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Comment by marcinzm | Hacker News Reader

You jack up the car and look at details of the underbody every time you buy a factory new car?

Tesla is refusing to fix the issue:

>The lawyer is now asking Tesla out of court for a new delivery, i.e. for an exchange. But Tesla's reaction is anything but customer-friendly: the cosmetic impairments are on the underside of the vehicle and are therefore irrelevant. To fix this you would have to replace the entire battery unit, which you are welcome to do - but only at the expense of Stocker himself!

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Is it purely cosmetic? It's quoted as Tesla's claim but it's not clear whether this is disputed. "Cracks" in the underbody (I first assumed paint when I saw the title) sounded much more serious.

Edit: translated the article and this being cosmetic is actually the core of the dispute. Since it won't pass the first safety inspection, it seems obviously false and the product is not usable as one could reasonably have expect and thus Tesla will have to fix it or refund the car under European consumer law as I know it (not sure if there are exceptions for vehicles).

It doesn't seem cosmetic as, if I read correctly, an expert failed to pass the car for German car safety standards during an inspection. Despite that Tesla isn't going to fix it.

I know nothing about German law, so sincere question - does enough of these issues cause Germany to ban sale of these cars in their country?

The article also states that an expert "consultant" thinks the car will not pass the German roadworthiness inspection and will not be allowed to drive on public roads thereafter (which has to happen every 2 years?). It's like CA smog plus general inspection of every system including structural integrity and even headlights.

> You jack up the car and look at details of the underbody every time you buy a factory new car?

I know you are being facetious but yes I do. Why wouldn't I inspect thoroughly? Or get it professionally done? I have never bought a car, or a home, brand new or used, without a proper inspection.

How is Tesla meant to know this guy didn't damage it himself? Please tell me how you would handle it in your business and how long you think you'd remain solvent.

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