Since I saw the first Tesla Roadster I always assumed a Tesla was in my future. The MY appeared to fit my needs nicely, a bit more room than the M3 and a much better value than the MS or MX. But with the reported QC issues and the sometimes less than stellar customer service response, I'm seriously looking for options. As we're still mostly sheltering at home in Southern California, the urgency to purchase a replacement for my beloved ICE Lexus RX300 has diminished and it gives me more time to shop. One particularly attractive future option might be the Nissan Ariya schedule for release next year. https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/future-concept/ariya-concept-electric-suv.html Any thoughts?
Unless Tesla solves the MY QC issues, I'm looking for options
- Thread starter docharper
- Start date
I have put my MY order on hold because of the QC issues. I was sold on Tesla for their charging network and software/battery tech, but I'm not excited to get a car with substandard quality, so I wait.
I looked at the Polestar 2. Pricing is right about in line with MY when factoring in the fed tax rebate, but then I looked at the dimensions and realized it's tiny.
I've never been a fan of Datsun/Nissan products, but maybe they'll build a better EV than ICE car. I don't see the dimensions on the page though, so that's the big question for me on the Ariya. I still can't find a competitor that meets the size and range of the MY, and the charging network definitely adds to the Tesla proposition.
I looked at the Polestar 2. Pricing is right about in line with MY when factoring in the fed tax rebate, but then I looked at the dimensions and realized it's tiny.
I've never been a fan of Datsun/Nissan products, but maybe they'll build a better EV than ICE car. I don't see the dimensions on the page though, so that's the big question for me on the Ariya. I still can't find a competitor that meets the size and range of the MY, and the charging network definitely adds to the Tesla proposition.
As someone who nitpicks every little detail, I notice a litany of defects when I took delivery. But almost all were small issues, imperceptible unless you were really scrutinizing. I decided to take delivery anyways because of their 7 day trial rule. The first few drives, I realized the technology in this car far exceeds any other vehicle out there today. That alone more than makes up for the minor fit and finish issues I have.
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dandrewk
Supporting Member
Do not get sucked in by the negativity in this forum, most of which gets perpetuated by the same group of members.
Do Teslas have QC issues? Yes! So does every single car manufacturer, whose customers don't go over their car like Tesla owners seem to do. You will never get any guarantees, but (as an owner of many new cars over the years) Tesla is no worse than any of the competition. In fact, in many ways they are better, as their after sale service is first rate. I'd put a great deal of confidence that any issues noted at delivery will be fixed, quickly, with little effort, with a good possibility they can do it at your home or business.
BTW, don't think for a second that Nissan is any better than Tesla. As a Nissan owner, I can tell you they are not. And with their awful response regarding premature battery degradation, their reputation in the EV community is extremely poor.
Do Teslas have QC issues? Yes! So does every single car manufacturer, whose customers don't go over their car like Tesla owners seem to do. You will never get any guarantees, but (as an owner of many new cars over the years) Tesla is no worse than any of the competition. In fact, in many ways they are better, as their after sale service is first rate. I'd put a great deal of confidence that any issues noted at delivery will be fixed, quickly, with little effort, with a good possibility they can do it at your home or business.
BTW, don't think for a second that Nissan is any better than Tesla. As a Nissan owner, I can tell you they are not. And with their awful response regarding premature battery degradation, their reputation in the EV community is extremely poor.
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Silicon Desert
Active Member
I surely think there are some happy Nissan owners out there, but I am not one. Your comment is exactly the reason after I sold a new one after owning it for just 6 months.
Rice&Curry
Member
Well nobody can predict the future accurately, but right now and for the next couple of years, Tesla is still the best option and best EV in the market. With the super charger infrastructure in place and more being built, the road trip advantages is something no other EV company can match.
I got mine just over 2 weeks ago... I never went over any car like this (last 2 were BMWs, previous 2 Nissan Pathfinders). I'm sure that I could have found some issues on those cars if I looked. I stayed blissfully ignorant. My MY has a few small paint defect... otherwise it's pretty good.
If you want BEV, nobody is perfect, but you're on a tesla focused forum so you'll see the warts openly.
If you go on a hyundai, or jaguar, or Nissan forum you'll see other issues.
I'll start. I leased a hyundai ioniq because in California they will pay you for your cost of charging and subtract if from the price of the lease. However, in the 3 years I've had the car (returned it last month), it stopped level 3 charging 6 months in, and local dealers are not equipped to troubleshoot it. This is what happens when you sell 99% gas cars and have a compliance model set aside, you don't have in house expertise to troubleshoot.
I went 6 months without level 3 charging, making it impossible to drive to San Diego from LA. Finally I got a recall notice, which fixed the issue.
If you go on a hyundai, or jaguar, or Nissan forum you'll see other issues.
I'll start. I leased a hyundai ioniq because in California they will pay you for your cost of charging and subtract if from the price of the lease. However, in the 3 years I've had the car (returned it last month), it stopped level 3 charging 6 months in, and local dealers are not equipped to troubleshoot it. This is what happens when you sell 99% gas cars and have a compliance model set aside, you don't have in house expertise to troubleshoot.
I went 6 months without level 3 charging, making it impossible to drive to San Diego from LA. Finally I got a recall notice, which fixed the issue.
rxlawdude
Active Member
I will tell you this: If you hold ANY car manufacturer to the same standard that some people here hold Tesla to, you will reject their cars too.
If I could afford the MY now I would probably still get it. Not every car is flawed and you have the control to say yes or no. I agree with everyone that right now and for a while there are no other vehicles out there that can keep up with Tesla's range as well as their software.
I got the first Lexus RX's after the complete redesign and while there weren't crazy things like paint that was scraped off, there were still tons of issues. Water inside the cabin after car washes, rear hatches covers snapping off, my door didn't have a screw causing it to make the loudest noise on earth, orange peel on the paint, issues with the interior glue coming off, some sort of defect on the seats that they used touch up paint to fix, etc.
Overall, it seems that Tesla aren't as meticulous with their issues as say Lexus but that is what this forum is for. Use the delivery checklist! And when in doubt, just say next car please.
I got the first Lexus RX's after the complete redesign and while there weren't crazy things like paint that was scraped off, there were still tons of issues. Water inside the cabin after car washes, rear hatches covers snapping off, my door didn't have a screw causing it to make the loudest noise on earth, orange peel on the paint, issues with the interior glue coming off, some sort of defect on the seats that they used touch up paint to fix, etc.
Overall, it seems that Tesla aren't as meticulous with their issues as say Lexus but that is what this forum is for. Use the delivery checklist! And when in doubt, just say next car please.
kpinthebay
Member
Agree with everything you said...I've owned (well, the bank has) 20+ cars in my 20 year driving life. I've never had this much QC anxiety before after being on the Tesla forums. But now, I'm finding myself going back to my other two cars - Tacoma and Accord. I see panel gaps that would have freaked out a Tesla owner. On my Taco, my left bumper cap is misaligned with the right side almost 3/4 inch.
And to compare Nissan and Tesla? No comment.
Former 2006 lexus IS owner here, the first year of the unified design language. In fact, it was the first lexus is sold by that dealer for that model year. In my first 2 years, I've had the GPS go off into left field (ie do you know what joycon drift is for Nintendo switch? Experienced that on a GPS in a car. Let's just say it did not inspire confidence), and my touch screen straight up stopped working. So even a juggernaut like toyota/lexus is not immune to issues
The Y's issues are similar to the issues Tesla had with the ramp-up of the 3 in June 2018. They made improvements and a few months later the problems were mostly history. People who have bought the Y have reported fit and finish issues but few have reported a problem with how it drives or reliability. Y production will soon begin on a new indoor assembly line. If you buy a Y now, you'll likely be happy with it although a few appearance fixes might be needed. If you're anxiety-ridden, you might wait until fall or winter to buy your Model Y, the all-round best EV on the market.
Every single OEM's first three month of production has issues. I used to work for big three and at that time, the accountability was on "Product Development" team as opposed to "Manufacturing" for the first 90 days of production for a good reason. I guess Covid extended the 90 days to 180 for newly released cars, which Model Y is being one of them.
I recently got my Model Y and service is fixing the few issues that I found with no question. Honestly I can't even imagine bringing up the issues that I found (and believe me now that I am checking it was there) with BMW or Range Rover which I owned. Their service department would simply say No to those panel adjustments asks. Even my wife says I am crazy. I guess reading this forum constantly made me crazy.
Oh and on waiting. I did wait for Audi E-tron. In the end it was no match to model Y in my eyes (someone else's view can be different). If you are willing to wait, there is no end to that because there will always be something "better" coming up in the future. And is marketed "better" will truly be "better"?
I recently got my Model Y and service is fixing the few issues that I found with no question. Honestly I can't even imagine bringing up the issues that I found (and believe me now that I am checking it was there) with BMW or Range Rover which I owned. Their service department would simply say No to those panel adjustments asks. Even my wife says I am crazy. I guess reading this forum constantly made me crazy.
Oh and on waiting. I did wait for Audi E-tron. In the end it was no match to model Y in my eyes (someone else's view can be different). If you are willing to wait, there is no end to that because there will always be something "better" coming up in the future. And is marketed "better" will truly be "better"?
So to give some perspective in regards to other cars having issues. I have a story.
My father who is an huge golfer. He was in some big tournament and got a hole in 1 and one a car! The car he won was a Chrysler 300 Limited. This was a brand new 2005 model after is was announced in 2003 and finally started being made in 2004 for sale in 2005. Needless to say we were excited. After some delays on the verification process of getting a hole in one. The car was sent to a local Chrysler dealership which was great and it was a big deal. 1 week into driving the car we noticed that whenever someone was seated in the front passenger seat that the front passenger seat airbag is disabled light would come on. We were concerned to say the least not something you wanna see when sitting in the seat. We took it to the dealership with 100 miles on the car and they said it might have been a faulty sensor they replaced it and tested it and said it was fixed. 2 weeks later same issue same "fix". 3 days later same issue this time my Dad was like I want the whole seat replaced. Chrysler said they would have to get approval which they did. 1 whole month went by and it was back! This time they "flew" out engineers from Detroit to fix it. They were unable to fix it after replacing the seat and the entire wiring harness. They offered us another 300 Limited. My Dad was like um no and he invoked California Lemon Law and got a check for the value of the new car. I too this day do not believe they flew anyone out and just kept replacing the sensor. They never offered anything more than to cover the rental vehicle during the repair work. I have not seen anything that bad on these forums and I honestly believe Tesla would replace the entire car on the third attempt without having to ask.
My father who is an huge golfer. He was in some big tournament and got a hole in 1 and one a car! The car he won was a Chrysler 300 Limited. This was a brand new 2005 model after is was announced in 2003 and finally started being made in 2004 for sale in 2005. Needless to say we were excited. After some delays on the verification process of getting a hole in one. The car was sent to a local Chrysler dealership which was great and it was a big deal. 1 week into driving the car we noticed that whenever someone was seated in the front passenger seat that the front passenger seat airbag is disabled light would come on. We were concerned to say the least not something you wanna see when sitting in the seat. We took it to the dealership with 100 miles on the car and they said it might have been a faulty sensor they replaced it and tested it and said it was fixed. 2 weeks later same issue same "fix". 3 days later same issue this time my Dad was like I want the whole seat replaced. Chrysler said they would have to get approval which they did. 1 whole month went by and it was back! This time they "flew" out engineers from Detroit to fix it. They were unable to fix it after replacing the seat and the entire wiring harness. They offered us another 300 Limited. My Dad was like um no and he invoked California Lemon Law and got a check for the value of the new car. I too this day do not believe they flew anyone out and just kept replacing the sensor. They never offered anything more than to cover the rental vehicle during the repair work. I have not seen anything that bad on these forums and I honestly believe Tesla would replace the entire car on the third attempt without having to ask.
sorry about your dad's headaches with his prize car, but comparing a 15 year old Chrysler to any modern day car isn't a fair comparison. The 300 was born out of Daimler Chrysler if I recall, and all the Chrysler products were dirty step children to their MB siblings (see Crossfire compared to SLK). Shoot, even today with Fiat owning Chrysler, I wouldn't spend a dime of my hard earned money on one of their cars, but that's just me. 
And you saying you "honestly believe Tesla would replace the entire car on the third attempt without having to ask" is pure speculation. Your Dad's Chrysler was Lemoned, and rightfully so, but to guess that Tesla will replace a car without having to invoke a Lemon Law is again, your pure speculation (unless you have proof that they have and will do it)
I recently bought a first model year Hyundai. Is it perfect? I can say the paint is flawless. hahaha. Any new model will have growing pains, we know that. I think many of us just have an issue with Tesla churning out poorly assembled cars and hoping buyers take them just so they can post their quarterly numbers for the stock's performance sake (and Elon's bonuses). As I've said before, I'll take a couple of inconsistent panel gaps, but I will NOT accept mismatched painted panels and doors. Those examples shown on this forum should embarrass Tesla.
And you saying you "honestly believe Tesla would replace the entire car on the third attempt without having to ask" is pure speculation. Your Dad's Chrysler was Lemoned, and rightfully so, but to guess that Tesla will replace a car without having to invoke a Lemon Law is again, your pure speculation (unless you have proof that they have and will do it)
I recently bought a first model year Hyundai. Is it perfect? I can say the paint is flawless. hahaha. Any new model will have growing pains, we know that. I think many of us just have an issue with Tesla churning out poorly assembled cars and hoping buyers take them just so they can post their quarterly numbers for the stock's performance sake (and Elon's bonuses). As I've said before, I'll take a couple of inconsistent panel gaps, but I will NOT accept mismatched painted panels and doors. Those examples shown on this forum should embarrass Tesla.
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