Just bought an X. My first Tesla. It'll be the family beater and we'll ignore it. Suggestions?

[acal]

This is a material upgrade from the current family car - a 2003 MPV. And, while everyone's all enamored with the Tesla right now, I know how this will go. We're not going to wash it weekly. Probably not even monthly. It doesn't snow here, so no salt on the road, which helps. It's going to haul kids and their wet swim bags and their food and get parked in the sun and dust all day at meets and have scooters tossed in the back along with all the rest of our crap.

Given our history, we're likely to own it forever. We'll probably still be driving it daily 15 years from now. We went w/ the blue and all-black interior for this reason.

So, what should I plan to do to it when I get it? It'll never be a garage queen but if there are things that will make a material difference in longevity or ease of cleanup given how we're likely to mistreat it I'd be interested. Or, we can just do nothing, sigh at the first dent/scratch, and then not worry about it for the next 15 years and 150k miles. Thoughts?

 

[dcevelyn]

This is a material upgrade from the current family car - a 2003 MPV. And, while everyone's all enamored with the Tesla right now, I know how this will go. We're not going to wash it weekly. Probably not even monthly. It doesn't snow here, so no salt on the road, which helps. It's going to haul kids and their wet swim bags and their food and get parked in the sun and dust all day at meets and have scooters tossed in the back along with all the rest of our crap.

Given our history, we're likely to own it forever. We'll probably still be driving it daily 15 years from now. We went w/ the blue and all-black interior for this reason.

So, what should I plan to do to it when I get it? It'll never be a garage queen but if there are things that will make a material difference in longevity or ease of cleanup given how we're likely to mistreat it I'd be interested. Or, we can just do nothing, sigh at the first dent/scratch, and then not worry about it for the next 15 years and 150k miles. Thoughts?

If you don't mind spending a little bit of extra money...I would highly suggest floor mats for the interior (Tesla has some nice ones available on their website) and think about getting a clear wrap on the exterior to help protect the paint. We just picked up a Model X for my Wife a couple of weeks ago, same color combo as yours, and the first thing that we did was get an Xpel wrap put on the entire car.

 

[HadoukenZR]

+1 for All weather mats and entire XPEL wrap. Will definitely help towards the longevity of the car

And with kids I would even recommend XPEL wrapping the seat backs as well if your willing to spend the $$. Im sure those will get scuffed up in no time with kids

 

[Sprandt23]

Congrats, and enjoy!
Ditto on the upgraded mats - Tesla does offer a Weathertech version, or you can look on amazon etc; and with kids this will be a definite must with spilled drinks, snacks and such.

I would just say be prepared to drive it a LOT more than you think....you will love this car and will find yourself driving it (even more) than you anticipated. 150k miles will probably end up getting you half way to 15 years!!

 

[ModlS3XY]

Sorry to highjack this thread but this is sort of a related question. people keep recommending the xpel wrap and I am guessing that costs 4 grand to get the entire car wrapped.
Let's say there are some scratches and the wrap protects the paint. The wrap is still going to show the tears. What then? Do we have to rewrap the entire fender if the scratch was in the fender? How much does it cost to repair those tears?

 

[ModlS3XY]

Congratulations @acal !

 

[croman]

If you don't care don't waste money on XPEL but good all weather hats definitely help.

If it's a beater just enjoy it. The best beater ever.

 

[dlsspy]

Sorry to highjack this thread but this is sort of a related question. people keep recommending the xpel wrap and I am guessing that costs 4 grand to get the entire car wrapped.
Let's say there are some scratches and the wrap protects the paint. The wrap is still going to show the tears. What then? Do we have to rewrap the entire fender if the scratch was in the fender? How much does it cost to repair those tears?

You'll have to talk to your body shop for details. For accuracy, you'll have to show them the damage.

In my experience, things don't go wrong the way I expect them to.

 

[RVD98072]

I would recommend wrapping just the front part (whole car is too expensive). i got the all weather mats on amazon for a cheaper price than weathertech and they seem fine.

i vacuum the car once/wk and wash the car once/month.

i have 3 kids (ages 12, 5, 4) and on my weekly vacuum it's absolutely filthy. food and crumbs in every nook and spilled liquids on the floors, etc. and yeah, i have the white seats and they are mostly holding up ok...

 

[animorph]

This is my favorite car saver, a cargo liner:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CWHBMZK

I can use it like a truck without worrying too much about scratching the interior.
I also use a frunk rubber mat and short rear mat for small stuff .

 

[SMAlset]

What seating version of the X did you order? We live in the bay area too and bought the 3D Maxpider Kagu Mats for our MS. Waterproof, look great, bought them off amazon. Very happy with them. Here's a link to a set for an X without center console. https://www.amazon.com/3D-MAXpider-Complete-Custom-All-Weather/dp/B074VK19Z8. If you are thinking about them and want to see them, PM me. Could show you the Rola cargo organizer we bought for our car at the same time. Another great product IMO.

We had our MS full body wrapped with Xpel. Rock chips and small scratches will self-heal in the sun. We did scratch the bumper a while back on a wood post and it cut through the film but didn't damage the paint (that was our main purpose for putting it on). We ended up having that section replaced to keep water from getting underneath it. It was a couple hundred dollars but we also plan to keep the car for a long time. We haven't regretted doing the wrap but it can get costly. Something like an 8 year warranty but check the website and use a good installer. We had our edges wrapped as well so there aren't any seam lines (except for the mirrors which by design are hard to wrap).

 

[mspohr]

+1 for All weather mats and entire XPEL wrap. Will definitely help towards the longevity of the car

And with kids I would even recommend XPEL wrapping the seat backs as well if your willing to spend the $$. Im sure those will get scuffed up in no time with kids

XPEL wrap does nothing for longevity. The car will last just as long without the wrap and save the expense.
This is a daily beater car, not a show queen.

 

[jelloslug]

The XPEL may be overkill for your use. It is a very good product, and it will help protect your paint for a long time but you will have to decide if it's worth the money for you. I would go with a good set of all weather floor mats and possibly a set of good quality seat covers for the rear seats.

 

[alcibiades]

Hi! I use our X as our main family car. Just beat the hell out of it. It's essentially in the cabin a kind of mid-level quality minivan with a space age vibe and very expensive battery -- and it is super fun to drive and has doors that kids love. It is crucial to remember that so much of the cost is due to the battery.

 

[HugoBoss]

Just treat it like a regular car. We have three kids 7 and under so it does get dirty. Yes scratches and dings sucks, but they do happen. Its a part of car ownership. We though of getting a wrap but seems too expensive for my taste. We got keyed this week and it sucks. also noticed first rock chip on the hood. You can see bare metal but oh well. Its just a car, a great car I might add. Enjoy it. The more you drive it the more savings you will see. Good luck

 

[croman]

As a fair disclosure, I did XPEL wrap the full front of my S but I also wash my car frequently and love the way it looks (one of the compelling reasons to get a Tesla). I do use my car exclusively to transport kids and my wife (its our only car). I bought a 12V vac and clean all the time because kids do generate a lot of mess (my 3 year old daughter gets picked up and has her lunch in the car).

But I agree with the other posters that if you don't care about the looks, save the money. XPEL is a great product but its very expensive and mainly about keeping the looks (I also ceramic coated my car which is a total waste for you if you don't care about the look of the paint).

I agree with the cargo organizer. I bought one and have it in the footwell of my S's trunk and its great for road trips and I could see it as being useful for my when kids are older and I want to store sports gear or whatever in an organized fashion but not have it fly around the trunk when I floor it at red lights.

I also got kangaroo pouches and installed them on my seatbacks and they are amazing for keeping books, crayons/colored pencils, paper, and whatnot to keep the kids engaged and their minds healthy.

 

[Krash]

I would consider Xpel on the inside door bottoms. Especially with soccer and football cleats.

 

[gnguyen]

The rubber floor mats are really the best thing you can get, I have a 5yo and 3yo. Also seat back pocketed covers, and seat bottom/back protectors. The latter saved me when there was a pee accident. We’ve had our 6 seater X for a year now, going up and down the 5 several times to LA and Vegas and San Diego. No wrap. Really awesome car and gets better over time with OTA firmware updates.

It does get cleaned every time I take it to the Dublin Service Center though, which is often enough to keep it looking good, but, you know, has its pluses and minuses.

 

[MXWing]

The people who got Xpel wrap think it's worth it.
The people who didn't get Xpel wrap think it's not worth it.

Don't fool yourself that you will be ok with a Tesla that look's like *sugar*.

Full Xpel wrap lets you not care very much running it through car washes. Your paint won't get annihilated if you let that bird poo linger for more than 30 minutes.

14 months in from full Xpel and looks like the day I took it home.

And with kids I would even recommend XPEL wrapping the seat backs as well if your willing to spend the $$. Im sure those will get scuffed up in no time with kids

XPel wrap even the new matte seats? The original glossy seat backs, yeah I wrapped it. Was a wise move.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Second recomendation on the Kagu floor mats. Fit like a glove and can take a beating while easy to clean up.

Use my X like you are expecting. Have used it as a moving van, put a storage shelf on the rear bumper kitch and transported most of our household goods, one load at a time. The dog has had scores of trips, dog hair is hard to clean up, but got a brush that works pretty well, wash it at local car wash, or in driveway when it gets scurvy. Take friends out to dinner, been mildly offload, through dirt paths, in the snow, through the rain, dripped on by tree sap etc.

It takes a lickin and keeps on ticking...