My Tesla Used Inventory Buying Experience
Discussion
I purchased a 2016 Model S last week online from Tesla Used Inventory and arranged collection today from the Birmingham dealership. The buying experience is certainly rather oddball in that there's no way to view the car prior to purchase and you're expected to pay, in full, before collection. The best you get is a gallery of pictures along with a 360* view of the car. among these pictures are highlighted parts to show any 'possible imperfections'.
The pictures I was sent of the car looked good... there were quite a few imperfections highlighted, but these were mostly around slightly soiled seat areas, some superficial scratches on the stainless steel sill plates, some small marks on one of the interior door handles and some paint chips on the leading edge of the bonnet. Nothing unexpected and very minor issues, hence why I was happy to purchase the car sight unseen.
When we turned-up to collect the car (after a 1 hour+ drive from Northamptonshire) I had a good look around it and was surprised (and more than disappointed) to find many more 'imperfections' than were highlighted in the pictures I was sent prior to purchase. There were several small paint chips through to the metal on a few panels, a small chip/scuff on one of the alloys, a weird-looking blemish in the paint on the front bumper area, a graze/rip in the leather on the lower part of the dash, a significant scratch on the leading edge of the rear bumper, one of the ultrasonic parking sensors was pushed-in slightly on the front bumper and, most seriously, quite a large area (~3" long) of corrosion on the leading edge of the NSR door that was bubbling through the paint. None of these issues were highlighted pre-purchase in any of the pictures I was sent.
The woman I dealt with was apologetic and admitted these areas should've been highlighted and were missed during inspection and told me she'd 'see what she could do' with the delivery team. We waited for about 30-40 minutes while this happened and, when she came back, we were told that the various stone chips and alloy wheel marks were 'within spec'. The door rust, grazed/torn dash leather and paint blemish on the front bumper were items they'd be prepared to 'look into'. However, she was unable to commit to anything other than saying their refurbishment team (which aren't part of the Birmingham dealership) would have to inspect the defects and come back with a response on what could be done. Having already agreed a sale on my existing daily driver, I asked if I could take the car, as planned, today and return it at a mutually-convenient time for the work to be done. The response to this was that I was welcome to drive the car away today, but, in doing so, I would be accepting its condition 'as is'! Not impressed at this point.
In the end, I reluctantly agreed to leaving the car with them and have been promised a call back tomorrow afternoon with an update on what the refurbishment team come back with.
I also took them to task on the wisdom of sending detailed pre-purchase pictures with imperfections specifically high-lighted, if customers are then to be told that additional imperfections (chips, small scuffs, etc) are 'within spec'. Nowhere on the Tesla website can I find anything that sets expectations around the cosmetic condition of used inventory and what would be considered 'within spec'. Clearly, this is especially important to get right when the customer is buying sight unseen. Not sure why Tesla don't operate along similar lines of the car rental companies, where damage up to a certain size is considered acceptable.
By the dealer's own admission, this has not been a great customer experience and I'm now hoping and expecting Tesla to make things right.
I've attached pics of the areas I'm referring to.
Anyone else had less than positive buying experiences? Did Tesla make things right?
The pictures I was sent of the car looked good... there were quite a few imperfections highlighted, but these were mostly around slightly soiled seat areas, some superficial scratches on the stainless steel sill plates, some small marks on one of the interior door handles and some paint chips on the leading edge of the bonnet. Nothing unexpected and very minor issues, hence why I was happy to purchase the car sight unseen.
When we turned-up to collect the car (after a 1 hour+ drive from Northamptonshire) I had a good look around it and was surprised (and more than disappointed) to find many more 'imperfections' than were highlighted in the pictures I was sent prior to purchase. There were several small paint chips through to the metal on a few panels, a small chip/scuff on one of the alloys, a weird-looking blemish in the paint on the front bumper area, a graze/rip in the leather on the lower part of the dash, a significant scratch on the leading edge of the rear bumper, one of the ultrasonic parking sensors was pushed-in slightly on the front bumper and, most seriously, quite a large area (~3" long) of corrosion on the leading edge of the NSR door that was bubbling through the paint. None of these issues were highlighted pre-purchase in any of the pictures I was sent.
The woman I dealt with was apologetic and admitted these areas should've been highlighted and were missed during inspection and told me she'd 'see what she could do' with the delivery team. We waited for about 30-40 minutes while this happened and, when she came back, we were told that the various stone chips and alloy wheel marks were 'within spec'. The door rust, grazed/torn dash leather and paint blemish on the front bumper were items they'd be prepared to 'look into'. However, she was unable to commit to anything other than saying their refurbishment team (which aren't part of the Birmingham dealership) would have to inspect the defects and come back with a response on what could be done. Having already agreed a sale on my existing daily driver, I asked if I could take the car, as planned, today and return it at a mutually-convenient time for the work to be done. The response to this was that I was welcome to drive the car away today, but, in doing so, I would be accepting its condition 'as is'! Not impressed at this point.
In the end, I reluctantly agreed to leaving the car with them and have been promised a call back tomorrow afternoon with an update on what the refurbishment team come back with.
I also took them to task on the wisdom of sending detailed pre-purchase pictures with imperfections specifically high-lighted, if customers are then to be told that additional imperfections (chips, small scuffs, etc) are 'within spec'. Nowhere on the Tesla website can I find anything that sets expectations around the cosmetic condition of used inventory and what would be considered 'within spec'. Clearly, this is especially important to get right when the customer is buying sight unseen. Not sure why Tesla don't operate along similar lines of the car rental companies, where damage up to a certain size is considered acceptable.
By the dealer's own admission, this has not been a great customer experience and I'm now hoping and expecting Tesla to make things right.
I've attached pics of the areas I'm referring to.
Anyone else had less than positive buying experiences? Did Tesla make things right?
andy43 said:
That door rust looks ridiculous. No showroom for used cars is a dumb idea.
I just realized the S/X are aluminium, so the door panel shouldn't rust. The car OP is looking at is 3 years old and clearly had a few minor scrapes.Surely no one here expects a 'show room' finish on a 3 year old car, the important bit is the price. If the S is been sold for £35k by Tesla with an 4 year 50k warranty than a few cosmetic issues is fine. If its been sold at £60k than the OP needs to forget it and go buy a Model 3 or a new S for £15k more.
Poppiecock said:
I'd just be wanting a refund.
No idea why Teslas have such a following - the S is a £100k car with all the quality of a Dacia Sandero.
On second thoughts, some of the quality in a Tesla would cause embarrassment to Dacia.
Pretty much all those things OP has pointed out are issues likely related to damaged picked up by usage. You should see the state of my wifes Lexus at present, I was going to try and sell it privately but its go so many dents/grazes I would embarrassed to even list it - So yes Tesla should have sorted out any big cosmetic issues before showing it to any one.No idea why Teslas have such a following - the S is a £100k car with all the quality of a Dacia Sandero.
On second thoughts, some of the quality in a Tesla would cause embarrassment to Dacia.
The whole point of 'quality' is a different issue, my old BMW was far worse than our Tesla for stuff breaking down, and at 26k I would say if your use to BMW/Audi 'build quality' than Tesla is similar- so expect problems. Though am still happy to run our X out of warranty, cannot say the same for any modern BMW.
Dacia actually I believe are much more reliable than premium brands, but Tesla is no where near Lexus/Nissan/Honda interms of reliability.
gangzoom said:
andy43 said:
That door rust looks ridiculous. No showroom for used cars is a dumb idea.
I just realized the S/X are aluminium, so the door panel shouldn't rust. The car OP is looking at is 3 years old and clearly had a few minor scrapes.Surely no one here expects a 'show room' finish on a 3 year old car, the important bit is the price. If the S is been sold for £35k by Tesla with an 4 year 50k warranty than a few cosmetic issues is fine. If its been sold at £60k than the OP needs to forget it and go buy a Model 3 or a new S for £15k more.
connoisseur21 said:
Online selling is Distance Selling no? Simply get your money back and put it down to experience.
Nope as the OP travelled to a dealer to collect it, once you set foot in the dealer or wherever you collect it from it isn't distances selling, if the car was dropped to the OP's house then it would have been distance selling. HTP99 said:
Nope as the OP travelled to a dealer to collect it, once you set foot in the dealer or wherever you collect it from it isn't distances selling, if the car was dropped to the OP's house then it would have been distance selling.
Ah ok, you certain of that? If the contract and payment is all negotiated and finalised at a distance then isn't how collection is arranged irrelevant to DSR?HTP99 said:
Nope as the OP travelled to a dealer to collect it, once you set foot in the dealer or wherever you collect it from it isn't distances selling, if the car was dropped to the OP's house then it would have been distance selling.
Actually, I am covered by DSR (now called Consumer Contracts Regulations) as I paid for the car, in full, online. That was a key deciding factor, since the risk of buying sight unseen is mitigated (very glad for these regulations at the moment!)That's absolutely appalling. If they don't get back to you today with an amicable resolution I'd be straight onto shaming them via social media - Tesla seem to be quite conscious of that, more so in the States.
That corrosion on the door would worry me regardless of whether they sort it. I'm not sure how long their warranty is but the last thing you want to be doing is chasing corrosion on what I assume is at least a 50k car. I've seen it a couple of times on the BMW forums where the dealer strips it back down to the metal and sorts it only for it to come back a year or so later. I suppose if it did come back you have an easy case for them to sort it again since its's a historical issue.
That corrosion on the door would worry me regardless of whether they sort it. I'm not sure how long their warranty is but the last thing you want to be doing is chasing corrosion on what I assume is at least a 50k car. I've seen it a couple of times on the BMW forums where the dealer strips it back down to the metal and sorts it only for it to come back a year or so later. I suppose if it did come back you have an easy case for them to sort it again since its's a historical issue.
MDL111 said:
gangzoom said:
andy43 said:
That door rust looks ridiculous. No showroom for used cars is a dumb idea.
I just realized the S/X are aluminium, so the door panel shouldn't rust. The car OP is looking at is 3 years old and clearly had a few minor scrapes.Surely no one here expects a 'show room' finish on a 3 year old car, the important bit is the price. If the S is been sold for £35k by Tesla with an 4 year 50k warranty than a few cosmetic issues is fine. If its been sold at £60k than the OP needs to forget it and go buy a Model 3 or a new S for £15k more.
Paint can’t bond to the oxidised layer which is why you get the bubbling.
Proper preparation and painting of aluminium should prevent the sort of corrosion seen here for many years unless there’s been damage to the panel, which hasn’t been properly repaired.
Just to follow-up on this after reading some of the replies to my original post...
I did consider a Model 3, but I believe there's a waiting list and I'm also wary of the depreciation that car would suffer when purchased new. The Model S was more of a 'known quantity'.
With regards to demanding an immediate refund, I want to give Tesla a chance to put things right before I start coming down heavy on them. I was happy with the deal I got on the car... it's the model I want, the mileage is relatively low, it's had 4 brand new Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tyres fitted, it comes with free unlimited Supercharging and, being a Tesla inventory car, comes with 4-year / 50k miles bumper-to-bumper warranty (same coverage as new). If they put things right and do so quickly, I'm more than happy to keep the car.
Have been promised a call back this afternoon, so will keep this post updated.
PS. I referred to the paint blistering on the NSR door as 'rust'. Of course, it's aluminium so corrosion rather than rust. Looks like the paint was chipped, likely by grit being thrown-up from the front tyre and moisture has got under the paint and allowed corrosion to set-in causing blistering.
I did consider a Model 3, but I believe there's a waiting list and I'm also wary of the depreciation that car would suffer when purchased new. The Model S was more of a 'known quantity'.
With regards to demanding an immediate refund, I want to give Tesla a chance to put things right before I start coming down heavy on them. I was happy with the deal I got on the car... it's the model I want, the mileage is relatively low, it's had 4 brand new Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tyres fitted, it comes with free unlimited Supercharging and, being a Tesla inventory car, comes with 4-year / 50k miles bumper-to-bumper warranty (same coverage as new). If they put things right and do so quickly, I'm more than happy to keep the car.
Have been promised a call back this afternoon, so will keep this post updated.
PS. I referred to the paint blistering on the NSR door as 'rust'. Of course, it's aluminium so corrosion rather than rust. Looks like the paint was chipped, likely by grit being thrown-up from the front tyre and moisture has got under the paint and allowed corrosion to set-in causing blistering.
andy43 said:
That door rust looks ridiculous. No showroom for used cars is a dumb idea.
keeps cost down, and i thought it was to try and get round the daft car dealer regulations they have in the US which they kinda act like a monopoly as to the op there appears to be a lot of articles / videos on the problems with buying used teslas over the web
Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Friday 26th July 10:39
Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff