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Took delivery but thinking of returning. Am I being paranoid?
- Thread starter Rails85
- Start date
Big-T
Member
Couple things here:
1) Coming to this form and asking if you should return your Tesla will get you some biased answers - take it with a grain of salt and do what's best for you.
2) In my less than two months of ownership I've had a handful of (fortunately relatively small) issues and have had the Mobile rangers out twice and spoken to the local service center twice...The common thread with all 4 of these experiences is that that Tesla does not have enough support staff, they are all overworked - and there is poor communication between people and departments....So when you need service you really need to be the "squeaky wheel" to get your issues addressed in a timely manner. They are are in firefighting mode, putting out the fires in front of them first.
Bottom line, if the car has it's issues sorted out it'll be a great car. If you wind up having problems your experience at getting the issues resolved may not be as buttoned down as going with a traditional car manufacturer.
My experience anyway.
1) Coming to this form and asking if you should return your Tesla will get you some biased answers - take it with a grain of salt and do what's best for you.
2) In my less than two months of ownership I've had a handful of (fortunately relatively small) issues and have had the Mobile rangers out twice and spoken to the local service center twice...The common thread with all 4 of these experiences is that that Tesla does not have enough support staff, they are all overworked - and there is poor communication between people and departments....So when you need service you really need to be the "squeaky wheel" to get your issues addressed in a timely manner. They are are in firefighting mode, putting out the fires in front of them first.
Bottom line, if the car has it's issues sorted out it'll be a great car. If you wind up having problems your experience at getting the issues resolved may not be as buttoned down as going with a traditional car manufacturer.
My experience anyway.
One thing you should take into consideration is the majority of "issues" reported on forums result from owners frustrated and reporting their issues and hoping more seasoned owners have a quick fix for them or if this is common. This is common not just in Tesla forums but in all auto forums. My previous vehicles were BMW, Infiniti, MINI, etc. and I can tell you that the forums all have issues and fixes along with other owners sharing similar frustrations.
Rarely do you see owners going out of their way to take up their valuable time to write on forums how "Amazing their car is" or how much they love their vehicle. Just imagine the users reactions - we all know! We bought it and love the vehicle. There's a reason we made a large purchase and didn't purchase the competition.
That being said, I have a P3D and my wife has an LR RWD. Both have been phenomenal. The biggest issue was a paint defect from delivery which was quickly addressed. Aside from that, the vehicles have seen less shop time in 1 year of ownership than all of my prior vehicles have seen in 6-month periods.
Issues happen to cars and they get fixed, that's why there's a warranty period; the most common issues happen in the first 20-30k miles and once the small kinks are fixed, they tend to live their lifespan. Tesla producing these cars to be solid and last 300k+ miles honestly is counter-efficient for them. An auto manufacturer WANTS the vehicles to break down right around the expiration of warranty period to bring cash flow back into the company via repairs. Any Auto Dealership rep for BMW, Audi, even Hyundai, will tell you their profit center is the Service Department. This is something you can take into consideration for your purchase.
That being said, you do have the option to wait 2 years but from their track record, don't expect anything to change like your typical auto manufacturer - 2020, even 2021 may be identical to 2018. It will take perhaps 4 years (2022-2023 models) before we get a facelift and another 4 years for a hardware overhaul (not considering the next 2-3 years there may be a 10-15% battery upgrade, but I do expect same mechanics).
That being said, I hope you do enjoy your vehicle!
Rarely do you see owners going out of their way to take up their valuable time to write on forums how "Amazing their car is" or how much they love their vehicle. Just imagine the users reactions - we all know! We bought it and love the vehicle. There's a reason we made a large purchase and didn't purchase the competition.
That being said, I have a P3D and my wife has an LR RWD. Both have been phenomenal. The biggest issue was a paint defect from delivery which was quickly addressed. Aside from that, the vehicles have seen less shop time in 1 year of ownership than all of my prior vehicles have seen in 6-month periods.
Issues happen to cars and they get fixed, that's why there's a warranty period; the most common issues happen in the first 20-30k miles and once the small kinks are fixed, they tend to live their lifespan. Tesla producing these cars to be solid and last 300k+ miles honestly is counter-efficient for them. An auto manufacturer WANTS the vehicles to break down right around the expiration of warranty period to bring cash flow back into the company via repairs. Any Auto Dealership rep for BMW, Audi, even Hyundai, will tell you their profit center is the Service Department. This is something you can take into consideration for your purchase.
That being said, you do have the option to wait 2 years but from their track record, don't expect anything to change like your typical auto manufacturer - 2020, even 2021 may be identical to 2018. It will take perhaps 4 years (2022-2023 models) before we get a facelift and another 4 years for a hardware overhaul (not considering the next 2-3 years there may be a 10-15% battery upgrade, but I do expect same mechanics).
That being said, I hope you do enjoy your vehicle!
That is a bit insulting to many posters here who have had very little to no issues and are sharing their experiences honestly.
Not sure what it says about me? I wouldn’t say I didn’t do research. But but they dangled a lovely offer in front of me that was hard to pass up.
I too believe the window issue is just something that needs to be recalibrated. We had it happen once on our Model S and recalibrating fixed it. BTW I had the window issue happen a few times on my Toyota Avalon in the past. Annoying when it happens first time and you're at a drive-thru and can't get it to go back up and stay.
BTW here's Tesla's recently published procedures for owners for Model 3. Calibrating windows is near the bottom of the list of how-to's and easy to just reprogram yourself.
Do It Yourself - Model 3
As an aside, we became an all-Tesla family when I got my Model 3 last September. Very happy with the car, well both of them and wouldn't drive anything else now at this point, and based on our experience I wouldn't sweat keeping the car you have. Ours haven't been in for any sort of repairs (other than a few minor due bill issues at delivery all taken care of and happy with the work -- paint specks and a slightly misaligned headlight). I think this is true of the vast majority of owners and why the cars have gotten such high owner satisfaction marks. I know people come onto the forums to discuss issues they might be having (and it's great to have that sharing among owners too) but it can skew one's perception of the reliability of the cars. Given the number of cars sold and being bought, it's really a small percentage of the total realistically. Every manufacturer will have some cars with issues.
The screen issue you mentioned is something that may occasionally occur, not a big deal really and fixes itself generally or a reboot will take care of it. You should know the screen and car's controls are separate so don't panic that the car will shut down when it happens, but you probably already know that. It's been recommended that after you get an update that you reboot your car to clear things out of memory. I suspect all future cars from manufacturers who will be doing the OTA route, copying Tesla, will encounter many of the same issues, and given they are going to be new at this I wonder how robust their systems and updates will be.
Don't know about the speaker issue you mentioned but have seen a few posts about something like that and whether it's a connection or a software glitch in a version of software I don't doubt Tesla won't fix it for you.
As I said I wouldn't be returning the car if it was me. What you have described based on my experience of us being Tesla owners since early 2017 these aren't big issues or something that can't be easily fixed.
One last comment about returning and buying later, I'm sure you'll lose out on any federal credit and rebates.
BTW here's Tesla's recently published procedures for owners for Model 3. Calibrating windows is near the bottom of the list of how-to's and easy to just reprogram yourself.
Do It Yourself - Model 3
As an aside, we became an all-Tesla family when I got my Model 3 last September. Very happy with the car, well both of them and wouldn't drive anything else now at this point, and based on our experience I wouldn't sweat keeping the car you have. Ours haven't been in for any sort of repairs (other than a few minor due bill issues at delivery all taken care of and happy with the work -- paint specks and a slightly misaligned headlight). I think this is true of the vast majority of owners and why the cars have gotten such high owner satisfaction marks. I know people come onto the forums to discuss issues they might be having (and it's great to have that sharing among owners too) but it can skew one's perception of the reliability of the cars. Given the number of cars sold and being bought, it's really a small percentage of the total realistically. Every manufacturer will have some cars with issues.
The screen issue you mentioned is something that may occasionally occur, not a big deal really and fixes itself generally or a reboot will take care of it. You should know the screen and car's controls are separate so don't panic that the car will shut down when it happens, but you probably already know that. It's been recommended that after you get an update that you reboot your car to clear things out of memory. I suspect all future cars from manufacturers who will be doing the OTA route, copying Tesla, will encounter many of the same issues, and given they are going to be new at this I wonder how robust their systems and updates will be.
Don't know about the speaker issue you mentioned but have seen a few posts about something like that and whether it's a connection or a software glitch in a version of software I don't doubt Tesla won't fix it for you.
As I said I wouldn't be returning the car if it was me. What you have described based on my experience of us being Tesla owners since early 2017 these aren't big issues or something that can't be easily fixed.
One last comment about returning and buying later, I'm sure you'll lose out on any federal credit and rebates.
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BTW we were previous Toyota Avalon and Camry owners before buying our Teslas. Completely understand the financial aspect as these were the most expensive cars we've ever purchased. I know I speak for my husband with his Model S and me with my Model 3 that based on our ownership time neither one of us would buy a different car if we had to do it over. Also will say that we've never really felt that we loved driving the cars we had until now. When it was time for us to replace my Avalon I was hesitant for a period of time going all electric and whether we should buy another Tesla but I fell in love with driving my husband's car and when I was able to order my AWD Model 3, I didn't have any lingering concerns.
So you DID do your research, and STILL bought the car because of the $4k discount. Look, personally to me it sounds like you are having, to an extent, buyers remorse. LUCKILY it's a Tesla and you CAN return it, unlike other dealerships. All cars can have various degrees of issues, some easy to get resolved, some harder...A Tesla is basically a piece of software, there will be bugs and a lot of it can be fixed with an over the air update(unlike other cars)...Other stuff you may have to go to service for(like other cars). If you are unprepared or unwilling to deal with possible issues then return the car. Even if you wait a year, you will have the same possibility of bugs with the car.
I think common sense left some people when they bought a Tesla vs. a non-Tesla.
Not sure if it's a price/money back return thing but all car brands have issues & as long as they are under warranty they get dealt with.
You just don't react like you do with non-Tesla's.
Really, if you did do research or you have owned any automobile, you would know your list issues are full of non-issues.
OP - I was in a similar dilemma when I got my M3 about two months ago. I was thinking of returning even on the 7th day - I found the interior very underwhelming, the initial driving experience was sort of Okay for me, and I was very wary of future issues based on posts in the web.
Fast forward two months, I love the car. I've been lucky that I have not had any big issues so far. For me, it took a little while to get used to the driving, TACC, AP and the whole experience. Plus the gas savings in my case are just huge. I was burning 15$ each way when I drove my older luxury car to work each morning. Now, I charge 2 times a week at my work for free! Driving out with a charged car at the end of the day, without standing in a queue at a local Costco for 45 minutes and spending 65$ is just an awesome feeling...
Just my frank experience. PM me if you want to discuss more.
Fast forward two months, I love the car. I've been lucky that I have not had any big issues so far. For me, it took a little while to get used to the driving, TACC, AP and the whole experience. Plus the gas savings in my case are just huge. I was burning 15$ each way when I drove my older luxury car to work each morning. Now, I charge 2 times a week at my work for free! Driving out with a charged car at the end of the day, without standing in a queue at a local Costco for 45 minutes and spending 65$ is just an awesome feeling...
Just my frank experience. PM me if you want to discuss more.
One was an AWD 19" received September 30 2018. The other is a LR RWD Aero received late November (after Thanksgiving).
First car had left lane change not working correctly. It would continuously blink. Quickly fixed. RWD car had a scratched sill plate (driver's side) and some small paint issue. Tesla quickly corrected.
AWD on a hot day can, for the first mile, exhibits popping sounds as if the window is about to crack. The RWD is just totally solid. It is the trip car because of its greater range. 5754 miles on AWD and 7277 on RWD. Yes, more miles on the newer car. The AWD replaced my 2013 Genesis R-Spec. The RWD replaced Kim's 2013 Mustang.
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N5329K
Active Member
Re the window: no one should accept, ever, the “Mechanic’s Shrug” that goes along with, “they all do that.”
No, they do not all do that. Have them fix it or be ready to hand it back.
They’ll fix it.
You’ve gotten good advice on the software glitches. If they can’t be resolved (meaning likely a hardware issue and not code) escalate until they are resolved.
But it would be a shame to abandon the car over what should be very trivial repairs.
Robin
No, they do not all do that. Have them fix it or be ready to hand it back.
They’ll fix it.
You’ve gotten good advice on the software glitches. If they can’t be resolved (meaning likely a hardware issue and not code) escalate until they are resolved.
But it would be a shame to abandon the car over what should be very trivial repairs.
Robin
DirtyT3sla
Member
Some employees suck and some are rockstars. I also got an inventory car (not nearly as good a deal as you...) and one of my door handles didn't work. The guy said "Oh yeah that's because it's cold. It'll get better." Lmao uh...no. I scheduled mobile service and the guy came and changed ALL of my door handles just in case. Just contact someone else.
The car is awesome. I haven't had any other problems.
The car is awesome. I haven't had any other problems.
I can understand your concern, but those issues aren't common in the scheme of things. I've had my car for almost a year and my screen only went out once on an older software version. Never had a problem with windows or speakers. If your window won't go back up after a reboot then I'd definitely have service look at it.
Based on my sample size of 1, my freshly built Model 3 Performance (ordered April 27, delivered May 4) has only 1 flaw which is the spoiler is not stuck on the trunk squarely. Perhaps this is just luck of the draw, or perhaps Tesla has improved quality assurance over the last 4-5 months. In any case, another option is to return this car and order a new one. You likely won't get the same discount, but you may be able to get some discount for your troubles.
Overall, I am very pleased with the Model 3. It has exceeded my expectations and I am a serious car guy. Thus, I expect that once you get a defect-free or fully repaired Model 3, you will be happy with the car.
Good luck.
Overall, I am very pleased with the Model 3. It has exceeded my expectations and I am a serious car guy. Thus, I expect that once you get a defect-free or fully repaired Model 3, you will be happy with the car.
Good luck.
Leafdriver333
Somewhat Active Member
SoCalDude
Life is good!
You got $4k off plus Federal rebate that will only get smaller or go away. I would have accepted the inconvenience of a window that needs to be corrected and a speaker issue that gets fixed with a reboot for a $4k discount Funny. I also had the driver speaker cut out. When I turned the volume way up, it started working again and it continued to work at the lower volumes. My car was manufactured in June, picked up in July and we love it.
Thank guys! The feedback has been great. Just to clarify a few things, I don’t have buyers remorse. I would very much love to keep the car with no worries. I think a big part of this is obviously everything that I’ve been reading, which is amplifying the little issues. I know the window and screen aren’t big problems. If anything, having the car made me realize that I do want it (That’s the point of the 7 days, right?). As others said, for many people this the most expensive car they’ve ever bought, including myself. So it’s not far fetched to want it to be near perfect. The intention of the question is to look at Tesla more objectivity and say, new car/company or not, am I comfortable with it now or do I think waiting another year will allow them to improve on manufacturing? Seems like most think getting the issues fixed is the best route. That’s the point of feedback, and it’s much appreciated! I’ll take it in and have it fixed. Fingers crossed for no more trouble!
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