Between the buyback & new car delivery, Tesla gave us a Model X loaner (wife insisted on this & they delivered it at home for her) for the 1 week; they updated me daily when my new car was in production, VIN assignment, loading dock, to arrival. The 2nd car delivery was about 100X much better than the first one; and overall the Macadam center seemed to be more customer oriented than th the Wash. Sq is.
With the new car, I get the latest & greatest including FSD. The red color with the 21" wheels looks GREAT; much better than the MSM with 19". The older car had EAP, this one has FSD. And I still get to claim the Fed tax rebate twice for this year.
I'm walking ... driving away with the past behind me & looking forward to the new car. I understand my expenses relating to the wrap was personal. I could have also walked away from Tesla altogether & spending my $ on another car. But once I drove the Tesla, my other cars, including my Merc convertible, seems old. The torque, the unnecessary buttons, dials, look tepid and unnecessary.
So in a small way, it was Hobson's choice. And imo and $0.02/-, Tesla stood by their car & took ownership. I know and read, not all manufacturers do that. The PDX team was extremely supportive, responsive & managed my concerns.
Last but not least, not to forget Kinecta Credit Union and TCT Wraps. Both were patient thru' the above; Kinecta helped secure the 2nd loan quickly, same terms as the first one, without much delay; TCT came by when I picked my 2nd car to make sure no issues & helping me get the wrap done asap. It was nice to not to worry about these things as well,
In closing, I can truly say, imo, Tesla does stand behind their customer. They took care of me. Did I get everything I wanted? No. But it could have turned a lot more uglier as well & I could have spent more sleepless nights. I'm able to rest now. I have read posts, where Tesla service levels are abysmal too. But my own, has been good. And it ended happily.
G'nght & looking forward to V10 now. Santa cannot come soon enough.
