My Carvana Experience

[TESLER2013]

Hi Everyone,

New here. I recently bought a 2013 Model S 85 on Carvana for #34,100. 57k miles. I admit I DID NOT do enough research on this. However, my friend has an 85 that I never sat in however, he's pretty smart and recommended the 85. That is pretty much all I was going on. I saw a silver one on Carvana that caught my eye. Super beautiful. I was super impressed with the photos in the carvana posting. It has pretty much all the options except the pano roof. And it came with FREE Supercharging. Although at the time, I didn't know which options to look for. I went ahead and ordered it. Took only 20 minutes. Got my payment as $600/month. (That is what I was spending on my Dodge Ram in gas per month)

In 3 days, the scheduled tow truck came. The lady that delivered it barely knew how to take it off the truck. She got it down and we didn't know where the electric charger port was. She didn't know anything. So I had to learn as I went. Googling everything. My wife got locked out of the vehicle because she didn't know to press the handle. That is how much we knew. However, it was fun! Every little thing is funner when you figure it out yourself for some reason. However it's not fun when it's frustrating.

So the car. The charger was not in the trunk. It came with a Fiat cable. I sold that on craigslist for $75 recently. I didn't want to complain about it. After all, it wasn't in the photos.

The key fob. The 2nd key fob was missing. Someone stole it from the time it was theirs to the time it was mine. So this is a hassle. I have to wait for the registration to sign up the car with Tesla to make a service appointment. So I have to wait on this.

Supercharging: I've been supercharging but I don't have a credit card attached so I don't charge too much so I don't get an idle fee. I don't know what would happen if an idle charge was created. This is the most frustrating as Carvana promised me free supercharging however Tesla reps have said they doubt it. But Carvana's upper customer service says it transfers with the VIN. So I have to wait on this too. The registration has not come yet. It's been over a month.

Glass crack. I noticed a glass crack in the windshield. Carvana sent out Safe Light to repair it. The guy said it was repaired already. After he left, I had a big rock hit the windshield. But I don't think Carvana is going to cover that.

Sorry guys, 2 more topics I'm interested in.

The fit and finish of the Tesla is great but not perfect. These are not things that were part of using the car - rather things that don't perfectly mesh from the factory. The warranty is out, but is there anything you guys would do or can do? I think since the full warranty is over, I just have to live with it as others.

The powertrain: This car still has 18 months on it's warranty on the powertrain. Again I can't make an appointment yet, but I want service to see it. I didn't realize if you turn down the music, you can hear a kind of a whistle. I've read that some are normal and others are not. How can you tell what level is ok? If it's ok I'm not worried about it. It's kind of like a jet sounds however if it's grinding something I'd like to know.

Other than that, the car is a dream. Very smooth. I like the air suspension, premium sound, and tech package. I'm glad I have the 19's.

Oh and get this BONUS. I lift the back board and what is underneath? The rare 2 seat Jump Seat that I had never heard about. Surprise!

Things I found out the hard way: I put the Tesla charger at my work (I have my own business) however I didn't know my Tesla has the old 40amp set-up. So I can only get 25 miles/hour on the charger. i was hoping for 44 miles.

Extra Note: Electrician charged me $550.00

What do you guys think I should do though on the whistle sound? Is there a way I can see if it's normal?

 

[ddawson]

Is it a electrical kind of sound. Mine sounds like a Tie Fighter when I touch the pedal but stops when I lift. Not super loud but if the radio is off I can hear it.

 

[TESLER2013]

Yep it sounds like that. And when I lift my foot off it stops instantly. When it revs up higher, the sound gets less. My friend that I mentioned has an 85 said his sounds the same...

 

[Tam]

...jet sounds...

That's normal. It's the electronic motor/inverter whine. Its pitch changes with your accelerator pedal.

Some come with a parcel shelf that helps to reduce the noise too.

I don't mind because it sounds futuristic to me.

However, grinding noise, drone noise may indicate worn-out gear teeth which will eventually stop your car from rolling even though the motor can still spin fine.

 

[TESLER2013]

Thanks. That makes me feel better!

 

[Aggmeister2010]

40A on the Gen 1 mobile charger should be closer to 28-29 miles of charge her hour. Is it showing that it's charging at full 40 amps on the screen?

I don't know if the 72A upgrade was available in 2013, but if your car has it, you can charge at up to 72A at destination chargers and wall chargers that have a 90A feed. That'll get you your 44 miles.

Also, download the Plugshare app. It shows you where all of the charging stations near you are (level 1-3 + superchargers). I found a 72A charging station a couple blocks from work, and I use it to grab a quick 45 miles over lunch. It's never 'necessary,' but it means I don't have to charge at home as much.

 

[TESLER2013]

Yes, the amp is showing 40A on the screen. It won't go higher than that. However it does have the supercharger so I am getting 200-260 miles per hour at my local supercharger at a shopping plaza. The screen does already show all of the 72A superchargers - that is convenient. And it shows the number of stalls open..

 

[Aggmeister2010]

Yes, the amp is showing 40A on the screen. It won't go higher than that. However it does have the supercharger so I am getting 200-260 miles per hour at my local supercharger at a shopping plaza. The screen does already show all of the 72A superchargers - that is convenient. And it shows the number of stalls open..

The full-power supercharger stations are actually running at 250A (480V, 120 kW), even higher for the V3 and with newer vehicles that can take more capacity. I have seen that they have lower power superchargers in some locations too, which are 72A.

The charger is onboard the car itself - the connector (be it mobile charger or supercharger) is just providing a certain capacity of power...the car then decides what to do with it.

So, your Gen 1 mobile charger says "here ya go, car, here's my capacity of power based on my input (40A 240V)" and the car determines how much of it it wants to use.

NEMA 14-50 outlets have a capacity of 50A. Your breaker at home is likely a 50A breaker. It's important to build in a buffer so you don't overheat the wiring and cause a fire, so they cap it at 40A continuous use. Hence why you can charge at a 'max' of 40A.

On a related note, Part of the reason supercharging slows down when the battery gets fuller is because you can't just slam 250A worth of power into the battery from 1% to 100% charge. Think of it like loading an 18 wheeler. If it's mostly empty, you can just toss crates in as fast as you can, because you have plenty of space. When it gets about 70% full, you have to start more carefully arranging things to make sure you can fill it to capacity. Even slower when you get to 90%. And so on. So, that's why people suggest only supercharging to 80% - if you go a lot higher, the time required to do so is dramatically increased.

 

[TESLER2013]

The full-power supercharger stations are actually running at 250A (480V, 120 kW), even higher for the V3 and with newer vehicles that can take more capacity. I have seen that they have lower power superchargers in some locations too, which are 72A.

The charger is onboard the car itself - the connector (be it mobile charger or supercharger) is just providing a certain capacity of power...the car then decides what to do with it.

So, your Gen 1 mobile charger says "here ya go, car, here's my capacity of power based on my input (40A 240V)" and the car determines how much of it it wants to use.

NEMA 14-50 outlets have a capacity of 50A. Your breaker at home is likely a 50A breaker. It's important to build in a buffer so you don't overheat the wiring and cause a fire, so they cap it at 40A continuous use. Hence why you can charge at a 'max' of 40A.

On a related note, Part of the reason supercharging slows down when the battery gets fuller is because you can't just slam 250A worth of power into the battery from 1% to 100% charge. Think of it like loading an 18 wheeler. If it's mostly empty, you can just toss crates in as fast as you can, because you have plenty of space. When it gets about 70% full, you have to start more carefully arranging things to make sure you can fill it to capacity. Even slower when you get to 90%. And so on. So, that's why people suggest only supercharging to 80% - if you go a lot higher, the time required to do so is dramatically increased.

Thanks for your reply. I'm learning a lot. However, so I installed a Tesla (newest version) on the site with an electrician. I have a 60 amp breaker and I am charging with the wall charger. I set the software correctly I think. However, from what I understand, the regular charger on 2013 or earlier models of the Model S can only charge at max 40amp because of the charger inside of the car. I don't know if that makes sense. But I think if I had a newer model, I can get the full 44mi/hour on my get up...

 

[Aggmeister2010]

Ah ok, I gotcha, so you installed a Tesla Wall Charger (not the mobile charger).

Yeah, the model 3 LR can get 44 miles of range per hour on a standard wall charger with a 60A breaker, but not the S. Are you worried about not being able to charge up enough, or it it more of a "just for fun" goal?

 

[TESLER2013]

When I bought from Carvana, the darn "mobile charger" wasn't in the trunk so that was more reason for me to get the wall charger. And yes, it is a "just for fun" goal haha. I'm getting more of my charging at superchargers because I have the free supercharging... but one day when I trade this baby in, I"ll get the full 44 at my work..

 

[JPoldo]

My self-install NEMA 14-50 on a 50A breaker delivers 236V @ 40A continuous to a gen1 UMC for 29 mph. When at a Chargepoint station, voltage drops to 198 @ 32 amps reducing charge rate to 19 mph. Spend $500 for the Wall Connector and get nearly 40 mph.

Most Tesla owners will tell you satisfaction increases significantly when home charging is available.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

On a related note, Part of the reason supercharging slows down when the battery gets fuller is because you can't just slam 250A worth of power into the battery from 1% to 100% charge. Think of it like loading an 18 wheeler. If it's mostly empty, you can just toss crates in as fast as you can, because you have plenty of space. When it gets about 70% full, you have to start more carefully arranging things to make sure you can fill it to capacity.

That's an excellent way of looking at it and reminded me of one time when I visited a UPS facility (it was like going to hell, but that's a different story) and some guy told me how they load the trucks. He said they use big boxes to build a wall across the trailer maybe two feet from the front bulkhead, then they toss all the packets and flexible items into the space they just created. Then they build another wall a bit further back and repeat the process until the trailer is full

Made sense to me



...and I hope you mean 250V, not 250A - lol