MS 75D delivery in 10 days, getting cold feet...

[Ken7]

I'll chime in with a mixed review. Got my car in June, and the delivery experience was great. Took an hour, 50 minutes of which was doing the walk through and familiarization. Car seemed perfect. Over the next month, I did notice several issues, which Tesla eventually took care of. Windshield had some frosting that only appeared when the sun was low - replaced.

Magellan, I’m curious what you mean by ‘frosting’. From day one I’ve felt that my windshield wasn’t as ‘transparent’ as other cars I’ve owned and at low sun angles it almost looks a bit foggy. Is this what you see?

 

[pedriscoll]

I am on my second Model S. The first, an 85 D had coil suspension and would bottom out on occasion. My current 100 D has the air suspension and the ride is noticeably smoother, and I never bottom out. You will love the car. I have loved both of my babies. I plan on keeping the “Aluminum Falcon II” for many years. I smile every morning as I start my commute.

 

[FreddyC10]

I picked up my 2018 S 100D on Sep 26th. I was nervous about the delivery also after reading multiple threads about problems with the cars. When I got to the Service Center, I was very excited to see my wicked awesome car sitting in the delivery bay looking all shiny. The delivery specialist was excellent. I walked around the car and saw one small scratch. A car detailer came and got it, took it to where they prep the cars and brought it back in about 15 minutes with the scratch gone. My entire experience has been nothing but great. I have not had any problems with the car.

Try and relax, you are going to love the car.

 

[Uncle Paul]

A classic example of FIA..Forum Induced Anxiety.

See some posts in a forum and figure that everybody is having problems.

Complainers tend to be much LOUDER than satisfied customers.

Early air suspension tended to develop expensive problems, but the newer systems are much more reliable.

You will enjoy your new Tesla.

 

[bmah]

@michidragon : I agree with others who have pointed out that those with complaints tend to be more vocal. On the other hand, not everything you see on the forums is negative either, see this for example:

My S85D and Tesla life at 50K miles

My car has SAS, no problems so far (now at 55K miles).

Enjoy!

Bruce.

 

[ucmndd]

I’m far from wealthy, spent nearly 3x over any other car I’ve owned to get into my Model S in Dec 2016. I’m a model 3 reservation conversion.

2 years and 65,000 trouble free miles later, I have no regrets. Love the car every time I look at it, every time I drive it. Tesla the company is going through some growing pains and things are changing, but my experience has been overwhelmingly positive.

I do have the coil suspension, so can’t speak to the SAS, but I think the idea of a mandatory 5 year rebuild is hugely overblown.

Model S has become a mature and reliable product. If you can accept some minor imperfections or inconsistencies in either the product or the process of the company, you’ll be over the moon. If you’re expecting the precision and consistency of a Toyota, you’ll probably be happier with a Lexus.

 

[talels]

I have MS75D with air suspension, and I love it! If the air suspension breaks some time in the future.. I'll just have to get it fixed. Things break over time, nothing lasts forever, but I am enjoying my car right now.

My delivery went smoothly (late September 2018), I never felt rushed, my delivery specialist told me I can take as much time as I need to check the car or as her questions. I didn't have a lot of questions though because I already knew how to use the car from my test drives and watching some YouTube videos.

I also had some anxiety before my delivery because of some horrifying delivery stories posted online. I wish I hadn't seen them so I could be just excited about getting my new car without needless worrying.

Why not take another test drive just to remind yourself what an awesome car you are getting soon?

 

[Oldschool496]

My car was showroom model. I knew I would have tons of problems and I have had a few. Thats why I got the discount on less then 50 miles on the car. Never any problem though driving. In fact that seems to get better with time. Range efficiency etc.

They fixed them all and like below, great loaners and lots of fun. I probably have 2500 miles on loaners, some I took on weekend trips(un-planned with a loaner) taking kids to college and other. All good. I wish though the contact time back, was better. Really fun stuff. My impression of Model 3 is way more utilitarian drive. Albeit nice, its just not my style. I can't take that UI.

I had multiple problems on my May delivery (2018 100D) but it hasn’t been a “nightmare” sorting them out - at all. At every service visit I get a loaner, text updates as my car progresses, a car wash and respectful service. That’s more than I can say for either my prior BMW or Mercedes.

 

[Hood7]

I had a disappointing delivery experience, but have loved my S since I drove it off the lot (service center) in March 2018. The smart air suspension hasn't been an issue at all, and is very handy for the speed bumps at a shopping center near my home, because it just knows to raise the car up to help with those bumps. Can't talk to the longevity of the suspension, but would note that even if you have a frustrating delivery experience, you will most likely be happy with the S anyway.

 

[EVDRVN]

You forgot to add the model S refresh and redesign will devalue your car and you will not be satisfied with your car so you can buy the new model and solve the issue of air suspension issues before the warranty is over. You just saved $10K toward a new car

 

[nomis_nehc]

To be honest, I am nervous about the air suspension bit as well. I drive at least 30k+ miles a year, so this is definitely a wear and tear thing for me. Pondering if I should just have it set as never to lower itself?

 

[Oldschool496]

To be honest, I am nervous about the air suspension bit as well. I drive at least 30k+ miles a year, so this is definitely a wear and tear thing for me. Pondering if I should just have it set as never to lower itself?

After you get the car you'll appreciate the air and it won't disappoint you. There are many times you need it(to feel comfortable) and everyday driving you want it. When you are uncertain of clearance in front, with air you have choices to raise and feel comfortable in tight parking conditions. If you set it and forget it, its fine.

You would never set and forget to high though. Your car would look funny. The car does not allow you to drive above a certain speed in high. SO you have the choice of not lowering it further then lets say fixed suspension height unless you select auto lowering at a given speed or manually select lowering.

Mine is set to auto lower at 85+ currently. You can change that to whatever speed you desire for the driving terrain your in.

 

[D.E.]

S75D is an amazing car, best I’ve ever had. You’re going to love the car.

Air suspension wasn’t available as an add on when I got mine. A fried had it, it was pretty sweet. It remembered the location every time he raised the suspension so it automatically raised it the next time. Steep driveways, etc shouldn’t be a scrape risk.

I’d think about applying Xpel to the leading edges of the car and the hood. It isn’t very expensive and it will eliminate stone chips. I got my first stone chip driving 90 miles home from delivery, in the rain. The next week I had the Xpel applied, now over a year later and not a single additional stone chip.

The car isn’t perfect. Every now and again I get in and the car is “off”. It takes a minute to get it going. It gets software updates fairly often so things can be a little different after each update. I don’t mind that. The Tesla is a little more of an experience than other cars. Other cars, you get it and that’s about it, take it in for maintenance, and that’s the car you have until you get rid of it. The Tesla changes while you have it. There are new features that appear. If you get the “autopilot”, that’s fun. Usually it gets a little better with each software update, occasionally it backslides a little, but the following update often improves it. Ownership of a Tesla S is just more fun, for me anyway.

As far as complaints go, they’ve sold hundreds of thousands of the things worldwide. Anyone with a problem seems to post here, and that’s fine. I look for trends in complaints rather than worrying about each one. Trends now include slow repairs if you crash it. It is expensive to repair so insurance rates are higher usually. It seems they’ll total the car with less apparant damage than other types of cars. Otherwise the car is an absolute dream to drive and a joy to own.

 

[Peteski]

Yeah stop worrying and enjoy the experience. No car is perfect, but Teslas are generally great cars and totally unique. Look how many people on these forums own more than one. That tells you something. Our MX has been great in the first year and we will be ordering a second Model 3 when they hit the UK. I wouldn't be doing that if our experience had been a bad one!

 

[john85775]

We had cold feet too--for concerns about reliability and frankly a piss-poor ordering experience. We persevered with the help of this forum and went through with it.

Best car decision of my life, and I've made some doozies.

Stick with it and you won't look back.

 

[THXULTRA]

The thing with the internet is everyone comes on here to complain and it is far and few times you hear the positives especially about cars. I would like to say I have had nothing but great experiences with Tesla. When I picked up my car it had a small scuff on the wheel before I even looked at the car the service center pointed it out and told me they were replacing the wheel and tire which they did. Also all the paperwork was ready when I got there so it was super fast to get all that done. Was one of the smoothest deliveries I have ever had. Have had the car a year now and love it. Best thing about it is it continues to get better. Auto Pilot is so much better now then when I got the car last year. You will not be disappointed.

 

[henderrj]

We have a hundred and thirty-six thousand miles on our air suspension, Nary a problem.

Yup, we've driven the thing over most of the western US, through snowstorms in Wyoming and scorching Texas heat as well, of course, as here on the "wet" side of the Cascades. Haven't loved a car like this since my 1967 super sport!

 

[Jaimebond]

Love the sas. Delivery experience was fine. I drive high mileage also and am at 43k in 1.75 yrs in and no sas issues knock wood. I have it set to adjust at multiple places on commute and have used it during several snowmageddon days to exit an unplowed lot and was great. Would buy w again.

 

[BBB4000]

This forum isn't the best place to get talked out of buying a Tesla.

With that said, I've never met anyone that owned a MS and didn't love it. Your delivery day experience should be the least of your concerns. No matter what happens it will still be a superior experience compared to buying from a traditional dealer.

I am of the mindset that cost should be the number one driver. Too many people stretch for the car and that's silly in my opinion. Only buy it if you can afford it, and afford means the services, maintenance, insurance, taxes, etc. Best of luck!

 

[michidragon]

Guys, thanks for all this. And i'm not looking to get talked out of it! Still hoping my delivery is soon (I ended up switching to an in-inventory car which apparently has 9 miles on it, but managed to get one with a sunroof.. ) - versus waiting for the previous VIN to enter production. (it hadn't yet.)

I'll let you guys know... and definitely I think this has been "FIA" (Forum Induced Anxiety) ... I'll let you guys know when it's all done.