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I'm Out....

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Well what can I say, other than "it's been emotional". I'll still have the car for another 2 years minimum (out of necessity). But I'm out of love with it, and more specifically Tesla Motors.

I was always nervous investing big in the first mainstream car into the UK market. I liked the novelty, I liked the vision, I was nervous on the resale values, concerned about the ability to deliver on the SC network outside the "core demographic/geographic" here in the UK (i.e. London), and frankly ordering blind it was a gamble.

I pre-ordered 14 months before UK launch. I loved the concept. I went in sensibly though, in an attempt to minimise risk, I went for a basic(-ish) 60. Leather+ Tech. No Supercharging (I figured I'd add it if I could see a need given my use and current locations, which to date there hasn't been, given the "marketing" driven SC rollout rather than a "range enabling" focus)


Anyway 8 months later, here we are.

If I'm honest the whole buying experience has sucked, but I've put up with it.

I got delays, after delays from order. I even got the "hard sell" on upgrading to air to bring my car forward in the queue.

The Supercharger rollout has stalled (unless you live in London)


I got sent the wrong registration documents twice, the car didn't come with the correct licence plate. Weeks to resolve. Only to find months later I got government fines through Tesla's ineptitude.

I got multiple hire cars turn up simultaneously in lieu of loaners. I got delivery drivers dropping my car off at 11:30 at night, then demanding said hire cars back. (Having agreed with Tesla they would be picked up at the office the next day, seeing me drive round at midnight retrieving cars)

I've had the car back in more times than I care to count to stop the interior creaking. Faulty chargers, broken high level tail lights, and no matter how many appliques get put on it still fogs up.

Despite all of this, I was putting it down as "growing pains", and I was still broadly on side. Swayed by how good the cars were.


So until the 70D launch I'd been saving toward a P85D. In one fell swoop, they've turned an advocate into someone very unlikely to buy another.

Tesla have achieved a double whammy, my car is now worth '000s less, and I feel like I've been screwed massively for being an early adopter, all on a car less than 9 months old. (Bearing in mind we weren't eligible for the residual guarantee program either, I'm personally stuck with this)

I had the cash collecting nicely, I would have been a repeat customer in <1 years time, probably for a top spec car, but frankly I've had enough. So now I'll just run the 60 into the ground as a commuter.

My future Tesla fund has all just gone to Lotus for a new Exige V6 Roadster, and I feel in a much happier place (especially with a proven track record of 65%+ residuals after 3 years).
 
I kinda feel your pain re quality and service. I've been given a very dirty loaner and the service pretty much returned the car with nothing resolved after keeping it for days. And I don't want to go through that same crap again. I love the car now but I personally don't have much patience. The people I dealt with are nice but it pisses me off that a 100k car has so many issues.If they are not resolved soon, I may start considering getting out too. What's funny is that my 10 year old Lexus has had 0 issues and the dealership took better care of my car.
 
Having not experienced most of the issues you have, all I can offer is an sympathetic "that sucks." Sounds like your experience has been significantly different than my own.

The one thing I do agree about the creaks and rattles. Mine is positively terrible. Even comparing to previous Hondas, kings of the creak and rattle, the Tesla is awful. Every month there's a new one louder than the last, so I feel your pain there. It's to the point not even the radio can down them out.
 
Having not experienced most of the issues you have, all I can offer is an sympathetic "that sucks." Sounds like your experience has been significantly different than my own.

The one thing I do agree about the creaks and rattles. Mine is positively terrible. Even comparing to previous Hondas, kings of the creak and rattle, the Tesla is awful. Every month there's a new one louder than the last, so I feel your pain there. It's to the point not even the radio can down them out.

You also have some of the worst roads in the country over there. Every car on earth, no matter how well made, will shake, rattle, and roll on a typical Bay Area road. I had to have my car re-aligned after driving to California and back. Tesla didn't charge me, otherwise I would have sent the bill to Jerry Brown.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but it seems that the 70D launch is specifically what pushed you to the other side. I hope you didn't expect Tesla to stand still in order to protect your resale value. Nothing Tesla has done since you bought your car has changed your car one bit - it's still the same car you bought and have been enjoying. Did you buy this car for its resale value? I don't know anybody who does that. I buy the car that I like to drive, not the car that will be worth the most in 3-5 years. If resale value was your main concern - and it seems to have been - then you would have been better off buying a Kia or a Toyota.
 
You also have some of the worst roads in the country over there. Every car on earth, no matter how well made, will shake, rattle, and roll on a typical Bay Area road.
We do? In comparison to previous places I've lived, several cities throughout the northeast and midwest, our roads are absolutely fantastic. No potholes (likely due to lack of snow plows), and well-maintained. If these are the worst roads in the country, someone needs to visit the rest of the country.

Of course, I can compare like-for-like as well. I had a Civic and the Tesla for awhile, and the Civic was less squeaky. I currently have a Mitsubishi Lancer as well, also less squeaky, which I recently drove 2.5k miles cross-country.

In summary, I don't think it's the roads.
 
We do? In comparison to previous places I've lived, several cities throughout the northeast and midwest, our roads are absolutely fantastic. No potholes (likely due to lack of snow plows), and well-maintained. If these are the worst roads in the country, someone needs to visit the rest of the country.

Of course, I can compare like-for-like as well. I had a Civic and the Tesla for awhile, and the Civic was less squeaky. I currently have a Mitsubishi Lancer as well, also less squeaky.

Okay maybe not the worst... and if you want a rattle trap, try a Volkswagen. :)
 
Of course, I can compare like-for-like as well. I had a Civic and the Tesla for awhile, and the Civic was less squeaky. I currently have a Mitsubishi Lancer as well, also less squeaky, which I recently drove 2.5k miles cross-country.

To be fair, the ICE is probably hiding some of the issues.

As to the rough roads...I haven't made it to the Bay Area...but it can't be as bad as the roads in MN...there is just no way. I once rode my Triumph from the TC to Chicago, and back, it nearly destroyed my back.
 
Hmm... the P85D I have now is Model S purchase number three. The first (my P85) spent about 90% of its life in NJ (arguably *the* worst roads in the country), the second (fiance's P85) about 75% and the P85D about 15% (rest in NC and elsewhere with less terrible roads).

I had some sunroof creaks and rattles with the first one, P85 #P21636 (since traded towards P85D)... but now hitting a combined 40k+ Model S miles I've not experienced any noticeable creaks/rattles on the cars aside from the minor panoroof related few from the early miles of the P85, which Tesla took care of.

Anyway, to the OP, sounds like resale value is too important to you with regard to your car, a well known depreciating asset. Good thing you weren't a P85 owner when the P85D came out.

Car resale values are kind of a crapshoot anyway. I just take what I can get if/when I decide to part with a car and not worry about it. Nothing you can do will change that number significantly besides just taking good care of the car, and even then only by a few % to the + if you're lucky. Overall, I wouldn't sweat the 70D release.
 
To be fair, the ICE is probably hiding some of the issues.
Could be. The Civic was pretty quiet unless you were flogging it. The Evo is admittedly pretty loud, however. It might be masking some little noises, but two of my Tesla rattles/creaks (one in the passenger door, one in the headliner near the rear passenger side) are loud. I'm sure you'd hear them even over the growl of the Evo.
 
Okay maybe not the worst... and if you want a rattle trap, try a Volkswagen. :)

You're kidding right? UK roads are by far better than US roads. On the east coast there are about a gazillion potholes per mile right now and as far as the Midwest it isn't better.

Now, the OP's experience isn't great and quite frankly we have all been a little undone by the rapid development of changes, agile and good yes, great for resale no.
 
Would you rather drive a LEAF? I mean... seriously... what other options are there? Not that I'm looking...
If the OP is concerned about depreciation and is only going to drive his EV for commuting, then he might as well sell his S-60 and buy a used LEAF that has already taken its initial depreciation hit...

I do sympathize with the hassle of having a car in the shop more than expected. (My LEAF has been virtually trouble free, BTW.) But blaming Tesla for rapidly evolving their offerings makes little sense to me.
 
You're kidding right? UK roads are by far better than US roads. On the east coast there are about a gazillion potholes per mile right now and as far as the Midwest it isn't better.

Having just returned from a vacation visiting family in the UK, I was driving home and was quickly reminded of the effect of our tiny winter earthquakes.

Shame about the dissatisfaction.
 
Would you rather drive a LEAF? I mean... seriously... what other options are there? Not that I'm looking...

Most new purchasers now are not looking at, comparing or trading leafs. I find that comment funny. Most new buyers are either ex Audi, Lexus or BMW drivers or are buying a tesla for the performance and tech factor. Evangelists and green folk clearly once the early adopters are now the minority of the new buyers.

The op clearly likes tech and performance (hence the move to a lotus exige) not a environmental tech lover.

So his options are another performance car.....
 
A Lotus is certainly a different proposition than the Model S (other than straight speed). There probably aren't too many folks cross-shopping for those two models.

I came off a Lexus GS450h that had an endless stream of problems (but not really rattles). I had one major criteria for my new car purchase: I had to have access to the HOV/Carpool lanes in my area, which I was grandfathered into by virtue of having bought the Lexus in 2008. The field of cars was therefore pretty limited because it had to be an ULEV or an electric. After test driving everything from a Prius to another Lexus GS450h, the Tesla was like stepping into another world. True, I've had my ups and downs with the car, but I'm very glad to be driving it. I'm also pleased with the broader mission that Tesla is on.

Still, I'm hardly typical of every owner, and the reality is that the Model S isn't for everyone. Likewise, the breakneck speed of change at Tesla has frustrated and upset many owners or would be purchasers. Tesla still has a lot to do, especially given the expectations at this price point -- not that BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Lexus owners are so satisfied either. Regardless, I think we all expect Tesla to do it better given their unique position in the market and the goals that they've set.
 
The only noise that bothers me is when the sunroof is open but if I keep it at 75% it's not too bad. I don't notice any other creeks or rattles at all. My old ICE cars have been worse in that department.

Driving around LA and SF my wife and I constantly comment on how bad the roads are. In fact, just crossing the line into Washington State we notice much worse roads than up here. It seems to me like you don't use the smooth and softer blacktop like we do. Your roads appear to be much harder concrete that is often grooved, chipped or potholed. I don't know what its like in the UK since we mostly rode the subway when visiting there.

I find it odd that the OP seems to blame Tesla for making changes that make the cars better, even though that means the resale value of the older cars take a huge hit. I've also lost a ton on my car, but there's never going back to an ICE for me. I look forward to all the new goodies years down the line when I'm ready to upgrade and I'd never bought a vehicle looking at resale value. That's for the stock - not the car.

In any event, losing a few customers like the OP over constant upgrading will be more than replaced by new people looking at these innovative and constantly evolving cars. I look forward to every new change -- keep them coming Tesla!
 
SMAC, it sucks to have so many issues so I definitely understand why you feel this way. Tesla could have handled it better.

In terms of resale value and depreciation, I strongly believe that most ICE cars do just as bad if not much worse. If you drive a brand new $100,000 German car off the lot, $10-15k is gone right there INSTANTLY. In four years and after the german warranty is out, it is worth 50% and then its a matter of time before expensive repairs kick in for some. With a Tesla, it depreciates less initially and then more over time if they come out with new offerings. However, you still have the same product with improvements over updates, which is impossible to say for ICE cars.

Now, since cars are a depreciating assets (minus collectors) we should all view them as such. In addition, since Tesla is just as much about the software as it is about the hardware the updates/refreshes every several months should be viewed differently. There are no three years to change from a v8 to a v6 turbochargers. It's an update and then your car gets a boost.

I am sure that my tesla will be a relic in Tesla years soon but I chose to be part of it and am enjoying the ride.