When I purchased my Model 3 I ordered it online and Tesla said my price would be $42,500 in March 2019. Signed my loans docs through docusign. I picked it up 12 days later in Tempe. Delivery took 15 minutes. My car had 3 flaws. Paint chip on trunk, hood panel gap, and scratch on aero hubcap. Made appointment and brought it back a week later. Got a loaner Model S for two days and then got my car back in perfect condition.
Yeah I feel like a lot of the FUD about the buying and delivery process come from people who have never gone through the process themselves.
Yes: it is absolutely unacceptable that Tesla's quality standards are lacking to the point where you are encouraged to give your car a look over before picking it up. Genuinely, the car should have already been looked over on the lot -- but I guess that's the price to pay for the make-to-order process Tesla has embraced.
But you are absolutely _not_ in a position where you "take it or leave it." You look your car over, note what needs to be fixed post-delivery, and make a (free) appointment to have those issues corrected. The best part? Depending on the severity of the issues, Tesla will send some to your home instead of you having to bring the car to them.
My story is the same as yours: I test drove the car on the 15th, I put my deposit down, and on the 30th I drove off the lot in my new car. There was no negotiation, no up-selling, just me paying for my car and getting what I expected.
> Yes: it is absolutely unacceptable that Tesla's quality standards are lacking to the point where you are encouraged to give your car a look over before picking it up.
Why? Everybody else pays for the privilege of the dealership rep to do it for them. It's called the pre-delivery inspection.
If Tesla has no PDI then I suppose it's just them pawning it off on the end user. Sounds very 2020 of them to do that.
That's my point. Why isn't there a PDI for Tesla? As I said in my original comment, I'm guessing that's just the price we pay as consumers for Tesla's decision to not hold inventory and make cars to order.
imo, though, the "quality issue" with Teslas are greatly exaggerated. At worst, my 3 has inconsistencies between panels, but you don't notice unless you're looking for them.
