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Hello & Excited Here!

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I think this is the first time I'm excited/really anticipating getting a car. Just placed an order for a new D70 and set it for a July delivery here. Was always a holding off kind of as the 60 range seemed almost too low, but mainly I wanted AWD here in Chicago. That, the build quality seeming to have improved, awesome new tech adds, and cold weather offering sealed the deal. Went with the new Titanium Metallic color which I like a lot.

Look forward to being an active member on the board. Do have some questions but there are a wealth of answers on here.

1. I'm considering leasing, but Chicago is a little pricey with an extra 9% tacked on, and 9.5% sales tax; e.g. total 18.5% taxes.
2. Considering financing due to the above, reach out to the recommend USAlliance contact many of you recommended. Gotta figure out how much I want to put down, etc. It's a pricey car to take on but seems to hold value ok after a few years and I think I'll like avoiding gas in the long-term so could seeing having it quite a while. :) Don't see it's good looks getting old.

More to come, thanks in advance for all the good info & advice!

Travis
Chicago, IL
 
I think this is the first time I'm excited/really anticipating getting a car. Just placed an order for a new D70 and set it for a July delivery here. Was always a holding off kind of as the 60 range seemed almost too low, but mainly I wanted AWD here in Chicago. That, the build quality seeming to have improved, awesome new tech adds, and cold weather offering sealed the deal. Went with the new Titanium Metallic color which I like a lot.

Look forward to being an active member on the board. Do have some questions but there are a wealth of answers on here.

1. I'm considering leasing, but Chicago is a little pricey with an extra 9% tacked on, and 9.5% sales tax; e.g. total 18.5% taxes.
2. Considering financing due to the above, reach out to the recommend USAlliance contact many of you recommended. Gotta figure out how much I want to put down, etc. It's a pricey car to take on but seems to hold value ok after a few years and I think I'll like avoiding gas in the long-term so could seeing having it quite a while. :) Don't see it's good looks getting old.

More to come, thanks in advance for all the good info & advice!

Travis
Chicago, IL

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! About financing/leasing, consider reaching out to Tesla three weeks before delivery so that you can have the needed approvals and options with which you can compare against third-party financing offers.
 
Congrats.
I am soon to order as well.
How did you decide between 70D and 85D? That question is driving me nuts.

Thanks, and good luck with the whole process as well! For me, the 70D made sense as 99% of the time, the extra 30 miles range (on paper at least) won't matter. I do city driving and even longer trips are like within 50/75 miles and back. Road trips are rare but at most there it won't add much distance, maybe would account for like 1 less charger stop on a really long one (and in that case I'd fly). So then it came down to the performance, .8 seconds faster 0-60 isn't noticeable when you already get 5.2 seconds in the D70, and in Chicago area, your lucky to get above 30mph usually in most your driving ;-). Finally, all that didn't seem worth 10K as I wouldn't use that extra 30 miles functionality and .8sec speed difference ever, or notice not having it.

-T
 
I think this is the first time I'm excited/really anticipating getting a car. Just placed an order for a new D70 and set it for a July delivery here. Was always a holding off kind of as the 60 range seemed almost too low, but mainly I wanted AWD here in Chicago.

This is exactly my thought process! I just ordered a 70D and was mainly waiting on AWD, better range than the 60, and Autopilot. In fact, Autopilot is going to be a godsend on the Eisenhower during rush hour. :) I've had a Chevy Volt as my daily commuter to downtown for the past 2.5 years and am sold on the benefits of EVs. I'm glad to be disconnecting from the gas pump completely upon taking delivery of the MS...except for my weekend fun car. ;)
 
This is exactly my thought process! I just ordered a 70D and was mainly waiting on AWD, better range than the 60, and Autopilot. In fact, Autopilot is going to be a godsend on the Eisenhower during rush hour. :) I've had a Chevy Volt as my daily commuter to downtown for the past 2.5 years and am sold on the benefits of EVs. I'm glad to be disconnecting from the gas pump completely upon taking delivery of the MS...except for my weekend fun car. ;)
. . . and your weekend fun car is a Chevy Volt?
 
This is exactly my thought process! I just ordered a 70D and was mainly waiting on AWD, better range than the 60, and Autopilot. In fact, Autopilot is going to be a godsend on the Eisenhower during rush hour. :) I've had a Chevy Volt as my daily commuter to downtown for the past 2.5 years and am sold on the benefits of EVs. I'm glad to be disconnecting from the gas pump completely upon taking delivery of the MS...except for my weekend fun car. ;)

Ditto! I'm in exactly the same boat as you. Practical during the week, impractical on the weekend. ;)
 
Congrats.
I am soon to order as well.
How did you decide between 70D and 85D? That question is driving me nuts.

@ahurst - me too! Right now, I'm leaning towards a completely loaded 70D over the 85D as I would probably need to eliminate some of the options to afford the 85D. If you look at it from a $ per miles of range perspective, (same options) you'll find that the 70D is a better bang for your buck.

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Ditto! I'm in exactly the same boat as you. Practical during the week, impractical on the weekend. ;)

I'm handing my Volt to my son for his birthday at the end of the year! What a FANTASTIC car that is - for the money!
 
@ahurst - me too! Right now, I'm leaning towards a completely loaded 70D over the 85D as I would probably need to eliminate some of the options to afford the 85D. If you look at it from a $ per miles of range perspective, (same options) you'll find that the 70D is a better bang for your buck.

- - - Updated - - -



I'm handing my Volt to my son for his birthday at the end of the year! What a FANTASTIC car that is - for the money!

Totally agree! Love my Volt. Never a single problem and it served its purpose perfectly.
 
My Volt (2011) is my backup and road-trip car (until they have superchargers where I need to go). Best car I've ever owned. I love the Model S, and its a lot more fun to drive, but if you take cost into consideration the Volt beats it.
 
Huh, also have a Volt (2011) (1st gen) never had to bring a car back in for so many recalls (4 times so far including one just last week for a software update and emission replacement!) and one that included a full battery replacement the first year which took it out for almost a week :(.

I actually like my Volt, but hate Chevy service can't wait to ditch the gas tank and go pure EV.
 
I actually like my Volt, but hate Chevy service can't wait to ditch the gas tank and go pure EV.

Word. Chevy service no matter where I go is painful. My favorite is for convenience sake, I bring my winter tires/wheels to the dealership to exchange for my OEM wheels/tires. They always write $39.99 and I always point to the sign RIGHT BEHIND THEM advertising 4 wheel tire rotation for $19.99. Sigh.
 
Huh, also have a Volt (2011) (1st gen) never had to bring a car back in for so many recalls (4 times so far including one just last week for a software update and emission replacement!) and one that included a full battery replacement the first year which took it out for almost a week :(.

I actually like my Volt, but hate Chevy service can't wait to ditch the gas tank and go pure EV.

How many miles do you have on it? That's the first time I've heard of a Volt getting a full battery replacement. That's awesome, in a way, because you have a new battery and start over on the battery decline curve (unless they stuck you with a re-manufactured or used battery somehow).

The only problems I've had are not with the car, but with the charge cord (EVSE I think they call it). I've had 3 of those, and they charge me $100 now if I go back for a new one (I bought an extended warranty - didn't pay off but at least I get the charge cord for a discount). I use a Clipper-Creek model at home now - gave up on the ones GM sells - terrible quality. Why GM would sell an EV and then give you the worlds crappiest charge cord I have no idea.
 
Thanks again. The only issue is I'm torn on paint colors. I've looked at them and I've decided on white now. I actually for a change like the flat/brighter white, seems more sportier than the pearl.

This will be a big change as I'm getting rid of my Touareg Hybrid which is comfy with lots of space and capability. It isn't great on gas at all though. I was glad to see that the MS will have the same cargo space though almost with seats up and down, but then the MS will have the additional frunk space that the Touareg doesn't have - a bonus! The only think I will have to readjust to is being lower to the ground again ;-)
 
How many miles do you have on it? That's the first time I've heard of a Volt getting a full battery replacement. That's awesome, in a way, because you have a new battery and start over on the battery decline curve (unless they stuck you with a re-manufactured or used battery somehow).

Right now at 35K, think I had the battery replace like <10K. It was a "propulsion failure", think it was a circuit issue but since it was 1st gen. They had all the dealership ship the entire battery pack back for diagnostic in the early days so they are learning about the various failures in the field.

Beyond the "propulsion failure" also had:
- clicking due to a the plastic ballbearing breaking (causes a clicking noise when accelerating) replaced with a solid brass piece now (that had to be REPLACED TWICE cause the first dealership screwed up the install the 1st time).
- hatch screws replaced as they have a risk of coming lose and tearing up your back
- idle time out
- emission failure replacement

Think since 2011, had to bring it back each year for a some failure/recall. And the loaner they give you is a Chevy and with my luck it's never the stingray it's a HHR (man do I hate driving those things!!!). The other issues is you always need a Voltec engineer for Volts and they always seem few and far between so scheduling not always convenient.

The only problems I've had are not with the car, but with the charge cord (EVSE I think they call it). I've had 3 of those, and they charge me $100 now if I go back for a new one (I bought an extended warranty - didn't pay off but at least I get the charge cord for a discount). I use a Clipper-Creek model at home now - gave up on the ones GM sells - terrible quality. Why GM would sell an EV and then give you the worlds crappiest charge cord I have no idea.

Are plugging and unplugging? I hear if you do that a lot it weakens the plug. I ended up using a WeMo outlet which has a simple push button to turn it off/on plus since it's connected online can schedule my charge at night and control it remotely. Volt charging is not geo-smart (think the new model is) and I also charge at work so a single schedule won't work. I also use a 12/3 grade extension cord (heavy duty) so not wearing out the EVSE connection as just using the extension cord connectors.

Also heard the new EVSE also defaults to lower amps (taking even longer to charge!) and you need to manually override to the higher amp whereas the earlier ones started with higher amps to charge faster.

Ideally, you just use a 240V charger and those are pretty solid.
 
Think since 2011, had to bring it back each year for a some failure/recall.

I knew about the "battery box strengthening" and the "idle time out" fixes, but I haven't had either one done to mine. The last thing I want is a dealer who doesn't like Volts or know anything about them messing with my car! So I use the strategy "if it ain't broke don't fix it". This is an example of why independant dealers are not good for the customer - they don't support electrification (most don't) and are not interested in people switching to electrics, so why give you good service? Make electrics hell and kill the sales - which isn't what GM wants. I hope someday GM can sell you a car directly and we can get rid of dealers.

I do use a heavy duty extension cord to save the wear/tear on my charge cord. They seem to fail for no apparent reason. Even the last one which I dropped - it still showed green lights when it starts, then goes over to red flashing. Why? Nothing inside rattles or shows any damage (I took it apart and it still lights up the same way). The Voltec cables just suck.