Input From Tesla Owners?

[MRG]

It’s possible that a super large capacity thumb drive might be unplayable in the Tesla. But I have an 8 GB thumb drive and a 16 GB thumb drive that are loaded with mp3s, and they both play fine in my Tesla if I select the USB audio option on the dash screen.

I use a half TB shared between music and video storage. It's not a problem. WTF I'd ever do with a half TB is another thing. I'm old, and that much storage should be on a data center floor, not banging around the console.

 

[joesxm3]

Just like Audrey said, my delivery window has shrunk from 2/8 to 3/8 and is now 2/18 to 3/4.

I a!so had a text suggesting that now that the cap is $80k I can add all the extras that I left off my original order. I might prefer grey, but at this point don't want to add any complications.

 

[TriumphTR3fan]

Just like Audrey said, my delivery window has shrunk from 2/8 to 3/8 and is now 2/18 to 3/4.



I a!so had a text suggesting that now that the cap is $80k I can add all the extras that I left off my original order. I might prefer grey, but at this point don't want to add any complications.

We’re still waiting with a 3/4-3/31 delivery window. No change since we ordered 1/21. We don’t want to make the wait time worse. Delivery dates are now into May. Only a handful of inventory cars(17) & no LR.

 

[Midpack]

Just like Audrey said, my delivery window has shrunk from 2/8 to 3/8 and is now 2/18 to 3/4.

We’re still waiting with a 3/4-3/31 delivery window. No change since we ordered 1/21. We don’t want to make the wait time worse. Delivery dates are now into May.

My EDD is 3/20-31...I just hope it doesn't slide further, but I know it well could. Gives me time to decide how I'm going to wash it to preserve the soft paint.

 

[Ronstar]

My EDD is 3/20-31...I just hope it doesn't slide further, but I know it well could. Gives me time to decide how I'm going to wash it to preserve the soft paint.

My friends had their Tesla covered with a paint protectant. Don't know the details, but I think it cost around $5k.

 

[audreyh1]

DH put a couple of layers of protectant on himself and it certainly didn’t cost $5K. I’ll ask him. He washes our Tesla often, ha ha.

 

[joesxm3]

I just got my VIN assigned and my window changed to 2/24 to 3/3, so I am very close to under the wire for the March cutoff. My VIN says that my car was built in Fremont. I had been hoping for Austin.

I will call for insurance soon. If I just go with my existing GEICO, I can always switch later and get a pro-rated refund, right?

I don't think I will do paint protector, but I think I did see some blemishes on the model Y that the people at church drive. They were on that flat front body part.

I have a couple medical appointments for my parents during this time, so I hope things do not go sideways picking it up.

 

[Midpack]

My friends had their Tesla covered with a paint protectant. Don't know the details, but I think it cost around $5k.

Local shop quoted me $1000 for front and mirrors only, $5500 for the whole car. Even $1000 seems a lot to me. I’ve been looking at the front ends of every Tesla I find in parking lots, and none of them look that bad - but I have no idea if any of them have PPF.

 

[Midpack]

I will call for insurance soon. If I just go with my existing GEICO, I can always switch later and get a pro-rated refund, right?

I couldn’t figure out how to make replace vehicles work with Geico. Not willing to rely on new car grace period. So I’m planning to add a new vehicle just before taking delivery, and then removing old vehicle a day or two later. Looks like I’m going to sell my old vehicle to CarMax or the like. And Geico has to pro-rate!

Good luck with your delivery. There’s no way I’ll get a tax credit…

 

[joesxm3]

I am keeping my old gas car as a backup. No extra insurance cost.

Don't lose hope on the tax credit. The delay is to decide what to do. They still might decide to hold of on the battery requirement until 2024.

I hope I get in under the wire. It would suck to take delivery on 3/1 and miss the credit. I guess I have a 60% chance of delivery in february. I am going to do everything they tell me right away to move things along.

 

[audreyh1]

DH bought and applied a ceramic coating that protects against chemicals like bird dropping. He applied two coats per directions. He also has a slick layer that he hasn’t applied yet.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09SR7V...olid=1LF2B2X5PPGSC&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[Midpack]

DH bought and applied a ceramic coating that protects against chemicals like bird dropping. He applied two coats per directions. He also has a slick layer that he hasn’t applied yet.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09SR7V...olid=1LF2B2X5PPGSC&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

My concern is chips and scratches on the front and hood. Ceramic won’t help that at all. I will probably DIY ceramic or graphene for general protection.

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah, we decided not to try to prevent rock chips or scratches and we didn’t want to leave it at some shop for paint treatment.

 

[joesxm3]

I just added my model Y to my GEICO policy. The guy sounded like a snake oil salesman and I had a hard time following the shell game on the prices.

He offered "mechanical breakdown" for $127/6mo. It seemed like duplicating my warrantee so I skipped it. He said it could be added for a while.

I got emergency road service $2/6mo. Seems useless.

I got rental car that pays $50/day for 30 days at $16/6mo.

He wanted a $500 deductible on comprehensive and collision but I asked for a $2000 deductible. It did not seem to save that much.

I got full glass and he was a bit sketchy about if that included the roof.

He said that the premium for my TSX would go down, but it seems that it $424 is included in the premium for the TSX compared to $414 on my last payment.

The liability part is $290/6mo and I have high limits to go with my umbrella policy.

So, the "full package" would have been $1256.90 / 6 mo. Supposedly $832 of which was for the Tesla.

The price I ended up with was $1014.10. If you subtract $425 for the TSX that is $589 for the Tesla.

When I got the quote for the model 3 LR last year I was told something like $2100/yr for the Tesla and the TSX was added on for free. So I guess when the shell shuffling stops it is about the same.

Any thoughts on what I should change or did wrong?

Thanks.

 

[REWahoo]

Any thoughts on what I should change or did wrong?

Thanks.

Why not contact an independent agent and see what they can do for you?

 

[joesxm3]

I went to upload my insurance information to Tesla and it seems I have to do it using the phone app.

I got a PDF from GEICO and printed it out with my cards on it. But I don't know how to work my phone well enough to email the PDF to the phone and then upload the PDF file.

There was an option to take a picture which I did and I had to enter the information into the text boxes.

It asked for "company number". My card had "NAIC:" I assumed that is the company number?

My delivery window starts on 2/24. The app moved to the next step of requiring payment and saying that I should pay off the balance in advance or it would delay delivery.

I think I have to pay in advance because I have to pick up the car in NY because my state does not allow Tesla to sell.

I want to move things along as fast as possible to get the tax credit, but paying for the car two or three weeks before delivery seems a bit excessive.

I will ACH the money to my checking account today so it will be ready, but I thought that someone would call me when it was time to pay.

 

[audreyh1]

I did not pay until and I had a delivery appointment scheduled (time and date) and I knew my car was at the delivery location, and I had reconfirmed the appointment. It was just a couple of days before my delivery appointment that I paid via the app. You do not have to pay way in advance. Certainly not when you haven’t even received a VIN yet.

How to get documents to the phone - you can email or message them to yourself. Or use iCloud files.

As things got close Tesla texted me and I was able to ask some questions via text.

 

[joesxm3]

I did not pay until and I had a delivery appointment scheduled (time and date) and I knew my car was at the delivery location, and I had reconfirmed the appointment. It was just a couple of days before my delivery appointment that I paid via the app. You do not have to pay way in advance. Certainly not when you haven’t even received a VIN yet.

How to get documents to the phone - you can email or message them to yourself. Or use iCloud files.

As things got close Tesla texted me and I was able to ask some questions via text.

Thanks.

I just did ACH to my checking account and that seems to take a couple days. The bank gets it within a day or so, but the status shows as processing until a nightly batch processing cycle or two goes by. I have never tried to move the ACH money before the processing status cleared.

I will wait to see what they do to contact me. I had been able to call the display room in my state to ask questions, but this time when I said "payment question" I got a long wait voice prompt. I think it shifted me to a national call center. I got sick of waiting.

My car has the ultrasonic sensors disabled and some features will not work for a while due to switching to cameras. The only one that I seem to get is something called "parking assist".

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks.

I just did ACH to my checking account and that seems to take a couple days. The bank gets it within a day or so, but the status shows as processing until a nightly batch processing cycle or two goes by. I have never tried to move the ACH money before the processing status cleared.

I will wait to see what they do to contact me. I had been able to call the display room in my state to ask questions, but this time when I said "payment question" I got a long wait voice prompt. I think it shifted me to a national call center. I got sick of waiting.

My car has the ultrasonic sensors disabled and some features will not work for a while due to switching to cameras. The only one that I seem to get is something called "parking assist".

The Tesla app payment was instantaneous. I had already transferred the funds to my checking account. The Tesla app uses the Plaid interface which is an API that banks use to talk to each other. Through the Tesla app I gave my bank, then the Bank of America UI showed up in the app and walked me through the normal logging in including their 2FA process. It knew I was doing a transaction with Tesla. I thought it was quite secure. Once it was completed the Tesla app showed I had paid.

Texting my area Tesla sales office was the only effective way to communicate with Tesla. Once the VIN was assigned their local delivery specialists were quite responsive to texts. Occasionally a text would come from corporate, but most of the time it was the local delivery folks.

Tesla will contact you once a VIN is assigned. A VIN assigned means that the vehicle is currently being manufactured, or just about to, or just finished. Tesla will likely text you to tell you VIN has been assigned, plus it will show up in the app. Then your car has to be transported to the delivery center. Cross country it travels via the “Tesla Train”. Enclosed car carrier cars three levels packed with Teslas. I found some videos on YouTube.

In addition to the VIN there will be some invoice type papers (sales agreement) you need that will be provided via the app. I got the VIN while the car was in production and then the sales agreement/invoice which had the VIN a couple of days later when apparently the car had exited production.

 

[TriumphTR3fan]

The Tesla app payment was instantaneous. I had already transferred the funds to my checking account. The Tesla app uses the Plaid interface which is an API that banks use to talk to each other. Through the Tesla app I gave my bank, then the Bank of America UI showed up in the app and walked me through the normal logging in including their 2FA process. It knew I was doing a transaction with Tesla. I thought it was quite secure. Once it was completed the Tesla app showed I had paid.

Texting my area Tesla sales office was the only effective way to communicate with Tesla. Once the VIN was assigned their local delivery specialists were quite responsive to texts. Occasionally a text would come from corporate, but most of the time it was the local delivery folks.

Tesla will contact you once a VIN is assigned. A VIN assigned means that the vehicle is currently being manufactured, or just about to, or just finished. Tesla will likely text you to tell you VIN has been assigned, plus it will show up in the app. Then your car has to be transported to the delivery center. Cross country it travels via the “Tesla Train”. Enclosed car carrier cars three levels packed with Teslas. I found some videos on YouTube.

In addition to the VIN there will be some invoice type papers (sales agreement) you need that will be provided via the app. I got the VIN while the car was in production and then the sales agreement/invoice which had the VIN a couple of days later when apparently the car had exited production.

Thanks for a great post. Tesla has streamlined the purchase process compared to a conventional dealership. The price is easy to figure. You either order a specific car or get an “inventory” car. There is much less stress. It is quite different from the normal dealership buying process. No one tries to sell you additional products & since you either make your own financial arrangement or fill out the Tesla financing online well before you get the vehicle it is much smoother.

I saw a report from a credible YouTube reporter that here in Oregon a buyer can get a base standard range rear wheel drive M3 for less than 30k after the federal tax credit & Oregon Clean Vehicle Program rebate. The CVRP rebate has income restrictions for part of the rebate & is limited to a vehicle under 50k so not everyone will pay less than 30k. The MY is slightly above the 50k CVRP price cap. BTW, since the major price reduction there are very few inventory cars in this area.

 

[DayDreaming]

Local shop quoted me $1000 for front and mirrors only, $5500 for the whole car. Even $1000 seems a lot to me. I’ve been looking at the front ends of every Tesla I find in parking lots, and none of them look that bad - but I have no idea if any of them have PPF.

I put PPF on the rear door panels and after 1 year, I'm satisfied that that's all the PPF I need on my car:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09JBFP7XM/
The cost was $40. Doing it myself was pretty easy, but still a bit trickier than you would expect for such a small piece of PPF. Mudflaps on the front wheels are important too, for reducing the amount of debris that would hit the rear door panels.

 

[Midpack]

I put PPF on the rear door panels and after 1 year, I'm satisfied that that's all the PPF I need on my car:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09JBFP7XM/
The cost was $40. Doing it myself was pretty easy, but still a bit trickier than you would expect for such a small piece of PPF. Mudflaps on the front wheels are important too, for reducing the amount of debris that would hit the rear door panels.

I am planning on front mudflaps, and probably the rear door/fender PPF kit too. I probably won't do any pro applied PPF because a) it's awfully expensive, and b) again, I've been looking at every Tesla I see in parking lots lately, and I haven't seen one with an alarming number of stone chips on the front.

I will however, be hand washing the car, something I haven't done since DW's "Brilliant Black" Audi TT-225. It does make a difference.

 

[joesxm3]

Midpack,

Did you get an email about tesla new owner webinars? I got one yesterday.

When you did the test drive was regenerative braking turned on? Was it hard to get used to?

The way things seem to be going, the first time I will sit in tesla is when I pick it up and I will have to drive 100 miles to get home.

 

[audreyh1]

Midpack,

Did you get an email about tesla new owner webinars? I got one yesterday.

When you did the test drive was regenerative braking turned on? Was it hard to get used to?

The way things seem to be going, the first time I will sit in tesla is when I pick it up and I will have to drive 100 miles to get home.

FYI regenerative braking is always on. But you can also use the brake pedal. Tesla has several excellent orientation videos. Definitely watch these first.
https://www.tesla.com/support/videos/watch/essentials-meet-your-model-y

Driving around the parking lot is a good way to try the braking and get used to lack of coasting. And then maybe a short drive out and back to Tesla should get you mostly oriented for your longer drive home. You may want to practice using traffic aware cruise control and autosteer a bit before doing the long drive because these features will really help with long distances.

 

[audreyh1]

I am planning on front mudflaps, and probably the rear door/fender PPF kit too. I probably won't do any pro applied PPF because a) it's awfully expensive, and b) again, I've been looking at every Tesla I see in parking lots lately, and I haven't seen one with an alarming number of stone chips on the front.

I will however, be hand washing the car, something I haven't done since DW's "Brilliant Black" Audi TT-225. It does make a difference.

Yes, DH hand washes now. Frequently too! Like we are no longer allowed to go anywhere unless the car is clean, ha ha. He got an exterior car duster that helps a lot too. It’s dry and dusty here.

We did get the front tire mudflats as soon as they were available. I think they’ve really helped.

We have a couple of teeny tiny chips in front. They are very hard to see. 10,0000+ miles with some serious cross country driving over 8 months.