After my RS eventually wears out, a 3 Perf will be my next car.
After my RS eventually wears out, a 3 Perf will be my next car.
Keith Tanner said:In case you didn’t pick it up, that is the actual confirmation screen once you order a car. I can’t see BMW doing that...
Hedgehog and all?!
Yes. Hedgehog and all.
What is the difference between a Tesla and a hedgehog?
I kid, I kid.
I drove a BMW to work today. So I've heard that joke before 
pretty interested here...
Guess what day tomorrow is, kids? It's Tesla Day!
So I pulled the trigger on the car when I did because Tesla has a promotion where you get two years of free Supercharging if you take delivery before the end of the month. Trying to get those Q3 numbers up. But I'd originally thought it was order before the end of the month, and the timeframe was tight.
Unfortunately, Tesla CO didn't have the car I wanted in stock so it had to be a custom order. They called me and offered a free upgrade to a different color (blue costs $250 more than black) if we'd take delivery before the end of September, but Janel was adamant about wanting black. A week later, we didn't have a VIN yet so it was looking pretty clear that we weren't going to get our free Supercharging. Inventory is moving fast, so I was watching the Denver inventory but no black cars were coming through.
Then I checked Salt Lake on a whim, and boom. There was our car. Called Tesla and they were happy to change it from a Colorado truck delivery to a Utah dealership pickup. Took about 5 minutes. There's a big advantage to buying from a manufacturer instead of a dealership, can you imagine trying to do that with something like a Chevy?
So, tomorrow we drive the 4.5 hours to Salt Lake to sign papers and take delivery. It's a 300 mile trip through the Utah desert and mountains, and the cars are delivered with 65-80% charge. So we'll get a chance to use the Supercharger network on the first trip. There's a cluster in Price, about 115 miles in. We'll see what the car suggests. This will be an interesting introduction to the car, putting it straight to work in what is traditionally an EV weak point. Now, do you think Janel will let me drive the Tesla home or not?
For charging at home, I've looked at the options. Tesla sells a wall unit that can be wired in for about $500. The car comes with a charger pack that has interchangeable plugs. If you charge off a standard 15A 110V outlet, you get about 3 miles of range for every hour of charge. You'd have to be pretty desperate :) If you use a 50A 230V outlet, you get about 30 miles per hour. That means a full charge overnight, which should work just fine. The electrical panel for the house is right beside the parking spot for the Tesla, so a friend and I wired in the new outlet yesterday. I told him it was for my welder :) Nobody at work knows about this yet, I'm just going to show up with it.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Congratulations!
Wait, you're the only GRMer at FM!?
Super interested to hear your impressions, as an industry insider (or as close as you can get to one without actually being one). It will go a long way in swaying my impression of their reputation as "unreliable with poor parts and service networks" as internet fodder that took off, or deserved.
Keith Tanner said:slefain said:I can't wait to start seeing what products you create for the platform.
I wonder how hard it would be to re-gear the final drive ratio.
You misunderstand the expected use. There will be no product development.
I'm just following along to see how this post ages. I'm more inclined to believe Keith when he says that versus other members, but a year from now, Janel takes a trip for work, maybe there's a lull at FM(ya right) I'm curious to see what happens.
mtn said:Super interested to hear your impressions, as an industry insider (or as close as you can get to one without actually being one). It will go a long way in swaying my impression of their reputation as "unreliable with poor parts and service networks" as internet fodder that took off, or deserved.
Same here. I can't imagine the world where I would actually buy the Model 3 Performance version, but I definitely trust Keith's feedback over "Random journalist who doesn't want to upset advertisers" person.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
The included charger is called the universal mobile charger and It is limited to 32 amps. I know this because I have a 50 amp circuit installed in my garage. If you don’t already have a nema 14-50 in a convenient spot I would consider the wall charger. Tesla also offers a hardwired version of the mobile connector called the corded mobile connector and it will charge at 50 amps, has a nema 14-50 plug and costs $520. The showrooms don’t carry any chargers so be aware you will need to order online. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences!
Also, my car was delivered at 100% charge.
Keith Tanner said
Now, do you think Janel will let me drive the Tesla home or not?
I know I wouldn't :D
Cant wait to hear your thoughts!
I saw this black one on the way home today and it looked really good. Lowered on the stock wheels with the covers removed.
mattm said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
The included charger is called the universal mobile charger and It is limited to 32 amps. I know this because I have a 50 amp circuit installed in my garage. If you don’t already have a nema 14-50 in a convenient spot I would consider the wall charger. Tesla also offers a hardwired version of the mobile connector called the corded mobile connector and it will charge at 50 amps, has a nema 14-50 plug and costs $520. The showrooms don’t carry any chargers so be aware you will need to order online. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences!
Also, my car was delivered at 100% charge.
I’m going to call and see if they can make sure it’s at 100% when I pick it up, but even then we’re at 294 miles for the trip through the mountains in a car rated for 310 miles. Not the way I want to get to know the car :) So I expect some sort of charging stop on the way. I’ve signed up for Chargepoint and Janel is demanding an In-N-Out food stop, now I have to see if I can make that work :)
I know the included charger will only do 32A, but that means a 50A circuit and not a 30A one is required. I think that charge rate will be sufficient, and given the cost ($35 for the appropriate plug, arrived yesterday) it’s an easy thing to test. If the quoted charge rates are accurate for my heated garage, it’ll get a full charge from empty in 10 hours. If we need something faster in an emergency, there is a supercharger cluster near the mall and all that will cost is Janel buying a new pair of shoes.
As for the drive home, my prediction is that Janel will let me drive the new, weird car through traffic in a city we don’t know well. When we stop for an electron fill up (probably in Price), I’ll offer to change cars and I will never get to drive the Tesla again.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
You will have to charge anyway so I would ask if they could charge to 90% unless you want to do the ultimate long range test. I would love to read about it if you do the delivery at 100% with a long distance trip ahead of you. After careful consideration, you should pick up at 100% and tell us the story!
Full disclosure: I still use the UMC at 32 amps because I haven’t needed it to charge any faster.
Watching with gleeful anticipation.
Keep in mind, that range is cruising...not “ZOMG TEH TORQUES” leaving every traffic light, which is impossible not to do.
Just a general charging FYI (not Tesla or M3 specific), charging or discharging the battery creates heat (the enemy of battery longevity). The faster you charge/discharge, the more heat is created. So, in very general terms, charging slower and longer is better for battery longevity than short, fast charging.
I completely understand why you'd want the ability to fully charge overnight with a Level 2 charger, but if you only need 20-30 miles of range on a daily basis, just plugging into a standard, Level 1, 110 outlet overnight might be the best all around option.
The battery is pretty darn smart, it knows more about self-maintenance than I do. Read the owners manual last night and it says the best way to make the battery last is just to have it plugged in when the car is in the garage so it can feed as desired. Just because you have 32A available doesn’t mean it’ll pull 32, that’s a peak number when the battery is in a condition to take it (warm, mid-charged, etc).
Just one note on using a standard 110 V outlet for charging a car-- the receptacle and the plug can become consumables when subjected to extended use at amperage near the rated limits. Their temperature should be checked occasionally-- there are plenty of incidents where things have gotten hot enough to melt things.
I ran into it myself when using the 20 amp ceiling drop for my lift to charge the i8 (12 amp load). Plug on the end of the cord was running pretty warm. Replaced it, things much better now.
Lift runs without tripping the breaker so often now too-- I was thinking it was time to replace the caps on the motor, but it was the plug all the time! Lift never ran long enough to heat things up enough to notice.
Edit:
Additionally, my electrical utility subsidized 50% of the cost of my home charger and installation. I put in a 50 amp Clipper Creek direct wired unit.
You can also program the car to charge at specific rates, speeds and amounts per your desires. Per my time lurking the Tesla subreddit (big oof, I know) they seem to advocate for keeping the battery to a max charge of ~85% if you're just gonna daily it around town usually. Keeps the battery in it's best condition and status for when you DO need the 100% long-hauls.
Tesla's software actually lets you set the maximum charge, and it labels one range "daily" and one range "trip". You can identify certain chargers as having a limited max speed - I know I've got a 50A plug on a 30A circuit down in the shop (makes it easier if everything's on the same plug) so I'll tell the car that one can't charge at more than 25A or so if I ever use it and it will remember.
Car's home. Good day. I'll start a new thread about living with the thing and link it here.
Picking it up seems to be the right thing to do. They’ve started delivering them in pieces:
In reply to Wally :
With how difficult people claim spare parts are to get, that has to be worth a fortune on Ebay. Maybe he can sell it and upgrade to a Model S.
Wally said:Picking it up seems to be the right thing to do. They’ve started delivering them in pieces:
A coworker's friend ordered one here in Grand Junction, and when the truck arrived the driver had forgotten the key. "Jump in, we'll drive back to Denver to get it". That's 4+ hours. She declined and then enthusiastically expressed her feelings to Tesla, who apologized mightily.
Oops. The drivers are contractors so that one's on him, but the fender delivery is pretty funny.
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