Ordered my Model S! Opinions?

I've been dreaming of owning a Tesla since before Roadster production over 6 years ago and saving up for a Model S for 20 months (since I got my job), and finally ordered my Model S on Monday! I originally had very strict intentions to wait until I could pay cash, but that would have taken at least until next winter and the stress of carpooling and being stuck at work for 10 hours was getting to be too much, so I decided to finance. It will be my first car and it will come with a lot of other firsts, like first time being in debt, first time (to my memory) making a single purchase over $1000 on anything other than TSLA stock, etc. That said, while I'm very excited about it, I'm also a bit nervous.

Anyway, here's my order as it stands now:

60 kWh
Blue Metallic Paint
All Glass Panoramic Roof
19" Wheels
Black Textile Seats
Piano Black Décor (Unsure about this, see below. Edit: Decided to keep piano black.)
Dual Chargers (Edit: Removed since it is unlikely to be needed.)
Tech Package
Smart Air Suspension
Parking Sensors
Fog Lamps
Subzero Weather Package

Regarding the decor, I chose piano black to save money and I thought it looked good. After some reading, I'm not sure about it because it is said to be a significant dust/fingerprint magnet, which is no surprise for such a plain glossy black. On the other hand, from what I've gathered in my research, the other decors seem a little fake. I'm not a fan of the wood, but am considering the carbon fiber, just not sure if it's worth $800 to not have to clean it as often. What are your opinions on the piano black and carbon fiber decors?

I'm pretty much settled on all the other options, but I am interested to know any other thoughts about my choices. I'm not in a rush and the projected date of late June is a good time, just before my birthday, so I'll take the whole two weeks to let it all sink in.

On another note, I don't seem to be able to set my signature, where I would put my Model S details as many others have done. Is that a newbie permission thing or am I not looking in the right place?

I intend to use it only for my <50 mile round trip commute and other local errands at least until I have it paid off. After that, I'll be more open to taking long trips and would purchase the Supercharger capability before doing so if there are Superchargers along the way. I don't expect to be taking many long trips, 1 or 2 a year at most, but who knows, I might want to take more trips if it's so fun to drive. I decided on the dual chargers mainly because of the substantial cost of installing it afterwards and just in case I need to charge at a Level 2 charger. I was debating it before I decided to finance, but now with the flexibility of financing it seems to make more sense to have it factory installed.

Good to know about the fog lights, I'll put that in the questionable category. Does anyone know if they can be installed later? If it's bad enough, maybe Tesla will improve it before long.

Of the three wood decors, the lacewood is my favorite, so I could probably be convinced to go for that. I've actually been lacking resources for comparing the decors in the real world and the design studio isn't that great at showing detail, so any pictures or links you may have would help.

I've considered the S85, but Btrflyl8e is right, I couldn't justify it. 60 is plenty for the range I need and will still work fine for long trips. With all my experience being on low performance cars with 0-60 over 8 seconds, performance of the 60 is more than sufficient for me. The main concern is the limited warranty, but with my commute I'll still have a buffer of over 2000 miles a year, so I think I'm safe. The benefits of the extra options outweigh the benefits of the 85. I am also considering trading it in for a Gen3 after it hits production, if it's compelling enough.

The Supercharger option is available in the shop for remote activation. It's $500 extra, but I am willing to take the hit if it means I can pay off my car earlier and there's a chance (however slim) I'll never need it.

Based on the comments that suggest I likely won't need it, I might be dropping the dual chargers. I would hate to find out I want it later, so I'll sleep on it before deciding if I should take that $2100 risk over the current $1500 risk.

My main reasoning for the pano roof is for the headroom, which to my understanding is a rather significant issue with the standard roof. I will certainly be giving lots of rides and I wouldn't want my passengers to be uncomfortable in my expensive car. I don't know if I'll ever use the roof mounts, but it's nice to have the flexibility. Another thing I've imagined myself doing, since I have an interest in astronomy, is driving to a dark place, opening the pano, leaning the seat back (does it lean back far?), and staring at the stars in comfort. My primary concern is how it will hold up to Michigan winters as far as insulating the cabin, though I noticed aftermarket insulation can be installed.

For the air suspension, everything is pretty flat around here, but the snow can be a pain and I thought that was enough to justify it. The curb clearing and extra smooth ride are a plus. I can probably be swayed to standard suspension since the benefits of air in snow are more or less theoretical.

I've thought about the paint and am aware that the blue often looks black, yet brilliant in the sun. I kind of prefer dark colors, but not so much plain black. So I think my color preference and the fact that the paint is the most visible preference makes it worth the $750.

It sounds like I'll be sticking with the piano black decor since the dust and fingerprints aren't all that bad, not worth $650+ to avoid. Also good to know about the Tesla cloth, that conveniently saves me a few bucks. :wink:

For anything in shop, I'll take a "wait and see" stance. I'll want to be clear on my new cashflow before any additional unnecessary spending. I guess the only real negative might be the additional cost of shipping if it doesn't come with the car.

The Model E doesn't have enough weight to affect my choices now, it's only something I'm thinking as a future possibility and I'd probably wait at least a couple years into production if I decide to go with it. I will work out the cost/benefit when the time comes. I probably shouldn't have mentioned it.

PlugShare shows a few Level 2 stations within a mile of my work and at least one of them are free. This may have something to do with the high popularity of the Volt around here where many people work for GM (I see roughly 8 a day). I'm looking at the dual chargers more like insurance in the event of, say, losing power at my house for 3 days or taking a trip where there are no Superchargers, or whatever else. The question is whether that insurance is worth $1500 to cut that potentially inconvenient charge time in half (2 vs. 4 hours to cover round trip commute) and eliminate any chance of paying $3600 for it later. If my workplace installs a charging station or external 240v outlet (which sounds unlikely in the near future), charge time shouldn't ever be an issue on my normal workdays. I'm leaning against the dual chargers, but still on the fence.

I'm personally not a big fan of taking trips. For the foreseeable future, I'll probably only do it for family vacations, which have typically been about every other Christmas. Again, my main reason for excluding the Supercharger is because it can be activated later and I want to pay off my loan ASAP, and I'm okay with the extra $500 to do that. I estimate that adding the $2000 Supercharger option will cost around $200 in interest at my quoted rate of 3.95% (no credit history), so the effective cost of post-activation would be around $300. Comparing the insurance of 60 miles more range with the 85 for long trips for $7000 (excluding value of included options) and the insurance for charging at inconvenient times at Level 2 stations for $1500, I think the dual chargers are a better value in my case. As it is, it sounds like I'll be going for neither.

I'm 6'2" and I did sit in the rear seat of a Model S's with pano at the Detroit auto show and was pleased with the rear seat headroom and openess, though I was leaning forward most of the time to point out things to my dad and friend in the front. I haven't had a chance to try the standard, let alone even a test drive because the dealers forced the last local event to cancel about an hour before I got there. I expect most of my passengers would be at least 6' tall and most frequently my team when we go out to lunch. The co-worker who showed the most interest in Model S is somewhere around 6'6".

Canuck said:

I've read many posts where people thought a 60 would be "perfect" but after getting the car they really regret not getting an 85. Then again, others are perfectly fine with a 60. I just wanted to make sure he wouldn't be in the first category, especially since he is from Michigan where cold really sucks up range, dual chargers may not be needed, air may not be worth it over a 85, and fog lights might be a throw away.

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Worst case, I'll wish I went for the 85 after driving a loaner, but I won't regret my purchase. I find that I am easily content with not having the best stuff; my gaming PC is still going strong after 8 years. I'll finally have a car that will hold me over for a number of years until I'm in a more comfortable financial situation and in the market for a better car, not as desperate as I am now.

dsm363 said:

There is a difference between a bare bones 60 that is stretching someone's budget and a 60 with a lot of options on it. I agree many can get the 60 and it will work great but until you have the car it is sometimes tough to know how useful the added range can be even if you think you won't need it. It sounds like this will be his only car too so maximizing its usefulness even for rare occasions is important. That said if he is confident the 60 will work and the options have more more value than range and Supercharging then he should do that.

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Before I decided to finance, I was considering something close to bare-bones with just the tech package, parking sensors, and sub-zero weather package. Now with financing, I don't want to stray too far from that minimalism, but want the options I think are worth my hard-earned money. An S85 with those 3 options is still a few thousand more than a 60 with all the options I think might be worth it (in my order). One way or another, I'll learn something from it for my next car, and that knowledge will be worth the costs.