Today was delivery day! Just back from a 7 hour round trip to the nearest dealer in Portland, Oregon (at least until they finally open the new dealership in my home town around the end of this year).
My car was in perfect condition with no panel gaps or other obvious issues other than two pieces of green tape and one smudge on headliner, which Tesla easily remedied in 2 minutes. They even helped me look for panel gaps and paint swirls. The staff in Portland was very friendly and helpful, however brief my interactions with them were.
I did have a problem getting the Tesla app to recognize my car. The app just kept displaying a totally black screen. I tried force-quitting the app on my iPhone and launching it again (multiple times). But ultimately, the fix was to delete the app and download a fresh copy-- which then worked flawlessly.
On drive back, I got a "turn signal fault" warning, so I scheduled a mobile service appointment to fix that next week and install the HomeLink garage door opener at the same time.
The car was a blast to drive home around the twisty turny sections of my trip. One pedal driving is a complete game changer on these kinds of roads; no more switching between acceleration and braking-- just ease off the accelerator slightly when approaching the curve, then pedal down again to power through the corner. It was a little funny watching the brake lights of the cars ahead of me. And the low center of gravity keeps the Model 3 well-planted and confident in the turns-- even better than the Audi A4 Allroad (in sport mode) that I came from. As you all know: Tesla acceleration is smooth and instant; perfect for passing people quickly to avert danger.
Coming from a vehicle with Apple CarPlay, I was a little apprehensive about how to get my carefully curated personal music playlists working on the Tesla. But Bluetooth streaming from the phone to the car is actually quite good. The audio quality/fidelity is excellent, with all songs in the current playlist displayed on the Tesla screen along with album art, and switching tracks works as you would expect. The only downside is not being able to browse/choose playlists using the large, gorgeous Tesla screen. But Apple's Siri works just fine for requesting a specific playlist (from either my iPhone or Apple Watch). Perhaps someday Tesla will add Apple Music as an audio source, but in the interim, Bluetooth streaming from the iPhone is pretty painless and effective.
I also did not miss Apple Carplay's Maps navigation feature all all. Tesla's navigation is top-notch; made even better with Supercharger waypoint integration-- although, I did not have to use a Supercharger on this 3+ hour trip home. I arrived home with 25% battery remaining. The dealer had charged my car to 90% before I arrived for delivery.
All in all, it took just over 8 weeks from order date to delivery. I can certainly relate to (and commiserate with) many folks in this forum having uncertainly about un/changing EDDs (mine sporadically changed nearly a dozen times over two months, it fits and starts). But as others in this forum have consistently said: this is well worth the wait, folks. The driving is exhilarating, exciting, yet strangely serene.
OK, time to move out this waiting room and into the "Parts for Sale" forum and find some winter tires and rims. My best to all of you, and welcome to the club!
And, yeah, I realize that the accompaning photos are not the most flattering view of my new car. But that's where they parked it, so that's where we first photographed it. Plus: I was too into the inspection at that point.
My best to all of you. Thanks to others in my cohort who helped me get through the last two months of waiting.
