Tesla owners...should we get one?

[Nicolepa]

I sort of disagree with the road trip part. To me the Model Y is the perfect road trip car. The stops might take a little longer but you have built in entertainment with Netflix, YouTube and video games or can walk around a bit. Plus the planning of the stops is done for you when you set your destination.

Well between Dallas and Albuquerque there are not a lot of places to walk around. It is middle of nowhere nothing. I don't watch much Netflix or YouTube and if I were traveling with my husband that would mean watching Tesla videos while waiting for the charging. No way would I want to make multiple stops in the middle of nowhere wasting time watching TV. With my car I stop in Amarallio for Food/Gas and I am on my way again. This is a drive I have made twice this year. In a normal year I will make it 5-6 times, at least.

 

[Nicolepa]

I'm curious why you find it terrifying? The one pedal driving or the acceleration....both?

The Tesla makes a lot of beeps and noises that make me jump. I also hate the fact that I take my foot off the pedal and it applies the brake. I hurt my foot a couple of years ago and when driving in traffic it still bothers me. Being able to coast to a stop over a longer distance really decreases the pain.

Also, the Tesla is missing some safety features that my CRV has. Like the cross camera alert that tells me if someone is driving to my right/left/behind me when backing out of a parking lot. I love that feature. Also, the Tesla doesn't tell you there is someone in your blind spot until you start changing lanes, my CRV tells me when I turn on my signal. Even my husband agrees that these two features are lacking.

The Y is also bigger than I like. I sold my minivan and downsized I don't want to go back to a bigger SUV. My husband keeps telling me it drives just like my CRV. Well for $25K difference I will keep my CRV thank you.

I have only driven the Tesla 3 times, and all of those have been within 3 miles of home.

 

[b2k1121]

This is definitely how we feel right now. My husband has said several times....if the reliability holds up that he can see never owning a gas car again. But, as I've said...early days. I didn't anticipate that it would be this much fun to drive. I really didn't understand it until I drove it, no matter how much my husband tried to explain it.

I’ve only had one issue so far, it stopped connecting to LTE and needed something replaced in order to connect. Made an appointment through the app and they sent a service truck to me and did the replacement in the driveway, took him a couple hours. Probably depends on the issue but that was the most convenient vehicle repair I’ve ever experienced.

 

[DLgal]

Can I ask how your insurance costs are for all you Tesla owners. I have heard it is insanely expensive to insure them, almost negating the fuel cost savings for low mileage drivers.

 

[RamblingMad]

Did the OP buy one?

 

[dvcgirl67]

Can I ask how your insurance costs are for all you Tesla owners. I have heard it is insanely expensive to insure them, almost negating the fuel cost savings for low mileage drivers.

We have USAA and it's $1,100 for the year. $1,000 deductible on collision and comprehensive. 300/500K Body injury/liability. We're going to add rental reimbursement which is like $5 a month. We'll lose the multi-car discount we currently have because we're going down to one car, which will bring it up another $150 or so. So, looks like we're be at about $1,250 for the year. It's more expensive than our Porsche Macan....which is right around $1,050 without a multi-car discount. So, it's about 20% more than a similarly priced car.

We leased for 2 years...15K mileage allowance, and we will likely use all of that. It will still be substantially cheaper for us, factoring in the higher insurance and maintenance/gas. However, we do have German cars...and they are expensive to maintain. My ML350 is due for B1 service, which we're going to do before we sell it, and that comes in around $650. I think maintenance was free for the first year with the Porsche, but we did have to pay for one routine service...and it was over $850.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Did the OP buy one?

Yes, we did. .

 

[RamblingMad]

Yes, we did. .

Do you like it?

 

[dvcgirl67]

I’ve only had one issue so far, it stopped connecting to LTE and needed something replaced in order to connect. Made an appointment through the app and they sent a service truck to me and did the replacement in the driveway, took him a couple hours. Probably depends on the issue but that was the most convenient vehicle repair I’ve ever experienced.

I see the mobile Tesla repair vans in neighborhoods around here. I've read that you need to schedule them, and it can take quite awhile. So...knock on wood....that we have the same experience that you've had to date.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Do you like it?

So far....we're in love with it. But...it's early days. This thread shows a mixed bag...some love it, some had good and bad experiences, some never liked it and won't drive it. But, today I was out in my ML 350 because it has to go in for service tomorrow and I wanted to note if there was anything I should mention to the mechanic tomorrow. I came home for bit and had to go back out....and made a point to take the Y. I'm really enjoying driving it...it's a completely different experience.

 

[lifesavacation]

The Tesla makes a lot of beeps and noises that make me jump. I also hate the fact that I take my foot off the pedal and it applies the brake. I hurt my foot a couple of years ago and when driving in traffic it still bothers me. Being able to coast to a stop over a longer distance really decreases the pain.

Also, the Tesla is missing some safety features that my CRV has. Like the cross camera alert that tells me if someone is driving to my right/left/behind me when backing out of a parking lot. I love that feature. Also, the Tesla doesn't tell you there is someone in your blind spot until you start changing lanes, my CRV tells me when I turn on my signal. Even my husband agrees that these two features are lacking.

The Y is also bigger than I like. I sold my minivan and downsized I don't want to go back to a bigger SUV. My husband keeps telling me it drives just like my CRV. Well for $25K difference I will keep my CRV thank you.

I have only driven the Tesla 3 times, and all of those have been within 3 miles of home.

I love my Model 3 and would buy it again, but I agree with your dislike. Hate the alarms. They are so jarring.

 

[vikequeen]

I'm late, but I have an X. DH has an S. He loves his and has never had issues. The X, in my experience (and that of a friend who also has one), is very buggy. I think its very fun to drive and I don't ever want to go back to gas. But the issues I have had are not ok in a car that expensive. The wing doors in particular are a royal pain that work correctly only when they feel like it. I probably would not buy this model again.

 

[b2k1121]

Can I ask how your insurance costs are for all you Tesla owners. I have heard it is insanely expensive to insure them, almost negating the fuel cost savings for low mileage drivers.

It seems to really depend on the insurance company, at least when we went through shopping rates 1-2 years ago. We were on geico with a Kia Sportage and the Model 3 would have almost doubled the rate if we switched vehicles. We switched to Progressive and it was actually cheaper by a couple dollars per month compared to the Kia. So I’d say if you shop around you will find a reasonable rate with someone.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I'm late, but I have an X. DH has an S. He loves his and has never had issues. The X, in my experience (and that of a friend who also has one), is very buggy. I think its very fun to drive and I don't ever want to go back to gas. But the issues I have had are not ok in a car that expensive. The wing doors in particular are a royal pain that work correctly only when they feel like it. I probably would not buy this model again.

I've read a lot of people have had issues with the gull wing doors. They are very cool though. But I agree...they kind of need to work .

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

If you ever plan on going on long road trips with an EV, Tesla is the best choice as they have the largest fast charging network.

Though Tesla has the biggest network of any single owner, there are still far more quick charging locations compatible with the other formats.
There are 1042 Tesla charging stations nation wide.
There are 2600 Chademo locations
There are 2400 CCS locations.
Note that CCS has far more plugs than Chademo but at 200 fewer locations.

Oh and every last one of these choices is terrible for the long haul in comparison to the 168,000 gas stations there are.

I sort of disagree with the road trip part. To me the Model Y is the perfect road trip car. The stops might take a little longer but you have built in entertainment with Netflix, YouTube and video games or can walk around a bit. Plus the planning of the stops is done for you when you set your destination.

Electric is still inconvenient for the long haul. 40 minutes isn't a little longer than 5 minutes. And further, those 40 minute stops come more often in an electric car. Still further, in many areas, though most of the chargers are near a freeway, they may be 15-30 minutes round trip off the freeway you're on near some other freeway. And if one of your stops happen to be one of those, you've just spent 15 extra minutes getting there, 30 minutes to charge plus 15 back. And though that planning that is done for you is getting better, it is still not fool proof and diversions from plan happen. The bottom line is a gas powered car in 8 hours of driving is a couple of hours ahead of an electric on the road. And when I get to the hotel, I don't have to worry if all the destination chargers that take all night to charge you up are being used. And what's worse is out west, often times if I want to take the scenic route, Electric either can't do it in some cases because the infrastructure isn't there or it requires diversions back to the main arteries for charging further taking more time.

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

I also hate the fact that I take my foot off the pedal and it applies the brake.

You can set up your own profile in the car with your preferences and change that option.

 

[kdonnel]

Oh and every last one of these choices is terrible for the long haul in comparison to the 168,000 gas stations there are.

For the long haul I agree but for local it can't be beat if you have the option for home charging.

No comparison between that 168,000 gas stations and the 100's of millions of homes with electricity available.

 

[dvcgirl67]

You can set up your own profile in the car with your preferences and change that option.

My husband was telling me that he was reading a Tesla forum somewhere, and a guy posted that his wife will not drive a Tesla because turning off the regenerative braking was not possible. So it is possible to turn it off?

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

I am way late, but I love love love my model 3! I sold my convertible Audi for my Tesla and was very nervous about saying goodbye to what I considered my dream car. While I miss having a convertible, I am so happy I got my Tesla. She is so quick and fun to drive. Yes, some of the alarms can be jarring. The first time I got the "hit the brakes, dummy" alarm I about peed my pants, but I'm used to it now. I'll even confess it has bailed me out a couple of times when I was just not paying close attention to traffic.

My husband also has a M3. He actually got his in the first wave of releases. He put down the deposit the first day they went on sale and waited patiently for 2 years for his car to finally be delivered. He loved is so much, he is the one who talked me into getting one for myself. He has the single motor dark gray and the standard wheels. I got the dual motor in white with the upgraded wheels. I tried to push him into getting me the performance model, but for all of those thousands more, it really wasn't worth it. We do have a Tesla charger installed in our garage so we can charge overnight easily. When we were going into the office, it was even better for my husband because they have free charging at his company.

I am in Silicon Valley so Teslas are probably the most common car you see on our streets. I remember in one of my Tesla FB groups, some guy was whining that he bought a Tesla to "be cool" with the ladies and he was upset that no one was impressed with his car. Teslas are a dime a dozen - no one is "impressed" with them anymore.

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

My husband was telling me that he was reading a Tesla forum somewhere, and a guy posted that his wife will not drive a Tesla because turning off the regenerative braking was not possible. So it is possible to turn it off?

You have to do it while the car is in park. Go into your profile and go under the "driving" menu. That's where you find acceleration, steering, regenerative braking, and stopping. Put the regenerative braking in low mode. It doesn't turn it off completely, but it makes a big difference in how it drives. My husband has his on standard and I hate it!