Impact of Service Center and Supercharger infrastructure on purchasing decisions

[pgiralt]

I just curious how many others have made the jump to purchase as a result of the super charger and service center buildout. I've been following the MS since it was announced years ago and ever a year ago when it first started shipping, in my mind it was still not practical to own for two reasons: 1) not having a service center near by and having to rely on rangers did not appeal to me and 2) the challenges posed for making road trips. The idea was that the MS would replace our nearly 10 year old SUV as the family car, so it had to be able to make road trips from the Raleigh, NC area up and down the east coast (we drive up to NYC and down to Orlando) as well as trips to Charlotte which I do occasionally on business. The lack of supercharger infrastructure was really a deal breaker. When I saw the accelerated build out schedule and the fact that all the routes I care about will be covered by this Fall, I really had no excuses (well, other than the fact that this would be 2x more than I've ever paid for a car - but I calculated at least a $20k savings in fuel costs over 8 years which I plan to keep the car at least that long so that helped immensely in rationalizing the price decision). Having the service center close by also let me go see a real MS with my own eyes even if I could not drive it and made my color selection much easier.

Had it not been for Tesla building a service center here in Raleigh and building out superchargers all along I-95, I would not have placed my order (which is less than a week away from delivery!). I'm wondering how many others waited for these things before buying and as Tesla builds out additional infrastructure, what kind of impact that will have to entice additional customers. Are there any of you out there waiting for something (other than parking sensors ) before buying?

 

[Plug Me In]

Service center location wasn't a factor. I use the Ranger service, the Raleigh center being my home base. The next most likely location near me, I expect, will be Richmond which is just as far away as Raleigh. The general supercharger plans were a factor in my decision to buy the Model S although I didn't wait for any specific locations to open. I actually thought the rollout was going to be a little more robust than what we saw in the first half of this year. I'll be very happy to see the Richmond area and Burlington superchargers open up.

Congrats in advance on your upcoming delivery! Service center and supercharger locations will just be nice little add-ons; you will love this car! I've been very happy with the Raleigh service center. I've had one remote software service and a Ranger visit that have been great.

 

[Newscutter]

Definitely a factor. MS would be a replacement car for us, not an additional one. 4 days a week we MUST have 2 cars available. Without a service center reasonably close, the potential for repairs dragging on for multiple days is a concern-- granted that can happen with ICE cars too, but rarely more than a day or two as parts and mechanics are both close at hand.

As for the SC network, we have several regular long-distance routes we do for the sake of seeing family. The car we would be replacing is our "roadtrip car" (the other is less ideal) so we need some better charging options mid-route for that to really work. HELLO TESLA-- I-90 CORRIDOR IN ERIE, PLEASE.

Other factors encouraging delay:

Insurance costs are quite variable. While rates may be offered low now, the costs to repair aluminum alone invites the potential for spikes in coverage costs. I'd like to see the MS go through IIHS testing and have a little more history behind it (not that I WANT any of you to crunch your cars, but it will happen) so that rates are stabilized and reliable.

Depreciation is an unknown. With the price increase all the early owners are happy, but I can't help but wonder what the cost of the tax rebate will be when factored into depreciation-- once Tesla is able to meet demand. Tesla will eventually satisfy much of the market and the 2nd hand or CPO sales will not benefit from the tax credits. That will surely affect their costs more than the raised option prices. I've always bought cars used and the fully loaded cars are rarely much more than base models after the first 1-2 years. Even less so after a model refresh, which I understand to be only 2 years away?

I think the sweet spot for solving all these questions is only about 18-24 months from now. I fully expect to get a nice deal, one way or the other, at that time that will more than offset my gasoline expenses while I wait.

But I am having trouble waiting. Big trouble. I should go now.