Paint damage on new car

[sicarumba]

Hello all

I apologise for the length of this post, but I'd like to get all the details down. Plus I've been at home for 3 months so I have the time!

I'm looking for some advice on a recent new car purchase. I'm not sure whether this counts as naming and shaming so I'll not write the name of the manufacturer, though I don't imagine it will be difficult to work out. This is a brand new fully electric car direct from the manufacturer's outlet.

My Dad arranged to view a new car. He lives on the South coast and the only 'showroom' local was near Heathrow. The country was beginning to go into meltdown shortly before his appointment, which was understandably cancelled by the dealer. He did a lot of online research and decided as they were still selling cars online and with a contact free collection service he would go ahead with the purchase. Now, my Dad is 79 and has never owned a new car in his life. I believe he felt this was his last chance to do so, and he was happy to buy a new car unseen based on his research. When the country went into full lockdown he emailed the dealer and expressed his concerns with the collection, having already paid for the car, and asked to postpone. The dealer instead offered a free contactless delivery service which he was happy to accept.

When the car arrived on 24th April it was delivered by a nice chap in a 4x4 towing it on a trailer. He was happy to take the car off the trailer and park it on my Dad's driveway whilst my Dad kept a safe distance, and then he pointed out some paint damage just below the driver's door handle. It is clear from looking at the damage that it's some kind of wearing, perhaps from an overzealous polisher or something, rather than a chip. The courier showed my Dad the email he had composed to the dealer and assured him the dealer would take care of the damage. Shortly afterwards, the dealer retracted this offer and instead claimed the damage "does not warrant a site visit and an appointment has been booked at our repair centre in Brooklands, Weybridge". A couple of emails have been exchanged asking how this can be correct given the car was delivered with this damage and stating it should be corrected with no cost or inconvenience to the customer but the same, almost scripted, response comes back each time : does not warrant site visit, please attend Brooklands. Phonecalls seem to be impossible due to an automated IVR system (possibly compounded by the current health crisis).

My question is : what, if anything, can be done?

Disclaimer : As I write this I am totally aware of how insignificant this problem is, especially when compared to what many people are going through at the moment. Life is indeed too short to worry about such things and in all likelihood he will drive the car to the appointment and that will be an end of it. However since the appointment in Brooklands isn't for a couple of weeks I figured it's worth checking with the clever people of PH in the meantime, even if only to see if this is a common occurrence and I'm being totally unreasonable to expect anything more. I'm also aware the right thing to do would have been to reject the car, but it's too late for that now and I'm sure many people would have accepted the word of the courier and dealer as my Dad has done.

TL;DR - principles matter!

Edited by sicarumba on Wednesday 17th June 20:50

[sicarumba]

TooLateForAName said:

Electric car and dodgy paint - is it a tesla?

Wow that was quick.

So quick in fact, it has led me to Google "Tesla paint issues" and can see the extent of the problem. Not to say the extent of a problem should affect the resolution for the recipient but I can see why they are being so dismissive. I can also see we are lucky the car seems to only have this single, tiny problem when it appears so many have far worse paint.

I guess we suck it up and my Dad treats it as an excuse to go for a drive.

[sicarumba]

Thank you for all the replies.

Exige77 said:

The OP mentioned “research” was done ?

I think that company are pretty famous for having many quality problems ?

Hope OPs dad can get some resolution.

Evidently not enough research, or perhaps with rose tinted specs on... I think it was more research into the capabilities/foibles of an electric car. And thank you.

chrisch77 said:

I’m struggling to see the problem here -

New car delivered with paint defect
Dealer books you into their repair centre to have it rectified.

What more are you expecting them to do, replace the car?

In the OP I stated the hope was for the courier's "promise" to be kept and that the problem would be rectified with no cost or inconvenience to the buyer. There is a fairly obvious middle ground between driving the car to a depot and replacing the car, namely a mobile repair. Perhaps naive to believe someone on their word these days, and unreasonable to challenge when you don't think something is quite fair?

REALIST123 said:

I thought you could just send them back if you don’t like them?

Send it back and then buy another?

Suck it up, it is Tesla after all, par for the course?

I know there is a way of rejecting a new car but that time has lapsed I believe, and I would not expect him to reject it over this. As stated before it's a minor problem and I was looking in SP&L for any advice as to whether a mobile repair could be insisted upon due to the fact it should be brand new. Reading the current replies, suck it up is looking like the way to go!

NGee said:

I have always wanted to talk to someone who owned a Tesla. I realize that it's the OP's dad (allegedly (I wouldn't admit it either if it was mine!)) and not the OP but as that seems to be the nearest I can get, just one question.

What in Gods name possesses any one to buy one of the worst, most expensive cars available?

Nothing alleged about it, I'm not ready to go electric yet. And evidently it's a rhetorical question but I'll answer it anyway : personal choice.

Pegscratch said:

I would recommend going to the appointment. If you're expecting a mobile repair, expect that repair to not be of a similar quality as can be achieved in a bodyshop.

We had Chips Away out to repair a fairly deep scratch on one of our cars, I consider the damage to the Tesla to be less severe than that (you could feel the scratch on ours but this is more like wear/thinning) and I was impressed with the quality of the job they did. Not an expert though, and perhaps a more keen eye than mine would be able to tell the difference.

paintman said:

Think the courier has just said stuff to get him out of an awkward situation.
To clarify, are they just wanting to inspect the car & arrange a repair date or is it drop it off & we'll let you know when it's ready?
Door damage is not a man in a van on your driveway!

You're probably right about the courier, he likely did not work for Tesla. As far as I know the appointment is a while-you-wait repair as photos of the area have been sent already. As with the previous quote, I was impressed with the work that can be done on the driveway and on what I'd consider to be an easier job - but I'm not going to argue with someone called 'paintman'!

Durzel said:

If that's the only problem with the paint your Dad has, I'd say he's struck it lucky.

--stuff--

The good news is the rest of the car makes up for it in spades.

I would open a service appointment on the app, take photos of the blemish (and inspect the car for others) and then you'll get a date for when you will need to take it to a service centre. I don't think paint blemishes can be resolved by the mobile ranger service.

Thank you, very useful post. He seems to be generally very happy with the car (crazy I know, as it's apparently one of the worst - FACT). When sending the photo of the damage to them, the wording on the response was something along the lines of 'not warranting a mobile visit' - not that it wasn't possible. Maybe it's churlish to think this way but if it's been supplied defective, it should warrant a mobile repair as opposed to one which puts the owner out.

Thanks again all, was difficult to ask this without sounding moany. Not sure I am ready to accept it's 'par for the course' just because they are all like it. I would like to think in the event of an issue, regardless of how frequent it happens, companies would still want to make things right to the point where people are happy to recommend them despite these issues. A small token offering such as a mobile repair would have gone a long way to do this.

[sicarumba]

Durzel said:

From what I've read Tesla have a bit of a reputation for bringing people back from the brink... a bit like being in an abusive relationship I guess.. you have moments where the other party is nice to you and you think you were just making a fuss, etc.

I've made that sound a lot worse than it is.

Paint blemishes are unlikely to be fixed by the mobile ranger service, so that's probably what they mean, rather than that it's not going to be done period. What I would prepare your Dad for though is the possibility that the service centre appointment will be an "inspection" one, and they will probably take the car away and give him a courtesy car while the paintwork is repaired. It almost certainly won't be done on the day unless it's something that can be realistically done on site.

Don't feel put out because they're saying they won't do it in a mobile ranger service. That service isn't like ChipsAway, they are for rectifying other kinds of faults that the car doesn't need to go to a service centre or third party for, and paintwork is most likely one of those things.

Probably worth actually giving the service centre a call once it's booked in to say a) that he will be expecting a courtesy car if the work can't be done on the day and b) whether they think, based on the photos, that is something that can be resolved while he waits.

Thank you for the useful post. I'll get him to call them and see what to expect. Shame the Brooklands museum is closed, or that could have turned it into a good day out. I guess as it's an Aluminium door and there's no risk of corrosion, we could always wait until it is...

[sicarumba]

Pegscratch said:

Painting aluminium is an arse - definitely proper bodyshop it.

Maybe that's the issue, as has been alluded to the wording of the reschedule email could well have thrown me in to a fit of principals. I'll report back after the appointment. Thank you again, all.

[sicarumba]

SiH said:

While he's waiting for his trip to the bodyshop tell him to get out there and go over the car from front to back and check all the panel gaps and general paint quality. It would be a shame to miss any other blemishes or issues with the body panels because he's focused on the one that was initially pointed out. As the very first reply hinted at Tesla finish is notoriously poor and if it's only one area of paint that is affected then he's probably got one of the better ones!
If he finds other areas of poor fit and finish these could possibly all be taken care of in one visit.

Yes, good advice. He has inspected the car thoroughly and this appears to be the only issue. He describes the panel gaps as "fine for a mass produced car" so that's good enough. It does indeed sound like he has one of the better ones judging by the replies on here.

REALIST123 said:

Of course, aluminium will corrode, so that risk is present.

4rephill said:

+1

People make a false assumption that Aluminium won't corrode - But it does (it shows as a white oxide powder, which on vehicles, causes bubbling beneath the paint, in the same way that steel corrosion does)

A big part of the confusion is that it is well know that aluminium doesn't rust, as steel does. People mistakenly assume that corrosion and rust are one and the same, but rust is simply one version of metal corrosion (copper turning green being another type of corrosion)

One of the biggest causes of aluminium corrosion is when it comes into contact with none alloy materials, such as steel, due to a dissimilar metal reaction. Where vehicle manufacturers fix alloy and steel components together (more often than not these days, by bonding the parts together), they have to use a non-conducting material between the two parts, to help prevent corrosion occurring.

Thank you both, always educational visiting these parts. Now that I think about it that does make perfect sense. I've owned motorbikes with aluminium components and they do corrode, without rusting. The fact aluminium doesn't rust was at the forefront of my mind and that white oxide powder had been forgotten.

[sicarumba]

Morning all

Just wanted to add a quick update. My Dad an I took the car to Tesla yesterday fully expecting a day of waiting around, but the lady on reception said that the damage to the paint would require the car to be left there for a few days and a courtesy Model S was waiting for us.Certainly not achievable by a mobile paint applicator. I think this has simply been an exercise in poor communication and they have been quite reasonable in getting the car booked in and the issue resolved, and as previously stated in this thread it seems he has been lucky with only having one blemish to take care of!

She also mentioned that all their drivers had been made redundant following the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown, something which would of course make it difficult for them to offer a collection/delivery service for something non-urgent like this. That would explain their inability to collect the car for this work to be done, as Martin Smith likes to chant "forebearance" is the key. So all is well with the world.

[sicarumba]

Just to bring some closure, as our transatlantic cousins would say, the door panel has been resprayed and it looks absolutely fine. The journey there and back was traffic-free and we've had the opportunity to compare a Model 3 to a Model S in the process so all in all, no harm done. Thank you to everyone who contributed.