New to tesla

[TM3PvsS8P]

Hi all,
Hope you are well and safe. I am (hopefully) new to the tesla forum so apologise in advance if say or misquote in this thread (feel free to correct). I am due to pickup my FIRST tesla on Monday 11/5/20.

Looking forward to it in these strange times I was hoping with it being my first I might get a mini tutorial about the car,is this the case normally? But obviously this will not be the case do to are current climate.

Due to covid I am getting a contactless pickup was hoping for some tips as I have read many posts about issues with paint work, chips on alloys, interior fittings etc. Has anyone got any advise? My other car(s) have all been German based so I think I might come across as being fussy but there are set standards I am expecting.

I plan on watching/reading the owners manual and videos. Any other advise would be appreciated.

Kind regards.

 

[jpfive]

Hi all,
Hope you are well and safe. I am (hopefully) new to the tesla forum so apologise in advance if say or misquote in this thread (feel free to correct). I am due to pickup my FIRST tesla on Monday 11/5/20.

Looking forward to it in these strange times I was hoping with it being my first I might get a mini tutorial about the car,is this the case normally? But obviously this will not be the case do to are current climate.

Due to covid I am getting a contactless pickup was hoping for some tips as I have read many posts about issues with paint work, chips on alloys, interior fittings etc. Has anyone got any advise? My other car(s) have all been German based so I think I might come across as being fussy but there are set standards I am expecting.

I plan on watching/reading the owners manual and videos. Any other advise would be appreciated.

Kind regards.

Welcome to our little community. You are coming into Tesla ownership the same as everyone else. You will be largely self-instructed. Your last sentence shows a good start. Otherwise, recommend you hawk the forum threads and begin your accumulation of owner knowledge and experience. Now that I think about it I learned about my ICE cars in much the same way. Enjoy your car!

 

[farrell]

Welcome don't worry we have a model s and a 3 the best cars I have ever owned they keep getting better the s is 2014 with ap1. Still <G>

 

[SalisburySam]

I am due to pickup my FIRST tesla on Monday 11/5/20.

I plan on watching/reading the owners manual and videos.

Welcome to this forum! Since you have a few months left until November, you have plenty of time for research. Your plans are absolutely on target. The Owners Manual is a treasure trove of directions, suggestions, and guidance. Lots to be learned there and I’ve gone over mine several times both before and after getting my car. Much of it is more easily related to after getting the car, in all fairness.

Another great source is someone in your circle of friends/acquaintances who already has a Tesla. In the early days it’s nice to have their thoughts on the early days. That is, what did they not expect? What surprised them early on? What expectations proved false? And so on.

And it is just a car. A very nice, comfortable, efficient mode of individual transportation that you pay for to fulfill your vehicular needs. I hope you enjoy yours as I have mine.

 

[TM3PvsS8P]

Thank you for the kind words. I am a massive car fan and this just seemed like the right think to do.

I am super excited, I have thinking about buying a tesla for years but just felt the infrastructure wasn't there but now its everywhere.

Plan off adding a photo once I have the car.
Will look weird and odd parked beside my current ICE.

 

[Wennfred]

Welcome, watch tons of Model 3 videos on YouTube, that’s how I learned.


Fred

 

[spsheridan]

Welcome to this forum! Since you have a few months left until November, you have plenty of time for research...

I think @TM3PvsS8P is in England and the date they're noting is May 11, not November 5. I believe Huddersfield is located in England. Another clue is the spelling of apologise.

 

[TM3PvsS8P]

I think @TM3PvsS8P is in England and the date they're noting is May 11, not November 5. I believe Huddersfield is located in England. Another clue is the spelling of apologise.

Yes I am from England,UK. I should have just stated 11th May 2020.

 

[AltLogic]

Enjoy your delivery tomorrow! Seems like you have a good plan to educate yourself about the car. I am not sure about where you are but the US Tesla website has the manual and some videos to explain everything you need to know. This forum and YouTube can help you learn nice to know extras.

 

[SalisburySam]

I think @TM3PvsS8P is in England and the date they're noting is May 11, not November 5. I believe Huddersfield is located in England. Another clue is the spelling of apologise.

I was wondering how long it would be before I was corrected on this point...took 40 minutes and @spsheridan is the winner! Yeah, I expected the real date to be May 11, 2020 but ambiguities being what they are I took advantage of this one.

 

[AhwatukeeDad]

You will always be learning new things about the car. That’s my best tip.

as mentioned above, watching YouTube videos is a good way to learn new things about the car.

post here if you have questions. you will get lots of help.

 

[house9]

I plan on watching/reading the owners manual and videos. Any other advise would be appreciated.

The manual, this forum and YouTube are the way to go.

I have found model3man YouTube channel ‘Tip of the Day’ videos to be helpful (among others)

- model3man

 

[iwannam3]

Go through every screen and hit the ? to have that option explained. Follow every sub level and be sure to scroll to see if there are more options lower on the page. Then try out different settings, a great excuse to go out and drive your amazing new car! Search this site for a list of voice commands to find out what works.

 

[Morhydro]

When you pick up your car have a very very good look over it. I like (don't yet love!) my M3 but the build quality is shocking for a fifty grand car. Look for;

Rattling rear number plate
Door handles not flush (particularly rear ones)
Under skirt plastic loose
Paint defects
Camera condensation (particularly pillar cams)
Charge port cover not flush

Don't take the car away if you spot any of these things - make Tesla fix it first. Tesla only give you 100 miles for cosmetic defects to be reported!

 

[Dolemite]

Get on your hands & knees and check your front bumper & jack points for damage - I am not joking. My bumper was scraped during shipping but they swapped it out. Not sure it would've been as simple if I'd found it 100 miles later. Poke around the forums for checklists & other common issues. Check for paint defects (arguably the weakest area of any Tesla). I had clearcoat overspray that they corrected before I accepted it... but aside from that and the bumper I didn't have any other glaring issues.

 

[lolder]

Tesla has a series of short instructional videos. They may be viewable in the car screen. Choose the up button at the bottom, entertainment, theater and Tesla tutorials.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Best 1st day advice:

Don't try AutoPilot on your first drive home lest you get a very unwelcome first day lesson on phantom braking. When you do finally try AP, after you are comfortable with the basics of the car, make sure your right foot is always hovering over the gas pedal and you are ready and waiting because when AP hits the brakes for no reason, the solution is to hit the gas to get it to speed up again before someone rear ends you.

 

[Xambler]

First thing I bought (on way home from picking up the car actually) was the little stick on mirrors seen in the picture below...$3.49 at autozone if I recall. Very very useful both in backing up and lane changes. I was on a freeway for 100 miles on the way home that first time and tested out autopilot fine...and have used it for around 2500 of the first 4500 miles on my car. Just stay alert in case you need to break it out of autopilot...had a few phantom breaking when it got too worried about a truck in an adjacent lane but no big deal.

It is important to familiarize yourself with the various ways to break out of AP though...lot of times just using the stalk to turn it off is fine. Sometimes a quick jerk of the wheel if you don’t feel comfortable with where the car is tracking, and sometimes hitting the brakes. Also be aware that when activating AP the car will immediately try to center in the lane. This can be alarming the first 1 or 2 or 20 times it happens .

Have fun...you will find yourself coming up with the oddest excuses to shop or rent movies at the farthest places possible from your home (we have a Redbox 2 blocks from our house but for some reason I always end up hitting red box locations 2-4 miles away )

 

[Rottenapplr]

Hi all,
Hope you are well and safe. I am (hopefully) new to the tesla forum so apologise in advance if say or misquote in this thread (feel free to correct). I am due to pickup my FIRST tesla on Monday 11/5/20.

Looking forward to it in these strange times I was hoping with it being my first I might get a mini tutorial about the car,is this the case normally? But obviously this will not be the case do to are current climate.

Due to covid I am getting a contactless pickup was hoping for some tips as I have read many posts about issues with paint work, chips on alloys, interior fittings etc. Has anyone got any advise? My other car(s) have all been German based so I think I might come across as being fussy but there are set standards I am expecting.

I plan on watching/reading the owners manual and videos. Any other advise would be appreciated.

Kind regards.

Watch YouTube videos. Just look for how to adjust... how to put in drive. As well as hidden items in the model 3 on YouTube. I bet you will get good results. When I picked up my car back in April 2019, by the time I picked it up it was a waste of time to stand around and get an explanation of how to start it or drive it. I knew how to do all that. Even how to remove the charger.

 

[toolman335]

Welcome to the club!
I learned 95% about the car on my test drive while asking questions and getting the rundown by the salesman. Were you able to do that a few months ago before placing your order?