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.

 

[Epradox]

You’re parroting testers. But the range isn’t practical, and worse yet with a short-range car you don’t have a reliable network of highway charging. Trust me, I would MUCH rather be in an EV made by BMW, who know how to actually make a car. But they aren’t there yet. Need another generation, two-three years out. and maybe there will be a reasonable array of chargers they can use by then.

i fell for this trap twice unfortunately. first one was a 05 745Li that was a money pit, finally traded it in when I was told it would need $15k in engine work at 100k miles. My mistake was trading it in for more first gen bmw tech with a 2011 activehybrid 7 brand new. Im so happy it was under warranty because i think i spent more time in loaner cars than the actual car. I switched to audi/porsche after that nonsense and so far im content. This new i7 looks absolutely gorgeous inside, still not a fan of the pig nose which now illuminates... i cant help but say "oink" to myself when i see it... but I would like to try it out though so maybe one day after it depreciates like a brick, ill pick one up used.

 

[Msicario]

bleh thats the ugliest looking thing. the new i7 looks very nice but those weird pig nose grills are horrendous. everytime i see it in person, i throw up a little in my mouth. why do electric cars need grills? why dont they have frunks? im sorry but id take a plaid model x over a bmw ix any day of the week.

I’m a proud Tesla owner, but I do like the new 2023 Mercedes Benz EQS 450 SUV.
EPIC, AMAZING

 

[advocate8]

i fell for this trap twice unfortunately. first one was a 05 745Li that was a money pit, finally traded it in when I was told it would need $15k in engine work at 100k miles. My mistake was trading it in for more first gen bmw tech with a 2011 activehybrid 7 brand new. Im so happy it was under warranty because i think i spent more time in loaner cars than the actual car. I switched to audi/porsche after that nonsense and so far im content. This new i7 looks absolutely gorgeous inside, still not a fan of the pig nose which now illuminates... i cant help but say "oink" to myself when i see it... but I would like to try it out though so maybe one day after it depreciates like a brick, ill pick one up used.

yah the looks aint working. Ive had three for a total of about 250,000 miles, all normally aspirated, all manual transmission and no serious issues, beyond a $400 window winder on one, a minor oil leak on another and their extortionate reprogramming for installing a new battery. 128i, 318 TI and second gen M5.
But their cars have grown vastly more complicated. How about a turbo 6 with automatic transmission run through an electric motor... and a plug in system with a battery, and a bunch sensors...and AWD.
My hope is electric will let them simplify their cars enough that they’ll be reliable again. And that they uh, get the weight down and range up, and someone besides Tesla sets up a viable charging network... and they start drawing clean looking cars again.

 

[NovaTech]

Today I would prefer the i4 M50 to the Model 3 hands down. No contest.

Checking out the BMW EV forums it appears most are former Tesla owners who are tired of the "Cult of Tesla", the poor build quality, and the lousy service experience. Tesla is heading towards troubled waters in terms of its reputation, and that's one thing that is almost impossible to rebuild.

So I've owned a load of BMWs over the years.. at least 5 of them. But one thing I don't do is troll BMW forums now that I own a Tesla. Why do you? It's a car...no one cares.. it gets you from point A to point B - hopefully in a satisfying manner. I like BMWs... I like Audis better...and Porsches better still. For the time being, Tesla offers the best of what I want. I also wanted to buy American. If you like BMWs, great.. drive one and enjoy it. No one here is going to change their mind on what make/model of vehicle they purchase in response to your input.

 

[mswlogo]

I need to sell my car or sue Tesla. I got 1 watt worse than EPA on my last trip in my model S Refresh. 241 wh/mi. EPA is 240.

BTW that’s the worst efficiency compared to EPA I’ve had compared to Model 3 and X that I typically did 10% better than EPA (in ideal conditions).

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

So I've owned a load of BMWs over the years.. at least 5 of them. But one thing I don't do is troll BMW forums now that I own a Tesla. Why do you? It's a car...no one cares.. it gets you from point A to point B - hopefully in a satisfying manner. I like BMWs... I like Audis better...and Porsches better still. For the time being, Tesla offers the best of what I want. I also wanted to buy American. If you like BMWs, great.. drive one and enjoy it. No one here is going to change their mind on what make/model of vehicle they purchase in response to your input.

I had a few questions for @AmpedRealtor too. Seems like he's been pretty upset since at least 2018. Didn't want to go that far off topic, and take over this thread, though. I made this other thread to see if we could get into a discussion about his issues: When Did the Tesla Hate Begin?

 

[jknj]

So, 1500 miles in on my MYLR, I've found my little gripes too. I love the car, it's incredibly fun to drive, but as with anything it isn't perfect.

Gripes

1. HVAC is trying to be too smart. FFS, let me see the controls/seat heater states without turning on the heat pump! Nope, can't open the controls without turning on the HVAC. It also auto hides the controls when I turn off the air I didn't want. Grr. Also, sometimes, I just want to have fresh air without the heat pump running. To do this I have to set the temp to LO which itself requires tapping the temp 10 times. Needs a button like A/C for the heater to turn it off. Overall a hot mess of trying too hard to limit user choice. For all the auto-lovers out there, I'm sure it's fine for you, but I'm a bit OCD about air in general (same with wiper speed) and also about limiting impact on range with unnecessary stuff.
2. As stated in the OP, rear cross warnings please. My 7 year old Mazda had this and that's far from a premium car.
3. Also, fully agree about mirror LED's for blind spot monitoring. Holy cow what a useless mess the video is when signaling. It's in a spot visually blocked by my arm. It's in the opposite direction I should be looking when signaling left. It's also just generally an extra place to look since I should be checking my mirror and blind spot, not looking down and forward. Oh yeah, what about an auditory warning too, before I get too close to the car next to me? Boo Tesla.
4. Range is just under what would be perfect for me. NJ to Boston trips in the cold are just at the limit and become range anxiety annoyances requiring a stop or stress. Another 50 miles overall or just matching the EPA in the cold would do it for me. Not unique to Tesla, but gives me pause on going full electric on car #2 in the family until they all get their range up a bit in the next few years.

Love

1. High speed torque. Never really got it until I had it. It's just not the same as 0-60 type of acceleration. This is a different beast and amazingly useful!
2. Phone key
3. Autopilot. Others are catching up here, but this is my first car with TACC+Lane keeping automation, so I'm loving it. Such a difference in mental energy at the end of long drives. Some phantom braking on 2-lane highways, but nothing like what I had expected from the forums. It does also screw up speed limits sometimes, on rods with numerous speed changes, but that's generally easy to deal with.
4. Finally going electric!

Looking forward to the summer months and putting more long range miles on it.

 

[almil18]

just did a 2 day trip Central NJ - Poughkeepsie, NY - Providence RI and back in my MYLR. (4people in the car) Wouldn't lie that I didn't have range anxiety on the way there. Charged fully @home. The routing to the first supercharger (between Poughkeepsie and Providence in Meriden was a bit annerving as the ride was on the very hilly road. Still made it to the supercharger with 50 miles left. (would have hoped the food around supercharger was better than Dunkin Donuts though). Got to use some chargepoints on location @ providence while college visiting and only stopped @ Darien supercharger on the way back (lot less range anxiety on the way back).

We are a 2 EV household (BMW i3 is the other). Having owned BMW's for the past 20+ years, I could truly say, that the fit/finish is better in BMW, but, as I got older, I really don't care. Car is a utility, and there is no other EV right now that provides similar utility of spending $50 (not including home charging as I have solar) for a 500 mile round trip.

 

[mswlogo]

So, 1500 miles in on my MYLR, I've found my little gripes too. I love the car, it's incredibly fun to drive, but as with anything it isn't perfect.

Gripes

1. HVAC is trying to be too smart. FFS, let me see the controls/seat heater states without turning on the heat pump! Nope, can't open the controls without turning on the HVAC. It also auto hides the controls when I turn off the air I didn't want. Grr. Also, sometimes, I just want to have fresh air without the heat pump running. To do this I have to set the temp to LO which itself requires tapping the temp 10 times. Needs a button like A/C for the heater to turn it off. Overall a hot mess of trying too hard to limit user choice. For all the auto-lovers out there, I'm sure it's fine for you, but I'm a bit OCD about air in general (same with wiper speed) and also about limiting impact on range with unnecessary stuff.
2. As stated in the OP, rear cross warnings please. My 7 year old Mazda had this and that's far from a premium car.
3. Also, fully agree about mirror LED's for blind spot monitoring. Holy cow what a useless mess the video is when signaling. It's in a spot visually blocked by my arm. It's in the opposite direction I should be looking when signaling left. It's also just generally an extra place to look since I should be checking my mirror and blind spot, not looking down and forward. Oh yeah, what about an auditory warning too, before I get too close to the car next to me? Boo Tesla.
4. Range is just under what would be perfect for me. NJ to Boston trips in the cold are just at the limit and become range anxiety annoyances requiring a stop or stress. Another 50 miles overall or just matching the EPA in the cold would do it for me. Not unique to Tesla, but gives me pause on going full electric on car #2 in the family until they all get their range up a bit in the next few years.

Love

1. High speed torque. Never really got it until I had it. It's just not the same as 0-60 type of acceleration. This is a different beast and amazingly useful!
2. Phone key
3. Autopilot. Others are catching up here, but this is my first car with TACC+Lane keeping automation, so I'm loving it. Such a difference in mental energy at the end of long drives. Some phantom braking on 2-lane highways, but nothing like what I had expected from the forums. It does also screw up speed limits sometimes, on rods with numerous speed changes, but that's generally easy to deal with.
4. Finally going electric!

Looking forward to the summer months and putting more long range miles on it.

With recent UI change can’t you turn on seats by mapping the seat heater button? I’m pretty sure that won’t turn on HVAC.

HVAC is working great on my S (as was my X and 3).

For blind spot. That’s how I justify FSD. Turn on blinker and CAR drives into the other lane when the coast is clear. So both driver and car are watching. Better than a blind spot beep.

Yes, they could add some protection for backing up. And they could with existing hardware. Not as good as Radar but better than nothing.

Tesla has the range you want, Model S (405 miles). That’s why I upgraded to S refresh. I’m hitting EPA in ideal conditions. But I still want more. I’d like 500.

 

[jknj]

With recent UI change can’t you turn on seats by mapping the seat heater button? I’m pretty sure that won’t turn on HVAC.

HVAC is working great on my S (as was my X and 3).

For blind spot. That’s how I justify FSD. Turn on blinker and CAR drives into the other lane when the coast is clear. So both driver and car are watching. Better than a blind spot beep.

Yes, they could add some protection for backing up. And they could with existing hardware. Not as good as Radar but better than nothing.

Tesla has the range you want, Model S (405 miles). That’s why I upgraded to S refresh. I’m hitting EPA in ideal conditions. But I still want more. I’d like 500.

Yup, adding the front seat warmers to the bottom bar helps for sure. I still have other cases when I want to see controls too, but the new change helps.

Yeah, the S does have the range I want, just not the form factor. Also the S/X center screen addresses my annoyance at the waste of space on the large screen in the Y with the FSD simulation taking up a 3rd of it.

The trouble with the S+FSD is the price. At > $100K for a car, I want it to serve me a glass of champagne before take off while I recline and sleep the rest of the way there!

 

[mswlogo]

Yup, adding the front seat warmers to the bottom bar helps for sure. I still have other cases when I want to see controls too, but the new change helps.

Yeah, the S does have the range I want, just not the form factor. Also the S/X center screen addresses my annoyance at the waste of space on the large screen in the Y with the FSD simulation taking up a 3rd of it.

The trouble with the S+FSD is the price. At > $100K for a car, I want it to serve me a glass of champagne before take off while I recline and sleep the rest of the way there!

I went from X to S so I understand storage. S has same storage as Y and I’m adding a factory hitch. Only difference is I can fit wider stuff in S than taller stuff in Y.

Yes, the price is steep. Lot of folks going from 3 and Y to S and X. But X has to many teething problems right now. Also high price tag.

 

[doomsday997]

Nice interior! But it is a pig that weighs over 5000 lbs, has just 227 miles of EPA range and ... there is no reliable place to charge them on the road.
Pretty sweet sitting in the garage though!

I drove the i4M50 on an autocross track. I can assure you it sure dosent handle like a pig, and it’s stupid fast to boot. As for range 227 is fine for most even if it could go 500 miles it’s not the type of car I’d ever want to go on constant road trips with regardless. Also BMW under estimates their mileage where Tesla tends to overestimate theirs. If someone wants more mileage the i4 40e goes 308 to a charge. As for charging on the road countless people in non telsa EV’s go on road trips all the time, is it as good as supercharging network? Of course not but it’s improving all the time and hopefully in a few years Elon will open up super chargers here like he promised and did in Europe

 

[voxel]

As for charging on the road countless people in non telsa EV’s go on road trips all the time, is it as good as supercharging network? Of course not but it’s improving all the time and hopefully in a few years Elon will open up super chargers here like he promised and did in Europe

Nobody should buy a car based on future promises. My VW dealer back in August 2021 said Tesla Superchargers would open up in a few months (at the time). lol.

Tesla Superchargers are slammed in parts of the US (so why open them up to other EVs?) and also there's a giant issue of charging ports on the wrong location on cars. Just enjoy the car you have and be done with it. I'm getting a second EV (MINI/Solterra/Mach-E) that's never going on road trips because I know how problematic CCS chargers can be. I'd rather have a low fuss trip because I already dislike long trips.

What I do think will happen is the $7.5B EV charging fund will build new chargers when it finally opens up. It seems to take 9+ months for a DC charging location to open: location agreements + permits + transformers + stalls + etc.

The next two years will be ugly for public DC charging - Tesla and non-Tesla. Too many Teslas sold and not enough chargers. Non-Tesla DC chargers are being built very slowly.

 

[Nolakai]

Tesla cars certainly have flaws and disadvantages. While I love my car, I don't love certain features. Most of which were already listed.

- Cheap build material.
- Can't take it through a normal car wash.
- No garage door opener on a 'technology' car - LOLOLOLOL
- No AC seats? Even a $30k gas car has AC seats.
- Horrible service center operations.
- Parts are too expensive. Rear glass is $900 just for the glass. Regular car it's $200-300
- Insurance coverage is 3x as much as a normal car.
- UI shouldn't be updated by force.
- Rims are cheap plastic that pop off (cheap build material).
- No spare tire.
- Interior lights barely exit. What is there barely lights up anything at night.

Even with that list it's the best and most convenient car I've had in 30 years. Drives very smooth and having a fully charged 300 mile car each morning is excellent. Also, no oil change...air filters...sales reps selling you nonsense...less need to change brakes/tires. Pros still outweigh cons.

You can take it through a normal car wash. We do it and have zero issues. Same with friends who have a M3. Kyle from out of spec fave a 100k mile review of his M3 recently and said he’d been taking his car through car washes since he took delivery in 2019. Paint still looks perfect.

 

[jackmott]

Tesla's lack of rigidity isn't a result of style over substance, it is a result of having to have a huge mass of batteries in the floor pan, and all the trimming of weight to offset that. The roof, in any car, is given structural integrity by the pillars and edges, the center is usually a skin of non structural metal, the Tesla has a skin of glass, makes no difference. Maybe the structural pack cars will be better in this regard, maybe not. The torsional stiffness is on par with BMWs from the early 2,000 which everyone thought was amazing at the time, so I kind of doubt people are really feeling a difference compared to a new BMW vs just placebo effect but who knows.

The car does live up to EPA range estimates, the problem is that EPA range estimates are a combination of city driving and highway driving, and nobody cares about that, we only care about highway range. EPA needs to state highway/city range separately. Car makers could also choose to be honest and do that themselves!

 

[nate704]

Tesla's lack of rigidity isn't a result of style over substance, it is a result of having to have a huge mass of batteries in the floor pan, and all the trimming of weight to offset that. The roof, in any car, is given structural integrity by the pillars and edges, the center is usually a skin of non structural metal, the Tesla has a skin of glass, makes no difference. Maybe the structural pack cars will be better in this regard, maybe not. The torsional stiffness is on par with BMWs from the early 2,000 which everyone thought was amazing at the time, so I kind of doubt people are really feeling a difference compared to a new BMW vs just placebo effect but who knows.

The car does live up to EPA range estimates, the problem is that EPA range estimates are a combination of city driving and highway driving, and nobody cares about that, we only care about highway range. EPA needs to state highway/city range separately. Car makers could also choose to be honest and do that themselves!

99% of Tesla owners do not push the cars to the limit of the torsional strength/rigidity, so it is just numbers on paper that no one can feel/experience on their daily drive.

 

[Msicario]

Tesla's lack of rigidity isn't a result of style over substance, it is a result of having to have a huge mass of batteries in the floor pan, and all the trimming of weight to offset that. The roof, in any car, is given structural integrity by the pillars and edges, the center is usually a skin of non structural metal, the Tesla has a skin of glass, makes no difference. Maybe the structural pack cars will be better in this regard, maybe not. The torsional stiffness is on par with BMWs from the early 2,000 which everyone thought was amazing at the time, so I kind of doubt people are really feeling a difference compared to a new BMW vs just placebo effect but who knows.

The car does live up to EPA range estimates, the problem is that EPA range estimates are a combination of city driving and highway driving, and nobody cares about that, we only care about highway range. EPA needs to state highway/city range separately. Car makers could also choose to be honest and do that themselves!

I agree; Companies by being honest will lose profit margin… and thats not what shareholders want.. = GREED

 

[Pianewman]

They're not really being "dishonest." They're simply stating the EPA rating. That's the whole point of the EPA testing.

Of course, one might say they've been dishonest since EPA started requiring the ratings be posted...hmm...

 

[sleepydoc]

They're not really being "dishonest." They're simply stating the EPA rating. That's the whole point of the EPA testing.

Of course, one might say they've been dishonest since EPA started requiring the ratings be posted...hmm...

How many people complained because their ICE cars didn't get the milage that was on the sticker?

As long as Tesla is following the rules set forth by the EPA in determining the range I can't fault them. The system may be flawed, but that's the EPA, not Tesla. Now if they did what Volkswagen did...

 

[doomsday997]

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

This didn’t age well lol