AndyM
Member
It's too bad that range anxiety will by only mythical with Model S, otherwise you might be tempted to slow down to conserve range.
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Performance vs. Non-Performance & an extra $10K
- Thread starter Todd Burch
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- Driving Dynamics Model S
It's too bad that range anxiety will by only mythical with Model S, otherwise you might be tempted to slow down to conserve range.
Ugh...got my "Time to Order" email today and I STILL can't decide.
Part of me says that I can pay for the delta between performance and non-performance with 2 months of salary. That's nothing over my expected 15 years of ownership.
The other part says "holy sh@t, you're spending $96K on a CAR?"
Then the other part says "but holy sh@t, you're already going to spend $83K on a car anyway!"
It's a really stupid financial purchase either way, right? I know that in general this is a good problem to have...but crap...I can't decide.
With all of the business owners, doctors, surgeons, lawyers, etc. on this site, I guess I feel intimidated into thinking I can't afford the performance. I'm a white-collar worker that makes about $115K gross per year...not sure if I belong in the performance crowd!
Part of me says that I can pay for the delta between performance and non-performance with 2 months of salary. That's nothing over my expected 15 years of ownership.
The other part says "holy sh@t, you're spending $96K on a CAR?"
Then the other part says "but holy sh@t, you're already going to spend $83K on a car anyway!"
It's a really stupid financial purchase either way, right? I know that in general this is a good problem to have...but crap...I can't decide.
With all of the business owners, doctors, surgeons, lawyers, etc. on this site, I guess I feel intimidated into thinking I can't afford the performance. I'm a white-collar worker that makes about $115K gross per year...not sure if I belong in the performance crowd!
Tommy
Member
You're going to love which ever version you get. I was taken back by the acceleration of the non-performance at the October '11 Fremont event with 5 adults riding in the car and taken back even more by the performance version at this year's Fremont event with 3 adults riding in the car. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!:biggrin:
chmod a+wrx
Member
I have been thinking about this, and I concluded that I would only rarely use the performance in the Performance....so, I am going with the non-Performance. It will save me money, and I will probably never know the difference. I will probably be spending my time trying to reprogram the OS instead...
AndyM
Member
AndyM
Member
Hopefully your car's permissions will be tighter than your forum handle implies.
[ been waiting for that one for 18 posts now... ]
Couldn't put it better myself! I have at least 6 months before I have to make the decision to spend either stupid money or ridiculous money, but as I've said elsewhere, before I drank the Tesla coolaid, I thought $50k was my ceiling, now, somehow, I think $85k+ is perfectly reasonable! WTF. Talk about your reality distortion field!
AndyM
Member
Years ago, would you have opted to spend $10,000 more on a 6-cylinder engine in your car instead of a 4-cylinder, if it didn't use more gasoline per mile? Didn't require additional cost to replace more plugs/parts/oil/etc? Would you use more power, more resale value, for nearly zero increase in operations cost over the life of the vehicle? Damn, I would have. Performance is a good investment, IMO.
contaygious
Active Member
It comes down to regret. If you would ever regret not getting performance then get it. If you can live without it then don't. If you have to make financial sense of it then it's already out of your range which is fine, but you just have to be willing to sacrifice for it e.g putting another big purchase on hold for a while to buy this car in the first place.
They really do lure more buyers in with the 50k price, but it's not a 50k car really. It's more like an 80k car at minimum. There aren't really many options that are purely luxury.
They really do lure more buyers in with the 50k price, but it's not a 50k car really. It's more like an 80k car at minimum. There aren't really many options that are purely luxury.
Kipernicus
Model S Res#P1440
Yeah my wife says she feels like she's been duped (by me). First I said "I'll just get the base car", then it was "we really need the 60", and now it's "you know that 85 would really make everything better"!
Yeah my wife says she feels like she's been duped (by me). First I said "I'll just get the base car", then it was "we really need the 60", and now it's "you know that 85 would really make everything better"!
Likewise. We're just the victims
I do agree about the regret though, been there before with the first gen Audi TT, so I think I've convinced myself that it's MSP or nothing, assuming I'm still gainfully employed next Spring.
I wish I had more confidence in the resale value though, I've no idea what it'll be worth in 5yrs, everything that's gone before really cannot be used as a guide.
Yea, I played that game too...fortunately my wife has been very understanding (the 3 year wait helped). But we started at $50k when we put down the deposit and now my out the door for a non-sig is $90k!! I'm pretty sure she's planning to sell my testicles to make up the difference!Yeah my wife says she feels like she's been duped (by me). First I said "I'll just get the base car", then it was "we really need the 60", and now it's "you know that 85 would really make everything better"!
Mostly b/c of the above (not the testicle part) I opted for the non-perf. It was a hard choice at the time b/c that performance really was calling to me. But having driven the Rav4 EV this past week which has a 0-60 in 6.9 and felt like a freaking ROCKET on the road I'm a lot more comfortable with my choice. I think a 4.4sec 0-60 car and I'd be a danger to myself and others! 5.6 sec should be plenty fast.
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
Todd, I'm not sure if this will help with your situation, but here's how I look at it:
First and foremost (and obviously), if you might get yourself into financial trouble, don't get the Perf. The standard is way more than adequate (I really enjoyed driving it, despite being used to the Roadster), and the Perf, while fun, is clearly not worth losing your house, skipping meals, not taking your kid to the doctor, etc. You will hate the Perf, and family members will hate you, if you are ever in any of those situations. Only even think about the Perf if you are positive you can afford it. (And whether you can afford it depends on spending as much as income, so I can't tell you if you can afford it or not). If you aren't sure whether you have enough or not...don't risk it.
But if you are sure you have the money--go for it. Sure, you will agonize before you spend the money, because it's ridiculous. (A few years ago I was in a similar situation; the Roadster was the first car I bought that topped $20k--and boy did I agonize). Sure, you will get a sinking feeling in your stomach for a few days after you hand over the money (the Roadster was more than my first house! Well, not after inflation, but it's still a huge psychological barrier). But a few days later, when the money bit is all history and you're driving the car--you will be happy to have the Perf every time you press the GO pedal. Especially when you are taking EV doubters for a ride. Once you have the Perf, as long as there are no financial repercussions, you will never regret having it. It's not like a gas car, where the performance version has disadvantages, like lower fuel economy. The Roadster was a huge departure for me, but I don't regret it a bit.
That said, no rule is hard and fast--I can afford the Perf but bought the standard. But it will be my wife's car, and she doesn't care. (I still wonder if I should have gotten the Perf anyway; I know I will be taking people for rides...)
First and foremost (and obviously), if you might get yourself into financial trouble, don't get the Perf. The standard is way more than adequate (I really enjoyed driving it, despite being used to the Roadster), and the Perf, while fun, is clearly not worth losing your house, skipping meals, not taking your kid to the doctor, etc. You will hate the Perf, and family members will hate you, if you are ever in any of those situations. Only even think about the Perf if you are positive you can afford it. (And whether you can afford it depends on spending as much as income, so I can't tell you if you can afford it or not). If you aren't sure whether you have enough or not...don't risk it.
But if you are sure you have the money--go for it. Sure, you will agonize before you spend the money, because it's ridiculous. (A few years ago I was in a similar situation; the Roadster was the first car I bought that topped $20k--and boy did I agonize). Sure, you will get a sinking feeling in your stomach for a few days after you hand over the money (the Roadster was more than my first house! Well, not after inflation, but it's still a huge psychological barrier). But a few days later, when the money bit is all history and you're driving the car--you will be happy to have the Perf every time you press the GO pedal. Especially when you are taking EV doubters for a ride. Once you have the Perf, as long as there are no financial repercussions, you will never regret having it. It's not like a gas car, where the performance version has disadvantages, like lower fuel economy. The Roadster was a huge departure for me, but I don't regret it a bit.
That said, no rule is hard and fast--I can afford the Perf but bought the standard. But it will be my wife's car, and she doesn't care. (I still wonder if I should have gotten the Perf anyway; I know I will be taking people for rides...)
Are there any other cars where getting the sport/performance edition offers only upside after purchase? For example, all ICE vehicles that have sport/performance options within a model have lesser fuel economy for the sport/performance flavor; at least all that I've considered buying.
You want to shell out $10k for bragging rights? I plan to impress EV doubters with 5.9s 0-60mph. If they say 'whoa', I can leisurely toss in 'and that's not even the performance version.' Plus we all have to demonstrate that Model S is a viable car well below $100k.
No, Tesla does...with Bluestar.
Just by buying Model S (including the Sig donation), I'm already doing my part.
Thanks.
Still, there's more to the Performance model than the performance
Personally I really think the CF interior are the best looking one by far and also that the nicest wheels on a blue car are the carbon grey ones. So those two things have quite a value too to me, even more than the added motor power actually.
spatterso911
P100DL - Raven
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
Sure does. If I could afford the P85 (which I can't) I would get it - just because of the added acceleration power. I don't care for either CF decor or the ugly Perf-wheels (why pay extra for wheels that look like "normal" alloys which haven't been cleaned for ages - because that's exactly how they look), only the added oomph would really make me smile about those extra 10k.
Then again, I'm sure you get used to either version (4.4 vs. 5.6 sec) and after a while the difference won't seem so big. And even if you have got 4.4, sometime in the future you will start to think "hey, 3.9 would be even better". ;-)
chmod a+wrx
Member
Hopefully your car's permissions will be tighter than your forum handle implies.
Ha!
I don't think the system will be too hard to crack :wink:
But seriously, I don't want to get into some Braveheart motivational speech (When you are alone, dying in your beds, would you trade all the 60 kWh batteries for one -- just one -- chance to own a performance version...), but I really don't see how the average American is going to take advantage of the Performance version. Now, it's nice. And I would surely love to own one. But, I'd rather maximize my dollar on comfort and convenience features. Not suggesting you do the same, but since that was the tone of the dilemma.
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