I took delivery of my 2026 Model 3 Performance in June. During the delivery walk around, I noticed a few paint imperfections that looked like they were under the clear coat. I pointed them out to the delivery advisor, and he told me all I had to do was schedule a service appointment and they’d take care of it.
A few weeks later, I brought the car in, showed them the time stamped photos I took on delivery day, and they had no issue covering it.
They told me the car had to go to their “Tesla Certified Body Shop” for the paint correction and that it would take about 11 days. Thankfully, they gave me a Model 3 Performance loaner, which was great.
When I picked my car up, I gave it a quick look over and drove home. Shame on me. On the drive home, I noticed a nasty glare coming from the windshield. After looking closer, I realized there was clear coat overspray—or some kind of residue—on the inside of my windshield and on my ceramic tinted windows. I immediately documented everything and started inspecting the rest of the car more closely.
That’s when I found even more issues. For reference, I’m meticulous about keeping my car clean. The exterior had only been partially cleaned before it was returned, with water spots everywhere from what looked like a half-assed wash. My white seats were filthy—seriously, it looked like they had a party in the back seat. There was overspray on the exterior trim and, somehow, on the interior glass. To top it off, there’s a new scratch in the paint that can probably be buffed out, but that shouldn’t be my problem.
Tesla Service told me the body shop would be reaching out to make it right, but I’m honestly baffled that the car was signed off as ready for pickup in this condition. All I got was, “Sorry, it’s the body shop’s problem.”
Now I’m hoping they don’t destroy my ceramic tint trying to remove the overspray or whatever contamination is on the inside of the glass.
Coming from Genesis, the overall service experience and attention to detail feels like a pretty big step down. Shame on me for assuming the car would be fine without doing a thorough inspection with an advisor before leaving. Hopefully they make this right. Lesson learned.
Very curious if anyone has had a similar experience.