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What percentage of Model 3s are "lemons"

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I would really like to get a Model 3 for my next car.

Reading these forums, I read some horror stories about problems --- small and large -- with build quality and service.

However, all these anecdotes can certainly be misleading because no one ever starts a thread: "Just checking in. No problems with my Model 3!"

So can any one post any information from any reputable source that shows how many Model 3s are lemons, and/or how many have no problems?

Thanks!
 
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Well before you get flamed, what do want to compare it to.
Ford,
Chevy,
BMW,
Honda,
etc.
Do you have the Lemon numbers for them, no and this is the reason
your question is hard to answer. If you do a test drive like in any car
and you like it you buy it. A great deal of folks here have no issues,
some have some issues. Go to any car forum and see their problems.
Life is life. The answer is 26 I think.
 
In the process of lemoning my car <1,800 miles

been in service center 3 times.

You know....how much money tesla would save in the medium and long run if they just stop rushing their product for quarterly sales goals? And I have the model 3 "the more reliable one" since Elon had no play in the decision making process of the car.

and still...
 
The #1 thing is to absolutely, under no circumstances, accept delivery of a vehicle that requires service after delivery. And if it requires service during the 7 day return period, return it.
If you do those two things you've got a good chance. Part of the perception of there being a lot of lemons is that Tesla never fixes vehicles before delivery (unlike traditional dealerships), they just keep trying to deliver the car until someone accepts it.
It's a great car if you get a good one!
 
The spreadsheet over in the waiting room is gathering data on initial defects. Consumer Reports also has some info (paywall). Could also hang out at a supercharger and just get general experiences from a few people. Probably not scientific unless you do an extensive survey, but can help you to feel confident that the majority of 3s are fine.

Mine was perfect.
 
The #1 thing is to absolutely, under no circumstances, accept delivery of a vehicle that requires service after delivery. And if it requires service during the 7 day return period, return it.
If you do those two things you've got a good chance. Part of the perception of there being a lot of lemons is that Tesla never fixes vehicles before delivery (unlike traditional dealerships), they just keep trying to deliver the car until someone accepts it.
It's a great car if you get a good one!
I should have done that
 
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Well before you get flamed, what do want to compare it to.
Ford,
Chevy,
BMW,
Honda,
etc.
Do you have the Lemon numbers for them, no and this is the reason
your question is hard to answer. If you do a test drive like in any car
and you like it you buy it. A great deal of folks here have no issues,
some have some issues. Go to any car forum and see their problems.
Life is life. The answer is 26 I think.


It’s 42... just forgot what the question was?
 
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It also seems to me that many bad experiences are also a function of the nearby service center. It seems some of them are exceptional, and some are the absolutely ignorant, and I am sure there are a lot somewhere between this.

I have had the car for over 2 years now and have not had anything major. The only minor issue I had was one brake light was fogging up even a few days after rain. Created a service appointment, attached a picture and mobile service came out and replaced it. Took him 5 minutes.
 
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The spreadsheet over in the waiting room is gathering data on initial defects. Consumer Reports also has some info (paywall). Could also hang out at a supercharger and just get general experiences from a few people. Probably not scientific unless you do an extensive survey, but can help you to feel confident that the majority of 3s are fine.

Mine was perfect.
I’d be concerned that the spreadsheet will be added to in a way that favors the negative - that mostly folks with issues will submit updates and the spreadsheet will end up comprising a non-representative sample.
 
Lol seem to recall you as being the poster who didn’t want to get a Model 3 in his LA neighborhood because there were already too many there driving around. If so, has that changed somehow? I imagine the numbers have already grown a lot. Didn’t you end up leasing a BMW?

Can’t speak for others but my delivery was end of quarter September, 2018. Mfgr date of 9/2018 as well. Car had a slightly misaligned passenger headlight (wasn’t flush at one point), the hood gap at the bumper was tight and there were 3 pencil point sized paint spots my husband noted. Everything was taken care of within the month and have to say I have enjoyed driving it everyday since. I think for the vast majority of owners, even those posting on here, that’s been the case. Not aware of any statistics on lemon lawed cars. I’ve seen an occasional owner on here mentioning needing to go that route but doubt it’s vastly differ than for other mfgrs.

We own two Teslas now and I wouldn’t buy anything else quite honestly because we’ve been that happy with ownership. Husband’s MS was also an end of quarter delivery which I know many are as that’s currently Tesla’s production timeframe for the U.S. for the bulk of their orders. Suppose once China and Berlin are running at good production rates, delivery times in U.S. will normalize here to a year round monthly rate.

I know SvC availability and SC access in the LA area was a concern of yours. I know Tesla has been working to improve both. Since covid I’ve had mobile out to change out my air filters & clean the condenser and more recently mobile did my HW3 upgrade from 2.5. Great to have the work performed at home when possible and both techs did a nice job. No issues after.
 
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Interesting Stats:
car-manufacturer-with-most-lemons.jpeg


List of Automakers with Highest Lemon's Law Complaints!
 
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Lol seem to recall you as being the poster who didn’t want to get a Model 3 in his LA neighborhood because there were already too many there driving around. If so, has that changed somehow? I imagine the numbers have already grown a lot. Didn’t you end up leasing a BMW?...

I know SvC availability and SC access in the LA area was a concern of yours. I know Tesla has been working to improve both. Since covid I’ve had mobile out to change out my air filters & clean the condenser and more recently mobile did my HW3 upgrade from 2.5. Great to have the work performed at home when possible and both techs did a nice job. No issues after.

Excellent memory. But it was Mercedes, not a BMW.

Long story short, a little over a year ago, I was getting a new car. I have leased 8 Mercedes from the same guy. I was going to get a Tesla. But when I told this to my salesman, he got very aggressive and leased me a Mercedes C300 Coupe (MSRP $52,000) for the same price as a base model Model 3 (MSRP $39,000).

I am definitely getting an electric or PHEV next time. Right now, I am researching the Model 3, the Hyundai Kona, and the Mercedes a250e.

I am still very concerned that Tesla's West Los Angeles service center is overwhelmed, and gets horrible Yelp reviews.

I am about 2 years away from my next car, and am just bouncing around to forums asking questions. I hope Tesla improves its service center in the meantime.
 
  • Informative
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