I was scheduled to take delivery of a model X today - x75d 2018 - white exterior - when i was looking it over at delivery, nearly all the panels had imperfections that look like little bumps under the clear coat (visual and could also feel it) - almost like the paint room was dusty and debris was stuck on it when they put the clear coat on. The delivery person tried to say it was normal, however, I asked the service supervisor to take a look and after a lot of inspection, he said that he thought it was out of the norm on certain areas. They offered to repaint two of the panels but wouldn't do more even though other panels had the same issue. Is this something normal/am I being too picky? Has anyone else seen paint issues like this?
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
X Delivery Failure - Paint Quality Issue - Is it Normal?
- Thread starter mecfire
- Start date
Tam
Well-Known Member
I would say it doesn't sound normal but we need proof: Where are the pictures from different angles?
If you care about the full tax credit, I would take the car and have it partially fixed (only 2 panels and the rest will not be fixed.)
If you care about the paint then it sounds that you need to reject the car and its offer of a partial fix.
Super_Popular
Well-Known Member
The thing to remember is that once you sign and pay you are stuck with the car, doesn't matter what any Tesla person says to you before you pay you will be stuck with a repainted car and who knows how it turns out and do you really think Tesla is going to take it back if the repaint does not work.......NO!.....walk way from it and get one that is in better condition. And remember this is their fault NOT yours!....$100K+ is a lot of money.
That seems like good advice. The tesla delivery reps made me feel like it was no big deal and they all looked that way to some degree. However, I couldn't see any others at the time (it was raining) to check if that was true. I wasn't sure if I was being picky or if this was really not the norm. I generally would think a $100k car would not have this issue. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take pictures at the time as I was stressing about whether to accept it or not.
Tam
Well-Known Member
Paint shops do a very good job in repainting and your car will look brand new.
If you can see something odd, your friends, family and strangers might keep pointing that out each time and they won't give it a rest!
Since you are stressed out, it is best to listen to your gut and reject the car even if it means losing full tax credit because you can't put a price on the peace of mind.
Has to be a Tesla rep lol... I've owned cars ranging from 10k to 200k and none of the cars have had paint issues except for the usual orange peel. While you can easily repair light scratches with sanding and compounding but no way to get rid of debris on the paint or clear without having a void in its place.
Only time I've seen more than 1 spec of debris in paint was a non factory paint job... Actually there was a decent amount of debris in every aftermarket paint job that I've gotten... And has never been perfect whether it was color matching, debris etc. But then again I've never gotten a 20k aftermarket paint job.
Either way I paint correct and detail my cars and hate seeing imperfection in the paint so this would definitely be a no go for me but really depends on if you care about things like that... My wife would not even notice so if she iced up the car she would have just driven it off the lot.
Just know that if you do get it repainted it may come out worse depending on who Tesla uses. I would not let any paint shop do the painting... Do some research and only pick out the ones with extremely good ratings otherwise you are going to hhat the paint job.
I was scheduled for a Saturday morning delivery for my 2018 X75D Pearl White. Several days earlier I went to the Tesla corral where about 100 cars were waiting for new owners. I found mine and gave it a good look on the exterior - interior was locked and no one would open it - and did not see anything major. The car was pretty dirty from its trip from another SC. About 30 minutes before pick up time, I got a call that the detailers had found a "paint blemish" that needed correcting. New delivery date was set. When I picked the car up I asked the rep not to tell me where the blemish was! If I could find it I would reject the car! Now 3 weeks later and I still can't find the repainted area!
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
No car has perfect paint, not even million $ show cars.
It is up to the buyer to determine if the quality is acceptable to them.
Tesla allows you to reject a delivery and has policies in place to make a second attempt. They can search their inventory, and perhaps find one acceptable. They can offer to have another vehicle built for you.
Tesla will usually take a rejected car and have its issues addressed. They will then put it back into inventory. All dealerships do this with their inventory cars.
Some people are more picky than others, so each buyer has the choice to accept or reject their offering.
Sometimes, just a good professional detailing can get the car into acceptable shape. If that is the case, then most would accept delivery if delay was going to mean the loss a juicy tax credit.
I will be taking a friend to pick up her new Model 3 tomorrow. I will look over her car and point out any issues I see. It will be up to her to decide if her car is acceptable.
It is up to the buyer to determine if the quality is acceptable to them.
Tesla allows you to reject a delivery and has policies in place to make a second attempt. They can search their inventory, and perhaps find one acceptable. They can offer to have another vehicle built for you.
Tesla will usually take a rejected car and have its issues addressed. They will then put it back into inventory. All dealerships do this with their inventory cars.
Some people are more picky than others, so each buyer has the choice to accept or reject their offering.
Sometimes, just a good professional detailing can get the car into acceptable shape. If that is the case, then most would accept delivery if delay was going to mean the loss a juicy tax credit.
I will be taking a friend to pick up her new Model 3 tomorrow. I will look over her car and point out any issues I see. It will be up to her to decide if her car is acceptable.
