Hello TMC - I'm buying a Model 3 in LA and driving it back to Vegas. Hope I can SuperCharge and make it back.

[SuperFoolish]

Hello TMC peeps,

I am a new member as of today. I am planning to buy a vehicle in So Cal and drive it back to Vegas the next days. Hopefully I get a deal on a used Model 3 and have no issues transferring ownership of the car and make it back home with supercharging capabilities. Oh man if i can't charge, what a painful time that will be. I will be calling the Tesla service centers in the area to see if they have the J1772 charger adaptors so that I can at least use something like Electrify Americas I see in Sams club parking lots.

Hope this goes well, my wife wants a compact SUV but we can't afford a new Y so a used 3 is better than a used Subaru selling for 80% of MSRP with 2-3 years of use. The certified subaru comes with 7yr 100K powertrain warranty but no bumper to bumper. The 21 Model 3 comes with 11 months of bumper to bumper warranty and 8yr/100K battery warranty so I think it's a much better deal. The model 3 at close to half of MSRP is too good of a deal to pass up. I think the love of EV's has waned since the start of pandemic and this matched up with Hertz fire sale makes it the best time to jump into the Tesla owners club. Am I stupid to go buy a tesla and go on a "road trip" the first day driving back home 250 miles away? I guess I will find out and see if I end up in the dog house for buying a Tesla if I can't get it to charge from day 1 with my Tesla app/account.

Will return and post how my sales process went along with my Supercharging anxiety or Relief as how good Tesla's ownership transfer process is.

How do i check the car for defects or items that need attention, I can't just kick the tires and call it a day can I? Do i look below at the battery pack for damage? check the tires? Is there something on the Tablet I need to check? How can I get access to see if this was used on supercharger a lot if prior owner abused it driving for uber?

Thanks folks for reading.

Foolish

 

[Tam]

Hello TMC peeps,

I am a new member as of today. I am planning to buy a vehicle in So Cal and drive it back to Vegas the next days. Hopefully I get a deal on a used Model 3 and have no issues transferring ownership of the car and make it back home with supercharging capabilities. Oh man if i can't charge, what a painful time that will be. I will be calling the Tesla service centers in the area to see if they have the J1772 charger adaptors so that I can at least use something like Electrify Americas I see in Sams club parking lots.

Hope this goes well, my wife wants a compact SUV but we can't afford a new Y so a used 3 is better than a used Subaru selling for 80% of MSRP with 2-3 years of use. The certified subaru comes with 7yr 100K powertrain warranty but no bumper to bumper. The 21 Model 3 comes with 11 months of bumper to bumper warranty and 8yr/100K battery warranty so I think it's a much better deal. The model 3 at close to half of MSRP is too good of a deal to pass up. I think the love of EV's has waned since the start of pandemic and this matched up with Hertz fire sale makes it the best time to jump into the Tesla owners club. Am I stupid to go buy a tesla and go on a "road trip" the first day driving back home 250 miles away? I guess I will find out and see if I end up in the dog house for buying a Tesla if I can't get it to charge from day 1 with my Tesla app/account.

Will return and post how my sales process went along with my Supercharging anxiety or Relief as how good Tesla's ownership transfer process is.

How do i check the car for defects or items that need attention, I can't just kick the tires and call it a day can I? Do i look below at the battery pack for damage? check the tires? Is there something on the Tablet I need to check? How can I get access to see if this was used on supercharger a lot if prior owner abused it driving for uber?

Thanks folks for reading.

Foolish

I didn't read whether the used car is from a dealer or a private transaction.

If it's private, the seller can put your name and email as the new owner and hopefully your Supercharger will work right away.

If you buy from a dealer, you need to upload the paperwork to Tesla to prove your ownership. Hopefully it will work quickly but I am not sure with recent layoffs.

 

[LightWhitening]

Hello! I purchased a used model 3 from a dealer over the weekend and had the same worry about getting home (LA to SD, with only /0% charge to start). I bought the J1772 from the service center, and had already downloaded the Tesla app.

About 30 min after purchase I took photos of my passport and my temp registration and uploaded via the Tesla app - within 2 minutes the car was assigned to me and I was ready to go for supercharging. It was so fast it made it me think it’s automated as long as your photos are clear.

Hoping the same works out for you too.

 

[SuperFoolish]

Update:
I ran into a bunch of scammers/dealers in LA area re-selling Teslas. But I ended up at a major luxury dealership who had no idea what they were doing. Bought a white on white 2021 Model 3 LFP with 40+K with 19" wheels. I didn't want the white interior or the bigger wheels for future convenience but since they were premium options and worth more, what the heck. Maybe I can trade my wheels with someone with 18" and get some cash for it. Overall got a great deal and 100% charge as I left the lot.

I could not get the Tesla onto their wifi and so I didn't get a chance to add the car to my Tesla app thus preventing me from charging on the supercharger network. I found a tesla dealership near Upland, so I stay at a hotel there and thought of going into the service center/store. Looks like Tesla might be opening up another dealership/store near the 10 E freeway near Montclair area.

Anyhow, I tried to call Tesla support when I woke up and he was very helpful but since my car wasn't on wifi at the hotel it didn't work. He sent me instructions to take pics of my papers and to email it to him. I did but was in a hurry so I tried the starbucks down the street and still no help.

(Story time) BTW on the way to the starbucks, a crazy person got into it with a truck in front of me. Then after that guy passed, she tried to lunge at my car. WTF homeless/psycho coming at me now and my new car within 24 hours, hell no!. I floored it and swerved into the opposite lanes to get away from "it". I was so glad the pick up was instant and so hella fast. Have owned it less than 24 hours and it's already saved my car from damage and a big headache. BTW how do I record some crazy event that happens on the Tesla recording system? (end of story)

Starbucks no help,and some asshole sprayed my car with some coffee. After coffee, kinda antsy so I decided to just start driving and charge at the Chargepoint in Herperia?? instead of waiting for the tesla store to open and using the supercharger as I would only need 1 charge of 2 hours to make it back to Vegas. I got to

1st Charging attempt in Hesperia.
So my car had the J1772 so I ended up at the Walmart parking lot and saw that they have EA stations. I backed into that stall and tried to charge only to find out that the adaptor doesn't work with the EA connections. No fricking wonder I have never seen any Tesla's at my local EA station at a Sams Club. So I navigate to the Chargepoint station and there's a bunch of superchargers next to it. I heard someone say that sometimes tesla will let you charge 1 time on a supercharger without an account. I tested it but it did not work, telling me Payment method required and check unpaid balance.

Oh well, gave it a shot. I moved on over to the chargepoint and got it charging. about 7KW/hr so I had about 2 hours left for full. I went to eat breakfast and returned with an idea to move it to faster charger in Barstow that Plugshare listed at 14kw/hr. BTW charging at a Chargepoint with the Tesla Superchargers available made me feel self conscious but hey it's a new car, not everything is set up yet.

So I started driving, and when i got there, it was a blink charger. This one operates a bit differently from the Chargepoint, and the payment wasn't as easy to do. The hotel lady kept telling me to download the app and pay that way. I did it with the phone and was charging, only to find this also is only 7kw. WTH, so I searched for a faster charger and found one 1/3 mile away at a different motel.

That was a Chargepoint but it didn't ****ing work for some reason AND it charged me $3.00 for connecting. So back to blink it was. Damn I should have just waited at the first chargepoint in Hesperia.

Back at blink, with 2+ hours of charging, I thought I might as well ask this nice hotel lady what their internet password is so I can test out Tesla registration again. They had a simple wifi with a password login so it worked. I worked at adding the tesla to my app and the unpaid balance message went away. OMG thank goodness. I'm going to have to leave this hotel a 5 star rating now. Thanks Nikki.

So now, I went to grab lunch and off to the supercharge at Barstow Outlets. Saw the dozens of chargers as i passed earlier and wanted that experience instead of smaller ones on the road ahead. Boy does charging at a supercharge go fast, I was able to top off in 12 mins. I got to talking with the tesla 3 next to me and he was very impressed with this location as well. We talked tires, batteries, Cybertruck and about the Model Y pulling a trailer with solarpanels. Must have gone camping or something.

Anyhow, the rest of the trip went without a hitch, got home with 15% left and began charging at home with my 110.

Oh almost forgot after my tesla got wifi, it updated and Tesla gave me FSD for free for the next 30 days. Now I'm going to have to plan a trip to Seattle to test this sucker out. On the way home, I was messing with it and it does a great job of keeping in the lanes without bouncing from side to side like my rental car ford edge's cruise control did. Unfortunately, for the briefest of moment, as i was searching for a napkin, the FSD flagged me as inattentive and turned it self off for the rest of the drive. I didn't know it wanted my attention, it didn't make any noise and if I had only been looking straight ahead I still would have missed the signal on the screen.
Well, keep driving or find a way to turn it back on? So I stopped for a gatorade at an exit and when I got back on the road it was available again. FSD is awesome on highways for long drives as long as you keep your eyes on the road and screen.

Okay, that's it for now, but will return with more adventures.

 

[Tam]

Update:
I ran into a bunch of scammers/dealers in LA area re-selling Teslas. But I ended up at a major luxury dealership who had no idea what they were doing. Bought a white on white 2021 Model 3 LFP with 40+K with 19" wheels. I didn't want the white interior or the bigger wheels for future convenience but since they were premium options and worth more, what the heck. Maybe I can trade my wheels with someone with 18" and get some cash for it. Overall got a great deal and 100% charge as I left the lot.

I could not get the Tesla onto their wifi and so I didn't get a chance to add the car to my Tesla app thus preventing me from charging on the supercharger network. I found a tesla dealership near Upland, so I stay at a hotel there and thought of going into the service center/store. Looks like Tesla might be opening up another dealership/store near the 10 E freeway near Montclair area.

Anyhow, I tried to call Tesla support when I woke up and he was very helpful but since my car wasn't on wifi at the hotel it didn't work. He sent me instructions to take pics of my papers and to email it to him. I did but was in a hurry so I tried the starbucks down the street and still no help.

(Story time) BTW on the way to the starbucks, a crazy person got into it with a truck in front of me. Then after that guy passed, she tried to lunge at my car. WTF homeless/psycho coming at me now and my new car within 24 hours, hell no!. I floored it and swerved into the opposite lanes to get away from "it". I was so glad the pick up was instant and so hella fast. Have owned it less than 24 hours and it's already saved my car from damage and a big headache. BTW how do I record some crazy event that happens on the Tesla recording system? (end of story)

Starbucks no help,and some asshole sprayed my car with some coffee. After coffee, kinda antsy so I decided to just start driving and charge at the Chargepoint in Herperia?? instead of waiting for the tesla store to open and using the supercharger as I would only need 1 charge of 2 hours to make it back to Vegas. I got to

1st Charging attempt in Hesperia.
So my car had the J1772 so I ended up at the Walmart parking lot and saw that they have EA stations. I backed into that stall and tried to charge only to find out that the adaptor doesn't work with the EA connections. No fricking wonder I have never seen any Tesla's at my local EA station at a Sams Club. So I navigate to the Chargepoint station and there's a bunch of superchargers next to it. I heard someone say that sometimes tesla will let you charge 1 time on a supercharger without an account. I tested it but it did not work, telling me Payment method required and check unpaid balance.
View attachment 1053076




Oh well, gave it a shot. I moved on over to the chargepoint and got it charging. about 7KW/hr so I had about 2 hours left for full. I went to eat breakfast and returned with an idea to move it to faster charger in Barstow that Plugshare listed at 14kw/hr. BTW charging at a Chargepoint with the Tesla Superchargers available made me feel self conscious but hey it's a new car, not everything is set up yet.

View attachment 1053077


So I started driving, and when i got there, it was a blink charger. This one operates a bit differently from the Chargepoint, and the payment wasn't as easy to do. The hotel lady kept telling me to download the app and pay that way. I did it with the phone and was charging, only to find this also is only 7kw. WTH, so I searched for a faster charger and found one 1/3 mile away at a different motel.
View attachment 1053080
That was a Chargepoint but it didn't ****ing work for some reason AND it charged me $3.00 for connecting. So back to blink it was. Damn I should have just waited at the first chargepoint in Hesperia.
View attachment 1053081

Back at blink, with 2+ hours of charging, I thought I might as well ask this nice hotel lady what their internet password is so I can test out Tesla registration again. They had a simple wifi with a password login so it worked. I worked at adding the tesla to my app and the unpaid balance message went away. OMG thank goodness. I'm going to have to leave this hotel a 5 star rating now. Thanks Nikki.

So now, I went to grab lunch and off to the supercharge at Barstow Outlets. Saw the dozens of chargers as i passed earlier and wanted that experience instead of smaller ones on the road ahead. Boy does charging at a supercharge go fast, I was able to top off in 12 mins. I got to talking with the tesla 3 next to me and he was very impressed with this location as well. We talked tires, batteries, Cybertruck and about the Model Y pulling a trailer with solarpanels. Must have gone camping or something.

View attachment 1053084
Anyhow, the rest of the trip went without a hitch, got home with 15% left and began charging at home with my 110.

Oh almost forgot after my tesla got wifi, it updated and Tesla gave me FSD for free for the next 30 days. Now I'm going to have to plan a trip to Seattle to test this sucker out. On the way home, I was messing with it and it does a great job of keeping in the lanes without bouncing from side to side like my rental car ford edge's cruise control did. Unfortunately, for the briefest of moment, as i was searching for a napkin, the FSD flagged me as inattentive and turned it self off for the rest of the drive. I didn't know it wanted my attention, it didn't make any noise and if I had only been looking straight ahead I still would have missed the signal on the screen.
Well, keep driving or find a way to turn it back on? So I stopped for a gatorade at an exit and when I got back on the road it was available again. FSD is awesome on highways for long drives as long as you keep your eyes on the road and screen.

Okay, that's it for now, but will return with more adventures.

You need CCS1 to Tesla adapter to work with Electricity America. I do see some Tesla owners use Electricity America often. It's DC Charging that is not the same as J1772 home or Chargepoint AC charging.