Want to become a Tesla Model S owner

[techno]

I've done a lot of research and I'm totally sold on the Model S and the whole ethcis of the Tesla company and Elon Musk. He is an amazing guy and I have a lot of respect for him.

I live in London and most of my journeys are local 5 to 15 miles journeys. I rarely do more than 50 miles in a week (total) except for occasional longer journey's to my parent's house to Northampton which is about 80 miles away. I live in a rented house. I'm not keen on getting a charging port installed there but with my usual local journey's, I think I could get away with charging from a 3-pin UK mains socket over night each day. And on days I need to juice up more, I could go to one of the many London superchargers. When I go to Northampton, there is conveniently a supercharger station right off the motoroway junction I'd come off.

I'm only in rented house for abot a year but then plan to buy my own property where I will be able to install a home charger.

Do you think this could work based on my journey's? I'm currently using a BMW 525 diesel saloon which is 58 plate. It doesn't meet the criteria for the ultra low emission zone in London so I've been thinking of going electric for a while. Even a Nissan Leaf would be fine for my local London journey's but I'd struggle to do the longer journey back to Northampton.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[Yggdrasill]

What voltage/current rating is the socket you have available?

Unless the socket is completely useless, I think you should do fine. People usually overestimate their need for charging.

 

[techno]

What voltage/current rating is the socket you have available?

Unless the socket is completely useless, I think you should do fine. People usually overestimate their need for charging.

It's a 240V standard UK mains socket. I think this can charge a few miles of range per hour. I would have no issue driving late at night to a nearby supercharger to boost the battery up to full if it was getting low. However, I'd imagine a few overnight charges from the UK mains socket would be more than enough to keep me going for my regular week of driving.

 

[jerry33]

At fifty miles a week, you'll likely never have to use that Supercharger.

 

[Yggdrasill]

I think you will do fine. I checked a bit and it does seem like Tesla will supply you with either a UMC with a 3 pin plug, or with third party EVSE with a 3 pin plug. Both of these are fine for the amount of charging you will do.

10A 240V will charge at around 6 miles/hour. So, you'd probably need to charge once a week overnight.

If the socket is old, or also has other equipment hooked up to it, you can drop the charging to 6A. Then you'd need to charge twice a week overnight.

 

[jerry33]

I think you will do fine. I checked a bit and it does seem like Tesla will supply you with either a UMC with a 3 pin plug, or with third party EVSE with a 3 pin plug. Both of these are fine for the amount of charging you will do.

10A 240V will charge at around 6 miles/hour. So, you'd probably need to charge once a week overnight.

If the socket is old, or also has other equipment hooked up to it, you can drop the charging to 6A. Then you'd need to charge twice a week overnight.

Except that a plugged in Tesla is a happy Tesla, so just plug in whenever you get home whether it's needed or not.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

If you can afford a Model S, you can afford to have a higher-power socket and an EVSE. And you'll leave a socket behind for the next renter.

 

[techno]

If you can afford a Model S, you can afford to have a higher-power socket and an EVSE. And you'll leave a socket behind for the next renter.

I'm not sure if this is true yet, I'm weighing up options but even if I could, it wouldn't be an easy purchase. I have an existing BMW to trade in and I was looking at EV vehicles I could switch to. I considered the Nissan Leaf which would do the job fine for local journey's but then I'd be screwed for those occasional longer journeys. I wouldn't want to keep 2 cars so unfortunatley it'd be the case of keeping my existing car, switching to Model S (if I could afford it), switching to some other cheaper EV and finding some other solution to the occasional longer journey's or switching my ICE car to a more efficient ICE car as a stop gap for a couple of years until the Model 3 comes out or the 2nd hand Model S become more affordable.

 

[Yggdrasill]

If you can afford a Model S, you can afford to have a higher-power socket and an EVSE. And you'll leave a socket behind for the next renter.

Why waste money on stuff you don't need?

techno, get an S60 or a 60D. It has more than enough range for you, and it's very attractively priced.

 

[techno]

Why waste money on stuff you don't need?

techno, get an S60 or a 60D. It has more than enough range for you, and it's very attractively priced.

Yes, was looking at exactly this. 2nd hand S60/60D. With a good 2nd hand price and my current car traded in, it would be a stretch but doable. The lower running costs would be offset and my fuel would be free as I'd be using superchargers or the mains socket from my rented accommodation (my electricity is included in rent).

 

[Yggdrasill]

I'm not sure if the availability of 2nd hand 60 kWh facelift Model S will be very good for some time. The facelift 60 kWh Model S are actually 75 kWh, but they are limited in SW. In the past, Tesla has removed these sorts of SW limitations before reselling 2nd hand cars, so it may be impossible to buy a 2nd hand facelift 60 kWh Model S from Tesla.

Are you considering the previous generation 60 kWh Model S? These will be cheaper, but they don't have the bigger battery, which means they are slower and won't supercharge as fast. They also don't necessarily have supercharging enabled, and come only as RWD. I'm not sure if any have autopilot. Also the warranty terms have lower mileage, but that doesn't seem like an issue for you.

 

[bonaire]

What voltage/current rating is the socket you have available?

Unless the socket is completely useless, I think you should do fine. People usually overestimate their need for charging.

With the June re-introduction of the 60 kWh battery and then also on the MX, the number of people ordering the 60 variant has gone way-up. On the average, it appears that buyers are reviewing and understanding that 60 is generally find for most driving.

You can consider waiting until either end of Sept or December to try to purchase a demo/loaner MS 60. If the UK offers other incentives, it would qualify as a new car but offer sales price discounts.

Other options are to consider a used Opel Ampera if it offers the London city access. It's electric and also doesn't have range limits due to the petrol-based range extender.

 

[techno]

At the moment, I'm happy to consider the most basic and early version of Tesla Model S. I think much beyond this would be unaffordable anyway. I probably do around 3 to 5k miles a year, most of which are short 5 to 15 mile journeys. I think even the most poverty spec Model S would be better than a Nissan Leaf.

I'm not bothered about autopilot, dual motors, or having slightly longer charge times at superchargers. The standard features of the most poverty spec Model S is still way more than I need so it's a win win. The size of the car is great and amount of luggage space is awesome so it wouldn't even feel like a downgrade from my 5 series BMW saloon.

Having looked at it more, I think even given all of this, the cheapest Model S is still a bit out of my price range so I'll probably have to switch to a Leaf for a year until the prices come down a bit more. It's really sad but I did have my heart set on the Model S.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Why waste money on stuff you don't need?

Like a Model S?

If there were a higher-powered socket available, he wouldn't even have had to come and ask the question, he'd never have any issues with range, and most of the time he wouldn't have to stop at a Supercharger when visiting his parents.

Also, if the 80 mile trip is to visit his parents regularly, it's also worth asking how long he spends at his parents' house, and whether he could install a socket and EVSE there. With a decent EVSE at both ends, plus emergency on-the-road charging a 30kWh Leaf could work, it would be cheaper to insure and power, and he'd be able to set aside money and buy a Model 3 or other BEV when it becomes available in the future. And, there'd be the added bonus to society of two more properties with charging easily available.

 

[Yggdrasill]

Like a Model S?

Maybe a Model S isn't a *need* as such, but it's certainly a strong "want"! Faster charging isn't a need, and it doesn't seem to be a want either.

If there were a higher-powered socket available, he wouldn't even have had to come and ask the question, he'd never have any issues with range, and most of the time he wouldn't have to stop at a Supercharger when visiting his parents.

Faster charging wouldn't affect his need for supercharging. He could easily start every trip with 100% charge, and if he plugs in after returning home, he would overnight have enough range to last a week.

 

[bonaire]

Of course, the general over-arching question actually is "why do any of us need an EV at all?" the word "need" is involved. I think we all wanted an EV and know that our own personal act of going off petrol is going to be a drop in the ocean of both global warming and also global politics. But the ocean *is* made up of many drops. Enough doing it (at their own expense right now since EV costs more than Petrol ICE cars) can start to make a difference. The OP has a need in the mix - London clean air laws.

In the USA, some drivers are choosing to get used Volts and Leafs for under $10k USD and many get the same battery range as new (well, probably not the Leafs). I think if the OP wants to get the London clean air benefits, the Leaf could work - but would not reach the destination without a CHAdeMO charge on the way up and back, adding to the travel time. But not by much.

3k-5k miles a year would be a bit painful for a new Model S depreciating through time without even being driven much. Used MS60 3-year old would be a better choice.

 

[DarkMatter]

If the money is a stretch consider a two year old Leaf instead. With occasional trips just outside the range you can plan to quick charge on the way, or just hire a car. Yes it will not be a Tesla. It will still be entirely electric, still a nice car, and the weather there is basically perfect them to have very little battery degradation. Just make certain there is a charger in the middle of your long trip. The Leaf can make 70 miles driven judiciously so even with only level 2 charging on the way you will only need a Supercharger-style 45 minute top up in the middle. I'm very excited for your enthusiasm. I just worry that if you need all the stars to align in order to afford a used Tesla that you are stretching things too far.

Also you could consider one of the plug in hybrids if they work for the zero emissions requirements of London. I've driven the BMW i3 and it's quite nice. Here two year old used ones are half the price of a used Tesla.

 

[bonaire]

If someone wants to drive electrically - as DarkMatter says, you have the Leaf and one of many models. Including perhaps the Mitsubishi Outlander PiHV (used or new). In the USA right now, about 25 models of plug-ins are available.

If one only knows of the brand Tesla as an electric car, then it kind of proves too that the other brands are doing a poor job educating the public.