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Driving to France and Switzerland - advice needed

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Hi all, I'm sure this has been covered but the rule changes for driving seem to change every month. I have the basics but I would like some advice from those who recently done a trip through France/abroad via Euro Tunnel.

- Will Tesla cover any possible breakdown or punctures ? Do I need to get extra roadside assistance? I thought this was included when purchasing the car. I'm reading I do.
- Headlights, I've read various threads saying I don't need to do anything, but I honestly think my lights have a higher lip on the left, so do I need deflectors or is there a setting that can help?
- I will be using Destination chargers and SUC only, do you guys think that is workable?
- French toll roads, is it best to pay by contactless or get a Tag?

Sorry for asking the obviously, I've never driven abroad before, especially with my new M3.

Cheers
 
I'm going later in July - first time so have been reading up a bit. For what I know so far:

- lights don't change automatically, but Tesla say you don't need to adjust them. So who knows?
- You'll need separate european breakdown. Also check you may need additional insurance cover.
- I ordered a tag. Took a few days to get here but should be way more convenient as the payment machine slot is on the passenger side for us (surprised they don't have both sides if they get lots of tourists). Not that expensive.
- you'll need a sticker if you're planning on travelling on Swiss motorways. Again you can order from here - its very delicate so be careful when peeling it off. Has to be stuck in the windscreen to avoid people sharing them I guess. Seems inside out when I stuck it on but its the only way it would stick so hopefully fine.
- I toyed with the idea of getting various converters for granny chargers but my main hotel in switzerland has type 2 destination charging and I've pre-booked a slot, plenty of superchargers along the way so that should be all I need
 
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Hi all, I'm sure this has been covered but the rule changes for driving seem to change every month. I have the basics but I would like some advice from those who recently done a trip through France/abroad via Euro Tunnel.

- Will Tesla cover any possible breakdown or punctures ? Do I need to get extra roadside assistance? I thought this was included when purchasing the car. I'm reading I do.
- Headlights, I've read various threads saying I don't need to do anything, but I honestly think my lights have a higher lip on the left, so do I need deflectors or is there a setting that can help?
- I will be using Destination chargers and SUC only, do you guys think that is workable?
- French toll roads, is it best to pay by contactless or get a Tag?

Sorry for asking the obviously, I've never driven abroad before, especially with my new M3.

Cheers

ha ha ha ha ha Tesla Roadside ha ha ha ha ha Go with Green Flag (AA also useless - they had one chance and blew it) £75ish for a year continental breakdown vs AA annual continental gold cover was £300 something.

I also take my own spare tyre, pucks and jack. Also since my 3's 12volt battery was made in 2019, I now carry a 12v substitution as well as an MN23 to get into the frunk if it goes south.

I'm in France right now on my way to/from Spain for the10th time - Superchargers and Destintion Chargers are good. The usual assortment of duff public chargers are to be avoided. Check ElectroMaps.

Defo get a tag. Ulys is the cheapest after using the UK based ones that charge more

Bon voyage
 
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I would add re: Swiss toll vignette that you can directly purchase it at the border crossing (if you keep on the main roads and don't drive in the middle of the night), for it's official price, 40 CHF. You only lose a minute, and you don't have to pay typically inflated prices or delivery charges from websites that would mail you one here instead.

ordered mine from tolltickets - 39 euro and 2.50 euro delivery. Thought that was less hassle than buying at the border.
 
Just got back from the Alps with a €190 toll bill and 17 toll booths. Loving the tag. Votre abonnement télépéage Liber-t en ligne | Bip&Go. DM me your email address if you want a referral code.

Whichever French tag provider you choose you’ll need a bank account that can make SEPA direct debits. RBS works. Nationwide doesn’t.
A "Wise" account is easy to setup and you can have a Euro account that can make SEPA direct debits, or so it claims.
 
Having completed a return trip (2,100 miles) in May from London to Italy, via France and Switzerland, in MY LR, I‘d like to share the below with you.
  • I had bad experience to rely on ABRP with subscription for the navigation. Planning was good, but, I ended up using only Tesla navigator while driving.
  • Used Tesla SuperChargers, as they are plenty and all working.
  • RHD lights configuration is an issue in LHD countries, as I was being flashed all the times at night. I would love to see Tesla allowing to tilt the lights down few degrees and reset back to original position.
  • France tolls are plenty and expensive but, with a passenger next to me, the payments were smooth.
  • Italy tolls are plenty and a bit less expensive than France. Again should you have a passenger, payments are easy.
  • Switzerland, I love buying and sticking the vignette on the windscreen. easy to find at any petrol station soon after the borders.
  • Breakdown cover - GreenFlag Europe
  • Emergency and Medical insurance for all the people with me - Axa
  • MN23 battery
  • portable compressor with 12V socket
  • 4 pucks
  • Windscreen cover was useful when parked during the day under the sun.
  • Back tesla shade useful for the shopping
  • Roof tesla shade was not really needed, even in Italy with 36 degrees
  • A reliable portable tyre pressure monitor was useful to balance all wheels when temps went up drastically, allowing to deflate precisely to 42 PSI.
  • Tidal/Spotify for Music was a big failure, as I spent most of the time, waiting for a signal to stream music. I suggest a portable SSD with FLAC in it or just mp3 in a stick.
  • Radio DAB was reliable
  • I carried extra Tesla plugs for the Mobile Charger. Schuko and Commando32A. I used the Mobile charger daily via Schuko were I was staying. It helped to have extra % during the day to keep the car cool under the sun. I also had 5m extension with UK plug just in case.
  • EV charge cable is also a must. I brought the one provided with the car 32A 3 phases. EnelX chargers in Italy are 22kWh, MY was recharging at 11kWh. Still very handy when at the supermarket doing shopping, in the middle of nowhere.
  • What I like the most was how accurate the car % estimation was, for the next stop.
 
Thank you everyone, its very helpful indeed. Looks like I need to get European Breakdown Cover then, a tag, sticker and all the bumpf for France. Plus the Vignette for Switzerland.

Anyone else have problems with Sat Nav or Spotify who has Premium Connectivity? I'm surprised to hear this occurs.
 
Thank you everyone, its very helpful indeed. Looks like I need to get European Breakdown Cover then, a tag, sticker and all the bumpf for France. Plus the Vignette for Switzerland.

Anyone else have problems with Sat Nav or Spotify who has Premium Connectivity? I'm surprised to hear this occurs.
to be clear, I had no issue with the Tesla Sat Nav, actually it worked really well. I had issues with ABRP (A better route planner). This is a third party application for which I purchased a monthly subscription, as I thought it would be useful for a long trip. Actually it was not that useful and I relied only on the Tesla Sat Nav.
 
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I just drove down to Italy via France, Belgium and Switzerland.

I concur with what others have said, but have a few more observations.

I already had Euro RAC cover. I also carry one of those puncture repair tools in case the wait would be too long.

I've found that if you go into the headlight calibration and level the headlights, it points the beam quite low down. I often need to do this after software updates that make the headlights go wonky and I get flashed by people in the UK let alone over here. I haven't been flashed once over here.

The supercharger network just works. I was slightly apprehensive about it, but it is as frictionless as it is in the UK. I did miscalculate on one and arrived with only 2%. I think this was because I was climbing a lot of hills. In fairness, the car did warn me to slow down, but it was too close for comfort for me and I shall be adding a little bit above what the planners tell me I need from now on. I did buy adapters for the UMC for each country I visited as a precaution because I chose very rural places to stop, but I doubt I'll need to use them.

The car produces a different plan to ABRP which I found interesting: it seems to favour more shorter stops. Since most of my stops on the way didn't have destination chargers, I used ABRP to ensure that I arrived with plenty of juice to make it to the next Supercharger the following morning.

I didn't bother with a toll tag because I had a passenger to pay using contactless. It would have been a nightmare without somebody sat beside me. Using contactless didn't cause any undue delay, but I'd get a tag if I did these trips more often just for the convenience.

If you finance your car, then you should carry a certificate from the finance company to say you have permission to take it out of the home country. A V103 if memory serves. That takes a few working days to arrive, so order one soon if you need it.

Enjoy your trip. The roads over here are better than in the UK and Autopilot is more useful in my experience.
 
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I have a hotel suggestion for you on your journey to Switzerland - if you are going via Dijon and need and overnighter. It’s the Dijon Holiday Inn. I’ve mentioned it before on this forum but should stop as I want to try and use it again in August 🤦‍♂️.

Hotel was cheap when I stayed and they have 3 Tesla destination chargers which were free to use when I stayed in April.

I always buy the Swiss vignette at the border as it usually only takes 30secs and I have, and recommend, the tag for the French motorways - no need to affix that to the screen, just hold it to the windscreen when going thru the toll booths. I have driven in France for many years and the Teslas are the only car I’ve used where I haven’t been flashed by other cars despite always using deflectors on previous cars.

I also have Green Flag European cover - £64
 
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I assume the SuperChargers bill you in Euros, so worth swapping out your usual payment to a card like Revolut that doesn’t have a per-transaction Euro surcharge?
That is correct. Also since my last trip to Italy the app asks me to update my address in Italy! I have no address in Italy and the car is UK purchased and registered.
 
Sorry for asking the obviously, I've never driven abroad before, especially with my new M3.

European driving is much easier and quicker than the UK, unless you are visiting big major cities.

I see you are heading to Switzerland........unless you have something specific planned for France, skip it, you can get to Geneva in one day quite easily. Once in Switerzland you really do have access to some of the best roads in world!!!! Its honestly like driving through some kind of endless car advert, no traffic, beautiful roads, amazing scenery, pretty much everything that is the opposite of driving in the UK!

Regarding Spotify, been to France a few times now in our Tesla, no issues with connectivity - Sat Nav does take 10 minutes to catch up once you exist the ferry/train, but thanks to Brexit, extra checks means you will be sitting in a traffic jam at passport control for about 30-45 minutes anyways :).

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Sat Nav does take 10 minutes to catch up once you exist the ferry/train, but thanks to Brexit, extra checks means you will be sitting in a traffic jam at passport control for about 30-45 minutes anyways
I don’t like to challenge your informative post but I’ve never come across passport control after leaving Eurotunnel - that’s always been dealt with before boarding. Up to 3 weeks ago at least. I find mine realises it’s in France before leaving Eurotunnel premises anyway.