Pre Purchase Battery Question - 75 vs 90

[WannabeOwner]

Where abouts in the country are you @Hoot? You might well benefit from a Pie and a Pint with someone who has a car?

that's why I'm mainly going for Tesla, I love the tech stuff and use all the convenience features

Here's my rant, FWIW:

I'm a huge fan, but I also have some annoynaces. What I really REALLY don't understand is why some attention hasn't been paid to finishing off the Infotainment, which would make it awesome. The fact that they haven't means I'm moaning about it to you, now, and if that doesn't lose Tesla your sale then it will the next bod that comes along ...

I was really sceptical that I would like a "touch screen interface, no knobs on the dashboard". I'm an IT Techie, and I have come to hate all the half-built, frequently-changed, fur-coat-no-knickers stuff that gets trooped out ... but, at the test drive, I was amazed at how clean and elegant the interface was. So I bought one ...

... Elon touted a Major Infotainment update and I looked forward to it. And then it arrived - all buttons converted to Apple "Flat", much harder to see (I have old eyes, and I'm dyslexic which means that any fancy interface takes me longer to digest than youngsters around me ...). Map auto-expanded to conceal the buttons on the top row - WTF was the point of that?, its a 17" screen, now I have to take eyes off road, press the screen, wait a bit for the map to shrink and buttons to reappear, and then press the button I want. Daft. Lots of criticisms of things that people used to be able to do, and now couldn't. That's the same story as Apple Interfaces, every Forum software release I've ever seen, and all the rest .... my expectation: a usability lab that knows about these sorts of things, and takes them into consideration, rather than one person at the top who likes it and says "Yup, paint it green" and change-for-change-sake. Not even a "Classic" config option ...

... in terms of "meat", nothing significant in that upgrade.

But: since I've had the car: Summon has been added, and auto-park, and the ability for the Radar to see under the car in front, in case the one in front of that brakes unexpectedly. Many models have got quicker via software updates. Probably a bunch of other things that have slipped my mind.

And a significant number of Easter Eggs. I've never heard of a bug in any of them ... what a pity that effort has not been put into fixing the day-to-day things. And most updates come with no ChangeLog, so the first that I know that there is a change is either read it here (that can't surely apply to most Tesla drivers) or discover it on the road (right now AP2 drivers are saying that the latest release is significantly worse at lane keeping ... not dangerous, but certainly surprising).

the user experience from the screens and the audio system mean equally as much to me if not more than the actual driving part

The SatNav is so-so (in terms of routes chosen and traffic awareness). I drive with Waze on my phone for turn-by-turn, and the map on the screen. Sometimes they disagree of course, but I'm happy to live with that. There has been lots of talk (maybe just wishful-thinking) that Tesla will replace SatNav with Waze. They should do that - it would be a knockout blow to everything else on the road ...

But if I am in a difficult unfamiliar area zooming the map right in and switching to Satellite view (and expand map to full-screen) so that I can get an indication of individual buildings makes it SO easy to solo-navigate, compared to a regular SatNav map. The Supercharge Status, and location, is spot on too. Finding the chargers in an unfamiliar location can be a challenge - if they are round-the-back-of-something - but zoom the map in and Hey Presto Eazy Peazy! (I've heard of a couple of locations where the Pin is not spot-on, but that's very rare)

I work around the map-covers-buttons issue by making sure the map is in the bottom half of the screen - which is a minor annoyance, no more, but IMHO should not be necessary. My wife can't do that because the glasses she wears to drive means she can't focus well on the bottom half of the screen ...

I didn't go for the higher spec sound, but I'm not overly impressive with the Standard sound. We have static on the radio on the channels we like to listen to. Its been back to Tesla about 4 times, various "Known problem, appropriate fix applied" have been made, car comes back exactly the same. Spotify and TuneIn are amazing (there is DAB too) but all of those have a couple of 2-or-3 minute stretches (on my regular commute) with no reception, and sound dropping out right in the middle of something interesting its a right royal pain - hence I'm needing Radio-4 on FM etc. to work well ... but on any journey with good Internet coverage I would have no complaints at all.

The energy-graph (including prediction of energy usage to destination) is spot on. The internet browser is impressive, but in practice its very slow, and old software, so some sites don't work well. But I've definitely put it to good use.

The controls (turn on headlights etc.) are well thought through, no complaints about that (I prefered the old, non-flat, buttons though). And you have the whole manual right there on the screen too.

Summary: I can'i understand why Tesla haven't capitalised on a killer-update. The software DEV cost for Infotainment, compared to everything else they have going on, would be tiny, and would be a significant "gift" to keep all the longer terms supporters on-side.

it really is double the cost of what I could be happy with elsewhere

I'm in that boat too. I've had luxury cars, and fast cars, but in the main for the last decade I've been in "get me from A-to-B" cars, emphasis on Eco. So mine was an expensive purchase, relative to my norm. I don't regret it, I just wish the Tesla Back Office was as good as the car ...

To pay that money and have shortcoming on features like auto wipers seems a bit ridiculous

That's a tougher one. I'm on Hardware-1 and Auto-pilot-1. I've had the car 18 months, and got it at about the time that AP1 started maturing. Others had been waiting a year (I guess?) for all that good software to arrive ... I reckon its a good time to buy HW2/AP2 - its on the cusp of being great right now, but anyone who bought it a year ago is unlikely to have been happy ...

The auto Wipers on HW1 are unimpressive (but pretty much the same as other cars I've driven). I press the button for single-wipe (overriding auto) quite often. I would have thought that Tesla could harvest the data from all the drivers pressing "wipe" and stick that in their Learning Algorithm and come up with killer-auto-wipe. Hasn't happened yet though ... HW2 wipers are a long standing joke of course. Perhaps they will be amazing when, eventually, sorted.

QUOTE="Hoot, post: 2483319, member: 69929"]It's why I started looking at Tesla over Land Rover Discovery and the like, because the queue assist and assisted cruise on a lot of expensive manufacturers just seemed so far behind.[/QUOTE]

AP1 is outstanding. Its limited - it won't go by itself to pick up the kids from school! - but still astounding. I use it all the time on dual carriageway, and on long journeys on A-roads with good markings. I don't bother if I'm nipping to the shops ...

AP is also wonderful in bumper-to-bumper traffic. All that stop-start in an ICE is very tiresome, and tiring for both ankles. Just turn AP on and let it get on with it - remember to disengage when you get towards the front of the queue, otherwise you'll just follow the car in front onto the roundabout!

On long journeys (say 2+ hours drive to get there in the morning, and then 2+ hours back that evening) I arrive (at both ends) completely fresh. I was very sceptical of such reports until I owned it and tried it for myself, I'm a keen driver, never thought of driving as "tiring". I have a regular drive, been doing it for 10 years, to see a school evening concert/play/whatever. Normally leave at 10PM and get home at 11:30PM, dual carriageway all bar 5 miles at each end. In old days of ICE I was fighting sleep the last 10 miles of the dual carriageway most times, but that has never happened since Auto Pilot. I've also had AP react to danger when my eyes were on dashboard - I almost certainly would have reacted in time, but I do like the idea that both the car and I are on the lookout for trouble on the road - I don't care which of us gets to it first ...

... and the performance is very impressive. I could treat myself to a Ferrari or the like, but I never have done because I would only use it high days and holy days, and it would be totally impractical - which would annoy me (I'd want to take it, but couldn't because I couldn't get 4-people / a pair of skis / whatever in it). So now I have a car with Supercar performance, drive it 27,000 miles a year, service it once a year, costs hardly anything to run, all my friends think I'm the luckiest blighter ever, and so on.

Earlier today my Wife said I should write to Elon and tell him my thoughts, but I struggle to believe that he doesn't know all this already and, for whatever reason, is not devoting Time & Effort to it ...

But all that said, I'm sure you will enjoy your test drive

 

[JonG]

I agree with much of that - some see the over the air software update as an advantage - a lot of the time they're bug fixes or delivering stuff that other cars have as standard or were promised and not available at the time of delivery. People have got excited about comfort exit, my X5 had that 7 years ago. If your glass is half full there's lots to love, if its half empty there's a lot to find fault with. I read a post on the owners forum last week about a guy who was adamant it was the best car he'd ever owned as if that was a statement worthy of note. His previous car was a 10 year old Alfa. My previous car was a 6 series gran coupe, head up display, comfort access, adaptive suspension, surround view, self closing doors, leather dash, 350 million way adjustable comfort seats, a serious hifi etc etc, all better than the Tesla, but I went out in a M6 Gran Coupe a couple of months back and it left me cold even with its bells and whistles. Its hard to say why, but there are qualities in the car, maybe because of its faults and Musk thinking its more important to change the graphics to a sleigh at christmas than it is to have automatic wipers.

 

[Evaready]

You can search inventory on my site including many more Tesla owned cars than Tesla list.

Hi Jon
New poster here
Apols if I’m being dense but what is your site please?

Thks.

 

[JonG]

Hi Evaready, it’s tesla.savemylegs.com/forsale.html

It includes autotrader, pistonheads and eBay listed cars as well as Teslas own inventory cars.

 

[WannabeOwner]

some see the over the air software update as an advantage
...
People have got excited about comfort exit, my X5 had that 7 years ago

Saw a video on here the other day of the Audi A8 - lifts the suspension for Exit/Entry. My elderly inlaws would like that, they struggle to get out. It also lifts the side when side-impact is detected (and closes the window, but that's clearly too slow to be of much use by the looks of the video)

I'm not wanting an A8 ... but I suppose some of that could be an existing-model upgrade (I mean compared-to-other-marques, no idea about regulatory/technical issues)

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifoFOXRBiHM

 

[Hoot]

I did see that tweet! They implemented it quickly then, impressive.

Pleased to hear you're enjoying yours so much, I spent the last day looking at the Land Rover SUVs again just to consider them as an option, they're a lot cheaper but not electric obviously. A lot of pros and cons to consider. My brain is somewhat overwhelmed right now but this forum has been enlightening. Very refreshing to get such realism on a Tesla forum. I would say I'm slightly less keen right now than before I came here.

The fit and finish is about as good as American build quality gets, but it’s not up to European/Japanese standards.

By this, would you say the fit and finish is comparable to say, Ford?

The quarter end thing is more about timing your pick up. The difference in the PDI can be marked, so my advice would be try and engineer delivery to be after a quarter end rather than just before it.

Sorry I don't know what PDI is and googling hasn't taught me They are saying if I order now it would be March so that seems like bad timing.

 

[Hoot]

Saw a video on here the other day of the Audi A8 - lifts the suspension for Exit/Entry. My elderly inlaws would like that, they struggle to get out. It also lifts the side when side-impact is detected (and closes the window, but that's clearly too slow to be of much use by the looks of the video)

I'm not wanting an A8 ... but I suppose some of that could be an existing-model upgrade (I mean compared-to-other-marques, no idea about regulatory/technical issues)

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifoFOXRBiHM

I was researching that car this morning, too fancy for me but I was surprised to read about all the self driving as I didn't realise that existed in any other cars right now.

 

[Hoot]

Where abouts in the country are you @Hoot? You might well benefit from a Pie and a Pint with someone who has a car?



Here's my rant, FWIW:

I'm a huge fan, but I also have some annoynaces. What I really REALLY don't understand is why some attention hasn't been paid to finishing off the Infotainment, which would make it awesome. The fact that they haven't means I'm moaning about it to you, now, and if that doesn't lose Tesla your sale then it will the next bod that comes along ...

I was really sceptical that I would like a "touch screen interface, no knobs on the dashboard". I'm an IT Techie, and I have come to hate all the half-built, frequently-changed, fur-coat-no-knickers stuff that gets trooped out ... but, at the test drive, I was amazed at how clean and elegant the interface was. So I bought one ...

... Elon touted a Major Infotainment update and I looked forward to it. And then it arrived - all buttons converted to Apple "Flat", much harder to see (I have old eyes, and I'm dyslexic which means that any fancy interface takes me longer to digest than youngsters around me ...). Map auto-expanded to conceal the buttons on the top row - WTF was the point of that?, its a 17" screen, now I have to take eyes off road, press the screen, wait a bit for the map to shrink and buttons to reappear, and then press the button I want. Daft. Lots of criticisms of things that people used to be able to do, and now couldn't. That's the same story as Apple Interfaces, every Forum software release I've ever seen, and all the rest .... my expectation: a usability lab that knows about these sorts of things, and takes them into consideration, rather than one person at the top who likes it and says "Yup, paint it green" and change-for-change-sake. Not even a "Classic" config option ...

... in terms of "meat", nothing significant in that upgrade.

But: since I've had the car: Summon has been added, and auto-park, and the ability for the Radar to see under the car in front, in case the one in front of that brakes unexpectedly. Many models have got quicker via software updates. Probably a bunch of other things that have slipped my mind.

And a significant number of Easter Eggs. I've never heard of a bug in any of them ... what a pity that effort has not been put into fixing the day-to-day things. And most updates come with no ChangeLog, so the first that I know that there is a change is either read it here (that can't surely apply to most Tesla drivers) or discover it on the road (right now AP2 drivers are saying that the latest release is significantly worse at lane keeping ... not dangerous, but certainly surprising).



The SatNav is so-so (in terms of routes chosen and traffic awareness). I drive with Waze on my phone for turn-by-turn, and the map on the screen. Sometimes they disagree of course, but I'm happy to live with that. There has been lots of talk (maybe just wishful-thinking) that Tesla will replace SatNav with Waze. They should do that - it would be a knockout blow to everything else on the road ...

But if I am in a difficult unfamiliar area zooming the map right in and switching to Satellite view (and expand map to full-screen) so that I can get an indication of individual buildings makes it SO easy to solo-navigate, compared to a regular SatNav map. The Supercharge Status, and location, is spot on too. Finding the chargers in an unfamiliar location can be a challenge - if they are round-the-back-of-something - but zoom the map in and Hey Presto Eazy Peazy! (I've heard of a couple of locations where the Pin is not spot-on, but that's very rare)

I work around the map-covers-buttons issue by making sure the map is in the bottom half of the screen - which is a minor annoyance, no more, but IMHO should not be necessary. My wife can't do that because the glasses she wears to drive means she can't focus well on the bottom half of the screen ...

I didn't go for the higher spec sound, but I'm not overly impressive with the Standard sound. We have static on the radio on the channels we like to listen to. Its been back to Tesla about 4 times, various "Known problem, appropriate fix applied" have been made, car comes back exactly the same. Spotify and TuneIn are amazing (there is DAB too) but all of those have a couple of 2-or-3 minute stretches (on my regular commute) with no reception, and sound dropping out right in the middle of something interesting its a right royal pain - hence I'm needing Radio-4 on FM etc. to work well ... but on any journey with good Internet coverage I would have no complaints at all.

The energy-graph (including prediction of energy usage to destination) is spot on. The internet browser is impressive, but in practice its very slow, and old software, so some sites don't work well. But I've definitely put it to good use.

The controls (turn on headlights etc.) are well thought through, no complaints about that (I prefered the old, non-flat, buttons though). And you have the whole manual right there on the screen too.

Summary: I can'i understand why Tesla haven't capitalised on a killer-update. The software DEV cost for Infotainment, compared to everything else they have going on, would be tiny, and would be a significant "gift" to keep all the longer terms supporters on-side.



I'm in that boat too. I've had luxury cars, and fast cars, but in the main for the last decade I've been in "get me from A-to-B" cars, emphasis on Eco. So mine was an expensive purchase, relative to my norm. I don't regret it, I just wish the Tesla Back Office was as good as the car ...



That's a tougher one. I'm on Hardware-1 and Auto-pilot-1. I've had the car 18 months, and got it at about the time that AP1 started maturing. Others had been waiting a year (I guess?) for all that good software to arrive ... I reckon its a good time to buy HW2/AP2 - its on the cusp of being great right now, but anyone who bought it a year ago is unlikely to have been happy ...

The auto Wipers on HW1 are unimpressive (but pretty much the same as other cars I've driven). I press the button for single-wipe (overriding auto) quite often. I would have thought that Tesla could harvest the data from all the drivers pressing "wipe" and stick that in their Learning Algorithm and come up with killer-auto-wipe. Hasn't happened yet though ... HW2 wipers are a long standing joke of course. Perhaps they will be amazing when, eventually, sorted.

AP1 is outstanding. Its limited - it won't go by itself to pick up the kids from school! - but still astounding. I use it all the time on dual carriageway, and on long journeys on A-roads with good markings. I don't bother if I'm nipping to the shops ...

AP is also wonderful in bumper-to-bumper traffic. All that stop-start in an ICE is very tiresome, and tiring for both ankles. Just turn AP on and let it get on with it - remember to disengage when you get towards the front of the queue, otherwise you'll just follow the car in front onto the roundabout!

On long journeys (say 2+ hours drive to get there in the morning, and then 2+ hours back that evening) I arrive (at both ends) completely fresh. I was very sceptical of such reports until I owned it and tried it for myself, I'm a keen driver, never thought of driving as "tiring". I have a regular drive, been doing it for 10 years, to see a school evening concert/play/whatever. Normally leave at 10PM and get home at 11:30PM, dual carriageway all bar 5 miles at each end. In old days of ICE I was fighting sleep the last 10 miles of the dual carriageway most times, but that has never happened since Auto Pilot. I've also had AP react to danger when my eyes were on dashboard - I almost certainly would have reacted in time, but I do like the idea that both the car and I are on the lookout for trouble on the road - I don't care which of us gets to it first ...

... and the performance is very impressive. I could treat myself to a Ferrari or the like, but I never have done because I would only use it high days and holy days, and it would be totally impractical - which would annoy me (I'd want to take it, but couldn't because I couldn't get 4-people / a pair of skis / whatever in it). So now I have a car with Supercar performance, drive it 27,000 miles a year, service it once a year, costs hardly anything to run, all my friends think I'm the luckiest blighter ever, and so on.

Earlier today my Wife said I should write to Elon and tell him my thoughts, but I struggle to believe that he doesn't know all this already and, for whatever reason, is not devoting Time & Effort to it ...

But all that said, I'm sure you will enjoy your test drive

What a reply, first off, so helpful, thank you indeed!

I think we're fairly like minded, you're picking out a lot of the details I would certainly be noticing as criticism and also seem to appreciate the same features that made me put a Tesla as my most desirable car in the first place. A year ago it was just a dream I thought would never happen.

I live up North, just South of Newcastle. I did travel to Leeds two weeks ago and did a test drive of a P100D - it was amazing, that pure and smooth acceleration, so fun!

I can't get that one but as you pointed out, to have such a nice looking, economical car that is also fun to drive with a fast 0-60 time would be wonderful.

I think you should write to Elon, he would love to read what you've posted for me, I think. He seems to want constructive feedback when you see him speak on Twitter.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I would say I'm slightly less keen right now than before I came here.

I was going to say "wait for your test drive on Sunday" to turn your head ... but you've already had one ... Perhaps look over the cars there with a critical eye based on what you now know would bother you?. For me the build quality was fine. I had the car wrapped, and they told me to accept any paint blemishes etc. as they (being a Detailer) would prefer to fix them, rather than refix what the Dealer (any dealer, not just Tesla) might have done. As it happens there weren't any.

I didn't find any other delivery faults ... but I don't have a highly critical eye.

I have two problems: the Static on the radio, as mentioned, and cold-feet about an hour into a long journey (that's not unique to me, but I have had half a dozen loaners over the last 18 months and not one of them has had that problem, and I don't hear people in Norway saying they have to wear long-Johns to drive!). Car has been back several times, and the faults aren't fixed. Whilst aggravating, relative to the price of the car, they aren't exactly significant.

I've had one other, more critical, fault. Headlight kept toggling dip/beam (like a strobe, but not all the time, obviously v.annoying for oncoming traffic). I rated that as "undrivable" (although adjusting the headlight fully-down stopped oncoming traffic flashing me, so I guess that was a "workaround) and Tesla took the car in at shorter lead time than normal. But they took over two weeks to fix it, and when I went to collect it there was a fault with the airbag - which obviously they should have noticed - and that took another week or two to fix.

More recently car door biffed, hardly noticeable, still derivable - good job, as it turned out, because it took nearly a month for parts to arrive, and then more than a week in-the-body-shop. (Point to note on repair price there: they said they would fit two new doors, because although the damage was very minor they were concerned that Aluminium would be weakened. That was fine by me, the other party's insurance was paying - no quibble - but the quote surprised me: 2 new doors about £1,000 but labour? £7,000 ! Anyway, its come back with significant wind noise, clearly something that Service didn't notice / care about / care to fix. I can't believe anyone else would have accepted the car in that state, so its definitely not me being picky, so the net effect is that Tesla have wasted a good chunk of their time, and money, and annoyed a loyal customer. That's the bit that gets my goat - its so easily avoided.

So not really anything terribly fundamental (the lights apart maybe? but not heard of anyone on the forums who has had that problem, so probably just bad luck; my best-guess is that wiring-loom chafed/shorted, especially given the collateral issue with the air bag).

In all the return-to-service the staff have been very helpful etc., but (bar one person) largely ineffective. I put that down, mostly, to growing pains, but equally I'm sure a good manager would have it all sorted out in short order.

PDI

"Pre Delivery Inspection" - the bit they are supposed to do, to find & fix faults, before handing YOU the car

with a fast 0-60 time

Car now has "chill" mode on the Config, but before that mates expressed surprise that the Config started as "Sports" and then went up from there!

0-60 in 4s for the Base Model is not to be sniffed at - not to mention the ease with which power can be put down.

I find it hard to describe, but I SO much prefer driving MS to anything ICE now. Quiet, smooth, etc. Possible overtaking opportunity round the next bend? No drama, if the road is clear then just quirt-and-go. None of that noisy, jerky, changing down (in an ICE) before the bend "just in case"

 

[Hoot]

I was going to say "wait for your test drive on Sunday" to turn your head ... but you've already had one ... Perhaps look over the cars there with a critical eye based on what you now know would bother you?. For me the build quality was fine. I had the car wrapped, and they told me to accept any paint blemishes etc. as they (being a Detailer) would prefer to fix them, rather than refix what the Dealer (any dealer, not just Tesla) might have done. As it happens there weren't any.

I didn't find any other delivery faults ... but I don't have a highly critical eye.

I have two problems: the Static on the radio, as mentioned, and cold-feet about an hour into a long journey (that's not unique to me, but I have had half a dozen loaners over the last 18 months and not one of them has had that problem, and I don't hear people in Norway saying they have to wear long-Johns to drive!). Car has been back several times, and the faults aren't fixed. Whilst aggravating, relative to the price of the car, they aren't exactly significant.

I've had one other, more critical, fault. Headlight kept toggling dip/beam (like a strobe, but not all the time, obviously v.annoying for oncoming traffic). I rated that as "undrivable" (although adjusting the headlight fully-down stopped oncoming traffic flashing me, so I guess that was a "workaround) and Tesla took the car in at shorter lead time than normal. But they took over two weeks to fix it, and when I went to collect it there was a fault with the airbag - which obviously they should have noticed - and that took another week or two to fix.

More recently car door biffed, hardly noticeable, still derivable - good job, as it turned out, because it took nearly a month for parts to arrive, and then more than a week in-the-body-shop. (Point to note on repair price there: they said they would fit two new doors, because although the damage was very minor they were concerned that Aluminium would be weakened. That was fine by me, the other party's insurance was paying - no quibble - but the quote surprised me: 2 new doors about £1,000 but labour? £7,000 ! Anyway, its come back with significant wind noise, clearly something that Service didn't notice / care about / care to fix. I can't believe anyone else would have accepted the car in that state, so its definitely not me being picky, so the net effect is that Tesla have wasted a good chunk of their time, and money, and annoyed a loyal customer. That's the bit that gets my goat - its so easily avoided.

So not really anything terribly fundamental (the lights apart maybe? but not heard of anyone on the forums who has had that problem, so probably just bad luck; my best-guess is that wiring-loom chafed/shorted, especially given the collateral issue with the air bag).

In all the return-to-service the staff have been very helpful etc., but (bar one person) largely ineffective. I put that down, mostly, to growing pains, but equally I'm sure a good manager would have it all sorted out in short order.



"Pre Delivery Inspection" - the bit they are supposed to do, to find & fix faults, before handing YOU the car



Car now has "chill" mode on the Config, but before that mates expressed surprise that the Config started as "Sports" and then went up from there!

0-60 in 4s for the Base Model is not to be sniffed at - not to mention the ease with which power can be put down.

I find it hard to describe, but I SO much prefer driving MS to anything ICE now. Quiet, smooth, etc. Possible overtaking opportunity round the next bend? No drama, if the road is clear then just quirt-and-go. None of that noisy, jerky, changing down (in an ICE) before the bend "just in case"

Don't they offer you a loaner while you're waiting for these issues to be fixed? Especially with the light issue, I'd have expected it.

You're swaying me back towards Tesla now haha. I spent the day pricing up Discovery Sports and am sitting here 50/50 between the two. A discovery is still a low performance diesel which I'd like to get away from but does look nice and has a lot of bells and whistles and is half the price of the Tesla. Also carries my sports gear more easily. If I get that I'd have plenty of spare cash to get a motorbike too and put myself through my license.

On the other hand Tesla just called me seeing how I wanted to proceed, they offered me a rear wheel drive 75 with last version of the interior with some saving but no air suspension.

For the extra few grand I'd go with the new model and refreshed interior and air suspension and AWD. They offered me free first service or home charger if I order today.

Finally in a position in life where I have the option of this dream car, very tough choice. I know I'd enjoy driving the Tesla more and almost everything about it, at twice the price its no easy decision.

Been great talking to you guys on here, Tesla owners are all nice people in my experience so far!

 

[Hoot]

@WannabeOwner How much was it to get the car wrapped by the way? That is something I'd looked at too, curious about chrome deletion but also a full wrap for the protection.

 

[WannabeOwner]

How much was it to get the car wrapped

From memory about £4K for the whole car, and £1.5K or £2K for front facing bits only

I um'd and ah'd about the cost of whole-car, rather than front-facing, but actually glad I did it. The recent door damage was actually a side swipe on a roundabout, after I sponged it down there was no paint damage at all, which seemed pretty remarkable.. So I reckon if I had to snuggle up against a hedge there would be no scratches to the sides.

I took it to Topaz Detailing, because they are close to the Heathrow service centre. Felt very poor there ... everything else "had another nought on it" !! Very happy with their work.

(Some photos of the sideswipe / wrap here)

 

[WannabeOwner]

on't they offer you a loaner while you're waiting for these issues to be fixed?

Yup. Not quite the same though ... limited to 85 MPH and all my settings etc. not transferred (that's definitely a neat software update that Tesla could do ...). Also all my logging software (e.g. TeslaFi which I use to log all journeys, business mileage, that type of thing) is of no use, and also phone APP. Definitely 1st World Problems though

Could probably get those things sorted if I had of asked, but Tesla were saying "Parts arriving tomorrow" (for a week) and then "fixed tomorrow" for the second week, so I never escalated to "can I have APP, blah blah blah"

But I accidentally left my wallet and house keys in the car on one occasion . My fault entirely. They sent a driver out to my home (that's 2 hours each way). Definitely very grateful for that.

But, yeah, basically no problem getting a loaner, so don't worry on that score. (Some people have had ICE loaner, but I don't think that's common).

They offered me free first service or home charger if I order today.

I guess they are wanting any end of year sales that they can get ...

I spent the day pricing up Discovery Sports

How are the Disco's these days? Definitely handy if you want to drive across a ploughed field ... but can you:

Flash Lights and Honk Horn when you park it in a temporary car park in a massive field at Henley and you can't find your car? (Actually, you can get close to the car with the APP - if my Wife parks the car somewhere, I don't even bother to ask her to explain where it is, the Phone APP shows me, and flips to Google Walking Directions to get me there ... and then I can use Flash Lights/Horn to narrow it down ...)

Get it to Warm if up / Cool down as you are paying the bill in the restaurant? And also do that on a schedule - e.g. shortly before normal work departure but ONLY if you are parked at home - ditto for return from Work to Home. Oh ... and GeoFence the car park at Waitrose so the Climate stays on whilst you are parked there ... (only found that one in TeslaLog app ... )

Say to Amazon Echo "Alexa, ask My Car how far can I drive" - or get Alexa to turn on the climate, charge it, whatever.

If your wife is driving see where she's got to on her way home, rather than having to phone and bother her ... (but don't park outside your Mistress's house, eh?!)

Those things are definitely well done, and actually useful rather than just for Show Off-ing

 

[DJP31]

@Hoot much written since I was last here! One of the best questions to ask any Tesla owner is, “would you buy another one?” I’d wager close to 100% would say they wouldn't through choice ever go back to an ICE, and 90% would say they’d buy another Tesla - despite its foibles. They would also say “where’s the competion?” As that is sadly lacking.

I’ve never driven a Disco and I’m sure it has its place, but isn’t comparable to a Tesla IMO. As @WannabeOwner has said, there’s something about a Tesla that’s indefinable, and for many of us it’s irresistible. We are not fan boys here though, and do try and be balanced.

I bottled it first time round, range anxiety, would they go bust, fit and finish etc, and bought another Lexus. Kept very close to places like this and for me, Brexit was the deciding factor. Pound crash - price rise, so I jumped in quickly and so glad I did.

You mention sports equipment being easier to accommodate in the Disco. What do you lug around that won’t fit easily in the Tesla? I was worried about my golf bats - tons and tons of room.

On the March delivery and Pre Delivery Inspection (sorry for the abbreviation), if you ordered now it might just arrive for end of March. My advice would be to hold off taking delivery until early April, the handover experience will be so much better, and they will have more time to do a proper PDI.

As for twice the price, no smelly diesel to buy and YOLO. To save googling that, it’s one of my daughters favourites expression - You Only Live Once.

 

[WannabeOwner]

To save googling that

Not "You Only Look Once" then, eh?

 

[CotswoldSara]

@Hoot welcome

I was in the same boat as you, buy an older car with a slightly bigger battery or go new & get the 75. I bought the new 75 to get the exact spec I wanted and even got the basic RWD as it was still available, that meant I could afford to add all the toys - multi-coat paint job, premium interior & EAP, asked about FSD & no one (including the Tesla guys) seemed to think it would be usable any time soon so I skipped that one. I was a bit worried about range but my daily commute is only 28 miles each way & when I looked at our usual longer distance runs there were superchargers on route. Have a look at ABetterRoutePlanner for some ideas.

I took the plunge in Sept & took delivery at the dreaded EOQ, in fact at the even more dreaded EOY!!! Absolutely no quality issues whatsoever. Something in my suspension threw a wobbler then & there which meant I had to drive home in a loaner but I had my car delivered to me a few days later totally fixed, no issues since.

I also came from a Lexus so build quality is important to me. The panel gaps on my Tesla are larger than I'm used to but they're consistent. The interior is as good as my Lexus & the OTA updates are fabulous. My Lexus had entertainment system faults which I knew were software & therefore easily repairable but Lexus were incapable of updating anything as they'd outsourced the software & didn't have a support contract!! Since I've owned my car I've been sent the Xmas Easter egg & there's an update being rolled out to add rain sensing wipers - some folks on the FB group have had it already.

EAP is brilliant and takes so much strain out of commuting motorways & tedious A roads. Got stuck in a queue behind a tractor this morning on a normally fast bit of road that I was auto-piloting & EAP just happily tagged along with everyone else until we could get past without any intervention from me.

I looked at my brother in laws Disco Sport at the weekend and after the Tesla it is sooooo cluttered, buttons & dials everywhere. Made me really appreciate the simplicity of the Tesla.

If you need a referral code to get free supercharging send me a PM

 

[DJP31]

I looked at my brother in laws Disco Sport at the weekend and after the Tesla it is sooooo cluttered, buttons & dials everywhere. Made me really appreciate the simplicity of the Tesla.

I really think this is one of the ingredients that gives Tesla the "je ne sais quoi" factor. The performance, the electric drivetrain, OTA updates and, as you put it "simplicity" together makes the car IMHO such a refreshing vehicle.

 

[WannabeOwner]

The performance, the electric drivetrain, OTA updates and ... "simplicity"

Yup, and also, for me, Autopilot - as @CotswoldSara put it:

EAP is brilliant and takes so much strain out of commuting motorways & tedious A roads

I definitely arrive far more refreshed on longer journeys than I used to. I have one hand on the wheel the whole time, and I am looking around for "stuff", like "normal driving" / just like I used to, so to my mind the only difference is that I'm not using my brain to make the micro adjustments on the wheel; prior to owning AP I would not have believed that that took any "effort". Some of it may be less stress - e.g. in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I've TACC before (albeit "hair up behind the car and then jump on the brakes" which wasn't exactly enjoyable, nor frugal!!, but it was predictable), so I don't think it is that alone.

Also the added safety value that, heaven forbid, were I to nod off the car would come to a safe stop in-lane or, more likely, all its hooting and hollering would wake me up - whilst staying in lane.

 

[WannabeOwner]

its come back with significant wind noise, clearly something that Service didn't notice / care about / care to fix

So ... they collected the car today - a month, less 4 days, since it came back - first slot they seemed to have available - to fix the wind noise. The wind noise was sufficient that our ears were ringing on a long trip, although i managed to reduce it by stuffing a rag into the quarter-light

Yet again its come back with Service mode still enabled (something their support told me they never leave on), so I was unable to check it (remotely) to make sure it had enough charge for my wife to get home (car was delivered back to her work).

And a scratch down the side that they claim was there before, but I had not noticed, and the collection driver didn't notice on his inspection this morning ...

 

[Peteski]

I spent the day pricing up Discovery Sports and am sitting here 50/50 between the two. A discovery is still a low performance diesel which I'd like to get away from but does look nice and has a lot of bells and whistles and is half the price of the Tesla. Also carries my sports gear more easily. If I get that I'd have plenty of spare cash to get a motorbike too and put myself through my license.

If you are still worried about reliability issues with a Tesla, then that applies at least equally, if not more so, with the Disco Sport. There are a LOT of unhappy owners in that camp for sure. Spend any time on the Land Rover forums and you will see that they suffer from all kinds of major and minor issues. Same goes for the tech. If anyone thinks the Tesla tech is maybe starting to look slightly dated, then the Disco Sport is like something out of the last century by comparison.

Seriously, I looked into buying a Disco Sport too and I quite like the car (sensible, practical, decent off-road) despite it's poor reputation for reliability. But I went for a Model X instead. The electric powertrain is truly from another planet compared to the mediocre diesel in the DS. Plus it's infinitely more interesting to just sit in and drive. The Tesla feels like something special and unique rather than a practical but very underwhelming SUV.

Hope that helps with your decision to double your budget!