Owner of two Model S (P85 purchased early 2013 and 100D purchased last year), with Model X scheduled for June:
- Can someone give me an idea of cost per year for owning the X? For instance, with the RR, I seem to pay around 3-5k annually for annual service, oil change, brakes/pads, & other random things that RR service finds which all seem to be outside the warranty. I'm also not even counting gas.
We've purchased the maintenance plans and extended warranty. The maintenance plan provides a slight discount, plus locks in the pricing for the duration of the plan, providing some savings. The only item not covered by the maintenance plan and warranty is the tires, plus you will have a $200 deductible for service under the extra 50K mile warranty. Note that the regular and extended warranties also cover towing to the nearest service center.
- Can you haggle the price at all, or is it just whatever the website says? If you can’t, are there any breaks in trying to buy an inventory model? (assuming you can find any)
This is one of the "benefits" dealerships provide - the list price isn't the actual price. With Tesla - the price you see is the real price - no haggling. Configure your car online and click on the order button - and you're done.
- Is it worth even thinking about a used one?
Because depreciation typically averages about 24-25% per year (for most cars), you can save quite a bit by purchasing a used Tesla. And because there are far fewer moving parts and the motor/battery is covered for 8 years and unlimited miles, it can be a pretty good deal, if purchasing a new S/X is outside of your price range.
- I still need to do a test drive. Can/Will they bring the car to you or do I have to visit the showroom?
Agree on getting an overnight test drive. When we placed our Model X order a few weeks ago, the local Gallery was able to get us a 24 hour test drive of an X. We drove it around town (to compare driving vs. our two S cars) and took it home to see how it fit in the garage and compare the seating and cargo space. And were sold on getting a Model X instead of the Model 3 we had reserved.
- It appears I’d want the PUP because I live in the Philly area suburbs and we have cold winters, so the subzero package seems necessary right? Also, I like nice audio and am I reading it correctly where satellite radio does not come with the car if you don’t get the PUP? The self-presenting doors scare me since I park in a tight parking garage for work every day and I don’t want them to bang into other cars. I’d most likely disable this feature.
We plan to disable the self-presenting doors. In a two Tesla family, we don't want the doors opening every time we enter the garage and go to the S 100D. We've purchased PUP in all 3 of our Tesla cars, since we plan to keep each car for around 100K miles - and over that time, the extra features you get with PUP are worth it.
- If I’m correct, you can activate the EAP and FSD after it arrives, but you pay an extra $1k for each? Are either worth it?
You can activate them later. As of today, activating the features later will cost you an additional $1000. However, many believe the future activation price could increase for FSD if Tesla decides a hardware upgrade is needed. We purchased both with our S 100D and X 100D. EAP is working pretty well right now as a "driver assist" feature. We drove from Houston to Dallas last weekend, and had EAP running almost the entire way - maintaining speed and lane position, and doing the lane changes, with only a few times taking over control.
As for FSD, even if Tesla never gets approval for Full Self Driving, there should be benefits for purchasing FSD by activating the extra 4 cameras. Musk has stated the AP software will start using the FSD's extra 4 cameras later this year, and if using those cameras makes AP safer and able to operate under more circumstances, we believe the extra FSD cost is justified. Though we're still holding out hope Tesla will figure it out - and in several years the cars will drive themselves (even if it's just on the highways).
- I was reading another thread on here about the Textile interior vs. the White. Is the Textile cloth? Do owners seem to like it? I haven’t seen it in person yet but I hope to shortly.
We have Ultra White in our S 100D (delivered last March) and it's been great - and still ultra white. We had a Model 3 ready to configure in February and had been waiting until the Ultra White was available for the 3's before we placed our order. And when we decided to switch to a Model X instead, it will also have Ultra White - which should look even better with the new graphite trim.
We do carry some ultra white towels in the back of our S to lay on the seats if we're getting in with damp clothes, to minimize the risk of staining the seats - but so far, if we get a mark on the seats, the marks have come right off (get some baby wipes to carry in the car).
- Is the Tesla wall charger worth getting? What does it typically cost to install? If I park in a garage during winter months, and in the driveway otherwise, where should I get it installed? What do others in my situation do?
Tesla has lowered the price of the HPWC to about the same as the other charging cables. However, for almost everyone, you really don't need to charge your car at the highest speed supported by the HPWC (72A for the newer cars, 80A for the older Teslas). Charging on a 14-50 outlet will provide a full charge overnight - and you save $$$ by going with the 14-50 vs. installing 100A circuit for the HPWC, plus the additional effort to mount (and future dismount) the HPWC from the wall.
Would usually recommend charging in a garage, if you can. That reduces the heating and cooling needed to keep the interior and battery pack within acceptable ranges.
- What’s the best way to order? Online, or going to a showroom and talking to someone? (an OA?)
Online - there are only a few options. You can ask for help at a showroom or from Tesla's phone support line. But ordering a Tesla isn't much more difficult than buying something online from Amazon. [My first Model S was actually shipped via UPS to my front door!]
- If showroom, does anyone have a good reference they can share for the Devon, PA location?
- Any accessories that this does not come with that I should consider getting? Floor mats, etc.?
While you probably won't ever use it - we carry the UMC (shipped with the car) in the cars at all times, in case there's a charging emergency and we can't find a supercharger, destination charger or public J1772 charger - like have the tire repair kit. For our S 100D, we ordered the 14-50 cable from Tesla and mounted that on the wall next to the outlet using Tesla's cable organizer - and leave that in the garage at all times.
Mentioned the towels to cover the seats - if you get ultra white seats, would recommend getting some ultra white towels to lay on top, whenever you're concerned about protecting the seats. The seats hold up pretty well and the towels may not be needed, but better to be safe - than sorry.
You should get the tire pump/tire repair kit - which wasn't included in either of our Tesla's. Since Tesla cars don't have spare tires, if you have a tire leak, this could patch you up enough to drive for a while. Though if you do get a flat tire, you can call Tesla for service - and they'll either replace the tire onsite or get you a tow to the nearest location for replacing the tire.
- Lastly, anything I’m NOT asking that I should know about? (I do know about the tax credit and to use a referral code whenever I finally order)
Tesla has come a long way since we bought our first S P85 in early 2013. They now have the supercharger network and destination chargers - and both are expanding - so there are many options for charging away from home.
If you do plan road trips though, you should expect it will be different than driving an ICE, because you'll need to plan for where you will charge along the route and at your destination. Before taking a road trip, I'll check the Tesla website and Plugshare to verify the status of superchargers and destination chargers we plan to use. We'll book hotels that have chargers whenever possible. And if we're going to be stopping at several superchargers on the route, we'll try to stop at a supercharger located near or at a restaurant so we can get a full charge while eating.
With the onboard trip planning software and the planner on their website, Tesla does most of the route planning for you, but you still want to spend a little time prior to each trip to plan out your charging - and avoid "charging anxiety" while driving.
- How does trading in your car work, especially if you order online?
We did a trade-in with our S 100D last year and plan to do the same this year with the X. Even though Tesla can't sell cars in Texas, they've worked out a way to do a trade-in. Last year, we took our car to Carmax and get an appraisal, that Tesla used for the trade-in price. This year we'll be trading in our S P85, so I expect them to set the trade-in price. We drove the old car with us to the Tesla Service Center and drove away with our new car.
- Do we know about when the 2019 models will be coming out? Wondering if it's worth getting a 2018 or waiting for the 2019 models...
Get used to it - there are no model years. Tesla introduces changes whenever they're ready. After we placed our X 100D order, they changed the interior and now we'll get the graphite trim instead of the silver trim we have in our S 100D. Though most of the time, these changes could happen after you get your car - which is what happened last year after our S 100D was delivered, and Tesla made the 72A charger standard (we only have the 48A charger, which was standard when we order our S 100D).
If you wait until next year, there will be improvements. But that will be true for every year - and you'll never get your car. After getting our S P85, Tesla introduced many new features - power folding mirrors, parking sensors, AutoPilot, ... - and each time we'd go through a period of "feature envy" and then get back to enjoying the car since the P85 was still the best car we'd owned. It wasn't until they added the 100D with much longer range that we found the difference significant enough to buy a new S.
My advice - look at the configuration available today - and if you like it - buy it. If you are concerned Tesla might introduce a new feature in the next 6-12 months, and you want to wait for it, you may never pull the trigger and might be better off buying a car from another manufacturer with "model years".
