Finally!! Picked up the P85D from the delivery center today. The car is pretty mildly optioned (Metallic Gray with black NextGen seats, black alcantara, Air Suspension and Tech Package).
View attachment 67272
Having gone thru 7 German cars in the last ten years, it was a big thing to jump into a P85D and the car did not disappoint! I've also never test driven any of my cars before purchasing (mainly for the surprise factor) and the P85D was no exception- I've stepped foot in Tesla stores here and there, but never really spent much time looking at the car or the options.... In fact the P85D was ordered online and the "experience" felt pretty nifty, similar to ordering an Apple phone as many say. My DS and the Sales reps who contacted me after the deposit was placed were all pretty surprised when I told him I spent less than 3 minutes sitting inside a Tesla and never driven or ridden one. :smile:
In my prior vehicles, I've ordered them "stripped" of options all the way up to fully loaded, and based on my experience I find myself, to be right down the middle when it comes to using the options/features. I prefer "performance" oriented cars over "comfort/luxury" hence the no pano, mainly for weight/simplicity (although might be moot point given the weight of the car) and nextgen/black headliner. In fact I didn't even go for the Smart Air suspension until they warned me of a delay without it so I added it in. No dual charger because I can just plug it in before going to bed to a full charge in the morning. Didn't even upgrade the wheels/tires either, because of connections in the OE supply chain, i'll get it later or something. :tongue:
Ordering - I confirmed the order in early/mid November and at that time, the Tesla home page said "Early Dec" although the sales team was already warning me that its a very optimistic date, and sure enough, the delivery time slipped to late Dec shortly afterwards. In terms of keeping me informed, I would have to mirror the experiences of others here by saying the communication with sales & delivery team was scant, they didn't return too many phone calls or emails after the order was confirmed. In the end, it wasn't a big deal... since the car was delivered on time (and even a few days earlier than my expectation!!) my inquiries to them are essentially "assurances." I almost felt that the early Dec call to me about delaying the order 2-3 months if I didn't add Smart Air was a sort of bait and switch, but having added and receiving the Smart Air, I think its worth the money.. right now, I'm still a bit split on it because I need to use it a little more.
Production and Delivery - The car entered production fairly quickly, on/around Dec 19/20 and finished on Christmas Eve. With the holiday and all sorts of weird weeks, I was expecting last few days of the year or early 2015. But to my surprise the car arrived the day after Christmas and they wanted me to come in as soon as possible to pick it up! This felt surprisingly fast because with my previous cars, after tracking the voyage the boat full of BMW's from Germany to dock in LA, it's at least 1-2 weeks for customs, final vehicle processing, delivery to dealer, prep, and all that good stuff.
The car itself? Came delivered with NextGen seats (yay); autopilot with incomplete software (expected). Didn't see consumption fall below 400kw but thats because the excitement hasn't wore off yet. Was somewhat surprised to see the 19" wheels being non-staggered and the car coming with Michelin all season tires (instead of the high performance summer tires). Although in no way was it a letdown because I plan on going my own direction on wheel and tire anyways. I do have to add that I haven't had a proper launch INSANE mode as of yet due to tire slippage, but passengers are still screaming when accelerating so its fine :smile: ... the all season's won't last long anyways, LOL.
Overall it was a pleasant experience, delivery center is nicely designed/constructed, but, I think many would agree, that nothing beats the adrenaline rush of ripping down the German Autobahn and a few hot laps an the Nurburgring in your very own special ordered BMW M3 at >130mph (and still getting passed by Porsches) as well as the delivery experience BMW gives at the BMW Welt in Munich... Due to the fantastic pricing that BMW gives when doing European Delivery and given the hot resale/export market for slightly used BMW's, its never hard to resell the cars at close to full price, explaining why I switch so often. :smile:
So far, just 30 miles on the car, with many more coming later today. I'll also be doing some cosmetic changes to the car, so stay tuned!
View attachment 67272
Having gone thru 7 German cars in the last ten years, it was a big thing to jump into a P85D and the car did not disappoint! I've also never test driven any of my cars before purchasing (mainly for the surprise factor) and the P85D was no exception- I've stepped foot in Tesla stores here and there, but never really spent much time looking at the car or the options.... In fact the P85D was ordered online and the "experience" felt pretty nifty, similar to ordering an Apple phone as many say. My DS and the Sales reps who contacted me after the deposit was placed were all pretty surprised when I told him I spent less than 3 minutes sitting inside a Tesla and never driven or ridden one. :smile:
In my prior vehicles, I've ordered them "stripped" of options all the way up to fully loaded, and based on my experience I find myself, to be right down the middle when it comes to using the options/features. I prefer "performance" oriented cars over "comfort/luxury" hence the no pano, mainly for weight/simplicity (although might be moot point given the weight of the car) and nextgen/black headliner. In fact I didn't even go for the Smart Air suspension until they warned me of a delay without it so I added it in. No dual charger because I can just plug it in before going to bed to a full charge in the morning. Didn't even upgrade the wheels/tires either, because of connections in the OE supply chain, i'll get it later or something. :tongue:
Ordering - I confirmed the order in early/mid November and at that time, the Tesla home page said "Early Dec" although the sales team was already warning me that its a very optimistic date, and sure enough, the delivery time slipped to late Dec shortly afterwards. In terms of keeping me informed, I would have to mirror the experiences of others here by saying the communication with sales & delivery team was scant, they didn't return too many phone calls or emails after the order was confirmed. In the end, it wasn't a big deal... since the car was delivered on time (and even a few days earlier than my expectation!!) my inquiries to them are essentially "assurances." I almost felt that the early Dec call to me about delaying the order 2-3 months if I didn't add Smart Air was a sort of bait and switch, but having added and receiving the Smart Air, I think its worth the money.. right now, I'm still a bit split on it because I need to use it a little more.
Production and Delivery - The car entered production fairly quickly, on/around Dec 19/20 and finished on Christmas Eve. With the holiday and all sorts of weird weeks, I was expecting last few days of the year or early 2015. But to my surprise the car arrived the day after Christmas and they wanted me to come in as soon as possible to pick it up! This felt surprisingly fast because with my previous cars, after tracking the voyage the boat full of BMW's from Germany to dock in LA, it's at least 1-2 weeks for customs, final vehicle processing, delivery to dealer, prep, and all that good stuff.
The car itself? Came delivered with NextGen seats (yay); autopilot with incomplete software (expected). Didn't see consumption fall below 400kw but thats because the excitement hasn't wore off yet. Was somewhat surprised to see the 19" wheels being non-staggered and the car coming with Michelin all season tires (instead of the high performance summer tires). Although in no way was it a letdown because I plan on going my own direction on wheel and tire anyways. I do have to add that I haven't had a proper launch INSANE mode as of yet due to tire slippage, but passengers are still screaming when accelerating so its fine :smile: ... the all season's won't last long anyways, LOL.
Overall it was a pleasant experience, delivery center is nicely designed/constructed, but, I think many would agree, that nothing beats the adrenaline rush of ripping down the German Autobahn and a few hot laps an the Nurburgring in your very own special ordered BMW M3 at >130mph (and still getting passed by Porsches) as well as the delivery experience BMW gives at the BMW Welt in Munich... Due to the fantastic pricing that BMW gives when doing European Delivery and given the hot resale/export market for slightly used BMW's, its never hard to resell the cars at close to full price, explaining why I switch so often. :smile:
So far, just 30 miles on the car, with many more coming later today. I'll also be doing some cosmetic changes to the car, so stay tuned!
