GlennAlanBerry
Member
Great writeup, Todd! I really like to read these delivery stories and see the pictures. Let us know your experiences as you spend more time with your Model S
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Todd Burch's Delivery (S)tory
- Thread starter Todd Burch
- Start date
PureAmps
Model S P85 (#2817)
Congratulations Todd, and great writeup!
I also couldn't get the fog lights to come on when I first played with the car. It seems the car has to be in drive and the headlights on for the fog lights to turn on.
William13
Active Member
Yes, the frame was delivered with the car. No frargo net to keep items in the frubby, though!
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Nope--that's illegal. However, I know that Virginia has legislation pending to remove the requirement for the front plate. So, I'm going to attach the front plate with zip ties or super-strong velcro for now--if I find that the legislation passes (fingers crossed), bye-bye goes the plate!
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I'm happy with the 19s. They look good. In my opinion the 21s look better, but are obviously less practical. If you've got a lot of money to spend, spring for the 21s. But in my opinion, if you're waffling just go with the 19s. They will be easier to deal with, still look good, and in person they're still big wheels!
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If you're in the Hampton Roads area I'd be happy to show you the car if it's going to be awhile before you get yours!
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Yes, that picture is right after it came off the truck. The driver had the suspension in the "very high" setting. If you look at the ninth(?) picture--where I'm "admiring" the car on the driveway, the suspension is at the normal setting.
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That's correct...I verified today--PEBTASW (Problem Exists Between Touchscreen And Steering Wheel). Actually, blame this on the anemic manual
. Speaking of which, where's the online manual onboard the touchscreen?!?
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tdelta1000
Active Member
OK, here's some more info.
For those interested in seeing what black leather + piano black looks like, here are some interior shots. I'm very happy with the combo, and it should hide dirt well (I hope!) I would've been happiest with Carbon fiber, but no performance for me:
I'm leaving the plastic on the passenger's seat because my 2.5 year old likes to kick the seat. Amazon's bringing me some storage/seat protectors in a few days.
For those with kids who are interested in car seat + leather protection, here's what I did:
Got a seat protector and have the upper portion protecting the headrest where the high CG strap runs around to the back LATCH connection.
The bottom of the seat is protected by the other part of the seat protector:
OK, let's talk gap and flush. Frankly, I'm pretty happy with it. Some are probably picker than I. Gap could be smaller, but the spacing is actually pretty even. There's one minor flush issue, at the bottom left of the hatch (near the "Model S" emblem). Here's a side view:
Pictures have a great way of making things look worse than they are, so let me state that it's not noticable unless you're inspecting with your face against the car. (Who does that?!?)
Taillights line up pretty evenly, IMHO. Here's a pic, but the picture looks worse than it does in person:
Only visible alignment issue is at the seam between the front and rear doors. There's some slight vertical misalignment:
Again, it's not terribly noticable unless you're really looking.
As I mentioned before, my two front vent windows (driver and passenger side) have some kind of goo or adhesive on it. I tried taking it off with some glass cleaner today, but it didn't really budge. Fingernail scraping made it better, but it's still there:
OK, now question for existing owners. The back and sides of my frubby don't have any carpeting. The finish looks pretty bad (although since it's recessed, again it's hard to see unless you're really looking:
Is this normal? Haven't really tried cleaning it, but it looks like an unfinished surface.
Here's my seat after 50 miles of driving:
Just a little bit of stretching, which is understandable in my opinion.
My B-Pillar post looks great. I haven't noticed bumping into it. I suppose this is primarily an issue for really tall drivers who have the seat way back (I'm 5'11").
Piano Black behind the armrests:
Armrests from further away.
More piano black. Sorry about the dark picture. I pushed the exposure up a bit. Black on black on black doesn't photograph well.
I decided I hate keys now, and don't want to carry them around with me anymore. So, I decided to take advantage of the kangaroo pouch.
Step 1: Wrap keys in microfiber cloth for touchscreen. (By the way, this was not provided with the car. I used another one I already had).
Step 2: Stuff into driver's kangaroo pouch on front of seat (shown partially exposed in picture).
So now I've got my keys with me when I need them, but out of my pocket. FOB in left pocket, iPhone in right, wallet in rear. That's all I want to carry.
My garage is a bit of a tight fit. Here's how I know when to stop pulling forward:
Tiny whiffle ball tied to a string, taped to the ceiling. When the nose taps this, I stop!
OK, some more comments now:
1. I realize now there was no "due bill". Never got anything like that. Maybe that's because there wasn't anything due?!?
2. Vanity mirrors are still the originals. No lights in them. I though GeorgeB promised they'd be changed. Guess not.
3. My fog lights do in fact work. I just have to have headlights on and in drive for them to work.
4. Do I have missing frubby carpeting?!? (see pics above).
5. The floor mats need a Tesla logo. There needs to be a rear mat. The mats are a bit on the thin side. These need to improve for a car in this price range.
6. As others have observed, walk away locking is a bit frightening. The threshold for locking is quite a ways. I was halfway across a grocery store parking lot before the car locked. I had to walk forward and look backward to see if the car would lock. Not safe. The car needs to beep when it locks, and it needs to lock with the driver much closer to the car. I almost wonder if the handles retracted but the car was still unlocked. Very disconcerting.
7. The only way I've found to keep music playing after closing the door (if I'm working in the garage and I want to listen to music, for instance), is to close the door (which causes the music to stop), then tap the now dark touchscreen, which will wake it up. You could leave the door open, but that's not a great solution. Does someone know a better way?
8. Holy crap, this car drives amazingly well. I was at a stoplight today right near a point where the lanes merge. I was in front in one lane, and there were several other cars in the other. Light turns green, I floor it. WOW. I blow the other cars away, look down, and I'm going 75 in a 45 zone. Whoops. It's very easy to go too fast in this car. Great acceleration and very quiet. Be careful out there! I don't want a reckless driving charge!
BTW, I have the non-performance version. It feels VERY fast.
The car is getting looks. Almost to the point of making me nervous. At least the car is difficult to carjack, with the retracting handles!
This car makes me want to run errands. My wife asked to get groceries. I couldn't wait. Love it. Love.
Next software update please, Tesla!
For those interested in seeing what black leather + piano black looks like, here are some interior shots. I'm very happy with the combo, and it should hide dirt well (I hope!) I would've been happiest with Carbon fiber, but no performance for me:
I'm leaving the plastic on the passenger's seat because my 2.5 year old likes to kick the seat. Amazon's bringing me some storage/seat protectors in a few days.
For those with kids who are interested in car seat + leather protection, here's what I did:
Got a seat protector and have the upper portion protecting the headrest where the high CG strap runs around to the back LATCH connection.
The bottom of the seat is protected by the other part of the seat protector:
OK, let's talk gap and flush. Frankly, I'm pretty happy with it. Some are probably picker than I. Gap could be smaller, but the spacing is actually pretty even. There's one minor flush issue, at the bottom left of the hatch (near the "Model S" emblem). Here's a side view:
Pictures have a great way of making things look worse than they are, so let me state that it's not noticable unless you're inspecting with your face against the car. (Who does that?!?)
Taillights line up pretty evenly, IMHO. Here's a pic, but the picture looks worse than it does in person:
Only visible alignment issue is at the seam between the front and rear doors. There's some slight vertical misalignment:
Again, it's not terribly noticable unless you're really looking.
As I mentioned before, my two front vent windows (driver and passenger side) have some kind of goo or adhesive on it. I tried taking it off with some glass cleaner today, but it didn't really budge. Fingernail scraping made it better, but it's still there:
OK, now question for existing owners. The back and sides of my frubby don't have any carpeting. The finish looks pretty bad (although since it's recessed, again it's hard to see unless you're really looking:
Is this normal? Haven't really tried cleaning it, but it looks like an unfinished surface.
Here's my seat after 50 miles of driving:
Just a little bit of stretching, which is understandable in my opinion.
My B-Pillar post looks great. I haven't noticed bumping into it. I suppose this is primarily an issue for really tall drivers who have the seat way back (I'm 5'11").
Piano Black behind the armrests:
Armrests from further away.
More piano black. Sorry about the dark picture. I pushed the exposure up a bit. Black on black on black doesn't photograph well
.I decided I hate keys now, and don't want to carry them around with me anymore. So, I decided to take advantage of the kangaroo pouch.
Step 1: Wrap keys in microfiber cloth for touchscreen. (By the way, this was not provided with the car. I used another one I already had).
Step 2: Stuff into driver's kangaroo pouch on front of seat (shown partially exposed in picture).
So now I've got my keys with me when I need them, but out of my pocket. FOB in left pocket, iPhone in right, wallet in rear. That's all I want to carry.
My garage is a bit of a tight fit. Here's how I know when to stop pulling forward:
Tiny whiffle ball tied to a string, taped to the ceiling. When the nose taps this, I stop!
OK, some more comments now:
1. I realize now there was no "due bill". Never got anything like that. Maybe that's because there wasn't anything due?!?
2. Vanity mirrors are still the originals. No lights in them. I though GeorgeB promised they'd be changed. Guess not.
3. My fog lights do in fact work. I just have to have headlights on and in drive for them to work.
4. Do I have missing frubby carpeting?!? (see pics above).
5. The floor mats need a Tesla logo. There needs to be a rear mat. The mats are a bit on the thin side. These need to improve for a car in this price range.
6. As others have observed, walk away locking is a bit frightening. The threshold for locking is quite a ways. I was halfway across a grocery store parking lot before the car locked. I had to walk forward and look backward to see if the car would lock. Not safe. The car needs to beep when it locks, and it needs to lock with the driver much closer to the car. I almost wonder if the handles retracted but the car was still unlocked. Very disconcerting.
7. The only way I've found to keep music playing after closing the door (if I'm working in the garage and I want to listen to music, for instance), is to close the door (which causes the music to stop), then tap the now dark touchscreen, which will wake it up. You could leave the door open, but that's not a great solution. Does someone know a better way?
8. Holy crap, this car drives amazingly well. I was at a stoplight today right near a point where the lanes merge. I was in front in one lane, and there were several other cars in the other. Light turns green, I floor it. WOW. I blow the other cars away, look down, and I'm going 75 in a 45 zone. Whoops. It's very easy to go too fast in this car. Great acceleration and very quiet. Be careful out there! I don't want a reckless driving charge!
BTW, I have the non-performance version. It feels VERY fast.
The car is getting looks. Almost to the point of making me nervous. At least the car is difficult to carjack, with the retracting handles!
This car makes me want to run errands. My wife asked to get groceries. I couldn't wait. Love it. Love.
Next software update please, Tesla!
I was told the sticker and radio instructions were for the delivery people only. It was removed by my DS on the first entry to the car.
Also:
1. I find the interior lighting to be a bit on the anemic side. Not terrible, but not great. Back seat passengers had a little trouble finding the seat belt latches last night, because they're black on black. White/tan/grey interiors will probably have less of a problem with all of this, as less light will be absorbed by the lighter colors.
2. After listening to music some more, I decided I'm happy with the level of bass. I've got it around +4 and it thumps pretty well (sound studio, Dolby Surround off). When up at 10, well, that's too much bass.
3. Still no issues with handles, touchscreen, or anything like that. Haven't noticed any issues.
4. Set up my Homelink this morning. Works GREAT. *LOVE* how it knows you're home by GPS and calls up the Homelink menu! Bye-bye, garage door opener!
5. Tried navigation w/ voice recognition today as well. Spoke my address, it popped right up, and navigation took me right home via the correct route. Happy with it so far, but it's not yet battle tested!
6. Damn, I still haven't even tried the streaming music!
7. Tesla, the music from my USB needs artwork and metadata displayed!
8. Everyone's right. The touchscreen UI is GORGEOUS.
9. I love how the radio tuner works. Needs more FM/AM presets though. Wonder why they've only got a few slots? I could use about twice as many. I'd also like to rename the preset. (NPR instead of "WHRO", for example).
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And...I wish the "turn down music on door open" feature were a setting.
1. I find the interior lighting to be a bit on the anemic side. Not terrible, but not great. Back seat passengers had a little trouble finding the seat belt latches last night, because they're black on black. White/tan/grey interiors will probably have less of a problem with all of this, as less light will be absorbed by the lighter colors.
2. After listening to music some more, I decided I'm happy with the level of bass. I've got it around +4 and it thumps pretty well (sound studio, Dolby Surround off). When up at 10, well, that's too much bass.
3. Still no issues with handles, touchscreen, or anything like that. Haven't noticed any issues.
4. Set up my Homelink this morning. Works GREAT. *LOVE* how it knows you're home by GPS and calls up the Homelink menu! Bye-bye, garage door opener!
5. Tried navigation w/ voice recognition today as well. Spoke my address, it popped right up, and navigation took me right home via the correct route. Happy with it so far, but it's not yet battle tested!
6. Damn, I still haven't even tried the streaming music!
7. Tesla, the music from my USB needs artwork and metadata displayed!
8. Everyone's right. The touchscreen UI is GORGEOUS.
9. I love how the radio tuner works. Needs more FM/AM presets though. Wonder why they've only got a few slots? I could use about twice as many. I'd also like to rename the preset. (NPR instead of "WHRO", for example).
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And...I wish the "turn down music on door open" feature were a setting.
dsmith2189
Active Member
That's correct...I verified today--PEBTASW (Problem Exists Between Touchscreen And Steering Wheel). Actually, blame this on the anemic manual
When will they have an upgrade or fix for the nut that holds the wheel?
Owner
Active Member
Thanks. I'd just really wish I could find some quantitative data to justify my indulgence in something for a purely aesthetic decision. $10K over the life of the car seems too much, $5K no. But it seems that the tires are wearing much better than the Roadster....
I just really really like the 21" wheels for some reason. The 19" do look very nice to, but the 21" just are lovely. The 19" turbine aftermarket ones didn't impress me in the same way. Its not really an affordability issue, it just seems wasteful and a hassle for me.
I just really really like the 21" wheels for some reason. The 19" do look very nice to, but the 21" just are lovely. The 19" turbine aftermarket ones didn't impress me in the same way. Its not really an affordability issue, it just seems wasteful and a hassle for me.
Todd, my frunk cubby has no carpeting top and sides, either, though the unfinished plastic on mine looks better than yours does, and since I have the cargo netting you'd really have to go out of your way to see it at all.
"A total of 3 delivery windows were missed: Original date of Nov, Delivery window of Dec. 7-21, verbal delivery date of Saturday or Sunday, and finally the last window (Sunday/Monday) was met. My car sat in Fremont ready for shipment much longer than it should have. Reservation holders in my geographic area and who reserved well after I did received their cars before me, leaving me feeling a bit shafted. Not a big deal in the whole scheme of things though."
I reserved within the first few minutes in March 2009 got an initial P-40 reservation number which later was reduced to P-14. Got every option except the rear seats (see configuration in my signature) and I still don't have my car! The delivery window ended yesterday and now I'm being told Friday...Not sure the reservation numbers have any meaning what's so ever. Congrats on your car hope to see all you driving around VA!
I reserved within the first few minutes in March 2009 got an initial P-40 reservation number which later was reduced to P-14. Got every option except the rear seats (see configuration in my signature) and I still don't have my car! The delivery window ended yesterday and now I'm being told Friday...Not sure the reservation numbers have any meaning what's so ever. Congrats on your car hope to see all you driving around VA!
Yeah I don't undertand how the reservation thing got so jacked up--and how you got so shafted! I hope your car comes ASAP!
Wow, you clearly got shafted. I wonder if the CF shortage was it? It's insane to think that you haven't been drive your car since the end of November! You and I might get our cars on the same day... and that's not fair to you at all! I commend you on your temperament on this one; you could be pitching a Royal Hissy Fit right now and no one could fault you for it!
Actually, I see now that you ordered grey leather. Wasn't that supposed to start production later?
I hadn't heard about the leather holding anything up...but who knows.
Did you have fun getting it inspected? I assume it was a novelty...I'm a little worried because I know they pull wheels to inspect brakes. Don't want to them damage it when they jack it up and use the air wrench.
Did you have fun getting it inspected? I assume it was a novelty...I'm a little worried because I know they pull wheels to inspect brakes. Don't want to them damage it when they jack it up and use the air wrench.
I still need to get the inspection. I'll do that on Monday. (Hope the law gives me a few days to take care of this!)
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OK, so a few stories from today.
I now have 250 miles on her. Still no mechanical issues. Haven't seen any software issues (bugs) other than the pano roof issue. Haven't needed to reboot or restart anything yet.
I put RainX on all glass surfaces on my S yesterday...works great.
I gave a bunch of rides to my work colleagues today. They were all very impressed. As I was coming back from one of the rides, I noticed someone follow me all the way to my office. She parked, came over to me, and said she had researched the car some and was thinking about putting down a reservation, but wanted to go to DC for a test drive first.
I told her to jump in, and fortunately she wasn't freaked out by the strange guy (I mean--guy who is a stranger) asking her to get into the passenger seat. We went for a little ride, including a few pedal-to-the-floor runs. She loved it. Immediately went home and put her reservation in. Congrats Margaret! (I told her about this forum so she might pop her head in here!)
So anyway--Tesla, I want a commission check.
After 3 days and 1.32 million blissful feet of driving, I can honestly say that each mile gets better. I said it before, and I'll say it again. I will never go back to gas. Ever.
Plugging in takes 5 seconds. Seriously, it's so easy it's silly. Boom. Full tank in the morning. No issues.
My commute is 70 miles a day. Today I drove about 100. I laughed at range anxiety. It really is totally a manufactured fear (although certainly a minor inconvenience on long trips...but given the benefits, it really is a minor inconvenience. And with Tesla now paying for my road trip miles, I'm OK with stopping 45 minutes every 200 miles for a snack
.-About the UI: It's great. Really is. To be honest, I notice myself very slightly more distracted than with a conventional car, but I think it's because I'm still playing with it and getting used to it all. Just be smart about things, and the screen is not an issue. I feel perfectly safe using it.
-As I suspected, the touchscreen is a little bit tricky to use if you're going over bumps. Your extended arm has enough weight to bounce in the bumps, so your hand goes up and down. (I predicted this after the interior design was revealed and there was nowhere to rest your elbow while using the screen). But really, totally a minor issue.
-My Slacker Internet radio is working well. Voice recognition for me has been absolutely astounding. However, a few issues: Sometimes there are a bunch of results and they all say almost the same thing. Yesterday my wife and I played "stump the car", and voice recognition was flawless. However, search results need a little bit of refinement. We searched for "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck (RIP), and a bunch of results came up. We tapped the "Song" result but ended up getting "Dave Brubeck Radio", and Take 5 wasn't playing. However, it seemed to just be playing songs from the "Take Five" album. Anyway, could use a little bit of work.
-Voice control ought to search your devices (phone/USB music) as well. I don't think it's currently doing that.
-I think it would be a neat, silly gimmick to sync the turn signal click/indicator with the thump of your currently playing song. (Outside, the light flickers at the standard rate). There's probably a law against this, but thought it would be fun. I hate when the beat and the turn signal are just slightly out of sync. (My former musician days coming back to me!)
-Climate control is plenty strong on the heat side. (Haven't tried A/C. Won't until it warms up). Be aware that even after driving a while, if you turn it on for the first time it needs about 30 seconds to warm up. In a gas car, there's so much waste heat that you get heat almost instantly. In the Model S, the heat pump needs a little bit of time to warm up. Not a problem for me.
-Seat warmers work GREAT.
-Yesterday I was reporting max charge rate of 22 mph while on 240V/50A circuit. I'm now getting 27 mph. So maybe there isn't an issue after all, and it's all about the averaging algorithm used.
I will report more as it comes to me. I promise.
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-I have no window distortion that I can tell.
-Visibility out the rear is not excellent, but not an issue either. I'm completely fine with it.
-My car is dirty. Time for my first wash this weekend.
-My 2.5 year old keeps kicking the seat. Argh. Seat back storage organizer coming soon from Amazon to help protect it.
-No issues with the Piano black finish. I actually really like it. It looks very clean and futuristic. Very Apple-tastic. After swiping with a microfiber cloth, it stays clean. No issues with fingerprints, as nobody really touches it.
-Haven't used cupholders yet.
-I am now OK with the open space between driver and passenger seat...my wife puts her purse there. HOWEVER, this car really needs some enclosed storage. I have nowhere to put my canister of baby wipes (for cleaning hands when necessary) or a trash bag. The baby wipes just roll around in the purse/bag area.
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-Just remembered: I was passing today and switched from right to middle lanes. Floored it to get ahead of the car to the left and slightly behind me. WOW. Almost whacked the car in front of me! I've gotta stop being so aggressive. 85 kWh non-performance has plenty of punch!
-Dude in some souped up rice burner challenged me at a red-light. (Not really, but he floored it when the light turned green). I did too. He was quickly eating my dust. Nothing to be too proud of, but it was fun. I'm used to being in a Saturn/Corolla and I used to be the one eating the dust. Not anymore.
-I keep seeing a lot of people pull up behind me, particularly at night, to look at the screen. I think they want to have sex with it, in an automotive sort of way.
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