Question for car guys/gals, why did you dump your ICE vehicle for a Tesla?

[internalaudit]

Although I'm not a car enthusiast, this discussion had got me thinking about keeping my reservation for an AWD M3.

Tesla Model 3 vs. BMW 3-Series | Tesla


The video on the Hyundai Ioniq Electric that goes from 0-60 in 9.4 seconds is also making me doubt that other BEVs will be as enjoyable to drive (I don't care about the very simplistic/basic interior of the M3 but I want a smaller EV and it's going to be significantly cheaper brand new)

For those who came from sporty or performance cars and like to drive, why did you decide on your Model S and why did you OR why did you NOT dump your ICE vehicle?

 

[Trunk Gap]

Came from M cars and AMG cars to the MS as daily:

- Technology - no comparison. Esp at the time I bought a year ago.
- Thrust - again, no comparison 0-100
- Autopilot - light yrs ahead (AP1)
- Styling/exclusivity (for now)
- Convenience - Tesla just figures out the details better than these "luxury" carmakers. Things like the charge port opening/closing automatically, the features of the big screen, etc. Not perfect but better.
- Updates, the car keeps getting better

What do I miss?

The sound of a violent 600hp+ motor. The interior/seats are a bit lacking and chintzy in comparison. Thats about it.

 

[kort677]

it would be foolish for me to keep two $100K+ cars in the garage in addition to my wife's car which is now the banger ICE backup car.

 

[kevinf311]

I dumped my ICE vehicle because I was putting off replacing a worn U-Joint and ended up tearing the back out of the transmission.

**reads**

Oh, "sporty or performance cars;" Never mind, this was a 1997 Lincoln Towncar

 

[davinci2017]

I consolidated two cars into this one car since I found the acceleration and handling to be sporty enough to replace the compact sports car I had and the space and practicality to replace the big family car. Other big factors on why Tesla compared to other options were supercharging, tech relative to what was in my cars and overall practical design in terms of space, looks, storage, etc

 

[OBX John]

It's just so much smoother than our Mercedes 500 CLK. It's like driving on silk. The acceleration response is instant ICE cars sound like they are about to blow up or shake apart when you want to go fast. The Tesla just goes fast so effortlessly.

 

[NikeWings]

De-iced the garage and ditched a Panamera, followed by a GLE 6 months later.
1. styling
2. performance
3. technology
4. safety
5. utility

 

[cgiGuy]

"Dumped" an Infiniti EX35 after doing a spreadsheet and realizing that moving the cost of gas to cost of car payment helped me break even trading in for a spaceship.

 

[bishoppeak]

Coming from a ZR1 Corvette: better throttle response, always in the right gear, reaching the age where I look a bit silly in a Vette.

 

[kosarfan]

Left a 2014 Lexus GS 350 for a 2017 Model S 90D. Picked up my car 3 months ago - 11k mikes in and I am so glad I made the switch.

I am in sales with a 4 state geography. I was concerned that the charging would be an inconvenience. What I have found is that supercharging isn't bad at all, in fact it is nice to decompress, grab a bite to eat, catch up on work emails, etc... Some hotels I frequent have chargers built in. The autopilot makes long drives much less stressful - plus it is a great conversation piece when taking clients to lunch.

The Tesla was more than $40k more than my Lexus....but I spent $4k on gas last year, was at the dealership getting an oil change every 6 weeks and spent over $2k in scheduled maintenance last year. I expense miles so I will be reimbursed $17k or so at $0.53 a mile thus my mileage reimbursement really makes my car payment.

I did have to "sell" the car to my wife as she does not like flashy things.....so I explained that as much as I drive, if I go early it will likely be in a car accident - less chance in a Tesla!

Lastly, I have 4 kids and upgraded to the jump seats. We take that on day trips on the weekends instead of the minivan now. It's so much more versatile and fun to drive than what I had before. I loved my Lexus, but it felt like a clunky POS after driving my Tesla for a week (unloaded it private party a week after I took delivery).

 

[Jashev]

Like Davinci2017, I also consolidated two cars into one. MB E350 and a Chevy Volt. Just started to realize that my range anxiety regarding a full EV, was unfounded. The SC network access was the final piece to the puzzle and after a recent trip from PA to TX, all my concerns were laid to rest. Of course the fact that the S is one "kick ass" driver didn't hurt ;-)

 

[Randaddy]

I've always been a car guy, not as seasoned as some Tesla owners but I've had a few fun cars. Interestingly, I've never owned a domestic car until my CPO P85+. As many auto enthusiasts can relate, I was always looking for the next best thing to come along. Early on, I realized huge horsepower and torque did not make a sports car sporty. Handling characteristics and power delivery has a huge impact on my driving enjoyment so I always gravitated towards (relatively affordable) sporty cars that usually handled better than they accelerated.

Like some others have noted, my P85+ was really the result of a 3 car consolidation effort. Prior to the Tesla I was commuting in a Smart EV for carpool/HOV access, had a 09 Stage 2 tuned Subaru WRX STI wagon for spirited weekend drives and to haul around my bikes. The STI replaced my beloved E46 M3 due to the exorbitant out of warranty repair costs that car started to incur.

All 3 of my last cars shared something in common with the Tesla but the Tesla is the only one that IMO, fully replaces all 3 with none of the shortcomings. The Smart EV was great for commuting and accessing free work charging, but the range was anxiety inducing and couldn't carry much. The Suby was a hatch and allowed me to haul around my road bike fully in-tact, it was damn quick (296 WHP and 305 TQ), but it returned something like 19 MPG and a 6-speed in stop and go traffic is the pits. The E46 M3 was my (then) dream car, handling was great, interior was great, gas mileage was acceptable, awesome Harmon Kardon stereo, and that notoriously that smoooooth inline 6 powerband. But once the car developed an intermittent SMG transmission failure, it became a money pit with the dealership visits.

I guess I've always been looking for a Tesla but never knew I wanted one...until I test drove one.

On that note, I really hope they bring back some kinda upgraded handling package! If it weren't for the + suspension on a RWD platform, I may not have been as eager to join the Tesla ranks.

 

[dbhajek]

Coming from a ZR1 Corvette: better throttle response, always in the right gear, reaching the age where I look a bit silly in a Vette.

I still have my ZR1

 

[Eclectic]

We went from an Audi A7 to the Model S for one primary reason: HOV tags. My wife's commute is awful (east bay into either SF or the valley, depending on the day) and the HOV tags cut her commute time significantly. The performance of the Model S (and the fact that it was an econobox, like the other EVs that qualified for HOV tags) were an important secondary reason.

No way we'd ever give up our other ICE vehicles, though, and if the HOV tags are no longer a perk of owning a Tesla, we will no longer have the Tesla.

 

[aus]

Carpool lane, range and Superchargers.

I can't stand the interior. Once you get over the big screen, nothing else is impressive (though it's better with the center console now).
I find buttons and iDrive much more precise to use while driving, but the voice recognition is pretty awesome on the Tesla.
Once the big German's get a few true competitive cars out, then we'll see how good Tesla really is. The interior just has to improve to be competitive.
.

 

[houstonian]

Did not dump my ICE - rather it hit the end of it's useful life and therefore I found myself in the market for a new car.

High-ish mileage driver here (~20-25k / year) so the driving experience mattered to me. Tesla delivered on this for me with the electric drive train, EAP, and what I hope will one day be FSD.

FSD, or rather the ability to use the time in the car to be productive, was/is the biggest offering Tesla has for me. Don't get me wrong: there are many things I like about my S60, but the core feature of the car which made me PTT remains clawing back productive time through automation.

Drug my feet as long as possible prior to replacing my old ICE - and all else being equal, the longer you can wait before purchasing a Tesla, I'd guess the better the technology and cheaper the price - but when I got hit with a $4k repair bill last November, I decided it to order.

If my old car survived to 2019/2020 I'd guess form factor of the model 3 would be more interesting to me (the S is big, at least for me) but my old car did not and hence fate and circumstance prompted me to order the S. Not quite sure what'll do with the two model 3 reservations I've got, but that's a problem for future me to sort out.

 

[kev1n]

might want to change your wording there haha. i thought this whole time you were going to buy an ALL WHEEL DRIVE BMW M3 and i asked myself, they make AWD M3's now?

I went from Honda S2000 -> Model S P85, its a complete 360. I have just outgrown the S2000, I've owned it for 8 years and its a really fun car to drive and the handling is amazing.

i was looking for a comfortable 4 door car with high performance that also saves on gas(ironic i know) but nothing else fit the bill but the Tesla's.

coming from an S2000, the P85 is enough fast for my taste but it definitely feels like a boat on the turns. I've heard the P85+ suspension is a different story though but no way in hell I am dropping $20k in parts to upgrade.

 

[FabioFognini]

I had a BMW 550 GT that I very much liked, but ordered a Model S for all the same reasons as folks above. Couldn't be more excited, as it's still a couple of weeks until my delivery. To enhance the appreciation of the Model S, I sold the nice BMW today and for the few weeks until delivery, will be driving a rented Nissan Altima- which positively sucks. I'm sure I would have been thrilled with the Model S anyway, but having a few weeks with a car I don't enjoy at all, I suspect will make the Model S go from seeming amazing to seeming miraculous.

TL;DR: Waiting for your Model S makes you into a crazy person

 

[iMrMark]

First post, and nice timing on it for my situation. I've got a first gen BMW M4 that I love driving. The sad part is, I'm starting to not love BMW themselves so much. Everything from the two years it took someone to run the "basic diagnostic" on an ice related component that had been broken since delivery, on over to rattles that I just "have to live with due to design" according to them.

Yeah, it's a fun car to drive, a dream I had for many years really, but.. the picky things you get into when you spend a lot of hard earned cash on a dream eat at you, I think. I didn't spend what I spent to have to "live with" anything; I want to be thrilled!

Then the other day, I test drove a model S. Then got the ok for an extended drive to test the daily commute. Yeah, the interior kinda makes you go "wait, how much..?" but - being in that driver's seat really seems to makes up for it.

So long story short, I'm thinking about going the EV route because I just don't think I'm getting what I've paid for out of my current ride. It helps that I love the general concept of Tesla, and that the car itself is super fun. Good luck!

 

[kev1n]

First post, and nice timing on it for my situation. I've got a first gen BMW M4 that I love driving. The sad part is, I'm starting to not love BMW themselves so much. Everything from the two years it took someone to run the "basic diagnostic" on an ice related component that had been broken since delivery, on over to rattles that I just "have to live with due to design" according to them.

Yeah, it's a fun car to drive, a dream I had for many years really, but.. the picky things you get into when you spend a lot of hard earned cash on a dream eat at you, I think. I didn't spend what I spent to have to "live with" anything; I want to be thrilled!

Then the other day, I test drove a model S. Then got the ok for an extended drive to test the daily commute. Yeah, the interior kinda makes you go "wait, how much..?" but - being in that driver's seat really seems to makes up for it.

So long story short, I'm thinking about going the EV route because I just don't think I'm getting what I've paid for out of my current ride. It helps that I love the general concept of Tesla, and that the car itself is super fun. Good luck!

i would keep in mind when buying a Tesla(still early adoption) that there will be build quality concerns and it isnt one of the best. you're going to run into similar issues as you did with the M4.

 

[Stan Moraski]

I dumped one ICE vehicle and went with a model s because there is nothing about this vehicle I do not love.
1. No one in my area of the world owns one.
2. Stop lights are so much fun.
3. A four door sedan beating my Subaru Racecar?
4. A new supercharger coming to my town!

I will Always own a Tesla Model S!