Youngest Model S Owner/First Car?

[bollar]

Well, I am a processing manager of a structural steel processing shop. It is a family owned company. I have saved up for 1/3 of the amount of the vehicle.

This is by no means a bragging post. I am just sharing with the Tesla community my order as others do and ask for opinions and getting a discussion going.

Good for you!

We have a boy at our high school who did an economic analysis and convinced his parents that a Model S 60 would be a better financial investment than whatever car they were going to get him for his sixteenth birthday. So, he's a bit younger than you, but you worked much harder for it, I'd say.

My first car was a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit pickup truck with the 1.6l Diesel engine. 0-60 just under 20 seconds. I've been making up for it ever since...

(oh, you want opinions)

I would get 19s instead of 21s and I'd consider the pano roof. Just getting the 19" wheels will save you a couple of A$K or more a year in tire and wheel replacement.

 

[dsm363]

Congrats. I agree with the 70D over P85D for your first car. And with 19" wheels too.

 

[llavalle]

Wow, and I thought I was in the low age bracket with my Model S.. I'm 31

 

[tom66]

I'm 21 and I drive a ten year old VW Golf TDI with a manual gearbox. My goal is to make this the first, and last fuel powered car I will ever drive.

In the next two or three years I'll either get a Model S used or a Model 3. That's the plan, at least...

 

[rxlawdude]

Man, my first car was a '61 Rambler American with three speed manual transmission and overdrive. Flat six, slow and handled like a brick.

 

[Astroboy747]

So, did you change from the P85D to the 70D listed above? That is a huge price difference.

Lastly, I wouldn't suggest the 21" Wheels for a 18 year old. And that's mainly due to driving experience and judging how close a curb is. Curb rub is almost a guarantee and you will be paying someone to fix the rims at a premium. They do look great though! I would pick up the rim protectors from Evannex.

Ohh no, my mother is getting a P85D and the 70D listed above will be my personal vehicle. So we will be a two Tesla family. Hopefully my dad will convert one day too!

Great replies so far guys thank you and also it's great to see how conscious you all are about young driving and safety. Thanks for the encouragement and advice.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, in Australia, there is a limit for Provisional drivers in my state to be only legally allowed to drive a vehicle with a maximum power to weight of 130kw/ton (174hp/2204 pounds). So the 70D is just on the legal limit without a high performance vehicle exemption. But the acceleration is much faster than any other comparable vehicle with that power to weight ratio due to being electric of course.

So its kinda a legal loophole

 

[FutureOwner]

Wow that is a really good story. Ahh love Chevys. My father has a 69 Chevelle and a GMC Sierra. I just really want to take people for rides to let them experience the future of automobiles.

By the way, what is the Roadster like? I see a few of you guys are owners.

We're the crazy ones. Either the ones that bought Tesla before anyone knew if they were going to last more than a few years OR owners like me that preferred a used roadster over a new Model S for the same price.

The roadster actually reminds me a lot of a 21st century Shelby Cobra. A spirited car built with spare parts, a desire to push the boundaries and a passion for old school driving.

Another piece of advice on the Model S. Drive it until the wheels fall off, it's a big purchase. Get everything you can out of it before you spend money on another car.

 

[LargeHamCollider]

My first thought was "ditch those 21s and get the 19" cyclones" but wow, congrats on having put in the work to put a third down up front!

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

Congrats on the purchase. You won't regret it.

My first car, at 17 years old, was a 1971 Chev Impala (no emission controls). It passed everything but a gas station. What killed me was the insurance...primary driver, 17 years old. Is the insurance on your Tesla going to be "hurtful"?

 

[meloccom]

Hi everyone! I'm new to these forums.

I have been following the Model S since its early development and instantly fell in love with it. Growing up around performance cars my whole life, I always knew that oil was coming to an end.

I convinced my mother to order her own P85D which is due for delivery in a month's time. As I am 18 and looking for my first car, I originally looked at small sedans such as a Mercedes C Class or BMW 3 Series. But my dad (quite ironically because he is a massive petrolhead) tried to push me towards a Model S. It was always my dream car but I thought it would be a bit much for me. But factoring in fuel savings, service costs and the future technology, I couldn't afford not to get a Model S.
So I ordered my 70D and it is due in November!
The VIN is 99645.

Model S 70D
Deep Blue Metallic
Panoramic Roof
21" Grey Turbine Wheels
Grey Next Generation Seats
Piano Black Decor
Black Alcantara Headliner
Autopilot
Premium Interior and Lighting
Smart Air Suspension
Ultra High Fidelity Sound

What do you guys think about the combination? Also wouldn't mind feedback about your own vehicles, delivery experiences and the like. I have been in a Model S for a test drive but never driven one.

Can't wait!
Cheers guys,

Welcome Astroboy, If I was ordering again it would be very similar to what you have chosen.
If you are in Sydney or Melbourne the people at the Service Centres are great to deal with and very professional.
If you are interstate they can still organise service effectively. An owner in Adelaide got a serious error message and couldn't drive his car.
Tesla remotely diagnosed it as a faulty accelerator pedal and flew someone out to fit it. He was going again the next day.
I think you will love your Model S, but as others have said, just make sure you can insure it before taking delivery.
There is an insurance thread over in the Australia\New Zealand section of the forum. Model S Insurance in Australia

 

[Astroboy747]

Congrats on the purchase. You won't regret it.

My first car, at 17 years old, was a 1971 Chev Impala (no emission controls). It passed everything but a gas station. What killed me was the insurance...primary driver, 17 years old. Is the insurance on your Tesla going to be "hurtful"?

Well I believe it will be as a bundle package with our family cars. Probably my parents will be down as primary drivers and I will be the occasional.

- - - Updated - - -

Welcome Astroboy, If I was ordering again it would be very similar to what you have chosen.
If you are in Sydney or Melbourne the people at the Service Centres are great to deal with and very professional.
If you are interstate they can still organise service effectively. An owner in Adelaide got a serious error message and couldn't drive his car.
Tesla remotely diagnosed it as a faulty accelerator pedal and flew someone out to fit it. He was going again the next day.
I think you will love your Model S, but as others have said, just make sure you can insure it before taking delivery.
There is an insurance thread over in the Australia\New Zealand section of the forum. Model S Insurance in Australia

Yes I am in Brisbane but I have been to the Sydney Store. Dealing with Adam as our DS at the moment. He's really good. They are using a third party to deliver it to Brisbane then we pick it up at their shop.

Also thought I should mention I already have the perfect number plates for mine "NO OIL".

 

[daniel-r-a]

I was 20 when I bought my 85 last September...I have absolutely zero regrets. Just prepare yourself for a few things...

-Crazy expensive insurance (it was so surprising that I started a thread about it...).
-Lots of attention (some of it is fun and some of it is annoyingly negative)...so much attention that I needed to tint my 70D's windows for privacy.
-Being asked at every Supercharger if you created a famous iPhone app...
-Being asked how you bought the car.
-An amazing purchase you will likely never regret.
-Great conversations with nice people everywhere.
-If you do not want to discuss the Tesla FAQs (where/how you charge, how much it costs, how far it travels...), then do not buy this car at a young age. I find that more people are comfortable coming up to me to ask questions about the car because of my age.


If you're okay with all of this, then hell yes go buy it and do it right away! The Model S is awesome and I can't wait to see you posting about how much you love it!

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions about being a young Tesla owner that you would prefer to not ask over the public forum.

Best,
Daniel

 

[Astroboy747]

I was 20 when I bought my 85 last September...I have absolutely zero regrets. Just prepare yourself for a few things...

-Crazy expensive insurance (it was so surprising that I started a thread about it...).
-Lots of attention (some of it is fun and some of it is annoyingly negative)...so much attention that I needed to tint my 70D's windows for privacy.
-Being asked at every Supercharger if you created a famous iPhone app...
-Being asked how you bought the car.
-An amazing purchase you will likely never regret.
-Great conversations with nice people everywhere.
-If you do not want to discuss the Tesla FAQs (where/how you charge, how much it costs, how far it travels...), then do not buy this car at a young age. I find that more people are comfortable coming up to me to ask questions about the car because of my age.


If you're okay with all of this, then hell yes go buy it and do it right away! The Model S is awesome and I can't wait to see you posting about how much you love it!

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions about being a young Tesla owner that you would prefer to not ask over the public forum.

Best,
Daniel

Thanks Daniel.

Haha my name is Daniel too. Yes I will definately be spreading the word around of Tesla. I just passed my license exam today so I can now drive on my own. What do you mean specifically about attention? As in while driving or when pulled over?

 

[Maaz]

haha dang people give me a hard time always asking questions, i am 24 and i just bought my Model S P85 used about 5 months ago. I go to school, work 5 days a week at a juice bar/ restaurant inside a gym. I make a little over $1,200 in tips alone a month which is taking care of my payment of the car. It also helps that i am a huge saver and live at home, so after saving the past couple of years i had a little over $33,000 to use as my down deposit when purchasing the car(the huge downpayment was the only reason i even got approved for the loan).

 

[Rifleman]

Congrats! I bought my first Model S at 31, and my second one at 32. I wonder if I am the youngest person to own 2 of them?

 

[daniel-r-a]

Thanks Daniel.

Haha my name is Daniel too. Yes I will definately be spreading the word around of Tesla. I just passed my license exam today so I can now drive on my own. What do you mean specifically about attention? As in while driving or when pulled over?

So in terms of attention, I am primarily referring to interactions with pedestrians when parking over driving in cities, or interactions with other drivers/passengers on the road. I've never owned/driven any luxury/exotic car that receives more attention than the Model S. Nevertheless, attention can often be fun...especially when it means being able to stand around and talk about cars, answer questions about living with a Model S, and just meeting interesting people in general. I can't talk about attention in terms of police though, since I always just set my cruise control 5-9 miles per hour above the speed limit and have never gotten a ticket.

Congrats! I bought my first Model S at 31, and my second one at 32. I wonder if I am the youngest person to own 2 of them?

If you mean in terms of owning two Model S's simultaneously then I bet you're right! I've had two, but since I traded in the 85 for the 70D, I cannot say I've ever owned two at the same time!

 

[AustinPowers]

I want to be honest, I must admit I do get a bit jealous when I hear about anyone (not the OP especially) who is just 18 and already able to afford a Model S (or any car of such a price). Over here, unless you have just won the lottery or have really wealthy parents there is almost no way for an 18 year old to have access to such an enormous amount of money. Why? Well, for a start you have to go to school until you are 19 (in my days) or 18 (nowadays). At least in grammar school - which is more or less the only way over here to later study and then get any type of well-paying job. Then as a male you had to go to the military for a year (again, in my time, about twenty years ago), which means that men of my generation could only just start to work at around 20 - unless the studied first, which most did as, again, without a degree there was very little chance of making it into a well paying job later on.
My first car was a Volkswagen Golf III which I bought when I was 20. My second car was (and is) my 2004 BMW 330d coupe which I bought new when I was 27. I am now 38, have a well paid job - but also a house the mortgage of which will keep me paying back to the bank for quite a few years to come. Plus, I am lucky to have a wife and two great kids. And even though my wife also has a decently paid full-time job, we as a family would not be able to afford a Model S or any other 75k+ car.
I am holding my hopes up for a nice Model 3 in a couple of years time.

So congrats to the OP, and good luck with your Model S. I have only test-driven a P85 once, but from that experience alone I would recommend caution while driving your car, especially with not much driving experience under your belt.

 

[AB4EJ]

The first new car I bought was a '74 Chevy Vega (ugh). To be able to afford a car like you are getting, at that age, I would have had to have been unmarried, employed, and living with my parents. Oops, is that what you're doing?

 

[AMPd]

haha dang people give me a hard time always asking questions, i am 24 and i just bought my Model S P85 used about 5 months ago. I go to school, work 5 days a week at a juice bar/ restaurant inside a gym. I make a little over $1,200 in tips alone a month which is taking care of my payment of the car. It also helps that i am a huge saver and live at home, so after saving the past couple of years i had a little over $33,000 to use as my down deposit when purchasing the car(the huge downpayment was the only reason i even got approved for the loan).

Nice! I'm also 24!
A few people asked me what I do for a living, that's the most uncomfortable question for me as I don't like to talk about what I do.
but most questions are about price which I just reply with "it depends on the options, and there are A LOT of options"

 

[Astroboy747]

Thank you to everyone for the feedback and experiences.

That actually is another question that I would put forth, how many people have had run ins with the police and what is their reaction to the car?

But yes I do have to really control myself. I mean the 70D is right on the limit of the power that I am legally allowed to drive but yet it accelerates faster than the comparative cars.

Cheers,