egandalf
Well-known member
- First Name
- James
- Joined
- May 18, 2020
- Threads
- 3
- Messages
- 250
- Reaction score
- 700
- Location
- 41144
- Vehicles
- 2010 Toyota Tacoma
Primarily that a casual inspection won't identify any issues on either vehicle. A more thorough visual inspection might notice that some gaps aren't perfectly even from end-to-end. No obvious panel misalignments, no panels jutting out from the body more than others. At least on my car.Toyotas are well made vehicles. What's your criteria for fit and finish?
I didn't use calipers or a gauge on either vehicle, if that's what you're asking. I don't claim to be a pro, here.
The Toyota had some noticeable, but not terrible, orange peel. The same is true on the Tesla, but it's white so it's harder to tell without inspecting closely. Neither has enough to bother me.
The orange peel on my 12yo Tacoma is horrendous, but that's a much older vehicle.
How do you mean?Your newer Model Y replaced an older
Toyota. That's not an apples to apples comparison for fit and finish.
I'm comparing a reasonably new (2017) Highlander to a brand new Model Y. The former is from an established manufacturer and a vehicle that's been in production for a long time. The latter is a new manufacturer on an only moderately established production line (Fremont) for the specific model.
In this case, I would expect the highlander to have the advantage, not the Tesla.
I disagree, but I think it may be subjective to one's level of sensitivity. Is Tesla objectively worse in fit & finish? Possibly, but without taking a gauge and appropriate sample size of vehicles off the line in the same window of time, neither you nor I can say that with any authority one way or the other.The complaint of Tesla's fit and finish (whatever that means) is not overstated today. Tesla has improved, but still has a ways to go before "Fit and Finish" comparisons can be made with a Toyota/Lexus.
The real problem with my statement was that it was apparently based on a sample size of one, which is a pitfall most people fall into ("it works for me" mentality).
I'm not an auto pro nor a detailer, so what you notice and what I notice might be wildly different.
But I also disagree based on the lack of issues I've seen in the communities I follow for specifically Model Y fit & finish issues. Are there no issues? Or are there no complaints? Those are separate concerns.
There's also the confirmation bias that comes into play where people tend to look more closely at the Tesla than they do the Toyota, in general. By that I mean that the typical Toyota buyer will barely scrutinize panel gaps. Whereas the typical Tesla buyer has likely done more homework, heard of these issues, and will be more likely to go searching for them.
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