Understanding People Who Don't Drive Their Roadsters

[DoctorZ]

Not sure which of the 'don't drive it much' Roadster categories I fit into.......
Though retired, I seem to stay busy/preoccupied with other things I 'need' to do, leaving little time for Roadster #157, which I bought this past Spring. Our '13 P85+ stretches her legs far more often!
One theory I didn't see discussed was owners' hopes that as Tesla Motors increasingly becomes an iconic marque, early production vehicles (perhaps especially low milers) will be in demand and fetch high prices. Perhaps some owners view their Roadsters as investments first, drivers second?

 

[John W. Ratcliff]

>>Perhaps some owners view their Roadsters as investments first, drivers second?

That is certainly a strong possibility. Every time I go to a classic car show it simply amazes me to see all of these cars that, when I was a kid, you could by used for $500-$1,000 now worth $20k-$60k!

There is no question that the Roadster is destined to become a future classic. It will for, all time, be the world's first all-electric production sports car.

It amazes me today that my Roadster still gets over 200 miles on a charge, numbers no one but Tesla seems able to match.

 

[SpitzNV]

Now my thinking is that I will just drive the piss out of the Roadster and keep it for a very long time

Very glad you've changed your tune, John! Life is too short and these cars are too fun to drive, to let them collect dust in garages.

 

[ecarfan]

One theory I didn't see discussed was owners' hopes that as Tesla Motors increasingly becomes an iconic marque, early production vehicles (perhaps especially low milers) will be in demand and fetch high prices. Perhaps some owners view their Roadsters as investments first, drivers second?

There are certainly Roadster owners who feel that way. I'm not one of them. It is certainly possible that the Roadster will become a "collectible" and command much higher prices a decade from now than they currently do. But I think it is unlikely.

It is extremely difficult to predict which cars will become expensive classics and which will not. With the benefit of hindsight we now look back at some early Corvettes, some early Porsches, some early Mercedes, etc. and say that of course those particular models are now worth so much more than when they were new (though if you look at their inflation-adjusted values many "classics" have not appreciated nearly as much as it might appear) but many people factor in the cost of money and the cost of storing and maintaining a car for decades until it reaches "classic" status.

Cars are in most cases poor investments. I say this as someone who has owned three "classic" 356 Porsches in the past 12 years. Sold the last one to buy my Model S. It had appreciated about 90% in 8 years. I got lucky.

 

[DoctorZ]

There are certainly Roadster owners who feel that way. I'm not one of them. It is certainly possible that the Roadster will become a "collectible" and command much higher prices a decade from now than they currently do. But I think it is unlikely.

It is extremely difficult to predict which cars will become expensive classics and which will not. With the benefit of hindsight we now look back at some early Corvettes, some early Porsches, some early Mercedes, etc. and say that of course those particular models are now worth so much more than when they were new (though if you look at their inflation-adjusted values many "classics" have not appreciated nearly as much as it might appear) but many people factor in the cost of money and the cost of storing and maintaining a car for decades until it reaches "classic" status.

Cars are in most cases poor investments. I say this as someone who has owned three "classic" 356 Porsches in the past 12 years. Sold the last one to buy my Model S. It had appreciated about 90% in 8 years. I got lucky.

Your last couple of thoughts rang familiar.....
I traded my '94 911 Turbo 3.6 after having it primarily as a garage queen for 16 years. This model got hot as it had limited production and was the last of the rear wheel drive turbos. I traded it 2 years ago for my as new P85+ and a fat check. I drive the S and have no regrets tho the '94's seem to still be climbing in value. It, too, was the only time I made money on selling a car.

 

[jbcarioca]

I agree, but I can also relate. I used to be a serial car collector and have owned plenty of cars I haven't driven. Then after some years, they understandably lose favor with me (because, you know, I'm not friggin' DRIVING THEM) and I sell them. It's silly, and I regret doing it, and I do drive my Roadster. But I'm guilty of this big time, I've probably done it with four or five vehicles in the last 20 years.

I relate too. For many years I had three residences in three countries. I owned a BMW Z1 (the one with drop down doors) for a decade during which I drove it only 9,000 km. I drove it a lot when I was there but Imwasn't there often. When I sold it I did so at a substantial gain, but I still wish I'd driven it more. During the years I have had several cars I drove very little.

Then I drove an early Model S. I could not have one because I now live in Brazil. That finally resolved itself when my spouse figured out we'd solve a FATCA issue if we owned a US residence. So I ordered my Model S and we bought a Condo in Miami. We still live in Brazil but our P85DL now has 27,000 miles. This one we drive!

 

[jbcarioca]

...
Cars are in most cases poor investments. I say this as someone who has owned three "classic" 356 Porsches in the past 12 years. Sold the last one to buy my Model S. It had appreciated about 90% in 8 years. I got lucky.

Oh, yes. I've owned a good many oddities. Most of the time I have lost money. I have made money on a few too, but on balance the cost of restoration, care and maintenance has resulted in lots of enjoyment at a price. Somehow I cannot see any Tesla in that category simply because there are so many of them and they work so very well as transportation. Come to think of it I had a
Mercedes 300SEL 6.3 that was excellent transportation and I made money too; but that was dumb luck.

 

[stevejust]

Perhaps some owners view their Roadsters as investments first, drivers second?​

I may be guilty of this... I mean, I put up with the terrible stock stereo and speakers because I don't want to alter the OEM nature of the Signature 100.

It's not so much that I don't want to drive it -- it's more a question of not really trusting other drivers around here. I was side-swiped in a hit and run in my wife's car. I think one of the reasons the person took off is because I jumped out of my car with my phone in my hand to record the guy, and I may have scared the crap out of him (even though there were two of 'em in the car and neither were wearing shirts and both were heavily tattooed) because I was really seeing red a the time, so he took off. And in the heat of the moment, it was only later when I tried to show the video to the police that I realized my phone didn't record the interaction.

But if that'd have happened in my Roadster I'd probably be in jail right now for aggravated manslaughter. I stopped driving my roadster without a dashcam after I nearly rear-ended a total oblivious person in a Volvo SUV that cut me off so bad I thought it was the end of my car-- and without a dashcam it would have totally appeared to be my fault.

In addition to poor driving habits of the idiots around where I live, we've historically had problems with the valets at work so I don't drive it to work. (I actually take a train to get to the office 99/100 times anyway.)

So I drive my car basically on the weekends. When it is nice out.

To put things in perspective I live very close to where this happened.

@DeedWest -- don't you remember that time the idiot in the Mitsubishi Lancer almost took you out? This happens every day around here.

 

[bolosky]

Since we're telling stories about making money selling cars, I'll push this just a little more off topic and tell mine. This is *completely* unlike you guys with your fancy old sports cars!

Back in the summer of 1993 I had been at Microsoft for nearly a year. I was at the time an avid hang glider pilot. My vehicle was a 1987 Toyota Celica, which, while a great car, wasn't especially good at hauling hang gliders up dirt roads to take-off sites (which isn't to say I didn't do it). So, I decided I needed something with some more clearance.

At the time, Microsoft had a printed weekly newsletter with a classified section. I browsed through that until I found someone selling a 1980 Datsun Pickup at an asking price of $200. I went to see it. It was parked in the driveway of a fancy house with a couple of fancy cars. It was under a tree and literally had moss growing on the side of it. It was yellow where the moss wasn't covering it. I test drove it, and while the floorboard in the driver's side was rotted out, it still ran OK. So, I went to the cash machine, got 10 20s and bought it.

I cleaned it up, replaced a couple of parts for cheap from a junk yard, bought new tires, stuck cardboard over the hole in the floor, built a hang glider rack and it was ready to go. I drove it for a couple of years until I found a hang gliding site that it couldn't access due to the lack of 4 wheel drive, at which point I put out something around 100x as much money to buy a new 1995 Pathfinder (which I still have).

I sold the Datsun for $500, for a 150% profit in two years. Not quite as good a deal as the Tesla IPO shares that they sold me as a Roadster owner, but still, making money on a car.

So there.

 

[jbcarioca]

...

I sold the Datsun for $500, for a 150% profit in two years. Not quite as good a deal as the Tesla IPO shares that they sold me as a Roadster owner, but still, making money on a car.

So there.

This is by far the best one yet, even adding your IPO shares...

 

[DeedWest]

YIKES. I do remember that idiot...see how he WAITED for us to come up just so he could blow his awful sounding exhaust and do a Ricer Fly-By? These are the kinds of people to deal with in DFW area, so I don't blame you, @stevejust.

However...word on the street is, I have procured another Roadster. We HAVE to hit a Cars and Carcinogens again soon, and recruit more DFW owners. @Seth Pascale, you in?

 

[stevejust]

YIKES. I do remember that idiot...see how he WAITED for us to come up just so he could blow his awful sounding exhaust and do a Ricer Fly-By? These are the kinds of people to deal with in DFW area, so I don't blame you, @stevejust.

However...word on the street is, I have procured another Roadster. We HAVE to hit a Cars and Carcinogens again soon, and recruit more DFW owners. @Seth Pascale, you in?

Next event is National Drive Electric Week on Sept. 17th. Are you off tour?

 

[slcasner]

I actually have a little spreadsheet where I note the odometer reading every time I take it for a drive.

An aside: If you might be interested in tracking some other data along with the odometer reading for each drive, and if you use an iPhone, take a look at Tom Saxton's EV Logger program on iTunes / App Store.

 

[jerry505]

The Roadster as a collectible? Sure, I think it will be. But, in the short term, when much faster Tesla Roadsters come out that connect to superchargers, what will happen to the market for the older Roadsters? I want the faster new Roadster.

 

[DeedWest]

Next event is National Drive Electric Week on Sept. 17th. Are you off tour?

I was definitely off tour, but 1438 was in the shop getting a new 400V controller. Bummed I couldn't make it, but I had @purplewalt sharing live updates via text.

To aid this thread, the only time I WON'T be driving my Roadster is when I'm traveling and can't bring her with me. The experience is simply too addicting and rewarding.

 

[wiztecy]

To aid this thread, the only time I WON'T be driving my Roadster is when I'm traveling and can't bring her with me. The experience is simply too addicting and rewarding.

That's where you need one of these to hold you over until you get back into your ride:

 

[Msjulie]

ooo i really like that color!

 

[NicholasJB]

I often wondered the same thing when looking for one to purchase. Then I finally bought my Roadster about a year ago, and in that time have put some 2500 miles on it.

The thing is, it's my primary car but I just don't have many places to drive to. Around the time I bought it I transitioned to working out of a home office, so there's no daily commute. I take it every chance I get to buy groceries (1.5 miles from home), or take the kids to school or friends' houses (2-5 miles round trip at most), but everything is just so darn close. I'll take it to Home Depot (5-10 miles) when I can, but if I need to buy anything big I need to pull out our family sedan.

I drive way more often than I need to because I have a Roadster, yet I still only get out 3 times a week for a few miles each time. Heck, a lot of the miles I have put on it were from the few trips I took to my brother's house (200 miles away) or my service center (200 miles away). So sometimes it's not a matter of them 'not driving it' or 'not wanting to drive it'. It's just a difference in circumstances; if they need to commute to work and how far their shopping areas are from them.

 

[bart513]

I've been guilty since I got my Model S last year of not driving the Roadster much. Initially it was because I have a one car garage and the Roadster is in there, and it's a PITA to move the other cars in order to get the Roadster out. Then when I decided to drive it in May/June it needed a good PEM cleaning so it sat at the SC for 2 months before they got to it. Got it back in August and it was throwing errors and it wouldn't start. Had to wait until 9/16 for an appt and now the SC is waiting for a special box from Fremont to put the PEM into to ship it back to Fremont where it will take 3 weeks to repair. The SC doesn't know when that box will arrive in NY serves right for not driving it more!