Tesla Owners in Alberta

[Jffurlan]

People from Calgary/Edmonton -- Maybe even in Edmonton where did you go to get PPF? Also, what was the cost and what work did you get done on the Model 3?

I’m looking at going with first detailing in Edmonton. They even suggested having the car delivered straight to them. Quote is $4200 for full wrap on Model 3 with xpel stealth. Still waiting on delivery though.

They also quoted $50 for screen protector and $75 for center console.

 

[sickbones]

I’m looking at going with first detailing in Edmonton. They even suggested having the car delivered straight to them. Quote is $4200 for full wrap on Model 3 with xpel stealth. Still waiting on delivery though.

They also quoted $50 for screen protector and $75 for center console.

Thanks for the info, by full wrap do you mean a different colour as well? Or the entire car is wrapped with a PPF?

I was thinking just full front hood and front bumper and a bit of the side of the car. (Does tesla still offer delivery to a location if you are 300km away from a service centre? And does it cost more?)

Also, did you end up getting the Tesla wall connector or the NEMA 14-50? If so, which contractor did you contact to do the installation in your garage?

Thanks!

 

[Jffurlan]

Xpel Stealth has a satin finish (vs clear) so it won’t change the colour but will make the car look matte. My understanding is if you want to change the colour you’d need to look at a 3M vinyl wrap. And yeah, the ppf would be applied everywhere. It’s probably overkill in all honesty.

Check out Car & Auto Detailing Edmonton | Ceramic Pro & Paint Protection Experts; they have different package options (with prices listed) and were quick with a quote. Good ratings online as well, but that’s all I’m going off of.

 

[TLej]

People from Calgary/Edmonton -- Maybe even in Edmonton where did you go to get PPF? Also, what was the cost and what work did you get done on the Model 3?

I took my S to JR’s Auto Detailing & Protection | Paint Sealants Edmonton | Home. I can’t seem to find my receipt, but it was about $400 to have 24” on the hood and tops of the front fenders, the A-pillars, eyebrow above the windshield, back of the mirror housings, and pieces on the rear rocker panels in front of the rear wheels where the bodywork flares out all done with Xpel. I didn’t bother with the front fascia since it’s all plastic anyhow. I’m quite happy with the job they did and I will take my next car there (did my wife’s XC60 there as well).

 

[TLej]

Got the Tesla wall connector since I wasn’t sure how my house’s 100 A service would work with the 50A line I had installed, and I liked the way the Tesla unit has dip switches to adjust the amount of power if necessary. I also like to leave my mobile connector in the car. Also, the wall connector looks cool, like a green Cylon when charging.

I work for a home builder so I had my electrician do the work.

 

[Jffurlan]

I got two more quotes for the full wrap:

Garage104 is $4200 (5-7 days)
Precision Vehicle Wraps $3573.60 (2-3 days)

Both offered the same Xpel stealth, edge wrapping, 10 year warranty. Price and turn around time is a big difference between them though so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with either company?

 

[Smiles83]

I would check out Detailed Solutions as well they do great work and are very reasonable.

 

[sickbones]

I got two more quotes for the full wrap:

Garage104 is $4200 (5-7 days)
Precision Vehicle Wraps $3573.60 (2-3 days)

Both offered the same Xpel stealth, edge wrapping, 10 year warranty. Price and turn around time is a big difference between them though so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with either company?

I was talking to my cousin who used to do a lot of autobody work just to get his opinion, and was heavily suggesting against really needing the full body wrap (not to convince you out of it or anything). He was saying that the full front (hood, fender), A pillar mirrors etc should be more than sufficient.

I don't think I'll be going the full wrap route after discussing with him.

@TLej - that price sounds pretty good, I may contact them to see what it would cost to do the frontal wrap. Also, would you know what the general price range would be to get an electrician to do the tesla wall connectors for a home in Edmonton?

Thanks for answering these questions!

 

[Jffurlan]

I was talking to my cousin who used to do a lot of autobody work just to get his opinion, and was heavily suggesting against really needing the full body wrap (not to convince you out of it or anything). He was saying that the full front (hood, fender), A pillar mirrors etc should be more than sufficient.

I don't think I'll be going the full wrap route after discussing with him.

@TLej - that price sounds pretty good, I may contact them to see what it would cost to do the frontal wrap. Also, would you know what the general price range would be to get an electrician to do the tesla wall connectors for a home in Edmonton?

Thanks for answering these questions!

I agree on the non-necessity of the full wrap. For my wife and I, we knew we would wrap the front at least (approx $1k) and debated between MSM and Black. Cost was close enough between getting MSM + front wrap vs black with xpel stealth and we liked the matte black idea better.

As for electricians, I’ve had a few come out to get quotes on running wire approx 60ft from panel to detached garage (emailed all the ones recommended by Tesla). One said I could do a 40 Amp breaker, the other did a load test and said only 20 Amp would fit (100 Amp service). Both quotes were around $1100 if I did the labour to dig the trench required to run the wire underground, and neither included a wall connector. Labour + wall connector would push the price over $2,000

Considering materials + permit would be around $400, I’m really leaning towards just doing it myself.

 

[sickbones]

I agree on the non-necessity of the full wrap. For my wife and I, we knew we would wrap the front at least (approx $1k) and debated between MSM and Black. Cost was close enough between getting MSM + front wrap vs black with xpel stealth and we liked the matte black idea better.

As for electricians, I’ve had a few come out to get quotes on running wire approx 60ft from panel to detached garage (emailed all the ones recommended by Tesla). One said I could do a 40 Amp breaker, the other did a load test and said only 20 Amp would fit (100 Amp service). Both quotes were around $1100 if I did the labour to dig the trench required to run the wire underground, and neither included a wall connector. Labour + wall connector would push the price over $2,000

Considering materials + permit would be around $400, I’m really leaning towards just doing it myself.

Oh that makes sense! Matte black would look real nice.

I got one quote (via email) and one of them quoted $1200-2000, I should really contact them all. Ideally I would like to have the tesla wall connector, but a NEMA 14-50 would be great (Attached garage might reduce costs??)

 

[GlenM]

People from Calgary/Edmonton -- Maybe even in Edmonton where did you go to get PPF? Also, what was the cost and what work did you get done on the Model 3?

I had mine done at Calgary PPF. They're located very close to the Tesla Service Center here in Calgary. I had the front third + 'A' pillars + mirrors covered in PPF, ceramic coated the entire car, and a protective windshield film put on. Total $2800+tax.

I was extremely happy with the work and service I received from Calgary PPF and I highly recommend them.

 

[TLej]

@sickbones The cost to run your wire is mostly going to depend on the size of the breaker (ampacity of the circuit you want), gauge of wire (related to the breaker rating), and the distance it needs to run. I had my guys run a 50A breaker so I can charge at 40A, and I have an attached garage. My total run was under 20’ as I mounted the charger near the house wall - the wall charger has a 25’ cord, so from that location I can reach anywhere in the garage, and it is actually long enough that I can park on my driveway and still charge. Since the wire was being run inside the garage (not in the wall) we used armoured cable. The night before the electricians came, a buddy and I mounted the charger to the wall, so all the electricians needed to do was pop in a new breaker, drill through the rim joist into the garage, run the wire, and connect it to the charger. Saved some of the electricians’ labour costs. After they were done I spray-foamed and fire-caulked the new penetration.

I got a quote from a Tesla-recommended company, but they were more of a commercial outfit and had a checklist from Tesla that they were required to do, which included a load calc. Based on that it was going to be a couple grand and I would have been limited to a 20A circuit; since it was a Tesla recommendation they had to be very conservative, I assume to limit Tesla’s liability in the event the new install burned my house down. I discussed with that electrician and he agreed that unofficially a 50A circuit would be fine since I charge at night when there are no other loads present. My electrician agreed so we went ahead and did it, I’ve never had an issue. It was one reason I bought the Tesla wall connector; in case I was tripping the master breaker, I could dial down the current using the dip switches. Of course, you can also set the desired charging current in the car, but I like a hardware solution instead of just software.

Talk to an electrician that will come out and look at the install requirement in person, not just over email, and anything you can do to reduce their labour is going to save you money. Under $1,000 would be pretty reasonable for an install similar to mine, I would think - a few hundred bucks for materials, maybe three hours of labour for two guys. My guys were done in less than 2 hours and they’d never installed one before.

 

[sickbones]

@sickbones The cost to run your wire is mostly going to depend on the size of the breaker (ampacity of the circuit you want), gauge of wire (related to the breaker rating), and the distance it needs to run. I had my guys run a 50A breaker so I can charge at 40A, and I have an attached garage. My total run was under 20’ as I mounted the charger near the house wall - the wall charger has a 25’ cord, so from that location I can reach anywhere in the garage, and it is actually long enough that I can park on my driveway and still charge. Since the wire was being run inside the garage (not in the wall) we used armoured cable. The night before the electricians came, a buddy and I mounted the charger to the wall, so all the electricians needed to do was pop in a new breaker, drill through the rim joist into the garage, run the wire, and connect it to the charger. Saved some of the electricians’ labour costs. After they were done I spray-foamed and fire-caulked the new penetration.

I got a quote from a Tesla-recommended company, but they were more of a commercial outfit and had a checklist from Tesla that they were required to do, which included a load calc. Based on that it was going to be a couple grand and I would have been limited to a 20A circuit; since it was a Tesla recommendation they had to be very conservative, I assume to limit Tesla’s liability in the event the new install burned my house down. I discussed with that electrician and he agreed that unofficially a 50A circuit would be fine since I charge at night when there are no other loads present. My electrician agreed so we went ahead and did it, I’ve never had an issue. It was one reason I bought the Tesla wall connector; in case I was tripping the master breaker, I could dial down the current using the dip switches. Of course, you can also set the desired charging current in the car, but I like a hardware solution instead of just software.

Talk to an electrician that will come out and look at the install requirement in person, not just over email, and anything you can do to reduce their labour is going to save you money. Under $1,000 would be pretty reasonable for an install similar to mine, I would think - a few hundred bucks for materials, maybe three hours of labour for two guys. My guys were done in less than 2 hours and they’d never installed one before.

Thanks for the info! Seems like I got some responses so far (prior to site visit), and they’re saying that 30A May be a safe way to charge but I’d ideally want to be able to charge at maximum speed as shown on the Tesla website for the wall charger.

Is this something I’d have to go to an outside electrician to look at?

 

[TLej]

Thanks for the info! Seems like I got some responses so far (prior to site visit), and they’re saying that 30A May be a safe way to charge but I’d ideally want to be able to charge at maximum speed as shown on the Tesla website for the wall charger.

Is this something I’d have to go to an outside electrician to look at?

What car are you getting? The mid-range and standard-range can only charge at 32A max anyhow, so 30A might be plenty for you. Any 3 is more efficient than my S, so even though 40A gives me about 10% per hour of charging, 30A might give the same results for a 3. Worst-case, you charge a little longer each time. To be honest I don’t know how often you’d need to charge at 48A, which is the max possible, and the extra cost to go to #4 wire and a 60A breaker might not be worth it. If you’re planning on having more than one car to charge in the future, that might alter the math a bit. Personally, I’m more than happy at 40A and could live just fine with 32A.

As long as your panel and the wiring to the house is in good shape, you can probably get someone to do whatever you want. For me, a 50A circuit on a 100A panel was as high as I was comfortable going. I don’t think anyone who is doing a load calculation would go even that high, so you likely wouldn’t find a Tesla-recommended electrician to do it but a few calls through the phone book would probably find someone. You may not want to tell them it’s for a Tesla, some people will take that to mean you have money to burn and try to take advantage of that.

 

[sickbones]

What car are you getting? The mid-range and standard-range can only charge at 32A max anyhow, so 30A might be plenty for you. Any 3 is more efficient than my S, so even though 40A gives me about 10% per hour of charging, 30A might give the same results for a 3. Worst-case, you charge a little longer each time. To be honest I don’t know how often you’d need to charge at 48A, which is the max possible, and the extra cost to go to #4 wire and a 60A breaker might not be worth it. If you’re planning on having more than one car to charge in the future, that might alter the math a bit. Personally, I’m more than happy at 40A and could live just fine with 32A.

As long as your panel and the wiring to the house is in good shape, you can probably get someone to do whatever you want. For me, a 50A circuit on a 100A panel was as high as I was comfortable going. I don’t think anyone who is doing a load calculation would go even that high, so you likely wouldn’t find a Tesla-recommended electrician to do it but a few calls through the phone book would probably find someone. You may not want to tell them it’s for a Tesla, some people will take that to mean you have money to burn and try to take advantage of that.

Model 3 AWD LR is what I am getting. I mean, I guess that should be fine with 30A usage. Do you ever have any problems charging the vehicle during the day and doing other things in the house that is heavy on the electricity?

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

Model 3 AWD LR is what I am getting. I mean, I guess that should be fine with 30A usage. Do you ever have any problems charging the vehicle during the day and doing other things in the house that is heavy on the electricity?

As long as your house supply is sufficient, shouldn't matter. The electrician won't install something that'll overload your main panel.

 

[TLej]

Model 3 AWD LR is what I am getting. I mean, I guess that should be fine with 30A usage. Do you ever have any problems charging the vehicle during the day and doing other things in the house that is heavy on the electricity?

Honestly, never happens. I charge at night, the few times I've needed a top-off during the day (eg go to work, come home, leaving on a road trip where I want to be as close as possible to 100%) I am just there to charge, not cooking, doing laundry, or cooling the house down. Otherwise, why would you charge during the day when it's so easy and convenient to charge at night?

 

[Jffurlan]

To whoever in Edmonton got a Midnight Silver Metallic Model 3 this evening, congrats! Yours rode up on the same truck as mine.

Cant wait for the wrap to be done and actually get to drive it around!

 

[Lon12]

Otherwise, why would you charge during the day when it's so easy and convenient to charge at night?

Once you get solar your charging times will change.

 

[sickbones]

To whoever in Edmonton got a Midnight Silver Metallic Model 3 this evening, congrats! Yours rode up on the same truck as mine.

Cant wait for the wrap to be done and actually get to drive it around!

When did you set up for “home delivery” or to the shop? They want me to pick up in Calgary.