Tesla Test Drives in the UK . .

[MrBadger]

Our drive was set to home and work but configured as a circular trip.

Care to explain? Did they cave some form of control over the route other than > home then > work and did the trip need manual intervention when reaching one destination then moving on to the next?

I'm trying to see if there is any workaround to the single destination (plus calculated supercharger stops) that we get on our sat nav.

 

[Jez_GB]

I didn't see one in the flesh, let alone drive one when I ordered - I did read and watch everything I could and went in with my eyes wide open, safe in the knowledge that if I was not happy, I could walk away under the 7 day rule.

In my experience, a sample size of 1, you can believe the hype! Of course others have not had such a positive experience, so your mileage may vary. Bear in mind that what you read on forums is typically the rough, seldom the smooth.

 

[skippyinspace]

Dont they say for every negative experience 10 people are told but every positive only 2. Which is probably why with so many people saying positive things the Tesla Fan boy was born.

 

[Alistairuk]

In Edinburgh in January 2020 (pre Covid) I turned up at the appointment, they took a photo of driving licence, we walked outside to St Andrew’s Square - waited a few minutes, the car appeared, confirmed I knew how to drive it (had I watched the videos in the email), told me I had it for up to an hour and it was set to take me to a pub on outskirts of Edinburgh via a dual carriageway and country roads so I could get a taste but if I wanted to go elsewhere I could - when you reach the pub just click on home and it’ll bring you back... When you get back you’ll see us waiting somewhere with a space just pull up and we’ll hop in and take it away to parking place.

Hassle free, absolutely no hard sell, after bringing car back the sales person basically said how was it? if you want to discuss anything about the car or purchasing one head back to the store if you want, or you can do it all online. Have a nice day

 

[Adopado]

Dont they say for every negative experience 10 people are told but every positive only 2. Which is probably why with so many people saying positive things the Tesla Fan boy was born.

This "fan boy" terminology has just become another popular way of abusing people online (whether applied to Tesla or another brand). If someone says something in support of a branded product they can easily have the content of their contribution dismissed without further discussion by simply being accused of being a "fan boy"! Whenever I see the term being used it often seems to say as much about its user than their target! It takes two to tango...

 

[Neilman]

I got a test drive on a really sunny day in June last year from the (then) new "Delivery Hub" in Southampton docks, two months after I'd put down a deposit on a Long Range Model 3. I explained at the start I had put a deposit on one and was looking to see if I'd made a mistake in doing so.
I had a good chat with the guy running the show and was offered a change of original collection point from West Drayton to Southampton.

I was allocated a 30-minute drive with the same "rule" - drive to the "work" location then select "home" to return to base.
My only problem on the drive was that the radio was on and I hadn't 'boned up' on how to control volume or how to turn it off or increase navigation voice volume - being deaf I never use radio and have to turn navigation voice volume to max.
I did miss a turn on the route so didn't quite follow the pre-planned route but did eventually find the correct destination and hit "home" to get back.
The car was in "Chill" mode but still packed a punch on the motorway.

As a result I got back 15 minutes late but it was no problem and I was allowed to spend more time looking around the car and asking questions.

I had already planned on getting the car - the test drive was to see if there were any "showstoppers" - there weren't

 

[skippyinspace]

Suppose I should add to my test drive coming up this weekend that 2days after booking it I was in Peterhead getting the ticket for the parking machine, While I was doing that a M3LR parked in the space next to me. I spoke to the owner and with masks on let me sit in the car and went through details of the car with me and everything that was good, he mentioned all the bad things from the internet and said he hadnt experienced them. I mentioned that it would be a freemont car and he said no he had checked and it was a MIC. The only time Ive seen a driver as happy as he was are the Mini Cooper S drivers from a few years ago who treat them like rally cars! Im convinced but its my business partner who is also the Finance Director that needs to be convinced on the Test Drive.

 

[JAR897]

Hi all - Yes, was a 1-way and return trip with Home > Work > Home set-up, but the show room guys were typically laid back and said "take it wherever you'd like, see you in an hour". Their relaxed attitude (assumed because of tracking in car etc!) made it a very enjoyable (and different) experience to my previous (BMW) showroom experiences...

My only critique would be, there's an air of superiority/snobery with Tesla (as with BMW and other car sales teams) - eg. I was told how to 'correctly' close the frunk "using two hands, not one" (..."you idiot" wouldn't have been off the tone)... But maybe that's the same in all car showrooms?!

 

[init6]

My only critique would be, there's an air of superiority/snobery with Tesla (as with BMW and other car sales teams) - eg. I was told how to 'correctly' close the frunk "using two hands, not one" (..."you idiot" wouldn't have been off the tone)... But maybe that's the same in all car showrooms?!

That's not snobbery, its really important that you don't dent the very light aluminium bonnet by just using one hand. Also don't pull the emergency door handles to open the doors.

 

[JAR897]

That's not snobbery, its really important that you don't dent the very light aluminium bonnet by just using one hand. Also don't pull the emergency door handles to open the doors.

If it was said with genuine courtesy and a desire to educate I'd agree, but this was certainly said with a whiff of "Oh look, this poor idiot doesn't know how to close a frunk, who let this guy in?". I think it was said slightly in jest ie. Yea we all know Tesla are a bit special (just like Steve Jobs telling consumers how to hold the iPhone 4 during antenna-gate) but it just came across a bit, well, patronising.

I certainly remember retorting that maybe Tesla should consider re-enforcing such a critical and high traffic part of bodywork - It made me feel better at least!

 

[btc1k]

Fully remote test drive, back to back in LR and P here during lockdown.

Went to SC, scanned a QR code, cars remotely unlocked, one hour in each.

Faultless. Every other car dealer was closed.

 

[Dilly]

Care to explain? Did they cave some form of control over the route other than > home then > work and did the trip need manual intervention when reaching one destination then moving on to the next?

I'm trying to see if there is any workaround to the single destination (plus calculated supercharger stops) that we get on our sat nav.

work was 15 mins up the A140 to a village hall and home came back to the hotel through the lanes back to the A140