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Need advise to buy MY (rented Apt)

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Hi,

Need advise to buy Tesla Model Y (LR, no FSD), live in rented Apartment (NJ) without wall charging/garage facility and don't commute daily to work but work from home because of Covid. For now, will use the car twice a week for groceries/some personal work (30-40 miles/week). How does the North-East winter impact the battery & does it drain out quickly if its idle (without sentry mode, etc.). Is it recommended/worth to purchase it? My nearest super charger is 10 miles from my place, EV Connect Charging Station 1.5 mile. I checked with leasing office & they don't have any future plans to setup for charging.
 
It would certainly be more convenient if you could plug in at your apartment complex but with a public charging located just 1.5 miles away given that you are currently driving less than 50 miles per week you could charge 2X a week with no concern. Find out from the apartment manager if there is a standard 120V/15A or 20A outlet that you could use to charge the Model Y. That would certainly meet your current charging needs.

Find our what charging options exist for the EV Connect charging station. Is this a Level 2 charging station? If so then could expect to charge at 200V to 208V and 30 amps (~6kW) for approximately 20 to 22 miles of driving range per hour of charging. You could walk or ride a bicycle to go back and forth to the charging station. When you could charge then plan on charging up to 80% or 90% but not higher.

With Sentry Mode turned off, if you resist the temptation to wake up the Model Y several times per day the battery pack would lose perhaps ~1% to 2% charge per day, not a big deal. The exception would be in summer. If you have cabin overheat protection enabled then this will use more power to cool the cabin if the vehicle is parked in direct sunlight. Inside a covered garage then cabin overheat protection might not need to run, or just use the HVAC fan only to ventilate and lower the temperature in the cabin.

In winter, since you would be charging infrequently, the battery pack of the Model Y will be cold most of the time. This means that you would have to adjust to not having any regenerative braking (at least for the first ~30 minutes of driving.) NJ does not get cold enough in winter to where you would likely experience loss of power but on the coldest days it could happen. This is not to say that the Model Y won't keep you warm, only that the battery pack weighs ~1000lbs and it takes a while to warm such a large mass. This is an issue for all Tesla vehicles in winter. The solution is to plug in the vehicle each evening, set delayed charging with a departure time. Charging helps to warm up the battery. The vehicle will complete charging NLT than 0600. The Model Y will automatically turn on the climate control ~20 or 30 minutes prior to your schedule departure. You can also turn on the climate control from the Tesla app so you would be able to enter a warm cabin.

Regular use of a SC, unless this was the only option, is not recommended and would probably cost more than your other charging options. Regular supercharging does place additional stress on the battery, shorten the life of the battery. I'm not aware of any studies of the relative stress placed on the battery pack when using an Urban SuperCharger (typically these are found in parking garages, can charge at up to 70kW) versus the newer SuperCharger stations and 2nd generation Supercharger stations that can charge at up to 150kW and 250kW respectively. The 70kW charging rate of the Urban Supercharger is close to 1C where C is the capacity of the battery pack. In the current Long Range Dual Motor Model Y the battery pack has a capacity of ~74kWh. It is better for the life of a battery pack if the charging rate does not exceed 1C so while the cost to charge might be the same or higher than charging at one of higher rate SC, it would take more time, it might actually be a benefit. There is no equivalent to Chill Mode when using a Supercharger as the business model requires each vehicle to charge as quickly as possible and move on so other vehicles can use the Supercharger.
 
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Hi,

Need advise to buy Tesla Model Y (LR, no FSD), live in rented Apartment (NJ) without wall charging/garage facility and don't commute daily to work but work from home because of Covid. For now, will use the car twice a week for groceries/some personal work (30-40 miles/week). How does the North-East winter impact the battery & does it drain out quickly if its idle (without sentry mode, etc.). Is it recommended/worth to purchase it? My nearest super charger is 10 miles from my place, EV Connect Charging Station 1.5 mile. I checked with leasing office & they don't have any future plans to setup for charging.

If you cannot find a stable overnight charging source (other apartment, purchasing a home), I would not buy it. Especially not in your situation, for personal errands. You don't want to be spending 1 hour per week at the supercharger. Maybe today you have the time, but if things change that could be a real burden.

Just rent one and go on a trip somewhere.
 
I agree with 212. Unless you have access to charging within walking distance, a BEV will be more of a hassle than a help. Who wants to spend an hour a week just hanging out waiting for their car to charge. Perhaps if there was a charger near a gym, or a place you were already going.... that might be different.

Given how few miles you drive, I think I'd just stick with whatever you have until charging infrastructure gets more developed in your neighborhood. A $50K vehicle sounds like overkill for a grocery getter, IMO.

A Tesla is an awesome vehicle! Do consider getting one someday, but perhaps just not yet.
 
That's a tough situation. There may be an outside receptacle reasonably close to a parking space. Often there will be a receptacle near A/C units. You can use a heavy duty extension cord with the mobile connector if you have to. And you may have to deal with a sidewalk.

Might be doable if everything falls into place. If you really want the car you're going to have to live with some inconvenience.
 
I live in a condo without any EV chargers. I think they quoted me something like $5000-$10000 to have one installed in my parking spot. I was like NOPE!

Like you I don't drive very much. I can walk to work in like 20 minutes, but drive cause it's getting colder these days. Actually faster to take my boosted board to work when you factor in parking and traffic. Battery doesn't even warm up at all before I park it for another 12 hours =P. So far I've noticed maybe a 1% power drain/24hrs during the summer and now that it's getting colder maybe about 2% when it's close to 0 degrees C. I honestly charge my car like once every 2 or 3 weeks?

I'm pretty lucky that the grocery store that's a 5 minute walk from my place has free Tesla destination chargers and they validate 1hr of parking which gets me like 10% of range back for free. Bonus is I get to do groceries while charging. By the time I return the shopping cart, doddle around and play a round of Beach Buggy my hour is up. If I'm super lazy and not doing a lot of groceries lately, than I'll pay the $7 flat rate weekend/overnight rate and charge it fully (from 20%-85% ~6hrs). I'll walk home and pick it up when the app tells me it's done. I actually read an article here from a guy that actually charges like I do and actually has recovered half of his battery's lost capacity in doing so.

On the weeks when I'm super busy and can't be bothered to wait 6 hours to charge, than I'll supercharge on my way to visit my folks. I'd say so far in my 3 months of ownership I've supercharged 3 times? Not a fan of supercharging in Toronto. I live downtown and the closest one I have to pay for supercharging fees on top of parking. In Canada electricity rates are high and we also pay per minute so the v1 Superchargers are really not worth it. Have to find a V2 supercharger or better. Cause you pay the same amount if you 're charging at 60kW vs 120/250kW. $10 at a v2 gets me from 36%-80%. $10 at a v1 gets me from 14-40%. Those prices don't include parking fees. (Downtown that's $12.75/hr)

I think it's doable if you're really want to own an EV. But like people said, is it ultimately convenient? Probably not. I've always wanted to own a Tesla and this is how I have to go about doing it. Eventually I want to move and get my own home charger. Don't even need a HPWC. A 120v regular outlet will do with how I use my vehicle. You'd be surprised actually how fast the vehicle charges on a regular wall outlet. The manual says 3km/hr. But I can usually get like 6-7km/hr. If I'm at a work location with shorelines or a nearby plug or at a friend's house I usually ask to steal some electricity =P.

Good luck with your decision. I think you ultimately need to ask yourself how badly you want a Tesla. I will tell you you the car itself is already pretty expensive. Because you don't have a way to charge at home, using commercial EV chargers is pricier and an inconvenience out of your day. For me, being able to drive a really cool vehicle and being at the cusp of technology is worth the slight inconvenience given my inability to charge at home. I also pride myself in trying to find as much free electricity as possible whether that's free validated parking at my grocery store or finding a plug somewhere at my destination.

Cheers!
 
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Owning an EV under your circumstances is a bit problematic. It is possible that a little creativity might help out. At our summer home, I cannot plug in at our home (a condo), but the local fire station has a free charging station with a non-Tesla Level 2 charger. The next town (just a couple of miles) has an electric company office that similarly has a free standard Level 2 charger. I can go over there for something and charge for several hours. As someone else has mentioned, you can look around and might find an available charger somewhere. If you have not installed and checked out the app "Alt Fuel," you might use that to see if they show some charging stations that you have not found. This is not complete or perfect by any stretch, but you might find something you were not aware of.
 
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Pandemic will be over at some point. Tesla doesn’t seem to be the right fit for you unless where you work has a charging point.

...or if you plan to move somewhere where charging is more convenient.

It certainly won't drain the battery parked, unless you have Sentry or Summon Standby activated.

Any way you can run an extension cable to a parking spot somewhere on the property?
When I stay at a condo in Savannah I run the charger over a side walk to the car to charge at 120v/15A, which adds about 1.5% per hour.

To do this safely, I have some 9" orange cones and a yellow cable protector, using the cones each side of the sidewalk, and the cable protector on the charging cable as it crosses the sidewalk. I also use a plastic container to keep the charge adapter off the ground and out of standing water and some metal tent pegs to stop people moving the cones.

However, given your low daily mileage, you can handle this, provided you walk into this arrangement with your eyes open.

View media item 121891
 
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To do this safely, I have some 9" orange cones and a yellow cable protector, using the cones each side of the sidewalk, and the cable protector on the charging cable as it crosses the sidewalk. I also use a plastic container to keep the charge adapter off the ground and out of standing water and some metal tent pegs to stop people moving the cones.
Wow--I hadn't seen you post pictures of that before. That is a really nice setup for going across a sidewalk.
 
Thanks everyone, I spoke to the Maintenance guy, he'll check with the management office & hope it works out. My apartment is on the 1st floor similar to the pic shown by M3BlueGeorgia, there is no plug outlet outside my apartment. I can't keep the door/window open in winter to charge from inside for 120V which is very slow. I saw a Model 3 in the complex, will speak to him how he's managing.
 
Thanks everyone, I spoke to the Maintenance guy, he'll check with the management office & hope it works out. My apartment is on the 1st floor similar to the pic shown by M3BlueGeorgia, there is no plug outlet outside my apartment. I can't keep the door/window open in winter to charge from inside for 120V which is very slow. I saw a Model 3 in the complex, will speak to him how he's managing.

There is a lot that you can do, but it just costs money. Since you are renting, you put yourself in an awkward position if you pay to upgrade their property, though it can often be worth it.

One solution that I have seen is that they will install a set of charging stations somewhere on the property, somewhere convenient for them, and the devices and electricity are free for all to use. You may not park there every day, but once or twice a week will cover your needs.
 
I'm in a similar situation. I also live in an apartment in NJ and recently purchased a MY LR. So far I've been charging at local SC (~30 minutes away) and free level 2 chargers at local malls. There are stretches of days when I work long hours and don't feel like waiting to charge >1 hr. afterwards. So I'm considering purchasing a CHAdeMO adapter to use at a nearby EVgo station so I can hopefully get a quick charge in during the week. I was wondering if this is a good idea since I know its not good to frequently use SC.
 
I'm in a similar situation. I also live in an apartment in NJ and recently purchased a MY LR. So far I've been charging at local SC (~30 minutes away) and free level 2 chargers at local malls. There are stretches of days when I work long hours and don't feel like waiting to charge >1 hr. afterwards. So I'm considering purchasing a CHAdeMO adapter to use at a nearby EVgo station so I can hopefully get a quick charge in during the week. I was wondering if this is a good idea since I know its not good to frequently use SC.
Using a CHAdeMO adapter would not be a problem, even on a regular basis. Many of the evGo charging stations are limited to 50kW (the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter is limited to 125A) so charging at ~45kW would be just over 1/2 C where C is the capacity of the Model Y battery pack (~80kWh as best as I can determine, could be slightly lower.) Charging at up to, less than 1C charging rate is preferable. Perhaps you can find a used CHAdeMO adapter at a good price.

I would take full advantage of using the FREE Level 2 charging at the local malls. Structure your time so you charge for between 1 hour to 90 minutes at the mall several times per week and you may find that is all the charging you need Monday through Friday. If a gas station was giving away even 2 gallons of free gas (equivalent to 2 hours of Level 2 charging (208V/30A) the line of cars would be around the block.
 
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Using a CHAdeMO adapter would not be a problem, even on a regular basis. Many of the evGo charging stations are limited to 50kW (the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter is limited to 125A) so charging at ~45kW would be just over 1/2 C where C is the capacity of the Model Y battery pack (~80kWh as best as I can determine, could be slightly lower.) Charging at up to, less than 1C charging rate is preferable. Perhaps you can find a used CHAdeMO adapter at a good price.

I would take full advantage of using the FREE Level 2 charging at the local malls. Structure your time so you charge for between 1 hour to 90 minutes at the mall several times per week and you may find that is all the charging you need Monday through Friday. If a gas station was giving away even 2 gallons of free gas (equivalent to 2 hours of Level 2 charging (208V/30A) the line of cars would be around the block.

Thank you for the explanation! I don't mind spending the extra money on the adapter if it saves me time and battery life.
 
Thank you for the explanation! I don't mind spending the extra money on the adapter if it saves me time and battery life.
Nothing bad will happen to your Model Y's battery if you stop at a SC once, twice a week. Tesla closely monitors, manages the charging rate depending state of charge of the battery, temperature of the pack and age of the battery. If the SC is closer, then I would choose to use the SC. If the evGo charging location is convenient then it would also be a good choice. I'm a big fan of free, maybe you can stop at the mall to eat, exercise, check email or watch Netflix for an hour as you add 6kWh per hour of charging to your Model Y battery. (Most public Level 2 charging stations are connected to 3-phase 208V power, limited to 30 amps so you end up with a ~6kW charging rate.)
 
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Nothing bad will happen to your Model Y's battery if you stop at a SC once, twice a week. Tesla closely monitors, manages the charging rate depending state of charge of the battery, temperature of the pack and age of the battery. If the SC is closer, then I would choose to use the SC. If the evGo charging location is convenient then it would also be a good choice. I'm a big fan of free, maybe you can stop at the mall to eat, exercise, check email or watch Netflix for an hour as you add 6kWh per hour of charging to your Model Y battery. (Most public Level 2 charging stations are connected to 3-phase 208V power, limited to 30 amps so you end up with a ~6kW charging rate.)

Sounds good! I just stopped by a free charger and got about 25 miles in under an hour. It's nice having several options to choose from.
 
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If you cannot find a stable overnight charging source (other apartment, purchasing a home), I would not buy it. Especially not in your situation, for personal errands. You don't want to be spending 1 hour per week at the supercharger. Maybe today you have the time, but if things change that could be a real burden.

Just rent one and go on a trip somewhere.

I don't agree on this. With the limited distance traveled and the speed of the supercharger it's not going to be a wasted hour once a week. Closers to once a month. There are always closer, free'er options too if you did into it. My local Starbucks, library, city hall, police, grocery, CVS, Walgreen, etc are all closer than supercharger if not as fast. But they are free and I go to at least one local one per month.

Sure a rideshare or maybe even a rental can be cheaper. But not everyone wants to relay or hassle with that. Both the significant other and I are work from home right now and have been for 6+ months. We still bought two new Tesla's this year. I tried doing a rental for 6 weeks. It wasn't different enough from the Tesla payment and I know I can leave whenever I want, the car is STERILE, and it's just easier.
 
That's a tough situation. There may be an outside receptacle reasonably close to a parking space. Often there will be a receptacle near A/C units. You can use a heavy duty extension cord with the mobile connector if you have to. And you may have to deal with a sidewalk.

Might be doable if everything falls into place. If you really want the car you're going to have to live with some inconvenience.

Exactly. There is charging everywhere. You just need to know where to look and what apps to you. For those of us using Tesla's for a decade we've learned the in's and out's of charging, PRE superchargers.