Picked up my car on Saturday @ Powell street location
Here's my list of things that I didn't know that I wish I would have known and observations from hanging around.
Tips
- Powell Street location is pretty small, no parking except street parking. If you have a trade in, you can park it in the lot.
- Having a VIN or not having a VIN means really nothing at the end of the day. Only concern would be when CEV funds might dry up
- Don't except your OA to help you out unless they aren't with a customer in person/on the phone
- A delivery advisor will contact you once your car has gotten past Tacoma. Usually 3 days before delivery
- You will probably have multiple DA's, Toronto/Vancouver/Vegas/Mars
- Arrive 10-15min before your delivery time, but don't expect them to be on schedule.
- Check in, then go find your car on the lot and look over it then.
- Build quality is getting better, but it ain't no Merc/Lexus. Don't try to agonize over every speck of dust or gap with a ruler. Ask your DA and note it.
- Get a quote for 3rd party insurance before showing up, they have about 5 insurance agents, but that took the longest.
- Contract is really just formality, it's one of the easiest contracts for a vehicle
- Your orientation is gonna be 5-10 min with someone, they are just product people, they can't fix shiet. But if something is dirty, they can clean it. Watch some videos ahead of time.
- Perrier drinks the fridge, I had 3 maybe 4
- Model 3 doesn't have a garage homelink, kinda lame, it's $300+ install from Tesla
- Your car will probably need a software update, mine did, don't try to do it at the lot, it takes 25min, just do it at home.
Observations
- Most of everyone is in a good mood, it's like buying a BBQ, everyone is usually pretty happy shopping for a BBQ.
- Tesla people are people, I talked to 6 different people while waiting, made the time go faster and all were super cool, talked about other stuff besides boring electric cars
- I think for some deliveries, this is a first new car, so obviously excited, but arguing on how a rubber seal works is pretty funny to watch
- I must have seen parties of 6-10 going along with whoever was picking up the car like it was a free lottery car. Grandma's, neighbors etc.
- Office is tiny, add all the insurance people and people waiting, it's a sweaty mess
- the make shift Ikea kids tables for writing contracts was funny
- Model 3 insurance is freaking expensive especially if you aren't going 3rd party. Gas savings is thrown out the door for a lot of people. Guy before me is paying $4600 a year....WTF
- Cars are dirty, almost every interior I saw was dirty, but nothing 5min can't remove at home, don't yell at DA about it.
- People asking for free supercharging mileage for not perfectly aligned panels
- New owners brought their own insurance agents (commission for hanging out at the lot I guess), but slows down the process
- Process took about an hour and I didn't ask anyone when my turn was up
- You have to go slow for the first bit of driving to let the car calibrate, so don't expect to get anywhere too quickly
- For some reason, I thought the car software had more to it. Too many damn youtube videos since my order. No LTE, no streaming radio, no summons, no Navigate on Autopilot.
- It's 13% tax on the black/black, consider it a $4500 federal rebate because of the AC Tax
- Model 3 is pretty noisy at hwy speeds, compared to my old Acura MDX, it's well documented, but something that catches by surprise because its normal so quiet in the city.
Overall 8/10, obliviously the gaps in clear communication hampers the overall online ordering process. My car has a few issues, that I'll get resolved, but nothing that I'm worried about.
Simple contract and no BS dealer after sales. Car lives up to expectations, almost 700kms since Saturday afternoon.
enjoy that A/C!
