Buying advice from a company car to Tesla

[gangzoom]

Basically the glue around the edge between the glass and touchscreen didn’t always cure properly, and would produce a yellow border. Heat and sunlight being the suspected culprits. For a while they were replaced under warranty until Tesla decided that because it didn’t affect the functionality it wasn’t a warrantable item. BS in my opinion. They now have a UV machine that apparently sorts the problem out.

I think Tesla stopped replacing the screens partly because the new screens developed the same issue. I had a new MCU screen replaced due to yellowing and 6 months later the new screen started to go yellow!!

I've now had UV treatment done, and 5k in and no reoccurance yet.

The biggest cost worry would be the MCU failing by itself, which is a case of when not if.

 

[DJP31]

I think Tesla stopped replacing the screens partly because the new screens developed the same issue. I had a new MCU screen replaced due to yellowing and 6 months later the new screen started to go yellow!!

Which is pretty poor in itself. I think there’s reference to this is Musk’s biography, where no screen this size has been made to automotive grade. He said something like ‘so what’.

 

[LukeT]

I think ultimately the real life considerations come down to cost, environmental impact and convenience.

Costs you've got covered.

Environmental impact is what this is all about for me and is often, in my view, a curiously not-properly-covered topic. My own simple analysis suggests that over its life (manufacture and use) a comparable (broadly comparable in ways other than performance, so I was analysing something not wildly different to your skoda) ICE car is responsible for about 3 times the emissions of a Tesla. Maybe 4 times if those associated with upstream extraction, refinement, rransport etc of diesel are as I suspect. For this reason I'd need a hell of a good reason to buy another internal combustion engine, but your views on the subject may differ.

On convenience, I think you have to look at your biggest work driving days and think how you would organise them with the real life range of your proposed EV. For "worst case" knock a sizeable percentage (like c.25%) off the car's range for winter weather and some battery degredation, and another 10% off for the practical reality that you just won't want to run it to <10% left. Note also that in the winter consumption is much worse if your day has lots of shorter journeys with time in between for the car to cool down, than it is if it's one long journey. Model S average Wh/mile estimates for a range-challenging day might vary from very low 300s to over 400. My winter average is, I think, well over 350 (for me, motorway speeds bad, long journeys good).

On the plus side, today I stopped at a supercharger and in essentially nothing more than a loo stop I added 22kWh. 60 miles. No significant inconvenience.

 

[pgkevet]

I think Tesla stopped replacing the screens partly because the new screens developed the same issue. I had a new MCU screen replaced due to yellowing and 6 months later the new screen started to go yellow!!

I've now had UV treatment done, and 5k in and no reoccurance yet.

The biggest cost worry would be the MCU failing by itself, which is a case of when not if.

I also ad the UV ix ..my screen yellowed within a year of ownership. I do believ that under the Consumer Goods act high value appliances etc should be protected for 4yrs - possibly even 6 yrs. If you bought an expensive TV and it's screen edges went yellow inside 4 yrs you'ld expect that to be covered. BUT getting Tesla to concede, or courts would be a mare.

 

[bbtom10]

Thanks for all the thoughts and comments - most helpful.

 

[Yev000]

I am concerned the Model 3 is too small for my family. We have driving holidays once or twice a year to France and whilst I can now close the cover on my boot once everything is packed, we take a lot of stuff, so I think the Model 3 is going to be too small.

Got 2 kids. The car fit 3 large suitcases + 2 carry on suitcases (Frunk + Under boot) + 3 rucksacks. My 3 odd-sized large suitcases were a tight fit, so it might help to buy new suitcases that use the space better. One at the back of the boot could be wider (to use the height more when laying flat). Then 2 site by side are smaller, both together were a bit fat so had to go in slightly diagonally.

But honestly if you are packing more than that you are packing too much. On our last 13 day holiday we used about half of the clothe we packed.

If you have 3 kids you need an X...

This is news to me. Between my wife and I, that’s 175kg. 14yr old and 12yr old better stay lithe if we were to go model 3!

Seriously though, 375kg? And this is built for Americans? Could be a deal breaker.

So all the suitcases combined were ~100kg

All of us combined was about ~190kg

So ~290....

Unless you are going to pack the boot full of water bottles and get a roof box you'll be fine.

You can exceed the weight in any vehicle, it's just not as safe and no guarantees on handling. You may also bottom out on bumps. The car is already heavy for its size, so this is to do with the amount of rubber that meets the road. A lot of "compact/small cars" have around ~385kg "limit". Bigger cars have wider tyres and larger limits...