Just sold my Model Y - Parting thoughts

I just sold my Model Y to Driveo. Great price BTW - 62,500 for a May Build 2021 Model Y with 20" wheels. It was a quick and smooth experience.

Since this was my first Tesla, I thought I'd share some thoughts on the car having owned it for almost 7 months.

Highs:
1) Powertrain. Power deliver was very impressive - especially given this was the LR and not the Performance model.
2) Phone Key. I love the phone key. It is so simple and I don't know why every OEM doesn't implement it in the same way. This is one of those things other companies over complicate.
3) Some other cool nuggets in software - I like the built-in streaming services, the ability to open and close garage door based on proximity, the simple and intuitive user profiles and the way you set them up.
4) Space. The Model Y is extremely well packaged with lots of interior space and lots of storage. It's really amazing.
5) Value. At the $52k price this car sold for new, it was untouchable in terms of value.
6) 5 standard heated seats and heated steering wheel. This was very impressive to me and is one of the things that makes Tesla appealing on the used market. You don't need to worry if it has this or doesn't have it depending on how it was specced.
7) Impressive resale value.

Lows:
1) Rigidity. The car did not feel very rigid. You could sense a the chassis flex every time you drive. It felt cheaply built compared with a German car. They went with style over engineering. I would prefer a more rigid car than an uninterrupted glass roof.
2) Rough suspension. The suspension on the Model Y is pretty poor. You feel everything. I know some will say it is because I got the 20" wheels. However a lot of cars have 20" wheels with low profile tires and don't have this issue. This is one area they should have done a better job.
3) Autopilot. I like the Autopilot, but I also hate it. I regularly found myself in situations where it would tell me auto steering is disabled for the rest of the drive. I've never experienced that with any other brand.
4) Extreme minimalism. No roof blind or blackout function. No instrument cluster. Cheap doorhandles. No ambient lighting. Lack of physical buttons and switches to an extreme.
5) Range falls short of EPA estimates.

Overall I would say I leave Tesla with a positive impression of the brand, but I also feel there are a few areas they badly need to address if they want to stay leaders in this segment. The lows I described above will be important to address as the competition catches up in other aspects.

 

[advocate8]

so what did you leave for, the EQS will replace and you’re driving GLE in meanwhile?
And... saw the opportunity to turn 10,500 profit on a used car. That part is understandable.

 

[Daniel L]

I just sold my Model Y to Driveo. Great price BTW - 62,500 for a May Build 2021 Model Y with 20" wheels. It was a quick and smooth experience.

Since this was my first Tesla, I thought I'd share some thoughts on the car having owned it for almost 7 months.

Highs:
1) Powertrain. Power deliver was very impressive - especially given this was the LR and not the Performance model.
2) Phone Key. I love the phone key. It is so simple and I don't know why every OEM doesn't implement it in the same way. This is one of those things other companies over complicate.
3) Some other cool nuggets in software - I like the built-in streaming services, the ability to open and close garage door based on proximity, the simple and intuitive user profiles and the way you set them up.
4) Space. The Model Y is extremely well packaged with lots of interior space and lots of storage. It's really amazing.
5) Value. At the $52k price this car sold for new, it was untouchable in terms of value.
6) 5 standard heated seats and heated steering wheel. This was very impressive to me and is one of the things that makes Tesla appealing on the used market. You don't need to worry if it has this or doesn't have it depending on how it was specced.
7) Impressive resale value.

Lows:
1) Rigidity. The car did not feel very rigid. You could sense a the chassis flex every time you drive. It felt cheaply built compared with a German car. They went with style over engineering. I would prefer a more rigid car than an uninterrupted glass roof.
2) Rough suspension. The suspension on the Model Y is pretty poor. You feel everything. I know some will say it is because I got the 20" wheels. However a lot of cars have 20" wheels with low profile tires and don't have this issue. This is one area they should have done a better job.
3) Autopilot. I like the Autopilot, but I also hate it. I regularly found myself in situations where it would tell me auto steering is disabled for the rest of the drive. I've never experienced that with any other brand.
4) Extreme minimalism. No roof blind or blackout function. No instrument cluster. Cheap doorhandles. No ambient lighting. Lack of physical buttons and switches to an extreme.
5) Range falls short of EPA estimates.

Overall I would say I leave Tesla with a positive impression of the brand, but I also feel there are a few areas they badly need to address if they want to stay leaders in this segment. The lows I described above will be important to address as the competition catches up in other aspects.

Agree on most points. I've felt the body rigidity is actually pretty good, no creaking/flexing when putting the chassis under stress on an uneven incline. Seems more solid than my wife's GLC. Would love air suspension, HUD or driver instrument cluster/display.

 

[Tha_Ape]

Agree on most points. I've felt the body rigidity is actually pretty good, no creaking/flexing when putting the chassis under stress on an uneven incline. Seems more solid than my wife's GLC. Would love air suspension, HUD or driver instrument cluster/display.

HUD should be a no-brainer... I mean my Prius has one and costs half the price. it's still minimalist, but also futuristic/ extremely useful, and you can turn it off if you want

 

[BreatheEasier]

I believe the minimalist point is too subjective...think about when the iPhone launched in 2007. The 'horror' for not having buttons!

At 21K miles and ownership since June 2020, my wife and I are so used to the minimalist approach, that driving our other cars has become annoying. But again, to each their own.

I agree the suspension is rough, but having well more than a decade of BMWs, I can say that any sport BMW suspension can be as rough or rougher, however, BMWs still 'feels' more sophisticated to me, and of course many of their models offer air/adjustable suspension, which I've owned.

My range has always been pretty close to EPA, including the fact that close to 40% of all my driving has been highway. But I don't live in an area where above 75 MPH is available, and I pretty much stay at 72 or so, and that is only a portion of the highway where most of the ones I drive are 55-60 max. My lifetime Wh/Mi is 270, and 20K of my 21K miles is with softer Vredstein Quatrac Pro tires, and this includes 2 East coast winters.

I also think the chassis could be more rigid, but this is a consequence of a "skateboard" platform, and it is clear that Tesla is moving towards a new chassis design that will bring with it a significant improvement across the board.

In my opinion, the biggest "Low" with owning a Tesla is the lack of service centers. Outside of where I live where the closest SC is within 50 miles, where I typically travel, I would need to drive at least 120 miles to get to a SC, which is always in the back of my mind when I'm on road trips. Service center availability was rarely on my mind with previous brands I've driven over the past three decades.

 

[Stealth.Pilot]

Agree on most points. I've felt the body rigidity is actually pretty good, no creaking/flexing when putting the chassis under stress on an uneven incline. Seems more solid than my wife's GLC. Would love air suspension, HUD or driver instrument cluster/display.

Agree. Air suspension and either HUD or a driver display would be worthwhile even if as an option. It would also free up the main screen to be full screen which would make it much better and a more consistent UX to the S and X.

 

[hchu0304]

How many miles did your Y have?

 

[Stealth.Pilot]

I believe the minimalist point is too subjective...think about when the iPhone launched in 2007. The 'horror' for not having buttons!

The horror is not the lack of buttons but the lack of a sunshade or an instrument cluster. Much less expensive cars have those amenities. I know some apologists say that you don't need an instrument cluster - but then why do the X and S have it? I'd love to see how the stockholm syndrome crowd justify the benefit of no sunshade.

How many miles did your Y have?

4200.

HUD should be a no-brainer... I mean my Prius has one and costs half the price. it's still minimalist, but also futuristic/ extremely useful, and you can turn it off if you want

Exactly. These things don't destroy the minimalism. They just make it a better experience. BMW for instance was able to maintain a very clean look with its glass roof using an electrochromic shade and a thin cross-beam painted black which you barely notice but which provides structural rigidity and improves the driving experience.

 

[WhiteWi]

I guess we won’t see you around any more. Bye bye

 

[Pianewman]

The horror is not the lack of buttons but the lack of a sunshade or an instrument cluster. Much less expensive cars have those amenities. I know some apologists say that you don't need an instrument cluster - but then why do the X and S have it? I'd love to see how the stockholm syndrome crowd justify the benefit of no sunshade.


4200.


Exactly. These things don't destroy the minimalism. They just make it a better experience. BMW for instance was able to maintain a very clean look with its glass roof using an electrochromic shade and a thin cross-beam painted black which you barely notice but which provides structural rigidity and improves the driving experience.

Horror? Seriously? To each his own, no "horror" here. I know my speed at all times w/o looking, and am glad to be rid of useless gauges, lights, buttons. Isn't that the whole point? ALL cars are computer controlled, gauges are mostly buffered idiot lights,

As for chassis rigidity, I have zero squeaks, groans, rattles, after 21k miles. I feel/hear no indication of serious chassis flex.

Enjoy your next ride.

 

[Daekwan]

I agree with most of what you said. The drivetrain, technology, and performance are impressive. There are many things a Tesla can do.. that literally nobody else is doing at any price. That said I still have gripes about the lack of fairly simple stuff like HUD, CarPlay, real blindspot monitoring sensors with mirror LEDs, and rear cross-traffic sensors w/auto braking. If Tesla added these 4 things.. most of my gripes would be gone. That said, anybody who purchased a Model Y a year ago.. got a pretty awesome deal. Its an extremely competitive car for the old price. Now that it starts at $60K.. Im not so sure anymore.

I also agree that the range is flat-out overestimated and basically deceiving. Is it possible to actually achieve the EPA ratings? Yeah if you have absolutely perfect conditions like a flat road, windows up, no HVAC, 70-degree weather, and maintaining a perfect 40mph cruising speed. I've pointed out way too many times that in actual real-world testing.. Tesla's results (regardless of model) are shown to be always overestimated. Meanwhile, others like Ford generally meet or exceed their EPA rating. Some like the Taycan we get as much as 30% more range than what is advertised.

 

[Tha_Ape]

I agree with most of what you said. The drivetrain, technology, and performance are impressive. There are many things a Tesla can do.. that literally nobody else is doing at any price. That said I still have gripes about the lack of fairly simple stuff like HUD, CarPlay, real blindspot monitoring sensors with mirror LEDs, and rear cross-traffic sensors w/auto braking. If Tesla added these 4 things.. most of my gripes would be gone. That said, anybody who purchased a Model Y a year ago.. got a pretty awesome deal. Its an extremely competitive car for the old price. Now that it starts at $60K.. Im not so sure anymore.

I also agree that the range is flat-out overestimated and basically deceiving. Is it possible to actually achieve the EPA ratings? Yeah if you have absolutely perfect conditions like a flat road, windows up, no HVAC, 70-degree weather, and maintaining a perfect 40mph cruising speed. I've pointed out way too many times that in actual real-world testing.. Tesla's results (regardless of model) are shown to be always overestimated. Meanwhile, others like Ford generally meet or exceed their EPA rating. Some like the Taycan we get as much as 30% more range than what is advertised.

I agree with pretty much everything you've said there. You've literally hit all my gripes. I still don't plan on getting rid of mine for another 5-10yrs, none the less. but that's just how u am with cars.

The range thing needs to have more fidelity. I don't think this is necessarily a Tesla issue, it's an industry issue. EVs are trying to match how ICE advertise range, however with EVs variables matter much more.

I would like to see a range chart with 2 lines.

x-axis = speed
y-axis = range

line 1 = spring (e.g. 70F, no A/C, best case)
line 2 = winter (e.g. 32 F, heat set to 70F, worst case)

if they made that a standard chart for EVs, performance would be much more transparent and comparable across makes/models

 

[Wooloomooloo]

Interesting post - I wish you'd have told us what your next vehicle is going to be, and why.

I am almost certainly going to get the ID Buzz (or possibly an ID4 if the Buzz only comes as a people carrier) and will sell the my Model 3 Performance within the next year.

 

[Pianewman]

Wooloomooloo! HAHAHAHA! The mythical resurrection of the VW bus. I hope it actually happens. How many decades have we hippies been waiting for this???
FYI, I'll take the Tesla less-than-100% electronics over ANY VAG electrical product. They've come a long way, but...

 

[Wooloomooloo]

Wooloomooloo! HAHAHAHA! The mythical resurrection of the VW bus. I hope it actually happens. How many decades have we hippies been waiting for this???
FYI, I'll take the Tesla less-than-100% electronics over ANY VAG electrical product. They've come a long way, but...

Don't worry, I still have my sense of humor and of course we shall see what it's like, but an EV Camper Trip is what I've waited my whole life for! Old hippy is about right.

On VAG Vs Tesla... well if you'd owned my 2018 P3D with all the delights of CV_FRONT errors, 12v failures, charging plug failure and most recently a brake failure (but but but they last forever because of regen) and put that against the anecdotal experience of over 300k miles of driving in my life, almost exclusively in VW's and never once had a breakdown, you might think differently. But none of them were EV's, 'tis true m'laud.

Objectively I think a Model Y is better in most (important) respects than an ID4 and if a complete stranger asked me, I'd tell them to get a Tesla. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and Teslas are not prefect, despite what you might think if you only got your news from Teslerati.

Also after 25 years of frequenting VW message boards (and Porsche forums) I never experienced the level of mockery and toxicity you see here. It's really unfortunate.

 

[wandl]

Interesting post - I wish you'd have told us what your next vehicle is going to be, and why.

I am almost certainly going to get the ID Buzz (or possibly an ID4 if the Buzz only comes as a people carrier) and will sell the my Model 3 Performance within the next year.

Based on OP's signature, it seems the EQS was the replacement vehicle.

I'll +1 to the OP's comments on the Pros & Cons, I can't understate enough how firm the ride is (borderline uncomfortable like a BMW M 3-series) that is the biggest negative I'm struggling with on this vehicle. Right now with WFH, I barely drive it (wife runs errands & picks kids up from school with it) but when normalcy resumes, I'll either get smaller rims, underinflate the tires or get something else.

 

[Pianewman]

I'm a 40 year VAG veteran. Audis/VWs, early S4, 4000s, GTIs, 4 different "clean diesels." Over a million miles in all. LOVED the cars, but electrical issues were chronic...and then, the "clean diesel" scam. Similar to Tesla, VWs aren't for everyone. They're quirky, and a lot of fun to drive.

I NEVER recommend any auto to anyone...except a Toyota. Bulletproof, comfortable...boring. Seriously, if anyone asks me for a recommendation, they clearly haven't done enough research, and I play it safe. Toyota.

Hope the ID Buzz is successful. I might very well buy one in a few years. I'll be in my early 70s!!!!!

 

[Daekwan]

I agree with pretty much everything you've said there. You've literally hit all my gripes. I still don't plan on getting rid of mine for another 5-10yrs, none the less. but that's just how u am with cars.

The range thing needs to have more fidelity. I don't think this is necessarily a Tesla issue, it's an industry issue. EVs are trying to match how ICE advertise range, however with EVs variables matter much more.

I would like to see a range chart with 2 lines.

x-axis = speed
y-axis = range

line 1 = spring (e.g. 70F, no A/C, best case)
line 2 = winter (e.g. 32 F, heat set to 70F, worst case)

if they made that a standard chart for EVs, performance would be much more transparent and comparable across makes/models

Agreed with what you said, including the range trajectory that includes separation for spring vs winter variables. It should be no surprise to new EV buyers that the winter range, especially in freezing conditions with cold batteries and using the heater.. is going to dramatically affect range.

Another thing Id like to see is the range calculation for highways at 70mph. How far can the vehicle realistically go cruising at 70mph?
Why 70mph? Because that's very realistic for most highway drivers in the US.

Essentially what has already been done here:

What's The Real World Highway Range Of Today's Electric Cars? We Test To Find Out

We take the most popular electric cars, fully charge them, and then drive them at 70 mph to find out just how far they will go. Which one goes the furthest?

insideevs.com

 

[Stealth.Pilot]

Based on OP's signature, it seems the EQS was the replacement vehicle.

I'll +1 to the OP's comments on the Pros & Cons, I can't understate enough how firm the ride is (borderline uncomfortable like a BMW M 3-series) that is the biggest negative I'm struggling with on this vehicle. Right now with WFH, I barely drive it (wife runs errands & picks kids up from school with it) but when normalcy resumes, I'll either get smaller rims, underinflate the tires or get something else.

Agree. The good news is there have been rumors going around for over a year now that Tesla may add air suspension to the Y when Texas comes on line. So this may change.

 

[j_grange]

Interesting post - I wish you'd have told us what your next vehicle is going to be, and why.

I am almost certainly going to get the ID Buzz (or possibly an ID4 if the Buzz only comes as a people carrier) and will sell the my Model 3 Performance within the next year.

I can’t imagine going from M3P to either of those cars.