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Day Two of owning a Tesla Model S

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So i was fortunate enough to pick up an inventory White 75, Pano, AutoPilot, Tan leather with Sub zero on late Wednesday. Honestly I have been looking at Tesla's for a couple of years and seriously crunching the numbers since July. But i was not really ready to buy. I took one home overnight a couple of weeks ago. Which was surreal in itself. Then I found out about the discounts that were out on the inventory vehicles. Which basically sealed the deal for me. Only problem was by this time there were none on the Tesla website that met my one unchangeable requirement of no black leather seats. (gets way too hot here in the south to have black leather. Been there, done that, wont do it again) Luckily my OA found one that was "close enough" with the discounts and a some fees waived.
Everything about the sales experience was unlike any other car i have bought. First of all I did a loan. Which was a two minute application online. Received an email saying i was approved. And a four minute phone call that i did on the fifth hole of the golf course between shots. Way too simple there.
Delivery was a breeze as well. I arrived about 15 minutes early via Uber. And sat in the lounge long enough to get a water and check email. Two Tesla employees came and got me to go see the car. We walked around the car for about 10 minutes trying to find something wrong with the car. (found no problems) Then another 3-5 minutes at a computer to pay and sign docs. Then i spent about 45 minutes with a Tesla rep going over the car and its features. Which was pretty much a refresher course. And they drove it out of the showroom. handed me the keys. And i was officially a Tesla owner.
But what is weird is don't feel like i own the car yet. I did not have to go thru all of the typical BS that you have to do to get a car. No one insulted me by telling me that i might not qualify for the loan special rate. (I have gone to other dealerships to buy a car out of spite because of this in the past) No one ignored my calls or emails. No one pushed me off to someone else when i had questions. (They found the answers themselves.) And basically no one told me No!
Today driving to work it still does not seem like it is mine. I almost feel like i'm just on a two day take home test drive. A car this awesome cant possibly me mine. And I have owned very nice cars before. This one just seems very different. Almost feels like dating a Super Model. You know like she's way outta my league and i may wake up and be pissed it was only a dream.
Anyone else having trouble with the realization that "It's Mine!"
I may feel differently when that first payment comes due?
 
We got ours in early July, took it on a 5k mile road trip 3 days later, slept 5 nights in the car. Now we have 7.2k miles of driving bliss and 2 payments made and it still doesn't seem real.

The other thing that I am struggling with is driving my ICE vehicles. There is something terribly wrong with them; they ride rough, they shift or I have to shift them, I press the accelerator and they think about obeying, and I keep looking around to see who is tailgating me with that loud exhaust. Worst of all when I let off the accelerator and their est mpg only gets to 99!
 
So i was fortunate enough to pick up an inventory White 75, Pano, AutoPilot, Tan leather with Sub zero on late Wednesday. Honestly I have been looking at Tesla's for a couple of years and seriously crunching the numbers since July. But i was not really ready to buy. I took one home overnight a couple of weeks ago. Which was surreal in itself. Then I found out about the discounts that were out on the inventory vehicles. Which basically sealed the deal for me. Only problem was by this time there were none on the Tesla website that met my one unchangeable requirement of no black leather seats. (gets way too hot here in the south to have black leather. Been there, done that, wont do it again) Luckily my OA found one that was "close enough" with the discounts and a some fees waived.
Everything about the sales experience was unlike any other car i have bought. First of all I did a loan. Which was a two minute application online. Received an email saying i was approved. And a four minute phone call that i did on the fifth hole of the golf course between shots. Way too simple there.
Delivery was a breeze as well. I arrived about 15 minutes early via Uber. And sat in the lounge long enough to get a water and check email. Two Tesla employees came and got me to go see the car. We walked around the car for about 10 minutes trying to find something wrong with the car. (found no problems) Then another 3-5 minutes at a computer to pay and sign docs. Then i spent about 45 minutes with a Tesla rep going over the car and its features. Which was pretty much a refresher course. And they drove it out of the showroom. handed me the keys. And i was officially a Tesla owner.
But what is weird is don't feel like i own the car yet. I did not have to go thru all of the typical BS that you have to do to get a car. No one insulted me by telling me that i might not qualify for the loan special rate. (I have gone to other dealerships to buy a car out of spite because of this in the past) No one ignored my calls or emails. No one pushed me off to someone else when i had questions. (They found the answers themselves.) And basically no one told me No!
Today driving to work it still does not seem like it is mine. I almost feel like i'm just on a two day take home test drive. A car this awesome cant possibly me mine. And I have owned very nice cars before. This one just seems very different. Almost feels like dating a Super Model. You know like she's way outta my league and i may wake up and be pissed it was only a dream.
Anyone else having trouble with the realization that "It's Mine!"
I may feel differently when that first payment comes due?
Congratulations cwellsatl.....We were exactly in your place (looking for more than 2 years) and it happened so suddenly now, when we heard about never seen discounts on a Tesla. So we took the plunge. Placed an order on 9/19 and took delivery on 9/29. I still cant believe it and first thing i did after i woke up today is to go straight to my garage to check if I wasn't dreaming ;p
 
Cwellsatl, congratulations on your new car. I am a bit jealous, as I did not get a discount for my S70 delivered in late June. The more you drive your S the better you will like it and the less you will be able to tolerate ICE powered cars. Mine is the best car I have ever been in, let alone owned (and I have owned some very nice cars). When your loan is paid off, you will be driving for "free." Unlike some, I plan to keep mine for 10-15 years and hope to have many, many miles on it when it is time for it to retire to the electric auto stud farm. It will be replaced with, of course, a Tesla with full autopilot.
 
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So i was fortunate enough to pick up an inventory White 75, Pano, AutoPilot, Tan leather with Sub zero on late Wednesday. Honestly I have been looking at Tesla's for a couple of years and seriously crunching the numbers since July. But i was not really ready to buy. I took one home overnight a couple of weeks ago. Which was surreal in itself. Then I found out about the discounts that were out on the inventory vehicles. Which basically sealed the deal for me. Only problem was by this time there were none on the Tesla website that met my one unchangeable requirement of no black leather seats. (gets way too hot here in the south to have black leather. Been there, done that, wont do it again) Luckily my OA found one that was "close enough" with the discounts and a some fees waived.
Everything about the sales experience was unlike any other car i have bought. First of all I did a loan. Which was a two minute application online. Received an email saying i was approved. And a four minute phone call that i did on the fifth hole of the golf course between shots. Way too simple there.
Delivery was a breeze as well. I arrived about 15 minutes early via Uber. And sat in the lounge long enough to get a water and check email. Two Tesla employees came and got me to go see the car. We walked around the car for about 10 minutes trying to find something wrong with the car. (found no problems) Then another 3-5 minutes at a computer to pay and sign docs. Then i spent about 45 minutes with a Tesla rep going over the car and its features. Which was pretty much a refresher course. And they drove it out of the showroom. handed me the keys. And i was officially a Tesla owner.
But what is weird is don't feel like i own the car yet. I did not have to go thru all of the typical BS that you have to do to get a car. No one insulted me by telling me that i might not qualify for the loan special rate. (I have gone to other dealerships to buy a car out of spite because of this in the past) No one ignored my calls or emails. No one pushed me off to someone else when i had questions. (They found the answers themselves.) And basically no one told me No!
Today driving to work it still does not seem like it is mine. I almost feel like i'm just on a two day take home test drive. A car this awesome cant possibly me mine. And I have owned very nice cars before. This one just seems very different. Almost feels like dating a Super Model. You know like she's way outta my league and i may wake up and be pissed it was only a dream.
Anyone else having trouble with the realization that "It's Mine!"
I may feel differently when that first payment comes due?

Congrats!! That's an awesome story. I am still grinning--I look forward to driving to/from work everyday and I don't get stressed out in traffic at all. Best. Car. Ever.

Enjoy your new ride!
 
Congratulations cwellsatl.....We were exactly in your place (looking for more than 2 years) and it happened so suddenly now, when we heard about never seen discounts on a Tesla. So we took the plunge. Placed an order on 9/19 and took delivery on 9/29. I still cant believe it and first thing i did after i woke up today is to go straight to my garage to check if I wasn't dreaming ;p

Thanks for all the reply's everyone. Its still crazy that this car is in my garage.

I have now got a little closer to accepting that it's mine. Mainly because everywhere i go people ask about the car. I find people walking around it in parking lots looking in the windows. Some even taking pictures. I was not expecting this much attention. Although just a few weeks or months ago i was doing the same exact thing when i would find one "in the wild."

I did get to add the much needed interior lights in the trunk today. As mine did not have the premium lighting package. Which was really simple by the way. All the wiring is already in place you just have to pull the panel back and plug them in. The lights are easily findable on amazon and EVANNEX has a great guide about finding the wires. Highly recommend it for anyone who can plug in a light bulb.

The electrician was over today to install my NEMA 14-50. ($800 if you are interested) And the wife is pissed i did not install one on her side of the garage. She said that her three month old fully loaded Odyssey feels pretty basic now.(yea a soccer mom) And she is planning on taking my Model 3 reservation. Guess we will fight that battle when that day comes.
 
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I've read a lot of wonderful comments about the Model S by brand new owners and folks that have had their Model S for months now. Each is special and I really enjoyed the read. But to me the best and funniest comment was made by an owner several years ago. I made a point of saving the link so I could find it when I want it. This is the most descriptive expression and also the funniest thing that I have every heard about a Model S. I feel exactly the same way.

An owner named Velo1 wrote on the TM forum in April 2013.

“My wife also commented that I am most eager to run errands for her. Just last week she
said we need bread and milk for tomorrow. I volunteered to go to the store. I returned
with the milk, and then went back to buy the bread. what fun!”
 
Thanks for all the reply's everyone. Its still crazy that this car is in my garage.

I have now got a little closer to accepting that it's mine. Mainly because everywhere i go people ask about the car. I find people walking around it in parking lots looking in the windows. Some even taking pictures. I was not expecting this much attention. Although just a few weeks or months ago i was doing the same exact thing when i would find one "in the wild."

I did get to add the much needed interior lights in the trunk today. As mine did not have the premium lighting package. Which was really simple by the way. All the wiring is already in place you just have to pull the panel back and plug them in. The lights are easily findable on amazon and EVANNEX has a great guide about finding the wires. Highly recommend it for anyone who can plug in a light bulb.

The electrician was over today to install my NEMA 14-50. ($800 if you are interested) And the wife is pissed i did not install one on her side of the garage. She said that her three month old fully loaded Odyssey feels pretty basic now.(yea a soccer mom) And she is planning on taking my Model 3 reservation. Guess we will fight that battle when that day comes.
Which rear trunk bulbs did you order from Amazon? Thanks
 
Quick question - with getting a inventory car - what assurances do you have that - there are no scratches on the paint, or the screen -- i mean demo models have 1000s of people opening doors and shutting them etc...

Not all inventory models are demo or showroom cars. Mine was built in Aug and on a Truck destined for a warehouse in Alabama. As until last week Tesla had prebuilt thousands of them sitting in warehouses waiting for an owner. Mine had 18 miles on it when i took delivery.

The OA at the store told me that they clean the cars inside everyday or two and the detailing guys comes around about twice a week.

The demo car that i took home for an overnight test drive was pretty much flawless with 300 plus miles. And the Model X that i checked out was the same with even more miles. But i'm sure they were both floored many times testing out the 0-60 speed. I would just really scrutinize the car at delivery. From my experience Tesla will do whatever it takes to make the car right.
 
Reading this just reminds me of how lucky and surreal I feel after 18 months and 27,000 miles. I still am amazed!
Weirdly enough, I've been having the opposite feeling. This feels like the car I was supposed to be driving all along. To the point that I'm seriously not looking forward to circumstances or spouse forcing me to drive our ICE car, a car that I've installed all the modifications and upgrades on myself. But yeah...it just feels....right.
I also agree with this. The amazement is partly because it feels just...right.
That said, for me the S is just too big, and I'll probably never look back once I get my 3's. Still, how is it possible that I have spent less than $500 on 'fuel' in 27,000 miles, $300 for a tire replacement because of road hazard and that's it. No other operating costs (I exclude my cosmetic changes like wraps etc, has zero to do with the car, just my vanity).
Every time we get in our Tesla, Cerise by name (I never named a car before),my spouse and I grin. How can that be?

Lots of people calls us 'fanboys' or something similar. True!:D
 
3.5 years, nearly 60,000 miles between the two Model Essessesses I've been fortunate enough to own... and I still have moments where I get a little overcome with an odd emotional reaction to my incredible good fortune to be able to drive a Tesla every day.

I just completed a 2,200 mile road trip to Indiana and bfrom FL with my bf. It was his first time driving my "new" Tesla with AP. I think I said out loud a dozen times, "I love this car.". For those familiar with my thread about my impending upgrade last March, my bf turned down my offer of a free Tesla (I wanted to give him my old one so I could keep both). At one point while he was driving yesterday he said, "well, I have to start driving my car again after today..." (A 2014 RS Camaro convertible). Guess he should've taken the free Tesla.
 
Quick question - with getting a inventory car - what assurances do you have that - there are no scratches on the paint, or the screen -- i mean demo models have 1000s of people opening doors and shutting them etc...
Why do you think the car is priced less than a new car? If you want a car that hasn't had people demoing it, order a new one at full price.