My Model 3 Ownership Experience thread

[JCLeonard]

We took delivery of our Model 3 on Friday, July 13th (yup!) and have been enjoying it ever since. I plan to use this thread to share some of our experiences, thoughts, etc, including but not limited to:

• Ordering experience
• Delivery eperience
• Local Sales/Service Center experiences
• Upgrades/mods
• Real life stories of how we use this car as a family vehicle
• Impressions from a "non car guy"
• Other ramblings

First, the timeline:
I waited in line in Minneapolis to reserve on day 1. I bought 2 reservations, and cancelled one in mid-2017.
I received my invitation to configure in late March 2018.
I placed my initial order on April 4th, 2018.
I changed my order (color) on May 6th, 2018.
We took delivery on July 13th, 2018.

14 weeks 2 days from order to delivery. During that time I didn't really reach out to Tesla to check status. I did check my Tesla account on occasion. I knew they were busy so I let them do their thing. It was a good exercise in patience

More thoughts to come soon, for now a picture of delivery day.

 

[Kandiru]

Absolutely gorgeous combo.

 

[JCLeonard]

Round 2 - Ordering Experience.
Like many of you, I waited in line to reserve on day 1. From that point forward I spent countless hours reading about what was to come, researching other Tesla options, test driving, etc. I connected with the local Tesla owner group and asked lots of questions and even got some test drives. My wife and I determined that a Model X was likely the "right" Tesla for us given that we have two young children and frequently mountain bike and camp on occasion. An X would haul our family and our wares around with ease. But, we were not willing to drop that kind of money on a car, so we kept our perfectly fine Ford Flex. When Model 3s were finally being delivered I was fortunate enough to get a chance to test drive and inspect it BEFORE choosing to place our order. We installed our car seats, stuffed the trunk and frunk with camping gear and determined that the form factor of the Model 3 would indeed work fine for us.. until the Model Y comes along. As soon as TorkLift Central announced availability of the Model 3 ecohitch I was set to go.

After tormenting myself a bit about color and whether or not I should buy this car my wife finally said "I think you should use the same enthusiasm you had the day you stood in the rain to reserve and just order the damn car". I think she thought I would shut up about the car if I ordered.. we all know she was wrong

That night I sat on my couch, around 11 pm and ordered a Model 3, it was easier than ordering a pizza. Seriously. A few minutes later I thought.. "wtf did I just do?!". Then I went to bed.

The next morning I woke up in a state of zen and began the second waiting phase. As noted above, after about a month I changed my color option and extended my wait a bit. But the blue is worth it.

 

[woodisgood]

Haha, yeah the ordering is definitely a departure from the usual car-buying experience. I posted my own story somewhere else on the forum, but one key part of it was that my wife was SO turned off by shopping for a used Prius to hold us over until the SR became available that she was easily upsold to the LR "as long as I can order it in my underwear." And that's exactly what she did, lol, also around 11pm.