Current "Classic S" owners looking to upgrade for autopilot - when? thoughts? etc.

[dpodoll]

About to pull the trigger, but prefer to wait for the next "big update". But when? Could be months away. Was hoping some of the X features would become immediately available for the S. Full LED headlights, ventilated seats, maybe new frontlook.

My guess is the next "big update" will be a new sensor suite for AP which will grow into autonomous driving. Probably about two years from now so those of us you upgraded from classic to AP will have an excuse to upgrade once again,

 

[Gizmotoy]

I'm not in a giant hurry. I'll be waiting until v2 Autopilot hardware, at least, I think. I'm OK waiting for the kinks to get worked out, and more importantly, what additional sensors they need. Unless we switch to an X, which I suppose could move that up, but that seems unlikely.

I'm not a big fan of the current nosecone, but that X-to-S mockup in the OP looks substantially worse, IMO. If those are the choices, I pick nosecone.

 

[snellenr]

I'm in no hurry to replace my March '13 P85. I'm driving a sensor-equipped P85 loaner today (VIN in the P5xxxx range) and while the V7 display cues are much nicer than what I saw earlier on a V6 sensor car, it's still not enough to drive me to take the financial hit.

I'll keep looking for incremental updates, though -- I'm getting the LTE update today, and might be willing to spring for a 72-amp charging module replacement, if it's feasible and offered, instead of the 40-amp second charger.

 

[Owner]

Now that I think about this, what would compel me would be a double in range. If I could have say 400 miles of range instead of the realistic 200 that would be fantastic. A reasonable days drive going anywhere without charging. Or 500 mile range....

 

[Canuck]

Thanks for all the replies and good points on both sides of this issue. I'm going to hold tight for now and watch with interest what Tesla does in the coming months.

The original post is somewhat contradictory. One one hand you want to buy and hold the car for a long time (presumably for sound financial reasons) but on the other hand you're (quite understandably) hankering for the latest and greatest technology and don't want to have your car obsoleted by new advances. Sadly, the two premises never work together.

Well said -- therein lies my dilemma! :smile:

 

[Electricfan]

So i'm holding off until more tech or more refresh pushes me over the edge, or the P85 comes back...i think.

cb

I just upgraded in June, and that was the one thing I wished for - the P85 option. I like RWD, but I love the 420 HP. I just had a P85 loaner while they replaced my DU, and I could really tell the difference in the push when I hit the go pedal.

This loaner was really very odd. It was a P85, with auto-pilot, carbon fiber spoiler, and nothing else. No tech package. No navigation. Most of all - it didn't even have a dimming rear-view mirror. So every morning I had to point it down so I wasn't blinded by the headlights.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

I'm with "owner" give me more range i don't need autopilot. i love the p85 and see no compelling reason to upgrade.

 

[pete8314]

I'd also get a loaded 90D. Every now and then I get tempted to price up a new S, and then realize these things are bloody expensive! When I got mine (early 2013), I think the pricing/bundling was still being worked on, so was reasonably good value; mine was $87k, before the fed credit, for just about everything aside from rear seats, dual chargers and 21" wheels. Now I'm looking at ~$120k. I think if I sold today, I'd get something around $55k, so it's losing around $10k a year, at least for the first few (warranty-covered) years. This makes me seriously consider leasing the next time around. Typically I'd be against leasing, but with the S essentially being a really expensive iPhone on wheels, the natural progression is to upgrade every few years. The lease price for the spec I'd want is about $100 more per month than my existing loan, so I'm not sure the value is really there, but the convenience factor, and knowing that I'd get a new S (or Model 3) every 3 years, is attractive.

I'm building a house at the moment, so that's the main reason I'm not pulling the trigger on a new one, but I agree with others, I'd expect a sensor refresh and face lift within the next year. The only thing that suggests that won't happen is that the dash of the X is identical to the S (aside from he console), I really expected it to be upgraded, and then rolled back into the S within the next few months. I do think the nose will eventually be aligned to the X; for brand equity, there really should be a stronger family resemblance. Right now the X nose and daylight running lights work against that philosophy.