Tesla Model 3 in-depth paint review. Made in China v USA built comparison.
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- čas přidán 31. 03. 2021
- #tesla #model3 #paint
To help answer the questions people have been asking about the paint quality of the Tesla Model 3 that are made in China, in comparison to those made in Fremont, USA, we have been testing numerous examples of Tesla Model 3 over the last few weeks.
Here are our findings so far!
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Great vid - there is a lot of rubbish talked about Tesla paint quality , and you have spent considerable time to get to the facts. Thank you!
I can’t wait for a review of the made in Germany Tesla Model Y!
Will be the most advanced car on the planet by years.
Will UK cars be made in Germany too?
@@Mireaze I believe all cars for Europe will be produced in Germany. Absent a U.K. Giga factory, Germany is the logical choice, Fremont built cars are estimated to accrue £1800- £2200 extra in transport cost and European import duty.
@@Mireaze I do not think that is clear yet.
It depends where they decide to make the RHD models for many countries.
UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ, India, Japan etc etc
@@grahambrown42 What? Not it will not be...
To be fair, Fremont factory was originally built in 1962, acquired by Tesla from Toyota, in 2010. Fremont paint shop will have difficulty matching the newer, state of the art paint shops, in GigaShanghai, GigaBerlin or GigaTexas. However, all 2021 models coming out of Fremont have been substantially improved, my 2 cents.
Very useful video content you're putting out and not stuff you can find elsewhere. 👍
Cheers thank you ☺️
@@RSEV Useful, but next time do a hardness test.
Or more simply, fit and finish tolerances of MIC vs MIF (if that is a thing). Not that this paint stuff was uninteresting - both my cars from Fremont (2016/17) had dreadful paint and panel issues and at that time it took some effort and patience to get them corrected at T’s expense. PPF reduces ongoing stress in so many ways, btw. Who says we can’t do detail in this country - top video.
Really good in depth test with all possible comparisons covered! Thank you!
Awesome!!! This was very helpful. I have constantly heard how thin Tesla paint is compared to other manufacturers. I was concerned until this video because I need to paint correct my Model S. Awesome job you do. This is 4th video I have watched from you and each have been super helpful to me and the ones I've shared the link with please keep up the great work. Thank you for your valuable time!!
Paintwork, up to BMW standard! That is good to know. Very informative as always Richard.
Is that good or bad
Just read the comments from people who own th3 car, paint is not up to BMW standard
What you guys don’t know is the made in Fremont California cars are water-based paint because it is illegal to use any type of paint with chemicals other than water in California. We have very strict standards here.
Excellent video, relieved to know the paintwork on my MIC Model 3 is up to scratch, was almost scared to watch but you did a really nice in depth review. Sounds like the PPF I had done was definitely worth it.
If you have to spend 1000s on PPF, then the paint is not that good.
@@willaerley7140 All cars collect stone chips. It's only up to you whether you want to prevent that / respray the whole car after 10 years on the road / not be bothered by it.
@@DarcersTech From my own experience, my M3 collects rock chips much faster than my previous cars. After 1 year my M3 has about the same damage as 4 years with my other cars. It’s not just chips. Many Tesla owners have complained about rust after less than 2 years. I haven’t heard of any other new car with this problem. Spending $5K on PPF doesn’t make sense when a proper factory paint job could be done for a tenth of that. It’s a great car and that’s why the paint is so disappointing.
@@willaerley7140 My BMW i3 managed to develop rust spots on the alloy wheels and the clear coat started peeling off around the rear-view camera. Known for paint to be falling off the parking sensors, etc. But hey, that's the German build quality you never see discussed. I still love it, but no car is perfect.
Well done, Karl and Steve!
Perfect. Been looking for this kind of video. Cheers!
Very good in depth vid and well presented 👍
Very useful video content you're putting out and not stuff you can find elsewhere, I have one question.
What about how hard the different paints are compared to each other?
When I talk to professionals they all mention that the German brands have very hard paints compared...
Will you evaluate this in a later video?
Thanks👍🏻
As usual very interesting and more so, since I’m considering my first Tesla purchase. Good content that you don’t typically find in other reviews.
Our near side is the American offside so possibly thinner paint due to that being offside over there and less likely to pick up roadside debris flicking up.
Very valuable...and surprising. Thank you!
Thanks for the video. This is really helpful.
awsome video! very nice information!
Really informative and reassuring, thank you
Good review and great to see all the colours so I can choose my colour for my next car
Great video! Very informative 👌
Thanks Rich, my 2019 Model 3 has lovely paint. My neighbours MiC does look a little more consistent and as you noted Fremont paint can have small specs of dust on some cars which seems much improved on China cars.
Great video, consistent approach and nice conclusion 😎
Great video as ever.. 👍🏼🚗
Absolutely loved that, brought loads of things in to play, it has been suggested that the issues on the cills are caused by bad adhesion of the basecoat, so when a stone hits an area it chips/flakes more than it should do hence more paint loss. As the Dec 2020 to current date appears to be suffering worse with this issue it would be great if this could be tested some way apart than with a hammer and chisel.
interesting, worth the time to watch
Very interesting video. Back in the early 80s I used to own a Alfa Romeo Sprint. Along with the Alfa Sud it was a renowned rust bucket. I had access to paint thickness measuring equipment back then I measured my car up against a VW Golf. To my surprise the Alfa had 10 to 20% more paint on it compared to the Golf. The issue was the Alfa rusted from the inside out possibly due to lack of ventilation within the bodywork. Paint thickness isn’t the be all and end all, it’s far more complex than that. Thanks for your very informative videos.
Liked that Rich, great vid, good to meet you at Winchester SC the other day too 😁
Yeah good chat at the SC. Stop by some time for a coffee and Tesla chat 👍
Great video, thanks for sharing :)
Very interesting video. Thanks!
Excellent video, supported by real data 👏
Interesting video, thanks for the info
Thanks, good to know🙂
Fabulous video. Thank You
Great video, thanks Richard and the team, at last someone explaining the truth about car paint, its paint! Nothing to do with thickness or hardness!
Tesla main paint issues with the Model 3 are caused by the omission of a paint quality control stage in production allowing a few cars to leave the factory that simply should not. They also need to address the paint adhesion problem (fault) on the sills and the lack of PPF on the rear wheel arches that should be fitted as standard as on so many other cars. Anyone experiencing factory "pealing/flacking" paint should not accept anything less than a warranty paint repair.
Excellent review, finally someone does it right !
Thank you! What a great video!
I think the thicker part is always the one from the wheel side, so where you can get debris from cars on the reverse lane.
It's an interesting theory, but I think both left hand and right hand drive cars are going through the same painting line. I can't imagine there are 2 different painting programs for both. To be able to verify this the test of either would need to be carried out.
Excellent video. After watching this video and as an owner of new Model 3 I ask myself what is more advisable in terms of price/quality ceramic coating or PPF (plastic film)?
Thanks for the review. I think the quality goes down to VOC not allowed in California versus allow VOC in China.
Exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks
Great video , how long do you think the whole care would last , + batteries say 10-15k a year , cheers
Greta Information. Thank you for taking the time to get to the facts. Can you please share the link and name of the device you used to measure paint Thickness? TIA
Nice video...keep them coming 😜👍
Hey, this videos are so addictive :)
Im wondering if there are any known quality difference during the years since Model 3 came on the market? Have they improved the paintjobs from the beginning of 2019 to the end of the same year? Aany quality difference from 2019-2020?
Spot on, My M3 was a late 2020 car that had the issues with excessive chipping and paint peeling off the car, , It was repainted in full, much to the surprise to a detailing company when I took it in after it was repainted, they got the paint thickness gauge straight out. I said it had been repainted they said yes it has, but its has been a bare metal respray ! the paint thickness was around 150 -170 consistently all over the repainted car although a few imperfections are in the repainted car ( mainly fish eyes !) it has now done 2000 repainted miles and dare I say it is relatively mark free. So I would draw the conclusion the cars might be painted to the correct thickness but the paint has not bonded to the white undercoat ( Deep met Blue) in my case, all my damage was in the colour coat not the under coat.
Great video I was looking forward to this fantastic information and good to know Tesla is up there with the Germans on paint thickness, I received my model 3 SR+ MIC 3 weeks ago, apart from being delivered covered in swirls, looked like they washed it with a bottle of CIF and a scouring pad! I like detailing as a hobby, I am defo not a pro but it polished up very well. Thanks again for a really informative video. 👍
I’ve raised the swirling issue with them a couple times. Real shame because they’ve got everything else right, only to be let down by a lazy sod in the wash way. Falling at the final hurdle!
@@RSEV Yes it's crazy they have guys preparing such expensive cars washing with either a brush or a mechanical brush wash absolutely destroys the paint, can you request the car with the protective plastic they use when shipping still on?
Very good ! Do you have your results in a table ?!
To put things in context. If it is 135 microns rather than 95,
it is a little over 40% thicker!
Nice video, thx. One note:
Adhesion quality is even more important than thickness. Sadly the only good tests for adhesion are destructieve tests.
Really interesting video.
Fantastic job... Thank Uuuuu !!!! 👍
My best guess regarding different thicknesses on both wings is that the robotic arm with paint gun may not have adequate reach on either side. I saw someone else's comment about applying thicker coat on the offside to compensate higher amount of debris from the oncoming traffic. I'm not sure of this but I only imagine that on production line car bodies go through painting section before it's decided if they become left or right hand drive vehicles - I could be totally wrong on this, it's basically hypothesis...
Nearside/offside differences, my guess is the location of the robot and how quickly it can move/accuracy. (Think about painting at arms length and coiled arm) ????
Hi guys! Heard that you can upgrade to heated steering wheel and heated backseats if you have a Model 3 SR 2021. Is it true? How much does it cost?
Very good. Amazing how these rumours are rife, like Tesla paintwork. Be good to see on some of the other issues, condensation in the lenses or interior noise maybe. Good to see, thanks.
Excellent
Very good Richard- another really useful video. So good to know that much of the negatives spoken about Tesla paint is nonsense. However, I have a model Y LR in red multi coat on order for May/June and am a disappointed to learn that multi coat is a bit of a misnomer, at least as far as total thickness in concerned - so what I am paying the extra for?
Re your new blue Y and its swirls, I wish there was some way to stop them dusting off the cars before collection. Finally, where is your friend Jake's business located please?
Great video. Greetings from Denmark.
You are a hero sir 😀
Very informative 🤓 and puts some of the grapevine chatter to bed. Nice one. 👍
Did the price of the Model 3 drop in the UK after they started shipping the China version?
Sandy Munro over here in North America commented that the 2021 paint on the M3 was noticeably better than previous years, fwiw.
is your Tesla discount still available ? How do we get hold of Jake for PPF?
Very informative video, thanks a lot!! Nice to know my new China made M3P has comparable paint work with German cars. ^_^
All of the automotive body guys I've talked to say otherwise however we still spray single stage oil base urethane on heavy equipment, that stuff doesn't have any of these issues. I can only imagine the manufactures still recommend that because it's stronger than the water based automotive paints.
Is the paintwork any “softer” than other makes? Was prewashing my model 3 with a normal service station brush and it Got a lot of swirl marks, is that normal. Certainly has not noticed that on my previous car. Maybe it’s the colour which shows it more, mine is a blue?
Yeah, I think it’s softer. I’ve found my M3 chips and scratches more easily than other cars I’ve owned. Sad that the paint on my mailbox looks so much better than my car’s. Tesla likes to churn out cars as fast as possible and paint curing is time consuming. I think baking on the paint gives the best results, but again it’s time and energy consuming. I wax my car often which can help prevent light scratches, but a pricey PPF is the best solution. It’s not the color, it’s the process.
The Pearl White multi coat paint job on my 1 week old Model Y from Fremont is flawless. I am a very detail oriented person and could only find two fitment issues on the entire car. The passenger side of the hood was low and the steering wheel was cocked slightly to the right. Both were quickly addressed by the Tesla mobile service technician.
Good one Richard. A while back I watched a video by Sandy Munro on the same subject. He said that a later refreshed Model 3 had a better paint finish.
I’ve had perfectly good early cars, but then you would get some with a few flaws. They do seem more consistently 100% now though which is great.
@@RSEV different subject. I live in an apartment in Ambleside. Nearest Supercharger is 31 miles away. How long could a Model3 Long Range be parked till the battery lost charge, if it was fully charged to begin with?
@@djwarren5081 ok so I’d say perhaps 50 days from full. Sentry OFF and don’t keep looking at it on your phone, let it sleep.
You’re going to need min 20% when get back to it to then get to the charger really.
It’s not an ideal scenario really. If parked for a long time it’s best to have plugged in and car set to somewhere in the midrange like 60%.
@@RSEV patient reassured. That's way longer than I was expecting. Thanks very much for the advice.
@@djwarren5081 many other EVs would probably loose
The first batch of Shanghai cars was prone to paint peel due to drying times been shortened as the production speed was increased. This has since been fixed.
Great news then!
You cant measure the NDFT and by this decude if the paintwork is good. You have to know which paint system, fx zinc rich primer. You also have to know the adhesion and the preparation of the surfaces before application of first layer of primer.
They are so pretty though
My old Peugeot 3008 measured 68 on the bonnet
My MIC 3 is spot on.
For all the car with different colours you can pick; You have to pick the black one which the nature of the colour itself notorious about showing imperfection. Lol And the way people having rock chip and paint peeling probelm may more relate to paint properties and paint adhersion rather than thickness. It is interesting that even for the same paint manufacture, the paint they manufactured can be regional specific due to regulation and market prefence. So, the paint supplier for car made in the States, China and Germany may using paint from same company. But the composition can be drastically different and result in slightly different properties or apparence.
When you see some of the paint chips on the sills and lower doors it’s alarming people are reporting. Hoping Berlin paint shop takes it to a new level as Elon took time mention that there was a state of the art paint shop going getting built. Is the cost to PPF not in the thousands for a professional finish. I don’t think the problem was the thickness it was the way the car when painted was rushed through the paint shop, given an extra hour cured seemingly added a noticeable strength for the paint not to chip. Fantastic information be interesting to see what Berlin can do.
So what does multi coat mean? What’s better about it?
Trying to decide between white multi cost and solid black
The red looks amazing in the sun 🌞 with direct sun on it the red is bright and glowy almost infrared....blue/grey on Tesla both look good too...I don't like white/black on cars(I dislike it so much that if Red was $5-$8k more than a black/white Tesla I'll just pay the extra)
Excellent video. I'm left wondering though why some M3's suffer more from stone chips than others? Maybe its down to paint curing issues rather than thickness with some cars having softer paint?
May be also because no grill and nose being so low.. but I definitely would like to know about the hardness of the paint too...because relatively these BEV will live 3 times the competition...
Yeah, i think in the rush of Tesla to deliver cars to meet the planned numbers, they don't let the paint cure properly
Yes paint curing not enough. The problem is they have to pump out those cars too fast because of the overwhelming demand
@@MaxxerG I don't think it's because of the demand, it's more of Elon is trying to meet some numbers to look good for Wallstreet. You can see that in his tweets from last year where he asked Tesla employees to work harder to deliver the cars until a certain date.
@@MaxxerG Just to keep in mind 200K a quarter is drop in a bucket , it needs to be 5 million a quarter ..so whatever curing or works needed..needs to taken care by tesla ...
Have to take out the parts. It's not only paintwork. Bur before painting
What about the durability of the paint compared to other. As someone who owns two Tesla and one Audi, the Tesla seems to get damaged easier. People often seem throw around the phrase “soft paint” with Tesla, especially the Model 3. I had an Audi A7 for 8 years and it was not babied; that paint was almost like new after 8 years and with not a single issue on the rocker panels. I can’t nearly the same on my one and two year old Tesla’s.
Yeah, they need to do a hardness test. Paint thickness was only an issue on the early M3s where you could actually see the primer in spots.
My wife can’t believe I just watched this 😂
😂😜
Mine neither
lying on by bed, lights off, my wife slept a while ago after trying to chat with me for some minutes, but I was watching this video - now reading the comments a and your comment struck me.. now realised probably tomorrow I might not have any breakfast :p
I’d be more concerned about the orange spots that show up in the white paint on some Model 3s. This is contamination in the paint and not stone chips as it appears all over the car. How many owners have cars with this issue?
So why is the red £1k more than the blue? Because they can charge for it I guess....great video
Thank you for debunking this once and for all!
What kinda money for ppf the whole car lest say !
Can spend up to £5k if literally wrapping a whole car. It’s expensive that’s for sure, but front and sill protection much cheaper and is very popular.
More details if contact via website www.rsev.co.uk
@@RSEV thank you
Here in CA it ranges from $4500 to $6000. I shopped around a LOT before having a front partial PPF applied.
High end cars don’t necessarily have the best paint. A guy who sprayed Aston Martins once told me the paint was nowhere near the quality of BMW.
me waiting 6 minutes for him to begin the video
Seals? Ah, Cills !!
12:07 It should be up there with BMW and all the other european car manufacturers because Tesla uses the same robots with the same atomizers. US made ones are probably painted in a dirty booth.
Only manufacturer that I know off that does NOT use Durr robots is Porsche even tho Durr and Porsche factories are 15min drive from each other.
Porsche even has a huge building just a block away from where those robots are made in Bietigheim-Bissingen.
Good video, but it’s “Sill” not “Seal”.
Actually I can explain the thinner left side to the thicker right side, it’s pretty simple really : Tesla can’t paint a car to save their life, that is why! When you need to PPF a 75K car (in Canada) so it’s gets through it’s first winter, it’s a serious problem and Tesla knows it, they just don’t care about it. That is the hard truth.
I owned at least 10 cars and never paid too much attention to paint! Unless there was visible damage, little chips and bits etc. are all just standard wear and tear... I mean they were before Tesla, now it's a national crisis level 6 ;)
So what on earth does 'multi-coat' mean for red????? Hmm.
Exactly. Just a marketing gimmick, I guess.
Some of the worst paint is on the "premium" manufacturers vehicles. Same for gaps. I don't understand why tesla gets such a bad wrap. That doesn't mean they don't have room for improvement. Elon himself said as much.
So why do they chip/flake so easily then ? - There is no doubt these cars are far more more vunerable than any other car I have ever seen. Is it the hardness of the paint or the adhesion that is the problem ?
Probably the main reason is the aerodynamic flow around this part. As flaps reduce efficiency, Tesla didn't provided them. This is an engineering decision - less efficiency/range or less chipping. The best solution is to cover it with film and ditch the flaps :).
@@AndrewSienx That would not explain why the Dec 2020 to current date M3's appear to be suffering a lot more than say Dec 2019.
Flaking or pealing paint is 100% an adhesion problem (fault) between the different layers of paint that seems to occur mainly on the sills. The problem of excess chipping on the flared section of rear wheel arch is a design fact that most car manufactures overcome by applying PPF as standard to these exposed areas. Hardness or thickness of paint is and never was the problem. Paint hardness is determined by the type of clearcoat used, traditionally German cars come with a hard (scratch resistant for auto car washes) and Japanese have soft this is only really relevant for the purpose of polishing and not how the paint reacts by having stones blasted at it.
It’s really good that you did this episode. Thanks for all the work. BUT PLEASE, if you get the paint expert on to talk about something LET HIM SPEAK AND DON’T KEEP TALKING OVER HIM!!! GEEZUS it was annoying to have him on, then have you repeatedly talk over him. As a documentary make of old, I learned to ask a short, clear question and then let the expert speak their whole mind before asking another. You do tend to waffle a little in spite of interesting content. Make a statement and leave it. Keep them concise and on point. If you want to come across as a real expert, which you should be by now, then trust that your opinion is important and worthy of listening to. Sorry to rave and rant. But it’s a common mistake of amateurs to rant.
Well stated, it was very annoying.
I’ve owned a Red refresh M3 for a few months now, I’d love to say the paint is as good as the many other cars I’ve owned but from my experience it simply isn’t. The paint may well be as thick as other cars but the quality seems softer. It’s picked up some stone chips and light scratches far too easily for a brand new car, my daughter bought my previous car off me - a 10 year old VW and embarrassingly the paint work on that is still better than my new Tesla.
Saying all that would I buy a euro car next, not a chance, I love my Tesla too much....just wish the paint work matched up to the price 😳
I know pisses me off I just got one front of the car had minor rock chips but once I started driving it there is rock chips all over the front end for no reason ! Tesla paint is so bad I love the car though
It's actually a very inaccurate device we had one, there is numerous models of the same unit in different colors. People please don't waste your money on this unit.
6:13 - 6:15 The alignment of the bonnet .......
It’s misleading from that angle as the wing drops down to meet the sides of the bonnet. It’s actually fine.
Here in Canada, all Model 3 and Y cars now come from China and are of superb quality. The paint is like you say. That said, I would not complain if my car was a recent one from the U.S.
Not sure why there's a big fuss about these cars being made in China, the quality will be the same as the ones made in the USA, if not better, the Americans have never had a good reputation when it comes to making cars.
There's only one reason Tesla and any other company manufactures in China, and that's to cut costs and increase profits, and Tesla need to make more money simple as.
You are absolutely wrongly informed. Tesla car demand is overwhelming 8n Chinese and Tesla is selling like crazy in China. By building a factory in China, they are avoiding the 30% Chinese Import fees. They are expanding the American manufacturing expertise overseas.
@@MaxxerG it might be, but companies manufacture in China because it's cheaper. Tesla should have gone to the wall years ago only that so many people had billions tired up in it, they have only just turned a profit, musk shouldn't be running the company because of the false information he fed to the stock market yet he's obviously still controlling it.
@@acelectricalsecurity Tesla wouldn’t even exist if it were not for the innovative thinking of Musk so to say that he shouldn’t be running the company isn’t very bright
@@Encourageable that's not me it's the court that ruled that, for telling lies about countries that were going to invest in Tesla, remember he is also backed by Panasonic
@@acelectricalsecurity Companies make profit for shareholders. Are you reading Staline book or Marx proletarian work?