Thoughts on Using Two Teslas

[PianoAl]

By the end of the year, we should have two Teslas: A 2020 LR and a 2022 or 2023 RWD. My wife and I are retired, and only need the second car on the very rare occasions (once or twice a month) that she and I need to be at two different places at one time (or for emergencies). We've been getting by with only one car for two years now. Thus, one of the Teslas will rarely be needed.

Thinking about optimizing things, I wonder whether we should drive the two cars equally for day-to-day errands, or leave one in the garage most of the time. Considerations would be resale, servicing, battery longevity, keeping the cars clean, etc.

Sure, I'm overthinking this, but what would you do?

 

[EVRider-FL]

We have two Teslas, a 2018 S (my car) and a 2018 3 (wife's car). We're both retired so we could probably get by with just one, but like you we occasionally use both cars at the same time.

We use the S for road trips and longer drives (I drive), and both drive the 3 for most everything else. The S is larger and more comfortable, so it's the obvious choice for road trips, but since you'll have two 3's it's not as clear. The S has twice as many miles on it as the 3 (both delivered around the same time), mainly because of the road trips. If you don't plan on doing road trips, I guess what I would do in your situation is drive one of the cars more often, and maybe you'll decide you don't really need two and you can sell one.

I'm curious why you decided to get a second car if you were getting by with just one until now.

 

[3sr+buyer]

By the end of the year, we should have two Teslas: A 2020 LR and a 2022 or 2023 RWD. My wife and I are retired, and only need the second car on the very rare occasions (once or twice a month) that she and I need to be at two different places at one time (or for emergencies). We've been getting by with only one car for two years now. Thus, one of the Teslas will rarely be needed.

Thinking about optimizing things, I wonder whether we should drive the two cars equally for day-to-day errands, or leave one in the garage most of the time. Considerations would be resale, servicing, battery longevity, keeping the cars clean, etc.

If you leave one parked, then you have to worry about the "long term parking or storage" issues like state-of-charge to park it at, plugged in or not, and vampire drain. In addition, while long term parking at low state of charge is better for battery longevity, that goes opposite to the reason for having the car, which is to have the second car ready for emergencies when that car is needed (but there may not be time to charge it up).

Also, the long term parked car may end up with other things that can happen when a car is parked that long like rodent infestations, tire tread life being "wasted" because the tires need to be replaced due to age before they get worn out, etc.. Also, if something goes wrong with that car, it may not be noticed for a while.

So it may be simplest logistically to drive both during normal use.

 

[UncertainTimes]

If I needed a second car that rarely I’d get something as cheap to run and insure as possible.

 

[PianoAl]

I'm curious why you decided to get a second car if you were getting by with just one until now.

Good question.

The main issue comes up when the waves/tide are perfect for surfing and my wife has some event she wants to go to (I surf a lot). We are out in the boonies, so Uber or taxis don't solve that.

It would be hard to justify a second car just for that, but if I were to have a surfing accident when sixty miles away, it would be good to have a car for my wife to come rescue me in.

Finally, we are lucky enough to be able to afford it.

But if between now and the EDD, I stopped surfing, we might cancel the order.

 

[EVFamilyGrins]

3sr+buyer is correct that you want to have some regular use of the second car to prevent common storage/low usage issues.

It appears you do most of the driving, so expect that you will prefer one over the other and that will be the "primary" car and you should make effort to give the other some love once a week.

Interesting study on features in the works, wonder which will become the primary:

• 2019/20 AWD LR - Pros: AWD, Range, FSD (potential), NOA(useful)
• 2022/2023 RWD - Pros: LFP battery, efficiency, improved comfort (HVAC and dual paned glass)

FWIW – we have dogs and one car is the designated dog transport car.

 

[Unclepaul]

Your lifestyle will be effected by owning one Vs two cars. You will adapt to your new situation if you have another car.

Getting by is not the same as optimizing your life.

 

[animorph]

I'd go for a high-mileage used 3 if that makes a significant enough difference in the price.

We use our 3 for nearly all local trips, except for those times the two of us have overlapping trips. The X is our road trip car, people hauler, and "emergency use car.

To answer your question better, If I haven't driven the X for a while I might run an errand in it instead of taking the 3. Same thing if we're close to taking a road trip. Just to make sure everything is normal. Otherwise the X sits in the garage at 70 % charge while the 3 is charged to 80% daily.

 

[ucmndd]

Sure, I'm overthinking this, but what would you do?

Not spend north of $50k plus a good $2-3k/year in carrying costs to solve this problem.

 

[3sr+buyer]

Good question.

The main issue comes up when the waves/tide are perfect for surfing and my wife has some event she wants to go to (I surf a lot). We are out in the boonies, so Uber or taxis don't solve that.

It would be hard to justify a second car just for that, but if I were to have a surfing accident when sixty miles away, it would be good to have a car for my wife to come rescue me in.

Finally, we are lucky enough to be able to afford it.

If you do get the second car, would one become the surf car with the surfboard on the roof rack and your surfing stuff in it all the time? Then use the other car for all non surfing trips?

Is the surf location the one that is 60 miles away (120 mile round trip)?

 

[XPsionic]

If you can afford it, go get that second car. You could make it any other EV if you just want an EV! It's not a problem whatsoever to let an EV sit as long as you leave it plugged into even a normal 120v outlet while it's sitting.

Life's too short man, unless you could put that money to better use, is it really gonna hurt to have a used Model 3 as your backup/second car, or a Bolt or something that has enough range for your usage?

 

[roblab]

Way back when, my financial advisor told me I shouldn't put so much money into Tesla stock. Well, I saw the future differently than he did, and my wifey and I can now afford having two Teslas due to investing in Tesla. We mainly drive the S, and she takes the 3 when she needs to go babysit (yeah, babysit three teenagers and a six-year-old; no babies there). Anyway, she feels the S is too big for her and enjoys the slightly less large 3, but when we go anywhere together, I drive the S and she comes along. There are times when we both need to go separate ways, and she doesn't like feeling stuck at the house when she might want to zip over to the store for some key lime pie or other staple. We like having two cars, and although we've had only one at times, two are handy.

By the way, the advisor has never gotten a Tesla, but his secretary has. Some people just WILL NOT learn. Or they like the smell of gas stations.

 

[threeputts]

Just drive which one you enjoy driving more unless the other one has been sitting for a week and needs some exercise.
An exception could be bad weather or an intended route where the extra pickup of the RWD would be useful.

 

[davewill]

I've always found it a good idea to drive my wife's car at least a couple of times a month. I notice different things than she does, and am more likely to realize that some noise or vibration is not normal. Since I'm still commuting, she drives our RAV4EV often enough that I don't have to worry about it sitting, although during the worst of COVID restrictions, I was working from home, and she once left it unplugged and undriven long enough that the 12v battery ran low on charge. It turned out to be time to replace it anyway, so no harm done.

 

[T4M3]

We own a Tesla Model 3 and a Mazda CX-5. Everybody's situation is different but we like to diversify and hence, we have one EV and one ICE vehicle. The CX-5 is good for carrying large stuff and occasionally when we leave for a long trip overseas and have the car sitting at the airport parking garage for a long time. The Model 3 of course puts on more miles throughout the year and is our main daily driver.

 

[HenryT]

I'd go for a high-mileage used 3 if that makes a significant enough difference in the price.

I think that makes perfect sense.

Given a few years light use it'll end up average/low mileage too.

 

[PianoAl]

If you do get the second car, would one become the surf car with the surfboard on the roof rack and your surfing stuff in it all the time?

Definitely possible. As it is now, I am often asked, "Could you please desurf the car?"

Is the surf location the one that is 60 miles away (120 mile round trip)?

Yes, that's the spot I like best. I will think about whether I should move the rack to the LFP car.

 

[DavidJH]

I'd say Uber is a better choice if you only need a second car once or twice a month.

 

[andy.connor.e]

By the end of the year, we should have two Teslas: A 2020 LR and a 2022 or 2023 RWD. My wife and I are retired, and only need the second car on the very rare occasions (once or twice a month) that she and I need to be at two different places at one time (or for emergencies). We've been getting by with only one car for two years now. Thus, one of the Teslas will rarely be needed.

Thinking about optimizing things, I wonder whether we should drive the two cars equally for day-to-day errands, or leave one in the garage most of the time. Considerations would be resale, servicing, battery longevity, keeping the cars clean, etc.

Sure, I'm overthinking this, but what would you do?

The factors of your concerns are questionable at best. Your worry about two teslas is how often you should use one and not the necessity aspect of buying an entire car.

To put your mind at ease, you can literally not use the car, keep it plugged in, and will not even be a problem. Mileage barely affects Teslas resale. These are cars you can own for an extremely long time.

 

[DavidJH]

Just saw that location is an issue. In that case if you can afford it then keep the Tesla.