Southeast and esp South Carolina owners perspective

[kupermanp]

Hi,

I'm from myrtle beach but recently did a test drive while visiting relatives in SF and was very impressed:love: (as was the wife and kids which is a nice plus:biggrin. I'm looking at a 85Kwh with the tech package. The only thing holding me back is the lack of infrastructure (both charging and maintenance). I'd certainly get the prepaid maintenance with the unlimited ranger visits. What have your experience been with

1) Service- both with the recall and any other problems that have popped up. Have you had to leave it at the SC? Did you get the loaner or was it an enterprise car.
2) Travelling- Are there enough charging stations to go most anywhere? I'm mostly using this car as a daily commuter from 10-90Mi roundtrip so I'm not too worried about it but it would be nice to know if something came up I could make the trip.
3) Are there any other options (I'm only getting the tech package) I should be considering when ordering?

Thanks
Paul

 

[johnnyS]

Paul: On a daily basis there is little need for infrastructure. Every morning I have a full tank, I never had that with a gasoline car. I really debated the tech package, now I am very glad that we got it. Roadtrips will take careful planning until superchargers are in your area. We make a trip here in California using the supercharger network--it was fun and easy.

We have had a couple of very minor software problems that have been resolved for new people. My windshield cracked--Tesla delivered a P85 to my office and two days later brought back our car fixed. I think the windshield issue has been resolved on the new cars.

 

[Jonathan Hewitt]

I live in the Charleston area and will be getting one so I've thought about the same questions as you. The only long distance traveling I do on a yearly or more basis is seeing my parents in Aiken, SC and seeing the the in-laws up in NH. The 85 KWh is enough to make it to Aiken and back so plugging into 120V at their place should be enough to maintain charge level and remove any range anxiety. We won't be able to do the NH trip comfortably until this winter when the I-95 supercharger buildout is complete. Until then we have another car we can use, no big deal. Once supercharger roll out is complete will be thinking about the Model X so we can be gasoline free. (only thinking because the saving money part will probably be the limiting factor as far as an X purchase)

As far as options...the pano roof provides extra headroom in the back so if you are any future passengers are over 6 feet they may appreciate the pano. I never use a pano roof but I will be making an exception in this case. If you ever want to road trip your S I'd consider the dual chargers as well. If it's going to be a commuter vehicle then you can skip that and also only get a 60 Kwh and save even more money.

I can't answer your service question as I don't have one yet but I think any headaches I may encounter will be well worth owning this car.

 

[EdA]

Review the map of upcoming superchargers on the Tesla Motors website (Supercharger | Tesla Motors).
Hopefully they are coming on around the time they are promised.

Active air suspension is a "standard" I'm assuming?

I'm fortunate enough to have the service center <15 miles from my house so I can't help you there. Since you don't need
snow tires that's half the battle trying to get the sensors recalibrated

Besides the TPS, in 8800 miles I've had 3 minor adjustments done, none of which were earth shattering.

 

[kupermanp]

Thanks. It's good to see someone else in sc. Looking at the owners map there were less than 10 in the state. I am not super concerned about range since I have another car for road trips (I'd still go the 85 just in case I forget to plug in one night or take a day trip). It still would be nice to know I can get wherever I need to go if I plan correctly

it looks like ranger service is pretty good. It's always more of a pain when you can't just drop it off and I'm trying to figure out how much that pain is (it's probably going to be worth it regardless ). You have to expect some problems given its the first of its kind.

Active air is not a standard. How much difference does it make. Is it mainly for bad roads or performance? I was originally going twin charger but the threads I've read seemed to indicate it wasn't worth it since you get supercharging with the 85

Coming from a convertible I thought I was going to love the pano roof, but the model I test drove had a lot of wind noise closed and with the roof open I did not get that convertible feeling. Unless my kids get real big I doubt I'll have too many 6' people riding in the back

P

 

[EdA]

Thanks. It's good to see someone else in sc. Looking at the owners map there were less than 10 in the state. I am not super concerned about range since I have another car for road trips (I'd still go the 85 just in case I forget to plug in one night or take a day trip). It still would be nice to know I can get wherever I need to go if I plan correctly

it looks like ranger service is pretty good. It's always more of a pain when you can't just drop it off and I'm trying to figure out how much that pain is (it's probably going to be worth it regardless ). You have to expect some problems given its the first of its kind.

Active air is not a standard. How much difference does it make. Is it mainly for bad roads or performance? I was originally going twin charger but the threads I've read seemed to indicate it wasn't worth it since you get supercharging with the 85

Coming from a convertible I thought I was going to love the pano roof, but the model I test drove had a lot of wind noise closed and with the roof open I did not get that convertible feeling. Unless my kids get real big I doubt I'll have too many 6' people riding in the back

P

You'll have to look at older threads but active air was highly recommended with the 85kWh battery.
I've never driven one without it.

I've never owned a car with a sunroof or a convertible but I thought this was less of a car without the pano sunroof.

 

[Plug Me In]

I live in a EV charging wasteland in Virginia and hasn't been an issue with the 85. Before too long you'll have superchargers within range on I-95 and I-85. There are tons of threads on pros/cons of the various options. I kind of regret not getting the pano roof.

 

[kupermanp]

I live in a EV charging wasteland in Virginia and hasn't been an issue with the 85. Before too long you'll have superchargers within range on I-95 and I-85. There are tons of threads on pros/cons of the various options. I kind of regret not getting the pano roof.

Yeah the future definitely is looking up. The supercharger map is pretty crazy. I'm keeping the convertible so I doubt I'll miss the roof

paul