Quote:
Originally Posted by lazypucker
I would like to ask for some honest opinions (and maybe user experiences) on owning a Tesla.
Our family is looking to purchase a new vehicle and the idea of a Tesla came across our mind. We are seeing more and more of these EVs on the streets now, and especially on our recent trip to Vancouver and the West Coast. Plus now they finally have some models that are relatively affordable ($50K range compared to $100K+).
https://www.tesla.com/en_CA/model3
https://www.tesla.com/en_CA/modely
Although we think owning a Tesla (the cheaper model 3 or Y that's coming soon) is a great idea because of the "potential savings," the spaceship-like interior, along with the perceived appearance and social status, my in-laws were giving us an earful about "unknown, untested technology" and "what happens if you are stranded in the middle of nowhere with no power" type speeches.
Are any of you CPers Tesla owners? What is your honest opinion about ownership and daily maintenance of the car? Any pros and cons? How's the resale value (I know there aren't any 2nd hand Teslas out there, but what do you think how they hold the value). We have a second car (a sedan) and not really going full-electric right now. But we do want to explore the possibility of getting a Tesla as the main/family car.
Don't cast me as a tree-hugging traitor and tell me to GTFO of Alberta!! |
We got our Model S, 3 and a half years ago. Have about 70,000kms on it. It's a great car. My wife loves it. There isn't really any maintenance of the car. You put in washer fluid, change the wipers, and tires when needed. We have winters on rims, so I just do that.
You do need to get a 50amp plug installed. When you charge the car, you should keep the daily charge between 50 and 80% This helps extend the life of the battery. When you plan a road trip, say to Banff or Vancouver or whatever, then you bring it to 100%. If you go to Vancouver, you of course use the supercharger network. As far as charging goes when you aren't home and in a jam, Tesla has the superchargers as well there are a whole bunch or chargers all over the place you can use. Even peoples personal chargers. Download the plugshare app. On there you can see where the different charging stations are in the area you are in. Some car dealerships have chargers, shopping malls, and hotels. The Banff Springs offers EV's free valet parking and they get charged while you are there. We've used that before as well as at the Whitefish lake lodge. When we were in Cochrane we were on plugshare, and offered our charger if we were home for anyone in a jam. We have never been in that situation ourselves, but there are more chargers than just what Tesla offers.
In the winter, you lose some range. How you operate the car and how cold it is will impact this. What we've found to work best is to warm up the car/battery before you leave the house. This way the car doesn't have to warm the battery in the cold. That help a lot. We have taken the car to Lake Louise skiing. We did use the supercharger in Canmore to ensure we would make it home.
Back to maintenance. My wife's car has had nothing, other than topping up washer fluid, which really isn't maintenance. My truck on the other hand cost me $2500 last year in scheduled maintenance. My truck has 100000kms on it, and I've spent about $4k in maintenance, plus gas.
As far as car insurance goes, my wife went from a honda pilot to the Tesla. Her rates dropped substantially. I have no idea why. We assumed they'd be higher, but they were less.
We did get 3M all over the car. The first week she had it, someone keyed it at the safeway in Cochrane.
If you want to travel long distances the car is great for that, but you need to plan accordingly. Say a trip to Vancouver. With a gas car, you stop for gas, and keep moving. Takes about 5-10 minutes. With a Tesla, you need 3 to 5 Supercharger stops depending on what size battery you have. A supercharger stop is anywhere from 20-30minutes. That can be an extra 2 to 2.5 hours to your road trip to Vancouver.
I think making it your main car depends on you. We have the Tesla and my truck. We have taken the Tesla skiing and mountain biking, but most times, we use the truck for that. The car is an awesome city car. The technology is second to none and has worked flawlessly for us.
Oh, the battery warranty on our car is 8 years or 200,000kms. Any issue and you get a replacement. My friend has one of the first Roadsters. In 2015 he upgraded his battery to get a lot more range. It cost him about $10000.