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.

 

[James Cole]

We can complain all we want of other features we might need. but fact is Tesla is killing the auto market wildly right now, sure they have lots of quirks... But when the legacy brands catch up (2-3 years) Tesla will have better tech and better interiors for sure, they are so fixated right now on decreasing costs and increasing volume that it should give room for interior improvements and build quality on next gens.

 

[advocate8]

We can complain all we want of other features we might need. but fact is Tesla is killing the auto market wildly right now, sure they have lots of quirks... But when the legacy brands catch up (2-3 years) Tesla will have better tech and better interiors for sure, they are so fixated right now on decreasing costs and increasing volume that it should give room for interior improvements and build quality on next gens.

Except....Tesla is 3 years away from matching BMW’s 2019 interiors. And shows zero interest in improving 3/Y interiors now except for tiny stuff like magnetic console lids and a cargo cover that seemingly every $20k SUV every made comes with.

 

[Wooloomooloo]

Except....Tesla is 3 years away from matching BMW’s 2019 interiors. And shows zero interest in improving 3/Y interiors now except for tiny stuff like magnetic console lids and a cargo cover that seemingly every $20k SUV every made comes with.

Does it matter? Tesla is looking more and more like the Apple of cars, meaning some things will simply be objectively worse but it won't matter because the package as a whole will be better for enough people, and the margins will be high enough that Tesla will be highly profitable precisely because they won't bother with things that don't impact earnings.

I buy Macs and iPhones because of the whole experience, even though I know in many individual respects they're objectively worse than the competition. I'll stick with Tesla as long as range, charging and features are better than VW/Audi and others. Getting out of my 2018 Model 3 and getting into an ID 4 was like leaving a homeless shelter and going into the Ritz Carlton... but I wouldn't switch. A reset trip to New Orleans from NY would have taken me at least an extra 10 hours in a VW.

 

[advocate8]

Ye, I think that’s all accurate and well-put. I do think Tesla will have to ramp up the quality and nature of the rest of the car as parity gets closer with other automakers, but that will be at least three years away. Tesla will retain an edge in its drivetrains a bit longer, but they are not magic and others are already reverse-engineering them and the advantage will shrink.. and in some cases -- gasp! others might gain an edge. Porsche is pretty sloe now in range and has some advantage with voltage potentially and Hyundai once it gets through teething pains will hit hard at the lower end of the competition... BMW probably will get it figured out and be at least somewhat competitive in two years.
As the low-hanging fruit get picked and efficency between makes gets relatively close and as proper charging becomes more available, the importance of a properly designed and built interior will become legit grounds for competition. Right now, for many people, it’s not
But ...thats not permanent, nothing is....

 

[Peteski]

Getting out of my 2018 Model 3 and getting into an ID 4 was like leaving a homeless shelter and going into the Ritz Carlton...

Except for the display that looks like it came from Leapfrog or Tomy

 

[Daekwan]

Getting out of my 2018 Model 3 and getting into an ID 4 was like leaving a homeless shelter and going into the Ritz Carlton... but I wouldn't switch. A reset trip to New Orleans from NY would have taken me at least an extra 10 hours in a VW.

Funny you mention that. I find myself driving my wife's ID.4 much more than I do my Y these days. It's flat out more comfortable to drive because the suspension soaks up everything.. with 80+ degree weather back I really appreciate the powered sunshade keeping things cool... it's easier to get the kids in/out of their car seats due to the more traditional roofline.. and after daily driving a Tesla for a year now, I really appreciate CarPlay more than ever.

Literally just bought & installed this dashboard phone mount for my car last week: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0993F3NC7

And it's probably the best upgrade I've done so far. Finally got Waze back up nice & high on the dash.. making it really easy to see the cops, speed cameras, road hazards & accidents again. And having the phone up high and pointed at my face to unlock it, makes switching between apps like Sirius XM, Podcats, Apple Music, iHeart Radio, Pandora, etc much easier. No more swerving into the next lane because I'm looking down, fumbling with my phone trying to change whatever audio I'm streaming.

There's no doubt the Y is more fun to drive as it feels like a 4 door Corvette. But these days I generally drive it on the weekends.. or when it's just me in the car. The things Tesla does well still stand out (Superchargers, smartphone app, OTA updates..). But people who have not tried other EVs lately.. are really missing out on just how much the competition has caught up. And that's before mentioning the ID.4 cost us $41,000 and has 250 miles of real-world range. A brand new Model Y Long Range is now $65,000 without any added options.. once you include delivery + the order fee.

 

[AJ..]

Funny you mention that. I find myself driving my wife's ID.4 much more than I do my Y these days. It's flat out more comfortable to drive because the suspension soaks up everything.. with 80+ degree weather back I really appreciate the powered sunshade keeping things cool... it's easier to get the kids in/out of their car seats due to the more traditional roofline.. and after daily driving a Tesla for a year now, I really appreciate CarPlay more than ever.

Literally just bought & installed this dashboard phone mount for my car last week: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0993F3NC7

And it's probably the best upgrade I've done so far. Finally got Waze back up nice & high on the dash.. making it really easy to see the cops, speed cameras, road hazards & accidents again. And having the phone up high and pointed at my face to unlock it, makes switching between apps like Sirius XM, Podcats, Apple Music, iHeart Radio, Pandora, etc much easier. No more swerving into the next lane because I'm looking down, fumbling with my phone trying to change whatever audio I'm streaming.

There's no doubt the Y is more fun to drive as it feels like a 4 door Corvette. But these days I generally drive it on the weekends.. or when it's just me in the car. The things Tesla does well still stand out (Superchargers, smartphone app, OTA updates..). But people who have not tried other EVs lately.. are really missing out on just how much the competition has caught up. And that's before mentioning the ID.4 cost us $41,000 and has 250 miles of real-world range. A brand new Model Y Long Range is now $65,000 without any added options.. once you include delivery + the order fee.

Liked your comments and experience.

If I may ask - does I D4 also have similar range loss (?) or battery degradation? (lost about 30-40 miles in 3 yrs with 3… 95% on level 2 charging) (May be battery chemistry/structure is different than Tesla?)

If they have 250 miles of EPA/advertized range, then do they also have 20% lower bound (suggested of course), and 90% upper bound leaving only about 175 miles of practical range (without any degradation actually). That would definitely make range a big issue of on frequent longer drives. More so in winters.

And I guess they also have the dealership nuisance to deal with (markup and million other shady middlemen murkiness). Just asking - cause discussion seems to suggest interior and some other features in VW (including price) are quite appealing.

 

[Daekwan]

Liked your comments and experience.

If I may ask - does I D4 also have similar range loss (?) or battery degradation? (lost about 30-40 miles in 3 yrs with 3… 95% on level 2 charging) (May be battery chemistry/structure is different than Tesla?)

If they have 250 miles of EPA/advertized range, then do they also have 20% lower bound (suggested of course), and 90% upper bound leaving only about 175 miles of practical range (without any degradation actually). That would definitely make range a big issue of on frequent longer drives. More so in winters.

And I guess they also have the dealership nuisance to deal with (markup and million other shady middlemen murkiness). Just asking - cause discussion seems to suggest interior and some other features in VW (including price) are quite appealing.

I'll be honest. I have no idea what to expect from battery degradation with the ID.4. I can tell you that we purchased it at the beginning of December and have put about 1000 miles on it every month. Charging to 80% daily, the car shows around 205 miles of range. EPA range of this vehicle is 250-260 miles.. so seems like the battery is not reporting any losses yet. Efficiency is averaging around 3.3 miles per kWh.

Im not sure exactly what percentage VW blocks off from the top or the bottom. But its an 82kWh battery with around 77kWh available to the driver. They also warranty it for 8 years/100,000 miles. We will never keep this car long enough for degradation to be a concern, but I can understand someone buying to keep for 10-15 years would be. Warranty information is here: What you want in your electric warranty

As for any type of practical range or issue with long drives.. No worries here. I have actually driven the car the full 250 miles of range on a full charge without stopping to charge. Started at about 100% and ran it down around 3%.. just to see if it could do it. You also figure this happened during the "winter" as we've only had the car from December until now (5 months).

The furthest we will ever realistically drive this car is from DC to NYC which is about 200 to 225 miles each way, depending on exactly which part of either city we depart or arrive. It was extremely important for us to purchase an EV that could make this drive on a single charge as we have young kids.. and dont want to bother stopping to charge during that trip.. with them in the vehicle. InsideEVs tested the ID.4 to cover 234 miles while cruising at 70mph and to charge from 0-80% in exactly 38mins when using a 150kW DCFC. When I did my own test.. I cruised around 65mph.. able to cover the full 250 miles and left with what I'm guessing is about 10 miles to spare.

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

There are a ton of EA chargers on the East Coast so it should serve us very well. I will disclose the car is garage kept and connected to a 60A wall charger, so no worries about leaving with a frozen battery. And DC winters are certainly milder than those way up north. Our avg low temps during the winter is somewhere between 25-30 degrees. So still freezing, but nothing crazy like Vermont or Canada.

No problems at the VW dealer either. Took a bit of effort to locate the car (i.e... actually picking up the phone to call around and see what in stock and if any market adjustments). But we found this car at MSRP.. at a dealer only 25miles away and in our same state. Even better.. that dealer matched the Carvana/Vroom trade-in quote with no questions asked on our previous ICE VW.. which saved us another $2,000 in sales tax.

If anything, I had the exact opposite experience when trying to trade my ICE Honda for my Tesla. Tesla quoted me $21K trade-in for my car when I reserved my Model Y.. then lowered that quote by $2,000 at the last minute because of a quarter-sized dent on the vehicle. I ended up selling my ICE SUV to a random Honda dealer for $23K the same week I bought my Model Y.. $4000 more than what Tesla offered. The Honda dealer literally laughed about the dent and said paintless dent repair would have fixed that for $25. Knowing what I know now.. I would never even attempt to trade another car into Tesla. Considering the way, Tesla keeps raising the price of their cars.. while removing features (most recently removing the mobile connector).. Tesla is now playing just as many games as a random car dealer.

 

[voxel]

Funny you mention that. I find myself driving my wife's ID.4 much more than I do my Y these days. It's flat out more comfortable to drive because the suspension soaks up everything.. with 80+ degree weather back I really appreciate the powered sunshade keeping things cool... it's easier to get the kids in/out of their car seats due to the more traditional roofline.. and after daily driving a Tesla for a year now, I really appreciate CarPlay more than ever.

Literally just bought & installed this dashboard phone mount for my car last week: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0993F3NC7

And it's probably the best upgrade I've done so far. Finally got Waze back up nice & high on the dash.. making it really easy to see the cops, speed cameras, road hazards & accidents again. And having the phone up high and pointed at my face to unlock it, makes switching between apps like Sirius XM, Podcats, Apple Music, iHeart Radio, Pandora, etc much easier. No more swerving into the next lane because I'm looking down, fumbling with my phone trying to change whatever audio I'm streaming.

There's no doubt the Y is more fun to drive as it feels like a 4 door Corvette. But these days I generally drive it on the weekends.. or when it's just me in the car. The things Tesla does well still stand out (Superchargers, smartphone app, OTA updates..). But people who have not tried other EVs lately.. are really missing out on just how much the competition has caught up. And that's before mentioning the ID.4 cost us $41,000 and has 250 miles of real-world range. A brand new Model Y Long Range is now $65,000 without any added options.. once you include delivery + the order fee.

I also preferred my RAV4 Prime in EV mode (that soaked up the bumps) over the Y for short trips but on the highway it is 100% the Y because the AWD EV power and smoothness.

I await the Solterra or bz4x. It should be an ID.4 without the problems given how reliable my RAV4 Prime was. I have Solterra reservation solely because I want a test drive it... with an option to buy if I love it. lol.

I'm currently slumming it with a 3 RWD - which is a blast to drive as a daily.

 

[NovaTech]

Agreed. Was fairly concerned about the MYP having driven the MYLR with 20" inductions and found it harsh, the MYP seems to be smoother overall thus far. Caveat - only put 200 miles on it since taking delivery .

Don't miss Carplay but having a native Apple Music app would be nice.

I agree as well. While I find the MYP's ride firm, it's not as punishing as a BMW with the sports pkg and run-flats (I had a 335i, X-5, and 5-series). Hell, my GMC Yukon with 22" rims was far more jarring than my Tesla. Selling my Yukon during the peak of the used car market and buying a Tesla is one of the smartest vehicle decisions I have ever made. I love the minimalist design, power, exterior design, and the fact that I can use voice commands to do pretty much everything I need. I would like to see a HUD in future models, and some material upgrades here and there, but I can deal without those. The pros far outweigh the cons imo. I don't miss $200 oil changes at the BMW dealer, waiting two hours for it to be finished, and $80 tanks of gas.

 

[Daekwan]

I also preferred my RAV4 Prime in EV mode (that soaked up the bumps) over the Y for short trips but on the highway it is 100% the Y because the AWD EV power and smoothness.

I await the Solterra or bz4x. It should be an ID.4 without the problems given how reliable my RAV4 Prime was. I have Solterra reservation solely because I want a test drive it... with an option to buy if I love it. lol.

I'm currently slumming it with a 3 RWD - which is a blast to drive as a daily.

Would certainly love to give the Toyota/Subaru twins a try. We aren't financially tied to the ID.4. It was a spectacular purchase for the bargain price we got and it does the job. Like I pointed out, it will go from DC to NYC on a single charge.. which was our primary purpose for it (outside of replacing my wife's 19mpg VW Atlas).

Wife is/was looking at EV6 but way too hard to find at MSRP now. Got the feeling the same will happen with Toyota/Subaru. Any idea if dealers are promising MSRP?

 

[voxel]

Would certainly love to give the Toyota/Subaru twins a try. We aren't financially tied to the ID.4. It was a spectacular purchase for the bargain price we got and it does the job. Like I pointed out, it will go from DC to NYC on a single charge.. which was our primary purpose for it (outside of replacing my wife's 19mpg VW Atlas).

Wife is/was looking at EV6 but way too hard to find at MSRP now. Got the feeling the same will happen with Toyota/Subaru. Any idea if dealers are promising MSRP?

So... EV6... there are ways to get it a MSRP. There are high volume Kia dealers that will custom order it. How do I know? I pinged various Kia dealers since I'm seriously considering ditching one of my EVs for a Telluride because these EV crossovers are too small and with Tellurides you absolutely need to order out of state because of $20K markups. I really want the R1S to arrive at this point.

As for Toyota at MSRP... lol. Even if my Toyota dealer (that sold me my Prime at MSRP) decided to give me first dibs on the bz4z... they will still add $4K in junk/fees. The bz4x is RAV4 Prime 2.0 buying insanity all over again because there's no online reservation system and they will only be allocated to certain states.

My Solterra reservation I may get it a MSRP because the local dealer I reserved it with seems to be reasonable (and small). If there was a small $2K markup I'd might consider accepting delivery if it drives like a BEV-version of the RAV4 Prime. From what I hear though... I don't foresee MSRP for either of these two EVs.

 

[Daekwan]

As for Toyota at MSRP... lol

LMAOOOOO!!! I forgot how awesome it is talking to you!

If it has a sunroof.. might do the same as you. Put a reservation down on the Solterra as my wife is certainly looking for this feature.

If it helps I went to the DC Auto show and was able to checkout/sit in the Solterra already. Let me add a few quick pics.

 

[804son]

But the Range 228 miles, and don't get me started on the Dash. Wow that thing is strange looking.

 

[NovaTech]

Yesh.. that Subi dash is cringy.

 

[Msicario]

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.

View attachment 772718​

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.

My biggest disappointment is that they fall way short of the EPA estimate range.

Feels like somehow they lied or deceived consumers by selling you on the 300+ range; Knowing that their testing conditions are not real under normal everyday driving.

 

[ZenRockGarden]

Liked your comments and experience.

If I may ask - does I D4 also have similar range loss (?) or battery degradation? (lost about 30-40 miles in 3 yrs with 3… 95% on level 2 charging) (May be battery chemistry/structure is different than Tesla?)

If they have 250 miles of EPA/advertized range, then do they also have 20% lower bound (suggested of course), and 90% upper bound leaving only about 175 miles of practical range (without any degradation actually). That would definitely make range a big issue of on frequent longer drives. More so in winters.

And I guess they also have the dealership nuisance to deal with (markup and million other shady middlemen murkiness). Just asking - cause discussion seems to suggest interior and some other features in VW (including price) are quite appealing.

All current-technology Lithium-Ion based batteries degrade over time. Exact rate mostly varies with thermal management and range of charging cycles. Tesla is by far at the lead of the industry at competence in those domains.

Pretending there won't be range-loss-over-time in ANY other electric vehicle is laughable.

 

[qdeathstar]

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

I mean he made 10k on the car. I might be tempted to sell and get a rivian. But now with interest rates jumping out I doubt I’ll want to pay that interest.

 

[WhiteWi]

I mean he made 10k on the car. I might be tempted to sell and get a rivian. But now with interest rates jumping out I doubt I’ll want to pay that interest.

I made more than that on Tesla stock just in past year alone.

 

[qdeathstar]

I made more than that on Tesla stock just in past year alone.

Irrelevant?