Tesla only vehicle

[d.marks48]

Good afternoon,

I ordered my first Tesla, a Model Y, a few days ago. Been reading a lot on this site about performance issues, fit and finish issues, as well as flat tires causing Tesla’s to be out of commission for days in some cases. My concern after reading all of these comments is am I making the right decision purchasing a Tesla as my only vehicle? I live in FL in a retirement community and there is virtually no public transportation where I am, so being without a car for more than an afternoon would be very troublesome. Thanks for your responses.

 

[Two-rocks]

My car is flawless. Starting a thread about that would end and fall off the list. People make noise about problems.

you can purchase a spare tire.

my wife and I share the car, she had no use of it this afternoon while I was detailing it.

 

[Needsdecaf]

I've owned two Model 3's since December of 2018 (first one got totaled in an accident). I think in that entire time, I've had to have the car in the service center a total of 3 days. This is now with 60k miles plus of driving.

Don't overthink it. It's no different than a normal ICE car going in for service to a dealer with no loaners. Either get an Uber, or rent a car. Enterprise delivers. You won't be down multiple days.

 

[MJP.P3D-]

We’ve been a one car (Tesla) family for 5 years....no issue whatsoever.

 

[WTFam]

Keep in mind that people are more likely to post complaints and criticism than compliments and praises. So for all of the negative issues you read, there are just as many people with a problem-free Tesla. If you, unfortunately, receive one with issues then it really depends on your local service center. Reach out to your local Tesla group and ask them how the service is and the loaner situation. Our service center is excellent about providing a loaner vehicle.

 

[shingles]

If you jump on ANY car forums, it's all the same things, people looking for answers to issues. No one posts "hey no issues here today, all good!". My suggestion is to read the forums to educate yourself, but don't use it to judge the quality of the products. The famous Tesla fitment issues? I have no doubt that early Teslas were as bad as people say... when we took delivery of our MYP last month, I looked things over. Yes we have a slight fitment issue one rear driver side door... but you know what? I've had this happen to other cars I've purchased, from Honda Civics to a BMW M5. I'd argue at least in my encounter, the Tesla is no worse than other brands. So, don't worry about it... enjoy your car when it comes!

 

[millerwb]

I traded Model 3 for Model Y. Model 3 had 64K miles on it. Two service events. At delivery top glass was cracked. Other service was for HW3 upgrade. Model Y only 5K miles so far. Only service was Homelink installation. Completed by mobile service. I am not worried.

 

[ChadS]

My wife and I have only owned Teslas since 2012. We are not alone. They have never let us down.

 

[UT4EVER]

I’ve got 2 Model Y’s and they are both flawless. The first one just crossed 23k miles with the 21” uberturbines..... Zero issues whatsoever.

 

[Dennisis]

Just do it! And enjoy never stopping at gas stations again....

 

[Exelion]

Hey no issues today! All good!
I have a Y as well, only one car for the family. Don’t carry a spare tire as haven’t felt the need for one-Tesla has roadside assistance so will use that if it cones down to it. My figurative *spare tires* are the Tesla CHAdeMO and Setek CCS adapters, both of which I’ve had to use already and worked out fine.

Yeah the car has fit and finish issues. Yeah the paint’s all ripply and orange peel lookin but so what? It’s fast, it’s fun, and I forgive the few issues it has and enjoy it for what it is.

I see it the same way People forgive million dollar supercars for having rolling windows and manual seats. As long as it drives awesome, ir’s all good.

 

[mac9899]

Good afternoon,

I ordered my first Tesla, a Model Y, a few days ago. Been reading a lot on this site about performance issues, fit and finish issues, as well as flat tires causing Tesla’s to be out of commission for days in some cases. My concern after reading all of these comments is am I making the right decision purchasing a Tesla as my only vehicle? I live in FL in a retirement community and there is virtually no public transportation where I am, so being without a car for more than an afternoon would be very troublesome. Thanks for your responses.

Actual major mechanical issues are rare, especially in the current state of the production, now over 1 yr with lots of components have gotten updated and improved, so they are rare. Occasional bad motor or some component, but usually either it fails in the first few days or it just works. And those are pretty rare, the vehicle skateboard tends to be pretty solid. The flat tire issues is really a mixed one, you get a tire flat, it needs to be patched or replaced, simple, but depending on where you live tesla might or might not have either a spare loaner or will need a vehicle towed to the service center to have it replaced, repaired. But honestly, it's the same be it a BMW or else, depending on tire type, etc. If you are really concerned about it or don't want to deal with tire shops temporarily, get a spare kit, prob solved.

Most issues are either Fit & finish, stuff due to the end of qtr rushes and process not fully completed or skipped or even dumb things like a bad part supply that cause headaches, the AC temp sensor issue example. So just order early in the qtr and less chance of issues, I just bought another Y for the wife, and the improvements in the build are definitely noticeable and significant, mine is running strong at 26k miles in a year already, did have a bunch of issues body fitment issues that had to be fixed, especially with the rear hatch, but then again I have one of the first few hundreds built. Ultimately, you mitigate your concerns as reasonably as you find comfortable, you can get a spare tire kit, read around the forums like you are doing, etc, and then make your final decision. But if you want some backup, get a spare tire kit r, #1 Spare Tire Kit Engineered Specifically For Your Model Y | Modern Spare a compressor, and a 12-volt jumper like these, https://www.amazon.com/TACKLIFE-T8-...d=1&keywords=car+jumper&qid=1618018192&sr=8-3 and learn how to use them with the car and you will cover the most common issues you can have. Hope this helps a bit.

 

[spokey]

To post a counter view, you can in fact get stuck for days. I had a tire valve go bad and flatted. Didn't know if I could use a regular core or not (my first car with TPMS). Mobile service didn't know. Took mobile service 3 or 4 days to get to my house. They did not have a spare tire. Do I live out in the middle of Wyoming? Nah. Could have walked to mid-Manhattan in that time. I'm about 21-22 miles from a new and large SC near Trenton NJ with another one gonig the other way almost as close.

Didn't bother me too much as I still have the Outback that my daughter is supposed to come get and we also have a Camry Hybrid. But I'd have been a tad annoyed if we were a one-car family.


It does turn out that they use regular valve cores. I could have fixed it myself. A box now sits on my workbench.

 

[Watts_Up]

Good afternoon,

I ordered my first Tesla, a Model Y, a few days ago. Been reading a lot on this site about performance issues, fit and finish issues, as well as flat tires causing Tesla’s to be out of commission for days in some cases. My concern after reading all of these comments is am I making the right decision purchasing a Tesla as my only vehicle? I live in FL in a retirement community and there is virtually no public transportation where I am, so being without a car for more than an afternoon would be very troublesome. Thanks for your responses.

The main concern with an EV is to be able to plug in.
I you can plug in it at home and get off peak rate, you will quickly appreciate filling it up for a fraction of what you would pay in gas.

A very nice feature with an EV, is that you can keep the Air Conditioning or the Heater on when park,
something not possible with an ICE car unless keeping the engine running.

So your car becomes like an extra room, so if the traffic is bad, you can just park in a nice spot to see the sunset while watching a Netflix movie,
to wait until the traffic improve. During the Covid period where all the coffee shops or libraries were closed, this was very helpful.

 

[Koolio46]

Good afternoon,

I ordered my first Tesla, a Model Y, a few days ago. Been reading a lot on this site about performance issues, fit and finish issues, as well as flat tires causing Tesla’s to be out of commission for days in some cases. My concern after reading all of these comments is am I making the right decision purchasing a Tesla as my only vehicle? I live in FL in a retirement community and there is virtually no public transportation where I am, so being without a car for more than an afternoon would be very troublesome. Thanks for your responses.

Had mine since 9/29 and have ~4,600 miles on it. Zero issues. I would not be concerned with it at all.

You need to keep in mind that a majority of ppl posting on forums, Reddit, FB, etc. are going to be motivated to post when something is wrong. Very few ppl are motivated to post a positive experience when nothing is wrong and they love the car.

Regarding fit and finish issues, the MY has gotten a lot better starting around January (based on posts I've read across the forums). Are there still some bad ones? Yeah...BUT most fit/finish issues are cosmetic (e.g., panel gap, door alignment, etc.) that can be fixed in one service center visit. Should they be delivered like this? No, the SC should be reviewing the cars and fixing them before delivery (just like what a legacy franchise dealer does).

In my experience, I had 3 cosmetic issues and only 2 of them I wanted fixed. These were:
1. Driver door handled was recessed by a few mms. Fixed at SC.
2. Passenger front door was recessed a few mms below the side view mirror and where the door meets the front quarter panel. Fixed at SC.

Everything else has been perfect since.

 

[babbit]

You could always just rent a car if your Tesla is in service for multiple days. While that is rare, it does happen as you can see from some posts here.

In my case, my Y had a faulty coolant hose that was leaking. For any other car, this would have been a 1-2 hour job. Tesla had my car for 3 weeks. Unlike other dealership service centers, Tesla doesn’t really stock many parts. Most of that time was waiting to get the hose ordered and shipped from Fremont. Even after it arrived, my car was sitting queue for 3 days before they had the chance to work on it. In the end, everything was fixed, so I was happy, but it was 3 weeks of Ubering for me.

 

[Puma2020]

Hey no issues today! All good!

You beat me to it!
Hey no issues today! Or yesterday or the day before...
I've had my Y since late June 2020 and so far, everything has been great...
Well, a couple of minor details... re-registering my car this year was much more expensive than my other past cars (but considering I never spent anything close to $20K on any new car, that does make the higher cost understandable).
The back hatch started making a crunching noise when closing within the first month, but mobile service fixed that, which was just an awesome treat.
I did hit a wooden block sitting in the road which did dent the rim. Monitored the tire pressure as I drove home. It was leaking slowly, so was able to make it home. The tire shop did need the car overnight as they sent the rim out to be fixed. Having a spare would have prevented that overnight, but that happened about 5 months ago and I still haven't bought the spare.
As others have said, any car, foreign or domestic, EV or ICE can have issues at any time. I still recommend Tesla.
Watching gas prices rise as you drive by the pumps is enjoyable.
Having a "full" (about 80%) tank every morning is a joy.
Qapla' with your purchase.

 

[kindofblue]

Actual major mechanical issues are rare, especially in the current state of the production, now over 1 yr with lots of components have gotten updated and improved, so they are rare. Occasional bad motor or some component, but usually either it fails in the first few days or it just works. And those are pretty rare, the vehicle skateboard tends to be pretty solid. The flat tire issues is really a mixed one, you get a tire flat, it needs to be patched or replaced, simple, but depending on where you live tesla might or might not have either a spare loaner or will need a vehicle towed to the service center to have it replaced, repaired. But honestly, it's the same be it a BMW or else, depending on tire type, etc. If you are really concerned about it or don't want to deal with tire shops temporarily, get a spare kit, prob solved.

Most issues are either Fit & finish, stuff due to the end of qtr rushes and process not fully completed or skipped or even dumb things like a bad part supply that cause headaches, the AC temp sensor issue example. So just order early in the qtr and less chance of issues, I just bought another Y for the wife, and the improvements in the build are definitely noticeable and significant, mine is running strong at 26k miles in a year already, did have a bunch of issues body fitment issues that had to be fixed, especially with the rear hatch, but then again I have one of the first few hundreds built. Ultimately, you mitigate your concerns as reasonably as you find comfortable, you can get a spare tire kit, read around the forums like you are doing, etc, and then make your final decision. But if you want some backup, get a spare tire kit r, #1 Spare Tire Kit Engineered Specifically For Your Model Y | Modern Spare a compressor, and a 12-volt jumper like these, https://www.amazon.com/TACKLIFE-T8-...d=1&keywords=car+jumper&qid=1618018192&sr=8-3 and learn how to use them with the car and you will cover the most common issues you can have. Hope this helps a bit.

I've got a Modern Spare on order (~ 1mo back order) and have a can of Fix a Flat and air compressor as backup until then. I'm also going to Discount Tire tomorrow and get a road hazard warranty (was $96 for our Volt's 4 tires) that includes free rotations and rebalancing and flat repairs. And yes, I've got the "pucks" that are needed to use jacks or hoists to lift the car.

What's the 12v jumper for though?

 

[drtimhill]

Good afternoon,

I ordered my first Tesla, a Model Y, a few days ago. Been reading a lot on this site about performance issues, fit and finish issues, as well as flat tires causing Tesla’s to be out of commission for days in some cases. My concern after reading all of these comments is am I making the right decision purchasing a Tesla as my only vehicle? I live in FL in a retirement community and there is virtually no public transportation where I am, so being without a car for more than an afternoon would be very troublesome. Thanks for your responses.

Choose an alternative brand, sign up on an enthusiast forum for that brand .. read all the horror stories they have. As others note, people only post about problems/issues, so you are seeing a statistically biased sample of owners here.

 

[mac9899]

I've got a Modern Spare on order (~ 1mo back order) and have a can of Fix a Flat and air compressor as backup until then. I'm also going to Discount Tire tomorrow and get a road hazard warranty (was $96 for our Volt's 4 tires) that includes free rotations and rebalancing and flat repairs. And yes, I've got the "pucks" that are needed to use jacks or hoists to lift the car.

What's the 12v jumper for though?

The vehicles 12-volt battery powers the contactors of the main pack, so if the 12-volt battery Revere fails you, the car cant power on, on the front bumper where the tow hook is there is a terminal to attach the jumper box, by going so the 12-volt system power on and you can drive the car to another location or your home, tesla, etc...