Ok so I finally caved and drove a Tesla...
If you can call it that. My entire goal was to avoid it like the plague until I actually get closer to my model 3. A couple of things changed my mind. 1. The Model S is now significantly cheaper than it was when I first placed my model 3 reservation. 2. I came to the realization it probably isn't reasonable to place an order for any car unless I have at least driven the car. The problem is I can't drive a model 3 so at least a model S will give me some idea of a Tesla and what it is.
I figured I would note down my experience and log as much as I can remember to help others who might be in the same circumstance as I am. I don't like test driving cars unless I actually plan on buying a car soon. So this is strange for me. I justified it by wanting to get a feel for the car and the options and what they actually meant vs just seeing all this info on a website.
History...
I have owned many different cars in my past. Most are lower cost cars. They have been across the board to gutless and economical to fast and impractical. My most economical car was a 2001 Toyota Echo. My fastest car was a 2005 Mustang GT. I have also owned a '65 Mustang 2+2 289 Hipo, 2000 Accord Coupe, 2005 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 (my current car). Plus my wife has a 2014 Odyssey Touring.
I have sat in two Teslas when Tesla brought a P85 and a P85+ to our company is 2013 for us to sit in and test drive. I work for a company that has about 20 chips in the car so they brought them for us to check out. I didn't get to test drive but I sat in the car for quite awhile. I have foggy memories of that but I mainly was enthralled with the touch screen at the time. I really didn't notice too much about the rest of the car. I did notice that it seemed pretty spartan inside and other than the wizbang electronics the car seemed pretty plain.
On one other previous occasion I did visit the Tesla showroom when it was in downtown Austin before moving to the domain. I remember they would only answer questions about the car but would not talk about price or anything like that. I think this was early enough on in the process that there was probably some fear of breaking the Texas dealership laws.
Requesting the test drive...
I had a pretty tough time getting a test drive. I live quite a way through traffic from the Tesla store in Austin. I am never in that part of town. I never go to the mall the showroom is located in. The last time I went up there was to put in my reservation and wait in line. Of course at that time I spent only 2 minutes in the showroom and didn't explore or do anything.
I had received multiple emails from Tesla encouraging me to drive the Model S. I bit on an email a couple months ago and filled out the form on their website and submitted and never heard back. I just dropped it and let it go. Then I got more emails a few weeks ago and decided to give it a try again. This time after filling it out again I noted that the website said I would be contacted in 24 hours. After 24 hours no call...
I posted my experience of not getting any calls even though they said I would hear from them in 24 hours. Someone on here encouraged me to email Tesla corporate sales to let them know about it. I did. About a week or so after that I got a call to schedule a test drive. I didn't get any feedback or emails from corporate. The phone call went as normal but they didn't mention that I emailed corporate. So I don't know if they actually caught up and scheduled me after the 1st request, 2nd request, or because of corporate. Who knows but I got contacted eventually.
My only comment on this is it seems concerning that it is difficult to get feedback from Tesla. Not sure how this will go when I have a car and it doesn't stop me from wanting one but I would say their system is brittle at best and I think if other car dealerships acted this way they probably would lose business. I do appreciate the no hassle nature of their business and prefer it but at the same time the complete lack of communication without my pressure isn't good.
The calls leading up to the drive...
I received two phone calls...
The first phone call was from a nice lady in California. We had a nice chat and she basically asked a bunch of questions about me and why I wanted a test drive. She was really friendly and the call went really long (probably because I am chatty) but I was impressed by how long she stayed on the phone. The main goal of the first call was to check availability and schedule me down.
The second call was from the actual person who would be going on the drive with me. This was a more pointed call. He asked if I had a trade in (I don't plan on selling my truck at this point so no). He wanted to know what my needs were. I explained that my main goal was to figure out options and I really wanted to try the different powertrains to get an idea of what would be adequate for me. I couldn't afford a P100D so my goal was to drive a 60 and maybe a 90D to see what the differences are. He explained they could software limit a performance car to the different levels so I could get a feel for all of them. The only problem is at the time of the call he didn't have any performance cars for test drives. He said they mainly had 60's and 75's. I explained I had a Model 3 reservation and was potentially interested in a Model S now that they are cheaper. Plus I wanted a good idea of the options etc... He said no problem.
The showroom...
This is my 2nd time to the domain showroom. I actually got lost on the way because they have all this new area of the domain I wasn't expecting and I was looking there for the showroom (did I say I never come up here). Anyway after about 10 minutes I found the Tesla showroom and parked in the garage next to the showroom. I walked in about 10 minutes prior to my scheduled test drive. When I walked in there was one employee talking to a woman who was checking out a 90D Model X. In the showroom was a rolling chassis, the Model X, and a 75D Model S.
I hopped into the Model S while the guy was occupied. Let me say that this Model S is leaps and bounds nicer than the original Model S I sat in at my company. The seats were amazing. The car was multi-coat red, black next-gen seats, and a white alcantera headliner. It appeared to have the interior upgrade package. I was impressed. This was a very nice quality car. The car felt really solid.
One of my thoughts was to listen to the sound on a standard sound system and an upgraded sound system to see if the $2500 upgrade was worth it. This wasn't something I could decide from just looking at the website. My only other real comparison to this type of upgrade is my wife's van. All Odyssey's except for the Elite have a 7 speaker sound system. To me it sounds muddy and it can be really difficult for people in the back to hear when at speed with road/wind noise. It was my biggest complaint in our 08 odyssey. Our new odyssey is an Elite and has 12 or 14 speakers and it is a high end system with DTS etc... I love the stereo and it is a night and day improvement over the old van. If it was a separate option on the lower end models I would say it is a necessity for most families just for the clarity and the ability to hear in all the rows. The Model S in the showroom had great sound. The highs were clear and the mids were a bit weak but could be adjusted. I thought the system was decent and I probably would be ok with it. The bass was a bit understated. At this point another employee came in so I got out of the car to see what I had to do at this point.
The employee checked me in for my test drive and said the guy giving me the ride would come out in a minute. He also scanned my driver's license. I also asked and he let me know that the Model S I had been listening to had the standard sound system. I then looked at the X in the showroom. I was surprised by how small the 3rd row seat is. I am used to an Odyssey mind you but it was surprisingly small. We had an '06 Pilot at one point and this was smaller than that if I remember correctly. I wouldn't be comfortable putting an adult back there. I didn't play with the seats much but it was tight. (this might have been able to be resolved). Also the front doors didn't feel as solid as the Model S. Plus the right door on the car made a weird noise when I opened it and had some weird vibrations from the hinge. This might be resolved I don't know but it is one of those things that probably would bug me that a normal dealer would say "that is normal". It definitely didn't feel as solid as the Model S. In addition there were TONS of scratches on the plastics by the 3rd row seat. That would drive me nuts. I think it is due to having to slide down the plastic to get into the 3rd row. Other than that the car was really neat and I even though I am seeming overly critical it was truly awesome. I am just stating what I observed. I didn't spend much time in the car. The Model X was the upgraded white color with black leather interior. It had the black alcantera headliner.
The Test Drive...
Next the employee who would be riding with me came out to meet me. I am a software engineer and was in cargo shorts and a button up shirt and I felt like I was WAY underdressed. Everyone in the showroom looked spiffy. Before we went out to the garage on the drive they had to get some stuff off the glass of the car. So we killed a wee bit of time in the showroom prior to going out. He reiterated what we discussed on the phone then we walked out to the garage. There were probably 5 model S and 2 model X in the garage. He first asked if I had any charging questions. I really didn't. He showed me the 50 amp plugs they have some Tesla destination chargers there as well.
The car I drove was a loaded P100DL. It was brand new and I was the maiden voyage. I didn't realize but there was a problem being the first driver which I'll mention later. Let me say that this car was the exact color scheme I want on my Model 3. It was midnight silver, black leather next gen, black alcantera, black 21" rims. I think the only option that the car didn't have was the rear seats. He immediately set the car to a 90D so I could try it out.
My first impression of the car is that it is really strange to drive. The lack of engine noise when putting in drive, no creep, ultra silent start. This is all foreign to me. When driving the regen was a bit to get used to. There were a few times when I took the foot off the accelerator (I can't say gas anymore...) and the car slowed way more than I was expecting. I apologized but he said I was doing surprisingly well for someone who hadn't experienced it before. Not sure if he was blowing smoke or not haha.
We immediately went on the freeway and tried autopilot. That was like being in a alternate universe. It was better than I was expecting. Mopac (the freeway) is under major construction. It has multiple paint stripes, large containers on the left shoulder with some that stick into the lane too far, the lanes shift back and fourth, etc... It handled it all perfectly. I was really impressed. My wife's van has lane departure warning and it freaks out all the time on this stuff. It is so bad I turned it off because it drives me nuts. The only weird thing is there was a camry in the right lane next to us at one point and the lanes were very narrow and the Model S freaked out and jammed the brakes. That took me off guard and even the sales guy said that he wasn't sure why that happened. I would say though the experience was 95% positive. I was only nagged once in maybe 10 minutes to hold the wheel. Now that might have been because the sales guy was adjusting the speed from the right seat as well and he might have bumped the wheel.
We also tested the acceleration on the freeway from 50 to 80 and also from a stand still. Even in the base rear wheel drive mode the car was very impressive. The car drove effortlessly and passing wasn't a problem with the base level car.
We also played with the air suspension. Even in low mode the car had a very nice ride with the 21" wheels. He did say that if you are getting the 21" wheels you really need the air suspension. If you get standard wheels the steel springs are fine.
We then went down a side street and tried the acceleration from 0 and I was impressed. I couldn't imagine the car if it was set back to P100DL mode. I didn't ask and didn't need to I was happy with the standard rwd acceleration.
When we arrived back in the garage I asked if we could autopark. The problem with the brand new car is I guess it hasn't fully calibrated its sensors so the autopark isn't available. I then backed it in myself. I will say not having creep will take some getting used to. I didn't want to smash the car but the accelerator is very sensitive and it is easy to get a crawl from it. It still made me nervous but I managed. I am usually not a nervous driver and am not afraid to break the rear end of a car around in a turn. This car was very different in its demeanor.
After parking we played with the cooled seats and listened to the sound system. The upgraded sound system for me is worth it. I would probably pay the price for it. It filled the cabin better and had better mid range. Also keeping the bass, mid, and treble at 0 it had a very balanced sound. The bass might have been a bit much but overall it was very good. I would say slightly better than my wife's van. Compared to the showroom (we listened to the same music on both as we went back to the showroom car after the drive and hooked up my phone so I could compare) the upgraded sound was probably a decent step up. It isn't like the van where the standard is muddy and it is a requirement to upgrade. You could live with the standard sound but for me I would pay for premium.
Overall car impressions...
I absolutely loved the car. If I was single and didn't have 3 kids in private school I probably would have ordered one right then. I could probably get a Model S next year. I am going to wait and see. If the Model 3 interior doesn't improve then I might order a Model S RWD. I originally wanted to stick to around 60k for my car but I might be willing to stretch to get a Model S if the interior doesn't improve. With that said I would really have to limit what options I got if I purchased a Model S. Like I would have to give up the interior upgrade package, dual motors, big wheels if I go with the S. That is why I am going to wait to see what the Model 3 pricing is.
I will say standing near the car the Model S looks quite nice. I do think the self presenting handles are a bit gimmicy and I could live without those. There were a couple times they didn't present and I had to push on the handle to get it to come out. This probably had more to do with the sales guy having the key and he wasn't too close to the car. When I had the key they seemed to work fine. I could imagine my kids though having to constantly get them to present when I am taking my time getting to the car when they are running.
All in all this probably sealed the fact that I will be getting a Tesla. Before I was considering going with another ICE if the Model 3 is too costly. But now I know I could be satisfied without the PXXD model and probably would be happy with the base model. My only concern would be range. If I bought a Model S I would have to stick with the 60 but at least I could upgrade the range later to a 75.
Mental Notes...
Overall I would say I am pretty knowledgeable about the info on the website and what I have learned on this forum. I did learn that you need the sunroof to get XM radio (I didn't know this).
I was impressed by how big the opening is on the sunroof when it is fully opened. It is huge. It puts my wife's van to shame. I would say it is probably double the size of her sunroof when opened.
The seats and overall fit of the Model S was very impressive. I was impressed and I was setting myself up for it being a little substandard for the price. I actually thought it was actually worth the price.
The Model X I think wasn't up to the quality I would expect for the price. Perhaps other cars are better but I would be concerned that I would get a car with substandard finish. Maybe some model S's are like this too.
The sales guy also said they completely changed their paint process on the new facelift cars so it is more luxury. The paint on the P100DL was amazing. Probably partially because I liked the color.
I will say that I wish there was a better way to see the finishes of the car in cars instead of small samples on the wall. I just am the type that cannot visualize those things. For example the alcantera looks better to me on the car than it does on the wall. If I went off the wall I probably would have wanted the standard headliner. In addition the black leather looks better in the model S than it does in the X. In the S I still want black but I didn't like it on the X. I would have to see the other colors but in the X I think the vegan seats probably are better but on the S I probably wouldn't like the vegan option.
Employee Discussion...
I asked lots of questions for the sales guy. He seemed very truthful. Unlike most sales guys he didn't try to do too much to get me into the car. I would say that I was a bit surprised he really was trying to get me to order the car that day. There was a bit of pressure. Not uncomfortable but I feel like he was actually trying to close a deal. We have a no hassle Honda dealer and he was more pressure than they are. He wasn't as much pressure as a typical Honda dealer but it was brought up if I would consider buying the car today. He didn't push me when I said I wanted to wait. I told him at the earliest I could buy something in Jan and that was the truth. A couple other points he used to try to get me to order early was they could delay the shipment 3 months and he tried to use that I would get $7500 this year instead of next if I took delivery in December. He did also say that if I ordered soon I could also get $1k off by referring to another owner.
One thing he said during the drive about the Model 3 is there would be no $7500 rebate for the Model 3's as they are burning through them pretty fast now and there wouldn't be any left. I took this with a grain of salt. This to me felt like another way he was trying to get me into a Model S.
Overall I would say it was relatively low pressure but it definitely wasn't no pressure. I was honestly thinking it would be no pressure after my previous experience with the showroom when Tesla started in Austin.
If you can call it that. My entire goal was to avoid it like the plague until I actually get closer to my model 3. A couple of things changed my mind. 1. The Model S is now significantly cheaper than it was when I first placed my model 3 reservation. 2. I came to the realization it probably isn't reasonable to place an order for any car unless I have at least driven the car. The problem is I can't drive a model 3 so at least a model S will give me some idea of a Tesla and what it is.
I figured I would note down my experience and log as much as I can remember to help others who might be in the same circumstance as I am. I don't like test driving cars unless I actually plan on buying a car soon. So this is strange for me. I justified it by wanting to get a feel for the car and the options and what they actually meant vs just seeing all this info on a website.
History...
I have owned many different cars in my past. Most are lower cost cars. They have been across the board to gutless and economical to fast and impractical. My most economical car was a 2001 Toyota Echo. My fastest car was a 2005 Mustang GT. I have also owned a '65 Mustang 2+2 289 Hipo, 2000 Accord Coupe, 2005 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 (my current car). Plus my wife has a 2014 Odyssey Touring.
I have sat in two Teslas when Tesla brought a P85 and a P85+ to our company is 2013 for us to sit in and test drive. I work for a company that has about 20 chips in the car so they brought them for us to check out. I didn't get to test drive but I sat in the car for quite awhile. I have foggy memories of that but I mainly was enthralled with the touch screen at the time. I really didn't notice too much about the rest of the car. I did notice that it seemed pretty spartan inside and other than the wizbang electronics the car seemed pretty plain.
On one other previous occasion I did visit the Tesla showroom when it was in downtown Austin before moving to the domain. I remember they would only answer questions about the car but would not talk about price or anything like that. I think this was early enough on in the process that there was probably some fear of breaking the Texas dealership laws.
Requesting the test drive...
I had a pretty tough time getting a test drive. I live quite a way through traffic from the Tesla store in Austin. I am never in that part of town. I never go to the mall the showroom is located in. The last time I went up there was to put in my reservation and wait in line. Of course at that time I spent only 2 minutes in the showroom and didn't explore or do anything.
I had received multiple emails from Tesla encouraging me to drive the Model S. I bit on an email a couple months ago and filled out the form on their website and submitted and never heard back. I just dropped it and let it go. Then I got more emails a few weeks ago and decided to give it a try again. This time after filling it out again I noted that the website said I would be contacted in 24 hours. After 24 hours no call...
I posted my experience of not getting any calls even though they said I would hear from them in 24 hours. Someone on here encouraged me to email Tesla corporate sales to let them know about it. I did. About a week or so after that I got a call to schedule a test drive. I didn't get any feedback or emails from corporate. The phone call went as normal but they didn't mention that I emailed corporate. So I don't know if they actually caught up and scheduled me after the 1st request, 2nd request, or because of corporate. Who knows but I got contacted eventually.
My only comment on this is it seems concerning that it is difficult to get feedback from Tesla. Not sure how this will go when I have a car and it doesn't stop me from wanting one but I would say their system is brittle at best and I think if other car dealerships acted this way they probably would lose business. I do appreciate the no hassle nature of their business and prefer it but at the same time the complete lack of communication without my pressure isn't good.
The calls leading up to the drive...
I received two phone calls...
The first phone call was from a nice lady in California. We had a nice chat and she basically asked a bunch of questions about me and why I wanted a test drive. She was really friendly and the call went really long (probably because I am chatty) but I was impressed by how long she stayed on the phone. The main goal of the first call was to check availability and schedule me down.
The second call was from the actual person who would be going on the drive with me. This was a more pointed call. He asked if I had a trade in (I don't plan on selling my truck at this point so no). He wanted to know what my needs were. I explained that my main goal was to figure out options and I really wanted to try the different powertrains to get an idea of what would be adequate for me. I couldn't afford a P100D so my goal was to drive a 60 and maybe a 90D to see what the differences are. He explained they could software limit a performance car to the different levels so I could get a feel for all of them. The only problem is at the time of the call he didn't have any performance cars for test drives. He said they mainly had 60's and 75's. I explained I had a Model 3 reservation and was potentially interested in a Model S now that they are cheaper. Plus I wanted a good idea of the options etc... He said no problem.
The showroom...
This is my 2nd time to the domain showroom. I actually got lost on the way because they have all this new area of the domain I wasn't expecting and I was looking there for the showroom (did I say I never come up here). Anyway after about 10 minutes I found the Tesla showroom and parked in the garage next to the showroom. I walked in about 10 minutes prior to my scheduled test drive. When I walked in there was one employee talking to a woman who was checking out a 90D Model X. In the showroom was a rolling chassis, the Model X, and a 75D Model S.
I hopped into the Model S while the guy was occupied. Let me say that this Model S is leaps and bounds nicer than the original Model S I sat in at my company. The seats were amazing. The car was multi-coat red, black next-gen seats, and a white alcantera headliner. It appeared to have the interior upgrade package. I was impressed. This was a very nice quality car. The car felt really solid.
One of my thoughts was to listen to the sound on a standard sound system and an upgraded sound system to see if the $2500 upgrade was worth it. This wasn't something I could decide from just looking at the website. My only other real comparison to this type of upgrade is my wife's van. All Odyssey's except for the Elite have a 7 speaker sound system. To me it sounds muddy and it can be really difficult for people in the back to hear when at speed with road/wind noise. It was my biggest complaint in our 08 odyssey. Our new odyssey is an Elite and has 12 or 14 speakers and it is a high end system with DTS etc... I love the stereo and it is a night and day improvement over the old van. If it was a separate option on the lower end models I would say it is a necessity for most families just for the clarity and the ability to hear in all the rows. The Model S in the showroom had great sound. The highs were clear and the mids were a bit weak but could be adjusted. I thought the system was decent and I probably would be ok with it. The bass was a bit understated. At this point another employee came in so I got out of the car to see what I had to do at this point.
The employee checked me in for my test drive and said the guy giving me the ride would come out in a minute. He also scanned my driver's license. I also asked and he let me know that the Model S I had been listening to had the standard sound system. I then looked at the X in the showroom. I was surprised by how small the 3rd row seat is. I am used to an Odyssey mind you but it was surprisingly small. We had an '06 Pilot at one point and this was smaller than that if I remember correctly. I wouldn't be comfortable putting an adult back there. I didn't play with the seats much but it was tight. (this might have been able to be resolved). Also the front doors didn't feel as solid as the Model S. Plus the right door on the car made a weird noise when I opened it and had some weird vibrations from the hinge. This might be resolved I don't know but it is one of those things that probably would bug me that a normal dealer would say "that is normal". It definitely didn't feel as solid as the Model S. In addition there were TONS of scratches on the plastics by the 3rd row seat. That would drive me nuts. I think it is due to having to slide down the plastic to get into the 3rd row. Other than that the car was really neat and I even though I am seeming overly critical it was truly awesome. I am just stating what I observed. I didn't spend much time in the car. The Model X was the upgraded white color with black leather interior. It had the black alcantera headliner.
The Test Drive...
Next the employee who would be riding with me came out to meet me. I am a software engineer and was in cargo shorts and a button up shirt and I felt like I was WAY underdressed. Everyone in the showroom looked spiffy. Before we went out to the garage on the drive they had to get some stuff off the glass of the car. So we killed a wee bit of time in the showroom prior to going out. He reiterated what we discussed on the phone then we walked out to the garage. There were probably 5 model S and 2 model X in the garage. He first asked if I had any charging questions. I really didn't. He showed me the 50 amp plugs they have some Tesla destination chargers there as well.
The car I drove was a loaded P100DL. It was brand new and I was the maiden voyage. I didn't realize but there was a problem being the first driver which I'll mention later. Let me say that this car was the exact color scheme I want on my Model 3. It was midnight silver, black leather next gen, black alcantera, black 21" rims. I think the only option that the car didn't have was the rear seats. He immediately set the car to a 90D so I could try it out.
My first impression of the car is that it is really strange to drive. The lack of engine noise when putting in drive, no creep, ultra silent start. This is all foreign to me. When driving the regen was a bit to get used to. There were a few times when I took the foot off the accelerator (I can't say gas anymore...) and the car slowed way more than I was expecting. I apologized but he said I was doing surprisingly well for someone who hadn't experienced it before. Not sure if he was blowing smoke or not haha.
We immediately went on the freeway and tried autopilot. That was like being in a alternate universe. It was better than I was expecting. Mopac (the freeway) is under major construction. It has multiple paint stripes, large containers on the left shoulder with some that stick into the lane too far, the lanes shift back and fourth, etc... It handled it all perfectly. I was really impressed. My wife's van has lane departure warning and it freaks out all the time on this stuff. It is so bad I turned it off because it drives me nuts. The only weird thing is there was a camry in the right lane next to us at one point and the lanes were very narrow and the Model S freaked out and jammed the brakes. That took me off guard and even the sales guy said that he wasn't sure why that happened. I would say though the experience was 95% positive. I was only nagged once in maybe 10 minutes to hold the wheel. Now that might have been because the sales guy was adjusting the speed from the right seat as well and he might have bumped the wheel.
We also tested the acceleration on the freeway from 50 to 80 and also from a stand still. Even in the base rear wheel drive mode the car was very impressive. The car drove effortlessly and passing wasn't a problem with the base level car.
We also played with the air suspension. Even in low mode the car had a very nice ride with the 21" wheels. He did say that if you are getting the 21" wheels you really need the air suspension. If you get standard wheels the steel springs are fine.
We then went down a side street and tried the acceleration from 0 and I was impressed. I couldn't imagine the car if it was set back to P100DL mode. I didn't ask and didn't need to I was happy with the standard rwd acceleration.
When we arrived back in the garage I asked if we could autopark. The problem with the brand new car is I guess it hasn't fully calibrated its sensors so the autopark isn't available. I then backed it in myself. I will say not having creep will take some getting used to. I didn't want to smash the car but the accelerator is very sensitive and it is easy to get a crawl from it. It still made me nervous but I managed. I am usually not a nervous driver and am not afraid to break the rear end of a car around in a turn. This car was very different in its demeanor.
After parking we played with the cooled seats and listened to the sound system. The upgraded sound system for me is worth it. I would probably pay the price for it. It filled the cabin better and had better mid range. Also keeping the bass, mid, and treble at 0 it had a very balanced sound. The bass might have been a bit much but overall it was very good. I would say slightly better than my wife's van. Compared to the showroom (we listened to the same music on both as we went back to the showroom car after the drive and hooked up my phone so I could compare) the upgraded sound was probably a decent step up. It isn't like the van where the standard is muddy and it is a requirement to upgrade. You could live with the standard sound but for me I would pay for premium.
Overall car impressions...
I absolutely loved the car. If I was single and didn't have 3 kids in private school I probably would have ordered one right then. I could probably get a Model S next year. I am going to wait and see. If the Model 3 interior doesn't improve then I might order a Model S RWD. I originally wanted to stick to around 60k for my car but I might be willing to stretch to get a Model S if the interior doesn't improve. With that said I would really have to limit what options I got if I purchased a Model S. Like I would have to give up the interior upgrade package, dual motors, big wheels if I go with the S. That is why I am going to wait to see what the Model 3 pricing is.
I will say standing near the car the Model S looks quite nice. I do think the self presenting handles are a bit gimmicy and I could live without those. There were a couple times they didn't present and I had to push on the handle to get it to come out. This probably had more to do with the sales guy having the key and he wasn't too close to the car. When I had the key they seemed to work fine. I could imagine my kids though having to constantly get them to present when I am taking my time getting to the car when they are running.
All in all this probably sealed the fact that I will be getting a Tesla. Before I was considering going with another ICE if the Model 3 is too costly. But now I know I could be satisfied without the PXXD model and probably would be happy with the base model. My only concern would be range. If I bought a Model S I would have to stick with the 60 but at least I could upgrade the range later to a 75.
Mental Notes...
Overall I would say I am pretty knowledgeable about the info on the website and what I have learned on this forum. I did learn that you need the sunroof to get XM radio (I didn't know this).
I was impressed by how big the opening is on the sunroof when it is fully opened. It is huge. It puts my wife's van to shame. I would say it is probably double the size of her sunroof when opened.
The seats and overall fit of the Model S was very impressive. I was impressed and I was setting myself up for it being a little substandard for the price. I actually thought it was actually worth the price.
The Model X I think wasn't up to the quality I would expect for the price. Perhaps other cars are better but I would be concerned that I would get a car with substandard finish. Maybe some model S's are like this too.
The sales guy also said they completely changed their paint process on the new facelift cars so it is more luxury. The paint on the P100DL was amazing. Probably partially because I liked the color.
I will say that I wish there was a better way to see the finishes of the car in cars instead of small samples on the wall. I just am the type that cannot visualize those things. For example the alcantera looks better to me on the car than it does on the wall. If I went off the wall I probably would have wanted the standard headliner. In addition the black leather looks better in the model S than it does in the X. In the S I still want black but I didn't like it on the X. I would have to see the other colors but in the X I think the vegan seats probably are better but on the S I probably wouldn't like the vegan option.
Employee Discussion...
I asked lots of questions for the sales guy. He seemed very truthful. Unlike most sales guys he didn't try to do too much to get me into the car. I would say that I was a bit surprised he really was trying to get me to order the car that day. There was a bit of pressure. Not uncomfortable but I feel like he was actually trying to close a deal. We have a no hassle Honda dealer and he was more pressure than they are. He wasn't as much pressure as a typical Honda dealer but it was brought up if I would consider buying the car today. He didn't push me when I said I wanted to wait. I told him at the earliest I could buy something in Jan and that was the truth. A couple other points he used to try to get me to order early was they could delay the shipment 3 months and he tried to use that I would get $7500 this year instead of next if I took delivery in December. He did also say that if I ordered soon I could also get $1k off by referring to another owner.
One thing he said during the drive about the Model 3 is there would be no $7500 rebate for the Model 3's as they are burning through them pretty fast now and there wouldn't be any left. I took this with a grain of salt. This to me felt like another way he was trying to get me into a Model S.
Overall I would say it was relatively low pressure but it definitely wasn't no pressure. I was honestly thinking it would be no pressure after my previous experience with the showroom when Tesla started in Austin.
