Prospective Model 3 Buyer

[asitter]

Looking to get a Model 3 in Green Bay, WI before year end.

My commute is only 20 miles round trip and I don’t drive significantly outside of that. I live in an apartment complex and the only option is 120 volt outlets. Will this be sufficient for the time being? There is also a supercharger within 5 miles from my apartment. Will have a better option in 10-11 months at the end of this lease.

Also curious on insurance. Where has the community had good experiences with auto insurance for their Tesla’s? I’m a 23 year old male, so I’m expecting the insurance cost to be significant.

 

[apodbdrsM3]

Looking to get a Model 3 in Green Bay, WI before year end.

My commute is only 20 miles round trip and I don’t drive significantly outside of that. I live in an apartment complex and the only option is 120 volt outlets. Will this be sufficient for the time being? There is also a supercharger within 5 miles from my apartment. Will have a better option in 10-11 months at the end of this lease.

Also curious on insurance. Where has the community had good experiences with auto insurance for their Tesla’s? I’m a 23 year old male, so I’m expecting the insurance cost to be significant.

Yes, 120v will charge at about 3-5 miles per hour, so if you charge for 10 hrs every night you should have about 30 to 50 miles. Better yet if you start with an 80% charge at super charger, and charge every night no problem at all.

 

[tomas]

Looking to get a Model 3 in Green Bay, WI before year end.

My commute is only 20 miles round trip and I don’t drive significantly outside of that. I live in an apartment complex and the only option is 120 volt outlets. Will this be sufficient for the time being? There is also a supercharger within 5 miles from my apartment. Will have a better option in 10-11 months at the end of this lease.

Also curious on insurance. Where has the community had good experiences with auto insurance for their Tesla’s? I’m a 23 year old male, so I’m expecting the insurance cost to be significant.

120 fine. You’ll probably need to supercharge every week or 3. More in winter. Suggest you price insurance yourself vs relying on forum. Prices differ by locale. Most major carriers will give you online quote. Then harass you for months to buy. Might suggest a burner email for quotes.

 

[ewoodrick]

Sorry, you've removed all the reasons not to buy the car. Head to Tesla.com this evening and order it!!!

At the absolute worse, you could only use the Supercharger. 100+ miles a week and plugging in weekly isn't a problem.

BUT, charging at home is the best experience.

Look at the socket that you can charge from. It will have the two parallel blades for a 120V plug, but does it have the option for a perpendicular and parallel on one side (looks a little like a sideways T) If so, this plug will also support 20A charging. It's relatively common in commercial buildings.

 

[animorph]

120V 15A can be marginal in very cold weather, which requires some battery heating in addition to charging. Or so I have read. Hopefully plugging in immediately when you get home while the battery has some heat from the drive would minimize the impact of the cold. With a Supercharger available you'll always have a backup.

 

[glide]

Green Bay experiences winter. 120V charging is going to make your life difficult when the temps drop below 40.

Factor that in.

 

[ewoodrick]

Green Bay experiences winter. 120V charging is going to make your life difficult when the temps drop below 40.

Factor that in.

But is much less of an issue if the car is parked in an attached garage where the temperatures don't tend to drop as significantly.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I live in an apartment complex and the only option is 120 volt outlets. Will this be sufficient for the time being? There is also a supercharger within 5 miles from my apartment

As others have said, if your car is left outside or in an uninsulated garage, you definitely need a better option. 120V is not going to fly in winter. It would be 100% fine in California or even western Washington State, for someone with your commute. But not Wisconsin.

You never want to have to visit a Supercharger. It’s a waste of time - they are really only for road trips or people who drive a LOT around a town. It’s really best to avoid them - they are great on road trips when you need to stretch your legs anyway, but terrible if you have to go there for daily/weekly needs. Much worse than a gas station.

 

[asitter]

Thanks everyone. Luckily, the garage is underneath the apartment complex and is heated. Like I said, I’ll only have to do it this way for a year at the most. I should have a 240V outlet at my next residence.

 

[XLR82XS]

Thanks everyone. Luckily, the garage is underneath the apartment complex and is heated. Like I said, I’ll only have to do it this way for a year at the most. I should have a 240V outlet at my next residence.

240 is great as far as home charging goes.

 

[eustachio]

You never want to have to visit a Supercharger. It’s a waste of time - they are really only for road trips or people who drive a LOT around a town. It’s really best to avoid them - they are great on road trips when you need to stretch your legs anyway, but terrible if you have to go there for daily/weekly needs. Much worse than a gas station.

You're joking, right?


OP, buy it already! I'm in the same boat and just took delivery, 120v charging is fine for us, also you will find level 2 chargers in your area, just download the plugshare app. Plus you can supercharge!

Best. Car. Evar. I can't stop thinking about it and checking it in the app.

 

[tomas]

You never want to have to visit a Supercharger. It’s a waste of time - they are really only for road trips or people who drive a LOT around a town. It’s really best to avoid them - they are great on road trips when you need to stretch your legs anyway, but terrible if you have to go there for daily/weekly needs. Much worse than a gas station.

We now know Alan likes to hang out at gas stations. Is it for the wonderful food? The clean washrooms? The aroma of petrol? The colorful personalities?

Me, I’d rather sit quietly in car and catch up on email, or (soon) watch a concert video on large screen with surround sound.

Different strokes....

 

[AdamVIP]

Everyone is going to tell you to buy but you have a few clues that you should hold off. First as brought up your winters are a bit rough for 120. You also said you only drive 20 miles. Thats not really that much. Assuming you are currently driving a reasonably modern car you arent spending a lot in fuel. Finally you state that in about a year you will be moving.

All that said, they are cool cars so if you want one you should get one, but I think you should wait. Ideally till after you move, but at least till spring comes around.

 

[tomas]

Everyone is going to tell you to buy but you have a few clues that you should hold off. First as brought up your winters are a bit rough for 120. You also said you only drive 20 miles. Thats not really that much. Assuming you are currently driving a reasonably modern car you arent spending a lot in fuel. Finally you state that in about a year you will be moving.

All that said, they are cool cars so if you want one you should get one, but I think you should wait. Ideally till after you move, but at least till spring comes around.

Did you miss the bit about underground heated garage? Buy now!

 

[jjrandorin]

We now know Alan likes to hang out at gas stations. Is it for the wonderful food? The clean washrooms? The aroma of petrol? The colorful personalities?

Me, I’d rather sit quietly in car and catch up on email, or (soon) watch a concert video on large screen with surround sound.

Different strokes....

His point is its best not to do either in the car, its "best" to pull into your garage, plug in, and do whatever else you were going to do. If I had to charge only at superchargers I absolutely would NOT have this car.... as much as I love it.

 

[AdamVIP]

We now know Alan likes to hang out at gas stations. Is it for the wonderful food? The clean washrooms? The aroma of petrol? The colorful personalities?

Me, I’d rather sit quietly in car and catch up on email, or (soon) watch a concert video on large screen with surround sound.

Different strokes....

Alan can do all that too, from his couch, after filling up in 3 minutes and driving right home.

While superchargers are fast at what they do, they are not as fast as a gas station and getting a vehicle that will be dependent on spending a bunch of time at one isn't the best way to go.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

The OP has clarified that his garage is heated, so the original point of my post - that you should do ALL charging for your daily needs at home or at work, rarely relying on a Supercharger for those needs - is now possible for the OP.

This is the last I’ll post on this as it is not a relevant discussion for the OP anymore.

Me, I’d rather sit quietly in car and catch up on email, or (soon) watch a concert video on large screen with surround sound.

I prefer to do this on my couch at home.

We now know Alan likes to hang out at gas stations. Is it for the wonderful food? The clean washrooms? The aroma of petrol? The colorful personalities?

I’m not sure where you’re getting this from. The point of my post was crystal clear. It’s not complicated.

But I guess I have to spell it out for you?

There are three choices:

1) Drive an EV, Only visit a Supercharger on road trips and rare situations, when it provides a welcome break. All other charging done at home or work.

2) Drive an ICE, go to gas station as normal. For OP would likely be once every 2-3 weeks.

3) Drive an EV, Visit a Supercharger frequently, due to lack of any home charging solution - would likely be once a week for OP in winter, to satisfy daily needs, and also on road trips.

The above options are ordered according to my preference.

For those people who drive a TON on a daily basis, relying on a Supercharger is a little different - as I alluded to above. That’s not relevant to this discussion though.

You're joking, right?

No. See above. I don’t think it is good to rely on Superchargers for daily charging needs in most cases. That’s not what they are for.

 

[tomas]

Um... do you not have a sense of humor?

Regardless, this is not what you said in your original post... you opined how terrible superchargers are... worse than gas stations. OP already said way upthread that he would do most charging at home at 120. He never proposed to use supercharging as significant support for his local driving. Your ALL or none is an extreme position, and is irrelevant to the OPs situation and therefor the thread. Nothing wrong with occasional supercharger top off, even if not on road trip.

The OP has clarified that his garage is heated, so the original point of my post - that you should do ALL charging for your daily needs at home or at work, rarely relying on a Supercharger for those needs - is now possible for the OP.

This is the last I’ll post on this as it is not a relevant discussion for the OP anymore.



I prefer to do this on my couch at home.



I’m not sure where you’re getting this from. The point of my post was crystal clear. It’s not complicated.

But I guess I have to spell it out for you?

There are three choices:

1) Drive an EV, Only visit a Supercharger on road trips and rare situations, when it provides a welcome break. All other charging done at home or work.

2) Drive an ICE, go to gas station as normal. For OP would likely be once every 2-3 weeks.

3) Drive an EV, Visit a Supercharger frequently, due to lack of any home charging solution - would likely be once a week for OP in winter, to satisfy daily needs, and also on road trips.

The above options are ordered according to my preference.

For those people who drive a TON on a daily basis, relying on a Supercharger is a little different - as I alluded to above. That’s not relevant to this discussion though.



No. See above. I don’t think it is good to rely on Superchargers for daily charging needs in most cases. That’s not what they are for.

 

[tomas]

If I had to charge only at superchargers I absolutely would NOT have this car.... as much as I love it.

That has never been the topic of this thread!!! The OP never proposed to charge only... or even frequently... at superchargers.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Regardless, this is not what you said in your original post... you opined how terrible superchargers are... worse than gas stations.

Sounds like you need to reread that post, and use, you know, context... When I said never, it was obvious from context that I meant “never for typical daily charging needs.”

There was lack of clarity on the OPs charging situation initially. You cannot charge reliably using 120V 15A in Wisconsin in mid-winter, outside. It does not work. This is worth making very clear for new owners relying on 120V charging. Would be forced to use a Supercharger (the OP mentioned the local Supercharger in his post, and it was not clear how/whether he planned to use it). No longer an issue for this discussion; OP is charging inside heated garage; he will not need to use the Supercharger for his typical daily needs.

It's worth noting, for the OP, that 120V 15A charging is about 70-75% efficient (vs. about 90% for other higher rate charging methods), due to the ~200W overhead of the car. So this is the cost of 120V charging. Just something to be aware of.