Yes bring UMC cable with you. It's no big deal to unplug and toss it in the car. Just be aware that the UMC is the max 40A cable that comes with the car -easy to plug and unplug. The HPWC is the max 80A connector that you pay extra for and is installed - not portable. Charger apps are pretty reliable; I mostly use Plugshare. Always plan ahead before you head out on your road trips and have backup chargers/plans in place if you're in the wild without Superchargers around. There are 1 or 2 very good threads on charging on road trips.
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Learning from recent purchasers...
- Thread starter hsctiger93
- Start date
Yes bring UMC cable with you. It's no big deal to unplug and toss it in the car. Just be aware that the UMC is the max 40A cable that comes with the car -easy to plug and unplug. The HPWC is the max 80A connector that you pay extra for and is installed - not portable. Charger apps are pretty reliable; I mostly use Plugshare. Always plan ahead before you head out on your road trips and have backup chargers/plans in place if you're in the wild without Superchargers around. There are 1 or 2 very good threads on charging on road trips.
SeminoleFSU
Voluntaryist
I drive <100 miles a day to work and back... 14-50 has me back to 90% every morning with just a few hrs charging, and I leave my UMC at home (but always have my J1772 just in case.) HPWC has been totally unnecessary in the 4 months I've owned the car. Also, the dual chargers are kinda pointless (at least here in GA) because there's very few public chargers that would give any benefit... basically I'd only get the benefit at home if I had a HPWC, and I don't need that.
Some advice:
1) get the 85 battery no matter what
2) Tech package is a must
3) 21" wheels are way overrated. Get the 19's
4) Air suspension is also overrated. I've driven both, and prefer my standard suspension
5) Pano is nice, and also gives you more headroom
6) foglights and accent lighting are overrated as well
7) Buying a service loaner will save you $$
Some advice:
1) get the 85 battery no matter what
2) Tech package is a must
3) 21" wheels are way overrated. Get the 19's
4) Air suspension is also overrated. I've driven both, and prefer my standard suspension
5) Pano is nice, and also gives you more headroom
6) foglights and accent lighting are overrated as well
7) Buying a service loaner will save you $$
paulkva
part of the supercharge.info dev team
I have neither the HPWC nor dual chargers. I use the UMC and a NEMA 14-50 outlet to recharge nightly, and I leave it plugged in except for road trips. My daily commute is short, and my destinations have almost no high-amp L2 charging... but for some reason I still occasionally second-guess my decision against dual chargers.
Opinions vary widely on the reliability of Plugshare and similar apps/maps. I've had pretty good success personally, going from DC up to central NJ, Philly, and western PA, but I have made a couple minor edits/corrections, and I still always bring my UMC with me on every road trip. I guess it depends on the area and maybe even the specific stations you're considering. When planning a non-supercharger trip, or destination charging, I highly recommend calling possible charging locations ahead of time to confirm availability. I call potential hotels too, and they're rarely on Plugshare, but I've had several say I'm allowed (and not allowed) to use their outdoor outlets.
djp
Model 3 Performance
If you're using a standard EV charging station (J1772 EVSE) then you don't need the Universal Mobile Connector. The car comes with a J1772 adapter that lets you plug the EVSE directly into the charge port.
Most EVSEs in the wild are 30 amps or less, but some are up to 80 amps. With a single on-board charger you're limited to 40A at an EVSE. With the dual chargers you can use the full 80A.
The High Power Wall Connector (HPWC) is a Tesla branded EVSE with a Tesla connector instead of J1772. Many service centers and stores have HPWCs available for owners. Again you'll need the dual chargers to draw the full 80A.
The Universal Mobile Connector (UMC) is what lets you plug into standard electrical outlets (stove/dryer/welder outlets, RV parks). The UMC is limited to 40A max. If you're using the UMC at home on a stove outlet (NEMA 14-50) you can just unplug it and bring it with you on a road trip to cover cases when you might need to charge at an RV park or other NEMA 14-50. Several adapters are available for the UMC for different outlet types.
Installing an HPWC at home with dual chargers will let you charge twice as fast as the UMC, plus you can leave the UMC in the car so it's always available for road trips.
Long answer to a short question!
Thanks everyone for all the advice on charging! This is definitely one of the questions I'm going to ask the store employee when I get to that point.
Also chatting with the wife tonight about making it out to Glen Allen for the meet up. I've told her this is the direction I want to go with our next car, she's basically acted like "whatever you want," but I think she'd benefit from a little more understanding of what it means to get an EV that has great range...
Also chatting with the wife tonight about making it out to Glen Allen for the meet up. I've told her this is the direction I want to go with our next car, she's basically acted like "whatever you want," but I think she'd benefit from a little more understanding of what it means to get an EV that has great range...
Besides low operating cost, low maintenance, no range anxiety, world class service and countless other advantages, please tell your wife that TESLA is THE SAFEST CAR on road today. NHTSA has given 5 star rating in all categories for TESLA Model S.
Showed up at 11:15am with my son who had lots of questions about EV's. His perspective was basically that I was interested in getting a golf cart or some kind of tiny little thing. We were both bummed that not a single Tesla was at the supercharger when we got there. Oh well...
"@TeslaRoadTrip 2014 - All Superchargers lead to DC" is planned for next weekend, starting February 15th. We will be there starting 9:00 a.m. through lunch and will be more than happy to meet with you and your son and share our experiences and answer any questions you might have. Sorry, if I was not clear about the date in my earlier posts. You may also refer to the following URL:
@TeslaRoadTrip 2014 – “All Superchargers Lead to DCâ€
Got another question, which I think I know the answer but I'm sure a lot of you have researched. While I'm very confident of the long-term outlook for TMC, one has to take the potential of bankruptcy into equation if one expects to keep this car as long as his last one (11 years and counting on my BMW). The fundamentals look great. It's a profitable company; sales are growing; it has significant growth opportunity with new products coming on line in the next 3 years. But what if?
I know, I know. Monkeys could fly out of my butt too. However, when your production and revenue remain at "niche" levels and it's still a young company in terms of car manufacturers you have to consider this possibility. If a BMW goes under, its brand value alone means consumers will continue to have service options because some company will buy it up.
I would assume in the scenario of a bankruptcy, another auto maker would want to purchase the IP alone which means that owners would still have a service option. Toyota and Mercedes certainly come to mind since they have supplier relationships. Have you pondered this (very low) possibility and what did you conclude?
I know, I know. Monkeys could fly out of my butt too. However, when your production and revenue remain at "niche" levels and it's still a young company in terms of car manufacturers you have to consider this possibility. If a BMW goes under, its brand value alone means consumers will continue to have service options because some company will buy it up.
I would assume in the scenario of a bankruptcy, another auto maker would want to purchase the IP alone which means that owners would still have a service option. Toyota and Mercedes certainly come to mind since they have supplier relationships. Have you pondered this (very low) possibility and what did you conclude?
apvbguy
Banned
I think that if the company goes under the only real issue would be the availability of replacement parts.
I do not think that the value of the vehicle would not be severely impacted.
an example of this theory would be the delorean, the company lasted only a few years and regardless of the fact that not one car was built subsequent to the demise of the manufacturer the cars still have retained impressive values many years later and more importantly replacement parts are easily obtained.
YMMV
I do not think that the value of the vehicle would not be severely impacted.
an example of this theory would be the delorean, the company lasted only a few years and regardless of the fact that not one car was built subsequent to the demise of the manufacturer the cars still have retained impressive values many years later and more importantly replacement parts are easily obtained.
YMMV
I kinda see two paths, here. Full service customers could have it worse, while a shade-tree mechanic culture would accelerate. Under a TMC demise scenario, helpful maintenance information would come out, or leak. On board diagnostics may be less evolved for this EV, but things like battery maintenance could quickly be put into intermediate mechanical hands. Perhaps a secondary core-swapping battery vendor would spring up faster. Just don't drop a wrench on those poles :crying:
Considering that both Daimler and Toyota have substantial equity in Tesla Motors, I think it highly likely that one of them would buy the company before it hit bankruptcy. Probably Daimler--strategically, that would be a very good fit and allow Daimler to have a distinct marque for its EVs, leaving Mercedes Benz for its petroleum-based vehicles.
Here's a new one: I contacted my State Farm agent to see what it might cost to insure an S85. The woman on the other end of the line couldn't find the brand of car. She then asked for an approximate value, which I provided and ultimately told me I'd be paying about $450 more per year than I am on my 11 year old BMW. When I told her that wasn't bad considering the BMW is only worth about $5k. She said that a 10-year no accident record makes a big difference in the premium. And bundling with homeowners also gets a discount. I was pleasantly surprised considering some of the threads on the board talking about SF dumping people and charging very high premiums.
We are waiting for the S85, Red with nice stuff on it. In Arizona we do not need/want the glass roof- even 15% bleed through is too much. We just had the power installed, tried Solar City as recommended but they were 2.5X the competitive costs- nice guy though. We went with another installer who had put in 6 systems in our area. At work we have 240/208 and 120V power stations, so loading up at work is a breeze. With the S/C network we can go to the kid's homes without concern for recharging- thank you Tesla. The people at Tesla have been easy to work with, the only minor issue is the delivery at the service center and purchasing through Fremont. Our legislature works hard at preventing anything new from coming into Arizona.... ;<)
Between basketball and baseball practices/games/birthday parties x2 I had no chance of making it there.
I'm getting closer to pulling the trigger. While I know this board is full of fans of Tesla, the information here has proven invaluable. Elon should do something for you guys! At least a coffee mug or something!
I've decided on the car and its features.
Financing. At first I thought I'd put a huge chunk of cash down to keep the monthly payments low. But with an 800+ credit score it appears I might be able to find a car loan at a rate well below what my portfolio returns. Since I keep cars for 10+ years I think I'm going to put 10-20% down and go with one of the sub-2% rates out there like Alliant FCU. Any reason to not do this?
Now moving to service. Since there are no SC's within 100 miles of Richmond, VA I know I want to pay for a service plan. I'm thinking of the 4-year anywhere plan that includes unlimited ranger service. This will make the wife feel a little more secure in the event she has it and something goes wrong. At the 4-year mark we'll probably renew that. I intend to pay cash for this and not finance it. Can Tesla make it work that way? Is there any reason to consider the extended service agreement at purchase since it will again become available at the point the factory warranty expires? I can't think of any.
Insurance. Provided my State Farm agent's estimate (she couldn't locate the brand in their database) remains reasonably close, I'll stick with them since it'll only be about $450 more per year ($850/yr total I think) and I don't want to unwind our homeowners and all that junk at this point. Obviously if they come back with a much higher quote I will reconsider. But we've been with them 20 years and had no major auto claims in 20 years.
Is there any value in making a trip to either Tysons show floor or the DC store? Are there PS's you would recommend I work closely with in the purchasing process?
What's left? A test drive. Not quite ready to do this to myself since I'm timing this purchase with some good financial things coming my way. Any test drive now would result in making the order ASAP which I just don't want to do. Techmaven, I may bug you for that offer in the next 2-3 weeks.
What else am I missing?
I've decided on the car and its features.
Financing. At first I thought I'd put a huge chunk of cash down to keep the monthly payments low. But with an 800+ credit score it appears I might be able to find a car loan at a rate well below what my portfolio returns. Since I keep cars for 10+ years I think I'm going to put 10-20% down and go with one of the sub-2% rates out there like Alliant FCU. Any reason to not do this?
Now moving to service. Since there are no SC's within 100 miles of Richmond, VA I know I want to pay for a service plan. I'm thinking of the 4-year anywhere plan that includes unlimited ranger service. This will make the wife feel a little more secure in the event she has it and something goes wrong. At the 4-year mark we'll probably renew that. I intend to pay cash for this and not finance it. Can Tesla make it work that way? Is there any reason to consider the extended service agreement at purchase since it will again become available at the point the factory warranty expires? I can't think of any.
Insurance. Provided my State Farm agent's estimate (she couldn't locate the brand in their database) remains reasonably close, I'll stick with them since it'll only be about $450 more per year ($850/yr total I think) and I don't want to unwind our homeowners and all that junk at this point. Obviously if they come back with a much higher quote I will reconsider. But we've been with them 20 years and had no major auto claims in 20 years.
Is there any value in making a trip to either Tysons show floor or the DC store? Are there PS's you would recommend I work closely with in the purchasing process?
What's left? A test drive. Not quite ready to do this to myself since I'm timing this purchase with some good financial things coming my way. Any test drive now would result in making the order ASAP which I just don't want to do. Techmaven, I may bug you for that offer in the next 2-3 weeks.
What else am I missing?
apvbguy
Banned
Perhaps you will regret having a loan that exceeds the car's residual value in the years to come. Model S will depreciate sharply in the first yest.
Prepaying a service plan eliminates the risk that the price goes up. OTOH it eliminates the chance the price will go down. Elon indicated that service plans are a bit expensive, and that he will look into this.
A multi year prepaid service plan is transferable to other owners, but it is lost with the vehicle.
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