Greetings TMC
Like many before, I have been lurking here trying to glean information before "going electric".
Short personal vignette:
My wife and I are in our late 60's - still working. We spent the last 5 years rebuilding an ocean going sailboat that had previously circumnavigated with the intention of doing the same. The 2008 financial crisis and other personal circumstances resulted in reducing the scope of our plans and we have sailed primarily in the Chesapeake Bay and nearby Atlantic. Work, age and grandchildren have focused our lives back on land. We live in Silver Spring, near the DC border.
Automobile history:
I have always be interested all things mechanical as has my wife. When we met I was driving a '74 911S and she, one of the first Datsan/Nissan Z 240s. We have mostly enjoyed rebuilding and driving older vehicles. Before we had children we rebuilt a 1954 R Type Bentley and used it as our only vehicle until our first child. The last "older vehicle" was a 1979 Bertone bodied 308 Dino which we sold when we concentrated on sailing. I have no interest in and get very little from having a luxury vehicle. My main hobby from 1968 until the late 1980's was racing an open wheel formula car (Forumla Ford) which we campaigned primarily in the Midwest SCCA national level. Our current vehicles are old (2003 Mini Cooper S and a 2002 VW Eurovan pop top). They have served us well and will be our last ICE vehicles. We are planning to add solar panels and Tesla Home batteries.
Tesla
I stood in line on March 31 and expect to be within the first 100,000. I'm in no hurry and really like the direction that both Hans and Elon have gone with styling both inside and out. I particularly like their focus on vehicle dynamics. In fact I hadn't followed Tesla closely until I walked by one of the Tesla stores and saw the "skateboard" I was amazed at the sophistication of the suspension. Far better than most upmarket vehicles that use struts in the front instead of double A arms. It is possible that we will switch our reservation to an X given adult children and a grandchild in the area.
Roadster
I would really like to have a Roadster as a daily driver and would appreciate some assistance from the Roadster community. My last everyday work car was a 2005 Lotus Elise (I am an unabashed Colin Chapman fan) that I used with great pleasure for 3 years commuting between Bethesda and Baltimore. I have inspected and driven 3 Roadsters.
One 2.5 in Chicago that was very nice but the price is too high for us to consider a 3.0 battery upgrade which seems important if my wife are going to travel any distance. The car would be used primarily as my daily driver between DC and Baltimore (70 miles round trip). My wife and I would also like to take the occasional trip. I could see driving 200-300 miles in a day on country roads and stopping at the end of the day to recharge. It would seem that the battery upgrade is crucial to this sort of use given the lack of DC-DC recharging. The second car was a Very Orange 2.0 with approximately 1500 miles with a very high price and an unclear maintenance history.
The vehicle I am looking closely at was taken in trade at a Jaguar dealer (oh dear!, I hadn't been in a car dealership in a long time -not a great way to spend one's only life). The car is also Very Orange, which I like, and has less that 2000 miles which, in my opinion, is often a problem. In my experience most seals don't like sitting in one place, especially not for 7 years. Shocks tend to leak and fail; brake calipers seize. The vehicles first and only visit back to the Tesla SC was in March of this year just before it was traded. It underwent the full yearly maintenance with findings as follows:
1. Brakes were non - functional as expected and the hygroscopic brake fluid was black. Multiple flushes with synthetic brake fluid and they are functioning. On 2 separate test drives the brakes seem OK?. The car stays straight on heavy application of the brakes but they don't seem as effective as I would have expected. Certainly, not as good as my old Lotus Elise, but then I understand that they have to contend with an additional 1000 pounds. It is also possible that the pads are not fully bedded. I suspect that the original owner never used them especially hard considering the substantial regen and minimal mileage.
Question: Wouldl the roadster community be concerned about the about the ABS mechanical pump sitting for years bathed in water contaminated brake fluid.
2. The battery logs were downloaded and the maintenance report says that the battery is OK, but there is no quantitation given by the Tesla service center I plan on asking them to give me the C.A.C
Question: Anything else to look at in the logs? (Assuming that the SC is willing to review them with me given that I don't own the car and the dealership still has the car in the original owner's name)
3. The coolant system has never been serviced and has the original coolant (2010). It is my understanding that the coolant should be exchanged every 4 years. The lack of service is not good but I'm not sure that this is a show stopper.
Comments?
4. The TPMS system is non -functional which is not a surprise. It is my understanding from reading through related posts on TMC that it can be problematic and I assume the senders in the wheels need to be replaced to start.
5. My greatest concern is the air conditioning. The second time we drove the car we used the AC. The ambiant temperature was low 80's F and I was traveling at a steady 60 MPH. Set the thermostat to maximum cold and recirculation. It was OK for about 10 minutes, the air was cold, but not fabulous, I understand that this is a marginal system. However, after 10 mins the air became warm with the fan still functioning fine as if the compressor had kicked out. After another 10 minutes the air became cold again but once again only stayed that way for about 10 minutes. The system has never been serviced and no written comment is provided during the recent Tesla service.
Question: Is it possible that the system is just low in refrigerant?
Finally, I have come to an impass with the Jaguar dealership and the Tesla service center nearby. I at first offered to pay for the Tesla SC to relook at the above systems and give me an estimate of the needed repairs. I was willing to spend up to $500 to get the answers without repair. They are willing to provide diagnosis at $175/hour and no estimate of time and what can be accomplised diagnostically in three hours. The Jaguar dealership is so far unwilling to spend any money for further assessement. I am ambivalent about spending to much on a car that I ultimately decide to reject more on principle than cost.
All that said, I really like the car and it seems to run quite well. It is certainly more comfortable than my Elise. I may talk to the Tesla service center again to see if I can work out a better arrangement with a different service advisor.
Any thoughts related to the viability of using Roadster for the near future is appreciated. I realize there is a lot that is unknowable and I have owned vehicles that have long been out of production, but most of them were quite low tech and parts were available. The Roadster is an unusual combination of high tech and obsolete.
Thank you in advance for any advice.
Like many before, I have been lurking here trying to glean information before "going electric".
Short personal vignette:
My wife and I are in our late 60's - still working. We spent the last 5 years rebuilding an ocean going sailboat that had previously circumnavigated with the intention of doing the same. The 2008 financial crisis and other personal circumstances resulted in reducing the scope of our plans and we have sailed primarily in the Chesapeake Bay and nearby Atlantic. Work, age and grandchildren have focused our lives back on land. We live in Silver Spring, near the DC border.
Automobile history:
I have always be interested all things mechanical as has my wife. When we met I was driving a '74 911S and she, one of the first Datsan/Nissan Z 240s. We have mostly enjoyed rebuilding and driving older vehicles. Before we had children we rebuilt a 1954 R Type Bentley and used it as our only vehicle until our first child. The last "older vehicle" was a 1979 Bertone bodied 308 Dino which we sold when we concentrated on sailing. I have no interest in and get very little from having a luxury vehicle. My main hobby from 1968 until the late 1980's was racing an open wheel formula car (Forumla Ford) which we campaigned primarily in the Midwest SCCA national level. Our current vehicles are old (2003 Mini Cooper S and a 2002 VW Eurovan pop top). They have served us well and will be our last ICE vehicles. We are planning to add solar panels and Tesla Home batteries.
Tesla
I stood in line on March 31 and expect to be within the first 100,000. I'm in no hurry and really like the direction that both Hans and Elon have gone with styling both inside and out. I particularly like their focus on vehicle dynamics. In fact I hadn't followed Tesla closely until I walked by one of the Tesla stores and saw the "skateboard" I was amazed at the sophistication of the suspension. Far better than most upmarket vehicles that use struts in the front instead of double A arms. It is possible that we will switch our reservation to an X given adult children and a grandchild in the area.
Roadster
I would really like to have a Roadster as a daily driver and would appreciate some assistance from the Roadster community. My last everyday work car was a 2005 Lotus Elise (I am an unabashed Colin Chapman fan) that I used with great pleasure for 3 years commuting between Bethesda and Baltimore. I have inspected and driven 3 Roadsters.
One 2.5 in Chicago that was very nice but the price is too high for us to consider a 3.0 battery upgrade which seems important if my wife are going to travel any distance. The car would be used primarily as my daily driver between DC and Baltimore (70 miles round trip). My wife and I would also like to take the occasional trip. I could see driving 200-300 miles in a day on country roads and stopping at the end of the day to recharge. It would seem that the battery upgrade is crucial to this sort of use given the lack of DC-DC recharging. The second car was a Very Orange 2.0 with approximately 1500 miles with a very high price and an unclear maintenance history.
The vehicle I am looking closely at was taken in trade at a Jaguar dealer (oh dear!, I hadn't been in a car dealership in a long time -not a great way to spend one's only life). The car is also Very Orange, which I like, and has less that 2000 miles which, in my opinion, is often a problem. In my experience most seals don't like sitting in one place, especially not for 7 years. Shocks tend to leak and fail; brake calipers seize. The vehicles first and only visit back to the Tesla SC was in March of this year just before it was traded. It underwent the full yearly maintenance with findings as follows:
1. Brakes were non - functional as expected and the hygroscopic brake fluid was black. Multiple flushes with synthetic brake fluid and they are functioning. On 2 separate test drives the brakes seem OK?. The car stays straight on heavy application of the brakes but they don't seem as effective as I would have expected. Certainly, not as good as my old Lotus Elise, but then I understand that they have to contend with an additional 1000 pounds. It is also possible that the pads are not fully bedded. I suspect that the original owner never used them especially hard considering the substantial regen and minimal mileage.
Question: Wouldl the roadster community be concerned about the about the ABS mechanical pump sitting for years bathed in water contaminated brake fluid.
2. The battery logs were downloaded and the maintenance report says that the battery is OK, but there is no quantitation given by the Tesla service center I plan on asking them to give me the C.A.C
Question: Anything else to look at in the logs? (Assuming that the SC is willing to review them with me given that I don't own the car and the dealership still has the car in the original owner's name)
3. The coolant system has never been serviced and has the original coolant (2010). It is my understanding that the coolant should be exchanged every 4 years. The lack of service is not good but I'm not sure that this is a show stopper.
Comments?
4. The TPMS system is non -functional which is not a surprise. It is my understanding from reading through related posts on TMC that it can be problematic and I assume the senders in the wheels need to be replaced to start.
5. My greatest concern is the air conditioning. The second time we drove the car we used the AC. The ambiant temperature was low 80's F and I was traveling at a steady 60 MPH. Set the thermostat to maximum cold and recirculation. It was OK for about 10 minutes, the air was cold, but not fabulous, I understand that this is a marginal system. However, after 10 mins the air became warm with the fan still functioning fine as if the compressor had kicked out. After another 10 minutes the air became cold again but once again only stayed that way for about 10 minutes. The system has never been serviced and no written comment is provided during the recent Tesla service.
Question: Is it possible that the system is just low in refrigerant?
Finally, I have come to an impass with the Jaguar dealership and the Tesla service center nearby. I at first offered to pay for the Tesla SC to relook at the above systems and give me an estimate of the needed repairs. I was willing to spend up to $500 to get the answers without repair. They are willing to provide diagnosis at $175/hour and no estimate of time and what can be accomplised diagnostically in three hours. The Jaguar dealership is so far unwilling to spend any money for further assessement. I am ambivalent about spending to much on a car that I ultimately decide to reject more on principle than cost.
All that said, I really like the car and it seems to run quite well. It is certainly more comfortable than my Elise. I may talk to the Tesla service center again to see if I can work out a better arrangement with a different service advisor.
Any thoughts related to the viability of using Roadster for the near future is appreciated. I realize there is a lot that is unknowable and I have owned vehicles that have long been out of production, but most of them were quite low tech and parts were available. The Roadster is an unusual combination of high tech and obsolete.
Thank you in advance for any advice.
