What defects have you found at/after delivery?

[hblink93]

I've been waiting since 4/28 for a VIN (none yet) for my white/white P3D FSD. My nearest Tesla dealership is 115 miles from my house. As much as a fanboy as I am, and as much as I *really* want my model 3, I'm seriously considering cancelling my order. I'm beginning to doubt that Tesla will get me my car before 7/1, and I really don't want to spend $70K to buy a less-than-perfect car. Better off buying an Audi or BMW than having my heart broken over shoddy craftsmanship. Is all the coolness of a Tesla worth it if the details aren't right?

My plan is to take a train from my house to Tesla on pickup day. I might just have to buy a roundtrip ticket. Until then, my doubts and regrets are growing...still waiting for a VIN.

 

[AustinPowers]

Took delivery last night to find out I have a super lemon. BEWARE 2019 EARLY APRIL BUILDS. They are rushed.

Clips missing from all tires wells. No paint in door jams deformed dash, and windows that somehow passed inspection with the doorframe pieces twisted.
Overall paint job terrible, with dust flects in almost every inch. If you run the hand along with the paint it feels like little bumps all over.

I had a few defects/issues upon delivery, none of them too major though.
My list was as follows:

- passenger side front door interior trim mounted wrong. A clip was mounted towards the outside instead of the inside. This resulted in a visible gap and bulge. Has been fixed (partly) by now. As the clip had been pressing against the wrong side of the interior door seal, this is now irreparably damaged and has to be changed. Part is on order, service center said they will send a ranger round to me once it has been delivered. Looking at one of the pictures @MIDRANGEORDER posted (https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/attachments/img_20190422_114810781-jpg.399949/), I think he had the same issue.

- several patches of dirt on the dashboard that didn't clean off with the usual means. Service center fixed this with some special kind of cleaning agent that needed to set for a coupe of days afterwards. Anyway, looks fine now.

- missing valve cap on front passenger side wheel. Replaced.

- clips on the underside floor cover loose (almost all of them). Fixed some myself, the ones I missed were fixed at the visit to the service center.

- several patches of dirt on the headliner around the windshield and sunvisors. Cleaned this myself using the "magic shaving cream solution".

- missing USB cable. Replaced

The only issue I had that I didn't get done because the car went straight to the PPF installer were all the paint defects. As @MIDRANGEORDER said, the paint job leaves a lot to be desired. Spots all over the place like they didn't clean off dust particles before painting the car. My PPF installer just shook his head at this kind of quality. Then again, he has done several more Model 3 by now and those had even worse paint jobs than mine. Anyway, most of the defects were in areas like the door frames where you don't see them once the doors are closed, but overall, paint quality is my biggest gripe about the car. Just not what you expect from a car in that price range. Especially when compared to our e-Golf which was about half the price but with flawless (and far more durable) paint.

 

[Jasreadinger]

I took delivery of my Model 3 about three weeks ago ( this is for SR+ and received 2weeks after order) with no defects and exceptional delivery at Dallas Cedar Springs Center. I have had Model S P 85 (2013) and fit and finish on my Model 3 is better than my Model S but I had no specific issues with my Model S.

 

[Skunis]

You have a scratched rim right?

A mobile wheel repair place will fix that for 100-150 bucks. Are you really going to go to small claims court over 150 bucks?

I would take it as far as I need to. No guarantee a mobile wheel repair will exactly match the same color.

I love driving my car and the technology is fantastic. That fact does not mean I should let a manufacturer go (which is what they are hoping for from many Tesla fans). They want us to all accept defects or damage caused to our cars because they gave us such great technology. Be by guest and do that but your actions embolden this company.

There are many complaints with the Better Business Bureau here in the US. I may go that route first and if I get no satisfaction I will use whatever resources available. Tesla offers dispute resolution and arbitration at no cost to the customer but my hope is the fact they would have to lay out the money for a $300 issue will cause them to just replace my rim.

They cause it I didn't. Any other car company would own up to their mistake and pay for the rim. All I get is roadblocks.

What company doesn't have a complaint department or executive complaint department you can personally email/call/escalate to? There is no one to talk to. I tried the chat but it is never available. I tried calling the corporate office but the number always says they cannot take your call. This is completely nuts.

I am a big fan of the car, the technology, what it all represents but I will be damned if I give up my rights to have a $40k+ car have defects and me stay silent about it.

 

[Bill Foster]

I would take it as far as I need to. No guarantee a mobile wheel repair will exactly match the same color.

I love driving my car and the technology is fantastic. That fact does not mean I should let a manufacturer go (which is what they are hoping for from many Tesla fans). They want us to all accept defects or damage caused to our cars because they gave us such great technology. Be by guest and do that but your actions embolden this company.

There are many complaints with the Better Business Bureau here in the US. I may go that route first and if I get no satisfaction I will use whatever resources available. Tesla offers dispute resolution and arbitration at no cost to the customer but my hope is the fact they would have to lay out the money for a $300 issue will cause them to just replace my rim.

They cause it I didn't. Any other car company would own up to their mistake and pay for the rim. All I get is roadblocks.

What company doesn't have a complaint department or executive complaint department you can personally email/call/escalate to? There is no one to talk to. I tried the chat but it is never available. I tried calling the corporate office but the number always says they cannot take your call. This is completely nuts.

I am a big fan of the car, the technology, what it all represents but I will be damned if I give up my rights to have a $40k+ car have defects and me stay silent about it.

What a strange hill to die on.


Think of what you're worth per hour. Whats your aggravation worth?

Sometimes it's just not worth the fight. But you do you.

 

[Skunis]

What a strange hill to die on.


Think of what you're worth per hour. Whats your aggravation worth?

Sometimes it's just not worth the fight. But you do you.

Thanks. I guess I will die on that hill or I may just put that flag down and claim the hill!

 

[AustinPowers]

Thanks. I guess I will die on that hill or I may just put that flag down and claim the hill!

... Puts down bag of popcorn.
Rolls eyes.
Goes to bed...

 

[Mayoo]

1. rear trunk lip has poor paint coverage on the driver's side ( Tesla approved shop will rectify)
2. the driver's taillight has a larger gap on the top than the passenger side light ( I will have our Mobile Service team reach out)
3. The rear portion behind the rear passenger seat has a bit of a gap that is visible ( I will have our Mobile Service team reach out)
4. small stone chip in front passenger headlight ( Will have our Mobile Service team reach out)
5. poor alignment of Driver's side A pillar interior trim ( Mobile Service will reach out)

 

[sherman626]

I got my SR+ on the 24th. The advisor was quick to get me off the lot before allowing me to fully inspect the car. Big thing I noticed yesterday is the window alignments are way off on the rear driver side door. I was wondering why the door was making a glass slapping sound and it was harder to fully close than the other windows. The gap on the other side is pretty big too, probably contributing to the wind noise.

 

[jaffy23`]

Failed pick up on 6/5. Exterior looked good, interior fine until I looked up.

Things get missed I get it, but the response has been lacking so far. We’re only 25 miles from the delivery center so drove home in our old car awaiting the delivery specialist to come up with a plan.

Either getting the roof replaced or assigning another VIN. So far, no real response and he’s too busy with paying customers to return my calls. Just deciding when to escalate.

 

[Rocknie]

We received delivery on May 12. I had compiled a listing of items to check before I accepted the car. It took my wife and more than three hours to cover the entire checklist. We only found one area in which we were displeased. It was the interior panel on the passenger side had bubbles under the material. Our paint job was perfect there were no bubbles around the windows... we couldn't have been more pleased. When we took the Model 3 to Chicago Auto Pros for window tinting, front quarter panel film coating, and ceramic coating they too commented on the clean car was.

 

[HighZ]

You don’t need two hours to inspect a car for carrier or cosmetic damage.

Thanks for creating that list of items! I compiled them into a one-page checklist. Let me know if you want the Word Doc to customize it, or just tell me what could/should be added.

 

[Bill Foster]

Today I found the trunk seal doesn’t seal tight at the top causing water in the trunk. So that was nice lol

 

[notrhj]

Thanks for creating that list of items! I compiled them into a one-page checklist. Let me know if you want the Word Doc to customize it, or just tell me what could/should be added.

Check coor panels for scratches or gouges in plastic

I think you meant door

 

[Bill Foster]

Washed the car for the first time, found a 1 inch paint issue on passenger side rear bumper. Everything else, perfect. Kinda lame, but it is what it is

 

[AustinPowers]

Yesterday at the Supercharger another blue Model 3 was in the stall next to mine, and his rear hatch had panel gaps that were all over the place. Compared to that, mine were almost Audi-like in their perfection. Incredible to see such extreme differences in person.

 

[raptor5244]

Yesterday at the Supercharger another blue Model 3 was in the stall next to mine, and his rear hatch had panel gaps that were all over the place. Compared to that, mine were almost Audi-like in their perfection. Incredible to see such extreme differences in person.

If you have ever seen cars being assembled you notice they have tools that align the doors, trunks, etc. and then there are actual panel gap alignment tools that are used to get all the gaps even. That said, I don't think anyone is using these tools to assemble our cars. I think they are just eyeballing it.

 

[torontohm3wait]

Took delivery June 1st literally everyday i see something new love the car hate how they produce them.

Initially-

Trunk inside paint missing in one spot
Inside door hinge paint scratched
Rub mark against door (fixed on the spot)

Later-
Scratch created from door on the bottom
Bumper misaligned
Panels on top of driver misaligned
Passanger panel above and drivers both misaligned
Black rubber under passanger side with slight gap
Drivers door misaligned
Pull out cup holder misaligned
Rubber coming off from the top of the trunk

God knows what else ill find i absolutely love driving it but paying full price for a car that has so many defects just hurts. Ofcourse I inspected the car prior to leaving spent an hour but clearly it was not enough and no matter what you find things later.

 

[HighZ]

Check coor panels for scratches or gouges in plastic

I think you meant door

Thanks! I fixed the typo and attached the file.

I picked up my LR AWD yesterday from Chicago Westmont and spent about 30 mins going around the car with my son. Nothing really of note that I could find. The gaps were even and I didn't see any obvious paint blemishes. I am sure I will start to see some things as I wash the car. I thought rear doors were sticking since you had to keep the button pressed while you pushed out, but I have heard that is normal. The fronts open up once you push the button.

I thought the car was pretty quiet on the freeway, so wonder if they changed anything in the weatherstripping. I was going to add another weatherstrip to the door jambs, but now not sure that is needed.

There was a slight scuff on the plastic when I looked under the front, but I couldn't see any major damage.

I was a bit peeved that the car had 274 miles on it, but then I realized I was looking at remaining range. They showed me that it had only 4 miles on it. Only issue I have is that it has a slight left/right oscillation on the freeway when on autopilot, but it seems to be well aligned.