Hey folks, thanks for being such a great wealth of information. As the title says, I am in the market for a new vehicle and I am trying to decide between the model S and a CRV and here's why:
I am buying this vehicle primarily as a commuting vehicle. I commute 50 miles each way from northern Virginia to D.C. I test drove many vehicles comparing all their semi-autonomous capabilities. The first time I drove the tesla I wasn't all that impressed but the drive was limited primarily to side roads. I wrote off the tesla until the salesman convinced me to take it for 24 hours and try it on my commute. The 24 hours really convinced me that the model S is the way to go as the AP2 functionality was very impressive. The only way I could justify such an expensive vehicle is if the autopilot functionality vastly improved my fatigue during the commute. Having said that, the CRV brings some of the functionality of the MS whole being more reliable in terms of quality, semi-autonomous capabilities, depreciation, etc. at 1/3 the cost of an MS.
Issues: it seems my MS experience is not at all homogenous. There are far too many posts of varying experiences and it would be quite disappointing if I bought a MS and it turned out that the functionality was not at least as good as the demo car I drove. Should I be that worried about getting a MS that doesn't drive like the demo did?
In additon, the model 3 appears to have the same AP2 system as the MS and MX at a considerable price savings. Although I plan on having the vehicle for many years, the idea of paying 40-50k more for a vehicle that will have the same functionality as the M3 doesn't bode well for the value/depreciation front. Is a MS really worth that much more than a M3 based on the knowledge we have now?
Also, the salesman has been suggesting a demo model S 90d at a considerable discount (13k) although it has 1800 miles. It seems like a great deal but the mere fact they are discounting a vehicle so much makes me weary of the potential depreciation that these vehicles face and the constant fluctuations in value because of Tesla's attempts to update the model/option offerings. Part of me thinks I should just base my decision on the perceived value and AP2 functionality now and not look back. Is wildly fluctuating depreciation a concern for anyone here?
Finally, the CRV I drove was quite a great little SUV and had a significant amount of semi-autonomous functionality albeit with a bit less of the niceties of the MS but at only 30k it seems like a great deal. If I did buy the CRV I know I would just be waiting and lusting over the MS until I felt more comfortable with the purchase. In all I guess it seems hard to justify the purchase of an MS over something like a CRV with the idea that I drive the CRV until the chips fall a bit more on AP2 functionality and the M3's capabilities and impact on the market. How do you folks justify the purchase when Tesla seems to be in constant flux?
Thanks in advance,
Josh
I am buying this vehicle primarily as a commuting vehicle. I commute 50 miles each way from northern Virginia to D.C. I test drove many vehicles comparing all their semi-autonomous capabilities. The first time I drove the tesla I wasn't all that impressed but the drive was limited primarily to side roads. I wrote off the tesla until the salesman convinced me to take it for 24 hours and try it on my commute. The 24 hours really convinced me that the model S is the way to go as the AP2 functionality was very impressive. The only way I could justify such an expensive vehicle is if the autopilot functionality vastly improved my fatigue during the commute. Having said that, the CRV brings some of the functionality of the MS whole being more reliable in terms of quality, semi-autonomous capabilities, depreciation, etc. at 1/3 the cost of an MS.
Issues: it seems my MS experience is not at all homogenous. There are far too many posts of varying experiences and it would be quite disappointing if I bought a MS and it turned out that the functionality was not at least as good as the demo car I drove. Should I be that worried about getting a MS that doesn't drive like the demo did?
In additon, the model 3 appears to have the same AP2 system as the MS and MX at a considerable price savings. Although I plan on having the vehicle for many years, the idea of paying 40-50k more for a vehicle that will have the same functionality as the M3 doesn't bode well for the value/depreciation front. Is a MS really worth that much more than a M3 based on the knowledge we have now?
Also, the salesman has been suggesting a demo model S 90d at a considerable discount (13k) although it has 1800 miles. It seems like a great deal but the mere fact they are discounting a vehicle so much makes me weary of the potential depreciation that these vehicles face and the constant fluctuations in value because of Tesla's attempts to update the model/option offerings. Part of me thinks I should just base my decision on the perceived value and AP2 functionality now and not look back. Is wildly fluctuating depreciation a concern for anyone here?
Finally, the CRV I drove was quite a great little SUV and had a significant amount of semi-autonomous functionality albeit with a bit less of the niceties of the MS but at only 30k it seems like a great deal. If I did buy the CRV I know I would just be waiting and lusting over the MS until I felt more comfortable with the purchase. In all I guess it seems hard to justify the purchase of an MS over something like a CRV with the idea that I drive the CRV until the chips fall a bit more on AP2 functionality and the M3's capabilities and impact on the market. How do you folks justify the purchase when Tesla seems to be in constant flux?
Thanks in advance,
Josh
