[UK] Would you buy another tesla

[Tony Hoyle]

It's a decision I can't really make yet because I'm in the hole for some amount on the PCP (unfortunately Tesla Finance don't have a website like Blackhorse did so I can't find out by how much without hassle).. but once I'm out of it then it's a matter of looking at what Tesla are doing then vs. what everyone else is doing.. if it were today, I wouldn't go Tesla. Next year.. who knows?

 

[spooksman]

I would have though a captive-buyer is a lot less hassle

Agreed, and I'd probably pay top dollar, as I know the car has been looked after.

 

[MrT3]

The Salary Sacrifice company we use at work say "No" for buy-back if e.g. someone leaves etc. Strikes me as odd as what are they going to do with the car in that situation?

When I enquired, LeasePlan told me only the leaseholder could purchase the vehicle, i.e. the company, not the employee.

 

[Sean.]

Do you think re-purchasing likelihood declines over time? Or something more complex? Genuinely interested.

Not necessarily. I think it’s more nuanced.

For instance, this last year many ‘external’ factors have played into both the stock price of the company as well as the resale value of the vehicles. We’ve seen the top and the bottom of both.

So I think it’s as much about perception and emotion as it is about direct personal experience.

 

[yessuz]

But given their high margins, and planned production ramp up, Tesla may well have reduced to same-as-everyone levels by the time you and I replace ours ...

You wish

They've been catching up for as long as I can remember!! Whilst they catch up Tesla is moving forwards ... you'd expect the huge legacy auto to have caught up, given that they decided not to start early they must have assumed that catch up (or "buy in") was going to work. Plagued with software issues, most have OTA limited to Infotainment and return-to-dealer for other updates, and still some way behind on drivetrain effiicency. I'd expect them to catch that up in a year or two, but depends what Tesla does in that time ... maybe Tesla dropping price will starve legacy auto of money for sorting out the R&D stuff ...

They have been catching?! only last couple of years wehn legacy started to make EVS...

The Salary Sacrifice company we use at work say "No" for buy-back if e.g. someone leaves etc. Strikes me as odd as what are they going to do with the car in that situation? I would have though a captive-buyer is a lot less hassle

 

[WannabeOwner]

They have been catching?! only last couple of years wehn legacy started to make EVS

Indeed. Sorry I wasn't clear: "People/Media have been saying they are catching up".

Actually what I have seen is Legacy Auto struggling with their first offering. Impressive nonetheless, but a fair list of issues. Jag iPace was early to the kickoff, but in those early months I read numerous issues on the Jag forum with 3rd party charger compatibility and teething problems, lots of back-to-dealer for software updates and so on. I don't hear much about iPace now - no idea if it is selling well? I think its a nice looking car, and the owners (on forum, back then) were really enthusiastic about it as "Drivers car" etc.

Initial production of VW IDs sat parked in a field for months whilst VW tried to sort out the software. Recent & Latest software (Version 3 I think) was 12 or 18 months after the previous release, and the YouTuber I follow (Battery Life) [Former Tesla owner, now ID3 and definitely Pro VW] after initial confidence that it solved the problems now has a number of gripes.

Ionix and BYD seem to me to be the main contenders for "Catching up". GM seems to be struggling (despite "All in on EV" message form the boss - recent investment of $1B in V6 engine production is a bit contrary!) Volume at BMW doesn't seem very exciting. I know nothing about Polestar but it looks encouraging. I think Ford has been beavering away far more than they have chosen to talk about (not a bad thing at all ...). Wait time for Lightening is measured in years rather than months ... if they are THAT supply-constrained I am doubtful how quickly they can roll out additional models to complement Ford Mach-E - not seen many of them on the road.

Maybe Toyota's "spin spin spin" to avoid committing to EV (and wheels falling off the BZ4X EV) is going to actually capture the market with its "Self charging hybrids" - AD Regulator doesn't seem to have been able to do anything about that wording - do people really believe it is perpetual motion? <sigh>

 

[MashinBenzin]

I can’t see it, the competition is getting stronger all the time and there is little sign of Tesla bringing out a compelling new model.

Overall I would rather have a more interesting, better quality, better equipped vehicle that’s more comfortable.

The Model Y is fine as a basic EV transport device, I’m pretty happy with it. Total convert to EV, as expected.

 

[CWT3LR]

I can’t see it, the competition is getting stronger all the time and there is little sign of Tesla bringing out a compelling new model.

Overall I would rather have a more interesting, better quality, better equipped vehicle that’s more comfortable.

The Model Y is fine as a basic EV transport device, I’m pretty happy with it. Total convert to EV, as expected.

Lucid have started sales in Europe (not sure if that includes UK too) if you want a genuinely upmarket experience. Also, some of the new BMWs seem to have the X factor. I can't get myself to like the Mercedes offerings - seems to be weirdly designed just to be different to their ICE offer? Porsche seems to have managed to pull off the unthinkable - a true sports car that has the definitive Porsche handling and ride, despite the batteries. If you are prepared to ignore brand snobbery, some of the stuff coming out of China is incredible. Two new BYD-owned brands (backed by Warren Buffet) that make traditional EV manufacturers including Tesla seem distinctly old-fashioned, and four of the five biggest producers are Chinese.

 

[MashinBenzin]

For some reason I just couldn’t bring myself to pay £50k for a Kia or Hyundai.

It’s interesting, and I’m not knocking you for having that view as many would say the same. But for the quality and content of the product, I found the Tesla price harder to swallow than any of Kia/Hyundai/Skoda. In particular I felt that the EV6 and Enyaq felt more commensurate with their price than the Model Y does.

 

[s_zigmond]

Too many issues in my 1st month of ownership, and an arrogance at the service centre implying I should accept them as it's a tesla, means things will have to change rapidly for me to even keep my current one never mind get another.

 

[MashinBenzin]

Lucid have started sales in Europe (not sure if that includes UK too) if you want a genuinely upmarket experience. Also, some of the new BMWs seem to have the X factor. I can't get myself to like the Mercedes offerings - seems to be weirdly designed just to be different to their ICE offer? Porsche seems to have managed to pull off the unthinkable - a true sports car that has the definitive Porsche handling and ride, despite the batteries. If you are prepared to ignore brand snobbery, some of the stuff coming out of China is incredible. Two new BYD-owned brands (backed by Warren Buffet) that make traditional EV manufacturers including Tesla seem distinctly old-fashioned, and four of the five biggest producers are Chinese.

I’m the same with Mercedes, they just don’t chime with me.

The Chinese stuff generally looks great for the money. Genuinely a better product and cheaper. I’m purely put off by the macro political situation with China and conscious of supporting with a big ticket purchase. (And aware that I’ve handed over a chunk of the MY money to China).

I think the EX90 looks good and I don’t quite understand why Tesla don’t want to play in the premium/luxury SUV segment (I’m not counting lifted fastback crossovers like the X and Y before even getting to the premium argument). I guess it’s just an acknowledgment that they can’t easily compete there, so why waste development funds trying.

Lucid [Air] is so Buick, but I like that they have gone for a luxury product and I sincerely hope that they succeed.

 

[finnster]

I voted Yes,

I came from a Diesel Manual Volvo so thought if was converting to EV I might as well go all in.
For me I needed OKish range, plenty of room and a decent bit of poke, nothing came close to the Y Dual Motor and to be honest I could never see myself going back to an ICE now as I absolutely love it.

I mostly charge at home, so the SC side really only forms a small part of the consideration, it certainly wouldn't sway to for me.

The market is starting to fill up with alternatives, but for now I can't see anything (within the price range) thats a suitable alternative to the Y, I am intrigued by the Fisker and Rivian but until they arrive on our shores I can't tell. So for now when I change my Y in two years time its probably going to be another Y - hopefully Performance - although they need to sort out the USS by then otherwise I might be looking elsewhere.

 

[ringi]

I can’t see it, the competition is getting stronger all the time and there is little sign of Tesla bringing out a compelling new model.

There is a Tesla investor invent later in the year, I nit expecting and news about new models before then.

 

[CWT3LR]

I’m the same with Mercedes, they just don’t chime with me.

The Chinese stuff generally looks great for the money. Genuinely a better product and cheaper. I’m purely put off by the macro political situation with China and conscious of supporting with a big ticket purchase. (And aware that I’ve handed over a chunk of the MY money to China).

I think the EX90 looks good and I don’t quite understand why Tesla don’t want to play in the premium/luxury SUV segment (I’m not counting lifted fastback crossovers like the X and Y before even getting to the premium argument). I guess it’s just an acknowledgment that they can’t easily compete there, so why waste development funds trying.

Lucid [Air] is so Buick, but I like that they have gone for a luxury product and I sincerely hope that they succeed.

Imagine if instead of a $40,000 pickup truck (yeah, yeah - global inflation...) they had decided to spend their time on a proper seven seater SUV, maybe with full time 4 wheel drive. And a proper interior, not something that feels like it was designed by an AI and without any human design flair. Handing over 60 grand then wouldn't feel so bad. As it stands, the CyberTruck feels like it is for the US market only, given its size.

Watching a doc on Toyota yesterday - didn't realise they currently sell around 150 models on the world market. And they are highly sceptical of BEV, preferring hybrid and also new fuel technology. Tesla have four models, some getting quite long in the tooth design wise, and have very little to offer except "Hey! Another 0.2 seconds off a 0-60 time that you can't use on normal roads!". I am of the camp that sees EV as a stepping point to something different - whether it is hydrogen, capacitance or some as yet undiscovered tech like Doc Brown had - so maybe Toyota has it right?

Get what you mean about Chinese brands. Don't really want to buy a car that phones the missus if the in-car camera recognises someone in the passenger seat you really wouldn't want her to know about....

 

[Undecided_2]

Not sure. Cameras do not solve driving conveniences for me. Auto wipers, EAP, Auto lights do not work in my area. Tesla is fully invested in them so I doubt they’ll improve for some time and no doubt will require hardware upgrades.

The competition is heating up. However, the seamless, reliable charging network is why I chose Tesla. I’ve come across too many broken, slow non Tesla chargers.

 

[Durzel]

It’s interesting, and I’m not knocking you for having that view as many would say the same. But for the quality and content of the product, I found the Tesla price harder to swallow than any of Kia/Hyundai/Skoda. In particular I felt that the EV6 and Enyaq felt more commensurate with their price than the Model Y does.

EV6 feels very high quality inside.

The argument that "I couldn't accept spending £50k on a Kia/Hyundai" is an interesting one. They make arguably some of the best EVs going. Tesla doesn't feel aspirationally miles better, at least in my head. I would caveat that by saying that I'm talking exclusively about EVs - which are a reset in my mind. I couldn't rationalise spend £50k on an ICE Kia/Hyundai.

My main beef with other manufacturers isn't the build or material quality, which far surpasses Tesla - sorry to say, it's that everything else is staid.

The lack of HUD in the 3/Y is a misstep, I think, and the "single tablet in the centre of the car for everything" could easily be argued as cost saving rather than "the right decision", some controls should be physical rather than screen based, but pretty much everything else is revelatory. Software updates that you don't have to go to the dealer for, mobile service, no expectation of customers contributing to keeping the lights on in those big glass fronted buildings with arbitrary servicing, etc.

I'm of the opinion that if any of the usual suspects can transition to this way of thinking, but bring their usual quality with them, then they will cream it in the marketplace. They might suffer in the short term, and it'll mean redundancies and closing some of those pointless big glass buildings, but in the long run they'll capture a much bigger market share.

Also someone needs to bash some heads in the likes of VW, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, etc and actually come out with software that isn't a massive pain to use, on hardware that is 5 years out of date. There's no excuse for cars being delivered in 2023 to have software that feels like My First Android App, running on a knackered old tablet. Again, the company that cracks something as slick as the Tesla UI, with OTA updates, but with all the goodness from solid manufacturing and PDI processes will eat their lunch.

Until that happens Tesla can rest on their laurels, which they have been doing quite evidently.

 

[WannabeOwner]

if any of the usual suspects can transition to this way of thinking,

Not many examples of large established business transitioning in that way. IBM did it with the PC, but they basically created a Start Up that only reported to the Boss - much to the annoyance of all the other board-level department heads who would have loved a "designed by committee" solution!

So I think from "majority of components outsourced" to create a "Software product" is pretty hard. Particularly hard as you aren't in direct control of your individual components where changes may radically interfere with your software integration.

But I don't have much experience of non-Tesla. Are any of legacy-auto doing an impressive job with Software?

 

[CWT3LR]

The argument that "I couldn't accept spending £50k on a Kia/Hyundai" is an interesting one.

I have been in 3 Kia / Hyundai ICEs in the last 2 years - including cheap ones - and they have all felt like interior design and quality is at least on par with Tesla, if not outright better. And that's even before comparing equipment levels. Inoiq5 in my work car park - not been inside, but looks significantly more premium than my Y - and two other Y drivers have said the same to me.

My biggest beef with Tesla is everything has been designed to remove the driver from any form of interaction. The screen is so you can play games while the car drives itself. Same with the lack of physical buttons. Everything just feels like they have deliberately designed out human interaction. So for me, Tesla does not want me as a driver, but is at least a decade away from safely and efficiently driving me around, leaving this generation of design and probably the next seriously out of kilter.

I won't be getting another, not when the Koreans do it better at a lower price, and treat customers like grown-ups.

 

[ringi]

So much depends in how quickly supercharger clusters expand compared to other charger clusters.

 

[DaveNN]

NO

as I didn't buy this or the one before that.