Europe, let the games begin!!

[LST]

Finally received the call from Tesla about the delivery proceedings etc. Delivery should be in March. So it looks like UK, Germany, Belgium etc. are a little bit earlier than we in Switzerland. I really am curious to see how many M3 Telsa can deliver in 2019 to the old continent. Happy waiting to all of you.

 

[garrity]

Anyone, have any news on how the Test drives are going/ being received in Europe?

FYI Glovis Cosmos has cleared the Panama Canal

 

[Monops]

Finally received the call from Tesla about the delivery proceedings etc. Delivery should be in March. So it looks like UK, Germany, Belgium etc. are a little bit earlier than we in Switzerland. I really am curious to see how many M3 Telsa can deliver in 2019 to the old continent. Happy waiting to all of you.

UK? If only

 

[frank69]

Glad to hear you guys in EU are going to get them soon. I've had mine since August and although I had some paint issues and minor complaints at the beginning, it's truly a fine car. I can say that everyone who I know (about 5 people) all love the car over their old cars...mercedes, honda, etc.

 

[TeeEmCee]

I must say the US spec Model 3 they had on display in the Frankfurt store ...

As I was reading this, I wondered: "what would the best place for a Tesla store be, in Frankfurt?". So, before I looked it up, I said to myself it had to be somewhere around the Hauptwache.

I guess I was pretty close, so I took to Street View and dropped the pin on Grosse Bockenheimer ... what the heck is happening to Frankfurt? First thing I see on the map is a Tesla store, with a Starbucks and an Apple store next door and then a McDonalds down the street. What's next, replace the Ebbelwoi with Coors Light?

 

[TeeEmCee]

@TeeEmCee I dunno about you in the US, but here in the EU we're kidding ourselves. Service is hit and miss, service costs are outrageous, the delivery wait can be substantial.

Do you mean the Tesla service costs or in general?

I had to wait 5 months for my Zoe from the day I ordered. When they had to do a recall, I didn't get a loaner at all, especially not for free. ICE car service is expensive and people just get amnesia about the cost, in my experience people usually remember only 50% of what they paid for a year. A typical BMW maintenance appointment without any actual repairs required costs between 400 and 800 Euro, just for the regular maintenance. Citroen C3 annual maintenance sans any actual repairs: 400 Euro. Mercedes is above 1000 (depending on model). People swallow every time they see the bill, but forget about it as soon as they walk out the door.

I shall count myself lucky then, I generally prepay the service on my Audis and it's under $900 each (for a Q7 and a Q5) for the first 45K miles. BMWs include maintenance in their sales price; with my last one it was for the first 50K or 4 years. Back then they even covered brake replacement ... cheapest TCO of any decent car I've had.

That said, my brother had to wait 6 months for a replacement rubber seal on his Model X, and it took as long to find the reason for why the doors sometimes wouldn't close. Tesla Vienna did give him a free loaner and they were very much trying to do things right, but they had to wait ages for parts. Finding the door fault also took them quite a bit of time.

6 month loaner? Wow!
On second thought, I've been driving loaners vs my own car by a 3:1 ratio since I took delivery, 4 months ago.

And the whole Dieselgate thing was just a ploy by the US to damage the industrial might of german carmakers of course.

More like VW arrogantly failed to make certain donations ...

On one hand I'd be more than happy to see lots of manufacturers actually start to sell decent or excellent EVs. However it's hard not to hope for certain brands to finally crash and burn after having lied so often and made so many empty promises, particularly when there's a zealous fanbase happy to amplify every oopsie by Tesla, while brushing over any and all issues or broken promises of their favorite brand. (Like the fact that the ID line of vehicles is at least 1 year late, based on the boasting statements of their CEO back when it was announced - something that diehard VW fans absolutely do not want to be reminded of)

They'll be here someday, but one thing they won't be is cheap. I could not not believe how much money they wanted for a freakin' eGolf (in Europe that is). Price aside, what's coming from Audi and Porsche looks absolutely glorious, particularly that Audi GT.

I see it like this: Even if Tesla were to bite the dust in the near future, there's no turning back the clock now. Full-range BEVs by VW, Volvo, BMW and others will come. And it's in all our interest that there's as much competition out there as possible.

That is indeed true. If you were to take their mission statement literally, then they have already accomplished their goal. If only they fixed my freakin' car properly, so I can talk some proper smack next time I'm in Bavaria ...


After you get your car and have had the chance to drive it for a few weeks, drop us a note here with your impressions. I'm truly curious to hear your European perspective, especially if it's a German-brand-agnostic one.

 

[Gerasimental]

Finally received the call from Tesla about the delivery proceedings etc. Delivery should be in March. So it looks like UK, Germany, Belgium etc. are a little bit earlier than we in Switzerland. I really am curious to see how many M3 Telsa can deliver in 2019 to the old continent. Happy waiting to all of you.

What makes you think that Germany/Belgium are earlier than Switzerland. Have you seen anyone with deliveries planned for Feb in those countries?

 

[Toumal]

Do you mean the Tesla service costs or in general?

I meant in general. My mom's 116i went to regular service, 800 Euros despite allegedly nothing was broken or in need of actual repair. Then a month later she went to have the tyres changed and they hit her with another 700 Euros for new brakes. Half a year later I was talking to relatives about service cost and she remembered that the service was not too expensive, "maybe 500 Euros". When I told her that she paid 1500 Euros she didn't believe me until I had her dig out the receipts.

My sister drives a Citroen C3. A regular service where nothing was in need of repair was 400 Euros. Both cars are a bit older but that's just my point: If you want to keep your ICE car for some time instead of replacing it every 4 years, maintenance costs become a real factor. Very few people really calculate the cost of their cars correctly, much less remember how much they paid in any given year.

So when people complain about the price of BEVs, few are in a position to compare TCO. Usually they parrot either a pro-BEV or anti-BEV article that makes some kind of assumption coupled with data that may or may not be accurate or relevant.

But to get back to the Model 3, I had a colleague complain to me about the lack of the SR variant saying that he won't buy because Tesla can't get their S together. Then he went and bought a BMW for almost EUR 89k. In other words: He was looking for reasons to buy a BMW, he was not interested in pricing at all. Money was never an issue. And I do believe that for a very large number of people who can afford a EUR 45.000 Volkswagen or a EUR 55.000 BMW the availability of the SR model is not a factor, just an excuse.

 

[daktari]

Had a nice, but short test-drive yesterday. Performance.
Very nice car indeed! Suspension, even with 20" was not bad, partly helped by very soft seats. Noise levels low. A real sporty car which has excellent traction in the snow, easy to drift it a little bit when wanted. In general, seating position is better for me than the S, and one is not compromising interior space very much if at all. They had 7 cars ready in Oslo, Norway, at a huge conference centre where I guess they will start the mass deliveries soon.
I drive an I-PACE now, that certainly has a bit lower noise level and softer suspension and more upright seating position and a is a different type cross over car. But really impressed by the 3.

The press also seems impressed, with this statement: "3 against a 3-series is a no-brainer." Test av Tesla Model 3 i Norge: Lettkjørt og rakettkjapp

Same does users on the Norwegian forum for electric cars. Congrats Tesla!

 

[Toumal]

Hey @daktari how do you like the Model 3 seats compared to the ones in the I-Pace? Do you feel that you'd have trouble during long trips or not?

 

[TEG]

Can you folks in Europe let me know if the rear blinkers are amber or red like the USA versions?

If they are not red, can you post some video?

 

[daktari]

Can you folks in Europe let me know if the rear blinkers are amber or red like the USA versions?

If they are not red, can you post some video?

Not allowed with red blinkers here, but did not think about taking a picture of that.

 

[daktari]

Hey @daktari how do you like the Model 3 seats compared to the ones in the I-Pace? Do you feel that you'd have trouble during long trips or not?

I have the ventilated 18 way adjustable "sport seats" in the Jag., not the bucket seats. They are pretty firm but comfortable also on long trips. The firmness is not the best for city driving with potholes, but good at prolonged rides.

I only drove the 3 for less than 30 minutes. I am not sure, maybe they could be firmer at the sides or a tad firmer overall? They were really soft, reminding me of older super comfy Renault seats. But a good fit for me at 181 cm long.

 

[AustinPowers]

What makes you think that Germany/Belgium are earlier than Switzerland. Have you seen anyone with deliveries planned for Feb in those countries?

When Tesla called me about two weeks ago they said my delivery was tentatively scheduled for end of February. Which positively surprised me since I am a current non-owner. Then again, at least I reserved on day one.

 

[Gerasimental]

When Tesla called me about two weeks ago they said my delivery was tentatively scheduled for end of February. Which positively surprised me since I am a current non-owner. Then again, at least I reserved on day one.

Thanks, that's great to hear! What's your config? I've seen over in the dutch forum that people there have been getting texts telling them they will be able to collect their cars in the week beginning 11th feb, which is also very promising! But I don't know if those people are owners or what config they ordered.

 

[AustinPowers]

Thanks, that's great to hear! What's your config? I've seen over in the dutch forum that people there have been getting texts telling them they will be able to collect their cars in the week beginning 11th feb, which is also very promising! But I don't know if those people are owners or what config they ordered.

My config is LR AWD blue 19'' white interor EAP

See my signature

 

[Toumal]

Can you folks in Europe let me know if the rear blinkers are amber or red like the USA versions?

The Model 3 I saw in Vienna had red indicators - but that was a US car with a Type 1 plug. It was literally just a regular US Model 3 shipped over to Austria, so I am very sure the ones we get here are going to have yellow indicator lights.

 

[AustinPowers]

I remember back in the days when there used to be US barracks in many German towns, the private cars of the military personnel had red indicators - because they were all US spec cars (with US military plates no less - in the really olden days these looked like standard US plates to the untrained eye, later they were changed to special versions of Euro-plates).

As I was reading this, I wondered: "what would the best place for a Tesla store be, in Frankfurt?". So, before I looked it up, I said to myself it had to be somewhere around the Hauptwache.

I guess I was pretty close, so I took to Street View and dropped the pin on Grosse Bockenheimer ... what the heck is happening to Frankfurt? First thing I see on the map is a Tesla store, with a Starbucks and an Apple store next door and then a McDonalds down the street. What's next, replace the Ebbelwoi with Coors Light?

Actually, this might be due to your Street View settings. When I open the map in that area I see neither the Tesla store nor the Starbucks. Only the Apple store is shown prominently.

 

[TeeEmCee]

I remember back in the days when there used to be US barracks in many German towns, the private cars of the military personnel had red indicators - because they were all US spec cars (with US military plates no less - in the really olden days these looked like standard US plates to the untrained eye, later they were changed to special versions of Euro-plates).

Back when Sachsenhausen was still fun ...

 

[Deslah]

Back when Sachsenhausen was still fun ...

Still a few US barracks and bases, but military personnel are now issued license plates of the city/town nearest to that particular installation. Those who bring their personal US vehicles with them may do so unmodified, so there there are still lots of red turn indicators on the roadways.