An introduction and a few questions...

[WayneG]

Hi,

I'm based in Manchester and new to the world of Tesla. I've just handed back a Model S after a 24 hour test drive, and I really enjoyed it. Of course, it's the type of car that requires a proper test as it's very different from what I've owned in the past, in terms of both tech and cost.

The test car I had a was a 100 model (not the fastest one), and it was pretty loaded, including an electric sunroof and the premium pack with HEPA, sound system, heated steering wheel etc.

However, the 100 series would be out of my price range, but they did offer me a 75d which is a lovely looking car, that doesn't have the Premium kit, and only has a glass roof that doesn't open. Truth be told, I preferred the solid roof, although I'd hate to get a stone chip in it!! However I wondered if I'd really miss the Premium features... in other words, would any of you walk away from a car that didn't have the premium pack, but looked how you'd spec it yourself?

Also, the 0-60mph times sound similar on paper, but how's about the 50-70 range etc. Am I going to see a noticeable difference in torque/mid-range "shove" in the real world?

The salesperson told me that servicing once per year is recommended, but it's just that, a "recommendation". I understand there's no fluids such as oil in the car, but I posed the question of "if I never service it, and come to you in three years to trade in, would it affect my value?". He told me "it wouldn't change anything at all". Is this correct?

He told me brakes last a lot longer than a non-EV which makes sense, but is it the case?

I hear there's a new v9 software on the horizon but have features such as the in-built dash-cam been confirmed? That sounds great, instead of extra camera wiring etc, but I haven't seen what else will change and whether rumours abound with Tesla updates but don't come through (just like they do when a new iPhone etc is released)?

I see on certain YouTube videos that US citizens can save $1000USD with a code when purchasing, but I take it there's nothing like that in the UK? The car will come with free supercharging for life (one person told me it was an end-of-quarter offer, but another sales person seemed to suggest they can just get a code at any point for that), and I'd get a free home charger unit, but would have to pay around £300 to install it. Dies that seem correct?

Finally, are there any things to know about? Anything at all from issues to must-have features etc. Treat me like the total newbie that I am

Any help at all would be hugely appreciated, thanks!!

 

[firewire]

Welcome to the forums WayneG. I have chosen a 75D as well and the funny thing is my sales guy said it was very important to opt for the yearly servicing as it would affect my trade in price later if I did not. I've been hearing the same rumors as you regarding the camera as my sales guy said it's coming very soon but then again no one knows for sure.

I think free charging has been continued again for inventory cars according to this article: Tesla brings back free Supercharging to inventory cars and Model 3 to help sell cars in end of quarter rush

I think the must have features would be sub-zero weather package and air suspension and enhanced auto pilot. Just make sure they don't give you a showroom/demo car.

He told me brakes last a lot longer than a non-EV which makes sense, but is it the case?

Yes, I was told the regenerative braking would definitely save wear and tear on the brakes as you wouldn't need to use the brakes as much as in a normal car.

 

[WayneG]

Welcome to the forums WayneG. I have chosen a 75D as well and the funny thing is my sales guy said it was very important to opt for the yearly servicing as it would affect my trade in price later if I did not.

Just make sure they don't give you a showroom/demo car. .

Thanks for the reply. Interesting that they state servicing should be carried out. I was sceptical as I asked how much and he told me £500 for the first service. Surely a garage wouldn't want to be missing out on this each time, but I also have no idea what a Tesla service involves.

What makes you state to avoid a showroom car? I'd guess it's only people sitting in it rather than driving it?

 

[Fellsteruk]

Hey

Welcome aboard, amazing cars ain’t they...

I was in a similar situation expect I got an MX but worriedbif the 75D was gonna be good brought yet I couldn’t afford the 100...

I have to say the 75 and 100 differ in one regard and that the range however depending on your mileage the 75may be plenty it has been for me “3 weeks owning an MX”

I don’t have PUP on mine and I have to be honest I don’t feel like I’m missing anything at all but it’s very much personal preference

With regards to shove, I’m in an MX which is much heavier than MS was on the M62 coming home tonight in the 50mile restriction and an soon as I can out, floor down and the clock spun right up, believe me it’s got shove!!!

Services is recommended but don’t forget there it oil in the motor think of t as gearbox oil, then you have break fluid and battery coolent so there are some things to change. Personally I wouldn’t trust them saying it won’t impact price as any car with a service history will look better to a buyer than one without I’ll be servicing mine every year.

Couldn’t comment about breaks as I’ve not had it long enough but what I will say is that I hardly use them so I believe they will last longer.

Yeah V9coming soon but god knows when that really is, could have lots of cool stuff and bein a full new version number I’m expextibg some cool stuff but honestly no one knows. But your right it’s like an iPhone I’ve had my car 3weeks and already had 2 updates, not a clue what was in them but it makes me feel happy that they did something to make the car better “that’s what I tell myself “

The referral is only when buying a new Tesla, with regards to free charger, sounds like crap... if you have off road parking you can get the OLEV grant to install a charger for a minimum cost but it won’t be a Tesla charger as they don’t qualify for the grant.

I couldn’t get the grant anyway so I got a Tesla Charger £460 and paid a sparkie £90 to install it, cost me about £120 for 50 meters of cable as my charger is miles away “well 50meters” from the house.

Ste

 

[Fellsteruk]

Thanks for the reply. Interesting that they state servicing should be carried out. I was sceptical as I asked how much and he told me £500 for the first service. Surely a garage wouldn't want to be missing out on this each time, but I also have no idea what a Tesla service involves.

What makes you state to avoid a showroom car? I'd guess it's only people sitting in it rather than driving it?

They claim to run a zero profit policy on service but considering they change the wiper blade and fob battery on first service and just “inspect” the car I’m not sure how that is possible at that cost

 

[WayneG]

I didn't think of brake fluid I'm such an idiot, but didn't realise the motors use oils etc; that makes more sense. Hmmmm, £500 for a service doesn't sound so appealing. I paid $600 on my Range Rover yesterday and they really messed me around, so I was loving the thought of not having to sit a garage for a good while, as to me, they're all the same and useless.

I'd imaging "PUP" would be "Premium Upgrade Pack"... either that or a "Potentially Unwanted Program" lol.

I just get the feeling they're wanting to meet sales quota for the quarter, but because they sell products that very few people new to the market understand, they can kind of tell me anything and hope I believe it. It's not that OI don't believe them, it's just that I'm sceptical as they're salespeople at the end of the day

 

[MagicMagicD]

Servicing is often a mandatory stipulation of you're buying the car on finance.

I don't have the premium pack on my car add can't say I miss it. I've never been particularly fussy about in car audio so the only thing I worried about was the lack of heated wipers. As it stands it's a non-issue since pre-heating the car normally removes any ice from the window

 

[WayneG]

Servicing is often a mandatory stipulation of you're buying the car on finance

Good point. I think I'll have words in the morning as I don't want to be mislead, especially on such a massive financial decision.

 

[DJP31]

Welcome to the world of Tesla warts and all! Others will be along soon I’m sure, but I’ll kick off. I personally wouldn’t give up the premium pack but it’s subjective as to what is the most important feature/s to you. The heated steering wheel is great, so is the HEPA filter IMO. My daughters like he heated rear seats to. If you’ve never had these features thoug, would you miss them? Probably not.

The mid range shove in the 100D is moe noticeable, but the 75D is plenty quickly enough. If the 100D is out of your price range don’t worry about - the 0-60 is pretty much the same and you’ll still be king of the road.

If you are buying cash then servicing is optional, if you are buying using finance then the small print will require you to follow the recommended servicing schedule. It is also expensive, a source of constant frustration among owners as there are fewer moving parts. I would tend to believe them when they say the p/ex value won’t be affected one way or the other.

Yes, the brakes last miles longer because of the regenerative braking.

Tesla and software updates, that’s worth a thousand words on its own. They eventually deliver what’s promised....most of the time....well sometimes.....soon... The autopilot software (AP2) launched at the end of 2016 still isn’t as good in some ways as the original autopilot (AP1). The “enhanced” autopilot functions announced at the same are non existent. The Full Self Driving (FSD) features are still a pipe dream despite be promised.

However, since I’ve had my car (March 17) I’ve had numerous software updates that have improved the car - auto high beam, chill mode, easy entry/exit and most recently “Pin to Drive” - helping to improve the security of the car. Will V9 bring dashcams? I personally doubt it but would be delighted if proved wrong. Maybe in V9.1.....

The free Supercharger is obtained by using an owners referral code, and the current scheme has just ended. Apparently it’s still available on inventory cars, which will be to try and sell as many cars as they can before the end of this month - quarter end and a big deal to Tesla Inc. the refer gets a reward, which can be a home charger unit, so I assume the sales guy has a code and will be donating the unit. I would want somthing in writing about that and the free Supercharging before I committed to buy. Tesla staff are generally very well intentioned but often poorly informed and out of date - or just plain wrong.

The car is brilliant and very few owners ever regret the purchase. However the back office can be awful, communications dire and cars can be presented with minor defects - scrapes, dodgy paint, scuffed alloys etc. They will sort them out but it can be PITA.

Hope this helps

 

[Tam]

...brakes...

True for my former 2012 Model S for 6 years and over 100,000 miles and its brakes were barely worn out at all.

Brake pad thickness for each of 4 wheels: 7mm
Parking brake: 5mm

My case might be abnormal:

1) I live in Central Valley of California and have never experienced Tesla snow driving here (Thus, avoided corrosive road salt and chemicals).

2) I took advantage of conventional cruise control and regen as much as I could which minimized frequent brakings.

However, I do drive in stop-and-go traffic which would promote the premature wearing of brake pads.

 

[WayneG]

@djp... That's a massive help, thank you. The Inventory car I've been offered is lovely; white paint with the white interior that I want , but also the 21" alloys I don't particularly want. I've just spec'd a new build and it's a relatively similar price if I go for 19" alloys, as the Premium Pack is now standard anyway. However it sounds like I wouldn't get the free supercharging, although I don't actually know how much I'd require this anyway... I'm expecting to do around 8-10k miles per year in the car so hardly a heavy usage pattern, and a lot of that will be around Manchester where there's very minimal Supercharger outlets currently.

 

[WayneG]

Thanks Tam, it does sound feasible that the brakes are barely used, so I doubt you're an unusual case. Not sure about the corrosion though; hadn't really thought of that although I do sometimes give my cars a blast with a pressure washer to get rid of the salt underneath.

 

[DJP31]

Good point. I think I'll have words in the morning as I don't want to be mislead, especially on such a massive financial decision.

If you are buying on PCP I can categorically confirm the car must be serviced in line with Tesla’s recommended servicing schedule. The GFV is only guaranteed if the car has been serviced, although that doesn’t have to be by Tesla. I only know of one independent garage in Cheltenham that does it - and for a fraction of the price. However, they can’t do warranty work, and Tesla are proactive at service time in checking the car over. They will replace items on occasion, and for me personally that gives me peace of mind. This is new tech from a company new to car making, and I’m risk averse.

 

[Rockster]

Our Model S has 77,000 miles and is still on the original brake pads.

IMO, the difference in acceleration is far more noticeable in the 0 - whatever range than it is in the 50 - "jail" range.

 

[WayneG]

Our Model S has 77,000 miles and is still on the original brake pads.

IMO, the difference in acceleration is far more noticeable in the 0 - whatever range than it is in the 50 - "jail" range.

Okay well the new 75d is suggesting 0-60 in 4.2 secs, whereas a lot of the inventory models are suggesting 5.2 seconds. The 100d is 4.1 seconds, so although it sounds identical, I just wondered therefore if the mid-range had also been improved on the 75d models.

 

[DJP31]

@djp... That's a massive help, thank you. The Inventory car I've been offered is lovely; white paint with the white interior that I want , but also the 21" alloys I don't particularly want. I've just spec'd a new build and it's a relatively similar price if I go for 19" alloys, as the Premium Pack is now standard anyway. However it sounds like I wouldn't get the free supercharging, although I don't actually know how much I'd require this anyway... I'm expecting to do around 8-10k miles per year in the car so hardly a heavy usage pattern, and a lot of that will be around Manchester where there's very minimal Supercharger outlets currently.

You get 400kWh of free Supercharging a year anyway, which is about 1,000 miles. After that it’s 20p per kWh which is much cheaper than the petrol equivalent. Unless you are munching miles up and down the motorway I think the value of free Supercharging is over done - that word “free” has that effect.

You will do more miles than you think, any excuse to drive will be taken .

Waiting for a custom build is torture but if it were me I’d be getting the premium pack. I guess you could sell the 21’s and get 19’s but that sounds like a faff to me.

 

[WayneG]

Waiting for a custom build is torture but if it were me I’d be getting the premium pack. I guess you could sell the 21’s and get 19’s but that sounds like a faff to me.

Yeah, especially as ebay sellers are asking £3k or so even for 19s. I'd rather just get the silver 19s and have them refurbished in grey.

 

[DJP31]

Okay well the new 75d is suggesting 0-60 in 4.2 secs, whereas a lot of the inventory models are suggesting 5.2 seconds. The 100d is 4.1 seconds, so although it sounds identical, I just wondered therefore if the mid-range had also been improved on the 75d models.

An example of Tesla comms being poor. A pre June ‘17 75D was 5.2 sec. post June ‘17 it reduced to 4.2 secs. Clearly the car you are looking at is new, so will be 4.2 secs. Mine was built in Dec ‘16 so “slow” at 5.2. Tesla then announced “uncorking” for 75D’s and a software tweak later my car is 4.2 show me another manufacturer that can or would do that!

 

[WayneG]

An example of Tesla comms being poor. A pre June ‘17 75D was 5.2 sec. post June ‘17 it reduced to 4.2 secs. Clearly the car you are looking at is new, so will be 4.2 secs. Mine was built in Dec ‘16 so “slow” at 5.2. Tesla then announced “uncorking” for 75D’s and a software tweak later my car is 4.2 show me another manufacturer that can or would do that!

Mow that is pretty epic!! Did you notice any real world difference?

 

[DJP31]

Yeah, especially as ebay sellers are asking £3k or so even for 19s. I'd rather just get the silver 19s and have them refurbished in grey.

Yep, plenty do that. Although you wouldn’t get free Supercharging still use a referral code though, I think you get a whopping £100 Supercharger credit, but it’s better than nowt. The ‘free’ charger unit needs further investigation though. If it’s the referer giving you their referral reward that’s great, but it won’t arrive until God knows how long after you’ve taken delivery - many months sometimes. That would be a total PITA in you needed it for your home use.