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Tesla vs Audi build quality ...
- Thread starter GRiLLA
- Start date
LongRanger
Active Member
LongRanger
Active Member
That is one pissed-off owner who is actually very balanced in running through all that info, he must be seething !
My last car was an Audi (TTRS) and I didn't have any major complaints about the paint, save for perhaps the fact that it seemed to be a bit on the thin side. If he was talking about that being like they've painted it by hand then whooo boy he would not have been happy as a Tesla owner.
I love my Model 3 but it has dust nibs under the paint in places (that are now under PPF), a couple of areas where the paint is clearly too thick, and a general all over mottled like appearance. I'm confident my car isn't unique - I looked at several that were waiting for pickup, on multiple days, and the detailer I use said it was "one of the better ones" (but that was caveated by telling me that I would be disappointed). Tesla paint is as close to someone painting it by hand as you can imagine, and genuinely not hyperbole like I imagine it is on that e-Tron. There's no excuse for it at all, as the guy says, its not beyond the wit of man to spray a car properly, and other manufacturers charging a fraction of the price manage it.
The rest of the complaints are valid, and I think the issue of manufacturers and dealers not knowing how to deal with these cars because they're so new is where Tesla shines, as the platforms are so well established.
My biggest issue with the e-Tron is that it's clearly a repurposed ICE chassis. The frunk is massive and when he opened it all I could think was "that's where the engine would've gone". There is no way on Earth Audi designed that car from the ground up as an EV.
I love my Model 3 but it has dust nibs under the paint in places (that are now under PPF), a couple of areas where the paint is clearly too thick, and a general all over mottled like appearance. I'm confident my car isn't unique - I looked at several that were waiting for pickup, on multiple days, and the detailer I use said it was "one of the better ones" (but that was caveated by telling me that I would be disappointed). Tesla paint is as close to someone painting it by hand as you can imagine, and genuinely not hyperbole like I imagine it is on that e-Tron. There's no excuse for it at all, as the guy says, its not beyond the wit of man to spray a car properly, and other manufacturers charging a fraction of the price manage it.
The rest of the complaints are valid, and I think the issue of manufacturers and dealers not knowing how to deal with these cars because they're so new is where Tesla shines, as the platforms are so well established.
My biggest issue with the e-Tron is that it's clearly a repurposed ICE chassis. The frunk is massive and when he opened it all I could think was "that's where the engine would've gone". There is no way on Earth Audi designed that car from the ground up as an EV.
In part 2 the Etron tells him the wheel are loose and not to drive, Dealers suggestion is to drive it for a bit as the 12v is probably a bit flat and throwing the sensors off 
The finest Audi Engineering, Vorsprung Durch Technik.
The finest Audi Engineering, Vorsprung Durch Technik.
LongRanger
Active Member
The moral of this thread is don’t buy any car ever. Such essential, so random.
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
I think the problem is that the people designing cars now do so from having grown up with stuff that doesn't work as it should. Everyone accepts that everyday technology falls over, needs rebooting, etc, so why should a car be any different?
It seems that we've gone full circle from the time when I first owned a car, where it was a given that everyone tinkered with their car all the time to keep it going, and no one left home without enough basic tools and supplies to (hopefully) fix the car when (rather than if) it broke down. The Japanese manufacturers came along, at the time of the demise of the British car industry, and started producing cars that just worked, that didn't have bits falling off all the time, and didn't break down. The standards we came to expect in a new car went up, as the Japanese companies embraced total quality, and right-first-time.
I've always felt that the reputation German brands had for quality was a bit over-hyped. I've owned three BMWs and one Merc, and they really weren't any better put together than a decent Japanese car, and my experience of customer service from both Merc and BMW dealers wasn't ever great, especially given the cost of any service work.
Now that cars are really just a collection of computers on wheels, I'm not at all surprised that we're seeing quality issues. Apart from the pretty dire problems this chap's having with his Audi, perhaps worth remembering that VW seriously screwed up with the ID.3, and ended up doing months of re-work just to get to the point where all the thousands of cars they'd already built actually worked. VW did, rather sensibly, delay delivering any ID.3s until they had fixed the problems, whereas it seems that Audi may not have done with the eTron.
Personally, I'd give up some of the cutting edge gadgetry if that meant close to 100% reliability for everything else. I suspect that many other ordinary car buyers may feel the same; I know that's exactly how my wife feels. She drives a Toyota hybrid at the moment, and a small to medium sized EV with a range of a couple of hundred miles would meet all her requirements. She's quite keen to make the switch, but is reluctant to do so whilst it still seems that many manufacturers are having so many teething problems, even if they are relatively minor.
It seems that we've gone full circle from the time when I first owned a car, where it was a given that everyone tinkered with their car all the time to keep it going, and no one left home without enough basic tools and supplies to (hopefully) fix the car when (rather than if) it broke down. The Japanese manufacturers came along, at the time of the demise of the British car industry, and started producing cars that just worked, that didn't have bits falling off all the time, and didn't break down. The standards we came to expect in a new car went up, as the Japanese companies embraced total quality, and right-first-time.
I've always felt that the reputation German brands had for quality was a bit over-hyped. I've owned three BMWs and one Merc, and they really weren't any better put together than a decent Japanese car, and my experience of customer service from both Merc and BMW dealers wasn't ever great, especially given the cost of any service work.
Now that cars are really just a collection of computers on wheels, I'm not at all surprised that we're seeing quality issues. Apart from the pretty dire problems this chap's having with his Audi, perhaps worth remembering that VW seriously screwed up with the ID.3, and ended up doing months of re-work just to get to the point where all the thousands of cars they'd already built actually worked. VW did, rather sensibly, delay delivering any ID.3s until they had fixed the problems, whereas it seems that Audi may not have done with the eTron.
Personally, I'd give up some of the cutting edge gadgetry if that meant close to 100% reliability for everything else. I suspect that many other ordinary car buyers may feel the same; I know that's exactly how my wife feels. She drives a Toyota hybrid at the moment, and a small to medium sized EV with a range of a couple of hundred miles would meet all her requirements. She's quite keen to make the switch, but is reluctant to do so whilst it still seems that many manufacturers are having so many teething problems, even if they are relatively minor.
Nicely put, let's not even mention what the Japanese did to the British motorcycle industry. Also lest we forget the Japanese also taught Porsche how to build cars and not that long ago either.
In fairness anything mechanical or electronic for that matter has the potential for failure and it is how the manufacturer addresses that failure. For example JLR could take a look at Lexus.
I've been a Audi Fan until I moved to Tesla. Audi have been going wrong for a while so this doesn't surprise me at all.
It's going to be exciting to see which manufactures die based on their inability to switching over to electricity. Can't wait. \
Why hasn't this guy just asked for a refund?
It's going to be exciting to see which manufactures die based on their inability to switching over to electricity. Can't wait. \
Why hasn't this guy just asked for a refund?
darkNstormy
Member
Mirrors my experiences too, to some extent. The most reliable cars I had were Toyotas.
Nothing in life is as reliable as a VW, so the advert goes, including VWs from my experience. My Audi was actually pretty good and I didn't have any issues with it except the shocking 8mpg (ok can't blame Audi for that). I test drove an e-tron before buying the Tesla - I didn't see any quality issues and it had very many positives.The charger socket position is ridiculous though. Firstly, I always reverse park and that would mean needing an extra long cable. Looks like it doesn't always work out parking front first either! Also, the range was crap compared with the Tesla. The actual driving part was far more relaxing in the e-tron than the Tesla with fewer bing bongs and the 360 camera with its various options was really useful. But charging and range are massive issues for EVs and I think Audi need to look at this or they will lose out to other manufacturers.
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
Most reliable cars I have ever owned were Toyota's, too. Owned four and none ever had any problems, just routine servicing, and that was pretty cheap. My wife's Toyota hybrid is now 5 years old, and that's also never had a problem since new, just gets serviced and that's it.
LongRanger
Active Member
I did have a Subaru Impreza that suffered a major failure in the eyes of the dealer when a sun visor spring-clip failed, they were utterly mortified to the point of me feeling sorry for them ....
Jason71
Well-Known Member
15 years ago when I worked for an automotive oem the Japanese quality ststems were head and shoulders above anyone else's. Including the Germans. It actually hurt them in some ways because it made them slow to innovate but you could not fault the quality.
I wish I could say the same about our toyota that we bought brand new. I can understand that cars do go wrong and that I can even end up have the odd one out a bunch. Im fine with things breaking down, it just happens right. What I wasn't putting up with was them telling that us putting about 12 litres of oil (if you drive 12k miles) was acceptable and within spec on a 4 year old car (with 5 year warranty) and only just over 50k miles.
Its not a case that it broke down which it didn't. It's a case that it was heading that way and how you're treated when you make that warranty claim... One of those things
Its not a case that it broke down which it didn't. It's a case that it was heading that way and how you're treated when you make that warranty claim... One of those things
