Scheduled a Teat Drive - How to Make the Most of It

[dmurphy]

It’s a shame we’re in the Covid era - test drives are best done, IMO, starting with someone else driving. They can walk you through the car, get comfortable with it, show how various functions (ie Autopilot) work — and then do the “floor it” demo. And THEN hand the car over to you. It eliminates some of the anxiety and “OMG this thing is different, where are all the controls?!” syndrome.

Now, all that said - the advice here is good. Watch a few videos or some such to get familiar, so it’s not overwhelming. But most of all, just enjoy the drive. Truly, I think my favorite part of our Tesla is the JOY of driving. It’s a pleasure, not a chore. Even traffic - I just kick in Autopilot and find some good tunes.

In my very best Dr. Doofenshmirtz voice: “It’s a destressinator!”

 

[Shootr]

Sweet baby jeebus...

Drove a M3 dual motor - what a beast. The missus started and drove like a grandma (well she is one) but thoroughly enjoyed it. I took over to bring it back and gave it a proper exploration of its abilities. Haven't been in a 12 second drag car in a loooong time - man did that feel good (even if it scared granny a little lol).

The tilt/telescope wheel, good room in the back seat (don't like that you can't put your feet under the front seat at all though), very quiet on the road and the freeway, the regen was nothing (set on medium), brakes are excellent - about the only gripe is the inability to find the turn off for the Christmas music I enabled while screwing around...

Now it all hinges on if my company vehicle goes away at the end of the year. I'll find out this week. If so, I get her RAV4 (paid for free and clear and she only put 30K miles on it in 4 years) and she gets the new M3.

Dealership (whatever you call it) guys were great - a quick 5 minute orientation and we were off. We both greatly appreciated the 180 degree difference from a "typical" car testing/buying experience. Yeah, this is probably a done deal. Looking forward to joining the ranks.

 

[brkaus]

Your lucky. When I test drove the first time, the available cars were all over $90k.

 

[dmurphy]

Sweet baby jeebus...

Drove a M3 dual motor - what a beast.

Keep in mind - that’s not even the Performance model! Now you know why Tesla doesn’t need dealerships or advertising - the car truly sells itself.

Best of luck not obsessing over it (I couldn’t stop after my test drive!) Ask away if you have any ordering questions or option questions, and if you have a friend or family member with a Tesla already, ask for their referral code. It’s not worth much but don’t leave free supercharging miles on the table!

ps - Only car on the planet that improves with age ... the list of “things my car does today that it didn’t do the day I bought it” is incredible. And unlike any other car - everyone else has a “stuff that stopped working since I bought it” list.

 

[PianoAl]

>Scheduled a teat drive

Sign me up.

AKA a milk run.

"This car really moo-ves!"

Sorry, I couldn't resist. I've made similar errors. It sucks.

 

[Mr.Chipperson]

I scheduled online, uploaded my drivers license and insurance card, test drove the next day. I didn't know if people were entering their building or not, so when i got there I called them. They told me to come in. I told them my name and while I waited I was looking over their display Model X. The lady went to wipe the car down and get it ready. She told me how to open the door, adjust the seat, how to adjust mirrors, put all the settings back to default (previous tester had put some stuff on chill mode). They do tell you how to do the basic stuff. They give you one hour to test drive. The cars autopilot cameras were intentionally turned off. I will still able to get into adaptive cruise control though. The only Model 3 they had for testing was the SR+, but for me it was perfect because it was the one I plan on getting. The night prior I watched

and the official Tesla tutorial videos.

 

[RayK]

>Scheduled a teat drive

Sign me up.

AKA a milk run.

"This car really moo-ves!"

Sorry, I couldn't resist. I've made similar errors. It sucks.

Was that an unintended bon mot? Seriously, it's been several days that this thread has been expressed without it being corrected. Which moderator do we need to keep abreast of this situation? Is it here so we can milk some more jokes out of it? It's udderly ridiculous!

 

[Kat Jacks]

I drove the 3 for the first time then ordered it on the spot, even though beforehand I'd thought I would wait a few months and not get one just before winter comes in ME. I didn't worry about all the auto drive stuff, just set the seat, mirrors, radio and off I went. Drove in town and on I95. After I ordered it, then I read the owner's manual twice and watched YouTube videos on all things Tesla. It's a learning curve, but after having mine for a month, it's just natural and so much fun! As someone else said, if you can use an iPhone, the Tesla is no problem. Enjoy it and learn details as you need to.