5 Year Ownership Experience
(Moderator’s move this thread if already exists, please).
As 2017 rolls to close, many of us have now experienced five years of ownership of a single Tesla. This is perhaps the key metric for all cars and car companies: the five your ownership experience. Performance. Quality. Recalls. Battery. Drivetrain. Bodywork. Interior and trim. Cost of ownership. JOO (Joy of ownership).
Model S production #1845 arrived at my doorstep on a semi truck (yes a diesel semi truck) five years ago this morning.
In brief:
Unbadged, Midnight blue,
85kWh type “A” battery.
About the 18th car after Signatures, Friends and Family, Canadian Sigs.
113,000 miles.
340 wH/mi average energy use.
Initial range 264, now 244 (full charge).
41 MWh energy total use (needs confirmation, based on recent estimate).
States: 15
Children’s first car driven: 3
Rides by complete curbside stranger without me in the car: 1. Age: 19.
But you should have seen his smile.
Cost of ownership:
Excluding tires, $1953.
What? Yes. That was for a parking brake and a new 12V battery, the latter three days ago. All else covered by warranty. Everything. 133,000 miles.
Total fuel cost for 113,000 miles of driving.
Year 1: $480 for 24,000 miles.
Years 2-5:
$44/month average x 48 months $2112
40MWh of Solar production = Gain of $13,000 after all SREC/utility buy-back over 4 years.
Total fuel cost to date for 113,000 miles of driving: $480 + $2112 + vacation home $600, Minus cost of panels/installation $14K, plus SREC/utility buy-back at $13K:
$3192 - $1000: $2192
(This includes solar panels being paid for, of course Solar panels and car still running...).
That’s 1.9 cents per mile for fuel.
Service: Watertown Service Center, Massachusetts.
Overall experience outstanding and consistent, despite being, I believe, undersupported in a space smaller than they deserve.
Early car, had all the previously established early problems. Doorhandles have been replaced. Charging ring replaced once. Drivetrain replaced a couple of times in just the first 60,000 miles: Milling sound, clunking sound, as each well reported on this form. Current drive train has over 50,000 miles. Sunroof was sticky in closing, fixed remotely from Fremont while I slept.
Break calipers froze at 20,000 miles because I hadn’t use the breaks
Touch screen died at 99,000 miles.
Many factory planned upgrades and recalls: Teflon under plate for the battery, and many other Tesla Service Bulletins. Strut replaced. As above, parking brake caliper replaced recently, as was 12 V battery.
Cost: $1953 total, for 113,000 miles.
Last gas pump use: December 12, 2012. Lowell Massachusetts.
Last oil change: early November, 2012.
Software updates: Many many since version 1.1, and far too many to list here. But it’s not just GUI or bling: faster acceleration, speed–adjusted steering modifications, regenerative braking modification, suspension height safety modifications. What the new buyer needs to know here is that these updates continue, And continue to make the car newer and better every day. As of last week, my new, five-year-old Tesla adjusts the seat position as for easy entry as I approach the car, and then moves right back into place as I take off.
Let me know what else you like to hear.
Five-year, continuous owners, post your stories here.
And I’ll say it again, as I first said back in 2012:
Of all the things in life that don’t really matter, this is the best.
And, as Tesla accelerates the advent of electric transport, yes I know – it really does matter.
Photo: Tesla Service Watertown this week, celebrating five years of service, raising a glass of holiday champagne.
(Moderator’s move this thread if already exists, please).
As 2017 rolls to close, many of us have now experienced five years of ownership of a single Tesla. This is perhaps the key metric for all cars and car companies: the five your ownership experience. Performance. Quality. Recalls. Battery. Drivetrain. Bodywork. Interior and trim. Cost of ownership. JOO (Joy of ownership).
Model S production #1845 arrived at my doorstep on a semi truck (yes a diesel semi truck) five years ago this morning.
In brief:
Unbadged, Midnight blue,
85kWh type “A” battery.
About the 18th car after Signatures, Friends and Family, Canadian Sigs.
113,000 miles.
340 wH/mi average energy use.
Initial range 264, now 244 (full charge).
41 MWh energy total use (needs confirmation, based on recent estimate).
States: 15
Children’s first car driven: 3
Rides by complete curbside stranger without me in the car: 1. Age: 19.
But you should have seen his smile.
Cost of ownership:
Excluding tires, $1953.
What? Yes. That was for a parking brake and a new 12V battery, the latter three days ago. All else covered by warranty. Everything. 133,000 miles.
Total fuel cost for 113,000 miles of driving.
Year 1: $480 for 24,000 miles.
Years 2-5:
$44/month average x 48 months $2112
40MWh of Solar production = Gain of $13,000 after all SREC/utility buy-back over 4 years.
Total fuel cost to date for 113,000 miles of driving: $480 + $2112 + vacation home $600, Minus cost of panels/installation $14K, plus SREC/utility buy-back at $13K:
$3192 - $1000: $2192
(This includes solar panels being paid for, of course Solar panels and car still running...).
That’s 1.9 cents per mile for fuel.
Service: Watertown Service Center, Massachusetts.
Overall experience outstanding and consistent, despite being, I believe, undersupported in a space smaller than they deserve.
Early car, had all the previously established early problems. Doorhandles have been replaced. Charging ring replaced once. Drivetrain replaced a couple of times in just the first 60,000 miles: Milling sound, clunking sound, as each well reported on this form. Current drive train has over 50,000 miles. Sunroof was sticky in closing, fixed remotely from Fremont while I slept.
Break calipers froze at 20,000 miles because I hadn’t use the breaks
Touch screen died at 99,000 miles.
Many factory planned upgrades and recalls: Teflon under plate for the battery, and many other Tesla Service Bulletins. Strut replaced. As above, parking brake caliper replaced recently, as was 12 V battery.
Cost: $1953 total, for 113,000 miles.
Last gas pump use: December 12, 2012. Lowell Massachusetts.
Last oil change: early November, 2012.
Software updates: Many many since version 1.1, and far too many to list here. But it’s not just GUI or bling: faster acceleration, speed–adjusted steering modifications, regenerative braking modification, suspension height safety modifications. What the new buyer needs to know here is that these updates continue, And continue to make the car newer and better every day. As of last week, my new, five-year-old Tesla adjusts the seat position as for easy entry as I approach the car, and then moves right back into place as I take off.
Let me know what else you like to hear.
Five-year, continuous owners, post your stories here.
And I’ll say it again, as I first said back in 2012:
Of all the things in life that don’t really matter, this is the best.
And, as Tesla accelerates the advent of electric transport, yes I know – it really does matter.
Photo: Tesla Service Watertown this week, celebrating five years of service, raising a glass of holiday champagne.
