Tesla

The driving experience is unmatched. All electric with 310 miles of range is plenty. We went to FL from NC over Thanksgiving of 2018 with only 2 stops a Superchargers each way. 40 minute charge time each stop. Cost per mile of electricity is $0.03/mile, whereas cost of gas alone (not including oil, filter, radiation fluid, trans fluid, etc that my EV does not need!) is ~3x at $0.10.

We charge at home about every other night very easily overnight with a 220V NEMA 14-50 plug. The Model 3 can pull up to 32A from that and charges at 28 miles of charge per hour added to the battery with that current. To prolong battery life I usually dial the current back such that it'll get to the charge level I set (about 80%, or ~250miles) about 1 hour before we need the car the next morning, so between 12 and 18amps usually. Batteries lose some charge in cold weather, but it's very manageable. They say up to 30%, but I've seen maybe 20%. Simple to plan for though.

Autopilot and Navigate on Autopilot are amazing! Too much to say, but this is the best car I've ever owned, period. No shifting, not transmission, just smooth continuous acceleration, and great torque from 1rpm with dual electric motors. Immediate response at any speed. Beautiful car inside and out, and the experience is the thing that is so amazing. All glass roof, minimalist dash with all controls on the 15inch touch screen, two control knobs on the steering wheel, a turn signal lever and a gear stalk. However, those things are somewhat customizable also, and changed function based on what mode you're in. If you're parked (in "Park"), and playing the include Atari video games, the knobs on the steering wheel and the steering wheel itself become controls for the video games!! Wow!

Ok, I could go on an on, but you get the idea. It's really hard to go back to driving our other cars now: Toyota Sienna Van, and Honda Accord. Can't wait to get our next Tesla vehicle. I don't see every buying another brand if I can afford it. And I'll certainly buy used if I end up with another gas car, but I may buy a used EV before I do that if the need comes for another car when the Toyota or the Honda needs replaced.

Oh, I must talk about the regenerative braking! I hardly ever used the brakes - usually only from 15mph to zero, maybe a little sooner if I'm coming in quicker, but one can basically drive with the accelerator pedal and regulate both speeding up and slowing down in most normal driving situations. What does this mean? ... well, of course, that brakes hardly ever wear out! Another savings versus a gas car.

The infotainment is so far ahead of the competition that it is incomparable - as if we hit fast forward a decade or more. The Tesla touchscreen and navigation work so well that they replaced my iPhone as my navigation source. I’m not a safety expert, but I can say that the AWD version is hard to lose control of. The 2nd day I had the vehicle my city, St. Louis has 9 inches of snow and the Model 3 gobbled it up. Since then other snows or ice events have occurred and I’ve found it to be the most stable sedan I’ve ever driven despite not purchasing winter tires.

I am no audiophile, however; the sound system exceeded my expectations. Driving the vehicle is pure joy. Or glee. Both. It is so quiet yet so responsive. I simply laugh when getting behind the wheel of other vehicles now - they all feel so outdated and cumbersome. Having the Model 3 accelerate quietly, quickly, and on demand is such a game changer and driving with 1 foot while relying on regenerative braking for deceleration simplifies the experience. Tesla truly made the world better by introducing the Model 3 as everybody benefits from the increase in attention every new vehicle on the road will receive in order to compete. Based on my experience there is no competition as far as driving dynamics and infotainment. Everybody will have to improve.

As far as reliability, I've had no issues with the car and I must say its been the most enjoyable car I've ever driven. Nearly 4 months of driving now and I love it as much now as the day I drove it home. I think the issues that people complain about are temporary as Tesla is a new car company and every new company has growing pains and they are not solved overnight. You can't compare Tesla to Mercedes or Lexus who are legacy car companies who have had years to perfect their service. Best car I've owned.

All the updates are done over the air, some improvements are obvious and some subtle. No more trips to gas stations - we charge Model 3 at home (We do have solar panels installed, not from Tesla as a local company offered better deal), or at work occasionally. We charge the battery between 25% to 90% in order to extend the battery lifespan (8-year warranty), so we get about 180-200 miles between charging, not a problem at all for my wife who drives 10-15 miles round trip to work.

I drive to office once a week. It is 70 miles from home, but there are 4 Tesla Supercharging stations along the way, charging speed at 250-350 miles/hour. So I drive the 2016 Model S that has lifetime unlimited supercharging, plus I can use carpool lane! (To use the carpool lane, one does need to get stickers from DMV for $22 in California.) The car is so responsive and fun to drive. Because of energy regeneration system, one rarely uses brakes. Some owners reported no change of brake pads till 90K miles! Only thing that might need to be replaced more often are the tires. We do keep one gas car at home for emergency or airport use (2014 MB E350), driving it reminds us how primitive automobiles used to be. :):)

We had no issues with the Model 3 so far. The 2016 Model S had a warning for one of the 12 parking sensors. I used Tesla app in my phone to schedule an appointment. A service rep called beforehand to address my concerns. The service center in San Diego is very nice, everything went smoothly. While they were working on the sensor, I was provided with a complimentary loaner car (2018 Model S with 3000 miles).

When I asked where the pictures were, no one knew. I had to get a city inspector out here to even get them to correct the situation. Even then, not knowing he was a city inspector, the man stood there and said, "They are to code...." So he was told no they Are Not, and the specifics, and he then said, "They were to code when they were placed in 2014." So we asked what does that have to do with this date in 2019? He then said, "No, they aren't to code." Which trust me, was more than obvious! They eventually did re-do the job, and then tried to charge me.

Now, the panels have not worked for days and days. I was told someone would contact me to arrange for repair within 2-4 days. NO ONE EVER contacted me. I phoned them to be told I was contacted. I told her no, I was not, and she said she was looking at the account notes...I asked her what the name of the person was who wrote those notes. She said, "Are you recording this conversation?" I did not answer but asked the question again, Again she asked, "Are you recording this conversation?" Again, I did not answer her and again I asked the question. She then said, "I am ending this call," and hung up on me. Oh No You Don't!!!

I smell legal action! I will give them until the date and time she indicated they would be coming to fix the system, and if they do not, that is exactly what MUST be done. I have a contract and I am NOT receiving the power from the system, it is down at the box on the outside of my home. Meanwhile, the small white box inside the home shows everything is working just fine...if I would not have went to the back of my home and looked, I would have never known. I feel I am being ripped-off BIG TIME! WARNING - DO NOT PURCHASE OR LEASE FROM TESLA!!!!

When I asked where the pictures were, no one knew. I had to get a city inspector out here to even get them to correct the situation. Even then, not knowing he was a city inspector, the man stood there and said, "They are to code...." So he was told no they Are Not, and the specifics, and he then said, "They were to code when they were placed in 2014." So we asked what does that have to do with this date in 2019? He then said, "No, they aren't to code." Which trust me, was more than obvious! They eventually did re-do the job, and then tried to charge me.

Now, the panels have not worked for days and days. I was told someone would contact me to arrange for repair within 2-4 days. NO ONE EVER contacted me. I phoned them to be told I was contacted. I told her no, I was not, and she said she was looking at the account notes...I asked her what the name of the person was who wrote those notes. She said, "Are you recording this conversation?" I did not answer but asked the question again, Again she asked, "Are you recording this conversation?" Again, I did not answer her and again I asked the question. She then said, "I am ending this call," and hung up on me. Oh No You Don't!!!

I smell legal action! I will give them until the date and time she indicated they would be coming to fix the system, and if they do not, that is exactly what MUST be done. I have a contract and I am NOT receiving the power from the system, it is down at the box on the outside of my home. Meanwhile, the small white box inside the home shows everything is working just fine...if I would not have went to the back of my home and looked, I would have never known. I feel I am being ripped-off BIG TIME! WARNING - DO NOT PURCHASE OR LEASE FROM TESLA!!!!

Fast forward to the end of September when he asked me for help. I was able to reach a sales person in Chicago at their Highland park dealership who seemed willing to help at 1st and he looked into his case and got us in touch with their service member who tried twice to send an update to the car and both times that failed. He in turned told us to wait until he is "linked" to his car which means that his Tesla app would then work... So he could use the app to schedule a service appointment. So again waiting and waiting for him to be granted ownership which in turn links him to his car. He was promised Tesla would connect him to the app so he could request service because it was a paperwork issue on Tesla's end regarding the transfer of ownership and that is why he hadn't been granted ownership yet.

That was 3 weeks ago and now NO ONE will respond to emails or phone calls or voicemails on what the status is! He is still NOT connected to the car and THIS CAR NEEDS SERVICE. His airbags are not functioning and the computer SD card is bad which Chicago service said the whole internal computer needs to be replaced which I guess they can tell just by pulling up the car... BUT NO ONE WILL SCHEDULE SERVICE UNTIL HE IS LINKED TO THE VEHICLE!!! Talk about wishing back in August you would have just purchased a vehicle that actual people could work on and service if needed and to actually go through a company that would STAND BEHIND their product and their customers instead of ignoring serious issues.

It is a joke that a company that runs everything on technology doesn't have the ABILITY to actually connect their customer to their vehicle using their technology so they can get their vehicle serviced for serious issues! Go figure! I would NEVER RECOMMEND BUYING A Tesla unless you want terrible service and a company who does not respond to issues.