A Leaf would beat your ST across the intersection, maybe. After about 10-15 mph it would be embarrassed. The Model 3 (if the S is any indication) will be in an altogether different league.
Non-Tesla EV Purchasers...Why?
- Thread starter Craig9080
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A Leaf would beat your ST across the intersection, maybe. After about 10-15 mph it would be embarrassed. The Model 3 (if the S is any indication) will be in an altogether different league.
The model-S is simply way too large. The i3 is a much better city car, while still being rather nice. (The leaf wasn't "nice" enough, and way way too slow)
Because they are electric. I cannot imagine buying any vehicle that is not electric. The Evs available for purchase today would be uninspiring if they were in fact not electric. I want all vehicles on the roads to be electric and cannot stand the hated aimed toward them, not just from the 'coal rollers' but from other electric vehicle fans. We need more electric vehicles and less oil fuel based vehicles for not just our health but for the planet's. Over time hopefully more choices become available so one doesn't have to chose from a one size fits all mentality that will eventually go away. I’ve test driven a Nissan Leaf and sat in a Tesla Model S enough to realize that some cars do not fit me or fit in my garage. In time one will.
JenniferQ
Supporting Member
I suppose it depends on what you're coming from. I have USAA as well. And, yes, the Tesla is cheap relative to the Mercedes GL63 I came from, but only just. It is very expensive compared to other EVs, like a Leaf, or Prius. And it has to be, it's a much more expensive car to repair. Are you saying the Tesla is only $60 more than another EV you switched from?
JenniferQ
Supporting Member
That is a good deal. We also have a 2014 Civic and its rates are $368/6 months while the 2015 Tesla, with higher deds, is at $785. Maybe I should check out Kemper.
Came out of a Mercedes E class which had a similar price to my MS. Had a Prius before that and looked at the rate from then and the Tesla is $360 per year higher.
cgiGuy
Active Member
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic.. but if you are you should have quoted the MS as "$100K" since that's the misconception everyone starts with.
Johan
Ex got M3 in the divorce, waiting for EU Model Y!
No sarcasm. My answer to the OP's question "why buy a non-Tesla EV?" is maybe simply because you're not looking to spend $70k or more.
cgiGuy
Active Member
Got ya.. I actually misread your post as "And no one will wait until 2017..." That seems to be an argument why some people think the Bolt will take away from the M3 sales.
I haven't bought an EV yet. I would've gotten a RAV4 EV if it wasn't a compliance vehicle. It had the head clearance I needed and the ground clearance to get through most of the increasing local flooding around here. After two mid 90's Nissan 300Zs I learned enough about glass roofs and frameless door windows to stick to just what I needed.
Kemper had the best rates for our cars. We have about $$$k worth of cars, and a six figure supercar. I highly recommend their service as well.
The other car was totaled and had to be replaced. I had hoped to keep the other car running until the M3, didn't work out that way. Denise didn't want a big car, so there wasn't much choice--got a Leaf because we're not in California.
JenniferQ
Supporting Member
Haha! My S was "six figures," but my Ferrari was a whole different "six figures!" Barrett Jackson has by far the best rates for supercars, I found. I will check out Kemper. It's so hard to move because USAA has such good customer service ratings and the others not so much when I look at online reviews.
USAA may be great but for many people their ratings are irrelevant because not everyone is eligible for coverage.
dhrivnak
Active Member
Servicing is also a big issue for those of far from a service center. Unfortunately there is a lot of cutting edge technology in Tesla's technology that can and does break.
ferdboyce
Member
My half-year insurance dropped to $587 for my 2016 85D in spite of a claim last August on our first S85 of $5900 for a 'no-fault' repair claim (picked up a large bungee cord on the Thruway and beat up the side of the car pretty badly). That's the lowest rate I've paid in the last 10+ yrs. for 250/500 w/$250 deductible.
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
Err, no, actually.
Price is currently a very large issue for many, but there are plenty of other reasons.
High service costs, repairs only at Tesla's own service centers, a company where the future prospects are more or less in the hands of one man, well-known reliability problems, communications issues, necessity to always calculate a special "Tesla time",...
Even though I have a Model 3 reservation and am hoping to really get the car sometime in 2018 (seems realistic), I am by no means sure it will actually happen. I do hope so, but who knows.
And if the current announcements from the competition are anything to go by, we will have quite a bit of EV choice by then. So if there is a tempting BEV 3-series BMW at a comparable price, or a nice e-Golf version 2.0, I am not sure what I will do. Plus, all the possible other competitors.
Just saying, Tesla sure is cool, has great tech and a "must-have" factor, but so does Apple, and yet most of my family, friends and colleagues prefer non-Apple products. Same with cars. So while I do agree that currently, Tesla can be considered the top choice for many reasons, only the SC network is a real exclusive that no competitor will be able to match anytime soon.
SabrToothSqrl
Active Member
Well, I saw something that said the GM Bolt can be repaired at any of it's 2300 locations. (vs. Tesla 300).
Which, is a good thing because having owned a GM, you'll be needing many of them...
Which, is a good thing because having owned a GM, you'll be needing many of them...
While some of these are absolutely legitimate concerns, IMO they are not sufficient to justify buying an inferior product. E.g., yes it would be much more convenient to take my car to the local Nissan dealer for service, but to benefit from that convenience, which is relevant maybe 2% of the time I will own the car, I would have to sacrifice by driving a much worse car every single day. Not worth it. And if you don't take price into consideration, which was my point, the biggest of these concerns -- service costs, reliability problems -- become much less important.
I hope all of these Tesla competitors come to market in the near future; GM is well on its way with the recent EPA announcement of the Bolt. If they do, Tesla will have serious and, frankly, needed competition. But I was talking about right now. If you want to drive a BEV today, you can drive a Leaf, an i3, or a Model S (or maybe a smattering of others if you live in a CARB state). Given those choices, I drive a Model S. In five years, I would absolutely consider another make's EV if it is competitive with Tesla's offering at the time.
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