Worried

[-monky-]

Thanks everyone some great comments from all!

+1 for "forums show the worst of everything"

Gareth, I was feeling the same concern leading up to my M3 delivery based on other experiences here. But actually I was pleased to be prepared and to know what to look for. Yes, there are some horror stories, but the vast majority are fine or have minor issues which are easily fixed. It is annoying that Tesla expect customers to spot these issues rather than picking them up in QA, but knowing that just made me check more carefully than I otherwise would have done.

For me, when my car arrived earlier this month it wasn't perfect, but it wasn't terrible. And I was prepared. My issues were easily rectified and the service I received from West Drayton was actually very good. They couldn't have been more helpful. On delivery day evening I got a service centre appointment through the app for the next working day, phoned ahead in the morning and requested a loaner, got a Model X for 4 days. Took it to IKEA

My kids thought I had the Batmobile, and I got to try FSD with NOA for a while.

Of course I would have preferred a perfect vehicle, but my experience overall was within expectations.

My only niggle was 4 days felt like a long time for a faulty left repeater (camera) and a couple of paint issues (one was a tiny defect and the other was a scuff that polished out) and it would have been nice if they had stuck my car back on a supercharger after the work. But overall I am happy, the car is well worth it.

FWIW I am 20 mins from Heathrow. I can appreciate if I wasn't close it would have been a lot worse.

 

[OneTinyFish]

But the breakdown rate of 8.5% raises an eyebrow. It’s the third highest we’ve seen across cars this young. That means that one in 12 owners we heard from had their Audi break down at least once in the 12 months prior to filling in our latest survey."

I wonder what the comparison with Tesla stats would be. This forum has stats for the first 30 days, and the figure is 21% of Tesla Model 3's go back to the garage within the first month.

 

[phil4]

I can certainly see how if you got a bad car, with dinks, scrapes and badly aligned panels you'd want to reject. But they're really not all like that. I collected mine yesterday. Sure it's not perfect, but it's cosmetic, minor, and not worth me worrying about. There's a small thing I should get sorted, but no rush.

While I was there others collected their cars and drove off without issue too. Looking round the carpark I couldn't see lots of bad cars... they all looked fine.

Part of it will depend on how much of a perfectionist you are. They're clearly rushing now, and if you apply an "everything must be absolutely perfect" view (and you're paying a lot of money, you should be entitled to btw), then I suspect there's an even greater chance of a problem.

So it's definitely not guaranteed. And if you have a more relaxed attitude it'll be even less likely.

 

[OneTinyFish]

I wonder how many fatal issues there are, i.e. "Yeah your car won't start/is smashed to bits (there was a Tesla carrier accident this week!)".

There's also the issue that if Tesla are going to "Ship first, fix later", then they need to maintain a larger inventory of cars and parts.

 

[M3noob]

 

[OneTinyFish]

Look behind you!

 

[Rustybkts]

My red SR+ with towbar was picked up in February this year. Looks great, has no misaligned panels, no problems with paint, nothing hanging off and considering it is "the cheap'un" goes like a rocket even with trailer attached.

I love the clean interior even down to having real thick wood on the dash (not plastic) or veneer and having the Supercharger network is the icing on the cake.
Its like having your own parking space at motorway services and because we charge so quickly, even when they are full there are so many that there is no waiting time to plug in.

Planning a north Scotland trip in a week or two (NC500) if allowed to cross the border.

Don't worry @GarethWhyte I'm sure your car will be great.

 

[DaminGJ]

I picked my LR AWD 20 Mar from Stockport. The car had a 3 small scratches on the front and the boot needed to be slammed to lock shut. The rest was great. I did look at everything but found nothing else. The paint and boot lid were corrected by the SC it took a while but that’s the norm for now. I sold a A5 convertible sport to get my Tesla. The day to day experience is incredible. The cost of ownership is next to zero. 5500 mile and £130 in electric costs. Then the fun at lights last night a golf GTI VR. Last week a Porsche a few weeks ago an Audi RS 5 all last seen in the rear view mirror. There are issues with TACC and Autopilot it’s getting better. I would love for a speed limiter, much to easy to speed in 30/40/50, and would love a speed sensitive audio. Would have another Tesla. YES . But; In a few years time there will be a lot of choice. Try not to worry enjoy the car. The forum is always a place to read about issues not normally a place for positive feedback.
Damian.

 

[Adopado]

5500 mile and £130 in electric costs.

... and that's at the expensive end! Can I interest you in a referral to Octopus?... all renewables and cheap too!

 

[DaminGJ]

... and that's at the expensive end! Can I interest you in a referral to Octopus?... all renewables and cheap too!

Thanks but no thanks. Use a lot of off peak electricity during the weekends. EDF has all day off peak not as cheap as Octopus but much longer hours. The calf’s work out very close. Cheers for the offer.

 

[Monkeyworld]

Hello,

Forgive the ‘rant’ type post written on my phone. I’m currently in a salary sacrifice NHS scheme and have an Audi A3 Saloon which I quite like and is due to go back in December this year.

I have taken the plunge and ordered a model 3 Long range which seems to be the same price as the A3 due to me paying 0% benefit in kind tax.

The issue is I’m now getting more and more worried reading the ‘rejected car’ posts (2/3 now) the ‘wiper’ posts and the general comments around poor quality etc

When I collect the Tesla the Audi will be gone, I won’t have a back up car and I’m nervous that the Salary Sacrifice scheme will say ‘tough luck’ are these still isolated incidents or a real lack of quality and care from Tesla? Should I pull the plug?

Thoughts/Comments/Insults welcome

Gareth

If you have an issue - it will get fixed so no need to worry.

Whilst there has been an increase in posts etc. there has also been a huge increase in deliveries so it may still be proportional

 

[mnobleuk]

I've been following the ID.3 German forums (google translate is your friend) and had to smile a lot.
People are complaining about :

Lack of communication about delivery times.
Software features not yet implemented.
Software bugs.
The switchgear being non intuitive.
Cars covered in mud having sat in a field for 6 months.
Poor quality interiors.
Defects discovered on delivery

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

Nobody should say you'll be fine. Its a promise nobody should make on any car. There are lots of cars and you hear the worst, but its a simple truth they happen to some people and the next person could be you.

Is your current car leased from the same people and its a swap over or are you trying to time the switch to coincide? If the lease company won't take the car until the next one is there and ready then thats one bullet you've dodged, but as others have found out, Tesla can and do pull the plug at the last minute, delay delivery, reallocate stock, and aren't even great about giving you notice when the new car will be ready.

As for reliability, most of the issues tend to be cosmetic, but leaving you stranded can also happen. Tesla service centres do not operate at the weekend, maybe your work pattern gives you time off mon-fri to be able to deal with booking in etc That said, if its a clear warranty matter and the car is bricked they will try and sort you out a car while yours is undriveable. They seem to be less accomodating if its just in for some bits sorting out and that 2 days work while you are living on uber credits can suddenly become 2 weeks. It can also vary by service centre. If you're not the fussiest person then most issues are liveable, if water in a light cluster, a misaligned door, a leaky trunk, intermittent other issues drive you mad then you'll be booking the car in all the time. Some seemed much less bothered than others on niggles, only you know how you are with these things.

Tyres and punctures. Forget Tesla. Talk to your lease company about what happens if you get a flat at 3am on a saturday and 50 miles from home. They need to cover that for you, Tesla won't the majority of the time as a flat tyre to them is not a warranty matter and thats all they cover. The germans in my experience provde proper roadside assistance.

Tesla custormer services and attitude stink at a corporate level. The people are generally great, if you can get hold of one as even phone numbers are limited, emails blocked haf the time, everything through an app, but they are often limited in what they can do.

I also assume charging is all sorted and you're not someone who lives in an appartment and haven't worked out how you'll charge.

And finally, as you're getting it through the NHS, I think there's a distance limit anyway but have you run some scenarios about getting to work if you're even on call and always having enough range in the car? Depending where you live and whaty chargers are around you might need to do some planning as you don't want to have to work out what to do if you need to be somewhere else. Plugshare and zap map are good resources.

If none of the above cause you undue concern then no problem, enjoiy the car.

 

[Doudeau]

I’ve done circa 8k miles in mine since last October and haven’t needed to contact Tesla since driving off after a perfectly pleasant but functional handover.

When I had my last service for my BMW (I’m about to get our 2nd BEV any day) a couple of weeks ago it was terrible customer service - aggressive up-selling for non necessary work even though we’d already said we are selling it now. £89 for front wipers as an example!

I shouldn’t be surprised because having owned many BMW’s over the last 23 years I’ve ended up frustrated with every BMW dealer in central and west London. You get one great experience and then you go back next time for them to mess you around and try to over charge you.

Sure Tesla comms weren’t great before car pickup but I don’t think a nice shiny showroom and service centre guarantees a great experience either.

An old work colleague in Oslo had 96 items on his snagging list for his Model X and, despite that, he’s the one who persuaded me to switch my 911 for a Tesla M3. No regrets.

 

[Rustybkts]

I’ve done circa 8k miles in mine since last October and haven’t needed to contact Tesla since driving off after a perfectly pleasant but functional handover.

When I had my last service for my BMW (I’m about to get our 2nd BEV any day) a couple of weeks ago it was terrible customer service - aggressive up-selling for non necessary work even though we’d already said we are selling it now. £89 for front wipers as an example!

I shouldn’t be surprised because having owned many BMW’s over the last 23 years I’ve ended up frustrated with every BMW dealer in central and west London. You get one great experience and then you go back next time for them to mess you around and try to over charge you.

Sure Tesla comms weren’t great before car pickup but I don’t think a nice shiny showroom and service centre guarantees a great experience either.

An old work colleague in Oslo had 96 items on his snagging list for his Model X and, despite that, he’s the one who persuaded me to switch my 911 for a Tesla M3. No regrets.

Lol, I used to run a BM M3 and that is a proper lesson in how servicing prices can be upscaled by the stealership. I ended up going to an ex BMW Indy where he would show me the parts replaced and give proper descriptions of work, not fobbing me off with bluster when I knew the apprentices had been on it.
Still expensive though.

I am very happy now that servicing is limited to brakes and filters.

 

[GarethWhyte]

Hello everyone, just wanted to say thanks for all the reply’s, I wasn’t expecting such thoughtful responses from everyone!

I am getting excited again!

 

[Mr H]

The only issue I’ve had in 7 months is condensation in a rear light which is being sorted by a ranger.

It’s easy to keep the car if you’ve got kids as they won’t let you get anything else.....

 

[LEE3]

I’ve had my SR+ since August 2019, now have 11000 miles down, not experienced a single issue and never had any issues on collection day. For me if there are any serious deal breaking fundamental issues upon collection you will not want the car anyway and for everything else Tesla doesn’t tend to quibble too much with getting things right.

 

[antracing]

Nearly 12 months and 9000 miles and no issues here, paint is a bit soft but otherwise nothing else to complain about.
Would buy again in a heartbeat, cant go back to standing at filling stations being fleeced.

 

[Adopado]

I’ve had my SR+ since August 2019, now have 11000 miles down, not experienced a single issue and never had any issues on collection day. For me if there are any serious deal breaking fundamental issues upon collection you will not want the car anyway and for everything else Tesla doesn’t tend to quibble too much with getting things right.

Agreed ... no comparison to my experience of trying to get warranty work out of the BMW dealership ... especially when I had an early BMW Mini (before they split the Mini brand into a separate dealer location) ... They treated the Mini owners like something to wiped off the sole of a shoe. That car cost me a fortune in service/repair bills.