Any Model S Owners planning on Model Y purchase?

[Damager99]

I currently drive a 2015 Model S 85D - perfect condition, tricked out the way I want it (things like chrome delete). It has been an amazing car, and I've loved driving it. Im having some thoughts about moving to the Model Y, and wonder if anybody here has both and could give me some input.

1. Im really not generally a "big low sedan" guy. My Model S is hard to get in and out of, and is much larger than a car I would typically drive. The MY would be a more upright driving position.
2. I hate the SC nerfing that is going on for these cars. I don't have to SC often, but when I do its a real pain having to wait so long to charge. The MY would charge much quicker when needed.
3. Being on the newer tech would be nice - I have MCU1, which we all know isn't great. I'm also on AP1, which works great for me, but will be left in the dust soon.

My one big concern (other than paying for the MY) is the step down in design and luxury from the Model S to the Y. The Y drives well, but feels much less like a luxury car to me - more like driving an Accord. Does anyone have both? I'd welcome your insight on the 2 cars and how they compare.

 

[David29]

I currently drive a 2015 Model S 85D - perfect condition, tricked out the way I want it (things like chrome delete). It has been an amazing car, and I've loved driving it. Im having some thoughts about moving to the Model Y, and wonder if anybody here has both and could give me some input.

1. Im really not generally a "big low sedan" guy. My Model S is hard to get in and out of, and is much larger than a car I would typically drive. The MY would be a more upright driving position.
2. I hate the SC nerfing that is going on for these cars. I don't have to SC often, but when I do its a real pain having to wait so long to charge. The MY would charge much quicker when needed.
3. Being on the newer tech would be nice - I have MCU1, which we all know isn't great. I'm also on AP1, which works great for me, but will be left in the dust soon.

My one big concern (other than paying for the MY) is the step down in design and luxury from the Model S to the Y. The Y drives well, but feels much less like a luxury car to me - more like driving an Accord. Does anyone have both? I'd welcome your insight on the 2 cars and how they compare.

I do not have one nor have I even seen one yet, but I did read the review in Car & Driver this week. they have generally been fairly big fans of the Teslas, but they panned the Model Y, especially for its harsh ride and lack of innovation. It might be worth a read. On the other hand, I have read other reviews saying "it is the best Tesla so far."

 

[2101Guy]

I was considering one to add to the houshold for my wife/to replace her Lexus RX350. But, 1)I typically always avoid buying new vehicles and allow someone else to take that 1-2 year depreciation hit and 2)I typically avoid first model year runs of any new vehicle. My time horizon is around Spring 2021 (I plan well ahead, usually with vehicle purchases) so right now the Model Y would be second choice, first choice would be a 2018 or possibly 2019 Model X.

 

[SilverGS]

I was considering one to add to the houshold for my wife/to replace her Lexus RX350. But, 1)I typically always avoid buying new vehicles and allow someone else to take that 1-2 year depreciation hit and 2)I typically avoid first model year runs of any new vehicle. My time horizon is around Spring 2021 (I plan well ahead, usually with vehicle purchases) so right now the Model Y would be second choice, first choice would be a 2018 or possibly 2019 Model X.

I would also go for a used newer S or X rather than a first year Y. I also prefer the bigger size/more luxurious nature of the S compared to the 3/Y

 

[InternetDude]

Zero chance. Build quality is very hit and miss right now. I’m too far from service to get anything fixed in under 2 months as it stands now. The SC chargegate issue is stopping me from buying anything Tesla for at least another 3-5 years until we know this won’t affect every car over time. And I still have my second S.

 

[glide]

I currently drive a 2015 Model S 85D - perfect condition, tricked out the way I want it (things like chrome delete). It has been an amazing car, and I've loved driving it. Im having some thoughts about moving to the Model Y, and wonder if anybody here has both and could give me some input.

1. Im really not generally a "big low sedan" guy. My Model S is hard to get in and out of, and is much larger than a car I would typically drive. The MY would be a more upright driving position.
2. I hate the SC nerfing that is going on for these cars. I don't have to SC often, but when I do its a real pain having to wait so long to charge. The MY would charge much quicker when needed.
3. Being on the newer tech would be nice - I have MCU1, which we all know isn't great. I'm also on AP1, which works great for me, but will be left in the dust soon.

My one big concern (other than paying for the MY) is the step down in design and luxury from the Model S to the Y. The Y drives well, but feels much less like a luxury car to me - more like driving an Accord. Does anyone have both? I'd welcome your insight on the 2 cars and how they compare.

I have a 2015 P85D and am switching to a Y for all the reasons you mention.

Mostly I’m so tired of Tesla’s handling of the battery/charging situation and am not able to use my vehicle for road trips.

I never felt the build quality on my S was all that good. I was coming from a 5-series M Sport for context.

Pros: The Y is more solidly built, easier to get in and out of, has the latest battery tech.

Cons are: no heated steering wheel, slightly slower (for me), no binnacle cluster. Build quality and fit and finish are the worst of any Tesla to date.

Unfortunately they just don’t have an offering worthy of any of the prices they are commanding. But I’m giving it another shot with the Y. It may be my last Tesla.

 

[cucubits]

Mostly I’m so tired of Tesla’s handling of the battery/charging situation and am not able to use my vehicle for road trips.

Psst, don't say this. If Tesla notices, in a few years when they want to sell something newer, they'll just start limiting 3 and Y batteries

 

[Lukez]

I think it largely depends on what you want from it.
I was planning on getting the performance y but then I started to really think about it and a new model s has so much more range, has been in production for a long time and the base model is near identical 0-60 as performance Y so I second guessed my thought process especially when they had free Supercharging, and probably will again.
Don't need a car working from home so I'll make the decision when I need to but something to think about.
If you don't care about performance and range then the 50k version of the Y would be the way to go I would think (after they figure out the quality issues).

 

[OrbiterTI4]

Looking at a potential S to Y swap but no earlier than 2021, possibly not until 2023.

The S85D was my wife's pre-COVID daily driver and is our current default vehicle. However, she prefers the small-mid SUV style (drove Rav4 and X75D for 10 years prior). So depending on how the S85D fares the next couple years (MCU1 starting to flake out, does main display start to yellow or bubble, do door handles keep failing, does SC charging rate fall even further to really make a trip to family unbearable), we may look at a move to the Y especially as we near the 8 year battery warranty mark.

 

[cduzz]

The Y has the goofy (lack of) instrument cluster and no heated steering wheel. It is smaller and better in the city. It is steel so it'll rust. It has a normal suspension. It has more range and a more modern battery architecture. It may have super weird build problems because tesla.

The S, if you get one that's about the same price as a Y, has AP2 and may have the failure prone MCU1. It is much larger and boat-like. It has quite a bit more storage. It is harder to get in and out of. It is not going to be as reliable as a reliable Y, though a reliable S may be more reliable than an unreliable Y; with tesla you're never 100% sure if you're getting a friday at 3:30pm car or a tuesday at 9:30am car with all the attendant gremlins associated with a iffy build quality. If you get one that's as inexpensive as a y you're 100% likely someone you don't know has farted in the car. Even getting one used from tesla, it'll be a little more expensive than a Y unless you get a small-battery S which will have substantially worse range. You won't be able to get exactly what you want unless you're lucky or patient. With an S you might get a sun roof. Or a solid metal roof.

Last year I got a 2016 S90D; this year I probably would *still* get the S not the Y.

 

[EVortex]

Love my S. Thinking about adding Y or X, but have not decided which one yet. Kind of a split decision as of now, but will likely wait until Y matures past startup defects to decide for sure.

 

[Duffer]

Love my S. Thinking about adding Y or X, but have not decided which one yet. Kind of a split decision as of now, but will likely wait until Y matures past startup defects to decide for sure.

^^ This ^^
Ultimately, it will be my wife's vehicle so I will let her decide.

 

[seclinton]

No until I learn how much it will cost if you get rear ended in an accident. With the near single piece casting of the rear frame of the Model Y, I fear that any rear impact or quarter panel impact might total the car.

Yes, I know hitting a a guard rail at 80MPH in the quarter panel likely will be a total. What I mean is some putz like who rear ended my model S P85 in 2016 causing $34k in damage but not totalled. And that was a 5mph bump into the car in front of me, so front and rear damage well documented on this site. I fear a small rear end accident could total a Y out pretty quick.

 

[EVortex]

^^ This ^^
Ultimately, it will be my wife's vehicle so I will let her decide.

Good call. My wife likes the Y - a little smaller footprint and easier for her to drive.

 

[GOLFERGUY1]

Hello all!

 

[David.85D]

Zero chance. Build quality is very hit and miss right now. I’m too far from service to get anything fixed in under 2 months as it stands now. The SC chargegate issue is stopping me from buying anything Tesla for at least another 3-5 years until we know this won’t affect every car over time. And I still have my second S.

ditto on all this. We had gotten as far as having a second charger installed, but batterygate, and 6 service visits since October have all but eliminated the chance of buying another Tesla for several years. And then it depends on how batterygate pans out and if service is ever fixed with a new executive with real control.

 

[eyedrop]

Tesla’s are basically throw away vehicles. Nothing is built to last except for the battery. Hence all the part revisions. I would lease a car like that if I was rich as the performance is great, but doesn’t age well. Have fun servicing the proprietary car out of warranty.

I do not regret trading my S for the Bolt as it has a much better cabin comfort, and is better as an actual car. More thought out engineering.

I’m not knocking Tesla. Their whole philosophy is all about accelerating sustainable transport, and they are really successful in all the hype. All the sheeple are finally going Gaga like I was in 2013. And by us being beta testers, Tesla don’t have to spend as much time in the lab testing modules themselves. And you get the bleeding edge tech as a result.

They are cool gadgets but not well built or modern cars. They are basically subscription kit cars in perpetual development. I was hoping it would all catch up to refinement by now but 8 years on, and the Model S is still an unreliable vehicle with some strikingly overlooked problems.

 

[David_Cary]

My throw away car has 85k miles and just a few out of warranty service issues. Unreliable? Never left me stranded and just once said I should get to the dealer soon - which I did the next day and picked it up by end of day.

A buddy has 105k miles. No major issues. Still charges at 80kw with his 70. Not great but just 20% off new and he does it weekly.

And we both have original MCU1's (and both are a little slow).

I have considered moving to a Y. But it would really be just for a change. I much prefer driving the wife's 3 but I do need a hatch.
The IC isn't an issue to me.

Now the S is more comfortable on the highway but any long trip we still take the 3 because of range/charging. I have a 70D and I haven't charged at full speed in a longtime so I don't know what she could do.

 

[rosegrif1]

Our S - 90D was end of lease and returned last week - and yes we did buy the MYLR - for sure some trade offs - ride quality one, but Y looks great and we are told about 4 weeks delivery wait. Will report back on how it feels

 

[SO16]

Teslas are not throw away vehicles.

Here's how a Tesla Model S holds up after 400,000 miles in 3 years - Electrek

And batteries are getting better.