Any owners in Cedar Rapids willing to meet?

[Jonnie Cache]

Hi,

My name is Jonathan. I’m thinking heavily about buying a Tesla S, but the nearest dealer is in Chicago. I have seen some Model Ss around town and was hoping I could meet one for coffee or something (my treat, of course!). I don’t want to impose, but I thought it would be awesome if I could get a sense of the car without having to drive 5 hours to get to the dealership.

Anyone know any owners in Cedar Rapids who might be willing to spare a bit of time and share their ownership experiences?

 

[arcus]

Welcome. I am sure someone will chime in soon.

Just for fun, I checked how long it would take for me to get there. 12 hrs in ICE, probably 15-16 in my Tesla considering supercharging.

Anything in particular you would like to find out?

 

[Jonnie Cache]

Haha! I think I've read online just about everything I could possibly need to read. I would just like to sit down for a bit with a current owner and hear about their experiences. Some of the questions/concerns I have are:

• Winter battery life & driving in Iowa. Handles okay in the snow? Batter life affected very much?
• Service experiences given the huge distance to the dealership. Realistically, I can't driving ~5 hours to take the car in for service. Will they really come to me all the way here in Cedar Rapids?
• Likes/dislikes in general

But mostly, I'm hoping to be able to check one out in person. I have a feeling I'm going to love it, but I really don't want to travel to Chicago only to find out that it isn't the car for me.

 

[arcus]

These are all perfectly valid concerns and most people would have similar ones.

Regarding winter driving/conditions, there will be a drop in the efficient range due to cold weather (the battery pack also have to be heated to keep ti at optimal temp), but if you are not driving full range everyday it makes no difference. Just plug the car when you get home and it will be ready for you the next morning. Strongly recommending 240 V installation in your house if you don't have it already. Standard NEMA14-30 or NEMA 14-50 will do. I have the 30 amp and it provides ~17 miles of driving range per hour of charge, so it is basically plug it and forget it for my daily needs.
Bjorn Nyland from Norway has tons of videos and you cannot get any better reference to winter conditions than this. Check them out (if you haven't yet).

If there's no SC near you, Tesla can dispatch the ranger to your house. Your Delivery Specialist at Tesla (or a kind soul you will meet) can definitely explain it better considering your location.

Likes/dislikes - it is very personal and everyone's expectations are different. Is it the best car ever for me? Heck yeah. Is it perfect? Far from it, given that Tesla is still at its infancy when it comes to car making business. But I would not trade it for anything.

Once you experience it first hand you will be hooked. It's a common joke/-pre-warning that you should not drive Tesla until you're ready to buy one. There's some truth to this, for sure.