Input From Tesla Owners?

[Midpack]

Test drove one this morning, DW drove too - ordered on the spot. Now I just have to figure out whether to sell my car outright or trade-in at Tesla. Driving it was an amazing experience, I could go into detail but to summarize it was just one pleasant surprise after another driving the car. On the way home DW said, this car (my '22 Hyundai Santa Fe) feels noisy and cheap now...

 

[audreyh1]

We traded in separately. I got tired of having to update the odometer reading every month which also changes the offer, and CarMax offered us a slightly better quote anyway. The ancient Jeep wasn’t worth much. So after carefully going over the Tesla at delivery and accepting it, we dropped the Jeep off at CarMax on the way home.

The delivery process is a bit cleaner if you don’t have to deal with a trade in. On the other hand in some states there can be considerable sales tax savings on a trade-in, especially if you have a recent model.

People got in trouble too selling their car first in anticipation of a delivery which got delayed. Probably not as bad now. When did they estimate delivery?

Glad you both enjoyed your test drives. That’s awesome!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who will enjoy hearing more details of your experience.

 

[Midpack]

We traded in separately. I got tired of having to update the odometer reading every month which also changes the offer, and CarMax offered us a slightly better quote anyway. The ancient Jeep wasn’t worth much. So after carefully going over the car at delivery and accepting it, we dropped the Jeep off at CarMax on the way home.

The delivery process is a bit cleaner if you don’t have to deal with a trade in. On the other hand in some states there can be considerable sales tax savings on a trade-in, especially if you have a recent model.

People got in trouble too selling their car first in anticipation of a delivery which got delayed. Probably not as bad now. When did they estimate delivery?

Glad you both enjoyed your test drives. That’s awesome!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who will enjoys hearing more details of your experience.

They estimate delivery Feb-Mar, but the guys said deliveries have been coming in sooner than projected lately. OTOH I assume their backlog is growing with the price reduction/potential tax credit so deliveries my extend. The base price went up $500 in the last day or two.

I got an online trade in quote that was WAY higher than Tesla, more than offset the added sales tax, so I am sure I'll end up going that route. I wonder how much advance notice I will get on the actual delivery date when the time comes?

I've already made some contacts to add a NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage.

BTW there was a red Model X on the showroom floor, absolutely gorgeous. A deeper red than I'd remembered.

 

[rodi]

Just a passing thought that is not Tesla specific - but EV related. A family in our neighborhood had their EV plugged into a power bank (not Tesla Wall). A fire started and burned most of their house as well as their car. The wall bank was not the recommended one by the car manufacturer so the car company said "not our problem". The battery bank people, even though they had stated it was compatible for car charging that car, said the car must have been out of spec - and said "not our problem". The family had different homeowners coverage than auto insurance coverage - and the two companies are still blaming the other one and the family has only had partial pay out for their significant losses. The company's are suing each other. The family had to dip into savings to rebuild their home after more than a year of bickering.

So - if you have EV charging in your garage, it's probably best to have the same auto/home insurance provider so it doesn't matter if it was caused by the car, the charger (which is attached to the house) or whatever...

Like I said, not Tesla specific.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

My results were the opposite of most of you.

Tesla offered me $1,750 more than a car dealership and Carvana offered.

Perhaps because I sold a Model 3?

I also got cheaper car insurance through them than from Farmers, my previous insurer.

 

[audreyh1]

They estimate delivery Feb-Mar, but the guys said deliveries have been coming in sooner than projected lately. OTOH I assume their backlog is growing with the price reduction/potential tax credit so deliveries my extend. The base price went up $500 in the last day or two.

I got an online trade in quote that was WAY higher than Tesla, more than offset the added sales tax, so I am sure I'll end up going that route. I wonder how much advance notice I will get on the actual delivery date when the time comes?

I've already made some contacts to add a NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage.

BTW there was a red Model X on the showroom floor, absolutely gorgeous. A deeper red than I'd remembered.

You start getting notice a few of weeks ahead. You may get a 2 to 3 week date range which gradually narrows, then you’ll be assigned a VIN which means your car is being built right then, and finally given a more firm delivery date. This last bit can happen fast. Once the VIN is assigned you can get your ducks in a row including insurance. The service center will call you or text you to arrange your delivery appointment and work with you to complete any pre-delivery tasks. A lot of this is done via their phone app. You need to go ahead and get the app if you haven’t already because this is the best way to watch your delivery date, plus you need it at delivery too. So will your DW.

Lots of threads regarding Model Y delivery, waiting rooms, etc. Maybe you’ll find something useful here: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/forums/model-y-ordering-production-delivery.305/

Yep, the new red is deeper, particularly in the shade. . We love it. I think the midnight silver metallic (MSM) is also gorgeous.

 

[ls99]

Behold the deer, the deadliest beast in North America

Need legislation to outlaw deer. Can't have them cause such carnage.

 

[audreyh1]

Just a passing thought that is not Tesla specific - but EV related. A family in our neighborhood had their EV plugged into a power bank (not Tesla Wall). A fire started and burned most of their house as well as their car. The wall bank was not the recommended one by the car manufacturer so the car company said "not our problem". The battery bank people, even though they had stated it was compatible for car charging that car, said the car must have been out of spec - and said "not our problem". The family had different homeowners coverage than auto insurance coverage - and the two companies are still blaming the other one and the family has only had partial pay out for their significant losses. The company's are suing each other. The family had to dip into savings to rebuild their home after more than a year of bickering.

So - if you have EV charging in your garage, it's probably best to have the same auto/home insurance provider so it doesn't matter if it was caused by the car, the charger (which is attached to the house) or whatever...

Like I said, not Tesla specific.

I have separate insurance and I’m not worried about your particular scenario. If such rare sh!t happens to us, so be it.

FWIW the Tesla connects to our RV port through the Tesla Mobile Connector which is designed specifically for such a NEMA 14-50 connection and has smarts in-line with the power connection to the car.

We do also have the Tesla wall connector which we will eventually have installed. Right now the 32A 14-50 charges plenty fast.

 

[twaddle]

I've already made some contacts to add a NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage.

In case it wasn't obvious, they have two chargers: a wall charger and a mobile charger. The mobile charger can plug into a 14-50, but it maxes out at 32A.

The wall charger is hard-wired and maxes out at 48A. So, if you want fast level-2 charging, the wall charger and a 60A breaker are the way to go.

That said, a standard 120V outlet and the mobile charger are fine for casual overnight charging. 32A and the 14-50 will be between those 2 options and plenty fast.

 

[audreyh1]

FWIW our Model X charges at 26mph via our RV 14-50 connection at 32A. That’s actually fast enough for us. The Model Y will charge even faster.

The wall connector supplies more current, but we don’t really need faster charging. It’s really more about having a self-contained unit since we park outside in covered parking and a more convenient location to plug in.

 

[Luvtoride]

Mid/ Audrey, We replaced two leased cars with Teslas in 2022. Each time, we submitted our leased vehicle onto Kelly Blue Book online for a price quote. Besides the fair quote for the value of our cars, they referred us to 3 local dealerships which were interested in buying our cars. This was at the time when used car prices were at their highest. We were able to sell our leased cars to the dealer who paid us close to the KBB price which was well above our lease payoff amount. In both cases we saved paying sales tax on the sale and we received checks for the equity amount over the payoff amount. A very good deal for a leased car.

As for charging, I would follow twaddle's response and go with a Level 2 charger wired into your circuit box. I have a ChargePoint Flex charger wired into a 50 amp circuit which charges my MYP (and our M3) at 40 Amps. I charge at about 35 MPH overnight which works very well for us.

 

[Midpack]

In case it wasn't obvious, they have two chargers: a wall charger and a mobile charger. The mobile charger can plug into a 14-50, but it maxes out at 32A.

The wall charger is hard-wired and maxes out at 48A. So, if you want fast level-2 charging, the wall charger and a 60A breaker are the way to go.

That said, a standard 120V outlet and the mobile charger are fine for casual overnight charging. 32A and the 14-50 will be between those 2 options and plenty fast.

Thanks, I did pick up on that. I will charge almost exclusively at home overnight off peak, so 32A will be more than fast enough. I will have a 40A or maybe even a (future proof?) 60A breaker added to my panel. I also figured I may need the mobile connector or a CCS adapter to charge away from home, though I don't plan to road trip much with the EV. That's what the remaining HEV is for...

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah, definitely take the mobile connector on a road trip. We used it with a 110 outlet at my sister’s house, super slow but it did make up for the short local trips from the farm. Also if you ever get into trouble you can always stop at an RV park and beg, ha ha.

The A Better Route Planner app is well worth it for planning trips and even just running what-ifs ahead of time (without having to sit in your car). It certainly gives you a good idea of what your options are along a certain route, and it recommends charging times and amounts and lets you configure things like how much arrival charge you want at any destination or waypoint. The Tesla navigation will recommend what they consider an efficient route with superchargers given your destination, but you can easily override by selecting other superchargers along the route.

If you’re not road-tripping in your EV the above is moot.

 

[MRG]

In addition to your connectors, it's good to have a tire inflation device. I've started carrying one in both vehicles. Mine fits nicely stuffed in the rear wells behind the rear wheel. The other side accommodates the charger, too.

 

[DayDreaming]

Test drove one this morning, DW drove too - ordered on the spot. Now I just have to figure out whether to sell my car outright or trade-in at Tesla. Driving it was an amazing experience, I could go into detail but to summarize it was just one pleasant surprise after another driving the car. On the way home DW said, this car (my '22 Hyundai Santa Fe) feels noisy and cheap now...

That was my first impression too - I can't believe how quite the car is, is it even 'on'?!

FWIW, I kept my old car listed as a trade-in with Tesla, but when my Model Y was ready for pick up, I sold the old car to Carvana instead because they gave me a lot more. It's no problem at all to remove your trade-in from the Tesla purchase, but from what I was told, it would be a pain to add a trade-in to your purchase at the last moment.

 

[audreyh1]

I think people have added their car as a trade-in at the last minute - they certainly check and give you an opportunity to do so. And it’s the same work as the original process as far as I can tell. You have to wait for a quote, but that doesn’t take long so I suppose it could slow things down a day or two.

 

[joesxm3]

Midpack, what color did you order? I ordered white because I thought that they might just turn on the machine and pump out white ones if they were swamped.

Maybe I should have ordered a color or expensive wheels if they might prioritize vehicle total price. But I wanted as thick as possible tires due to crappy roads.

 

[Alan]

I did seriously consider a Tesla but the nearest dealer ito us is 54 miles away and 71 miles is the next closest. I see plenty around our small town including parked on driveways so folks are prepared to do the distance.

The Tesla model Y has overtaken the Model 3 in the UK market of 2022 which was the 2021 best seller in the EV market.

I will continue to enjoy reading threads like these. Maybe next time...

https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/the-uks-best-selling-electric-cars-of-2022/

EV sales rose by 40% in 2022 – a sales surge led by fleet owners and business buyers who bought two-thirds of these new cars. Their model of choice? The Tesla Model Y, which outsold all other EVs on the market by a considerable margin, with another 15,000 more registrations than 2021’s best-selling electric car, the Tesla Model 3.

Tesla continues to be the brand that the majority of UK buyers turn to when they are interested in making the all-electric switch, but other manufacturers from across the industry also recorded impressive EV sales figures last year as they continue to introduce more innovative and affordable electric cars to the market.

 

[tulak]

This thread makes me want to buy a Model Y. I should put it on my ignore list. [emoji2]

Congrats on the purchase!

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, I also want to know what color you ordered.

 

[joesxm3]

If it were model 3, my choice would be grey or blue. But I saw a grey model Y and did not like it as much as the grey 3. For some reason white seems to fit model Y. I think it makes me think of the shuttle pods I see in science fiction movies.

 

[audreyh1]

I don’t care for white, but it’s a popular color because there sure are a lot of them on the road. Maybe dealers stock a lot of white cars.

When we briefly had a Model Y on order we went with the very pretty Midnight Silver Metallic which was also a free color. We generally avoid really dark colors due to the intense TX sun.

 

[twaddle]

I agree that white with black trim suits the Model Y and its Orca shape.

 

[TriumphTR3fan]

I don’t care for white, but it’s a popular color because there sure are a lot of them on the road. Maybe dealers stock a lot of white cars.

When we briefly had a Model Y on order we went with the very pretty Midnight Silver Metallic which was also a free color. We generally avoid really dark colors due to the intense TX sun.

I think the reason we see so many white Teslas is because most people don’t want to pay extra for another color. I ordered a white MYLR on 1/21. After she stated a preference for a blue one I said to my DW I could order a blue one for her as a Valentines Day present & she said no, that there were other things she could do with the money. I know if we had a choice of standard colors we would have picked something else. The recent $500 price increase eliminates the red color if the buyer wants to be eligible for the federal tax credit. That’s an effective price change of $10,000. Ouch.

 

[audreyh1]

When we ordered a Y the very pretty grey (MSM) was no no extra charge.

But my reference was to cars in general - loads of white cars on the road and in dealers lots.