Delivery day nightmare

I didn’t really check anything. I’ve taken delivery of two Model Y’s in Alaska, meaning they’d spent 4 days on a ship, then unloaded at the port. I picked one up at the port and had the other delivered in a trailer. Both were immaculate and there’s really extremely low chance of new cars arriving with defects. It was the least stressful experience possible.

The first Tesla delivery was perfectly fine The second time was a bit of a nightmare. As the Juniper came in all scratched up, other buyers as well. The service department had to buff it out at the parking lot upon request. SA fooled me about if I didn't pick up that day and the trade-in value might go down. I wasn't born yesterday and told them that i will wait till the next car arrives. The second Juniper came in with perfect conditions.

I took delivery last week and the experience was delightful. They were pulling my car into the lot as we arrived, cute little greeting card already on the dash. The whole process took less than ten minutes. We did a quick visual once over but that was all. This is our fifth Tesla, second brand new, so we knew what to expect and didn’t have any questions but if we had, our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. I have no doubt he could have handled anything we threw at him.

Wow that’s insane. Did they say why it was all scratched up?

Oh wow was that bc there no delivery centers?

Nope, no explanation whatsoever, unlike others, I refused delivery coz it's the second Tesla i picked up from the same dealership, they can do better than that. And I plan on buying my 3rd Tesla in the foreseeable future.

Oh so you refused and didn’t have another one to replace it. Did you loose anything? Trade value? Deposit?

Mine was horrible. Drove 2 hours and the car doors were misaligned, paint was scratched everywhere and was overall disappointing. I had a checklist with me. Definitely look for panel gaps, headlight scratches, etc (all the small details).

My DD was great, I used a check list and one by one it came up roses, no issues at all. But I almost fuced it up, just as I was arriving my phone was at about 8% I had to rush over to the associate and have him help me get it open before it died, I put it on the charge pad just as it died.

That’s crazy. Was it a newer model ?

Yep. There wasn’t even a service center in Alaska when I got my first one in 2023. Now there is. I would have been really annoyed if there had been defects in the car when it was delivered, but it’s not like I could have just sent it back. It costs $2500 to ship from Tacoma to Anchorage.

Had to drive 2 hours (las Vegas) to pick up my MY Performance… easiest, smoothest, no hassle buying experience ever.

I had a great delivery. No issues with my tradein. Checked the inside and outside. A bit of tree sap from the stand of trees behind the delivery center. Pointed it out, and the guy got some spray stuff and a cloth, and cleaned it up beautifully. I spent the next 20 minutes making sure it copied all of my settings. Needn’t have bothered - my playlist was where I left it on my tradein. Hit home on nav and started FSD.

Nope, the trade-in value stayed the same, no surcharge for refusing delivery. Ended up getting a new Tesla that's not scratched up all over from paint to plastics

Genuine question…why do people continue to buy these cars with such terrible quality control from the factory? 🫤

First time it was awesome, the car was waiting for me all clean and nice and on time. Second time, horrible experience, they made me wait almost 2 hours, when I asked they had a horrible attitude, the car was not properly clean. Both times the cars were in good shape though. Still better than a dealer though lol

Brand new 2026 model x

Oh wow

Mine was not good. Car wasn't ready. Paperwork for trade in wasn't ready. Don't bother showing up on time.

Huh? Most have had good experiences. What do you mean ?

Oh that’s good to know.

I walked in, signed two pieces of paper, did a quick lap around the car, and that was it. I drove off... Well… the car drove off — I was just sitting in the driver’s seat. Pretty sure I was at the dealership for less than 10 minutes total. I was also in there at the very end of their day, probably got there around 5:20, and was the only customer. I'm sure that sped it up a bit too.

What does the cost to ship back matter to you? Tesla would have to swallow the charge if they sent a defective vehicle

I’ve never heard of another car brand where you have to scrutinize the car so closely for defects straight from the factory. I mean, that just doesn’t happen with most other brands. Why would people put up with that?

It’s complicated in Alaska. (Everything is harder to do in Alaska). I had to make the final payment before they even shipped the car, meaning the car was my responsibility while it was on the boat up here. I still accepted delivery through the app when I got the car, but I’d already fully paid for it. So yeah, maybe Tesla would have paid to have it shipped back if there was truly a defect. I’m not sure.

[deleted]

Brought my teens along to inspect the car inside and out while I checked the screens and anything with a button lol. Everything went smooth.

Our first Tesla 23 M3 was smooth . Found 1 small defect that they fixed couple weeks later. Our 26 MY as well was flawless. I’d say it’s hit or miss. I know not everyone has had flawless delivery.

What are the “big things” that you check, now that you’ve owned a few?

What makes it a hit or miss from you experience?

It will depend on the pickup center you go to it seems, some are great, good, not so good, suck. Mine was like a five star hotel with greeters and helpers and all indoors super clean with scads of customers checking out their cars and five minute paper..er..phonework. Thirty minutes was looking at the car for issues. Smudge on dash fixed within two minutes. North Houston 290 center.

Well you are either going to find issues with your Tesla or you’re not. For the most every service person that has helped us during delivery has been good to us. I’ve yet to hear anyone say service person being rude. Usually it’s something with the vehicle that goes wrong.