That would give me pause @3bm103. Scheduled maintenance isn’t that big a deal, since they only suggest it annually, and I think only the even year service is important. That said, I would not want to go 6 hours for unscheduled service.
You might want to call Tesla and see if additional Service Centers are opening closer to you. Technically, there are no dealers (dealers have inventory and are independent from the manufacturer). Tesla is expanding its showrooms, service centers, and Superchargers at an increasing speed.
In the time I waited for my X, a new Service Center opened up 10 minutes from my house, but tbh, even the less convenient one is 35 minutes away, so I would have coped (and they are liberal with their loaner cars). Still, 6 hours is too far.
I really love the idea that it needs to be serviced only once a year! There are no fluids to drain/change, so… Awesome. I think I need to fetch some gas on the way to the P&R tomorrow. Hate making that stop.
I showed the car to my son’s HS Engineering class. They got a kick out of the fact that, when you open the frunk, there’s only a lonely blue funnel for windshield wiper fluid. No oil, no gas, no water, no transmission fluid.
There is brake fluid, but on a related note, I’ve been impressed with how powerfully regenerative braking slows the car down, how much it recharges the car (there’s a graph on the dash), and how seldom I use the actual brakes. I think brake pads might last me many years.
The service is mostly to check the AC, lubricate doors, check the batteries, and replace the very large HVAC filter (it’s an ideal car for anyone with seasonal allergies).
I hear insurance is more too. My BIL claims he won’t get one because the insurance would be $700 more than his other car. I doubt that’s going to stop many
When we started getting talked into it. I’m still open to other options, but did put the deposit down just in case. The service part is going to bug me. I put my zip code into the website and the closest service center I find now is someplace in CA and we’re in the midwest. That has to be wrong.
So, back to the OP’s question: When we needed 7 seats, we had a sienna. We recently rented a Chevy Tahoe. It was huge and had all sorts of bells and whistles. No auto sliding doors, though.
As for Teslas, we have a friend who has one, but he hasn’t let anyone ride in it and won’t let valets park it. Seems silly to me- and impractical.
I admit it took a week before I’d drive it into Manhattan, but it’s only a car. There’s a special valet mode, accessible from the mobile app and in the car, that limits acceleration and top speed, locks the frunk and glove box, and doesn’t allow examination of GPS or phone numbers. The shifter is a bit different from other cars, but that can be explained to a valet in 10 seconds.
@IxnayBob - He probably knows that because he saw someone in his parking garage looking at the car and he used the app to make the horn honk. IMO if it’s that precious of a thing that you don’t even want passengers, it takes the fun out of having it.
With respect, that sounds like a personal problem, not a Tesla problem. My wife and kids have driven mine and I let my son’s HS Engineering class climb around in it (but not drive it). One class wise-guy ticked me off by playing the radio really loud; in a Elon Musk-style joke, the radio goes to 11.
Right- it is his choice. And he is very particular about a lot of things. Just seems like a waste to me. It’s his choice, but being so finicky that you can’t enjoy it with others seems silly.
As @NoVADad99 asked, when did this become a tesla thread?
@jym626, I think it was when OP (3bm103) put a deposit down on one and decided that, pending some clarification on Service Center availability, that it was the answer.
I plead guilty to being an evangelist for Tesla. I’m a bit like someone who quit smoking
Hey. It’s my thread. It can be all about Tesla now unless this service thing becomes a problem. Besides, I won’t get it until late this year so until then, feel free to make other recommendations.
Our (%^#)(%^#)($Q state not only discontinued the tax credit for an electric car, they are assessing an annual gas tax fee for owners of electric cars because they aren’t otherwise paying the gas tax (at least for that car). How ridiculous! Sales of Nissan Leafs plummeted.
Well, there has to be a way to get electric car owners to pay their fair share of the road tax to pay for maintenance of the roads. Currently most states do it via the gas tax. They should just put it in as part of the annual registration fee.
