Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Just ordered a Model S 75D! Please help!!

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Okay... I'm totally new to buying a Tesla, so I appreciate your feedback.
My first question is:
Is it reasonable and maintainable to own a Tesla in Manhattan, unless you're a doctor or lawyer or banker?
I think my friends and family think I'm insane (regardless of them saying "oh no, you're a rational human being").
I am just a fan with a heart for Tesla and whatever that Elon guy does.
And now I need a car and I'm not willing to buy any of those over-advertised stinky gasoline-suckers.
I appreciate any suggestions, and wanted to introduce myself to the community.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PrGrPa and MIT_S60
Do you have a garage? If so, do you have a power source (or the option to install one) in the garage that you can use for charging?

If not, you’ll need to factor in the cost of monthly parking in preferably an EV friendly garage that has charging. Or you can try and make use of the supercharger network.

Did you get your insurance quote? Registering a high value car in nyc usually results in higher premiums.
 
Okay... I'm totally new to buying a Tesla, so I appreciate your feedback.
My first question is:
Is it reasonable and maintainable to own a Tesla in Manhattan, unless you're a doctor or lawyer or banker?
I think my friends and family think I'm insane (regardless of them saying "oh no, you're a rational human being").
I am just a fan with a heart for Tesla and whatever that Elon guy does.
And now I need a car and I'm not willing to buy any of those over-advertised stinky gasoline-suckers.
I appreciate any suggestions, and wanted to introduce myself to the community.
*
 
Do you have a garage? If so, do you have a power source (or the option to install one) in the garage that you can use for charging?

If not, you’ll need to factor in the cost of monthly parking in preferably an EV friendly garage that has charging. Or you can try and make use of the supercharger network.

Did you get your insurance quote? Registering a high value car in nyc usually results in higher premiums.

My building has a garage with 3 tesla destination chargers and discounts for residents.
I'm in the process of getting insurance quotes.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Ulmo
When I visit NY, I hate taking me Tesla into the city.

Have you seen the bumpers of other cars? It's like looking at Swiss cheese or using tacky bumper guards.


With that being said, if you can charge it, there's no problem with driving it in the city.
 
Manhattan?!?! I didn't think anyone actually owned cars there... :) Given the congestion, I would bet a Fiat 500e would be just the ticket, if you really wanted to tool around in an electric car. Of course, if you spend a lot of time driving outside Manhattan, a Tesla is fine.

Given the limited room to accelerate beyond 20mph in and around Manhattan, I bet you'd get that same electric acceleration thrill up your leg in the Fiat.

Not to talk you down off that Tesla ledge or anything...
 
What's your annual pre-tax income?
Do you have a garage? If so, do you have a power source (or the option to install one) in the garage that you can use for charging?

If not, you’ll need to factor in the cost of monthly parking in preferably an EV friendly garage that has charging. Or you can try and make use of the supercharger network.

Did you get your insurance quote? Registering a high value car in nyc usually results in higher premiums.



That’s great regarding the garage.

There are a few good threads on insurance for Tesla. I’d check those out. I found the best deal through geico.



Yes, I got a pretty good quote from Geico for this car. About $130 a month.
That's good, right?
 
I've driven in Manhattan quite a number of times and mostly it isn't that bad. Parking is a mess, though. And getting through a tunnel or across a bridge can be ridiculous at time. It seems as though you already have home parking and charging, and it fits in your budget. So go for it. Another sale for the company that aims to save the planet.

Try not to park the car on the street. I've seen people literally bump and shove their way into a parking spot, moving cars in front and behind as much as a couple feet. Tesla has a bunch of destination chargers in garages so you should get familiar with those and use them wherever possible. If you have to hand your car over to a valet, always use valet mode!

The best piece of advice I ever got from some big-city-dwelling friends was to never leave anything visible when parking the car. Not even a quarter. Some people will bust your window out to get steal stuff from your car without thinking twice about it.
 
Oof .. in Manhattan? That's rather thread-bare.


-----

Regarding the other issues that have been discussed above:

I agree with everyone that in Manhattan you should get a CPO or used private sale and save the money, especially at only 170K annual income before taxes. The main reason is that your car will get beat up, so you will want to not care about dings, scratches, broken windows, etc., and replacing the car often (sell your car every couple years and replace with another used one and let some poor sap fix the dings or get it really cheap; if you're having a bad year, you can push it out a few months or buff out a scratch yourself, or if you're having a great year, you can keep on schedule and put some in some investments of some sort). It should not be a show car. (Alternatively, if you are not telling us about some sort of multi-million dollar retirement savings, then, if this is just some weekend show car, I change my tune.)

At your income level, the fact you live where there is a garage with charging makes the difference between this being basically insane (if you had no garage and no charging) and basically an awesome and great idea (your current home situation). That makes a huge difference.

But, you would have to mirror this with ample destination parking, as well as ample road space during commute; I presume you already know about this, since it is practically obvious in Manhattan. I used to be a truck driver in NYC (every boro, every neighboring State), so I know all about driving there; it's very doable. But, there are some particular routes that are so congested that I'd consider them in particular undoable.

I learned my best parking abilities from a priest who lived in Manhattan. He would drive his car to everywhere he went there, like anybody in any suburb would. He believed in a Godlike ability to find the perfect parking spot in front of every store or place he ever visited; indeed, he knew every free parking spot in the city, and only visited places that had perfect parking. I incorporated that into my parking policies ever since, and it works great. There's never a need to use inferior parking; if you are tempted to do so, change your plans (i.e., change your destination), not your ability to park. Nothing is worth bad parking options. That is the magic to it: change the goal, not the goalpost. (This has the side effect that you'll only visit places that are frequented by other people with your same perfect-parking-only policy, and you'll slide into a world view that doesn't know of the parking-poor. In the case of the Priest, he only used free parking; I've evolved my parking view into that which I can afford, and happily pay huge amounts of parking as long as it's in my specification range, and just don't care. I use this exact method when going to doctor appointments in San Francisco. It's surprisingly cheap.)
 
Last edited: