Would you delay your delivery for a more complete car?

[spatterso911]

Given what I heard yesterday, seems like the folks receiving their cars after January will have more options and possibly more standard features available, as well as possible mechanical/feature improvements. Would you delay receiving to avoid the inconvenience of having to bring our Model S back to be modified at a later time? What feature(s) is(are) worth the delay??

edit: sorry for the typos in the poll...

 

[smoothoperator]

Given what I heard yesterday, seems like the folks receiving their cars after January will have more options and possibly more standard features available, as well as possible mechanical/feature improvements. Would you delay receiving to avoid the inconvenience of having to bring our Model S back to be modified at a later time? What feature(s) is(are) worth the delay??

Roadster owners have had a good experience with regards to Tesla retrofitting later updates for vehicles of the same model type (i.e. 1.5, 2.0, 2.5). For higher spec Model S' I doubt that Tesla will leave the early adopters high and dry.

 

[1young1]

I would be willing to delay delivery of my Model S for a few months if the following features will be included:

* A more elegant and integrated center console
* Power folding mirrors
* Blind spot monitoring system

 

[AnOutsider]

I think I might if I weren't fairly sure that Tesla would take care of us early folks and make our cars upgradeable (even if not for free). Really, one reason I may keep this car for longer than my others is due to the fact that I expect Tesla will make many things available to us 1.0 people down the line.

 

[Trnsl8r]

Can't be that hard to retrofit with some decent seat back pockets, can it?

 

[Zythryn]

I disagree with the poll question, so I really can't answer it.
I do not feel the car is "incomplete".
There is nothing being offered next year, which makes the car "incomplete" now.
Is a car bought one year incomplete because another color is offered the following year?

 

[shokunin]

I'm curious on the cost of these new options as well as their impact to current sig-holders. Are they free or is there another upcharge for center and rear consoles, folding mirrors, etc. I'm debating if I should ugprade to Sig (if available) and change colors, but the delta in pricing is large enough at this point that I probably won't pull the trigger.

However, if folding mirrors are a $1000 item, console is another $1000 and rear console is $500 and adaptive cruise is another $1000, but all are free on Sigs, then the pricing delta is worth me pulling the trigger.

 

[W8MM]

Given what I heard yesterday, seems like the folks receiving their cars after January will have more options and possibly more standard features available, as well as possible mechanical/feature improvements. Would you delay receiving to avoid the inconvenience of having to bring our Model S back to be modified at a later time? What feature(s) is(are) worth the delay??

edit: sorry for the typos in the poll...

Well, ......... we're Roadster 1.5 owners and had I known then what I know now, we should have waited at least a year.

The 1.5's air conditioning is primitive, at best. Upgrade? --- not possible for any price.

The ABS calibration is downright dangerous in some winter conditions (I had a minor accident trying to slow down when the ABS wouldn't let me) --- No fix is ever contemplated.

There is no guarantee that any particularly useful (or downright necessary) functional upgrade will be part of any retrofit program, let alone free of charge.

That's Tesla's track record and I don't see any commitment on their part to do anything different for the Model S. There was no opportunity to evaluate the original Roadster, short of taking a 10 or 20 minute test drive in Palo Alto, before making a blind-faith purchase. One had to rely on the representations by Tesla employees as to questions about how does the ABS work in the winter, or if the air conditioning would work adequately in the Mid-West's combination of high temp and high humidity.

The sheer scale of the Model S (compared to the Roadster) makes it a cash-flow nightmare for Tesla to do anything more than say, "Well, you got yours first" as a compensation for buying early. I'm really conflicted about whether keeping our R#44 place in line is a good idea.

I really wonder whether Tesla has been able to shake off their California-centric way of evaluating their own progress or sense of what customers want. You know, the British auto industry used to suffer the same sort of parochial insight difficulties and from a "muddle-through" sensibility. What happened to them? They're all owned by the Germans or are out of business.

/rant

 

[brianman]

The 1.5's air conditioning is primitive, at best. Upgrade? --- not possible for any price.

The ABS calibration is downright dangerous in some winter conditions (I had a minor accident trying to slow down when the ABS wouldn't let me) --- No fix is ever contemplated.

I suspect you'll want to move this to another thread/sub-forum, but I'd like to hear Tesla's response to such concerns if you happen to raise the issue with them as part of your decision on R#44.

Thanks.

 

[W8MM]

I suspect you'll want to move this to another thread/sub-forum, but I'd like to hear Tesla's response to such concerns if you happen to raise the issue with them as part of your decision on R#44.

Thanks.

I was merely giving concrete examples of why one might want to delay delivery. Not wanted here?

 

[W8MM]

Roadster owners have had a good experience with regards to Tesla retrofitting later updates for vehicles of the same model type (i.e. 1.5, 2.0, 2.5). For higher spec Model S' I doubt that Tesla will leave the early adopters high and dry.

Please give examples. Minor stuff, yeah. Major? See my post above.

How about the ventilation control knobs that break so easily that I had to source another style? Oh, their fix changed the center console that can't be retrofitted to a 1.5.

 

[brianman]

What I was suggesting was that you raise the concerns with Tesla and share the response with us. As a soon-to-be Sig S owner, I hope their answers make me more comfortable rather than less.

It's definitely wanted here. I just suspect it may warrant its own thread as well.

 

[nrcooled]

Being an early adopter has its risks, this is just how the market works in my eyes. For example, I bought a 2008 Subaru WRX. It's a nice car but not great and the reviews backed up my assessment of the car. The following year (2009) Subaru added more power (~40hp) a quieter and more refined interior (for a compact sedan anyway) and fixed a couple of other issues. What happened was that I bought the first model year of a redesign and it wasn't perfect but it is definitely good enough. It really just comes down to your mindset. I would say if you are having second thoughts that you should delay delivery and see what happens. The questions in your head will always come back anytime that there is the slightest thing wrong with the car.

Car manufacturers have to do something to set each model year apart to continue to get people in the showrooms or on the website in Tesla's case to buy cars. So I anticipate a better navigation system in future Model S' and other gadgets that weren't available to me at the time of purchase. The only thing you can fall back on is "I bought the car that fits my needs".

 

[W8MM]

What I was suggesting was that you raise the concerns with Tesla and share the response with us.

We made our Model S reservation a few months after we received the Roadster, before the first Summer humidity and before the ABS-enhanced winter kaboom. We were unreservedly happy with our Tesla at that time.

These issues have been raised with Tesla since 2009/2010 and have been met with, "So sorry, can't help". These aren't recent issues or ones that Tesla hasn't had every chance to do something more about. They just remain unsolvable for 1.5 owners in the case of the air conditioning performance (and control knobs) and all Roadster owners in the case of the ABS calibration. Most owners in the Pacific NW or California will never have these problems (maybe the knobs) and have no reason to complain. That's why my reference to California-centric thinking was made in the other post.

 

[PhatCat]

... You know, the British auto industry used to suffer the same sort of parochial insight difficulties and from a "muddle-through" sensibility. What happened to them? They're all owned by the Germans or are out of business.

Or Indians.

 

[W8MM]

It really just comes down to your mindset. I would say if you are having second thoughts that you should delay delivery and see what happens. The questions in your head will always come back anytime that there is the slightest thing wrong with the car.

OK, ... Did you buy a Roadster?

I do have the early adopter mindset -- we actually own the 325th car Tesla ever made. I think that qualifies as early, and even after the issues I presented I still don't regret having purchased the car. The regret is based on a deflated level of the abiding trust I once had in the company. I see lots of that same enthusiastic trust in these threads -- and it seems a little out of kilter with my own history with Tesla.

The one thing I was trying to convey was that boundless enthusiasm for Tesla "doing the right thing" by Model S early adopters needed some calibrating with actual facts and history.

 

[ckessel]

Given what I heard yesterday...

So what did you hear? I must have missed the post that mentioned it.

 

[brianman]

Given what I heard yesterday...

So what did you hear? I must have missed the post that mentioned it.

I think he's referring to this post...
Unknowns

 

[CyberDutchie]

Car manufacturers have to do something to set each model year apart to continue to get people in the showrooms or on the website in Tesla's case to buy cars.

I think in the case of Tesla it is different. ICE cars have to improve every model year because of the competition. Tesla doesn't yet have that kind of pressure, as they are so far ahead with everything.

Also, I expect average Tesla owners will keep the car for much longer. I know for myself, I typically lease a car for 3 years, just to be able to get the latest technology. I easily switch brands, I have had Subaru, Acura, now Kia over a span of 8 years.

The Model S, however, I expect to keep for 10 years. I'm looking forward to upgrades to the software and apps support in the years ahead--I just hope they keep backwards compatibility for the software for many years.

 

[Zythryn]

...
The one thing I was trying to convey was that boundless enthusiasm for Tesla "doing the right thing" by Model S early adopters needed some calibrating with actual facts and history.

Your personal history and opinion you mean. While those are very valid for your own purposes, they are not necessarily reflective of the company.
We have continued to receive updates to our Roadster right up through a couple of months ago.
We have never not had an issue addressed promptly and professionally.
This includes both issues we raised, and those Tesla simply updated for better performance or driving experience.

So I will, based on my history and experience, continue to have faith that the same will continue if at all possible.