Request for advice on buying a used Roadster in Japan

[kokoro]

Must be some sort of mistake if it says 2011 somewhere. I think those 12 Roadsters got to Japan in Mid 2010.
Also, maybe the log you are looking at is not from the beginning. Maybe someone "wiped" the memory when the car was first sold or something like that.
I expect some LogParser experts will chime into this thread soon and answer your other questions.

Red LHD US made Roadster in Tokyo May 2010:
TEDxTokyo 2010: Tesla in Odaiba
Tesla_TEDxTokyo2010_JF_DSK_1786
Nice seaside outdoor lunch at Odaiba #TEDxTokyo http://tedxtokyo.com (black/red interior)
Red LHD US made Roadster in Tokyo Nov 2010:
Tesla Motors Aoyama (Maybe this was #830 before it got the "Destino" body kit / wheels change?)
Tesla Test Rides (Maybe it was showroom demo car in 2010 ?)
TESLA@MEGAWEB

Electric Blue LHD US made Roadster in Tokyo Aug 2010:
Tokyo Tesla
Tesla In Tokyo
Tesla In Tokyo (can almost make out the VIN)

White LHD US made Roadster Sport in Tokyo showroom Dec 2010:
DSC_7751
DSC_7749

There is an interesting 0 in the CAC column row on the date the battery was said to have been changed but the CAC the line before and after that zero are the same which seems odd if the battery was really changed out. I would think the new battery would have a higher CAC than the old one...

Those two photos of Roadsters look a lot like it. No way to know for sure.

 

[gregd]

Must be some sort of mistake if it says 2011 somewhere. I think those 12 Roadsters got to Japan in Mid 2010.
Also, maybe the log you are looking at is not from the beginning. Maybe someone "wiped" the memory when the car was first sold or something like that.
I expect some LogParser experts will chime into this thread soon and answer your other questions.

You should be able to access the beginning of the log with VMSParser.exe by using the "-p" option. The very top of the output should show the car's birth, initially with 2033 dates (uninitialized clock, presumably), followed by various codes and errors as it sputters to life. My 2010 2.0 #834 shows a first non-2033 date of 1/21/2010, so your #830 should be close to that.

 

[kokoro]

Thanks - yes, -p brings up records back to 4/29/11. Also, I probably don't fully understand how to parse and analyze the log files yet but using the -p flag and exporting to a text file that I then import into Excel for easier sorting, the first odometer reading I can find is 4187.7 miles on the 11th of May 2011. Shouldn't I be able to go back to 0 miles? Or is it possible that the data has been wiped?

 

[TEG]

テスラが日本初のショールームを東京青山に開設 - e燃費

Hmm:
テスラ ロードスター、チャデモ充電規格は採用せず | レスポンス（Response.jp）

"Gang of 12" getting prepped in Japan in 2010?

フェラーリより速く、ポルシェより安い――テスラの兵法 (1/2)

［写真蔵］テスラ ロードスター…ベンチャー発のEV、日本で販売 - e燃費
One of them:

 

[TEG]

Red US made Roadster in Sept 2010:
テスラ・ロードスター、ちょい乗りの記。｜吉田 匠の「男は黙ってスポーツカー」Nothing But a SportsCar！｜ブログ｜吉田 匠｜みんカラ - 車・自動車SNS（ブログ・パーツ・整備・燃費）

【インプレッション】テスラ「ロードスタースポーツ2.0」 /

asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：「最強の市販ＥＶ」テスラ・ロードスター。チーム・タイサン・テスラとして全日本ＥＶ５０ｋｍレース（千葉・袖ヶ浦）に参戦予定 - 電気自動車開発技術展 - 愛車

asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：トヨタの提携相手、テスラの魅力は　ロードスターに体験試乗 - 環境

 

[TEG]

電気スポーツカー「テスラ・ロードスター」が、経産省の補助金対象車に！ - Autoblog 日本版

スーパーカーちっくな電気自動車テスラロードスターの補助金は驚きの324万円！

More 2010 Red Roadster in Japan:
100%電気自動車“テスラ・ロードスター”がやって来ます

Jan 2011:
テスラ ロードスター スポーツ （TESRA ROADSTAR SPORT 2.5）電気自動車

「テスラ」ガン見してたらカタログくれた＠尾道: スマートじゃけぇのぉ

価格.com - 『エクステリア ラディアントレッド2』 テスラ ロードスター 2010年モデル の製品画像

日本の前面と側面角度に赤テスラロード スター デスクトップの壁紙 | WallpaperPixel

Notice how the plate (69-67) is consistent, yet the car starts a 2.5 look transformation.
Black 2.5 wheels... Carbon accented 2.5 front bumper, etc.

 

[TEG]

2009:
テスラ ロードスター 試乗レポート(1/4)|試乗レポート【オートックワン】

テスラEV、924万円で落札…ガリバー | レスポンス（Response.jp）

【テスラモーターズ テスラ ロードスター 試乗記】ガリバーが輸入した中古車！　究極のEV(電気自動車)スポーツを試す！ [CORISM]

スーパーEV「テスラ」ついに日本上陸！ガリバー、米国買取の1台。来春販売か!?｜CAR LIFE NEWS

テスラロードスター、ヤフオクに出品 入札は2/1〜2/7｜CAR LIFE NEWS

いろんなクルマとオレ物語: テスラ・ロードスターが落札されました！

ガリバー、ヤフオクに電気自動車「テスラ・ロードスター」を出品

EV スイッチ オン!! <ev switch on!!>:電気自動車(EV)　テスラ　ロードスター

ユーストカードットコム
"The car was purchased by Gulliver USA at the Los Angeles store in Torrance, California in July" (2009)

ガリバー次世代中古車　電気自動車テスラ - Yahoo!オークション

 

[TEG]

遷ろう時代（テスラ試乗記他）｜旅に出よう　vapor trail.......｜ブログ｜B11｜みんカラ - 車・自動車SNS（ブログ・パーツ・整備・燃費）

 

[TEG]

テスラ・ロードスター: 世良耕太のときどきF1その他いろいろな日々

 

[kokoro]

テスラが日本初のショールームを東京青山に開設 - e燃費

Hmm:
テスラ ロードスター、チャデモ充電規格は採用せず | レスポンス（Response.jp）

"Gang of 12" getting prepped in Japan in 2010?

フェラーリより速く、ポルシェより安い――テスラの兵法 (1/2)

［写真蔵］テスラ ロードスター…ベンチャー発のEV、日本で販売 - e燃費
One of them:

I'll take a guess that it's the third one in the row there.

I just need to make sure I've culled all the important information from the log file and then make an offer.

 

[Roadster]

Hmm:
テスラ ロードスター、チャデモ充電規格は採用せず | レスポンス（Response.jp）

@TEG I think you found the reason these cars languished and fell out of favor: no CHAdeMO support.

That makes complete sense since that's the main standard for the key Japanese manufacturers and, presumably, prevalent for EVSEs throughout the country. Here's the Google translation of the page you cited above:

------------------------------------------------------------------

Tesla Roadster, Chademo charging standard not adopted
September 10, 2010 (Fri) at 19:27

Tesla Roadstar sold in Japan adopts Tesla's own fast charge system that can be full jersey in 4 hours. It does not correspond to the rapid charger standard "CHAdeMO (Chademo)" which will become popular in Japan.

For the time being, it is good to say that there is no plan to introduce a charging connector, etc. There is no plan to appear, "The cruising distance is 394 km, so you can travel from Tokyo to Nagoya and Sendai," and if you are going further away from it, It seems to assume a used way of using it.

Also, regarding the after-sales service you are concerned about, support staff are coming to rush to respond because it does not have a store at present.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Paging Dr. @TonyWilliams! JdeMO house call to Japan?

 

[supersnoop]

There is an interesting 0 in the CAC column row on the date the battery was said to have been changed but the CAC the line before and after that zero are the same which seems odd if the battery was really changed out. I would think the new battery would have a higher CAC than the old one...

Those two photos of Roadsters look a lot like it. No way to know for sure.

The CAC is the car's measurement of battery health, so it will be the same when the battery is replaced, but then it should change as the car learns the new battery.

 

[TonyWilliams]

@TEG I think you found the reason these cars languished and fell out of favor: no CHAdeMO support...

Paging Dr. @TonyWilliams! JdeMO house call to Japan?

We have had interest from one Roadster maintenance shop in Japan. Presumably, they would have an easy sale there, where there is well over 6000 CHAdeMO stations in a country about the size of California.

It also makes the Roadster a car you can truly drive from Mexico to Canada easily, and with a bit of planning coast-to-coast. The East Coast of the US is also easy from Massachusetts all the way to Florida.

The continent of Europe is covered with CHAdeMO stations; over 4000 already.

 

[gregd]

Thanks - yes, -p brings up records back to 4/29/11. Also, I probably don't fully understand how to parse and analyze the log files yet but using the -p flag and exporting to a text file that I then import into Excel for easier sorting, the first odometer reading I can find is 4187.7 miles on the 11th of May 2011. Shouldn't I be able to go back to 0 miles? Or is it possible that the data has been wiped?

Well, you're off the end of what I know about the car and logs. "-p" means to look at the "permanent" section of the logs. My car's first "odo" record shows 12.7 miles, and a CAC of 156.99 on Feb 5, 2010, so apparently they were doing a few test drives around town after the first entries on Jan 21. Several VMS reboots and such; a variety of errors I probably don't want to know about. Painful birth, apparently.

How the earlier entries on your car disappeared is unknown. Perhaps the circuit board with that memory got replaced? Lost to history now. I guess the important part is that your battery seems healthy, and assuming there aren't any persistent errors (114x or 1115, for example) indicating something failing or loose, and that your test drive didn't turn up any handling issues, it looks like a good buy.

Do check out Tony's Jdemo thread. I don't know if he still has any kit available, but if so it could be ideal for your corner of this planet.

 

[kokoro]

Well, you're off the end of what I know about the car and logs. "-p" means to look at the "permanent" section of the logs. My car's first "odo" record shows 12.7 miles, and a CAC of 156.99 on Feb 5, 2010, so apparently they were doing a few test drives around town after the first entries on Jan 21. Several VMS reboots and such; a variety of errors I probably don't want to know about. Painful birth, apparently.

How the earlier entries on your car disappeared is unknown. Perhaps the circuit board with that memory got replaced? Lost to history now. I guess the important part is that your battery seems healthy, and assuming there aren't any persistent errors (114x or 1115, for example) indicating something failing or loose, and that your test drive didn't turn up any handling issues, it looks like a good buy.

Do check out Tony's Jdemo thread. I don't know if he still has any kit available, but if so it could be ideal for your corner of this planet.

Thanks again for your helpful comments and information. I've been digging around in the log files some via command line and some via a text editor and direct peeking at the files. "Painful birth" might be the best explanation

Regarding charging here in Japan, yes, with an adaptor it would be easy. Like someone stated there are CHAdeMO chargers everywhere and, in connection with the Nissan Leaf we have, we have an IC card and monthly membership that allows us to unlimited charging. I suspect charging a different car might be frowned upon and break some rule but there is no identifier between the card and the car so...I should be able to activate the charger and charge any car that's plugged into it. (alas things are never that easy and simple but I always hope).

I'll definitely need to get an adapter. Gotta do a little negotiation and get the vehicle first though.

 

[supersnoop]

Regarding charging here in Japan, yes, with an adaptor it would be easy. Like someone stated there are CHAdeMO chargers everywhere

I think you missed the point. The Roadster does not support CHAdeMO. You won't be able to use those chargers.

 

[gregd]

I think you missed the point. The Roadster does not support CHAdeMO. You won't be able to use those chargers.

We were pointing to Tony's Jdemo after-market adapter that he's developing. If he can get on Tony's list (i.e. if there are units available), it should work.

 

[kokoro]

I think you missed the point. The Roadster does not support CHAdeMO. You won't be able to use those chargers.

Hmm, I guess so...I was confused....or being willfully ignorant. I thought I had found information about adapters for CHAdeMO to Tesla Roadster on the web but clearly I was looking at the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter that is NOT compatible with the Roadster. :-( It is scary how one can see and read what he wants to. :-(

Thanks for shaking me and waking me up. ;-)

In reality, however, I have two 200v lines running to our parking area (one for the Leaf and one not connected to a receptacle yet). If the Roadster purchase works out, I will have it outfitted with a 200 volt receptacle and charge at home with the 100v / 200v cable that comes with the car. For my purposes, that will cover 99% of what I will need.

Edit - @gregd - thanks, it looks like you posted about 3 seconds before me. I'll follow the Jdemo project and see how it pans out. Maybe I can help with marketing here in Japan.

 

[kokoro]

I'm still digging through the logs and wanted to ask, again, for opinions, comments etc. related to something that is bugging me. When looking at the charge log I see that the battery has been allowed to drop to 0% on multiple occasions. :-( It appears that there is a gradual drop in CAC each time this occurs, which makes sense, I think. What I'm curious about, and maybe this is unknowable, is if the drop to zero was just carelessness resulting from, for example, not being driven and not plugged in or if it could be symptomatic of some other underlying issue that I should know about.

I'm attaching a link to a rough and ugly graph I quickly threw together in Excel for reference. It is of the CAC value from the DAY output from the log file. The most recent drop (early November) coincides with a charge value dropping to 0%. And, for additional reference, the CAC value drop is 151.22 to 148.71.

 

[hcsharp]

I would say the most recent drop is within normal adjustment range. The CAC is recalculated every so often, usually after a long discharge. In fact if you look at the long-term trend in the graph, the recent adjustment is not far off. If you started driving it on a regular basis it would probably climb back up a little bit.