South Korea

[New_Old_Stock]

No C, no wireless charging.

 

[EricRandall]

No C, no wireless charging.

Ok, thanks. That likely means mine will be the same so I won’t cancel my wireless charger order.

Model 3s manufactured after the beginning of June apparently have the upgrades, so if by chance mine did make the cut, I will have an extra wireless charger on my hands. Hope you’re having a good time with the car!

 

[New_Old_Stock]

I was a little disappointed we didn't get the charging mat and USB C, but it makes sense given the production dates.

I wish we had made an appointment to have the car tinted on Saturday after we picked it up. It's HOT in there, even with the tint on the roof glass. Thursday was the earliest appointment we could get.

 

[Misabi Mike]

Hello. I too will be stationed in Humpreys around August this year, if all goes accordingly. I will be taking delivery of a model Y by end of June or early July and plan to ship it to S. Korea as soon as I can so that I can have it to use there.

Could any of you there now please do me and future owners, headed that way from the US, a favor by contacting the Tesla service center there and confirm if those of us under the SOFA status will get service and update support? The posts by Tina early in this thread was over a year ago and she hasn't replied to any inquiries since. It would be really helpful to know if Tesla Korea has officially started supporting SOFA status owners. I don't want to lose my warranty shipping it there and back when my tour is over.

I've tried to get info about this from several Tesla contacts here in the US, but so far have not received a legit answer. Just guessing and quoting of the standard policy prohibiting importing of Teslas resulting in voided warranty and no support of any kind.

 

[Misabi Mike]

Also, any tips and lessons learned from owning a Tesla/EV in S. Korea? Anything we should bring, purchase, or consider in preparation? And what are the differences between driving on S Korea vs US?

Thanks in advance!

 

[New_Old_Stock]

You will want an adapter for this type of plug if you want charging on base:

 

[EricRandall]

A new Tesla Model 3 is now in my possession—my first new car ever and first car of any kind since my last car purchase broke down after just two weeks and I basically up and moved to Korea.

I had the harrowing experience of driving my new Tesla out of a parking garage jam-packed with other new Tesla’s/Tesla owners after not having driven much at all in the last fourteen years—and never in Korea.

To make matters slightly worse, it rained for the first time in forever, and I had to give three video classes throughout the day, which I had to give from the car because they were all scheduled too close together to get to my destination.

I drove the Tesla straight to a wrapping/painting place in Gimpo to get ceramic coating and tinting (they also do full wraps for under 2 million won which was very tempting).

So actually, the Model 3 is really not currently in my possession. I am scheduled to pick it up again on Saturday or, if the rain stops soon, Friday afternoon.

Looking forward to some adventures this summer.

 

[New_Old_Stock]

Ours is being wrapped right now. After wrapping a BMW I owned a few years back, I’m hooked. Also wrapping the center console. Still undecided on chrome delete...

Did they tell you that the car was as-is and that they wouldn’t fix any paint or body issues?

 

[EricRandall]

Ours is being wrapped right now. After wrapping a BMW I owned a few years back, I’m hooked. Also wrapping the center console. Still undecided on chrome delete...

Did they tell you that the car was as-is and that they wouldn’t fix any paint or body issues?

The told us during our pickup inspection that any imperfection that couldn’t be seen from a meter away or something would not be covered.

They also played extremely loud music in the parking garage while everyone was inspecting their Tesla’s which, according to
my wife and what other Korean owners are saying online, is theorized to be for nefarious purposes—you can’t hear others complaining or you can’t hear car noise or something.

Pretty scummy overall and not what I would expect of a company of Tesla’s caliber.

My paint shop did indeed discover several small paint imperfections under, I think, a black light or something. They aren’t visible under normal conditions, but it is still annoying that Tesla apparently can’t paint a car properly.

At the end of the day though, the discussion always ends with the fact that, despite all the annoyances, the Model 3 is still a great car.

 

[New_Old_Stock]

I thought it was another customer blasting music!?!?! WTF

 

[New_Old_Stock]

The told us during our pickup inspection that any imperfection that couldn’t be seen from a meter away or something would not be covered.

We were told *nothing* will be fixed. I saw what I thought was a scratch that was clearly visible from 2 meters and was told “sorry” by the delivery guy. Luckily it was some sort of white residue that wiped off with a baby wipe from my wife’s purse.
The hood was full of paint swirls. The bottom edge of both front seats (just below seat controls) was sticky. Car was nowhere near as clean as the last 2 new cars we purchased, or even the last nice used car we bought. I really hope someone pops up to give Tesla some real competition, they’re not going to improve without it. :-(

 

[New_Old_Stock]

fist post from the car!

SK navigation is terrible. Wish CarPlay was supported.

 

[EricRandall]

fist post from the car!

SK navigation is terrible. Wish CarPlay was supported.

Yeah—We went over to the east coast this week and it was a challenge. The worst part is that it doesn’t show lanes so we ended up missing turns a number of times as we couldn’t get over in time. Hopefully that gets an update.

Tesla supercharging was great, on the other hand. I didn’t realize it was still free in Korea. That was a nice surprise as we reached the east coast and then charged all the way back up at no cost.

Half-price tolls is also nice (though you need to have a specific hi-pass unit to get them so we had to hunt one of those down).

 

[New_Old_Stock]

We’re on the East cost right now. After those 16 Russian sailors tested positive in Busan we changed our weekend plans.

We had a HiPass ready when we picked up the car.

so many times I find a destination on Google maps in my phone, but when I hit “send to Tesla” the Navi said “destination not found.” I’m going to have to get a phone mount. This navigation is almost useless.

 

[EricRandall]

What is everyone using to wash their Model 3s here in Korea? Any recommended products that are readily available?

I had mine ceramic coated so I plan on going to a Wash Zone to hand wash, but I need to gather the right materials before I go, and all the products I know of are from the US market. Are their any local equivalents of, say, Optimum No Rinse?

 

[New_Old_Stock]

The guy that wrapped our 3 recommended Chemical Guys Wrap Detailer spray. I have a bottle on the way.

 

[moa999]

Can anyone explain what the Pay Per Use supercharging is (seemingly exclusive to South Korea) in the latest update

2020.24.6.5 Official Tesla Release Notes - Tesla Software Updates

 

[New_Old_Stock]

I guess the gravy train is over: no more free supercharging. Too bad I only used SC one time. :-/

 

[moa999]

Ah so Supercharging has been free in SK (maybe somehow prevented from charging by kWh or minute), so instead going to go flat fee model?

 

[bannedgoose]

Can you bring some Carolina pulled pork BBQ with you?

Our LR AWD 3 with tax, title, and license cost less than the MSRP of the same car in America, even with the recent price drop. You have to be a Korean citizen or here on a visa (not SOFA) to take advantage of the incentives though.

Do SOFA registered electric cars get the reduced toll rate?

WELP. looks like i wont purchase. I believe Ill be on an A2 visa