Looking for advice RE: an ICE-free house

[Lhshockey24]

I'm with @UngaBunga1989 - Since I retired, we've never had to put gas in our 2016 Volt. So many disasters lately in Northern CA, we decided to keep the Volt in case of an emergency evacuation and our P3D wasn't fully charged. Fire Dept said our neighborhood would be under 26 feet of water if the levee were to break.

After all the fires last year, we've talked about what to do if we need to evacuate. I figured lines at gas stations would be miles long while we could probably safely charge in Rocklin, Roseville, Sac, etc if we need to 'head for hills' to safely from the Livermore valley.

 

[ChadS]

- Any problems people have run in to if your only car(s) are all-electric?
- If I'm going with a second Model 3, SR VS LR? Debate I'm having is whether we need 2 long range cars: likely never to go long distance in 2 separate directions. On the other hand, will LR maintain its value for longer?
- If people think a second Model 3 isn't a good idea (I know, right forum to get this answer) what else would you suggest?

Problems being all-electric: My wife and I sold our last gas car in 2009. I can't say that it's impossible to run in to a problem only having EVs, but we sure haven't. I guess most people would have considered my road trips to California before Supercharging to be a problem; but then by that measure, most people now would still fly rather than driving, so I don't think it was really a problem, just a choice. How this applies to you probably depends on where you live in Canada - are Superchargers available yet?

SR vs LR: We started with one short-range EV (a 2003 RAV4) and one long-range (a Roadster). That worked great for us. When the S became available in 2012, we didn't see a need for two long-range EVs so I put both the Roadster and the RAV4 up for sale, but the RAV4 sold first (darn). And we've only purchased Teslas since then, so we've had two long-range EVs since. It rarely matters, but there are occasions like when my wife goes camping or on a trip with a friend and I want to go to a conference or something. It's also nice to have a backup in case one car gets in an accident or something, although that's never happened to us either. Although frankly, I'd consider any Tesla to be a long-range car...but again your location matters, if you live in an area where you can't easily reach Superchargers. If you can reach them in an SR, the SR will spend more time charging than an LR - but if the SR is only very occasionally taken on a road trip, that may not be a big deal to you.

Other cars: If money is a big consideration, you might see if there is a cheaper short-range EV you can pick up. Maybe a used one, or a huge discount on a new one that is not selling well, or maybe a cheap lease on some other make is offered in your area. But if cost is not much of an issue, and the body style apparently works for you (i.e., you don't need to carry 7 people or a refrigerator), then I can't see any reason to switch. The 3 is fun to drive, safe, attractive, efficient, better for trips...sure, get another one! My wife and I had two Model S for a while, and while I felt a little silly about having two identical cars...it really worked out very well for us. Now we have an X and a 3, and that's working out well too; I like that we can pick the "best tool" for a job...but it is more work to switch cars.

 

[jkoya]

I figured lines at gas stations would be miles long while we could probably safely charge in Rocklin, Roseville, Sac, etc if we need to 'head for hills' to safely from the Livermore valley.

I'm surprised Sacramento doesn't have a SC location along I-5, but the largest one is at Arden Fair Mall. I've seen cars lined up waiting to charge at the other SAC area locations though, of course depending on time and day.

 

[Cnasty]

We are an all Tesla family and there is nothing like it. The convenience of charging overnight and maintenance for a family is second to none. We basically alternate charging every other night or as needed as our commutes are light. We have a LR and an SR+ so we take the LR on lengthy trips and its fantastic.

Highly recommended!!

 

[sreams]

Note that SR car is heavily de-contented (lousy audio, cloth seats, no heaters, etc), which may make SR+ more viable.

I helped a friend pickup his brand new SR Model 3 and I can tell you this is not true. Tesla decided not to make the base interior, so all SR cars have the full vegan leather interior. The audio is actually quite good (no sub, but the woofers in the doors produce low end quite well). Also, his front seat heaters work.

The SR Model 3 is a tremendous bargain.

 

[Dante]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and sharing your experiences. My one issue is that the wife is not super keen on supercharging if she ever has to go on long trips, and based on our experience with the LR RWD, a trip to Toronto still involved a stop at a SC on the way back (especially in the winter). The SR or SR+ would over-cover the longest trip she might take alone even with half the range gone in the winter (which I know does not happen, and she drives a lot less aggressively than I do). We live in SWOntario, so there are plenty of Superchargers to use.

Basically my two considerations are: get the SR (or SR+... not that far along in deliberations to know the major differences) and consider/plan to trade it in a few years down the line for maybe a Y, or just keep it for the foreseeable future vs. getting an LR AWD (the car I had originally planned on, but now realize I don't really need/necessarily want) and either keep both 3's or trade my current RWD LR 3 for the Y a few years down the line.

I think we could save some money, and get along just fine with one SR/SR+ and one LR (ie we could trade cars if I was going to work and she was going somewhere far). Is it fair to say that the consensus here is that the SR would maintain its value better than the LR if we are considering a possible trade in a few years?

Also glad to hear I'm not the only one who feels silly owning 2 of basically the exact same car (from the exterior at least).

 

[devilmountain]

Why charge at 110v if you have 240V?
Can't you share one cable on 240v?

Our commutes aren't long, mine is 30 miles and hers is about 10 miles round trip. So 110 works for either car and its easier to have both chargers available. I just don't see the need to spend the money because what we have works.

 

[Big Dog]

we have two model 3's....no ICE.

Wife always hated gas stations. Likes supercharging.

 

[ammulder]

Future values seem hard to forecast. Batteries keep improving. What if they release a "base model" in a couple years with 300+ miles? Or what if HW4/new sensors give much better safety/autonomy? Will the current SR(+) keep its value in those cases? I guess a lot depends on how well they're keeping up with demand in a few years too.

I'd be more likely to buy based on present considerations than future considerations, I guess.

 

[SageBrush]

- Any problems people have run in to if your only car(s) are all-electric?
- If I'm going with a second Model 3, SR VS LR? Debate I'm having is whether we need 2 long range cars: likely never to go long distance in 2 separate directions. On the other hand, will LR maintain its value for longer?
- If people think a second Model 3 isn't a good idea (I know, right forum to get this answer) what else would you suggest?

We are an EV only household -- Tesla Model 3 LR and a golf-cart wannabe (LEAF)
This works great. The LEAF is only used for errands.

My best advice is buy the cheapest EV you can for your second car, but be sure it will fill the duties asked of it for the better part of a decade. The LEAF can be cheap but you have to figure in 35% loss of range during the 8 years warranty period.

 

[JPP]

See my sig---No ICE since 2015...all good.

 

[Dante]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think I've pretty much made up my mind with the latest change in SR+ pricing in Canada, it qualifies for the new 5k federal incentive. Don't think we need 2LR vehicles, and the added 5k discount is enough for me to be certain of that choice. SR vs LR would be about a 14k difference for me after taxes. Adding another 5k disparity makes it almost a 20k difference. Looks like Tesla's got itself a repeat customer (despite all of the BS repair issues I've had to deal with/still am dealing with, it's an awesome car). Also definitely planning on winning the Model Y in the raffle hahahaha!