Confirmed my P85D this week which has a provisional June 2015 delivery.
Firstly I have to thank everyone who has contributed to this forum which has been a goldmine of information.
My car is being bought as a company car and the UK Tax thread was very helpful and all confirmed by my accountant. The only possible addition to that thread would be that I had not realised that you cannot claim the VAT back (some £16k) on a company car if it is for any private usage. There seems to be no percentage - if there is a hint of private use you cannot claim any of it, it seems. Unless anyone knows better?
I have now had two test drives at the Gatwick Tesla Garage both with Charlie Fraser, a wonderfully knowledgeable Scot who has patiently answered my myriad of questions. He even dealt with the slightly EV sceptic questions thrown at him by my wife on the second visit admirably. I have to say it is a refreshing change from the usual car buying routine. When I arrived for the first visit, I was somewhat taken aback by the fact there were only 2 cars outside and one in the showroom in what was a large ex Mercedes garage. Very tumbleweed. However, Charlie and Tom seemed very pleased to see us and their enthusiasm was infectious and genuine. I had already ordered the car so this was just about choosing colour and options but I never felt pressured at any point. Still ended up choosing most of them so the subtle approach worked! The test drives of the S85 followed by the P85 confirmed everything that I had read here and elsewhere plus more. The acceleration, the quietness, and the ease of driving. The power is very predictable and precise unlike the Audi S5 I drive currently. I was very reassured by this as having ordered a P85D I was concerned that I would always have to be on the top of my game driving wise with all of that power.
Such a difference from buying from Audi. For example, I was sitting in the Portsmouth Audi showroom recently, gazing disbelievingly at the display featuring an Audi A3 being pulled by mechanical nodding Reindeer that was occupying most of the space, when a bell rang followed by lots of whooping, clapping, back slapping and high fives from amongst all of the staff. When I asked what they were celebrating apparently one of the salesman had sold a car. Oh FFS. Feeling slightly sickened, I vowed never to buy another Audi. The other joy was to stand next to the £130k Audi R8 V10 and stand there whilst the salesman berated me with its specification - 525BHP 0-60 3.4 secs etc., It was a joy to tell him that the Model S I had ordered exceeded all of these specs with zero emissions to boot. Plus I won't look like a knob when I am driving it.
Now I have the long wait until June to endure. Any tips on how people survive it would be gratefully received. I know reading this forum will help and I am looking forward to when the US members start feeding back their experiences with their P85Ds which are being delivered imminently. I am particularly interested in the comments concerning the "next gen" seats which I have ordered unseen.
One question I had was concerning the "Alloygators" that one of the cars had fitted to their 21" wheels at the Gatwick showroom. Do they genuinely protect the rims? The 21s are very vulnerable to kerbing and I would gladly spend the money if it meant protecting them.
Anyway, thank you for letting me expunge at length - let me know if you are in the queue for a P85D too!
Cheers Graham
Firstly I have to thank everyone who has contributed to this forum which has been a goldmine of information.
My car is being bought as a company car and the UK Tax thread was very helpful and all confirmed by my accountant. The only possible addition to that thread would be that I had not realised that you cannot claim the VAT back (some £16k) on a company car if it is for any private usage. There seems to be no percentage - if there is a hint of private use you cannot claim any of it, it seems. Unless anyone knows better?
I have now had two test drives at the Gatwick Tesla Garage both with Charlie Fraser, a wonderfully knowledgeable Scot who has patiently answered my myriad of questions. He even dealt with the slightly EV sceptic questions thrown at him by my wife on the second visit admirably. I have to say it is a refreshing change from the usual car buying routine. When I arrived for the first visit, I was somewhat taken aback by the fact there were only 2 cars outside and one in the showroom in what was a large ex Mercedes garage. Very tumbleweed. However, Charlie and Tom seemed very pleased to see us and their enthusiasm was infectious and genuine. I had already ordered the car so this was just about choosing colour and options but I never felt pressured at any point. Still ended up choosing most of them so the subtle approach worked! The test drives of the S85 followed by the P85 confirmed everything that I had read here and elsewhere plus more. The acceleration, the quietness, and the ease of driving. The power is very predictable and precise unlike the Audi S5 I drive currently. I was very reassured by this as having ordered a P85D I was concerned that I would always have to be on the top of my game driving wise with all of that power.
Such a difference from buying from Audi. For example, I was sitting in the Portsmouth Audi showroom recently, gazing disbelievingly at the display featuring an Audi A3 being pulled by mechanical nodding Reindeer that was occupying most of the space, when a bell rang followed by lots of whooping, clapping, back slapping and high fives from amongst all of the staff. When I asked what they were celebrating apparently one of the salesman had sold a car. Oh FFS. Feeling slightly sickened, I vowed never to buy another Audi. The other joy was to stand next to the £130k Audi R8 V10 and stand there whilst the salesman berated me with its specification - 525BHP 0-60 3.4 secs etc., It was a joy to tell him that the Model S I had ordered exceeded all of these specs with zero emissions to boot. Plus I won't look like a knob when I am driving it.
Now I have the long wait until June to endure. Any tips on how people survive it would be gratefully received. I know reading this forum will help and I am looking forward to when the US members start feeding back their experiences with their P85Ds which are being delivered imminently. I am particularly interested in the comments concerning the "next gen" seats which I have ordered unseen.
One question I had was concerning the "Alloygators" that one of the cars had fitted to their 21" wheels at the Gatwick showroom. Do they genuinely protect the rims? The 21s are very vulnerable to kerbing and I would gladly spend the money if it meant protecting them.
Anyway, thank you for letting me expunge at length - let me know if you are in the queue for a P85D too!
Cheers Graham
Maybe there will be an R8 EV someday (I'm still not convinced it will happen, despite Audi's announcements) but it will be far more expensive than the P85D, have far less cabin and trunk space, and have less range. AUDI will call it a "Tesla killer" but it will not be perceived that way by most people. Still, let's hope that AUDI gets their EV act together eventually.
