Canadian Price Increase Imminent

[bcsteeve]

Aww man, now you're talking me out of it?? lol

I keep waffling. But you're right, waiting for that curve to flatten may be a better way to go.

Honestly, unless I make a whack load of money in the coming years, I think this may very well be my one single big material purchase in life. I could be wrong, but I doubt I'll ever "upgrade" this car. I'm not rich. And I like to travel, and I have a kid to put through (thankfully subsidized) university, etc. I can afford this car right now... but it isn't a "comfortable" afford. So it is a tough decision for me.

 

[mknox]

Thanks. And I understand and appreciate that they don't want to follow archaic paradigms. But the fact is, it is a car and car's have regulations and ingrained expectations. So whether or not Tesla wants to call my car a 2015 or a 2016 may make no difference to them. It does to me

To a point, I agree, but the fact is there will likely be a HUGE difference between an "early" 2016 and a "late" 2016. An educated consumer will be aware of this.

 

[bcsteeve]

I wasn't clear. To me the biggest difference is with insurance. They go by current calendar year vs. model year. You get 3 "years" to have replacement cost insurance here. If, for example, my MS is considered a "2015" and I take delivery and insure it in 2016, then 2015 (in which I never owned/drove the car) was my "year 1", 2016 is "year 2" and 2017 is "year 3". Starting Jan 2018 I would no longer have full coverage. If it were a 2016 then I get that full year. The best situation, which I discovered by accident with my 2003 STS, is if on December 31 2015 I take delivery of a 2016 car. That way Dec 2015 to Dec 2016 is actually "year zero", thru 2017 is year 1, 2018 is year 2 and 2019 is year 3. So you can see how 2 days difference combined with how the car is marketed can make a full 2 year difference on my ability to insure my car fully.

Please understand that ICBC is a ridiculously confusing beast to deal with. So this BS may not apply to most others.

 

[wayner]

Aww man, now you're talking me out of it?? lol

Go for it - it is an awesome driving experience and your cost of operating is very low. The curve may never flatten - that is often the case with technology products. But you will have your car and have enjoyed it.

 

[Cebe]

I wasn't clear. To me the biggest difference is with insurance. They go by current calendar year vs. model year. You get 3 "years" to have replacement cost insurance here. If, for example, my MS is considered a "2015" and I take delivery and insure it in 2016, then 2015 (in which I never owned/drove the car) was my "year 1", 2016 is "year 2" and 2017 is "year 3". Starting Jan 2018 I would no longer have full coverage. If it were a 2016 then I get that full year. The best situation, which I discovered by accident with my 2003 STS, is if on December 31 2015 I take delivery of a 2016 car. That way Dec 2015 to Dec 2016 is actually "year zero", thru 2017 is year 1, 2018 is year 2 and 2019 is year 3. So you can see how 2 days difference combined with how the car is marketed can make a full 2 year difference on my ability to insure my car fully.

Please understand that ICBC is a ridiculously confusing beast to deal with. So this BS may not apply to most others.

With Tesla it's when the car was manufactured. End of story. The whole "model year", where the only rule is that you can only have one January 1st in the timeframe for that model year doesn't really apply...

 

[bcsteeve]

Cebe, I'm not sure what your point is with your response and quote of my statement. The car has a model year. There is a benefit to me having it called a 2016 rather than a 2015, regardless of the reason why it is said model year. Whether Tesla calls it a 2016 because it is manufactured in 2016 or because they want to call it a 2016 just because it has a nice ring to it... makes no difference.

 

[SmartElectric]

the technology curve is so much steeper than ICE cars. In that way a Tesla is like a Smartphone in that it will seem very obsolete in just a few years

My wife commented to me about one week into ownership, "this is just our first Tesla, isn't it?". Meaning, she already knew that we were starting slow with a CPO S85, and that some day we might trade it for a newer/better one... busted! l-)

- - - Updated - - -

I think this may very well be my one single big material purchase in life. I could be wrong, but I doubt I'll ever "upgrade" this car. I'm not rich. And I like to travel, and I have a kid to put through (thankfully subsidized) university, etc. I can afford this car right now... but it isn't a "comfortable" afford. So it is a tough decision for me.

Yes, tough decision, it's been one month so far, and it's all smiles.

We love our Tesla, and have zero regrets. We rate our "best purchases", and this car is one of them, even though it is the most "extravagant" purchase we've ever made outside of our lovely home of course.

My other top purchase was my Smart ED, the most fun and quirky car I've ever owned, and I plan on commuting in it for a long time to come.

Life is too short, enjoy it!!

 

[bcsteeve]

Speaking of smart... that's one of the cars sitting in my garage (2008 gas, not ED which came out later). Unfortunately, it hasn't gone outside of the garage since my kid was born 3 years ago. No back seat for a car seat, so it instantly became useless to us as we're a one-car unit. The reason I got the smart? I'm the guy that developed the electronic cruise control for it. In their wisdom, smart USA determined that cruise wasn't going to be a popular thing for a "city car". I knew they were wrong. The smart was available (in a slightly different rendition) 3 years earlier in Canada and cruise was one of the most requested aftermarket parts. So when the new "451" model came out, coinciding with the first year the brand was available in the US, AND I learned they weren't offering factory cruise... I went to work. I actually imported the first 451 into Canada before it was available and got it 3 months before the first ones rolled into the USA. I busted my arse and got the cruise designed, tested, and produced just in time for the US launch.

Smart wasn't interested in buying from me (sticking to their "nobody wants it" decision) so I sold direct to owners. That little car earned me about half a million, so I guess I don't mind it wasting away in the garage. OK, that's over 5 years but still, I'm proud of that achievement. I learned a ton too. From interfacing with modern automotive electronics, to dealing with Chinese manufacturing (it was my first project that involved custom plastics)... it was a huge project for me and one that, I'm happy and proud to report, went off with a fairly good measure of success. Owners still tell me it is the best cruise control they've used on any car they've ever owned. And that's tricky to pull off with something about as powerful as a lawnmower! The electronics have had a < 0.05% failure rate since 2008 and that's really good too.

I actually developed an adaptive version of it using LiDAR similar to what the Tesla has. It worked fine as long as the car ahead of you didn't slam on their brakes Since the smart used fully mechanical braking (ie. normal car type) there was no way for the system to slow down beyond down shifting and gravity/drag, so not really safe for adaptive cruise. Still... it was an interesting exercise in programming if nothing else.

Sorry for rambling and reminiscing

 

[SmartElectric]

Fantastic story!
My youngest loves riding in our Smart ED in his booster seat. It's the family favorite for small trips. I've never enjoyed my commute till I did it on electrons. My car didn't come with cruise control. The choice was regeneration paddles or cruise but not both due to the way Smart has limited wiring harness for the steering wheel controls...

 

[bcsteeve]

My car didn't come with cruise control. The choice was regeneration paddles or cruise but not both due to the way Smart has limited wiring harness for the steering wheel controls...

When cruise was first offered as a factory option in 2011, I thought it might end my business. I was OK with that as I never expected more than a 3 year run (typical smart model life). But same as you discovered, they weren't able to offer cruise and the paddles. The "limited wiring harness" is a BS line they give out. It has nothing to do with that since both systems are controlled by the same 2-wires (CANBUS). It was just a marketing decision. They wanted to offer cruise as an inexpensive option between $200 and $300 so they counted on customers not realizing they were giving up $750 paddles to get their $250 cruise (meaning they really paid a grand). Since my cruise works just fine co-existing with the paddles (proving they were full of it), people found out quickly they could keep the paddles and buy my kit and have the best of both worlds.

I'd try selling you on my cruise right about now, but it doesn't work with the ED. By the time the ED came out, demand for the car (and therefore my cruise) dropped too low to justify retooling. My cruise connects directly to the ECU and, of course, an electric system uses a different engine controller than an ICE. Technically it is compatible, but physically it is too difficult and messy to install due to the entirely different wiring.

 

[bcsteeve]

I guess I have 7 days from now to change my mind

 

[mknox]

I wasn't clear. To me the biggest difference is with insurance. They go by current calendar year vs. model year.

Okay, I see what you're saying. My insurance company gave me two year "full replacement" coverage, but it was based on the date the car was registered and insured, not on any model year. So I had that coverage from March 2013 to March 2015. I guess it does vary by company. Certainly when you go to sell or trade in, the market is used to "model years" so a 2016 would probably bring you a bit more down the road than a 2015.

 

[iKhalid]

Okay, I see what you're saying. My insurance company gave me two year "full replacement" coverage, but it was based on the date the car was registered and insured, not on any model year. So I had that coverage from March 2013 to March 2015. I guess it does vary by company. Certainly when you go to sell or trade in, the market is used to "model years" so a 2016 would probably bring you a bit more down the road than a 2015.

When I moved to Mississauga last month, my insurance (COSECO) increased my premium 3.5 times. I switched to CIBC and I was surprised that they offered 5 year full replacement. (Now I still pay 2.5 times what I used to pay in Ottawa :cursing: but it's good to have such a coverage)

 

[sitter_k]

When I moved to Mississauga last month, my insurance (COSECO) increased my premium 3.5 times. I switched to CIBC and I was surprised that they offered 5 year full replacement. (Now I still pay 2.5 times what I used to pay in Ottawa :cursing: but it's good to have such a coverage)

Do you mind sharing how much your yearly premium is?

 

[mknox]

When I moved to Mississauga last month, my insurance (COSECO) increased my premium 3.5 times.

Yeah. We live in one of the highest insurance premium zones in Canada, I think. My avatar says "Toronto", but technically, I'm just up the street from you in Brampton, and I think it is the absolute worst premium-wise. FWIW, My Model S is actually a bit less than my previous Cadillac CTS was. Wasn't expecting that.

 

[iKhalid]

Do you mind sharing how much your yearly premium is?

Let me try to exclude my wife and her car from the total, because she got the biggest share (G2 and an accident :frown. For my car only, I believe it's ~$200. It was ~$80 in Ottawa with COSECO. But keep in mind that this includes a discount for multi-vehicles and multi-products (home).

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah. We live in one of the highest insurance premium zones in Canada, I think. My avatar says "Toronto", but technically, I'm just up the street from you in Brampton, and I think it is the absolute worst premium-wise. FWIW, My Model S is actually a bit less than my previous Cadillac CTS was. Wasn't expecting that.

I chose Mississauga because everyone (seriously, everyone) was telling me to avoid Brampton. But I don't see Mississauga any different in many areas. Insurance is one of them. My agent told me that Miss and Brampton are the highest in Canada. Luckily I didn't buy a property yet (not sure if I could afford anything anytime soon there), but I think I might go back to Ottawa if my wife could continue her PhD program remotely when she is done with her courses. And yes, Tesla is always cheaper. It's even cheaper than my previous 2012 VW Tiguan.

 

[mknox]

I chose Mississauga because everyone (seriously, everyone) was telling me to avoid Brampton. But I don't see Mississauga any different in many areas.

Brampton is a strange city. I've lived there most of my life. When I moved there, it was still a "town" and the population was around 18,000. It's now well over 500,000 and has just turned into a sprawling mess of subdivisions and strip malls. I live in one of the "older" areas that is well established and still quite nice. Mississauga is much the same. There used to be nice little towns like Streetsville and Port Credit, but they all got amalgamated together, and the subdivision/strip mall pox crept in there too. There are very nice areas in Mississauga and then there are the areas of urban sprawl, just like Brampton. I think this is an artifact of being so close to Toronto. Brampton and Mississauga have no real identities of their own and are largely "bedroom towns". When our kids went to college at Western in London, I was always amazed at how London, a city smaller than Brampton, actually seemed like a nice city with a proper downtown, amenities and an identity as a city.

 

[wayner]

When our kids went to college at Western in London, I was always amazed at how London, a city smaller than Brampton, actually seemed like a nice city with a proper downtown, amenities and an identity as a city.

I started at Western in 84 and the downtown of London has deteriorated a lot since then - likely due to the loss of the head offices of companies like London Life and Canada Trust and the corresponding high paying white collar jobs. Downtown London now looks more like downtown Hamilton - where I grew up.

 

[bcsteeve]

Let me try to exclude my wife and her car from the total, because she got the biggest share (G2 and an accident :frown. For my car only, I believe it's ~$200. It was ~$80 in Ottawa with COSECO. But keep in mind that this includes a discount for multi-vehicles and multi-products (home).

You have got to be kidding. That is you annual premium, and that is somehow considered high!?! You have to mean monthly premium, right? Even then, that is about what mine is with my max (40%) 10+ year claims-free discount.

 

[iKhalid]

You have got to be kidding. That is you annual premium, and that is somehow considered high!?! You have to mean monthly premium, right? Even then, that is about what mine is with my max (40%) 10+ year claims-free discount.

Hahahaha definitely not annual! That's my monthly, and my standard is different given I came from Ottawa . My total monthly premium is ~$600 for two cars and drivers. I used to pay around $220 for 2 cars and drivers when I was in Ottawa.