My Model 3 was delivered with multiple paint defects, trim alignment issues and the Frunk misalignment. The Delivery Advisor didn't have an issue in adding the paint defects to my "Due Bill", but absolutely refused to add the misaligned frunk. When I asked why, his only answer was always "it's within spec". Informed him all the other Model 3s had perfectly aligned frunks and still the answer was "it's within spec". He then told me Tesla only sends them cars which are ready to be delivered, so if Tesla sent them the car, then it "was within spec". Overall, a terrible delivery experience and having to inspect the car and take delivery outside in the rain and wind, it was very difficult for me to spot all the defects.
I accepted the car, because I thought I would not get a replacement before the 12/31/2018 date in order to receive the full Federal Tax Credit (I took delivery on 12/5/18). Called the delivery center to complain several times and was finally transferred to service. I finally got a very nice, customer service friendly lady to help me. She told me to contact the NorCalConcerns email to complain, and said they would defer to the Tesla Approved body shop to make the final judgement. I already had a consult appointment with the approved body shop because of all the paint issues.
Went to the body shop the following week and the service advisor that was assigned to me noticed the misaligned frunk right away. She wasn't surprised by how bad it was, as they had been fixing a lot of body issues with brand new cars. She did say it was one of the worst she has seen though and it was clearly noticeable, even to a casual observer. She told me she would contact Tesla and make sure it was fixed on their dime. She was the body shop's Tesla liaisons and the delivery/service center was just down the street and around the corner.
After a 2.5 month wait for the next available body shop opening, I finally got the car back 2 weeks later and it looked better than on delivery day. The body shop told me almost 50% of the car had to be resprayed because of all the scratches, gouges, imbedded sand, swirls and paint discoloration spots. Also, the frunk was perfectly aligned when I got the car back !!! Looking at the final write up for all the work performed, I saw the labor for the frunk alignment was only listed at 30 or 45 minutes (can't remember the exact time, but it was less than 1 hour).
After living through this experience, my wife asked me why I would want to go through that all over again, when I told her I was going to order the 2020 Tesla Roadster. She isn't against getting the roadster if we could inspect it first without giving Tesla the $50,000 down payment. If I do decide to get one, I'll probably just get a pre-owned one that I can inspect first....
If the trunk alignment is bad enough to lose sleep over, I would be persistent with Tesla. But, I would also be polite and speak to them with respect and courtesy. Having been on the receiving end of some ugly calls from angry people at work, being polite can go a long way......
Good Luck and have fun with the new car !!!
great advice, will try. Thank you
