Too many egos in this thread invested in how "Premium" their car is.
Tesla Is Officially Selling A Used Model 3 With Serious Paint Issues
- Thread starter Dolemite
- Start date
After the response on my first post, as well as the response to the same post on the Tesla forum, I do think I bought into a cult. This car has amazing things going for it. If you can sell everything you can make and get adulation.....it's hard to realize a problem.
From what I remember rust/corrosion warranties only cover rust if the rust has gone through the entire panel. It does not cover surface rust.
Other car companies resolved the rust issue years ago. Even if you live in a state where there is a lot of salt on the road, most all modern cars won't show rust for many years. If you live in a state without snow and salt, it's doubtful you will ever see rust. Being a new owner, my perception of Tesla was that it was the Apple of cars. My experience at Apple when I have ever had an issue is one of wanting to solve your problem and make you happy. I realize that a car and computer is different. All Tesla needs to do is drive a culture that is equally committed to customer satisfaction as it is to its technology.
Candleflame
Active Member
the ad is a bit off. How can a RWD car with 70k km on the clock (nevermind the condition) be almost the same price as a new Tesla Model 3 Performance??
This isn't like those rust issues in the past. Most vehicles are slab sided and vertical between the wheels, in order to prevent road grit from kicking up and damaging the finish. The aero design of the Model 3, has the sides bend under to the rockers. More aero, but it exposes the rockers to road grit. Essentially, they get sandblasted in areas where the roads are salted or sanded, etc. When the paint finish is gone, the underlying metal can rust. It's not the paint's fault, no vehicle could withstand the amount of sandblasting the Tesla rockers get. It's a direct result of the aero design.
Now, Tesla gives mudflaps to northern climes like Finland, Canada, etc. They should offer them to everyone.
vogz
Member
Don't be so sure that it's not an issue on other brands. My previous car was a 2011 Audi S4 and it had similar issues that began around 40K miles and others were documented by MANY owners. I personally started touching mine up regularly to keep it from spreading.
Official b8 s4 front fender paint chip memo to aoc/aoa
Issues like this ARE not exclusive to Tesla and luxury brand dealers can be incredibly scummy selling used cars by hiding or not disclosing issues.
I agree that other manufacturers will hide/fail to disclose issues. I am surprised that an S4 had rust issues. You are in the rust belt, but even so, I am surprised at a modern car rusting that fast. Being a first time Tesla owner, I just hope that the car is as good as the technology, etc. I am not bashing...just a first time owner who wants to know I can drive this car for ten years if I want to.
Steel rusts and there's nothing that's going to stop it. Once you've blasted off the paint and the galvanization, you're going to start getting surface rust. Doesn't matter who manufactures the car. I believe newer Model 3s have a thicker coating along the bottom to address this problem.
