Learning from recent purchasers...

[hsctiger93]

First post, lurked around since December, really getting excited about purchasing a Model S. Looks like I'll be making a trek up to the DC store late this winter to make a final purchase decision. The wife's on board, my poor old BMW is on its last legs, I'm ready to pull out the gasoline needle! But I have a few questions for folks who recently purchased. Like I said, I lurked on this board for the last couple of months so I hope these questions are somewhat or recently new. A local Tesla owner graciously talked with me for about an hour and I sat in his MS but didn't drive it (though he offered to let me take it for a spin- I didn't want to accelerate my purchase decision).

I will spend a fair amount of time with a Tesla employee to grill them about a lot of stuff, but I want to get some owner perspectives...

This purchase will be for my main car. The other car is an SUV, but I'm sure my lovely spouse will begin demanding a Model X within days of her first Model S drive. I currently only drive about 13k miles per year, though I expect this car will absorb a lot of the trips to baseball tournaments and other "kid taxi" duties the family truckster does today. I bet it'll go up to 18k per year. I've already landed on the 85kwh battery, but not performance. I need the range, but not the full jet fighter experience. Going with leather seats, tech package, parking sensor (wife has to park in some tight spots where she works and I'm sure she'll take the car to work sometimes), panoramic roof, fog lamps.

Feel free to answer whatever ones you want to answer. I appreciate any and all feedback!

Questions:
1. I've read on many posts that the tires last 25k miles because they're low profile and constructed of a softer compound. Frankly, I'm used to tires making it at least 60k miles so I'm wondering if anyone has found good replacement tires- after their OEM tires wear out- that get better life than 25k miles? This isn't a deal-breaker for me but I don't want to change tires every 18 months if I can help it.

2. I live in Richmond, VA which is over 100 miles from any SC (Cary, NC and MD are the two closest to me- I'd probably use Cary to avoid DC traffic). For those of you who have a similar situation, what service plan did you get and why? How do you manage "routine" maintenance like tire rotation? While I think I've read perhaps 5 posts since December where someone said they got stranded because their car shut down, I will admit this is the one thing my wife fears more than anything (well, other than clowns). Can anyone who got stranded share their experience, how long it took for ranger service to show up or a tow truck?

3. We have a very hairy white shepherd dog whose favorite pastime is to shed everywhere. I'm pretty much convinced on leather for this one reason, but I'm wondering if any cloth seat owners have dog experiences they'd like to share?

4. Based upon what I've read in this forum can I reasonably assume that the 12v battery issue has been completely resolved for new Tesla's coming off the line?

5. We're a typical family of four. I'm debating making the drive to Florida over Thanksgiving for 4 days to avoid the $2000+ it will cost for plane tickets (RIC to PBI = big bucks). Have you taken long road trips like this? Did your car have enough space for luggage? Was it comfortable enough? I'm not really worried about superchargers since they're properly spread across I-95 already.

6. I know the car comes with one charger which will live in my garage. I'm not inclined to consider a 2nd charger to carry with me due to the relatively low mileage I drive and the tight radius from my home that most of my routes will take me. Am I missing anything here?

7. Are there features you look back and say, "Gosh, I really should have stepped up to get the.... (feature)"?

Again, thanks for any feedback and I'm really looking forward to a very different purchase experience this time around!

 

[stevezzzz]

I think your options selections make good sense. My OEM 19" tires didn't even make it to 25K (mine is also an S85): there seems to be a wide variation in owner experience on this point, with rear alignment being the key variable (there are several threads on this subject).

There is plenty of room for a family of four to take extended trips: usable cargo space is enormous. The front seats are quite comfortable for long days in the saddle; my only knock on the back seats is that they sit a little close to the floor, so folks with long legs get very little thigh support, though kids should be comfortable enough. Our dog sheds, too, so we got an aftermarket trunk liner in the same shade as the dog's coat.

The UMC that comes with the car is not technically a charger; your charger(s) are in the car under the rear seat. Take the UMC with you on trips, along with any adapters you think you will need for charging. If you get only a single charger, your charge rate will be limited to 10kW except at Superchargers; there are relatively few public charge points that exceed 10kW, except in certain areas of the country (and I don't believe VA is one of them). At 10kW max your charge stops become very long; I've found that the practical daily cross-country limit is two, 200+ mile legs (you'll have to drive slower than you're used to) with one long mid-day charging stop and an overnight Range charge; planning that charging stop with a carful of antsy travelers is a challenge. Superchargers change everything.

Good luck, and don't wait any longer than you have to to make a purchase decision; you won't regret it. What you will regret is having waited. :biggrin:

 

[JakeP]

The only thing I wish I could add to my car is the SubZero Package...kids get cold in the back seat (not the rear-facing seats, just the normal back seat), and they complain about it. The Subzero package rear heated seats would solve this completely. I am in Pittsburgh, warmer temps in Richmond may negate the need for this.

Tech package and Pano roof are must-haves in my opinion, glad to see you selected them. Coming from a BMW, you will LOVE this car. Every time I get a software update in my garage, I realize it would have been a trip to the BMW dealership to "get the chip flashed" to fix some annoyance. Never again!

I like having an HPWC in my garage, just because it is much more solid and robust than the UMC cable, and then I can leave the UMC in the frunk for when I need it on my travels (mostly for destination charging).

Let us know what you end up with, and enjoy!

 

[Plug Me In]

I live in Lynchburg and Raleigh is my SC. You would probably get Rockville as your SC as it's a little closer. I got 8 year warranty, 8 year service plan with Ranger. I figured pay the money up front and minimize having to worry if this or that little thing is covered. There are of course, many opinions on the wisdom of this. I've had 2 service encounters for my car and they worked on the car in my driveway once, the other time they picked it up and left me a P85 loaner. I wore through my rear tires at 10K miles. Tesla performed a rear alignment service update which I'm hoping will get more more miles on the new tires. There was also a pretty spirited 9-10 laps around Richmond Raceway at a Tesla event which may have contributed to the tire wear. I did skip the 6K rotation on my tires as I wanted the service center to do it and I could never work out my schedule to get down there. I'm planning on having them rotate the tires at annual service within the next month. If you have a trusted tire guy (or gal) shouldn't be a problem to get that done locally though.

As far as road trips, family of 4 with a dog and we are able to fully load all of us with our crap no problem. I try to keep the dog in the back but she will usually be waiting in the driver's seat when we come back from eating, etc while the car is supercharging. I have cloth seats and there's some dog hair in the back, but otherwise not too bad. Short hair dog though. I would worry about dog claws scratching up leather seats.

I have just one UMC cable and of course carry it with me on road trips, along with a 15' 120V - 15A extension cord. I also made a 14-50 to 10-30 adapter to use on older dryer outlets.

Pic included of first road trip a couple of weeks after we got the car last spring. Frunk was loaded with bags and board games for a beach trip. Enjoy your test drive!

 

[JohnQ]

My Goodyears are holding up quite well in the wear department. With the wide variety of tread life people are experiencing it has to be alignment and driving style. Suggest confirming your alignment early as insurance. Just bring them to your local shop for rotation or do it yourself.

I took the family on a trip to TN, 1,000 miles each way with an overnight in Asheville to hit a 30A charger to finish the trip. The car is a pleasure on a long drive. I spent 16-18 hours driving and was surprisingly relaxed afterward (though still tired). The forced stop every 3 hours to supercharge along with slower driving speeds in the winter to make the 200 mile distance between SCs was very different from my usual 80mph marathons where I only stopped to gas and "go." Admittedly, I won't make the same distance in a day, but I've adjusted those expectations.

Kids were fine in the back and looked forward to the stops. We placed a cooler behind the arm rests that had cup holders molded in the top since there were none in the back. That was about the only thing missing for the long drive. Between the frunk, footwell and regular cargo space there was an enormous amount of room. The only thing that concerns me is taking our bikes on long trips. A roof mount will probably generate too much drag so will have to invest in a hitch at some point.

 

[deonb]

5. Echo JohnQ here - I've done that length of trip as well (Seattle to San Francisco) with 4 people, without any overnight stop. The car and SuperCharger experience on a long road trip is an absolute pleasure.

The drive was also 16 hours or so - 3 hours longer than a typical "gas-and-go" trip, but the forced stops are quite relaxing, and you don't have passengers egging you on to go as far as possible without stopping, or to stop early. Everybody knows exactly when & where the next stop is, and adjusts accordingly. I similarly ended up being much more relaxed afterwards when we got home.

We thought we'd miss the cupholders at the back more, but because of the frequent stops, we got used to anyway finishing our beverages at the stops rather than in the car. It's more of a nuisance not to have them on the "running errands" days where you start of with a Starbucks drive through.

No problems with luggage space. I had to remove the parcel shelf, but the view was still unobstructed.


6. Absolutely - you don't need a second UMC. I leave mine at home and plugged in, except if I am going out somewhere where I might pass the point-of-no-return.

7. Order the Tesla tire inflator & repair kit. It saves me from tows twice already.

 

[yobigd20]

1. I've read on many posts that the tires last 25k miles because they're low profile and constructed of a softer compound. Frankly, I'm used to tires making it at least 60k miles so I'm wondering if anyone has found good replacement tires- after their OEM tires wear out- that get better life than 25k miles? This isn't a deal-breaker for me but I don't want to change tires every 18 months if I can help it.

For some reason I seem to be a loaner here, but I'm at 37k miles on my original OEM 19" Goodyears and I'm on track to needing replacement probably around 57-60k miles. Everyone else seems to have bad alignment or something. I do a lot of high speed highway driving though.

2. I live in Richmond, VA which is over 100 miles from any SC (Cary, NC and MD are the two closest to me- I'd probably use Cary to avoid DC traffic). For those of you who have a similar situation, what service plan did you get and why? How do you manage "routine" maintenance like tire rotation? While I think I've read perhaps 5 posts since December where someone said they got stranded because their car shut down, I will admit this is the one thing my wife fears more than anything (well, other than clowns). Can anyone who got stranded share their experience, how long it took for ranger service to show up or a tow truck?

You don't need a service plan. There's been some recent hints from Tesla that they might do away with these "scheduled" prepaid plans anyway. (aka presentation saying "the best service is NO service" plus recent remarks from Elon that he also thinks the price is a little high for getting new wiper blades and that they are "looking into this" lol). They've also said they are going to make changes to the service model this year too, or "revamp" it again to make it better. They haven't leaked any details on what this exactly means yet though. regarding the "shutting down", AFAIK those were some early 12V battery issues but they've addressed those. I haven't seen any reports like those for a while now so no worries.

3. We have a very hairy white shepherd dog whose favorite pastime is to shed everywhere. I'm pretty much convinced on leather for this one reason, but I'm wondering if any cloth seat owners have dog experiences they'd like to share?

DEFINITELY get the leather seats. having to get hair out of cloth is a PAIN (even using the "duct tape" trick). some owners have re-lined their trunks to combat this issue.

check this thread Re-lined trunk with tan carpet for transporting my yellow Lab

and this thread Dogs in a Model S??

4. Based upon what I've read in this forum can I reasonably assume that the 12v battery issue has been completely resolved for new Tesla's coming off the line?

yep. they actually proactively monitor it now via software. if they detect a problem, they'll send a ranger out ASAP to replace it for you before you would even run into any issues. +1 to Tesla for this. Now name any other manufacturer that does the same.... (trick question HAHA answer=none)

5. We're a typical family of four. I'm debating making the drive to Florida over Thanksgiving for 4 days to avoid the $2000+ it will cost for plane tickets (RIC to PBI = big bucks). Have you taken long road trips like this? Did your car have enough space for luggage? Was it comfortable enough? I'm not really worried about superchargers since they're properly spread across I-95 already.

I haven't done as long of a trip, but I've done 3 adults + 2 kids + 2 pit bulls no problem for a shorter trip up to the finger lakes from my area. The frunk space is a savior here. However, if space is worrisome, I *HIGHLY* recommend you get the pano roof. Why? Because only the pano roof comes with integrated clips for roof rack mounts. BTW, the roof rack mount is now available for purchase. Shop Tesla Gear Model S Whispbar Roof Rack System

at some point hopefully soon, you'll be able to get the cargo carrier from Whispbar (they are the ones who make the mount above)
http://www.whispbar.com/product/wb700/
Aero Mid-size Cargo Carrier | Whispbar

6. I know the car comes with one charger which will live in my garage. I'm not inclined to consider a 2nd charger to carry with me due to the relatively low mileage I drive and the tight radius from my home that most of my routes will take me. Am I missing anything here?

The "charger" is built into the car. What comes with your car is a universal connector with adapters for different standard sockets. Given your low mileage, you'll be just fine with the single-charger and the UMC that comes with the car. You're not missing anything. If you think you may need it, you just unplug the card from the socket in your wall and stick it in the trunk. Also most public stations use a J1772 connector, and your UMC bundle comes with an adapter for one. So again, you'll be just fine with what comes with teh car. No need for anything extra here. And you probably don't need the HPWC if you aren't a heavy driver. Let's put it this way, I have 37k miles on P85, driving >200 miles daily during the week, and while I have the dual-charger option & HPWC, the HPWC has been sitting in it's box since day 1. I've never used it. Never needed it. Never hooked it up. I just use a NEMA 14-50 at home. Every morning I wake up, my car is "full". I also charge on a Chargepoint station near where I work so that I am "topped up" again for my ride home. This uses the J1772 adapter so I don't actually even bring my UMC with me at all.

7. Are there features you look back and say, "Gosh, I really should have stepped up to get the.... (feature)"?

Short answer: No. But a better question would be "what should I avoid?" I'll answer that in a minute...

Well, when I ordered, this was a fully optioned out P85, minus the rear facing child seats and factory paint armor. I also downgraded to the 19s for free (21s were included at the time)..more on that later. Many of the other "options" now were actually "bundled in" at the time of my order. Now those are separated out into separate options (leather seats, performance leather trim, smart air suspension, carbon fiber spoiler, alcantera headliner, extended nappa trim, premium interior lighting, fog lights, interior trim). Now they have new options that I do not have: parking sensors, subzero weather package, performance plus package, yacht floor, and painted brake calipers.

First, get the S85. Don't even consider the S60. I am not going to reiterate the reasons here. Just trust me on this. If there is one reason alone its that one day you will need the extra range.

Basically, IMO, the "necessary options" are:

1. at least the 85kW size battery (sigh, I'll list the reasons: a) extra range b) better warranty c) less degradation over time due to less battery cycling d) better resale value e) includes supercharging f) performance is actually faster 0-60mph and higher top speed g) includes michelin tire upgrade)
2. supercharging (this is included with the 85kW anyway, only listing it here if you ignore my advice and end up ordering a 60
3. the tech package
4. the pano roof.
5. leather seats for you (bc of the dog hair)

Other notes:

1. The subzero package may be useful for your rear seat occupants due to the rear seat heaters.
2. If you are horrible at parking, get the parking sensors.
3. I dont know if the new fog lights are very useful at all.
4. if you get the upgraded sound studio, then get the parcel shelf because it makes the acoustics from the rear better.
5. get the air suspension if you drive through snow frequently in the winter or you have steep inclines (like a driveway) that you have scraped up the front of previous cars with.
6. the yacht floor is a little silly and causes everything you put on it to slide around everywhere.

Everything else is aesthetic and purely for your own tastes. I have the black color, which looks great when clean. But it shows scratches and swirls easy. The other metallic colors look great and hide imperfections and scratches much better. I've seen the multicoat red and multicoat white and they look phenomenal. Up to you.

Ok last part is what I recommend not to get.

Avoid the 21" tires and the factory paint armor like the plague.

The 21s are require low profile tires that blow out easy on small potholes plus their tread wear ratings are very very very puny. I'm not even going to dive into the other problems owners have had here with the tires wearing out at 5k miles.

And the factory paint armor only uses a half-piece for the hood and the lines show like crazy. Many many people here instead went aftermarket, including myself. I had XPEL Ultimate film wrapped on the entire front of my car. It's superior film, better warranty, has "self-healing" properties, and the installer used whole sheets to wrap all the edges and "hide them" so that you cannot even tell there is film on the car. I would recommend the same to you - aftermarket XPEL for the paint protection. The paint used on the Model S is a bit on the soft side, so even if you don't want to wrap the whole car, I would recommend at least doing the front to protect the hood from all kinds of rock scratches and nics.

Good luck, welcome, and enjoy

 

[dflye]

On the topic of traveling with shedding pets: I have the leather interior in my car, and our short-hair 60lb shedding machine gets a ride each morning in the trunk on the way to and from dog walking.

He definitely would prefer to ride up front, so to avoid damage to the rear headrests and seats, I've simply looped a 6' leash around the trunk storage divider in the left corner and clip his dog walk harness to the end of that leash. That gives him enough leash to roam around the trunk, but not enough to get over the headrests and into the passenger compartment.

The fur he sheds sticks to the fabric trunk liner very, very, VERY well. Vacuum, shop-vac, duct-tape and prolific swearing have failed to remove more than a fraction of the hairs he's embedded in the fabric. But at least for the most part, the fur stays in the trunk. If I open the windows & sunroof, it can migrate around the car and end up on the dash, but that at least is easy to clean off.

 

[rogbmw]

I have the S85 and love it. I have driven the P85 on several occasions, and although nice, I don't miss it.
I would suggest getting the second in-car charger. I rarely drive more than 60 miles in a day, but have it for trips. I do not have the HPWC. I had an electrician install a dedicated 50amp NIMA 14-50 dryer plug in the garage for charging, set the charger to charge at 2am, and the car is always full. Even when I have driven 150 to 200 + miles in a day, it has always been full in the next morning. This is also an advantage of having the dual chargers in the car. The faster charging is nice.
Good Luck.

 

[yobigd20]

I have the S85 and love it. I have driven the P85 on several occasions, and although nice, I don't miss it.
I would suggest getting the second in-car charger. I rarely drive more than 60 miles in a day, but have it for trips. I do not have the HPWC. I had an electrician install a dedicated 50amp NIMA 14-50 dryer plug in the garage for charging, set the charger to charge at 2am, and the car is always full. Even when I have driven 150 to 200 + miles in a day, it has always been full in the next morning. This is also an advantage of having the dual chargers in the car. The faster charging is nice.
Good Luck.

If you are charging using a NEMA 14-50, you aren't using the 2nd charger at all. You'll only use the 2nd charger once you use something that's going to pull more than 40 amps, such as from a HPWC or the Clipper Creek CS-100 that are setup on 100amp circuits.

 

[hsctiger93]

Thanks everyone for your posts, especially Yobigd20. I see the same things you do as my online research comes to a close.

So it sounds like I could save a few by skipping the fog lights but finding some kind of after-market fabric solution for Mr. Shedmeister doggie.

One post mentioned the alignment issues of the past as well. I assume those issues have also been resolved? Or, if not they are created by driving habits and not design/manufacturing flaws?

I will definitely have an electrician install the right kind of outlet to allow for faster charging of the car.

Now some questions about the stores. I know not to haggle on price and I assume their employees are paid on salary, not commission. What was your sales experience like? Anything I should prepare for? Are the employees truly product experts? Anyone in particular I should see if I go to the DC location? What about the NC location?

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and VA sucks when it comes to their loyalty to the dealership model. I really hope our new Gov sees the value in giving Tesla an opportunity to succeed with its own stores...

 

[772]

The employees are generally very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. There is no sales pressure; they're there to show and explain the product to visitors. They can help you place your order/deposit, too, but it's the same thing you would do online through the website anyway.

 

[zwede]

I had the same experience as 772. Very knowledgeable, friendly and no pressure. They all had their cellphone numbers in the bottom of their emails, and they would answer almost every time I called. If not, they called back. I received a couple of calls from them after 8PM. Everyone I dealt with clearly loved the cars.

 

[Chas F]

I've always thought a second UMC would be a good idea just in case my current UMC failed. Charging could be a huge inconvenience (if not impossible) while you wait shipment of a replacement. Think what you would do if the UMC failed on a Saturday night.

 

[yobigd20]

One post mentioned the alignment issues of the past as well. I assume those issues have also been resolved? Or, if not they are created by driving habits and not design/manufacturing flaws?

ehhh this is questionable. I know way too many people burning through tires. They did release adjustable camber bolts to reduce some of the negative camber in the rear , but I don't know if that is a "fix" or a "bandaid". There was also info going around that their alignment machines were actually programmed with the wrong specs, but this is now corrected by the alignment machine manufacturer.

I will definitely have an electrician install the right kind of outlet to allow for faster charging of the car.

do you plan on ordering the HPWC? the reason I ask is because if he installs a 100A outlet and you have the HPWC or a Clipper Creek CS-100 but you only order a single-charger, then you won't be able to charge faster than 40A. (fyi, on the US site the HPWC and dual chargers are bundled together, so if you are click this $2700 option you are getting both). I'm probably not explaining this right. If you want the fastest home charging possible, then get the HPWC bundle and have your electricion install it, which will be on a 100A circuit.

Oh another thing to note, if you buy the HPWC, you still get the UMC, so you can always keep that "extra cable" in your car wherever you go.

Now some questions about the stores. I know not to haggle on price and I assume their employees are paid on salary, not commission. What was your sales experience like? Anything I should prepare for? Are the employees truly product experts? Anyone in particular I should see if I go to the DC location? What about the NC location?

If you are looking for a deal, a lesser known fact is that you can buy the loaner cars directly from the service centers for a pretty decent "discount". And that means you can get it today - not 2 months from now. Some people have been able to get some really good deals, like a loaded P85 for ~$95k (retail > $115 i think). Totally pulling numbers out of my butt here but my point is that you could save some money here buying a loaner. These typically have less than 5k miles so they are basically brand new anyway. They are usually priced at $1 per mile off + 1% per month off (from manufacture date). aka 3 month old P85 with 5k miles would be at most ~$5000+$3000 discounted, aka at least $8000 off sticker price, and probably more. Only downside is that what you see is what you get (aka its not build-to-order for you). Plus side is that these loaners are typically fully loaded anyway. So you may just get a lot more for your money Oh and you can still claim the $7500 federal rebate too. (you could also buy secondary from someone here on the forums in the marketplace or on ebay but then you can't claim the $7500 federal rebate).

 

[zwede]

True, inventory cars are a great alternative. I got my loaded P85+ for $102k with 5500 miles. Same car today goes for $121k.

 

[hsctiger93]

Yes, I'm aware of the inventory car availability and will consider that an option when I get closer to making the purchase decision in about 30-45 days.

This would be the largest automotive purchase I've made so I may get really particular and just order new anyway. When I was asking about what to know about the TMC store employees, it was more about knowing the right questions to ask and who to ask vs. getting a deal. If I wanted to haggle like I did for the family truckster (the only reason my local Acura dealer will talk to me is that I get the thing serviced by them) I wouldn't be looking at this car.

While the wife appears to be on board with the whole idea of going EV in a big way, I know that an untrained or un-knowledgable TMC store employee could very much change her mind. I want to avoid that scenario at all costs!

 

[techmaven]

I will spend a fair amount of time with a Tesla employee to grill them about a lot of stuff, but I want to get some owner perspectives...

It took quite a while for me to purchase my Model S also. I test drove the Model S when Tesla was last doing events in Richmond before the lock down (due to the dealership issues) (April, 2013). Unfortunately, they only had L1 charging so the test drive was extremely brief. Met up at an owner's event @ Tyson's Corner in May, met a bunch of great people, and a fellow owner took pity on me and lent me his car for a test drive. In the meantime, I spent a lot of time researching Tesla, especially the technology (AC induction motors vs. DC brushless, NCA chemistry vs. others, battery pack lifespan in research literature, etc.). I peppered my sales person with a litany of questions. I called the service center in Rockville to get even more questions answered. Almost bought a 40 kWh model when it was announced that they were cutting the model and the last orders for them had to be put in. Decided to wait. Agonized and agonized. Finally placed my order. Went to the Tesla RIR event. Now I have a Model S in Richmond - there aren't that many around.

Don't worry, once you've finished agonizing over the options and marveled at just how much money Tesla & Mr. Musk have siphoned out of your wallet, you get to have a whole set of questions about detailing, paint protection, and so forth.

Questions:
1. I've read on many posts that the tires last 25k miles because they're low profile and constructed of a softer compound. Frankly, I'm used to tires making it at least 60k miles so I'm wondering if anyone has found good replacement tires- after their OEM tires wear out- that get better life than 25k miles? This isn't a deal-breaker for me but I don't want to change tires every 18 months if I can help it.

I have the 19" tires precisely due to the tire wear. However, I don't sweat about getting over 25k miles - I tend to favor braking distance and wet traction over mileage as far as tires are concerned. I just didn't want to have 10k tires @ $600 each on the 21" version.

2. I live in Richmond, VA which is over 100 miles from any SC (Cary, NC and MD are the two closest to me- I'd probably use Cary to avoid DC traffic). For those of you who have a similar situation, what service plan did you get and why? How do you manage "routine" maintenance like tire rotation? While I think I've read perhaps 5 posts since December where someone said they got stranded because their car shut down, I will admit this is the one thing my wife fears more than anything (well, other than clowns). Can anyone who got stranded share their experience, how long it took for ranger service to show up or a tow truck?

Rockville is where my car was delivered and is where I consider my "home" service center. But then again, I have family and extended family in the D.C. area and used to live up there. As for stranding, Tesla would get it towed to your house and a ranger can come down or they can truck it. I had a windshield problem and they trucked down a Roadster loaner for a few days. I suspect towing is basically like any other towing - they just have to have someone that knows how to tow the car and it has to be on a flatbed. It is wise to have towing instructions with you.

I did buy the service plan, mainly for piece of mind given the price of the car. My friend did not. I think it's a toss up, and Tesla is likely to make adjustments. I expect that to happen sooner rather than later.

4. Based upon what I've read in this forum can I reasonably assume that the 12v battery issue has been completely resolved for new Tesla's coming off the line?

I was assured they have all switched to a new supplier and to deep cycle batteries as well as made the necessary changes to the DC to DC converter and software to eliminate the original spate of 12v problems. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't an occasional manufacturing failure - either in the 12v or in the main battery pack. Mine has not had a problem.

5. We're a typical family of four. I'm debating making the drive to Florida over Thanksgiving for 4 days to avoid the $2000+ it will cost for plane tickets (RIC to PBI = big bucks). Have you taken long road trips like this? Did your car have enough space for luggage? Was it comfortable enough? I'm not really worried about superchargers since they're properly spread across I-95 already.

My biggest regret is not getting the pano roof since my son (only 5' 11") doesn't really fit in the rear seats. It's torso height problem. Some people that are over 6' fit easily because they have longer legs and shorter torso's. We have not driven to Florida, but have taken shorter trips to DC and the like. On the driver, it's very easy. Easier than my GL450 which is a great long distance vehicle that we have taken to Florida. Rear space is probably about the same as the GL, and we deal with 5. Cargo room is very large, just not nearly as big as the GL.

6. I know the car comes with one charger which will live in my garage. I'm not inclined to consider a 2nd charger to carry with me due to the relatively low mileage I drive and the tight radius from my home that most of my routes will take me. Am I missing anything here?

We should talk over the phone wrt charging. There's VA Dominion Schedule EV to consider, there's the specifics of your electrical system in your house, and so forth. We do have a trusted electrician - Davis & Green and they've done two HWPC's (mine and my best friend's). The best advice has to be tailored to your situation.

7. Are there features you look back and say, "Gosh, I really should have stepped up to get the.... (feature)"?

For me, pano roof.

After you order the car, you have also decide on paint protection film (like XPEL Ultimate) and/or nano coatings like Gtechniq, Opti-coat, or Modesto. Our options are a bit limited in Richmond, but again, I can help on the phone with that. I ended up with XPEL full hood, front bumper, front quarter panels, rear bumper and I self applied Gtechniq C1 and EXO2 after I wasn't satisfied with local detailers.

 

[Xenoilphobe]

First post, lurked around since December, really getting excited about purchasing a Model S. Looks like I'll be making a trek up to the DC store late this winter to make a final purchase decision. The wife's on board, my poor old BMW is on its last legs, I'm ready to pull out the gasoline needle! But I have a few questions for folks who recently purchased. Like I said, I lurked on this board for the last couple of months so I hope these questions are somewhat or recently new. A local Tesla owner graciously talked with me for about an hour and I sat in his MS but didn't drive it (though he offered to let me take it for a spin- I didn't want to accelerate my purchase decision).

I will spend a fair amount of time with a Tesla employee to grill them about a lot of stuff, but I want to get some owner perspectives...

This purchase will be for my main car. The other car is an SUV, but I'm sure my lovely spouse will begin demanding a Model X within days of her first Model S drive. I currently only drive about 13k miles per year, though I expect this car will absorb a lot of the trips to baseball tournaments and other "kid taxi" duties the family truckster does today. I bet it'll go up to 18k per year. I've already landed on the 85kwh battery, but not performance. I need the range, but not the full jet fighter experience. Going with leather seats, tech package, parking sensor (wife has to park in some tight spots where she works and I'm sure she'll take the car to work sometimes), panoramic roof, fog lamps.

Feel free to answer whatever ones you want to answer. I appreciate any and all feedback!

Questions:
1. I've read on many posts that the tires last 25k miles because they're low profile and constructed of a softer compound. Frankly, I'm used to tires making it at least 60k miles so I'm wondering if anyone has found good replacement tires- after their OEM tires wear out- that get better life than 25k miles? This isn't a deal-breaker for me but I don't want to change tires every 18 months if I can help it.

cant answer this this one only have 5000 on mine with no wear yet

2. I live in Richmond, VA which is over 100 miles from any SC (Cary, NC and MD are the two closest to me- I'd probably use Cary to avoid DC traffic). For those of you who have a similar situation, what service plan did you get and why? How do you manage "routine" maintenance like tire rotation? While I think I've read perhaps 5 posts since December where someone said they got stranded because their car shut down, I will admit this is the one thing my wife fears more than anything (well, other than clowns). T Can anyone who got stranded share their experience, how long it took for ranger service to show up or a tow truck?


i bought the service plan but haven't used it yet

3. We have a very hairy white shepherd dog whose favorite pastime is to shed everywhere. I'm pretty much convinced on leather for this one reason, but I'm wondering if any cloth seat owners have dog experiences they'd like to share?

I have a 120 pound white shepherd too! Never rides in my work car. But get leather I love it

4. Based upon what I've read in this forum can I reasonably assume that the 12v battery issue has been completely resolved for new Tesla's coming off the line?
no issues with my battery yet

5. We're a typical family of four. I'm debating making the drive to Florida over Thanksgiving for 4 days to avoid the $2000+ it will cost for plane tickets (RIC to PBI = big bucks). Have you taken long road trips like this? Did your car have enough space for luggage? Was it comfortable enough? I'm not really worried about superchargers since they're properly spread across I-95 already.

I have a family of four too, haven't done a road trip yet

6. I know the car comes with one charger which will live in my garage. I'm not inclined to consider a 2nd charger to carry with me due to the relatively low mileage I drive and the tight radius from my home that most of my routes will take me. Am I missing anything here?

get the HPWC you will love it. I always carry the other one in my car.

7. Are there features you look back and say, "Gosh, I really should have stepped up to get the.... (feature)"?

i got the P85 with everything but child seats and I missed out on the red calibers.

Again, thanks for any feedback and I'm really looking forward to a very different purchase experience this time around!

get the car you will love it! BTW there is a supercharger in glen Allen va

 

[brianman]

Looks like I'll be making a trek up to the DC store late this winter to make a final purchase decision.

I will spend a fair amount of time with a Tesla employee to grill them about a lot of stuff, but I want to get some owner perspectives...

Wherever you keep your shopping or todo list, add a new list for "Tesla questions/concerns". When a family member has a question, add it to the list. Before making the journey, spend an hour with your family seeing which ones you either (a) don't really need to know yet or (b) already know the answer for -- and cross those off. Type up the remaining list and print a copy for each family member. Make it a game to see who can get the most questions answered. Then compare (mental) notes after your visit. Anything you don't get a satisfactory or complete answer for, bring back to TMC. I think it would make an interesting thread.