PWlakewood
Active Member
Yes I did but I didnt need to. I would have bought it either way. I've purchased cars before without test drives and was not disappointed one bit.
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SPINOFF: Did you test drive a Tesla before buying yours?
- Thread starter HX_Guy
- Start date
PWlakewood
Active Member
Don TLR
Active Member
Not mine, but did go to a showroom just because they were doing demo's, but I already knew I was going to buy a CPO car..
Coming Soon, Tesla Test Drive comes to you, download the app, pick a date-time available set location and the car will come to you. Contract drivers, perhaps with their own Teslas. Removes the overhead for Tesla, convenient test drives for potential customers. TeslaDrive launches Q3 2019
bart_dood
Member
Kinda, I was hoping to replace my wife's diesel Benz with a Chevy bolt. We test drove the bolt at CarMax and she didn't like it that much, chintzy interior, seats were not great.
On the way home we stopped at a large Tesla dealer (they won't be part of the close down) and she test drove a P100D. She was sold.
I didn't drive it as the car was more for her and a family car.
Within a few weeks we bought a 2014 S85 for about the same price as a used Bolt, although the S has a lot of miles on the clock.
It's an interesting point that other car manufacturers aren't just competing against Tesla in the new car market, there are probably many others like me who are buying used and would rather have an older higher mileage Tesla than a lower mileage newer GM/Ford/Audi/etc/etc
On the way home we stopped at a large Tesla dealer (they won't be part of the close down) and she test drove a P100D. She was sold.
I didn't drive it as the car was more for her and a family car.
Within a few weeks we bought a 2014 S85 for about the same price as a used Bolt, although the S has a lot of miles on the clock.
It's an interesting point that other car manufacturers aren't just competing against Tesla in the new car market, there are probably many others like me who are buying used and would rather have an older higher mileage Tesla than a lower mileage newer GM/Ford/Audi/etc/etc
shthpnz
Member
Looks like Tesla is closing "some" stores and converting "some" to galleries and information centers only and to show the interested customers how to purchase the car online and arrange for test drives. That's how it was when I bought my car.
I did a test drive in March 2015, ordered that same day. I was already fairly set on buying the car, and had ridden in a friend's Model S previously. But it was a good confirmation, and also somewhat necessary for my wife to go along with the idea (she's very much in the "if I can't test drive it, I won't buy it" camp, which I totally appreciate).
Personally I think there will be plenty of opportunities for people to do test drives, they'll just be different from what we're accustomed to seeing at the Tesla Stores.
Bruce.
EDIT: Fixed a gramm-o above. I always do my best editing after I click "Reply".
Personally I think there will be plenty of opportunities for people to do test drives, they'll just be different from what we're accustomed to seeing at the Tesla Stores.
Bruce.
EDIT: Fixed a gramm-o above. I always do my best editing after I click "Reply".
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IchDochNicht
Member
I was not able to test drive the Model 3 before I ordered one. It didn't disappoint from the driving perspective, but there were three things I did not like about it:
- No hatchback - the trunk situation just didn't work for me
- No display in front of me - As long as I'm driving, I want a head-up or small display in front of me with the most vital information
- No manual unlock mechanism for the rear doors, in case of an accident with power failure. THERE IS NO ESCAPE from the rear, if the car is submerged or without power for other reasons!
I had test driven three Model S. However, I did not realize that all of them had air suspension, so I just assumed that's how the Model S rides. When I bought my pre-loved Model S, I knew that it didn't have the air suspension, but didn't realize on the short test drive how annoying the standard suspension would be. In fact, the car is so stiff that when I drive it alone, it hops and bops over every litle bump, until I reacy a rare 85 mph. If I ever buy another S, it will have to have air suspension.
- No hatchback - the trunk situation just didn't work for me
- No display in front of me - As long as I'm driving, I want a head-up or small display in front of me with the most vital information
- No manual unlock mechanism for the rear doors, in case of an accident with power failure. THERE IS NO ESCAPE from the rear, if the car is submerged or without power for other reasons!
I had test driven three Model S. However, I did not realize that all of them had air suspension, so I just assumed that's how the Model S rides. When I bought my pre-loved Model S, I knew that it didn't have the air suspension, but didn't realize on the short test drive how annoying the standard suspension would be. In fact, the car is so stiff that when I drive it alone, it hops and bops over every litle bump, until I reacy a rare 85 mph. If I ever buy another S, it will have to have air suspension.
whitex
Well-Known Member
I test drove Model S while waiting for Model X. I never intended to buy a Model S, but loved the experience and ended up buying 4 of them since. When Model X came out, test drove it and decided it won't work for me or my wife (there was no configuration with rear seats folding flat when it first came out, plus the falcon doors were super slow and buggy). So, using today's model, I would have never test driven the Model S, since I never intended to buy it (why buy a car just to test drive it if you know you don't intend to own it) and when Model X came out I would have bought one and returned it.
MS_Dream
Member
Yes for the S. No for the 3. While considering the S, I had never seen a Tesla up close so a test drive seemed necessary since the car was so different. After that, a test drive of any future Teslas seemed unnecessary.
I got the standard 40 min accompanied test drive and then 14 days later a weekend loaner solo for a good old race up the German Autobahn before deciding to buy.
The showrooms though will presumably still offer test drives, I imagine, otherwise it could take a while for purely online sales to get up to speed.
The showrooms though will presumably still offer test drives, I imagine, otherwise it could take a while for purely online sales to get up to speed.
StealthP3D
Well-Known Member
We bought our Model 3 LR without a test drive. Driving it home from the delivery center blew my mind - I had no idea it was going to drive as nicely as it did. Sure, the online reviews were positive about it's driving dynamics but it was so much better than I imagined.
We bought our second Tesla, a P3D-, based on how the LR 3 drove. I was blown away all over again with the stupendous acceleration. Nothing can really prepare you for that.
That would definitely be a fringe case!
We bought our second Tesla, a P3D-, based on how the LR 3 drove. I was blown away all over again with the stupendous acceleration. Nothing can really prepare you for that.
That would definitely be a fringe case!
