What Options I would Buy now that I have 2 teslas

[brianman]

Sorry but I don't understand this statement. You either want the car to look it's best, or you don't.
If you do care, go with Xpel Ultimate and forget about the factory armor.

Something to consider...

Option A
1. Buy a 60 kWh vehicle now
2. Install Xpel Ultimate for $7.5K (that's the Seattle price some of us have seen, YMMV)
3. Drive it for 8 years

Option B
1. Buy a 60 kWh vehicle now
2. Drive it for 8 years
3. Trade it in to Tesla for a certified pre-owned 60 that the original owner had wrapped (or repainted)

Assuming the options of the original vehicles were comparable, Option B might be a cheaper route than Option A. Of course, for step 2 of Option B your car might not look as nice as for step 3 of Option A.

 

[crazyboutev]

Thanks so much Josh! I am in the two-week period to change around my options, and this was super-helpful. I ended up adding paint armor because of your post, and dropping the sound studio. Plus, I'm more confident about my 60khw choice (in the bay area too).

 

[PatP]

Very great post. Agree with everything. However, I would add that if you live in a cold climate the 60kwh maybe short for some people. Also, we have a couple of high amps chargers (70 amps) where I live (and no supercharger) so twin charger was a no brainer for me.

 

[Hometheatremaven]

2. Install Xpel Ultimate for $7.5K (that's the Seattle price some of us have seen, YMMV)

YMMV is right. Here in San Diego I think the Xpel Ultimate total install would be half that at some authorized installers.
And no, I don't mean in Tijuana

 

[nrcooled]

Still contemplating twin chargers as I would use this car for occasional trips from San Diego to Silicon Valley and if the twins help with supercharging, etc.

Just FYI - The onboard chargers have nothing to do with Supercharging. The Tesla Superchargers actually by-pass the onboard chargers all together. I have a single charger on my car and I can supercharge just fine.

Twin on-board chargers are for charging using the Tesla HPWC or EVSC stations that support 50A and above charging. Otherwise you can just use the single on-board charger at 50A and below.

 

[dsm363]

The single charger actually can charge at up to 40A but you are correct, the Supercharger bypasses the onboard chargers.

 

[cablue]

We will be getting our 2nd Model S in a couple of weeks. We went with the same options for our second but went with an 85 for the second one. Our first is the 60, which is perfect for 95% of our driving. But since we decided to get another one, the 85 allows us more flexibility in going out of town with the S. These are our configurations:
60: blk/blk, piano, pano, tech, superchargers (included at no cost due to date of order), sound, air, shelf
85: silver/blk, ow gloss, pano, tech, sound, air, no shelf, and superchargers are included in price.
We love the pano, tech, etc.. and, obviously, chose to repeat those options.
Regarding getting a second Model S, we never thought we'd buy two of the same cars before and thought long and hard about this decision. It came down to which other car would we want more than the S. There simply wasn't another car. Paying this kind of money or thereabouts for another car that isn't really the one either wants to be driving daily would be foolish, in our opinion. So, we went forward. A plus to this decision, also, is getting the clean air sticker allowing the hov lane.

 

[EarlyAdopter]

YMMV is right. Here in San Diego I think the Xpel Ultimate total install would be half that at some authorized installers.
And no, I don't mean in Tijuana

Even here in pricey Seattle you can get the full front (full hood, bumper, front fenders, side mirrors - no seams) wrapped with Xpel Ultimate for only slightly more than the factory paint armor. Best option, imho.

 

[mpbruin108]

This is great information. I am in the two week period too to change it and wasn't sure about the 21" vs 19." I live in LA so I think I rather have the 85kwh for peace of mind. Hate to get stuck in a bad neighborhood because of traffic. Has anyone tried their in house financing/leasing option? I find that I can probably get a better deal on the APR than 2.95% but I do like the fact that they will buy the car back at end of 36-39 months if I, for some crazy reason, don't want to keep driving it. I have a habit of changing cars very often but I strongly believe that I have never found the right car. After driving the Tesla today (P85), I feel that the Tesla S might be my car soul mate. I know, crazy.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

....After driving the Tesla today (P85), I feel that the Tesla S might be my car soul mate. I know, crazy.

:biggrin:

 

[cablue]

Tesla is offering us 2.24% with US Bank at 60 months. We're going for that. Our first we went with Penfed, but having a second one, we decided to go with the guarantee.

 

[eAdopter]

Even here in pricey Seattle you can get the full front (full hood, bumper, front fenders, side mirrors - no seams) wrapped with Xpel Ultimate for only slightly more than the factory paint armor. Best option, imho.

Where? I may reconsider.

 

[josh]

Great post!

What about the new Performance Plus option, that has wider (staggered?) wheels and upgraded tires, new suspension geometry, etc? Does that make the car less of a cruiser and a worthy handler given the horsepower?

When this was revealed in the original edmunds review, I was bummed that I was not able to get it, but now I am not, the thing that makes this a cruiser is the curb weight. Even when engineered to perform, you never forget its there. It's cool though, it's a great cruiser!

- - - Updated - - -

Reading another thread, I have a question for josh.

You have a performance and a non-performance. I'd like you to compare the seats. I know that they are made out of slightly different materials, but the question is: are they the same shape or different? I was under the impression that the side bolsters were larger in the Performance model. Or are they identical?

I'll double check but they have seemed the same, with the exception of my performance model having the suede inserts. Alas I would love a supportive seat but both of these are nice and flat to accomodate plus-size purchasers!

- - - Updated - - -

Reading another thread, I have a question for josh.

You have a performance and a non-performance. I'd like you to compare the seats. I know that they are made out of slightly different materials, but the question is: are they the same shape or different? I was under the impression that the side bolsters were larger in the Performance model. Or are they identical?

I'll double check but they have seemed the same, with the exception of my performance model having the suede inserts. Alas I would love a supportive seat but both of these are nice and flat to accomodate plus-size purchasers!

 

[napabill]

* twin chargers: waste of money in the first car, I wouldn't get again, this is a car you charge overnight

Until the Supercharger network is not only announced but is actually operational, having the ability to charge at 80 amps at Tesla Store sites and other HPWC sites is very handy on road trips. I end up having to spend 3 hours charging at 40 amps in Scottsdale, AZ on my trips between Tucson and Napa. But if road trips are not part of your agenda, then I'd agree, unnecessary. But if you're a road-tripper, get'um.

 

[lolachampcar]

Happy with the twin chargers... There have been times when I come home for lunch to grab 90 miles when I need to make an unscheduled trip that afternoon. Without it, I would be tempted to charge every night.

P+ and Red/Tan are driving me to find a way to get another MS.

 

[GruvyS]

Great to see the two. I totally, agree. We have a 60 - plenty of power, plenty of range for all around city driving in Denver. I also concur on Performance - lets face it, its a decent size family sedan that excels due to lack of combustion and a "transmission" so it's fast. If you want performance vehicle get a sports car (although to be honest, I hardly drive our 911 after getting the Model S).

My take (after having 1k miles) on ours:
*60 is plenty (driving hard like I driven my beemer, etc 1 get 150 miles on the charge and about)
*Tech a must (all those toys and appearance worht it)
*Twin chargers - are a waste in CO - let's face it, the network does not "really exist"
*Sunroof - have no use for one (based on past experiences) so no real "need" if money is a concern
*19s are more than adequate - 21s are not really worth it (for me)
*Air vs Standard (having driven air) I really see no difference in performance

So that's my take. Overall, still have my "grin" driving it on daily basis.

 

[djromain]

Air vs Standard : So, do you think there is no gain of range with air suspension above 65mph if they can lower car for decreasing air resistance ?
It would be the major reason why I would take air suspension before finalizing my order in the nexts days

 

[GruvyS]

I made my decision the following way: extra cost of air+ availability of parts if something goes wrong and TSLA is out of business, additional "service" item, etc. All of my other cars do just fine with the standard suspension. Instead of spending the money on air, I installed a 40/240 at work ($350) to deal with my heavy driving days and have zero range anxiety.
Overall, I really can not tell a difference between air and no air (except for lowering and raising of the car but after the "novelty" of having it on my old Lexus LX470 wore off, I do not recall ever using it).
I don't think you can go wrong with or without air - just a matter of the wallets capacity.

 

[shokunin]

Having both a P85 and a software limited 40, I've been mostly happy with the choices we put in both cars. If I knew the S rode just as smooth on standard susp vs air, then I would have opted out of the air suspension on our 40. Back in November when we finalized no one really knew how the std suspension would ride.

The basic sound stereo sounds pretty bad. I mean really basic with very little bass. Not that the upgraded sound has a ton of bass, but at least there is some and the sound is smoother. Both stereos have a hard time getting the lower midrange and vocals anywhere near tonally correct. My wife doesn't care about the stereo so she's happy to save the $950.

We had the 19's on the 40 for several days and swapped it for 21's (bought from another forum member). The 19's definitely ride smoother but have less steering response and quick lane changes have far more sway and wobble than the 21's. My wife could care less about the performance, but we both preferred the look with turbine 21s.

Performance wise there's IMO a huge difference between the P85 and the 40. Stomping on the pedal doesn't elicit the same sense of sheer G-force kick. Even flooring it to do a quick lane change seems much slower and less violent on the 40. It should be expected since it takes 40% longer for the 40/60KW to hit 0-60 than the P85.

No twin chargers and have not run into a situation where it would have been needed or useful.

Tesla would not let me remove the paint armor option on my MVPA even though the car wasn't even close to being in production. Asked three times and was denied each time. Oh well. Not a huge issue. The avery film has less orange peel/texture than Xpel Ultimate, but it definitely has a slight yellowish tint to it. There's a color shift when looking at the non armored portion of the hood. I'll be removing the partial hood and getting an aftermarket whole hood paint armor (PPF). The install quality of the bumper seams on the factory paint armor is far less precise than aftermarket where the laser cut seams are hardly noticeable.

Overall I would rate the value of the Tesla paint armor to be poor, get it done the right way aftermarket.

 

[xray]

@shokunin Really appreciate the first hand comparison of the acceleration between the 40/60kw and P85. It makes intuitive sense but it's great to have first hand confirmation.

I do differ somewhat on my outlook on the twin chargers. I agree that it's an option that can be skipped, particularly if you're way over budget, but the times that I've had an opportunity to charge using a HPWC have been quite satisfying. Awesome to see your battery charge increase by 80-100 miles over a couple of hours.

Keeping my future charging options open is my delusional self-justification for spending the extra $1500. I suppose we won't know the true extent of the utility of the twin chargers over the life of the car for another few years but I'm hopeful that HPWC infrastructure will improve (I'm looking at you Las Vegas resorts!!).