Just hit me about something utterly bizarre regarding Model 3 reservations.

[MXWing]

People are taking deliveries of $49,000+ cars without a test drive?
I know you can view them in some show rooms and watch plenty of content online - but still - thinking the majority of deliveries are going to owners who are sitting in a Model 3 for the first time and driving off with that 25% first mile depreciation hit.

If I could take delivery of an AWD Model 3 tomorrow for $54,000 or a completely unknown spec PM3AWD for $70,000 sight unseen/specs unknown - I wouldn't hesitate.

I still clip coupons so not loaded. I know I need to replace a vehicle and I'm willing to stretch to get what I want and not have regrets on what "could have been".

Not sure if its just prior good experiences with Tesla and a belief the will "take care of me" that just gives me that confidence to push all in on an undriven vehicle with incomplete software.

On the flip side, I don't see why the heck you would cancel a refundable at any point $1000 reservation. It's $1000 but its also the equivalent of just a big blind you paid only once to see the flop, turn and river. Leaving the hand and table for a relatively pittance.

Even if I decided to get another vehicle (hypothetically speaking of course) I'm going to leave my reservation in there -anyway- just to see what develops.

 

[run-the-joules]

People are taking deliveries of $49,000+ cars without a test drive?

Yup. I even turned down the opportunity to test drive someone else's because I figured I basically knew what it'd be like but didn't want to spoil it.

It was worth it

 

[TaoJones]

Agreed completely re the reservation. At this point, mine will stay probably until they spec the CUV based upon the Model 3 platform, but stay it shall.

Had I driven an AP2 car before ordering mine, I probably wouldn’t have ordered it and would have kept the AP1 car. So I guess it goes both ways.

Now that I think about it, for the first S, I remember placing the order, and at that time (late 2014) we had 2 weeks to commit or cancel (or do nothing and the order auto-committed). A couple of days after placing the order, it occurred to me that I should probably go test drive one.

So I did. I get into the car, note the wonderful expanse of the yacht floor, may it RIP, and realized I had absolutely no idea of how to make that S car go (cue old joke about snails here). Without so much as a hint of a smirk or an involuntary eye roll, the gallery advisor who was riding shotgun kindly noted that I should depress the brake pedal and shift into reverse.

The Santa Monica store demo cars were parked in a blind parking area from which one backed into an alley. The rear view camera did a fine job of looking around that 90-degree corner for me.

We all survived the test drive and I was hooked. Came back the next weekend with a friend who couldn’t make it the first weekend and we did it all over again.

 

[Mo City]

Yup. I even turned down the opportunity to test drive someone else's because I figured I basically knew what it'd be like but didn't want to spoil it.

It was worth it

You wanted to be a virgin that first time with your new car.

Nothing wrong with that.

 

[EldestOyster]

The people who are doing that right now are the same ones who spent a very cold night at the mall and then cheerfully handed over $1000 without ever having seen the car.

 

[run-the-joules]

You wanted to be a virgin that first time with your new car.

Nothing wrong with that.

I didn't bring the jar of maraschino cherries for nothin'

 

[emlombardo]

I wouldn’t have done this for any other car company but I ordered it before I ever even sat in one.

It didn’t hurt that the early reviews were mostly positive.

 

[Tiger]

It's because Model 3 currently does not depreciate after 1st mile, it appreciates. As soon as you are able to test drive before you buy, aftermarket prices will probably drop. Many people are now buying aftermarket just to get the test drive.

 

[doubleohwhat]

People are taking deliveries of $49,000+ cars without a test drive?

I've done this with four cars now (in a row actually). Definitely not planned or ideal but that's how it has worked out. Two BMWs, Model S and now the 3. Copious amounts of research and watching/reading reviews helps.

 

[Jason Bourne]

Yes, I bought a $50k car that I'd never even sat in. Zero regrets.

 

[ThosEM]

Yup. The reviews were enough for me, especially the ones touting the acceleration and handling and driving comfort.

 

[emlombardo]

I've done this with four cars now (in a row actually). Definitely not planned or ideal but that's how it has worked out. Two BMWs, Model S and now the 3. Copious amounts of research and watching/reading reviews helps.

I know more about the Model 3 than any car that I've ever purchased despite not being able to sit in it before ordering it.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Bought my Model S that way. When it was delivered by truck to the small mountain town near where I live, I had never even sat in a Tesla before. I was 300+ miles from a Tesla store so it isn't like I could pop by for a test drive.

So, not surprised that others are buying the Model 3 without driving it first. With all the user reviews here we have a good idea of what to expect.

 

[David L]

I sat on my configuration invitation for a week thinking about whether I should rent one on Turo first. But I decided to order, because what other option do I have for my seemingly easy requirements of an EV with >200 mile range, stress free road trip charging, <8s 0-60 (very easy req. by ICE standards), usable driver assistance systems, and not an econobox shell? It makes me sad to realize that none of the other multi-billion dollar market cap. automakers have bothered to address this segment of the market.

 

[Marsnaut]

I've posted this before but hell, my family (four people) doesn't even need a car (~estimated 1.5k miles/year) and we're getting LR + PuP + AP.

I don't know how Elon pulled that one off...

 

[Big Dog]

People are taking deliveries of $49,000+ cars without a test drive?

Been there, done that. In fact, I have never test-driven a car before purchase. (Chevy, Saab, Volvo, Jag, Audi)

 

[Snerruc]

Bought my Model S that way. When it was delivered by truck to the small mountain town near where I live, I had never even sat in a Tesla before. I was 300+ miles from a Tesla store so it isn't like I could pop by for a test drive.

So, not surprised that others are buying the Model 3 without driving it first. With all the user reviews here we have a good idea of what to expect.

+1. Lived in the middle of the Pacific a two day barge trip to the nearest service center. Shipped it 5000 miles th Florida later. Best damn car I ever have owned.

 

[N5329K]

Pig in a poke. I didn't reserve until after I saw the car in the reveal, 1 April 7:30-ish. I needed to know what I was reserving. After I saw it, all was good until design details I didn't care for began to emerge. I figured, a test drive will tell me what I needed to know, and it did. The car seemed put together well and felt solid. The overhead glass was wonderful. The center screen was livable-with. The UI was really, truly deeply unnecessarily awkward. HVAC was thunderous on high. Hated the phone as key, but I carry a phone when I drive my antique, so why not grit my teeth and carry it for the 3? And this was important: there was adequate headroom getting in and out of the cabin.
All was good (enough), until the delivery pushback on the base model.
You see, the base model fit the mission just fine. I have no mission that requires a $45-55k Model 3.
And that is why I got my kilobuck back. The car on offer was, as publishers used to say, "Not for us." Easy peasy.
If Tesla chooses not to build the car that fits our mission when it fits our purchase plans, that's too bad but perfectly OK by me.
Because someone else will. And the way I see it, that's very good news!
Robin

 

[jbcarioca]

Been there, done that. In fact, I have never test-driven a car before purchase. (Chevy, Saab, Volvo, Jag, Audi)

For me it has not been "never". I have bought several aircraft that way, and lots of cars. In a few cases (NSU, Maserati, Morgan) I had never even seen the model I bought one prior to buying it. Never regretted one, rationally I should regret the NSU RO80 but I do not!

 

[206er]

People are taking deliveries of $49,000+ cars without a test drive?

Yeah, it's kind of odd to me as a non-owner, but a lot of people who have already received cars are early adopters, investors, and/or diehard EV/Tesla enthusiasts, and kinda new what they were getting into.

Persistent delivery delays aside, being able to experience a $49k Model 3 for a few hours in January is what convinced me that it wasn't the car for me. Had I not been able to do so, I'd probably still be holding my early morning day 1 west coast reservation and ticked off about delivery delays.

It's a nice car, just not $49k nice compared to other cars on the market IMO (we apples-to-apples compared it to a range of ICE sedans and small SUVs). Hoping that my new fav, the XC40, doesn't end up disappointing once I finally get to test drive it in a few weeks.