Unexpectedly purchasing an M3 for delivery on Tuesday

[night0002]

Just an additional note of support for Joe Huber's endorsement of the advantages of having the Tesla all connector. The 14-50 will draw only 80% of the current available to it, as will the wall connector. However the Wall connector will handle a 100 amp line, and therefore will charge at twice the rate of the 14-50 connector. In both cases, make sure that the dip switches are set for the appropriate line current. A friend with a P85 had an electrician install his wall connector and set the dip switch for an 80 amps, with the result that the car draws only 60 amps.
I have used the 14-50 on the road in the absence of Tesla superchargers. They are fine for overnight use. I have also used a ChaDEmo connector when I was staying in a city away from home without a charger. Though slower than the Tesla superchargers by about a half, they are about twice as fast as my wall charger.

It all depends on how you use it. Occasionally I have forgotten to plug in before turning in, the day before a I was going to need plenty of juice, and being able to plug in the early AM and have an 80% charge before heading across the metro is an advantage. I am in the Phoenix area, and a trip across town can easily run more than 120 miles RT.

Enjoy your new car!

Ed

 

[GregPC]

We had no plans to buy a Tesla until last Wednesday, when a driver on the freeway fell asleep and crashed into my husband’s Prius at 30mph. The car was totaled. I sent him down to the local store at Fashion Island (Newport Beach) and told him to test drive an M3 and see what he thinks. He loved it, and they had an M3 LR RWD ready for immediate delivery, so we went ahead and purchased it. It’s black/black, EAP, no other options.

So we’re heading to the service center in Costa Mesa on Tuesday to pick it up. I have arranged for an electrician to install the Wall connector on Thursday. I haven’t purchased the wall connector yet but it’s in stock at the Costa Mesa service center. If anyone has any thoughts on whether we should go with the connector or just install the 240V outlet I’m open to any feedback on the subject.

The overall sales experience was very positive, and I was pleased they had some in stock for immediate delivery, although they seemed confident we could place an order online and still have a December delivery. This is our first EV so any suggestions on what we should be aware of as we get ready to take delivery would be greatly appreciated.

One thing I had to research was the CA EV $2,500 rebate. The income restrictions were a bit confusing to me because based on this year’s income we would qualify, but based on last year’s income we would not. I called the CARB and they told me that if I waited until I filed my 2018 tax returns and then submitted the rebate request, I could qualify using 2018 tax returns. That was a big relief as I could not find any documentation on the web site to support whether we could do this. They said we have 18 months from the date of purchase to file the rebate request actually.

Anyways, looking forward to taking delivery next week and learning a lot from the forum members here. Thanks!

Don’t everyone jump on me at once. I would definitely go with the Tesla Wall Connector. It not only charges at the fastest rate possible at home (44 miles for each hour of charge time for the he LR Model 3), but it just looks cool. NEMA 14-50 is tacky for me. Just my opinion, and I certainly don’t mean to offend anyone.

 

[What_Was_That?]

Ok so now for another 2 cents. Three and 1/2 years ago when we bought our first MS we went with the NEMA 14-50. Then with the next MS we received the Tesla wall charger as a referral. So now $900 for the second install we have the advantage of charging at about 2X the rate and the cord looks neat coiled up on the charger with Elon’s signature. Good to plan for the future!

 

[Accentcreate]

We had no plans to buy a Tesla until last Wednesday, when a driver on the freeway fell asleep and crashed into my husband’s Prius at 30mph. The car was totaled. I sent him down to the local store at Fashion Island (Newport Beach) and told him to test drive an M3 and see what he thinks. He loved it, and they had an M3 LR RWD ready for immediate delivery, so we went ahead and purchased it. It’s black/black, EAP, no other options.

So we’re heading to the service center in Costa Mesa on Tuesday to pick it up. I have arranged for an electrician to install the Wall connector on Thursday. I haven’t purchased the wall connector yet but it’s in stock at the Costa Mesa service center. If anyone has any thoughts on whether we should go with the connector or just install the 240V outlet I’m open to any feedback on the subject.

The overall sales experience was very positive, and I was pleased they had some in stock for immediate delivery, although they seemed confident we could place an order online and still have a December delivery. This is our first EV so any suggestions on what we should be aware of as we get ready to take delivery would be greatly appreciated.

One thing I had to research was the CA EV $2,500 rebate. The income restrictions were a bit confusing to me because based on this year’s income we would qualify, but based on last year’s income we would not. I called the CARB and they told me that if I waited until I filed my 2018 tax returns and then submitted the rebate request, I could qualify using 2018 tax returns. That was a big relief as I could not find any documentation on the web site to support whether we could do this. They said we have 18 months from the date of purchase to file the rebate request actually.

Anyways, looking forward to taking delivery next week and learning a lot from the forum members here. Thanks!

These stories of recent purchases really tick me off. We stood in line nearly 3 years ago in Australia, while you North Americans were still in bed or eating dinner the night before. We still won’t be seeing our first M3s until late 2019 yet queue jumpers in America can waltz into a showroom and order a car just like that.
It will serve Elon right if the Europeans or Asians get the jump on him and start delivering in Europe and right-hand-drive markets before his car is available.
We didn’t mind waiting behind all the Americans who lined up and reserved in March/April 2016, but to be placed behind people who decided they might like a Model 3 last week is a slap in the face.

 

[Bet TSLA]

We didn’t mind waiting behind all the Americans who lined up and reserved in March/April 2016, but to be placed behind people who decided they might like a Model 3 last week is a slap in the face.

Tesla made it absolutely clear that everybody was getting in line for priority in deliveries of their particular configuration in their particular area. If you didn't and don't understand that you'll be very unhappy.

The Americans who want short range vehicles are still waiting. The Europeans are all waiting. So are you and the Chinese. This has nothing whatsoever to do with availability of cars in areas that are getting deliveries now. So sorry, but that's the way it is.

Me, I wanted a Model 3 with AWD and air suspension, but I got the initial configuration almost a year ago. Why? Because the only real mistake you can make with getting a Tesla is to wait. Take what's available now! If I were you I'd get a used Model S and drive it until my Model 3 becomes available. Best of luck! The best cure for frustration is driving a Tesla while you're waiting.

 

[Shock-On-T]

I went ahead and changed out electric plan to a time of use plan. These are the rates that will not apply to us:

Winter weekday rates are:

.16 8am-2pm
.25 2pm-8pm
.16 8pm-10pm
.13 10pm-8am

Winter weekend rates are:

.16 8am-10pm
.13 10pm-8am

Summer weekday rates are:

.17 8am-2pm
.36 2pm-8pm
.17 8pm-10pm
.12 10pm-8am

Summer weekend rates are:

.17 8am-10pm
.12 10pm-8am

So it's clear that I will be charging the Tesla after 10pm pretty much all the time. Now we'll have to pay more attention to when we run the air conditioning between 2-8pm in the summers. That will get quite expensive!

Wow that's almost as expensive as here in Australia.
I always thought everything was cheap in the US, I guess not eh?

 

[pdq]

We had no plans to buy a Tesla until last Wednesday, when a driver on the freeway fell asleep and crashed into my husband’s Prius at 30mph. The car was totaled. I sent him down to the local store at Fashion Island (Newport Beach) and told him to test drive an M3 and see what he thinks. He loved it, and they had an M3 LR RWD ready for immediate delivery, so we went ahead and purchased it. It’s black/black, EAP, no other options.

So we’re heading to the service center in Costa Mesa on Tuesday to pick it up. I have arranged for an electrician to install the Wall connector on Thursday. I haven’t purchased the wall connector yet but it’s in stock at the Costa Mesa service center. If anyone has any thoughts on whether we should go with the connector or just install the 240V outlet I’m open to any feedback on the subject.

Thanks!

OCR1: When I bought my P90D I had an electrician run a dedicated 50 amp line to the garage and install a simple 240V outlet. Inexpensive and it worked great. Not sure how anyone would benefit from purchasing a wall unit other than they look cool.

 

[notAnExpert]

Not sure how anyone would benefit from purchasing a wall unit other than they look cool.

Although these may not be benefits everybody wants/needs, WC can charge a Model 3 LR 33% faster and can be installed exposed to the elements. If you have Model S or X, WC can go all the way to 80amps while Mobile Connector would max out at 32amps.

 

[Akikiki]

Although these may not be benefits everybody wants/needs, WC can charge a Model 3 LR 33% faster and can be installed exposed to the elements. If you have Model S or X, WC can go all the way to 80amps while Mobile Connector would max out at 32amps.

IF. WC can go all the way to 80 amps IF you have also installed a 100 amp circuit versus the 40/50 amp circuit a Gen2 or Gen1 Mobile Connector would use.

 

[APD1080]

Congrats on your new Model 3! I installed the Tesla wall charger when we added our solar panels and 2 powerwalls. The good things about the Tesla wall charger are 1) I got the 24 foot cable for the same price as the shorter 8.5 foot cable so it does not mater which side of the 2 car garage I park the Tesla; 2) since I have a Model S I installed a 60 amp breaker (faster charging) where as your standard 240 volt house has a 50 amp breaker and therefore slightly longer charge time; 3) as my next Model S will have the dual charger to allow for 80 amp charging the wall charge is already able to handle up to a 100 amp circuit breaker (I had the electrical wiring support the 100 amp breaker so it will be a simple breaker switch-out when the time comes; 4) I am hoping Tesla will provide the capability to use the car battery to back up my house as the 2 powerwalls (27 KW) are great for short outages (less than 24-49 hours) depending on the time of year but we recently had an extended outage and 4 very overcast days so we eventually lost power to the house with a 90 kW battery in the car just sitting there.

 

[Ficheh]

I plug into a 10-30 240 volt outlet. Yes it doesn't charge as fast a a wall connector, but it does charge @ 23 miles/hour. I couldn't go higher without paying a fortune for a new main panel and tearing up my driveway. As it turns out, this was a much better way to go. How far do you drive your M3 before coming home? How often are you going to need to add 40 miles of range in an hour? I find that overnight charging will fully charge my car even if I set it at 100% (which I only do for trips). Most of the time I'm going from 100 miles up to 279 miles, and at 23 mph (which is what 24A gives me) takes less than 8 hours. How many people aren't home for 8 hours when you get home and go to bed? And that's with me not charging everyday. If you plug in everyday, as the manual says to do, I'd typically be fully charged in under 2 hours anyway. Aside from the cool looks of the WC, there really isn't a practical reason to spend the $ for it (at least for me). Have any of you actually plugged in a WC and as soon as it fully charged your car, had to go out right away and then said to yourself, "thank god I have the WC"? Even with my "slow charging rate" I've never had to unplug before it was full.

 

[ggnykk]

Thanks for all the replies. The salesperson told us that six months of free charging was included in the purchase. We did not provide a referral code although we would have if asked because we have many friends with Teslas. I’ll have to look into that further.

I’m planning on buying the wall connector, but was wondering what happens if we end up buying a non-Tesla EV down the road. Will we need to install a second 240V outlet or is there an adapter you can buy for charging non-Tesla vehicles?

Also curious as to any opinions on the black versus silver connector.

Once you tried Tesla, the chances that you will buy a non-Tesla EV in the future is pretty much zero. The charging experience in a Tesla is far superior than any other EV, especially for long distance driving. Tesla supercharger network is still much faster and easier than any other network in existence.

 

[gilscales]

I went ahead and changed out electric plan to a time of use plan. These are the rates that will not apply to us:

Winter weekday rates are:

.16 8am-2pm
.25 2pm-8pm
.16 8pm-10pm
.13 10pm-8am

Winter weekend rates are:

.16 8am-10pm
.13 10pm-8am

Summer weekday rates are:

.17 8am-2pm
.36 2pm-8pm
.17 8pm-10pm
.12 10pm-8am

Summer weekend rates are:

.17 8am-10pm
.12 10pm-8am

So it's clear that I will be charging the Tesla after 10pm pretty much all the time. Now we'll have to pay more attention to when we run the air conditioning between 2-8pm in the summers. That will get quite expensive!

We changed to that plan (TOU-D-B) as soon as it came out, well before we took delivery of our car and saved a lot off of our bill based on our 2,000 plus monthly kWh usage, we found our overall bill dropped by 20 to 30% as the tiered system only works well for low usage, its nice to have such a large window for super off peak rates

 

[gilscales]

Once you tried Tesla, the chances that you will buy a non-Tesla EV in the future is pretty much zero. The charging experience in a Tesla is far superior than any other EV, especially for long distance driving. Tesla supercharger network is still much faster and easier than any other network in existence.

WE bought one and we are hooked, my brother in law bought one and he is hooked.

Can't say what will be in 10 or 15 years but until then I don't see other charging options for traveling across country catching up.

 

[jjrandorin]

We changed to that plan (TOU-D-B) as soon as it came out, well before we took delivery of our car and saved a lot off of our bill based on our 2,000 plus monthly kWh usage, we found our overall bill dropped by 20 to 30% as the tiered system only works well for low usage, its nice to have such a large window for super off peak rates

Thats exactly why I WONT switch to the TOU-D-B plan though. I have solar, (solar city / tesla actually) and it generates currently 110% of my electricity usage PRE EV. I usually just pay southern california edison between 9 and 10 dollars a month for being connected, as if you generate more than you use, they charge you a fee for being connected.

Installing solar in 2015 cut my electricity bill in half, especially in the summer, as I was using around 1800k a month in the summer and about 1200 or so a month during the winter. They didnt have TOU in 2015, but they have repeatedly tried to swap me to it now, and it makes zero sense in my specific case because of how little I actually use on the months I use more than I generate (always in tier 1).

They wont even let people sign up for the net metering plan without TOU like I have it now, so I KNOW that I need to hold onto it for dear life lmao.

With that being said, I need to see what my usage is now that I have an EV that I will be plugging in daily. It could turn out that it would be better to swap to TOU depending on how much that EV adds, but since I currently generate a surplus of electricity yearly I think I will either break even on usage, or use "slightly" more than generate.

I installed the solar a few years ago in anticipation of one day having an EV and saving money in the short term, and both things have worked out.

 

[RKBA]

Apparently I chose a slightly different route than everyone else who has commented so far. I realize the OP has already had their WC installed but I'm going to put this out there as an alternative choice for others who may read the thread.

I had a 14/50 installed with wiring for a 60A circuit, and currently use the mobile connector that came with the P3D-. If rewards stay the same, I'll get the wall connector when I have the referrals. I debated getting a second mobile connector to keep in the car, just in case. (First time EV owner, don't want to get stuck somewhere on a road trip.) Rather than spend the $300 for a second mobile connector, or the $500 for a wall connector, I ended up buying this Level 2 charger for $160 that included plugs for NEMA 14-60, 14-50, 14-30, 14-20 (new electric clothes dryers, RV parks, ovens, stoves, etc), plus a plug to be used with NEMA 10-30 (old electric clothes dryers). Other adapters are available. I keep this one in my car along with the Tesla/J1772 adapter, and keep the Tesla Mobile Connector plugged into the 14/50 in my garage.

Having this J1772 charger will allow me to offer a charge to any non-Tesla EV who visits me at my house. I don't know who that would be yet, but I've got the capability.

There are two significant drawbacks to this approach. First, it does NOT have the ability to charge from a regular 120V/15A outlet. There is an adapter for charging from a 120V/20A outlet available, but it didn't come with the kit I ordered. The second drawback is that it only charges at 16A, so half of the Mobile Connector and as much as 1/3 of the Wall Connector.

 

[wehearttessla]

I went ahead and changed out electric plan to a time of use plan. These are the rates that will not apply to us:

Winter weekday rates are:

.16 8am-2pm
.25 2pm-8pm
.16 8pm-10pm
.13 10pm-8am

Winter weekend rates are:

.16 8am-10pm
.13 10pm-8am

Summer weekday rates are:

.17 8am-2pm
.36 2pm-8pm
.17 8pm-10pm
.12 10pm-8am

Summer weekend rates are:

.17 8am-10pm
.12 10pm-8am

So it's clear that I will be charging the Tesla after 10pm pretty much all the time. Now we'll have to pay more attention to when we run the air conditioning between 2-8pm in the summers. That will get quite expensive!

With SDG&E I’m on their TOU Ev plan with super off peak for .07. Weekdays midnight to 6am ans weeksnds midnight to 2pm.

I now have my washer and dryer on WiFi switches to mage them run between midnight and 6am. I also press delay on the dishwasher after 7pm to make it run in the middle of the night. I’ve only gotten one bill since moving to the TOU plan but it was $60 cheaper than last year. Hoping summers will be $150+ less per month.

 

[OCR1]

We picked up the M3 on Friday morning. The delivery process went smoothly and the car was in great shape. A few very minor scratches but they buffed them out before we left so no worries. The car is truly amazing to drive. I knew we would be thrilled with it, and I'm glad to say that now that we've had it for two days, we were right!

The wall connector was a luxury, clearly not a necessity. But after spending $60K on the car we weren't all that worried about an extra $500 for the connector. I like the idea of leaving the mobile kit in the car permanently just in case we need it. The DA told me that up until two weeks ago they included a J1772 adapter with the car for charging at non-EV stations. He said you have to order them now from Tesla, but I didn't see one anywhere on the web site. I'm not sure we'll need it anyway. We don't do much long distance driving, so I imagine we'll be fine using the superchargers when necessary.

The technology in the car is amazing, but a little overwhelming. I feel like I'm driving a giant iPhone on wheels rather than a car. As I spend more time playing with it, and reading through other threads here, and watching youtube videos, I'm slowly picking things up. We've successfully got the car to summon, parallel park, and both forward/reverse park into spaces. The monitor has rebooted unexpectedly a couple of times. I'm not sure what's going on with that.

And I can't read anything on the on-screen manual beyond the index pages. I've seen others comment about having similar problems in other threads. I haven't had time to sort through that and see if there is a fix.

I saw a thread on wireless chargers for the iPhone. It looks like there are a couple of different models, so I'm still trying to figure out which one to buy. And I would like to set up the web cam recording as well once I figure out how to do that.

Anyways, it's been a great experience so far. I'm really tempted to try and buy another one before the tax credit expires, but we really don't need another car right now.

 

[notAnExpert]

The DA told me that up until two weeks ago they included a J1772 adapter with the car for charging at non-EV stations. He said you have to order them now from Tesla, but I didn't see one anywhere on the web site. I'm not sure we'll need it anyway.

Should have been included. Doublecheck the glove compartment and the bag of accessories in the trunk.

 

[OCR1]

I checked the mobile connector bag, the trunk, the frunk and the glove box. No J1772 adapter. I do see the web site states it's included with the car, so either the DA was wrong or the web site has not been updated. Has anyone else taken delivery in the last two weeks and not had the adapter included in the bag?