For what it's Worth-Tesla

howiebrou

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Jun 29, 2012
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I guess but imagine if I came on here and ripped some speakers I have never heard just because a couple of guys on the web said they were crap.
I didn't do that. I have have owned a Tesla so it is first hand experience. I agree that it would not be appropriate to comment on anything that one does not have experience with. Not quite sure why you assumed I had never owned a Tesla...
 

Joe Whip

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Simple, when people I know find out I have a Tesla, I hear it all. Why buy a crap car like that. Until I take them for a drive. Some then went and ordered one. My 3 was bought in 2018. Any panel gap issues need a gauge to determine. by eyeball they are perfect. Perfect paint job. Even Sandy Monroe would have improved. And…they are only getting better. I am sure the Berlin builds will be great for the European market.
 

howiebrou

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Simple, when people I know find out I have a Tesla, I hear it all. Why buy a crap car like that. Until I take them for a drive. Some then went and ordered one. My 3 was bought in 2018. Any panel gap issues need a gauge to determine. by eyeball they are perfect. Perfect paint job. Even Sandy Monroe would have improved. And…they are only getting better. I am sure the Berlin builds will be great for the European market.
Fair enough. I guess Tesla does attract it's fair share of armchair critics.Didn't mean to rain on your pleasure of owning a Tesla. To be fair the car drove nicely and aircon without having an engine on was very convenient in summer. The gremlins ended my ownership unfortuanately. I hope the latest iteration has that all ironed out.
 

andromedaaudio

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I have been thinking about a Tesla but the Model Y s interior is a bit spartan .
I might go for a

BMW X1 XDRIVE30E plug in hybrid​

It has basically the same tax advantages in belgium then a full E car.
The company car lease system is great in belgium much better then NL
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
We are all Tesla now as I have sold both Mercedes I purchased a 2023 model S and a 2023 Model 3 Performance I charge both at home during super off peak hours. My solar system on the roof has been handling all house electricity and both cars and I am still producing enough solar that I have a monthly surplus which goes back to the grid
 

Joe Whip

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Congrats Steve. I have been driving my M3 for nearly 5 years and it is a joy to drive. Our MS almost 6 years. So much fun. I wish we could do solar here but would get virtually nothing in tge fall and winter so made no sense.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Congrats Steve. I have been driving my M3 for nearly 5 years and it is a joy to drive. Our MS almost 6 years. So much fun. I wish we could do solar here but would get virtually nothing in tge fall and winter so made no sense.
I bought the S for my wife and a Model 3 Performance for me. After we got the cars my wife preferred the Model 3 so Im driving the S. It took me about a month to get used to it as it is a tank as compared to my Mercedes SL 55 AMG. What I discovered was that this year was a redo of the S compared to previous years and I heard that the 3 and the Y will undergo changes in the next model year. The Tesla app is truly amazing as it tells you everything ...so much so that if I have a gripe, it's that you can never speak to a Tesla live person. Every communication and service booking is done through the app. In fact I ordered both cars and paid cash through the app with a touch of a button. Whenever a Tesla person calls and leave a message you can never call back to talk to that person about your car as they leave the main shop number and when you call it you have no way of knowing the extension of the person who called you. That is my biggest gripe
 
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Tim Link

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Congrats Steve. I have been driving my M3 for nearly 5 years and it is a joy to drive. Our MS almost 6 years. So much fun. I wish we could do solar here but would get virtually nothing in tge fall and winter so made no sense.
I was just talking solar with my friend and noted that up here in Eugene Oregon I see very few solar panels on the roofs. My neighbor had them going for a while but when he sold the house the new owners took them down. That's interesting to me because once they're in place, why take them down? There must be some degree of hassle with them, perhaps because we have a lot of tall trees over our roofs, requiring ongoing maintenance to keep debris from building up to the point where new trees are growing ON the roof.
 

Mike Lavigne

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I was just talking solar with my friend and noted that up here in Eugene Oregon I see very few solar panels on the roofs. My neighbor had them going for a while but when he sold the house the new owners took them down. That's interesting to me because once they're in place, why take them down? There must be some degree of hassle with them, perhaps because we have a lot of tall trees over our roofs, requiring ongoing maintenance to keep debris from building up to the point where new trees are growing ON the roof.
anything attached to your roof if going to be a compromise to 'roof-stuff' like leaking, maintenance and such. plus it might not look clean and elegant. or maybe the technology of the particular solar is not up to date?

i'm in the mountains east of Seattle and you don't see solar roof panels here much. but mountain weather is brutal, hard on roofs, as well as twice the rain compared to in-city Seattle.
 
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Tim Link

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We are all Tesla now as I have sold both Mercedes I purchased a 2023 model S and a 2023 Model 3 Performance I charge both at home during super off peak hours. My solar system on the roof has been handling all house electricity and both cars and I am still producing enough solar that I have a monthly surplus which goes back to the grid
The electric cars make so much sense, so it's strange to me that they still stand out as odd in a sea of ICE vehicles. A retired engineer I talked to a the Pacific Audiofest told me he worked on electric cars and batteries for years, even though his company (can't remember who) never took one to market while he was working. It's not like they've been ignoring the idea. They just didn't feel it was feasible to bring to market in a big way. One big issue they have is with cold weather. He said his neighbor got a Tesla, and he warned him not to take it out and leave it parked outside for long periods of time in sub zero weather. The advice didn't take, and he ended up getting a call from his friend asking him for a ride home. When they finally got the car to a super charger it was still going to take 8 hours to charge the car!
On a side note, I talked to another engineer at the show, a much younger guy, who said he was also working in a battery lab, and trying to get a really good battery that's inexpensive, durable, recyclable, and works in cold weather is a tough nut to crack.
 
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Steve Williams

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anything attached to your roof if going to be a compromise to 'roof-stuff' like leaking, maintenance and such. plus it might not look clean and elegant. or maybe the technology of the particular solar is not up to date?

i'm in the mountains east of Seattle and you don't see solar roof panels here much. but mountain weather is brutal, hard on roofs, as well as twice the rain compared to in-city Seattle.
The new panels are all impervious to inclement weather. Ours have survived hail the size of golf balls and no damage. There should also be ZERO concerns for leaks or roof damage if the installation is gone by a reputable company. I have 30 panels on the roof and you can only see 3 of them
 

Steve Williams

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Mike Lavigne

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The new panels are all impervious to inclement weather. Ours have survived hail the size of golf balls and no damage. There should also be ZERO concerns for leaks or roof damage if the installation is gone by a reputable company. I have 30 panels on the roof and you can only see 3 of them
impervious is a relative term.

Orange County, or whichever SoCal county you are in, is not proof of concept for roof technology. can't argue to aesthetics question, but roofs here need to shed snow which can get to 3 to 4 feet high, so the equation is just different.

4 years ago my front porch collapsed from 4 feet of snow load.

horses for courses.
 

Mike Lavigne

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Not sure what you’re reading Mike
i'm reading auto industry references, not consumer media.
but the sale of Tesla is up 800% this quarter as compared to same quarter last year.
read the whole article. it's not about Tesla. they do not report on hand inventory like other manufacturers, and Tesla keeps lowering their prices.

reality is rearing it's ugly head.
 
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Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
impervious is a relative term.

Orange County, or whichever SoCal county you are in, is not proof of concept for roof technology. can't argue to aesthetics question, but roofs here need to shed snow which can get to 3 to 4 feet high, so the equation is just different.

4 years ago my front porch collapsed from 4 feet of snow load.

horses for courses.
Now, that I did not think of Mike. You make perfect sense there
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
The electric cars make so much sense, so it's strange to me that they still stand out as odd in a sea of ICE vehicles. A retired engineer I talked to a the Pacific Audiofest told me he worked on electric cars and batteries for years, even though his company (can't remember who) never took one to market while he was working. It's not like they've been ignoring the idea. They just didn't feel it was feasible to bring to market in a big way. One big issue they have is with cold weather. He said his neighbor got a Tesla, and he warned him not to take it out and leave it parked outside for long periods of time in sub zero weather. The advice didn't take, and he ended up getting a call from his friend asking him for a ride home. When they finally got the car to a super charger it was still going to take 8 hours to charge the car!
On a side note, I talked to another engineer at the show, a much younger guy, who said he was also working in a battery lab, and trying to get a really good battery that's inexpensive, durable, recyclable, and works in cold weather is a tough nut to crack.
Tim, I will be the first to tell you that it is a difficult concept to cozy up to as I have owned all MBZ for the past 40 years except once when I owned BMW. I have never owned an electric car. AS the saying goes this is a computer trying to be a car rather than a car having a computer. Having said that my house has been all solar for the past 5 years and was planned with enough panels to keep me from paying electric bills monthly as well as having sufficient overproduction that I could charge 2 EV's. My wife and I are both retired and we had classic cars that were vintage and beginning to cost a fortune with every shop visit.

Tesla has always been in my mind for several years. This year was the year that inspired me as they have launched the redo of the S and they had (still do) a $7500 investment tax credit on the Model 3. These were going to be the last cars I ever bought and I knew with the rising cost of gas I wasn't keen on staying ICE

Bought both cars in March. Took arrival of the Model 3 Performance March 28 and the Model S on April 18. Since that time we have only charged at home and only charge in the super off peak times where it is $0.15/kwh. In the past 3 months I remain entirely solar as my product has continued to exceed my use. IOW I have no electric bills and the only fluid in the car is the wiper fluid so regular service calls is completely unnecessary. So saves me more money. I must admit it took me a month to get used to the S as it is so big in comparison my SL55 AMG. The car is a golf cart with a pretty body and interior and a computer system that is nothing short of amazing. The drive is dead silent which its a no go for most sports car drivers but at the end of the day I have to say that the S and the 3 Performance would equal or best sone of the fastest cars around. For me I could care less about the speed but the acceleration will destroy an ICE. I just have no desire to test that . The computer is beyond ......is all I can say and to find there are always software updates making everything even better is a feat unto itself.
. So for me and my wife we are doing our own thing and have adjusted to the new technology. Last week I tested the full auto drive and almost crapped in my pants. It's something that also keeps getting better but not in my lifetime . It was like being on a ride at Disneyland but scary as the car was truly doing everything on its own.

We were filling our cars 1-2X per week so I know that expense is gone and we are doing good with our solar panels. I have yet to install any garage batteries but I'm just not there yet as the technology needs to improve

The only downside which I have said here before is that it is virtually impossible to ever talk to a live person ever about anything as it is all done through the Tesla app. If you bring your car in you'll meet a live service rep but after the car is in, all further contact is through messaging on the Tesla app.
 
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Gregadd

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Well I was counseling my neice in California on purchasing a Tesla. We were discussing what to do when the battery cane to the end of its' life.
Then we decided we could not give Elon Musk any of our money.
To each his own.
 
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Tim Link

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Tim, I will be there first to tell you that it is a difficult concept to cozy up to as I have owned all MBZ for the past 40 years except once when I owned BMW. I have never owned an electric car. AS the saying goes this is a computer trying to be a car rather than a car having a computer. Having said that my house has been all solar for the past 5 years and was planned with enough panels to keep me from paying electric bills monthly as well as having sufficient overproduction that I could charge 2 EV's. My wife and I are both retired and we had classic cars that were vintage and beginning to cost a fortune with every shop visit.

Tesla has always been in my mind for several years. This year was the year that inspired me as they have launched the redo of the S and they had (still do) a $7500 investment tax credit on the Model 3. These were going to be the last cars I ever bought and I knew with the rising cost of gas I wasn't keen on staying ICE

Bought both cars in March. Took arrival of the Model 3 Performance March 28 and the Model Son April 18. Since that time we have only charged at home and only charge in the super off peak times where it is $0.15/kwh. In the past 3 months I remain entirely solar as my product has continued to exceed my use. IOW I have no electric bills and the only fluid on the car is the wiper fluid so regular service calls is completely unnecessary. So saves me more money. I must admit it took me a month to get used to the S as it is so big in comparison my SL55 AMG. The car is a golf cart with a pretty body and interior and a computer system that is nothing short of amazing. The drive is dead silent which its a no go for most sports car drivers but at the end of the day I have to say that the S and the 3 Performance would equal or best see of the fastest cars around. For me I could care less about the speed but the acceleration will destroy an ICE. I just have no desire to test that . The computer is beyond ......is all I can say and to find there are always software updates making everything even better is a feat unto itself.
. So for me and my wife we are doing our own thing and have adjusted to the new technology. Last week I tested the full auto drive and almost crapped in my pants. It's something that also keeps getting better but not in my lifetime . It was like being on a ride at Disneyland but scary as the car was truly doing everything on its own.

We were filling our cars 1-2X per week so I know that expenses is gone and we are doing good with our solar panels. I have yet to install any garage batterie but I'm just not there yet as the technology needs to improve

The only downside which I have said here before is that it is virtually impossible to ever talk to a live person ever about anything as it is all done through the Tesla app. If you bring your car in you'll meet a live service rep but after the car is in, all further contact is through messaging on the Tesla app.
I think an electric car would serve me well, since I mostly use the car just to commute. I really just need a basic economy car for that but they don't have a true basic economy battery car yet. If they could crack the cheap and really good battery problem, everything else could be made very affordably.
Paying for gas indeed ads up. I only fill up about every 2 1/2 weeks at about $35.00 a pop. That comes out to about $850 a year. Since the car is paid for, it would take a lot of years of free gas to make up for the expense of buying a new car. There are also oil changes and other maintenance. I need the wheel bearings checked. They've been singing lately. At some point my 1997 vehicle is going to have to be retired so I'll be considering what electric cars are available at that point. I think even without the solar panels the electric still makes a lot of sense.
I read somewhere that Henry Ford's wife had an electric car.
 

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