Teslas and other electric vehicles

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Originally Posted by tommy

So: ideas? Experiences? Suggestions? New or lightly used? How and where to get? Help! And thanks.

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It is extremely difficult to find even a heavily used EV, let alone a lightly used one that still has battery capacity remaining. I wouldn't spend much time looking for one. I don't buy a car for aesthetic reasons, so I couldn't give any advice on that.

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Originally Posted by -jk

The new Subaru would be fun. And I think it still gets the $7500 rebate. (So long as the wheels don't come off.)

-jk

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You're talking about the Solterra? You're right that one does look pretty good, especially if you take $7500 off the price.

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Originally Posted by tommy

You're talking about the Solterra? You're right that one does look pretty good, especially if you take $7500 off the price.

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That’s the one. Joint venture with Toyota.

-jk

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Originally Posted by -jk

That’s the one. Joint venture with Toyota.

-jk

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Thx.

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Originally Posted by tommy

Hey guys and gals. Looking for advice here. I own a Tesla Model 3, and have for 3-4 years. Absolutely love it - best car I've ever had and it's not close.

My son turned 16. I taught him to drive on the Tesla and he's very comfortable in it and he's a very good driver. We want to get him a car in the Fall. He's 16 -- he doesn't need to be driving a Tesla, but we're thinking some other brand of EV, for among other reasons, the price of gas is ridiculous and it's a whole lot easier and cheaper to just plug in at home where we already have the charging plug. We'd also like to get him something that isn't too boxy or tiny or otherwise an uncool look for a guy in high school with friends and girls etc. We're also mindful of the wait times for a lot of cars these days once they are ordered.

So: ideas? Experiences? Suggestions? New or lightly used? How and where to get? Help! And thanks.

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Leaf would be the obvious choice, if you think you can live with CHAdeMO and the relatively short range (actually, ID.3 would be the obvious choice if VW sold it in this market). And they seem not to be in as short supply as most other EVs.

A fair number of Taycan buyers trade up from other EVs (as I did), so you might get lucky with a call to your nearest Porsche dealer.

Long chat with a friend who hates the charging issues with her Leaf. Evidently a weird battery design that has made charging on the road very slow. I’m waiting for the Lada which will run on 3000 AA batteries. Thank goodness for Costco

https://yourmotorguide.com/nissan-le...ging-problems/

this is what my friend as alluding to, "battery thermal management"...did not realize the Leaf was NOT designed for road trips, but rather as a commuting vehicle...not sure she did either until she bought it.

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Originally Posted by budwom

Long chat with a friend who hates the charging issues with her Leaf. Evidently a weird battery design that has made charging on the road very slow. I’m waiting for the Lada which will run on 3000 AA batteries. Thank goodness for Costco

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Lada - now that's a blast from the past. No idea they still existed after the fall of the Soviet empire. As I recall, they were known as the AK-47 of the automotive world. Not sure I would ever want one. Next you'll tell me that the Dacha (as in gotcha) is doing a revival tour! :)

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Originally Posted by Section 15

Lada - now that's a blast from the past. No idea they still existed after the fall of the Soviet empire. As I recall, they were known as the AK-47 of the automotive world. Not sure I would ever want one. Next you'll tell me that the Dacha (as in gotcha) is doing a revival tour! :)

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evidently they were still being made, perhaps with help from Renault, til Vlad invaded Ukraine. Some decades ago they were fairly popular in Quebec and were known as inexpensive pieces of crap...

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Originally Posted by budwom

evidently they were still being made, perhaps with help from Renault, til Vlad invaded Ukraine. Some decades ago they were fairly popular in Quebec and were known as inexpensive pieces of crap...

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Yeah, I think their advertising slogan was: "We may be cheap, but at least we are unreliable."

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Originally Posted by Section 15

Yeah, I think their advertising slogan was: "We may be cheap, but at least we are unreliable."

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yeah, Yugos needed something to look down on...

for those who get the NY Times, a rather entertaining and illuminating article about Tesla's self-driving technology:https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ing-flaws.html

I trust they will position a toilet paper dispenser in the front seat...look forward to the snow and slush updates.

Thinking about one… anyone know anything about the the Raven edition?

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Originally Posted by PackMan97

If I were a Tesla shareholder,I would be annoyed at the split focus, but that has always been the case with SpaceX and later The Boring Company, now Twitter. To me the real problem is that Musk is making himself a political figure in such a way that he is directly alienating what should be some of Tesla's best customers. That is a huge problem. Many of these customers are likely to never consider a Tesla with their next car purchase, entirely because Musk runs his mouth.

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This hits the nail on the head.

I have 2 kids in college. In the past I have stated that as soon as they are out of school, I'd replace my current car with a Tesla (M3p). As soon as Elon restored that one traitorous Twitter account, he lost me as a customer. Also, what this has done is brought Elon into the public eye a bit more...and so far, I don't like what I see. In a couple of years when I'm ready to buy, I still want an EV but it won't be a Tesla. Good news for me is that more and more EV's are available and by the time I'm ready to buy there will be quite a few valid choices. Actually there are quite a few now...

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Originally Posted by elvis14

This hits the nail on the head.

I have 2 kids in college. In the past I have stated that as soon as they are out of school, I'd replace my current car with a Tesla (M3p). As soon as Elon restored that one traitorous Twitter account, he lost me as a customer. Also, what this has done is brought Elon into the public eye a bit more...and so far, I don't like what I see. In a couple of years when I'm ready to buy, I still want an EV but it won't be a Tesla. Good news for me is that more and more EV's are available and by the time I'm ready to buy there will be quite a few valid choices. Actually there are quite a few now...

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I'm in just about the same place. My daughter is in her last year of grad school and my wife and I are planning on buying an EV in the next couple of years. Unless something changes radically, it won't be a Tesla.

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Originally Posted by elvis14

This hits the nail on the head.

I have 2 kids in college. In the past I have stated that as soon as they are out of school, I'd replace my current car with a Tesla (M3p). As soon as Elon restored that one traitorous Twitter account, he lost me as a customer. Also, what this has done is brought Elon into the public eye a bit more...and so far, I don't like what I see. In a couple of years when I'm ready to buy, I still want an EV but it won't be a Tesla. Good news for me is that more and more EV's are available and by the time I'm ready to buy there will be quite a few valid choices. Actually there are quite a few now...

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I'm in pretty much this same boat, I think, but not really because of politics. Tesla was cutting edge when it first came out, and some quirks and foibles were tolerable from the only real name on the market. However, as more established companies have moved into the EV space and have helped advance the field, the choices have broadened and it no longer seems necessary to tolerate the oddities. Also, I've always been concerned that Tesla might get blown in the wind on the whims of its primary owner. More established companies with a more traditional structure seem less prone to sudden decay. The last thing I want to do is make a ten-plus-year investment in the product of an unstable company.

I'll be in the market roughly three years from now. They once were the default choice, now they are actually running behind some others. I won't dismiss them out of hand, but if I were buying today, it would take a good bit of convincing for me to pony up for a Tesla.

Also, I just read this NY Times article about how Tesla is forcing customers into arbitration, making Tesla immune from class action lawsuits. (Paywalled.) Business practices like that don't encourage me as a consumer.

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Originally Posted by Phredd3

I'm in pretty much this same boat, I think, but not really because of politics. Tesla was cutting edge when it first came out, and some quirks and foibles were tolerable from the only real name on the market. However, as more established companies have moved into the EV space and have helped advance the field, the choices have broadened and it no longer seems necessary to tolerate the oddities. Also, I've always been concerned that Tesla might get blown in the wind on the whims of its primary owner. More established companies with a more traditional structure seem less prone to sudden decay. The last thing I want to do is make a ten-plus-year investment in the product of an unstable company.

I'll be in the market roughly three years from now. They once were the default choice, now they are actually running behind some others. I won't dismiss them out of hand, but if I were buying today, it would take a good bit of convincing for me to pony up for a Tesla.

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I rented a Tesla for a few days a couple of months ago. I knew it was a bit "different" ahead of time, but the oddities definitely take time to get used to. Maybe most people do get used to them, but I personally find using the touchscreen for everything and the sterile/minimalistic design to lack convenience and luxury. It seems more like a "performance car" than a "luxury car." It also seems to be on the cutting edge from a tech/performance perspective but NOT from a "car experience" perspective. Unfortunately, some brands are taking cues from Tesla about the minimalist design and getting rid of physical buttons too. I think legacy automakers should lean into their advantages in mass producing vehicles that people are comfortable with and not completely abandon that user experience. But Tesla should at the very least have a screen behind the steering wheel and a lock/unlock doors button IMHO. ;) The EVs being produced by known luxury brands are definitely showing much more "refinement" than a Tesla. But the owner satisfaction of Tesla owners is still very high, so they must be doing something right. (And the waitlist is still very long for orders, although that may be more because of the anemic supply side.)

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Originally Posted by Bluedog

I rented a Tesla for a few days a couple of months ago. I knew it was a bit "different" ahead of time, but the oddities definitely take time to get used to. Maybe most people do get used to them, but I personally find using the touchscreen for everything and the sterile/minimalistic design to lack convenience and luxury. It seems more like a "performance car" than a "luxury car." It also seems to be on the cutting edge from a tech/performance perspective but NOT from a "car experience" perspective. Unfortunately, some brands are taking cues from Tesla about the minimalist design and getting rid of physical buttons too. I think legacy automakers should lean into their advantages in mass producing vehicles that people are comfortable with and not completely abandon that user experience. But Tesla should at the very least have a screen behind the steering wheel and a lock/unlock doors button IMHO. ;) The EVs being produced by known luxury brands are definitely showing much more "refinement" than a Tesla. But the owner satisfaction of Tesla owners is still very high, so they must be doing something right. (And the waitlist is still very long for orders, although that may be more because of the anemic supply side.)

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A bit off topic but a friend of mine has a Tesla and after we saw Avatar last Friday I asked her if I could drive it. Happily she said yes. The user interface was indeed bizarre. She was trying to get the windshield wipers to clear off the condensation by talking to it, didn't work and only got it working after some fumbling with buttons. She also mentioned she had to carry a fob bc there was no built in garage opener, disappointing inconvenience for a luxury car.

But then I drove it and I was very impressed. The acceleration of course was awesome, but not a surprise. But the handling was unexpectedly great. It really hugged the road but somehow not a bump was felt. Now I'm not a car enthusiast so maybe this is common. All I know was that it was a hell of a lot more fun to drive than my Lexus SUV.

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Originally Posted by Skydog

A bit off topic but a friend of mine has a Tesla and after we saw Avatar last Friday I asked her if I could drive it. Happily she said yes. The user interface was indeed bizarre. She was trying to get the windshield wipers to clear off the condensation by talking to it, didn't work and only got it working after some fumbling with buttons. She also mentioned she had to carry a fob bc there was no built in garage opener, disappointing inconvenience for a luxury car.

But then I drove it and I was very impressed. The acceleration of course was awesome, but not a surprise. But the handling was unexpectedly great. It really hugged the road but somehow not a bump was felt. Now I'm not a car enthusiast so maybe this is common. All I know was that it was a hell of a lot more fun to drive than my Lexus SUV.

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Your Lexus SUV though should be substantially more reliable, per Consumer Reports... https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-plac...lity-rankings/

The older I get, the more I value reliability...

The people I know who own Tesla’s hate the maintenance process. With all the major car companies developing EVs plus other new options, I doubt I will ever consider a Tesla. Personally the infrastructure is not in place to make an EV a good option right now. With Musk’s current trajectory of insufferablility(?) I doubt Tesla will be a top option in the industry by the time the US can support EVs appropriately.