Touch up will work for a while. But it takes special handling to paint aluminum. My brother had an MGA with aluminum hood and trunk. Repainting the trunk only lasted a couple of years before it all just peeled off in big chunks. I guess we'll see if your touch up stays on the car. Even on steel they use primer before the color coat.
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Took delivery today but experience is less than stellar
- Thread starter hmmwv
- Start date
Touch up will work for a while. But it takes special handling to paint aluminum. My brother had an MGA with aluminum hood and trunk. Repainting the trunk only lasted a couple of years before it all just peeled off in big chunks. I guess we'll see if your touch up stays on the car. Even on steel they use primer before the color coat.
I wonder if you had asked nicely and implied you were about to reject it, whether they would have swapped hoods with another nearby 3, in hopes the next guy didn't notice... I think its only four bolts, and could be done in 15 minutes.... Even if they have to send the hood to the body shop for a repaint, its arguably better than a lost sale or annoyed customer.
Of course, I'm ignoring paint matching issues and where to put the car with no frunk lid while the body shop paints it...
Of course, I'm ignoring paint matching issues and where to put the car with no frunk lid while the body shop paints it...
ZappCatt
Member
Did you have a printed checkout of your own making? Did you get one from here in the forums? Would you mind sharing which one you used which gave you confidence that there were not major issues?
waterbrain
Member
Paint issues are actually pretty common. Pick a manufacturer and google it. Porsche paint defects, mercedes paint defects. They all have issues. The forums are full of people complaining about defects, regardless of the manufacturer.
I have always being contacted by my SA, who is located at Bellevue Square store, I only got a call from Frank yesterday to confirm my appointment, and over the phone he seems to be okay. But at the delivery every time I bring up an issue he will shroud his shoulders and have that dismissive "you aren't gonna get anything from me" type of altitude. Again this is just my experience, if you have less serious issues, like the couple next to me (who didn't really care about a misaligned door, etc), then I bet your experience will be significantly better. I hope your delivery will be very smooth and congratulations on getting the car, it's a joy to drive.
I see, hopefully my chips are small enough that even if I have to redo it every couple of years it's not too much of a hassle, I'm sure there are other areas that require touchup over the time. I don't plan to PPF it, but will probably do some simple DIY ceramic coating.
Yeah I asked nicely and Frank said there is absolutely nothing he can do, so I expressed my consideration of rejecting the car, he said I can do that and the car will go right back into the market and will be snatched up by someone else very quickly. He further explained if I want he can start the rejection process right there on the spot. The service center is pretty backed up and they can't send anyone to even take a look at the car, let along swapping the lid. And given Frank's altitude I very much doubt he'll be willing to do it.
Yes I used the list from this thread: Tesla Prep: The ultimate Model 3 delivery checklist
Hope you have a smooth, pleasant transaction, please don't let my experience discourage you.
lkstaack
Member
Tesla is able to sell luxury cars without checking post-assembly quality because there are schmos like us prepared to buy them. Don't like the paint chips? Take a hike!
Tesla will only be forced to deal with these systemic issues when main-stream car manufacturers are able to produce EVs with similar features. In two years maybe? Then, Tesla will have to deal with their business model or die in the process.
Tesla will only be forced to deal with these systemic issues when main-stream car manufacturers are able to produce EVs with similar features. In two years maybe? Then, Tesla will have to deal with their business model or die in the process.
That's quite a gouge. I would follow up with a warranty claim once the year-end dust has settled. I'd be very surprised if they don't realign the door for you, and make an attempt with the front fascia. The latter may well be within spec. Plastic parts, especially fascias (aka bumper covers) are less precisely dimensioned than metal panels. This from thirty years experience as part owner of a GM dealership.
Congrats on your new M3. I wouldn't have rejected it either. If they don't repair the gouge, shame on them. Touch it up if they don't. Even aluminum oxidizes. Good luck, and thanks for the pics and post.
Congrats on your new M3. I wouldn't have rejected it either. If they don't repair the gouge, shame on them. Touch it up if they don't. Even aluminum oxidizes. Good luck, and thanks for the pics and post.
Picked up my car at end of 3Q 2018. Back then Tesla SvC stopped doing any paint work and cars were sent to the body shop even for small paint issues like dust or fisheyes. Many panel gap issues can be adjusted by the SvC. Given the quarterly/year end rush right now I doubt they want to schedule that work right now. So it sounds like there was a basis for some of what you were told based on my own experience. I’m not sure about no due bills. I do agree that if you rejected the car someone else would have accepted it and good chance you would be matched with another car before year end. The attitude you perceived would have bothered me too.
Ultimately I would have made the same decision you did. I had three small paint dust spots, one that flaked off, all on my hood so visible on the outside which the body shop took care of the following month after rush was over. Looked perfect when I got it back. I also had a fender/headlight area adjustment, and they adjusted the hood gap at the very front, both done while at the body shop. Again couldn’t tell it was ever an issue. Other manufacturers have these type of issues handled by the dealerships or at their body shops once the cars are shipped to them, so it’s not something you might see on the lot while being stored there. My last service visit to Toyota ended up with my car been scratched by another car on their lot while it was there being serviced and the sent my car out to their body shop. So handled in similar fashion.
You have photos of your car at delivery (our DA took ours and we did too of my car) and when you go in for the panel adjustments I’d show them to your SvC mgr and ask if they could be corrected as well. Glad you love the car and are enjoying it. Crappy you got the response you did however.
Ultimately I would have made the same decision you did. I had three small paint dust spots, one that flaked off, all on my hood so visible on the outside which the body shop took care of the following month after rush was over. Looked perfect when I got it back. I also had a fender/headlight area adjustment, and they adjusted the hood gap at the very front, both done while at the body shop. Again couldn’t tell it was ever an issue. Other manufacturers have these type of issues handled by the dealerships or at their body shops once the cars are shipped to them, so it’s not something you might see on the lot while being stored there. My last service visit to Toyota ended up with my car been scratched by another car on their lot while it was there being serviced and the sent my car out to their body shop. So handled in similar fashion.
You have photos of your car at delivery (our DA took ours and we did too of my car) and when you go in for the panel adjustments I’d show them to your SvC mgr and ask if they could be corrected as well. Glad you love the car and are enjoying it. Crappy you got the response you did however.
I don’t think you have a door alignment problem from what I can see in the photos. I think you have a chrome trim alignment problem. One trim piece is higher than the other. I had the same problem and the service center fixed it in about ten minutes. The chrome is glued on. They just slide it around until it lines up with the other piece.
The comment about not doing due bills anymore is just silly. What is that supposed to mean? Are they selling cars as is regardless of what is wrong with them now? Or is there a different process to handle repairs on a new purchase? It sounds like you just had a really bad delivery rep. I would have just asked for another one or instructed him to get his manager. But I probably would have accepted the car since the only thing really wrong with is is the paint chips and they gave you a touch up kit which we normally have to pay for.
The comment about not doing due bills anymore is just silly. What is that supposed to mean? Are they selling cars as is regardless of what is wrong with them now? Or is there a different process to handle repairs on a new purchase? It sounds like you just had a really bad delivery rep. I would have just asked for another one or instructed him to get his manager. But I probably would have accepted the car since the only thing really wrong with is is the paint chips and they gave you a touch up kit which we normally have to pay for.
jkoya
NA2 NSX
My chrome trim wasn't glued on, as I've removed them a few times (except the piece around the rear triangle window). Is it supposed to be glued on ?
I did not watch them do it but that is what the tech told me after he brought it back. When the trim pieces are not aligned it creates the illusion that the door panels themselves are not aligned but it’s just the trim pieces which are height adjustable.
Tomx17
Member
eh. Tough question to ask. Was it right to take delivery? After some thought, I think I'd still take delivery. Here are my major conflicting thoughts:
Your delivery specialist was a real piece of work. Sigh, I'm so sorry. That taints the delivery experience in a huge way. Also, you had some big issues with the car! Other luxury car brands do not sell cars that have issues like this. And because they're overwhelmed with delivery volume, getting your "little issues" fixed isn't their priority. Their business model is expand the business, not offer a perfect car every time. With that said, I agree that it sounds like most everything else checked out as good to go. So realistically, it sounds like you have a perfectly functioning brand new Tesla.
Me personally, I'm a bit of an @$$ perfectionist. So I will 100% bring calipers to measure the panel gaps to the millimeters between each gap with a spreadsheet to document, bring white gloves to check the smoothness of the paint and look for imperfections, etc - I'm not joking in the slightest. My girlfriend pities the delivery guy that is going to have to deal with me. Rofl - don't worry, I'm really friendly about being this way with employees all around. But at the end of the day, will I still take my imperfect Tesla Model 3 Performance on delivery day? Absolutely. Because although high quality is required for a purchase price of $75k after taxes, what's my alternative? Rejection of the vehicle may leave me without a car for an additional 30-120 days. And with my luck, it'd be closer to 120+ days. Time is more valuable to me than money and it should be that way for everyone who can afford the brand name Tesla. Even if your car has some unforgivable scratches on it, I guarantee you're still going to let out a HUGE smile every time you take that car for a drive.
Congratulations on taking delivery and thank you so much for sharing these photos and details. I plan to go through a very thorough checklist as well and will post details of my delivery as well for visibility sake.
One area I didn't check very carefully is the glass, I looked more today and found few other issues.
First of all, my mid section roof seems to be shifted towards the driver's side more, as you can see from the pics on the driver's side it's lined up with the rear roof pane, but on the passenger side it's not, also the mid pane front edge on the driver side seems to be lifted up a little, not sure if it's related to the position. Can any of you take a look at your car and see if similar thing happened? For some reason you have to click on the file name to see the full image, thumbnails didn't show up.
Also my driver side rear side window seems to be shifted towards the rear more, the gap between that and the B pillar is larger than the gap between it and the rear triangle window, while on the passenger side the gap between that window and the B pillar is similar to the gap between it and the rear triangle window. Those are things I'll bring up during my appointment on Wednesday.
First of all, my mid section roof seems to be shifted towards the driver's side more, as you can see from the pics on the driver's side it's lined up with the rear roof pane, but on the passenger side it's not, also the mid pane front edge on the driver side seems to be lifted up a little, not sure if it's related to the position. Can any of you take a look at your car and see if similar thing happened? For some reason you have to click on the file name to see the full image, thumbnails didn't show up.
Also my driver side rear side window seems to be shifted towards the rear more, the gap between that and the B pillar is larger than the gap between it and the rear triangle window, while on the passenger side the gap between that window and the B pillar is similar to the gap between it and the rear triangle window. Those are things I'll bring up during my appointment on Wednesday.
It's actually not just the chrome trim, the door itself is misaligned, when look directly down it's not aligned with the rear fender. What Frank said is that they don't do due bill so if you find issues at delivery you can either reject the car, or bring it in later at a service appointment, what they won't do is note a list of items that they promise to fix. I was given the touchup kit after a long argument as Frank indicated Tesla will absolutely not fix those paint chips.
I'll see what happens at my appointment next Wednesday, I generally don't like to bring it up to social media, but if that's what has to happen then I'll do it. I contacted my SA about the issue and he said he communicated my comments to the service center's management.
You mean Plaidly bad? It's 2020, let's use the correct verbiage.
My first new car was a 07 Civic, and I was absolutely OCD about the car when I first got it, but over the years as life and work become more and more hectic I've become more and more tolerating about these things. In fact this Tesla is the first one in many years that I actively looked for panel gap and paint issues at delivery. To Tesla's defense, I just carefully checked some of my other cars (13 Leaf and 15 Mercedes C300) and also found some similar issues in them, abide less pronounced though.
The car is made in Dec 2019, and I was told the car arrived in the SC on the 4th, I took delivery on the 6th. There isn't much time between production and delivery at all, counting the roughly two days transportation time from Tesla, so they probably don't have time to get into an accident and fix it. It's made around Sunday night or Monday morning, so many just sloppy works and robot (who is responsible for placing the glass roof)? I have until next Friday to return it if it comes to that.
