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My car was damaged during loading! Wow...

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So today was supposed to be THE day. After scrambling over the past week to arrange financing, fill out and send Tesla's paperwork, getting insurance quotes for my Model S, clearing out my garage, arranging for the sale of my current car, etc., etc., I was eagerly awaiting the delivery of my vehicle today. For logistical reasons, I was having Tesla deliver the car to mother's house 45 minutes away from my house. At 10 AM I received an email notifying me that the car was being loaded and will be delivered to me in 4 hours. As I'm driving to my mother's house thinking of what the first song I'll play in the car, where I'll test out the 0-60 speed, which fancy restaurant I'm going to tonight, etc., a Tesla rep calls and tells me that during loading a cable struck and shattered the sunroof. He said that the only thing that is damaged is the sunroof itself and that there is no other structural or body damage. Obviously, the sunroof now needs replacement and my delivery will be delayed at least by a few days. I told him to send me pictures of the damage asap. Here are my questions: What should I inspect when I finally do receive the car? What kind of compensation should I ask for from Tesla? Does this damage (even after repair) depreciate the value of the car? Are there any other issues I should address? Where can I get therapy for this?
 
What should I inspect when I finally do receive the car?

That the pano roof works, doesn't leak, and that there really was no other body/paint damage.

What kind of compensation should I ask for from Tesla?

None. The promised delivery date is only a best effort.

Does this damage (even after repair) depreciate the value of the car?

No. It's just like a windshield replacement.

Are there any other issues I should address?

I can't think of any

Where can I get therapy for this?

Right now this is difficult, but a new crop of psychologists will be coming out of school in a few years that specialize in lack of Tesla trauma.
 
Bigsmooth125 I can definitely empathize with you. My car was also damages during delivery. But to Tesla's they did an excellent job repairing the damage and getting me my car. It took just over a week for my repairs. I had to have the applique between the windshiels and pano roof replaced and the windshield replaced and a paint chip repaired. B

I will admit I did get my car delivered with fingerprints on the headliner, luckily they were easy to clean. Tesla ensured me that the repairs in no way affected my warrranty and any further issues resulting from the accident would be fixed. I am having them replace the applique again as it does not appear to be installed smoothly, ie the pano glass is higher than the applique in some areas and lower in others.

Upon delivery be sure to fully imspect the pano roof and its operation. And if you notice anything afterwards let you Tesla rep know. They will correct it if it is not right.

FYI - I did not receive any compensation for the damage nor did I ask for any. Had Tesla not have been as responsive as they were that may have changed my decision, but they worked hard to fix the situation quickly and eveyone was very helpful and kept me informed along the way.
 
Here is a pic of the damage sent to me. Is it me or does it look like the frame on the left side of the pic look scratched? Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

ResizedImage951362250080285.jpg
 
What is interesting is how transparent Tesla is with such incidents. It is probably actually "easier" for them not to forecast the actual delivery date and when such things happen, they can fix it and after the car is ready and prepped, call you for delivery. I had custom orders with Audi in the past and I waited for over 4 months and the dealer called me when it was ready for pick up. There was not advance notice. I like from the Tesla approach and benefited from it so I am not advocating for something else but I thought I mention how refreshingly transparent the company is. And sometimes, it can backfire a bit. The fact that Tesla emailed you a photo will probably never happen with the other car companies.
 
I agree to a certain extent with what you said about Tesla's transparency. I emailed my Tesla rep and thanked him for being so forthcoming with the information, namely, sending me the photo right away at my request. He seemed genuinely apologetic about the incident. However, the rep had no other real choice than to tell me what happened. Just two hours before telling me about the damage, he had told me my vehicle was being loaded onto a truck and would be delivered to me in 4 hours. With Tesla's sales and delivery business model, I don't see how the company could avoid forecasting the delivery date to its customers. Some customers might be willing to wait an indefinite amount of time to receive a very expensive car but the vast majority would not. If most customers had to do so ( early adopters notwithstanding), I would imagine that Tesla (or any other car company) would not be in business very long. Moreover, I did not receive final confirmation that the car would be delivered until 10 AM today. I found out at noon about the damage. As for sending the photo, again, I don't think the rep had much other choice. This is a vehicle that I have already paid for in full. Telling me anything other than the truth would have constituted fraud. And not sending me the photo would be a terrible decision from a customer service and public relations decision.

Overall, I've been very pleased with Tesla's customer service. In fact, the friends I had dinner with tonight, who were supposed to have gotten a test drive in my car, after hearing me gush about my experience with Tesla and about the car, asked me if I was getting paid by the company. That being said, I don't think Tesla should be given credit for doing what basic common sense dictates.


What is interesting is how transparent Tesla is with such incidents. It is probably actually "easier" for them not to forecast the actual delivery date and when such things happen, they can fix it and after the car is ready and prepped, call you for delivery. I had custom orders with Audi in the past and I waited for over 4 months and the dealer called me when it was ready for pick up. There was not advance notice. I like from the Tesla approach and benefited from it so I am not advocating for something else but I thought I mention how refreshingly transparent the company is. And sometimes, it can backfire a bit. The fact that Tesla emailed you a photo will probably never happen with the other car companies.
 
So there is an interesting end to this story. This morning Tesla called and told me that they had mistakenly thought it was my vehicle that was damaged when actually it was another vehicle that was damaged. I took delivery a couple of hours ago and am getting used to it. My first thought was that, wow, this is a beautiful car. I have to say that the service I've gotten from Tesla so far has been A+.
 
I have been a lurker on the forum for a while. Unfortunately it was my Model S. I got the call this afternoon. I asked the rep if this was a trend item as I had just read about another car having the same damage. That's when they informed me that the damaged car mentioned on the forum was really mine! The good news is that the new roof was FedEx'd to the Dallas Service Center last night and that the car will be arriving the day after I get back in town.

As a side note the Tesla Rep informed me that had it been a regular roof rather than the Pano I would be waiting on a whole new car rather than a new piece of glass. Yikes.
 
So today was supposed to be THE day. After scrambling over the past week to arrange financing, fill out and send Tesla's paperwork, getting insurance quotes for my Model S, clearing out my garage, arranging for the sale of my current car, etc., etc., I was eagerly awaiting the delivery of my vehicle today. For logistical reasons, I was having Tesla deliver the car to mother's house 45 minutes away from my house. At 10 AM I received an email notifying me that the car was being loaded and will be delivered to me in 4 hours. As I'm driving to my mother's house thinking of what the first song I'll play in the car, where I'll test out the 0-60 speed, which fancy restaurant I'm going to tonight, etc., a Tesla rep calls and tells me that during loading a cable struck and shattered the sunroof. He said that the only thing that is damaged is the sunroof itself and that there is no other structural or body damage. Obviously, the sunroof now needs replacement and my delivery will be delayed at least by a few days. I told him to send me pictures of the damage asap. Here are my questions: What should I inspect when I finally do receive the car? What kind of compensation should I ask for from Tesla? Does this damage (even after repair) depreciate the value of the car? Are there any other issues I should address? Where can I get therapy for this?

Regular cars are routinely damaged while being shipped to dealers. Assuming the damage isn't major (like broken windows, scratches, etc) they fix them up and put them on the lot for you to buy. In the case of Tesla, there isn't a middle man and for all practical purposes you are getting the car direct from the factory, which means new owners are very likely to hear about this sort of thing as opposed to purchasing the car in ignorance.
 
Regular cars are routinely damaged while being shipped to dealers. Assuming the damage isn't major (like broken windows, scratches, etc) they fix them up and put them on the lot for you to buy. In the case of Tesla, there isn't a middle man and for all practical purposes you are getting the car direct from the factory, which means new owners are very likely to hear about this sort of thing as opposed to purchasing the car in ignorance.


No question.