Who shouldn't buy a Tesla (or an MS)

[duggadugga]

guys, I think I'm gonna pull the trigger today. I've been doing my research for about 10 days straight on this forum and elsewhere.

But before I make a $100k (Canadian) decision I feel like I have to ask for reasons why I *shouldn't* get a brand new Model S today.

Consider this the equivalent of standing up at a wedding to say why the bride and groom should not be wed.

Notes:
* I can afford the vehicle and my SO is on board
* I have a toddler, but will not be too fussed if she stains the seats or causes small cosmetic damage
* I will not try to set it to FSD (I'm not even getting it, at least at first) and go to sleep or text on my phone
* I live in a rural, snowy area, but don't have to drive very far or even every day

If you can think of any reason that this man and this car should not be together, speak now or forever hold your peace.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Can't think of any really - loved my previous S, and hope to get the wife into one someday.

Service has gone massively downhill since 2018, so there's that.

 

[SilverGS]

guys, I think I'm gonna pull the trigger today. I've been doing my research for about 10 days straight on this forum and elsewhere.

But before I make a $100k (Canadian) decision I feel like I have to ask for reasons why I *shouldn't* get a brand new Model S today.

Consider this the equivalent of standing up at a wedding to say why the bride and groom should not be wed.

Notes:
* I can afford the vehicle and my SO is on board
* I have a toddler, but will not be too fussed if she stains the seats or causes small cosmetic damage
* I will not try to set it to FSD (I'm not even getting it, at least at first) and go to sleep or text on my phone
* I live in a rural, snowy area, but don't have to drive very far or even every day

If you can think of any reason that this man and this car should not be together, speak now or forever hold your peace.

What are you waiting for??? Seriously, get one already.

 

[Hash Browns]

First, you should definitely get one. You'll love it.

However, given you live in a rural and snowy area, I'd make sure you can get 240v charging at home. In my opinion, it dramatically improves the ownership experience vs charging on 110v or going to a Supercharger.

 

[PACEMD]

guys, I think I'm gonna pull the trigger today. I've been doing my research for about 10 days straight on this forum and elsewhere.

If you can think of any reason that this man and this car should not be together, speak now or forever hold your peace.

Because it's Adam and Eve, not Adam and EV...........

 

[domodan]

Get it! You’ll love it. Don’t try and use the 110v charger though. Spend the $500 to get the proper charger installed in your house.

 

[duggadugga]

Get it! You’ll love it. Don’t try and use the 110v charger though. Spend the $500 to get the proper charger installed in your house.

Are you guys referring to this? Wall Connector
I guess I need to book an electrician in, too!

 

[CyberGus]

The MS will ruin ICE cars to you forever.

 

[Crutonius]

The main argument against a Model S, or really any Tesla, is not the car but the company itself.

Here we have a company that has put all their resources into making amazing cars and getting them out fast without any regard for what happens 8 years down the line. Their service department is broken. Spare parts are very difficult to get. They have no procedures in place to rebuild major components such as the battery or the mcu, they just sell you an entire new unit. Seriously, read the procedure for replacing the sunroof, it's beyond ridiculous.

But I knew all that going into it. And I would do it again.

 

[SilverGS]

But I knew all that going into it. And I would do it again.

Same here. The buttery smooth drive, instantaneous thrust at any speed, low cost to operate (hardly any maintenance and cheap electricity) and advanced connected Technology is what swayed me. When my current S is need of a replacement, it will be another Tesla or used Taycan if I can afford one.

 

[Crutonius]

Taycan is an interesting one. Going to have to test drive it to see what I think.

Every other EV with the possible exception of the lucid whatever just seems lacking compared to a Tesla.

 

[Takumi]

Model S would not be my first choice wrt your situation, but since you've chosen the S, then I believe styling is what you're prioritizing.

I'd recommend the Y, but try the ingress/egress (priority for me) on any vehicle. Y because seems like it'll have less problems.

Model S seems to be most problematic (long in the tooth). If you're really keen on getting the S, any reason why you can't wait? The refresh or possibly die-cast version seems to be around the corner.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Make sure that you FULLY understand how awful the "Customer Service" support is. It's regional but even if you happen to live near one of the "decent" service centers, the rules they have to play within are VERY restrictive to providing even decent customer service. If you have any problems odds are good they can be addressed by a mobile tech in which case you should be alright. In the lower likelihood you need to take it to or deal with the service center... good luck. If you don't mind not being able to call (literally) a human being at any point ever at Tesla... go right on ahead. Amazing cars and nothing else you can buy currently comes even remotely close. Just go into it with eyes wide open to the simple fact that as good as their cars are, the service is equally bad.

That said, I'm literally talking a buddy into buying a new one now. In his case, he had a P90DL that I found him previously. It just got totaled so he reached out to me to find him another similar one. Given his budget I told him to just get a new LR+ and be done with it. The caveat here is that he owned one previously, is aware of the god awful "Customer Service" support and was going to get another one anyway. The cars really are that good IMHO.

The moment ANY other maker comes out with something even close though, I'm out.

 

[richrootes]

Vancouver will more than likely be your closest SC - the service you’ll receive from there if you need it will be vastly superior to that reported by those that bemoan the USA locations (this has been my personal experience - no doubt some will disagree)

You’re going to love your new Tesla - based on your location, make sure you get a winter tyre package and expect the range of the battery to be quite different in the winter as opposed to the summer

 

[Cleo-n-Company]

Vancouver will more than likely be your closest SC - the service you’ll receive from there if you need it will be vastly superior to that reported by those that bemoan the USA locations (this has been my personal experience - no doubt some will disagree)

You’re going to love your new Tesla - based on your location, make sure you get a winter tyre package and expect the range of the battery to be quite different in the winter as opposed to the summer

Why am I not surprised Tesla service is vastly superior in Canada ? O Canada...

 

[Cleo-n-Company]

Make sure that you FULLY understand how awful the "Customer Service" support is. It's regional but even if you happen to live near one of the "decent" service centers, the rules they have to play within are VERY restrictive to providing even decent customer service. If you have any problems odds are good they can be addressed by a mobile tech in which case you should be alright. In the lower likelihood you need to take it to or deal with the service center... good luck. If you don't mind not being able to call (literally) a human being at any point ever at Tesla... go right on ahead. Amazing cars and nothing else you can buy currently comes even remotely close. Just go into it with eyes wide open to the simple fact that as good as their cars are, the service is equally bad.

That said, I'm literally talking a buddy into buying a new one now. In his case, he had a P90DL that I found him previously. It just got totaled so he reached out to me to find him another similar one. Given his budget I told him to just get a new LR+ and be done with it. The caveat here is that he owned one previously, is aware of the god awful "Customer Service" support and was going to get another one anyway. The cars really are that good IMHO.

The moment ANY other maker comes out with something even close though, I'm out.

I'm sitting on the same bus as Ostrichsak. Teslas are wonderful vehicles that have been totally let down by the humans who manage the pathetic service and customer experience. I'm so tired of the technology wonks insisting the issues are the "price to pay" for a great car.

All these wonks seem to forget (or weren't around) in the first years when the company treated its customers like customers. I'm now considered a criminal (since I'm getting tired paying for multiple door actuator repairs) and a nuisance. God forbid I can open my car door.

 

[Chaserr]

If you're a glass half full person, the semi and pickup will force Tesla to finally rehire someone to manage service and make it tolerable again. They have to - current service is bad because it's the bare minimum possible and they never replacen Jon McNeill when he left so they have no service, as predicted. But businesses will simply refuse to buy trucks if they are forced to risk this kind of service problem threatening their profits. The needs of semi operators and to a less degree pickups necessitate a return to proper service again. It must happen. Since Tesla runs lean they can abuse car owners and rely of fans to excuse it but this level of service will be suicidal in the commercial truck space.

 

[SO16]

Or could wait for the Cybertruck.

 

[bgrynn1873]

The main reason to not buy the S is because it been around since 2012.

I personally like the model 3/y interior better I feel like it just a better design and to me feels more modern.

I went and got a model Y because it has the room and also what I feel like a more modern updated design.

To me this was enough to not buy and S. Also if I was buying an S. I also didn’t see any used ones for cheap enough so for me model Y was good alternative.

So if the dated design is ok with you then I say go for it.

the cybertruck is interesting but no way would I wait for that.

 

[duggadugga]

Model S would not be my first choice wrt your situation, but since you've chosen the S, then I believe styling is what you're prioritizing.

I'd recommend the Y, but try the ingress/egress (priority for me) on any vehicle. Y because seems like it'll have less problems.

Model S seems to be most problematic (long in the tooth). If you're really keen on getting the S, any reason why you can't wait? The refresh or possibly die-cast version seems to be around the corner.

Oh no! At least two people ITT pushing me back to the Y, which is where I started my journey. The Y is the only one I've ever test-driven (I am 4 hours away from a location). I enjoyed it greatly but was really looking forward to having a car rather than an SUV again (my daily driver has been a BMW X3).

Why do we think the Y would be less problematic than the S? I would have thought the S would be less likely to have problems precisely because the engineers have had so many years to iterate on the S, whereas the Y is new. Is this faulty logic?

With regards to people saying Cybertruck...I am definitely on the Cybertruck list!