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How would YOU configure a Model S for the budget conscience?

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Hi guys,

been a huge Tesla fan for a couple years now, seriously considering taking the plunge. I do have a Model X reservation so I won't be ordering until after the reveal and pricing is announced. (fearing X will be too pricy for me, likely no 60 option) So, I'm trying to do my due diligence and be ready to pull the trigger if the X can't happen for me.

I have considered other EVs as well. I have test driven the Volt, Leaf, i3, but for various reasons I can't settle on them. (Leaf being my favorite of those 3, but winter range won't work for me.) Driving Kia Soul EV on Friday, guessing I will like it, but winter range is the big unknown. I have a 50km drive to work, park outside for 12 hours with no charging, and then 50km back home. I am near Kingston Ontario where it can get down to -25C in the winter (-35C with wind-chill), so I don't know if anything besides a Tesla will work for me. (for pure EVs)

We don't do a ton of road trips yet (3 yr old and trying to have one more). We will have a Supercharger in Kingston shortly (we are 20km north). We don't usually venture past Toronto or Montreal or Ottawa which are all in the SC zone, although venturing further is possible when kids older. Upgrading to the 85 is so tempting to bump the range, but on the other hand, going with the 60 with a few upgrades gives me options I will enjoy everyday. Warranty bump is not a huge deal, as I project to take 7 years to drive the 200,000km that come with the 60.

So, assuming Model X will be too expensive, and I find the stones to pull the trigger, what would you guys order?

Here is my list of options I am considering, somewhat in order of importance to me, with quick comments....

Colour - Standard White with pano roof, or Silver with body coloured roof....I don't like the white with a white roof (would have prob got solid black roof but they nixed it, but pano nice for the headroom and only $2000 more than the Silver paint upgrade is)...planning on getting OptiCoat done by a pro either way.

Seats - textile....have never sat in them, but the glowing reviews from TMC members is enough for me. Leather $1500 here.

Interior - Piano black....can't justify $ for anything else, although I do like the black headliner a lot.

Supercharger enable (on the 60)....no brainer to me really

Upgrade to the 85...$8550 (if assume SC on a 60)...love the options below, but I think the 85 upgrade is the most practical for long term ownership and possible road trips....performance bump nice too!

Teck Pkg...$4400.....really tough call, until AP announced I would have said no for sure, but adaptive cruise is awesome and AP will be great for highway trips. Love auto-present handles too, and lighting is nice, fogs. I'm guessing price goes up once AP is live. Don't care about Nav, power liftgate, or mirrors.

Dual motor AWD...$5200....The car gets glowing reviews in the snow even on RWD so I don't know if its really needed....assumed reduced tire wear would be nice though...if it's between AWD and tech I think I have to go tech right?

Subzero pkg....heated wheel would be nice...value not bad if price stays same at $850 with wheel, have heard other features are not very good, don't need heated rear seats.

Sound pkg...I love my tunes, but I can't justify $2800 extra when I would likely be sacrificing something like tech or AWD to get it.

Standard suspension, 19's, no other options.

Leaning towards Standard White 85, pano roof, tech, no other options, $96,870 pre-tax (13%), and we get an $8500 cheque back from Ontario gov't.

If I decide I need to cut some cost it would come down to dropping tech from this config (save $4400), or going down to the 60 and keeping tech (save $8550). Or cut both 85 and tech and save ($12,950) and take ICE on winter road trips.

Thanks for your input!
 
I would definitely drop the 85 over the tech, given the newest updates to the tech package. I have a 60, pano, SC enabled with no-tech. No AP or ACC at the time, so it was pretty easy to skip. I regret the lack of tech more than I do the limited range.

I have never regretted a 60 from a range perspective, but there are a lot of charging options around me especially with the ChaDeMO adapter "Coming Soon!". I drive my 60 w/ skis on the roof and have a 1100 ft loss/gain each day in my 60 mile commute. I actually had to plan using all my battery (which was rather difficult to do safely) to try to re-calibrate it. I have driven 600-mile SC road-trips throughout the PNW, loaded inside and out with no issue or concern. The unlimited mileage warranty is the only consideration. I am putting 25k miles a year on my 60 easily, so as my only EV that could be a concern. Long-term I plan to add an X85 (or max-range) and the S60 will become the second family car which is driven half as much.
 
I agree with SweetP... on a budget, drop the pano roof and definitely keep the tech package.

I have sat in the textile seats. They are comfortable and very attractive. The appearance is not much different from the standard leather seats.

Good luck with your purchase.
 
I am not familiar with the durability and "cleanability" of the textile seats. Are they similar to cloth seats? If so, that is a big mistake if you have a 3 year-old with another on the way. I made a similar mistake once, and only once. The cloth seats were ruined by my kids. Leather, OTOH, is remarkably easy to keep clean. Any spills wipe right up. Every car of mine that had this looked like new after years of use.

I have the Pano roof, and my friend does not. I can see the look of envy/regret every time he sees my car. I always tell him that it isn't necessary, but I know it is. The amount of roominess from this gives the car a whole different feel. Maybe you don't mind. I highly recommend that you spend some time sitting in both version.

Tech: must have
Sound: My friend is missing that too and again, he envies the difference. For $2,800? Meh. Stick with the regular and add a subwoofer later if you must.
AWD?: Do you have to have an 85 for that? If so, that's a big jump up in monthly payments. Around $300 or so?
 
I would so S85, Tech, Pano, Leather as the absolute minimum.

85 - Comes with supercharging and you'll like having the extended range when you feel like driving this car everywhere.
Tech - No brainer. This is a tech heavy car.
Leather - Have you ever tried cleaning vomit from textile seats? It will happen....
Pano - My wife sat in both and insisted that we get the Pano. And she was the one I was trying to convince on the Tesla. It feels like a totally different car. Much roomier.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.
 
Easy - buy used.
I think you have optimized value for price with your current config, I always recommend the Tech package to prospective model s owners simply because the wiring harness for the Autopilot with the 12 ultrasonic sensors is completely different and not able to be modded without spending half the value of the car to do so. Second recommendation , normally would be supercharger if you were going with a 60 kw , but since your sticking with the 85 awesome for you. Third i recommend the moonroof because with it you can easily add ski bars/ snowboard bar because the supports are there Automatically on the roof in addition they block 90 percent of the heat and 100percent of uv rays. Dual chargers i don't think is worth it considering that the supercharger network is rapidly expanding and the only time in which you are going to be able to use the additional 10 kw is with a clipper creak or installed HWPC destination charger
 
I think the used market is more limited north of the border, but I wouldn't overlook this. With people upgrading to P85D's and S85D's coming soon, this is a great option.

Yes, this is really true. The used prices up here from private vendors are substantially more than down south. For example, here's some asking prices in BC (we have no EV rebate on new vehicles but still):

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/ctd/4752347777.html
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/4782429535.html
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/nvn/ctd/4778194610.html


However, since OP is in Ontario, and Ontario has an EV rebate of $8.5k, he should really look at the "used" ones from Tesla since he will still qualify for the rebate. Plus, those are the only reasonably priced used ones up here.
 
I have the textile seats and two kiddos had them and the headliner scotch guarded,and haven't regretted textile one time. I'd order textile again in a heartbeat.

The he only thing I'd recommend you think about is the rear seats for the kiddos. Especially if you've got a deposit on an X now. What that tells me is that eventually you'd like the room for either more people in the car or more kids in the future. My kids sit in their "apartment" as they call it and love it back there.

If if I were going complete budget I'd do one of two things tesla is going into the used market where here going to actually start to sell the model s' that they get back vs using w third party like they have been. I'm told we can start looking for that around February. Otherwise if you want to go new I'd recommend 60 with supercharger access. The only reason I'd say go 85 is if you're a high mileage driver. Then the 85 would pay for itself with the unlimited battery and drive unit warranty. If you're not a high mileage drive (won't go over the 125,000 in 8 years go 60)
 
Tesla demo vehicles are a great deal. Discounts for KMs driven and months in use make for some nice discouts on a "new" vehicle. You'll still get gov't rebate & warranty. We see TM move many of these units at the end of quarters to make unit sales projection.
It seems like you really need range in the cold climate and a low price. Be prepared to compromise features to get a S85 at a low price. You may get lucky and get lots of extra stuff. Line up the financing and look around. Be prepared to pull the trigger in March or sooner if the right deal comes up. Good luck.
 
Tesla demo vehicles are a great deal. Discounts for KMs driven and months in use make for some nice discouts on a "new" vehicle. You'll still get gov't rebate & warranty. We see TM move many of these units at the end of quarters to make unit sales projection.
It seems like you really need range in the cold climate and a low price. Be prepared to compromise features to get a S85 at a low price. You may get lucky and get lots of extra stuff. Line up the financing and look around. Be prepared to pull the trigger in March or sooner if the right deal comes up. Good luck.

We only get the 8.5k govt rebate here if the car has less than 2,000 km on it at time of purchase. If I'm not getting the rebate, it doesn't make sense for me to buy used, and I don't think I'm interested in a two year old car from a private sale either. Also, I don't think I will be able to find a demo/inventory car that isn't fully loaded. I have test driven twice and all I've ever seen are top of the line cars. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

If I get a 60, I won't be able to go to Toronto from here on a charge in the winter, and I'm not willing to stop for 2 hours halfway. I would take the ICE instead.

Jump seats are a nice option, but I would rather have some of the other options I listed instead.
 
I was the "budget Model S buyer". When I first put a deposit down, I planned to get a bone stripped 40. When I realized a 40 may not work for me, I cancelled. When I got back on the list, my plan was a bone stripped 60. I ended up getting a loaded 60 through the inventory car program for less than a bone stripped one would have been. My car was discounted over $18k. If you are a budget buyer, the best advice I can give you is to not be picky on spec, and simply buy an inventory car. The key is to be patient, and wait for the right car to come along. Your local owner advisor will be able to help you with this. If you have any questions about the inventory buying process, feel free to PM me, and I will be happy to answer them based off my experience.
 
As the OP mentioned, the Ontario government rebate is only offered on inventory cars having less than 2,000 km. What usually happens to dealer cars in Ontario is that they are driven ~8,000 km, then sold to someone in Quebec where the limit is 10,000 km.

In the OP's case, I would go with 85, Tech and nothing else. The pano roof is much less valuable in Canada.
 
Hi guys,

been a huge Tesla fan for a couple years now, seriously considering taking the plunge. I do have a Model X reservation so I won't be ordering until after the reveal and pricing is announced. (fearing X will be too pricy for me, likely no 60 option) So, I'm trying to do my due diligence and be ready to pull the trigger if the X can't happen for me.

I have considered other EVs as well. I have test driven the Volt, Leaf, i3, but for various reasons I can't settle on them.

I like the idea of the i3, but it's just such a stupid looking car. The interior is pretty cool though.

The Volt is the least offensive although not a true EV, it's a hybrid. However the next-gen volt will be revealed soon and probably will look a lot better. Might be worth looking at.


We don't do a ton of road trips yet (3 yr old and trying to have one more). We will have a Supercharger in Kingston shortly (we are 20km north). We don't usually venture past Toronto or Montreal or Ottawa which are all in the SC zone, although venturing further is possible when kids older.

Being Canadian, you really ought to consider the cold weather penalty on range. You won't get anywhere near the rated range if the battery is cold, and you're running the heater.

Here is my list of options I am considering, somewhat in order of importance to me, with quick comments....

Colour - Standard White with pano roof, or Silver with body coloured roof....I don't like the white with a white roof (would have prob got solid black roof but they nixed it, but pano nice for the headroom and only $2000 more than the Silver paint upgrade is)...planning on getting OptiCoat done by a pro either way.

If you're not dead-set on a sunroof, I'd go without it and put the money on other options. It makes little difference from the driver's seat. I don't have the sunroof, though I've driven cars with pano, and honestly it's not anything I care much about. You'd have maybe 3 days a year you could drive with it open anyway. :biggrin:

The car looks good in white, but silver is easier to maintain from a practical perspective, it hides dirt better. Dark colors don't fare so well with dirt. I have a blue car, looks almost black, and hasn't been washed since delivery 6 weeks ago. :scared:

Seats - textile....have never sat in them, but the glowing reviews from TMC members is enough for me. Leather $1500 here.

I have textile. They are really really good. I would love to get the next-gen seats in textile if they were available. It's not like Honda-style cheap cloth, it's more like some space-age material that really fits in well with the rest of the car. Only downside is that there's no storage pouch in the front that you get with the leather, but even that is gone on the next-gen seats too.

Interior - Piano black....can't justify $ for anything else, although I do like the black headliner a lot.

I have this. I like the darth vader look of black interior with piano black. I still have the standard light headliner though. The piano black shows fingerprints easily but a quick wipe with a microfiber towel takes care of it.

Supercharger enable (on the 60)....no brainer to me really

Upgrade to the 85...$8550 (if assume SC on a 60)...love the options below, but I think the 85 upgrade is the most practical for long term ownership and possible road trips....performance bump nice too!

Agreed on all points


Teck Pkg...$4400.....really tough call, until AP announced I would have said no for sure, but adaptive cruise is awesome and AP will be great for highway trips. Love auto-present handles too, and lighting is nice, fogs. I'm guessing price goes up once AP is live. Don't care about Nav, power liftgate, or mirrors.

Price will stay the same. The cost already went up $500 last October to include the future AP features. Reservations with the "old" tech package had to pay $500 for the "new" tech package in order to get autopilot enabled.


Dual motor AWD...$5200....The car gets glowing reviews in the snow even on RWD so I don't know if its really needed....assumed reduced tire wear would be nice though...if it's between AWD and tech I think I have to go tech right?

RWD should be fine with the right tires, but AWD would give you some extra confidence given your climate. But, also consider the storage space up front. The frunk is pretty huge in RWD cars. Not a big deal since the rear storage area is also huge, BUT if you were to have the rear-facing seats, your frunk is your only storage area when you have kids sitting back there.

Subzero pkg....heated wheel would be nice...value not bad if price stays same at $850 with wheel, have heard other features are not very good, don't need heated rear seats.

Heated seats come with the tech package, so if you have tech, you don't necessarily need the subzero pkg. The textile seats are heated too.

Sound pkg...I love my tunes, but I can't justify $2800 extra when I would likely be sacrificing something like tech or AWD to get it.

Base sound is OK, just lacks bass. Upgraded sound is better, but it sounds more like an $800 upgrade vs the actual cost. I skipped the upgraded sound, but I may install a subwoofer at some point.

Standard suspension, 19's, no other options.

Air suspension might be useful in deep snow, but the standard coils ride very well. A bit firmer than the air suspension. If you are used to sport suspensions in cars, you'll feel right at home with coils. 19's are the best option for range too.

- - - Updated - - -

Also - throw another option into the mix. You can probably get a good deal on a slightly used model now that a bunch of them were traded in for P85D's.
 
Skipping the tech pack is totally crazy IMO especially given all the Autopilot features that will be included with it. Just consider it to be a mandatory part of the car :)

After that I'd choose to go up to 85 from 60, and then everything else after that is totally optional.

An S85 with just the tech pack is 95% as good as a fully loaded P85D in everyday use.

In terms of future re-sale I think leather and pano are the obvious next options to include. And remember that if you ever want to use a roofrack you can only do this if you have pano.

And finally if you have kids of the right age, the third row seats are worth considering. But you'll know if that applies to you.
 
I would get the 85kWh battery... you won't regret it.

1) charges faster
2) car accelerates faster
3) car will obviously go further

Those three things change the character of the car quite a bit.

Get the tech package... it has so many things rolled into it now. I would have said Parking Sensors (because they are a must-have) - they are in the tech package.

After that, as some have said, things are optional. The car will be quieter if you get the regular roof. Black or white are great colours to get for free. My car is silver and it's great, but, I have re-run the configurator many times for fun and white is a great colour.