Tesla owners...should we get one?

[dvcgirl67]

The Tesla has cameras where you can see the traffic. The screen will tell you if there is a car next to you in traffic. The reverse camera shows a wide angle of what is behind you when backing out of a parking space. It does take some getting used to, but the safety features are there. They are just different than your current car. It took some time for me to get used to them as well.

Yes...I've never had this much information when driving...lol. I can see where other cars are, garbage cans, traffic cones..etc. The more cars you have, the more you love something in the new one, miss something from the old one. My ML350 had a heated steering wheel which I loved, but the Macan didn't. The Macan had cooling seating...and the ML350 didn't. The Tesla has heated seats in the front and back, no car we've had ever had all seats heated. Being able to turn the "climate" on is like having a remote starter. You're getting into a toasty, or a cool car. The only downside I see so far is that the interior isn't quite up to par with similarly priced cars we've had. The seats are great. Love the minimalist nature of it. Love the huge glass roof. It's mostly the inner part of the doors...feel a bit less than luxe.

 

[b2k1121]

That is the other thing I don't like. I feel like I am constantly taking my eyes of the road to look at the screen. The lack of sound and having to LOOK at the cameras is a step down for safety, even my husband agrees. My car has the cameras and the sound. It was not as much of an issue in Seattle but here in Dallas people do not stop in parking lots. Ever. You can be 1/2 way out of your parking space and they are still going to go. Having the alert is great, having to keep looking at the camera, not great.

You don’t have to stare at the screen if you don’t want to, it’s still a car, you can use your mirrors and/or turn your head.

A lot of these seem like things you just have to get used to. Regenerative braking is jarring at first but after a month or so you become a master of one pedal driving and then going back to an ICE feels very weird when the car doesn’t slow down. It’s a more simple way to drive, it just doesn’t feel right at first because we weren’t taught to drive that way.

 

[kanerf]

I drive a KIA Niro PHEV, so I can get about 26-30 miles pure EV plus Hybrid the rest of the time. It works very well as I usually have a charger at the office so drive in EV mode most of the time. During the shutdown where I live I used about 1/8th of a tank of gas from the middle of march until July when I took my first road trip. Still get 45 mpg or so on the highway.

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

That is the other thing I don't like. I feel like I am constantly taking my eyes of the road to look at the screen. The lack of sound and having to LOOK at the cameras is a step down for safety, even my husband agrees. My car has the cameras and the sound. It was not as much of an issue in Seattle but here in Dallas people do not stop in parking lots. Ever. You can be 1/2 way out of your parking space and they are still going to go. Having the alert is great, having to keep looking at the camera, not great.

I just use the camera whenever I back out of a parking spot. I don't have to "keep looking" at it because that's pretty much all I look at. The screen shows me the camera views on the back and on each side. I don't need to look anywhere else.

Again - it's just something you get used to. It's an adjustment for sure, but you have to take the time to get comfortable with the car. Driving it only once every few weeks is never going to make you get familiar with it.

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

Yes...I've never had this much information when driving...lol. I can see where other cars are, garbage cans, traffic cones..etc. The more cars you have, the more you love something in the new one, miss something from the old one. My ML350 had a heated steering wheel which I loved, but the Macan didn't. The Macan had cooling seating...and the ML350 didn't. The Tesla has heated seats in the front and back, no car we've had ever had all seats heated. Being able to turn the "climate" on is like having a remote starter. You're getting into a toasty, or a cool car. The only downside I see so far is that the interior isn't quite up to par with similarly priced cars we've had. The seats are great. Love the minimalist nature of it. Love the huge glass roof. It's mostly the inner part of the doors...feel a bit less than luxe.

I miss having a convertible. I loved my Audi so much! I thought I would really miss having my Sirius XM Radio as well, but I love the Tesla music system even more...even without getting to listen to Eddie Trunk.

I would love to have cooling seats! I sometimes visit my parents in the Sacramento area and in the summer it is HOT. I do love that I can blast the a/c for a few minutes while I am still getting ready and the car is nice and cool when I get in.

I do wish it was easier to do simple things like change the music station while driving, but now i have my custom music so it's not a big issue.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Do tell me how many superchargers you have visited since you don't own a Tesla...

When we take our Tesla down to Southern California, we always stop in San Luis Obispo. The charger is at the Madonna Inn. I love wandering around that place. It's so pretty and so unusual. We sometimes have conversations with other Tesla owners about their car experiences as well. Most chargers are in areas that have restaurants to grab a bite or use the bathroom, possibly stores to wander around, but it's just good to take a break and stretch your legs. They aren't all like that, but I can't think of any super charger that I have stopped at that I didn't have something to do. Yes, it is more convenient to "gas up" and go, but for me, the benefits of driving my Tesla more than make up for driving a gas guzzler.

When we lived in CA, we took so many road trips....it's the best state for weekend road trips. And we traveled through San Luis Obispo...went to Hearts Castle which was so cool. I bet there are a lot of lovely places in CA to stop and charge. I know the supercharger in our area is at a higher end outlet mall...about 8 miles from here. It is free for that first year for us, but it's just so darned easy to plug it in overnight.

Ok, for Tesla owners....did any of you name yours?

 

[mikehn]

I was recently in Austin and test drove the S on state highway 130, where the speed limit is 85. What a monster.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Family really wants one but I think it'll be a headache. How do they handle the battery replacement situation? This is the one sticking point for me, they can't last forever and must be expensive unless it includes a new one or something.

Also, how do you go on a long drive? Are there shops which will swap out batteries? If this could be easily done then I suppose I'd add it into travel costs, would work if they saddled up to Cracker Barrels or some other non fast food restaurant chain that has already sorted out logistics because the thought of needing to stop 3 hours to recharge after driving 4 wouldn't even work for getting me back and forth to my kids colleges. I would tolerate it in short bursts during a meal but hours on end is too much. My car needs to do what I want it to do not the other way around, that's absurd. Ehhh, they need to figure this out before it's pragmatic.

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

When we lived in CA, we took so many road trips....it's the best state for weekend road trips. And we traveled through San Luis Obispo...went to Hearts Castle which was so cool. I bet there are a lot of lovely places in CA to stop and charge. I know the supercharger in our area is at a higher end outlet mall...about 8 miles from here. It is free for that first year for us, but it's just so darned easy to plug it in overnight.

Ok, for Tesla owners....did any of you name yours?

DH went to CalPoly and we love that area of California. If we could get away with moving there, we would go in a heartbeat. We do need to go back to Hearst Castle. It was the first weekend trip we took when we were dating almost 20 years ago.

Both of our cars have names. Mine is Mahina which is Hawaiian for moon and I named DH's Pepe.

 

[kdonnel]

Family really wants one but I think it'll be a headache. How do they handle the battery replacement situation?

As long as you don't buy a Nissan Leaf which lacks active battery conditioning (cooling and heating) it really is not something to worry about.

With active battery conditioning the battery should be at 85-90% 8 years out.

Most EVs come with 8 year 100,000 mile battery warranties as well.

The real concern is how well will the batteries be recycled?

 

[godisney14]

While on this topic of Tesla....Elon is now, at the moment, valued more than Bezos.

(and Bitcoin is at $38K!)

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

I had to drive to campus about 15 miles away today - over 10 miles of newly paved 280 North. I haven't "really" driven my car in weeks. It felt so good...made me fall in love with my car all over again!

 

[dvcgirl67]

I had to drive to campus about 15 miles away today - over 10 miles of newly paved 280 North. I haven't "really" driven my car in weeks. It felt so good...made me fall in love with my car all over again!

OP here...and still just in love with this car. The other day I was parked in town and walked up to it and there were two guys peering inside it. I walked up and they were like.."oh, sorry, we're not trying to steal it or anything." We all laughed, and then they asked me a bunch of questions....most of which I could actually answer. Like..."is it quiet to drive..", "is it fast..." etc. Yes and Yes. It's just super fun.

Sold my ML350 today. The Porsche goes back at the end of the month. And so...fingers crossed for reliability. If the reliability holds up, I can say that I don't see us going to back to an ICE car.

Also, we named it after we watched The Martian, which we both really like and have seen before. My husband said..."we should name it The MAV". And I said...done. So, it's The MAV. It feels like the future and so, while dorky, felt like as good a name as any .

 

[redboxcar]

Also, we named it after we watched The Martian, which we both really like and have seen before. My husband said..."we should name it The MAV". And I said...done. So, it's The MAV. It feels like the future and so, while dorky, felt like as good a name as any .

I love this! The MAV!

 

[Timandalicia]

DH and I are thinking of getting the Tesla Y. I know a few people who have them, and they love their cars...although none have the Y. However, we saw the recent Consumer Reports review naming the Tesla (not sure if they named a particular model)....as unreliable. If you own a Tesla, have you had issues with the car? If so what kind of issues.

I test drove the Jaguar I-pace. Unbelievable. But I wasn’t ready for the switch to electric, so got the f-pace. But you should check it out.

 

[China Expat]

Not a Tesla, but I saw the Lamborghini SUV on a local freeway this weekend.Price: $218,000 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tesla does not seem all that pricey by comparison!

 

[China Expat]

My son's Tesla was broken into...the guy broke the triangle window because my son forgot the cardinal rule in the Bay Area-always put your back seats down so that thieves can see into the hopefully empty trunk. Even with car camera footage, the police were unable to do anything.

 

[mrodgers]

Please don't abreviate Model 3 to "M3." It confuses those of us that are into cars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_M3

I don't like Model 3 either as I drive a model 3... in Mazda fashion

 

[mrodgers]

You don’t have to stare at the screen if you don’t want to, it’s still a car, you can use your mirrors and/or turn your head.

A lot of these seem like things you just have to get used to. Regenerative braking is jarring at first but after a month or so you become a master of one pedal driving and then going back to an ICE feels very weird when the car doesn’t slow down. It’s a more simple way to drive, it just doesn’t feel right at first because we weren’t taught to drive that way.

I am behind on this thread... I can understand that feeling. Even in a normal car I am having trouble with that as I drive a manual and my little ole Mazda has no compression braking what so ever. I'm not use to using the brake much as I anticipate and use the gearing to slow down. Drives me crazy that coming to work every day I use to not touch my brakes until I reached the turn lane, and that was touching the brakes to come to a complete stop where in my Mazda if I drop it clear down to 2nd gear at 60 mph and revving to redline, I've only dropped to maybe 55 at the point I would normally be getting out of gear and pressing the brake for a full stop.


With the talk of travel, how do you all plan your travels with stops and such. I just loaded a trip to Pop Century in Google maps, searched for charging stations and got nothing. I assume you have to use a Tesla app now? I don't find Google maps or any phone app very good for navigation to begin with (OK for planning on a computer, somewhat.) With range and running clear to 80% used capacity, looks like a trip to Disney would be 5 stops of 20 minutes charging plus the messing around before hand and after, so 25 minutes. That adds 2.5 hours to a trip to Disney where I can fuel up in 5 as well as having twice the range, so I'd be doing 2-3 stops at 5-10 minutes each. Obviously at least one of those stops would be longer with either car getting something to eat, so 4 stops in a Tesla 3 vs 1 or 2 stops in my Mazda 3. That's significant.

 

[kdonnel]

With the talk of travel, how do you all plan your travels with stops and such.

One tool useful to EV owners is A Better Route Planner.

https://abetterrouteplanner.com/
As an EV owner, I feel they are not yet ideal for road trips that involve more than 1 charging stop, so in effect trips greater than 300-350 miles. My threshold for driving vs flying is in the 450-500 mile range. So for most trips >350 I would fly anyway.

But how often do most people travel that far?

For now I have one EV and multiple ICE cars. If I need to take a trip that involves multiple charging stops I plan to take one of my ICE cars. That has not come up in the first year of EV ownership but that was a pandemic year.

I assume by the time I own only EV cars that battery technology will have improved so that range is improved and charging time is reduced.