Picked up my car on Saturday @ Powell street location
Here's my list of things that I didn't know that I wish I would have known and observations from hanging around.
Tips
- Powell Street location is pretty small, no parking except street parking. If you have a trade in, you can park it in the lot.
- Having a VIN or not having a VIN means really nothing at the end of the day. Only concern would be when CEV funds might dry up
- Don't except your OA to help you out unless they aren't with a customer in person/on the phone
- A delivery advisor will contact you once your car has gotten past Tacoma. Usually 3 days before delivery
- You will probably have multiple DA's, Toronto/Vancouver/Vegas/Mars
- Arrive 10-15min before your delivery time, but don't expect them to be on schedule.
- Check in, then go find your car on the lot and look over it then.
- Build quality is getting better, but it ain't no Merc/Lexus. Don't try to agonize over every speck of dust or gap with a ruler. Ask your DA and note it.
- Get a quote for 3rd party insurance before showing up, they have about 5 insurance agents, but that took the longest.
- Contract is really just formality, it's one of the easiest contracts for a vehicle
- Your orientation is gonna be 5-10 min with someone, they are just product people, they can't fix shiet. But if something is dirty, they can clean it. Watch some videos ahead of time.
- Perrier drinks the fridge, I had 3 maybe 4
- Model 3 doesn't have a garage homelink, kinda lame, it's $300+ install from Tesla
- Your car will probably need a software update, mine did, don't try to do it at the lot, it takes 25min, just do it at home.
Observations
- Most of everyone is in a good mood, it's like buying a BBQ, everyone is usually pretty happy shopping for a BBQ.
- Tesla people are people, I talked to 6 different people while waiting, made the time go faster and all were super cool, talked about other stuff besides boring electric cars
- I think for some deliveries, this is a first new car, so obviously excited, but arguing on how a rubber seal works is pretty funny to watch
- I must have seen parties of 6-10 going along with whoever was picking up the car like it was a free lottery car. Grandma's, neighbors etc.
- Office is tiny, add all the insurance people and people waiting, it's a sweaty mess
- the make shift Ikea kids tables for writing contracts was funny
- Model 3 insurance is freaking expensive especially if you aren't going 3rd party. Gas savings is thrown out the door for a lot of people. Guy before me is paying $4600 a year....WTF
- Cars are dirty, almost every interior I saw was dirty, but nothing 5min can't remove at home, don't yell at DA about it.
- People asking for free supercharging mileage for not perfectly aligned panels
- New owners brought their own insurance agents (commission for hanging out at the lot I guess), but slows down the process
- Process took about an hour and I didn't ask anyone when my turn was up
- You have to go slow for the first bit of driving to let the car calibrate, so don't expect to get anywhere too quickly
- For some reason, I thought the car software had more to it. Too many damn youtube videos since my order. No LTE, no streaming radio, no summons, no Navigate on Autopilot.
- It's 13% tax on the black/black, consider it a $4500 federal rebate because of the AC Tax
- Model 3 is pretty noisy at hwy speeds, compared to my old Acura MDX, it's well documented, but something that catches by surprise because its normal so quiet in the city.
Overall 8/10, obliviously the gaps in clear communication hampers the overall online ordering process. My car has a few issues, that I'll get resolved, but nothing that I'm worried about.
Simple contract and no BS dealer after sales. Car lives up to expectations, almost 700kms since Saturday afternoon.