After 376 days, the day finally arrived! I picked up my Model S and couldn’t have been happier with the experience of delivery day and my car. Some initial thoughts and impressions for those who are waiting for their big day:
- Communication - the closer you get to delivery day, the more frequent the communications. Within the 2 weeks of delivery, I received 5 text messages and four emails and then within the last two days, I received two calls, one an automated message confirming delivery date/time and the second call from a delivery coordinator who was calling to confirm personal information before printing out the paperwork I needed to sign at the service center. Looking back on the year-long wait, my EDD changed over nine times and I only knew that the changes had happened by looking at my account each Monday morning. Sometimes it was very frustrating because date ranges would change to weeks where I was going to be out of town or even out of the country. I placed my order online and never used a sales advisor, so I never attempted to talk to someone live. This forum was a HUGE help to get a sanity check on what was going on and what to anticipate. I definitely didn’t feel the need to call anyone… I like the low touch process, and in the environment of supply chain delays, there’s no way Tesla could efficiently have people at scale fielding calls to answer status questions, but I do think that when you place the order, Tesla could send customers an automated email that explains what to expect while waiting (what kind of communications and frequency of communications to expect, etc). I think an automated email to let you know when your EDD has changed with some pithy words of encouragement would go a long way assuaging anxiety of customers.
- Delivery Process - after you get your VIN, the app starts to become useful with its workflow of loading information. One of those tasks is loading proof of insurance with a photo of insurance card. I didn’t necessarily understand how the process would work with my insurance company that I was going to be asking them to send me an insurance card ahead of actually having the car in my possession or paying for coverage before the car arrived, so when I called my agent, I started to explain the situation and they were very familiar with the Tesla process. We set the effective date as the delivery date and they were happy to email me a digital card that I could load. They were fully experienced with delivery delays happening and assured me that if the date got pushed, they’d be happy to change my effective date if needed. Payment was a little buggy. I didn’t finance my car, so I can’t speak to that process. The app uses an external service integrated in the app that allows you to link to a bank account to facilitate the payment. My first three attempts just spun and then errored out. After each attempt, I logged into the bank account I was using to make sure it hadn’t withdrawn the money before I tried again. On my fourth attempt, it finally succeeded. For the delivery appointment, the app integrates back to the Tesla website. I was presented with only three days to choose from, each day expands with all of the time slots available. Once you select a day and time and confirm, it then populates your app as well as a confirmation email. On delivery day, once I arrived and walked in the center, I was approached and asked if I was there to pick up a car. I told them my name and they quickly confirmed it in the system and the person who was assigned to coordinate my delivery was waiting for me. He was extremely friendly and had my paper work printed and ready. I pulled my license out to verify I was me, and he smiled and said he didn’t need it, he showed me a print out of my license in his folder (I forgot that I had to load a pic of my license when I ordered the car). He explained the process that he’d have me go out and inspect the car before accepting delivery on the app and signing the paperwork. He had the air conditioning already turned on and popped the trunk so that I knew which car was mine. Once I was good with the car, I accepted delivery on the app and went back inside and signed three documents. We then went back outside and he walked me through setting up my phone and my key cards and then customizing my settings in my profile. Once I was good, we shook hands and I was off. The process took all of 25 minutes. I can’t ever remember getting out of a car dealership in under 3.5 hours when purchasing a car… what an awesome experience!
- Car quality - having 1+ years to wait on my car, I saw way too many YouTube videos and posts on how to inspect the car… I went over it with an eagle eye and was anticipating that I’d find something, but to my surprise, the car was perfect… no panel gaps, no trim issues, no paint issues… no interior issues, no rattles, nothing. Never had nothing been so awesome!
- Included with the car - I’ve seen a lot of posts around charger and fobs… so I was curious to see what would be included. Although I had a home charger installed back in April, I was hoping that the mobile charger would be included (and it was based on my order date)… not sure how often I’ll use it, but on road trips where we spend the night at places like a mountain cabin or a beach home miles away from a super charger, it’s comforting to know I have ability to plug in. It didn’t come with a 1540 adapter - so I’m going to purchase one (my childhood friend lives in the boondocks and has a dryer outlet in this garage that I’ll use when we go to visit). Missing from the car were fobs… not that I’d ever use it for personal use, but I’m not sure how I feel giving a valet one of my cards to keep up with when we go to a restaurant… but not a deal breaker. Tires - Yes… summer tires are still on delivered cars with 20 days left in summer. I live in Atlanta and have never owned a car where I needed multiple sets of tires like is needed in the northeast, so I was hoping the cars being delivered in September would have come with all season tires. Later into November, I’ll probably get a set of all-seasons. I’ll just need to decide if I get extra wheels to easily put the summer tires back on when it warms up.
- First Drive impressions - (AP) I purchased enhanced auto pilot, but haven’t used it yet… AP is disabled for the first 25 miles so the cameras can calibrate… I’m past 25 miles now, so I’ll try it out soon. (Yoke) When the refresh came out, I remember all the bad reviews from Car & Driver, Road & Track, etc. and YouTube videos slamming the yoke… I know that opinions are like noses (everyone had one), but I LOVE it. It’s extremely easy to use and very comfortable with both hands. (Audio/Sound) My 16 year old daughter went with me to pick up the car and announced that she was going to put together a playlist for the inaugural drive home. I’m blessed because she is a huge classic rock fan. The first song on her list in honor of the car being black was Back in Black from AC/DC… let’s just say that the speakers in this car are symphonic bliss. We stopped along the way home to pick up a couple of sodas (ironically at a QuikTrip nonetheless) there was a car near us that was blasting their stereo and we couldn’t hear it until we opened the doors to the car. I actually shut the car door and opened it a couple of times marveling at the noise reduction. (Power/Acceleration) I have a traffic signal about 1/2 mile from the house. About 1500 ft past the signal, the road goes from 4 lane to 2 lane and merges from right lane into left lane. Everyone who drives locally in the area knows this and just lines up in the left lane at the light, but every now and then, you get the jerk who needs to drive up to the light in the right lane and gun it to get in front of everyone. I was sitting at the light (in the front) when a new corvette comes around everyone on the right side next to me. I started laughing and my daughter asked me why I was laughing so hard. I said, “wait for it…” The light turned green and I waited for him to move first and then I pounced and smoked the poor guy. It has to be the greatest cheap thrill I’ve had in years and it was on the first drive home… I didn’t buy the car to hot rod around, so I’ll need to keep this in mind!
- Next up - I’m going to enjoy driving around this holiday weekend and then on Tuesday it’s going in for Full XPEL PPF, ceramic and window tints at AP3 here in Atlanta. I know there’s a lot of debate on this topic, but I kept my last two cars 14 and 12 years… so my plan is to have this car no less than 10 and I’m one of those kinds of people who have anxiety on dings, chips and swirls… the time eliminated from me obsessing on a paint job over 10 years will be worth the cost. I’ll plan to share my experiences once I get it back.
Best wishes to everyone patiently waiting for their car. Please feel free to ask any questions and I’ll be happy to share any other experiences that might help!
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