ElectricIAC
Good-Natured Rascal
The misaligned doors/surround trim honestly bother me the most.
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The fit and finish on these cars is GARBAGE!
- Thread starter WellerZ06
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This has to be the reason they are getting away with such poor build quality. After a few months with a facelift S, I keep finding small build and design details which are much much worse compared to our ICE car which costs a quarter of the S. It should be unacceptable but we all fell in this hole for the EV idea and smooth/powerful acceleration... sadly.
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The service centers can align doors pretty good. I had my passenger front door aligned and it cam out perfect. It was originally lower at the rear than the front.
The worst problem in my opinion is the paint. The biggest seems to be when you have the door open the inner fender is just primer. The trunk hinges are pretty bad too but other manufacturers skimp there too. Mine also needed some work to get rid of some clear coat issues.
ElectricIAC
Good-Natured Rascal
Similarly this is why people still buy FCA LD platform cars. The drivetrain (Hemi) is solid and can make stupid power even though the rest of the car will fall apart around it.
The majority of Model 3’s coming off the line are free from any major defects. A small percentage have significant issues and those are the ones we hear about most on this forum.
People want all of the advantages of a Tesla EV - the advanced technology, incredible performance and low operating cost, but they want the build quality to be comparable to legacy manufacturers who have been building cars for many decades and are not subject to any EPA restrictions associated with building cars in California. But something has to give here, and most of the members on this forum would never go back to driving an ICE vehicle after owning a Tesla, warts and all.
For those who can’t live with panel gaps and paint imperfections, a Tesla may not be the right vehicle for you. But we took delivery of three Model 3’s last year, and all three were in perfect condition and continue to remain completely trouble free.
People want all of the advantages of a Tesla EV - the advanced technology, incredible performance and low operating cost, but they want the build quality to be comparable to legacy manufacturers who have been building cars for many decades and are not subject to any EPA restrictions associated with building cars in California. But something has to give here, and most of the members on this forum would never go back to driving an ICE vehicle after owning a Tesla, warts and all.
For those who can’t live with panel gaps and paint imperfections, a Tesla may not be the right vehicle for you. But we took delivery of three Model 3’s last year, and all three were in perfect condition and continue to remain completely trouble free.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
I understand. Had to reject my brand new $250,000 Ferrari. Motor made loud wailing noises at high RPMs. exhaust was very loud, got poor gas mileage and rode much harsher than my previous Civic. The stereo had little bass and the wind noise (with the top down) was worse than my Lexus. The paint was too shiney and caused tremendous glare when the Sun was at the right angle...No more Ferraris for me.
I have had my model three for six weeks and I have less than 2000 miles on it. When walking around my car today I noticed a bunch of tiny little surface rust orange spots all over the car and near the lower rocker panels, but it’s everywhere. I didn’t think these things could rust because they were aluminum. Maybe I misunderstood what the composite of the body was. I have scheduled a service technician to come look at it. I can’t believe this, with less than 2000 miles on it. And the car has been washed a couple of times, and I am in a northern climate, but still.
Gizmo35
Member
Its sad
My car didnt have all those issues but it wasnt perfect either. Small things here and there. Love the car though and fixed what I could. Tesla will be better at QC in the future no doubt about it. They will have no choice once the big boys start catching up and catch up they will despite the thoughts of a lot of people. Tesla wont be the only meaningful game in town forever.
My car didnt have all those issues but it wasnt perfect either. Small things here and there. Love the car though and fixed what I could. Tesla will be better at QC in the future no doubt about it. They will have no choice once the big boys start catching up and catch up they will despite the thoughts of a lot of people. Tesla wont be the only meaningful game in town forever.
Funny how people misunderstand leases.
Why, in your opinion, is a good idea to lease a car that had defects? If you lease the car, and you get to the point that you can't stand the defects anymore, you are stuck in a lease. If you buy the car, you can sell it easily whenever you want.
It crazy all the stupid things that are said about leases.
From what I understand the panel at the drivers' A pillar/mirror/door area can be adjusted fairly easily by service (or by owners apparently). There was thread on this here on the forum that I had seen a little while back where this was discussed and at that time I checked my car (there was a gap so no rubbing). Door panels can be adjusted too including trunk and frunk so generally not a big deal to fix. Some paint issues would likely require a due bill to be corrected at the body shop.
Tesla doesn't have dealerships like other manufacturers whose cars get fixed by the body shops the dealerships use before being delivered to customers. Paint work needed on our Toyota Avalon's passenger side doors, thanks to a careless service center person moving our car, was farmed out to their body shop contact and took about a week. The Toyota service center doesn't have the facilities to do the paint work. All shopped out from our experience. Tesla has a few of their own body shops that will do this same type of paint work and since the cars are delivered directly from the factory to the carrier to delivery center, cars will get sent out to one of those or to an authorized body shop locally that they use, after purchase. No huge parking lots full of unsold cars at Tesla stores/service centers where they can be sent to body shop repaired and then parked until sold. Really no difference in cars needing correction, just when it happens. Cars shipped from the manufacturer come with flaws by the time they reach the dealership or delivery center. The majority of Tesla customers get delivery of cars with little or no need for adjustments or paint work.
Tesla doesn't have dealerships like other manufacturers whose cars get fixed by the body shops the dealerships use before being delivered to customers. Paint work needed on our Toyota Avalon's passenger side doors, thanks to a careless service center person moving our car, was farmed out to their body shop contact and took about a week. The Toyota service center doesn't have the facilities to do the paint work. All shopped out from our experience. Tesla has a few of their own body shops that will do this same type of paint work and since the cars are delivered directly from the factory to the carrier to delivery center, cars will get sent out to one of those or to an authorized body shop locally that they use, after purchase. No huge parking lots full of unsold cars at Tesla stores/service centers where they can be sent to body shop repaired and then parked until sold. Really no difference in cars needing correction, just when it happens. Cars shipped from the manufacturer come with flaws by the time they reach the dealership or delivery center. The majority of Tesla customers get delivery of cars with little or no need for adjustments or paint work.
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From other reports on here that is what I've heard too. Think there was a one-year wait period but others who encountered it can speak to their experience. There were a few people we heard about on here who rejected a number of cars (one guy maybe 4 or 5) not taking delivery and not letting them address the issues. At some point Tesla changed their policy on reordering as a result. So what car are you now going to be looking to order since I don't think it will be a Tesla?
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This is normal for Tesla. Most people are so excited and not overly picky so they can live with little imperfections. Some just buy it no matter what to tell everyone they own a Tesla (prestige).
FWIW I paid $213K (CDN) for my loaded S P100DL back in 2018 and it had a few little issues that were corrected after delivery (missing body clips, spoiler not attached fully, cracked dash piece, etc.). It has since had further issues and I now know it's just 100% normal for Teslas to always have a few small issues with every car. So the fact that the car is $70K or whatever is completely irrelevant to the effort Tesla puts into QA.
ElectricIAC
Good-Natured Rascal
Especially when the Model 3 leases like crap and can’t even be bought out after.
At least if you could buy it out you can take advantage of its stellar resale value.
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Lease rates are good in the P3D - competitive to other luxury sports sedans at similar retail. Not sure about long range and standard options though.
lUtriaNt
Member
well went down to costa mesa today to pick up my black/black pup model 3 with fsd/20s. whilst waiting for paperwork i smoked over the car and there were no issues (vin 71XXX built march 20). the triangle mentioned here seemed fine - no pushed out or pushed in parts. no panel gaps, door seams looked uniform and in alignment. ran my finger all along the lines and all ok.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
I've already seen multiple Tayacan's. Not one of them has had any panel gaps or paint issues. Of all the cars I've ever owned, none of them have had the fit and finish problems like the Model 3 (I haven't ever paid attention to the S). I know many people think Elon Musk or Tesla can do no wrong. He did create the first viable electric car, as well as the infrastructure to support it. However, that still doesn't excuse the problems that too many of these cars have. My guess is that there have been multiple plant managers for the M3. Tesla can hire senior plant people from any car company they want. Other car companies don't have these issues. At other car companies, when a vehicle rolls off the line and there is a panel gap, it gets pulled from the line and repaired before it leaves the factory. My M3 had a gap between teh rear bumper and body that was ridiculous. The doors didn't quite line up. There is no excuses for this. If Tesla would up their quality control, the Model 3 would be one of the best cars in the world and one of the most important cars ever made.
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