I got my car on Friday and I love it. I’m not normally the type to post on forums. I’m a lurker. But with as much complaining (mostly nitpicking, IMO) as there is online nowadays, I thought I should put some positivity out there for those other lurkers that are wondering if Tesla is right for them.
Why I chose Tesla:
I have Jeep for weekends and a Toyota for commuting. My kids are getting their licenses next month, so I decided to turn the Toyota over to them and get a new commuter. I have a really long commute. 65 miles each way, 40 of which are highway ($300+ / month in gas). I started researching hybrids and other efficient vehicles when I came across tesla. I knew what Tesla was and had followed their progress a bit, but was never that interested, because I’m just not a “car guy”, and I just assumed that an EV wouldn’t have the range I needed. Then I went to dinner with a friend who had just bought a Model 3 (LR RWD) and he let me drive it (Tesla owners are the best sales force, by far). I was blown away and from that moment on I had Tesla tunnel vision. I test drove a performance model and was even more blown away. Man, that things was fast! Then I test drove a LR AWD. Man, that thing was fast too! And the handling. Wow! Not being a car guy, I wasn’t able to tell a difference between the performance and LR AWD, other that just a tad of power at take off, so I went with the LR AWD (with the 19” for the sportier look).
The ordering buying and delivery process:
The process isn’t totally pain free and smooth, but it’s still way better than a traditional dealership. I made a few changes along the way, performance to LR AWD, 18” to 19”, black to midnight silver, and each change was a little bit of a chore to make happen, but not too bad. The person I was dealing with changed a few times and it was hard to get a response at times, but once I got in touch with someone, they were always friendly and helpful. What I learned late in the process is that if you call your local sales or delivery location rather than the Tesla 800 number, things get done much more quickly. Once I figured that out, everything went smoothly and quickly. I went from getting my vin to driving away in my car in 3 days. Not bad.
Delivery took a while because of volume, about 3 hours, but still less than the all day process of a normal dealership. The car was perfect, except for a small paint “smudge” on the hood, which they buffed out before I left. According to the service center manager, Tesla’s have more paint issues because they are shipped so soon after being assembled and painted. I guess ideally paint would sit a while before sending the car out and that would reduce flaws. I don’t know. Whatever the case, I left with a perfect car.
The driving experience:
So, I have had the car for a few days and all I can say is that this car is simply amazing. It’s the most enjoyable driving experience I have ever had. I have never laughed out loud from pure joy while driving before, and I have done that several times over the last few days. The speed and handling are like nothing I have ever experienced. I used navigate on auto pilot on my way to work this morning and it worked perfectly.
The only moment I have had that was less then perfect was that the screen froze on my initial drive home. A quick reset fixed the problem and it hasn’t happened since. I read that this sometimes happens when using the embedded music streaming, which I was doing at the time. I have been using my phone for music since, just in case. I also had an update run that night, so maybe that fixed a bug? Either way, I don’t find this kind of thing to be a big deal. We are near the beginnings of this technology, so bugs are to be expected. I think it’s cool to be a part of the beta testing stage. I have already had a handful of people stop me in parking lots to ask questions. I came out of a restaurant yesterday to see a group of teenagers looking in the windows. I didn’t buy the car for the attention, but I must admit I’m enjoying turning heads.
Peace!
Why I chose Tesla:
I have Jeep for weekends and a Toyota for commuting. My kids are getting their licenses next month, so I decided to turn the Toyota over to them and get a new commuter. I have a really long commute. 65 miles each way, 40 of which are highway ($300+ / month in gas). I started researching hybrids and other efficient vehicles when I came across tesla. I knew what Tesla was and had followed their progress a bit, but was never that interested, because I’m just not a “car guy”, and I just assumed that an EV wouldn’t have the range I needed. Then I went to dinner with a friend who had just bought a Model 3 (LR RWD) and he let me drive it (Tesla owners are the best sales force, by far). I was blown away and from that moment on I had Tesla tunnel vision. I test drove a performance model and was even more blown away. Man, that things was fast! Then I test drove a LR AWD. Man, that thing was fast too! And the handling. Wow! Not being a car guy, I wasn’t able to tell a difference between the performance and LR AWD, other that just a tad of power at take off, so I went with the LR AWD (with the 19” for the sportier look).
The ordering buying and delivery process:
The process isn’t totally pain free and smooth, but it’s still way better than a traditional dealership. I made a few changes along the way, performance to LR AWD, 18” to 19”, black to midnight silver, and each change was a little bit of a chore to make happen, but not too bad. The person I was dealing with changed a few times and it was hard to get a response at times, but once I got in touch with someone, they were always friendly and helpful. What I learned late in the process is that if you call your local sales or delivery location rather than the Tesla 800 number, things get done much more quickly. Once I figured that out, everything went smoothly and quickly. I went from getting my vin to driving away in my car in 3 days. Not bad.
Delivery took a while because of volume, about 3 hours, but still less than the all day process of a normal dealership. The car was perfect, except for a small paint “smudge” on the hood, which they buffed out before I left. According to the service center manager, Tesla’s have more paint issues because they are shipped so soon after being assembled and painted. I guess ideally paint would sit a while before sending the car out and that would reduce flaws. I don’t know. Whatever the case, I left with a perfect car.
The driving experience:
So, I have had the car for a few days and all I can say is that this car is simply amazing. It’s the most enjoyable driving experience I have ever had. I have never laughed out loud from pure joy while driving before, and I have done that several times over the last few days. The speed and handling are like nothing I have ever experienced. I used navigate on auto pilot on my way to work this morning and it worked perfectly.
The only moment I have had that was less then perfect was that the screen froze on my initial drive home. A quick reset fixed the problem and it hasn’t happened since. I read that this sometimes happens when using the embedded music streaming, which I was doing at the time. I have been using my phone for music since, just in case. I also had an update run that night, so maybe that fixed a bug? Either way, I don’t find this kind of thing to be a big deal. We are near the beginnings of this technology, so bugs are to be expected. I think it’s cool to be a part of the beta testing stage. I have already had a handful of people stop me in parking lots to ask questions. I came out of a restaurant yesterday to see a group of teenagers looking in the windows. I didn’t buy the car for the attention, but I must admit I’m enjoying turning heads.
Peace!
