Hello from Finland!

Hi guys and gals!

I am a new Tesla Model S to-be owner, I just placed an order last week. Since Finland does not yet have official Tesla presence in the form of a store, I ordered from a local car importer that has recently started importing Tesla Model S.

I have been waiting to get Tesla MS for several years now, but I did not want to import it myself, so I have been patiently waiting for a way to purchase it here locally. Almost by accident last Wednesday evening I stumbled across the web pages of that importer, and by the next evening I had an order placed. They said they have already sold 25 other Teslas before my order, so perhaps we will soon have an official store and service center here as well! I just today got an email from the sales person apologizing for his slow replies to my emails, he said he is "drowning under Tesla inquiries", so looks like the interest for the car continues. Too bad we don't have those incentives they have in Norway, here the car costs quite a lot (at least 30% of the price is taxes).

My current car is a Hyundai Genesis Coupe (one of only 9 ever sold in Finland!), which I got in the spring of 2011, when it looked like it will take a long time before Tesla Model S will be available here. That car was a sort of test bench for me, to see how a powerful rear wheel drive car handles on our snowy and icey roads during our long winters. So, I have actually had a very methodological approach to my Tesla purchase.

I am hoping the get my MS in May, possibly June, and can hardly wait. Been watching all possible MS YouTube videos I have managed to find over and over now ever since I placed my order. That just does not seem to help enough with my car fever symptoms!

Pate

Hi Jan, nice to hear from another Tesla enthusiast in Finland! I hope you don't mind if I reply in English, so the non-Finnish-speaking people don't feel left out?

Importing the car myself would probably have been cheaper, but it would also have been more work. I wanted to support Auto-Outlet for starting to import Tesla Model S while Tesla seems to take their time with coming to Finland. Purchasing from Auto-Outlet also allowed me to deal in my current car to them, and they also deliver the car to where I live with no extra cost. If I had ordered from the Tesla web page, I might have had to fetch the car myself from Tilburg, which I am not willing to do.

I haven't calculated the difference in price between importing myself and purchasing from Auto-Outlet.

I am hoping Tesla will launch a service center in Finland before it is time to service my car. Auto-Outlet said that they will handle the warranty repairs (in practice they either send my car to Stockholm or order a Ranger to Finland) if needed. This will probably cost extra, but I like that they will take care of it.

So far I haven't had complaints with Auto-Outlet, I am still waiting for my car.

They say they have already received around 30 orders, and expect to sell 100 Tesla Model S during this year. I think this amount should make Tesla seriously consider bringing a service center to Finland as well. Here is a story where they mention those numbers:

http://www.kauppalehti.fi/auto/koeajot/sahko-teslalla+kovat+odotukset+suomessa/201402652141

I am very interested to hear your experiences as well, Jan, please let us know how the Tesla purchase works out for you!

Pate