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Taking Delivery tomorrow. Thoughts on paint quality of most recent production Tesla's?
- Thread starter VV1975
- Start date
I have to admit that I was impressed by both the build and paint quality of my M3 purchased in October. After a few washes however I did notice a few lighter areas, but really nothing as egregious as some of the earlier models I had seen and to be quite honest I was really being picky and looking for something to complain about. There were no swirls or blank spots.
I will be getting PPF on the doors and the entire front within the next few weeks after seeing some horrible things on a few Teslas parked in our work garage. I am also going to get Ceramic Coating placed since our rainy season can be quite interesting. A Model S that sits in our garage didn't look very good and it was a year old.
I'm no expert, but that's my 2 cents on this. Hope it helps.
I will be getting PPF on the doors and the entire front within the next few weeks after seeing some horrible things on a few Teslas parked in our work garage. I am also going to get Ceramic Coating placed since our rainy season can be quite interesting. A Model S that sits in our garage didn't look very good and it was a year old.
I'm no expert, but that's my 2 cents on this. Hope it helps.
The paint on my 2020 looks fine to me. The most common defect I've seen is that the door and/or the chrome door trim are misaligned. This is a quick fix in the shop, but make them correct it at delivery, rather than making you come back for a SC appointment.
huangm777
Member
On my 2020 P3D- (mfg date 11/19), there were exactly two tiny, spot-size paint chips that are easily corrected with the paint touch up kit. A plastic guard was misaligned, but it was fixed by the service center in 5 minutes before I drove off.
Personally, I think these are extremely minor issues or easily fixed, and far from the horror stories I heard about panel gaps and the like. And I only found out about these issues because I brought an eagle-eyed friend who inspected it as I was inside the car when the DA was explaining the features. I suggest that as a good strategy to identify issues before you drive off. It saves time and it's always good to have a second pair of eyes.
Personally, I think these are extremely minor issues or easily fixed, and far from the horror stories I heard about panel gaps and the like. And I only found out about these issues because I brought an eagle-eyed friend who inspected it as I was inside the car when the DA was explaining the features. I suggest that as a good strategy to identify issues before you drive off. It saves time and it's always good to have a second pair of eyes.
Wow you're so lucky to have ordered and gotten a P3D stealth when it was still available.
I ordered my LR AWD on 12/3 and didn't even realize there was a stealth for just $2k until yesterday (didn't want to spend $10k for the extra, just wanted the power), and by that time they were all gone
huangm777
Member
Believe me, I was shocked it was available. I had called the delivery center to change to a LR AWD, and I just casually asked, there wouldn't be a stealth available, would there? The guy said that he would check, but warned me that last time a batch was available, they were gone in 1 hour...and when he came back from hold, he said there was exactly one left in all of SoCal. Naturally I snapped it up like a snapperfish!Wow you're so lucky to have ordered and gotten a P3D stealth when it was still available.
I ordered my LR AWD on 12/3 and didn't even realize there was a stealth for just $2k until yesterday (didn't want to spend $10k for the extra, just wanted the power), and by that time they were all gone
Before I joined these forums I never even heard of a stealth. I feel extremely blessed indeed. The thing takes off like, well, a Red Comet
I hope you love your car too!Took delivery in the rain it was hard to detect any paint quality issues and there were no detectable scratches. Now as far as panel gaps that was another issue. Both doors had a noticeable panel gap and alignment issues that other Teslas in the lot did not have. They checked the gap measurement and said as long as it was under 7mm it was up to spec. My panel gap was 5.5mm so there was nothing Tesla would do about it. The only other issue that Tesla had was the steering was not aligned. I have to bring the car back to the service center on the weekend to have it fixed. I was hoping for better quality control for a $50K car. Either way I'm still a huge fan of the car and I am willing to deal with these minor issues. I just hope Tesla tries to continuously improve their quality instead of just trying to churn these cars out as fast as possible.
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Believe me, I was shocked it was available. I had called the delivery center to change to a LR AWD, and I just casually asked, there wouldn't be a stealth available, would there? The guy said that he would check, but warned me that last time a batch was available, they were gone in 1 hour...and when he came back from hold, he said there was exactly one left in all of SoCal. Naturally I snapped it up like a snapperfish!
Before I joined these forums I never even heard of a stealth. I feel extremely blessed indeed. The thing takes off like, well, a Red Comet
Damn you!...you took the last RED one in SoCal!!!
I hope I won't have any regrets with mine!
Believe me, I was shocked it was available. I had called the delivery center to change to a LR AWD, and I just casually asked, there wouldn't be a stealth available, would there? The guy said that he would check, but warned me that last time a batch was available, they were gone in 1 hour...and when he came back from hold, he said there was exactly one left in all of SoCal. Naturally I snapped it up like a snapperfish!
Before I joined these forums I never even heard of a stealth. I feel extremely blessed indeed. The thing takes off like, well, a Red Comet
Congrats I took delivery of a grey stealth! Stealth sounds like a cool name now that I'm saying it. I'm still trying to figure out a good name for a grey Tesla.
@VV1975 Bring up the panel gaps if they bother you when you take the car in for the steering wheel adjustment. I think the delivery centers’ service teams are just so swamped right now prepping cars for the new owners that unless it’s really off or a safety issue they don’t have the time to adjust because it will take too long. I’m guessing the service center will have the time. The slightly raised trim piece is a quick fix for them.
ambudriver03
Member
I have a service appointment, I noticed a couple issues with my P3D- but I took delivery in the rain and in the 13 days (270 mi) since I took delivery, it has rained at least 7 of them (who said it never rains here!? they obviously forgot about the '97 el nino)
(I had literally just returned from the car wash when I took these today)
The Good...
Not so much...
(I had literally just returned from the car wash when I took these today)
The Good...
Not so much...
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ambudriver03
Member
Thanks for sharing this. I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. I am about to send a card of gratitude to my original salesman who said to me and I quote: " I made sure to go through the entire car to make sure that there were no paint scratches or anything that you might find objectionable." He was right. And now that I see what you've gone through, I am grateful to him.
I hope you get everything worked out.
I hope you get everything worked out.
Remember paint takes can take a month or more to harden. Be very gentle clean the car, especially when it is new. Hand wash it if you can. Don't use a power sprayer. The Tesla manual for my X recommends hand washing.
Unlike a car that you get off a dealer lot, your car likely had not been sitting around for a month or longer with the paint curing. This is especially true in California, where your car may have been painted only a few days ago.
Unlike a car that you get off a dealer lot, your car likely had not been sitting around for a month or longer with the paint curing. This is especially true in California, where your car may have been painted only a few days ago.
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ambudriver03
Member
Not sure it is hard to show in pictures but it seems to be on the inside of the glass.
This car had only been washed once at a hand car wash. (a few mins before I took the pictures)
i was thinking along the lines of "tiburon" which means shark in spanish, however i ended up with a blue stealth so i decided not to use that.
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