Hey All,
Excited new Tesla Model Y Long Range owner.
A little backstory on how I came to Tesla:
I'm married with 3 kiddos (8, 7, and 2) and live in Los Angeles, which is one big Tesla advertisement! I'd been interested in Tesla for a while and both my wife and I needed car upgrades. Our 'family' car was a Jeep Patriot 2016 and our (read: my) second car was (and still is) a Ford Focus. Had always bought used up to this point. I knew we needed a family car first and my wife's birthday is coming up (she mainly drives the Jeep as a personal car and then I'll drive it when the whole family is together) and I asked her friend what car she might be in to (thinking maybe a range rover or an expedition) and she said a Tesla Model X!
Well, I looked into it and fell down the rabbit hole. We went to a local showroom on Christmas Eve and test drove the X, learned about the Y and the 7-seater option, and put down $250 to get a custom build. Black on black, MYLR, 7 seats. We REALLY didn't expect it to arrive by the end of the year to take advantage of the promotion since it was a 7-seater and were really mentally preparing ourselves to have to return to the decision of Tesla vs no Tesla in March.
Well, on December 28th I noticed my EDD changed from 'December 2022 - March 2023' to 'December 29th-31'. Hmm. I called Tesla and they said it probably didn't mean anything as a VIN wasn't assigned. A few hours later, a VIN popped up. HMMMM. Now things were starting to happen. I scheduled our delivery date for the 31st and started getting ducks in a row. My wife and I were accepting this was really happening. I told my friends. Then, on the morning of the 30th, the VIN disappeared. Poof. After some digging, Tesla said that the car failed inspection in transit. They would look and if anything became open, they'd let me know. I got assigned another VIN a few hours later but they quickly told me that was an error, it was supposed to be to someone else. They called and asked if we'd be willing to take a 5-seater, but the 7-seater was a deal-breaker for us. They did have one that was gray and 7-seats but my wife looked up the color and just couldn't bring herself to do it. I was pretty disappointed (thought saying 'no' to that one was basically sealing our fate).
We basically lost hope. "It was too good to be true." Then, at about 4pm, they matched me to a VIN and called to say they had the car, black on black, long-range, 20-inche rims, 7 seater, in Burbank. "Has it passed inspection?" I asked. "Yep, it's good to go." I scheduled the deliver for the next morning at 8am.
Both me and my wife didn't sleep well. Was it coming?
At 8:30 I got a text saying 'your Tesla is on its way', I peaked outside, and there it was! A minute later I received a text saying 'your Tesla has arrived!'
It's been raining here and was raining on day of delivery, but here she is:
I love it. Honestly, it's technically my wife's car and I'm respecting that as much as I can (and I hope to get a Model 3 or so to replace my Ford Focus around this time next year), but it's a really cool experience. This is my first car. I never grew up knowing much about cars, didn't get a license until I was 22 (grew up in a metropolitan area where I didn't need one), and usually don't take the best care of them. For example, someone vandalized my Focus December 2021 by jumping on its hood and caving it in and I didn't get around to getting it fixed until 6 months later.
Now, we've already ordered seat covers, floor mats, cleaning supplies, a screen protector, and a vacuum. Got a lot of stuff from Teslarati. The good news is, when I get invested, I get REALLY invested.
So, as not only a Tesla newbie but a new car newbie, what should I educate myself on to keep this thing looking as good as day 1? I bought the Teslarati cleaning kit (Tesla Car Cleaning Kit (Waterless Car Wash, Shampoo, Interior, Glass)) and some microfibers. Is self-washing the way to go? Do people ever get cleaning services to come to their home to clean the car, like home cleaning? I know drive-throughs aren't recommended, but are hand-wash cleaning services usually good?
If you made it this far, thanks for the read and excited to be part of the community!
Excited new Tesla Model Y Long Range owner.
A little backstory on how I came to Tesla:
I'm married with 3 kiddos (8, 7, and 2) and live in Los Angeles, which is one big Tesla advertisement! I'd been interested in Tesla for a while and both my wife and I needed car upgrades. Our 'family' car was a Jeep Patriot 2016 and our (read: my) second car was (and still is) a Ford Focus. Had always bought used up to this point. I knew we needed a family car first and my wife's birthday is coming up (she mainly drives the Jeep as a personal car and then I'll drive it when the whole family is together) and I asked her friend what car she might be in to (thinking maybe a range rover or an expedition) and she said a Tesla Model X!
Well, I looked into it and fell down the rabbit hole. We went to a local showroom on Christmas Eve and test drove the X, learned about the Y and the 7-seater option, and put down $250 to get a custom build. Black on black, MYLR, 7 seats. We REALLY didn't expect it to arrive by the end of the year to take advantage of the promotion since it was a 7-seater and were really mentally preparing ourselves to have to return to the decision of Tesla vs no Tesla in March.
Well, on December 28th I noticed my EDD changed from 'December 2022 - March 2023' to 'December 29th-31'. Hmm. I called Tesla and they said it probably didn't mean anything as a VIN wasn't assigned. A few hours later, a VIN popped up. HMMMM. Now things were starting to happen. I scheduled our delivery date for the 31st and started getting ducks in a row. My wife and I were accepting this was really happening. I told my friends. Then, on the morning of the 30th, the VIN disappeared. Poof. After some digging, Tesla said that the car failed inspection in transit. They would look and if anything became open, they'd let me know. I got assigned another VIN a few hours later but they quickly told me that was an error, it was supposed to be to someone else. They called and asked if we'd be willing to take a 5-seater, but the 7-seater was a deal-breaker for us. They did have one that was gray and 7-seats but my wife looked up the color and just couldn't bring herself to do it. I was pretty disappointed (thought saying 'no' to that one was basically sealing our fate).
We basically lost hope. "It was too good to be true." Then, at about 4pm, they matched me to a VIN and called to say they had the car, black on black, long-range, 20-inche rims, 7 seater, in Burbank. "Has it passed inspection?" I asked. "Yep, it's good to go." I scheduled the deliver for the next morning at 8am.
Both me and my wife didn't sleep well. Was it coming?
At 8:30 I got a text saying 'your Tesla is on its way', I peaked outside, and there it was! A minute later I received a text saying 'your Tesla has arrived!'
It's been raining here and was raining on day of delivery, but here she is:
I love it. Honestly, it's technically my wife's car and I'm respecting that as much as I can (and I hope to get a Model 3 or so to replace my Ford Focus around this time next year), but it's a really cool experience. This is my first car. I never grew up knowing much about cars, didn't get a license until I was 22 (grew up in a metropolitan area where I didn't need one), and usually don't take the best care of them. For example, someone vandalized my Focus December 2021 by jumping on its hood and caving it in and I didn't get around to getting it fixed until 6 months later.
Now, we've already ordered seat covers, floor mats, cleaning supplies, a screen protector, and a vacuum. Got a lot of stuff from Teslarati. The good news is, when I get invested, I get REALLY invested.
So, as not only a Tesla newbie but a new car newbie, what should I educate myself on to keep this thing looking as good as day 1? I bought the Teslarati cleaning kit (Tesla Car Cleaning Kit (Waterless Car Wash, Shampoo, Interior, Glass)) and some microfibers. Is self-washing the way to go? Do people ever get cleaning services to come to their home to clean the car, like home cleaning? I know drive-throughs aren't recommended, but are hand-wash cleaning services usually good?
If you made it this far, thanks for the read and excited to be part of the community!
