Jeff Allen
Producer
As promised...here is my long term review of the 2023 Tesla Model Y.
This thread is meant to be helpful to anyone who is considering a BEV, Hybrid or ICE vehicle...just to help you see my experiences. I'll do my best to let you know the good AND bad....especially the bad!!! When I experience something crappy with this big change, I'm putting it here as a warning to you! Also, good stuff will be noted and I'll put that here as information for you as well.
You HATE and DESPISE EV's? Ok, thats fine. Do you think anyone who drives a BEV is a communist parasite? Well, turn off your tv, its making you stupid. Please don't waste our time on this thread just bashing the tech. These are tools to me, very expensive tools. You hate tools, fine, please keep it to yourself. You have actual information about how tools have let you or a relative down? (as in, you have first hand knowledge of how BEV's suck, by all means, please share. Second hand "news" of how shitty BEV's are...please do not place on this thread. BEV's do not catch on fire more than ICE, the facts show quite the opposite. Please bring those lies up somewhere else, not here. ACTUAL negative YOU or friends YOU KNOW PERSONALLY are VERY WELCOME! "news" isn't! Its lies....everyone here should know this already....
Why did I leave ICE? My last ICE vehicle was a 2017 Ram 2500. It cost $16,000 in repairs to go 205,000. As a bonus, when gas is at $3.50 it also costs .212 per mile. Contrast that with my Tesla which costs right around .0308 per mile to charge at home, on the road charging costs vary, but roughly the same as a Toyota Corolla, so around .09 per mile. I will save over $9,000 the first year in fuel costs, which will pay for hotels....so actual cost for me will be very similar to the van, its just I'll have HVAC & a shitter and a shower where I sleep, which will be nice....but I'll be in hotels...which I'm not particularly fond of...trade offs...hotel is slightly better than van even at $150 a pop. Overall cost of ownership will be determined once I get it sold and I'll post here. I'll also contrast cost of ownership with what I would have bought (a Honda CRV or Toyota Rav 4) if the Tesla doesn't, work out. 5 year cost of ownership for this 50k car is identical for the average commuter as a 25k Corolla. And....the time savings of oil changes is an added bonus for me as it saves a Saturday a.m. every other month!
Make: Tesla
Model: 2023 Y
Build location: Fremont
Options: Dual Motor Long Range Variant, Silver Grey Metallic paint, 20" turbine wheels
Date of purchase: 4-29-2023
Cost of car: $54,630 Tax and Title: $3,839.10 Total: $58,469.10
Annual cost of full coverage insurance: $1,163
Buying experience: Wow, is this simple, just hop online and go through the purchase process....you could easily do this in 5 minutes...or you could leave the thing open and think about things for days, your choice. I originally ordered a white one, but after two months of waiting Tesla gave other purchasing options and my significant other liked the grey much better than the white...I really didn't care, but switched to the grey unit and now am glad I did, as it looks way less generic to me than the white....whatever, first world silliness right?
Delivery day: Since I opted for an "available car" it only took a couple of days after I switched to get a text giving me an option to pick up the car on the 28th or 29th. This narrow pick up window is really my only negative on delivery. Two days isn't much of an option when you are busy! However, this worked fine in my world, not sure how big a hassle it might have been to set up a different delivery day??? Anyway, I go to delivery, everything looked and worked fine...no weird panel gaps or bad paint or dents or anything wrong at all, the car was clean and spotless inside and out. The only protective stuff left was on the floor mats. So, I spent 45 minutes carefully looking over the car and setting it up and we were out of there. ZERO and I mean nothing, not a word about upselling us anything, zero pressure to do anything or buy anything. The entire experience was AS IT SHOULD BE! I have no idea how this could be made better! SOOOO different from all the stealerships we have had to deal with over the years!! Also, Tesla does not accept personal or business checks, so I had to get a cashiers check the day before pickup as my bank did not work with the payment system Tesla has.
So, for those who don't know, we serve customers over several states in the midwest, primarily IN and IL but I get out to WI, MI, OH, KY, TN and GA as well from time to time. I put on about 50,000 miles per year, so I'm absolutely an "edge case" for any sort of BEV transportation. I haul around about 300lbs of tools/test equipment.
So, after my first two weeks I'm a little north of 1,500 miles. I've learned a few things.
1. Autopilot is absolutely wonderful. Best thing ever for stop n go traffic. Car stops, I can deal with emails whatever...as soon as traffic starts moving, so does the car, now I'm back keeping an eye on things....but once things stop again, back dealing with the phone. Holy cow this is so nice and stress free! I just have to touch the steering wheel while the car is moving and just sit there and watch. No brakes, no gas...just sit there and make sure the car follows and stops properly, which it so far, always has. For regular highway driving I just sit there and keep an eye on the road...holding the steering wheel. Plenty of time to gawk about, I'm seeing things around me I never noticed before as now I have time to just kind of relax....almost like a passenger, but, not quite. I still pay attention, and if you fail to pay fairly close attention, the car will start aggressively nagging you, but hey, its NOT ready to be ignored anyway, so that is fine. I'd say the car takes 75% of the stress/energy/work out of driving down the highway.
2. Charging time for short (under 200 miles each way) is not an issue. First off, every day when I leave the warehouse I have a full tank. MOST of our work is within 100 mile radius. Roughly 8 out of 10 days on average. So, 8 out of 10 days there is no charging whatsoever taking place away from the warehouse (used to be a gas station stop every other day minimum). So, those other two days are going to totally suck, right? Well, day 1 had me out at 150 one way, so when I left the hospital the nav routed me to a charger right on my way (it was at a Casey's gas station). I pull in and start charging, but needed to pee, so unlike fuel stations where you have to wait while filling...not so, just plug in and leave! So, I get back and was planning on spending a few minutes with email and the ten minute charge was done already! Well, I was like, hey, I still have to do email..so I sat and charged another ten minutes just because I needed time to deal with email...so really, zero minutes "waiting"...
Charge two. Had to work Peoria, IL which is 180 miles one way. So, nav had me at a charger in Bloomington, IL for 15 minutes. I wanted to stay a little longer because I wanted to go to Peoria, then get back to Champaign to charge there. So the charger is at a Meijer, I plug in and go in to pee, I get inside and remember I needed "x" so I do my business and walk back to the car to get my wallet. Holy crap, I went from 26% to 54% in that time! Yikes, I need to go! So I walk back into Miejer and grab "x", get back to the car and I'm at 78% so I just unplug and go....zero wait time. I work the account and get back to Champaign and stop to charge right off the interstate. Again, the charge was done long before I could get off email and texts....so I ended up back at the warehouse with 25% charge...my concerns that charging would make my 2 in 10 road trip days bad...has so far been overly cautious....really zero issue. On a longer road trip I think charging will be more of an issue, as in waiting, but for under 400 miles its really a zero issue as you have to pee anyway.... Of note: There are two DC fast charging options in my area, 150kw and 250kw. The 250 at Bloomington, IL was INSANELY fast....just crazy fast, 150 miles of range in roughly 15 minutes.....
3. This is the quietest and overall nicest car I've ever had the privilege of driving or owning. But dang, its a 50k car, so it should be nice! My previous nicest car was a 2015 Ford Fusion Titanium (38k at the time), this is in a whole different league IMO...and my daughter still has that car, so I haven't "forgotten"...the tech was just garbage and overall nowhere near as nice as the Tesla.
4. One pedal driving is absolutely the bomb!!! I LOVE it!!! Push down...zooomy...let up...slows...let up a lot...slows fast...push down far...go very zooom. Forever I've hated putting fuel energy in...than having to scrub off my precious fuel with friction brakes...no more! Big hill? No problem, just lift back. Stop n go traffic? No problem! Regen just puts the energy back in the battery! Holy cow batman, sitting at stop lights without having to push any pedals is a very comfortable rest! Plus the thing dings at me when the light turns green...sure do like that!
5. No key...just my phone. Car locks when I leave. Lets me in when I walk up to it. Its just so....easy.... I put the thing in park and it moves the steering wheel out of the way and move the seat so its easy in/out. I put it in D and everything just goes to where I previously put it. I know all "nice" cars do this...I've just never owned one before, lol. I open the door and sit down and its just ready to go...fast and easy. I press the brake and move the stalk...off we go....
How would I describe this car after only two weeks?
1 word: smooth
2 words: smooth, quiet
3 words: smooth quiet FAST
Wow, is it fast...and its not the "fast" version!!! This is the 0-60 in 4.8 seconds version....which is faster than every standard corvette ever made until 1996 when they got down to 4.7 seconds. And...for a 55 year old I've just never experienced anything like it...just instant...and at any speed. Zero...zoom. 55....zoom. Merging onto an highway? Yeah, before you get to the highway...LONG before you get to it you can be far exceeding the highway speed limit if you wanted to.
Unless you have a ton of experience in very fast cars, this car will blow you away with just how much quicker it is than everything else you have ever owned. And the fast variant is 0-60 in 3.8! This is just a grocery getter...not exactly a super car! The 110k variants get to 60 in 2 seconds.... I've never driven any other BEV other than a Tesla...but Teslas are damn fast.
Bottom line for a typical commuter: If your commute is under 115 miles one way...this thing will work flawlessly for you with ZERO charging away from home in any weather....your fuel costs will plummet and your drive will be easier. No more gas stations....and, if you are stuck in a major multi hour traffic jam, unlike an ICE vehicle, you will use very little power. You are much less likely to "run out of gas" in a BEV vs an ICE vehicle in a multi hour traffic jam.
Negatives:
1. You absolutely have to put a charging station in your garage. Only an idiot would buy an BEV without the ability to charge at home. Or a cultist who thinks they are saving the planet or some other such nonsense. If you are considering doing this, remember, NEC rates systems for 100% use no longer than 3 hours. DO NOT put in a 50A breaker for your 48A charging system! You need at least an 80A breaker and wires to run 48A continuously! I put in a 70A breaker with #4cu and charge at 30A. Even at 30A its usually done charging by 0200hrs. If I was in a pinch I could run the 48A for 3hrs no problem.
2. The autopilot does "phantom brake" on occasion. It seems the most likely time this will happen is when there are very distinct shadows on the road, and I suspect the software interprets the shadows as a obstacle of some sort. I spent a lot of time researching this purchase, so no surprise to me, but YOU might be alarmed when the car suddenly starts to brake....a simple application of foot to juice pedal over rides the tech. Also, there is a spot in my town where the software interprets a lane incorrectly. This is standard (read free) autopilot, NOT self driving, which I have not installed. In the at least 1,000 miles I've used auto pilot this has happened maybe 3 times.
3. For the average person, road trips could be a problem. As a prepper...I'm already a planner and preparer...people who do not like to plan, will absolutely not do well with charging! You have to pay attention to your route and state of charge. You have to THINK...this is absolutely something many Americans just cannot do. For a non thinker to take any BEV, even one super easy to charge like a Tesla on a road trip is a recipe for disaster, especially off the main highways. There are 45,000 Tesla superchargers in America, but there are at least some hundreds of thousands of gas stations....this is a change from ICE where there is a "charger" or 4 off of every highway exit and just everywhere...in my town there are 5 fuel stations but zero charging stations for example. For people who can think though...this is not an issue at all...in fact, its way less of an issue than I feared.
4. There is no spare tire and really no way to have one if you carry tools. This sucks IMO. Time will tell if this is just bad, or terrible. I have stocked the vehicle with a little air compressor and plenty of slime and plugs.... which to be fair, is all I've needed for at least the last 2,000,000 miles. I've used a spare...once...but if I would have had the little air compressor, plugs and slime I wouldn't have needed it. I buy good tires and replace them when worn to the bottom of legal limits. I do not run them anywhere near bald, ever.
After a few months I'll post a much more detailed treatise on charging.
IF you are planning on road trips with ANYTHING other than a Tesla...the public non-Tesla charging network is garbage. Just wait. Don't do it. If you want to road trip, just save yourself the misery and buy a Tesla, then you will have zero issues. Maybe in 5 years you can road trip a ford or gm...but not today. See youtube if you doubt me.
Anyone with questions, please chime in!
Ok, thats my quickie review after only two weeks. I will continue to update this thread over time, especially with long road trip info. I cannot fathom going back to ICE....this is so much more convenient for me and the car is just awesome....as a road tripping driver going long distances, the Autopilot is just awesome in my life....would HATE to have to lose that feature.
J
This thread is meant to be helpful to anyone who is considering a BEV, Hybrid or ICE vehicle...just to help you see my experiences. I'll do my best to let you know the good AND bad....especially the bad!!! When I experience something crappy with this big change, I'm putting it here as a warning to you! Also, good stuff will be noted and I'll put that here as information for you as well.
You HATE and DESPISE EV's? Ok, thats fine. Do you think anyone who drives a BEV is a communist parasite? Well, turn off your tv, its making you stupid. Please don't waste our time on this thread just bashing the tech. These are tools to me, very expensive tools. You hate tools, fine, please keep it to yourself. You have actual information about how tools have let you or a relative down? (as in, you have first hand knowledge of how BEV's suck, by all means, please share. Second hand "news" of how shitty BEV's are...please do not place on this thread. BEV's do not catch on fire more than ICE, the facts show quite the opposite. Please bring those lies up somewhere else, not here. ACTUAL negative YOU or friends YOU KNOW PERSONALLY are VERY WELCOME! "news" isn't! Its lies....everyone here should know this already....
Why did I leave ICE? My last ICE vehicle was a 2017 Ram 2500. It cost $16,000 in repairs to go 205,000. As a bonus, when gas is at $3.50 it also costs .212 per mile. Contrast that with my Tesla which costs right around .0308 per mile to charge at home, on the road charging costs vary, but roughly the same as a Toyota Corolla, so around .09 per mile. I will save over $9,000 the first year in fuel costs, which will pay for hotels....so actual cost for me will be very similar to the van, its just I'll have HVAC & a shitter and a shower where I sleep, which will be nice....but I'll be in hotels...which I'm not particularly fond of...trade offs...hotel is slightly better than van even at $150 a pop. Overall cost of ownership will be determined once I get it sold and I'll post here. I'll also contrast cost of ownership with what I would have bought (a Honda CRV or Toyota Rav 4) if the Tesla doesn't, work out. 5 year cost of ownership for this 50k car is identical for the average commuter as a 25k Corolla. And....the time savings of oil changes is an added bonus for me as it saves a Saturday a.m. every other month!
Make: Tesla
Model: 2023 Y
Build location: Fremont
Options: Dual Motor Long Range Variant, Silver Grey Metallic paint, 20" turbine wheels
Date of purchase: 4-29-2023
Cost of car: $54,630 Tax and Title: $3,839.10 Total: $58,469.10
Annual cost of full coverage insurance: $1,163
Buying experience: Wow, is this simple, just hop online and go through the purchase process....you could easily do this in 5 minutes...or you could leave the thing open and think about things for days, your choice. I originally ordered a white one, but after two months of waiting Tesla gave other purchasing options and my significant other liked the grey much better than the white...I really didn't care, but switched to the grey unit and now am glad I did, as it looks way less generic to me than the white....whatever, first world silliness right?
Delivery day: Since I opted for an "available car" it only took a couple of days after I switched to get a text giving me an option to pick up the car on the 28th or 29th. This narrow pick up window is really my only negative on delivery. Two days isn't much of an option when you are busy! However, this worked fine in my world, not sure how big a hassle it might have been to set up a different delivery day??? Anyway, I go to delivery, everything looked and worked fine...no weird panel gaps or bad paint or dents or anything wrong at all, the car was clean and spotless inside and out. The only protective stuff left was on the floor mats. So, I spent 45 minutes carefully looking over the car and setting it up and we were out of there. ZERO and I mean nothing, not a word about upselling us anything, zero pressure to do anything or buy anything. The entire experience was AS IT SHOULD BE! I have no idea how this could be made better! SOOOO different from all the stealerships we have had to deal with over the years!! Also, Tesla does not accept personal or business checks, so I had to get a cashiers check the day before pickup as my bank did not work with the payment system Tesla has.
So, for those who don't know, we serve customers over several states in the midwest, primarily IN and IL but I get out to WI, MI, OH, KY, TN and GA as well from time to time. I put on about 50,000 miles per year, so I'm absolutely an "edge case" for any sort of BEV transportation. I haul around about 300lbs of tools/test equipment.
So, after my first two weeks I'm a little north of 1,500 miles. I've learned a few things.
1. Autopilot is absolutely wonderful. Best thing ever for stop n go traffic. Car stops, I can deal with emails whatever...as soon as traffic starts moving, so does the car, now I'm back keeping an eye on things....but once things stop again, back dealing with the phone. Holy cow this is so nice and stress free! I just have to touch the steering wheel while the car is moving and just sit there and watch. No brakes, no gas...just sit there and make sure the car follows and stops properly, which it so far, always has. For regular highway driving I just sit there and keep an eye on the road...holding the steering wheel. Plenty of time to gawk about, I'm seeing things around me I never noticed before as now I have time to just kind of relax....almost like a passenger, but, not quite. I still pay attention, and if you fail to pay fairly close attention, the car will start aggressively nagging you, but hey, its NOT ready to be ignored anyway, so that is fine. I'd say the car takes 75% of the stress/energy/work out of driving down the highway.
2. Charging time for short (under 200 miles each way) is not an issue. First off, every day when I leave the warehouse I have a full tank. MOST of our work is within 100 mile radius. Roughly 8 out of 10 days on average. So, 8 out of 10 days there is no charging whatsoever taking place away from the warehouse (used to be a gas station stop every other day minimum). So, those other two days are going to totally suck, right? Well, day 1 had me out at 150 one way, so when I left the hospital the nav routed me to a charger right on my way (it was at a Casey's gas station). I pull in and start charging, but needed to pee, so unlike fuel stations where you have to wait while filling...not so, just plug in and leave! So, I get back and was planning on spending a few minutes with email and the ten minute charge was done already! Well, I was like, hey, I still have to do email..so I sat and charged another ten minutes just because I needed time to deal with email...so really, zero minutes "waiting"...
Charge two. Had to work Peoria, IL which is 180 miles one way. So, nav had me at a charger in Bloomington, IL for 15 minutes. I wanted to stay a little longer because I wanted to go to Peoria, then get back to Champaign to charge there. So the charger is at a Meijer, I plug in and go in to pee, I get inside and remember I needed "x" so I do my business and walk back to the car to get my wallet. Holy crap, I went from 26% to 54% in that time! Yikes, I need to go! So I walk back into Miejer and grab "x", get back to the car and I'm at 78% so I just unplug and go....zero wait time. I work the account and get back to Champaign and stop to charge right off the interstate. Again, the charge was done long before I could get off email and texts....so I ended up back at the warehouse with 25% charge...my concerns that charging would make my 2 in 10 road trip days bad...has so far been overly cautious....really zero issue. On a longer road trip I think charging will be more of an issue, as in waiting, but for under 400 miles its really a zero issue as you have to pee anyway.... Of note: There are two DC fast charging options in my area, 150kw and 250kw. The 250 at Bloomington, IL was INSANELY fast....just crazy fast, 150 miles of range in roughly 15 minutes.....
3. This is the quietest and overall nicest car I've ever had the privilege of driving or owning. But dang, its a 50k car, so it should be nice! My previous nicest car was a 2015 Ford Fusion Titanium (38k at the time), this is in a whole different league IMO...and my daughter still has that car, so I haven't "forgotten"...the tech was just garbage and overall nowhere near as nice as the Tesla.
4. One pedal driving is absolutely the bomb!!! I LOVE it!!! Push down...zooomy...let up...slows...let up a lot...slows fast...push down far...go very zooom. Forever I've hated putting fuel energy in...than having to scrub off my precious fuel with friction brakes...no more! Big hill? No problem, just lift back. Stop n go traffic? No problem! Regen just puts the energy back in the battery! Holy cow batman, sitting at stop lights without having to push any pedals is a very comfortable rest! Plus the thing dings at me when the light turns green...sure do like that!
5. No key...just my phone. Car locks when I leave. Lets me in when I walk up to it. Its just so....easy.... I put the thing in park and it moves the steering wheel out of the way and move the seat so its easy in/out. I put it in D and everything just goes to where I previously put it. I know all "nice" cars do this...I've just never owned one before, lol. I open the door and sit down and its just ready to go...fast and easy. I press the brake and move the stalk...off we go....
How would I describe this car after only two weeks?
1 word: smooth
2 words: smooth, quiet
3 words: smooth quiet FAST
Wow, is it fast...and its not the "fast" version!!! This is the 0-60 in 4.8 seconds version....which is faster than every standard corvette ever made until 1996 when they got down to 4.7 seconds. And...for a 55 year old I've just never experienced anything like it...just instant...and at any speed. Zero...zoom. 55....zoom. Merging onto an highway? Yeah, before you get to the highway...LONG before you get to it you can be far exceeding the highway speed limit if you wanted to.
Unless you have a ton of experience in very fast cars, this car will blow you away with just how much quicker it is than everything else you have ever owned. And the fast variant is 0-60 in 3.8! This is just a grocery getter...not exactly a super car! The 110k variants get to 60 in 2 seconds.... I've never driven any other BEV other than a Tesla...but Teslas are damn fast.
Bottom line for a typical commuter: If your commute is under 115 miles one way...this thing will work flawlessly for you with ZERO charging away from home in any weather....your fuel costs will plummet and your drive will be easier. No more gas stations....and, if you are stuck in a major multi hour traffic jam, unlike an ICE vehicle, you will use very little power. You are much less likely to "run out of gas" in a BEV vs an ICE vehicle in a multi hour traffic jam.
Negatives:
1. You absolutely have to put a charging station in your garage. Only an idiot would buy an BEV without the ability to charge at home. Or a cultist who thinks they are saving the planet or some other such nonsense. If you are considering doing this, remember, NEC rates systems for 100% use no longer than 3 hours. DO NOT put in a 50A breaker for your 48A charging system! You need at least an 80A breaker and wires to run 48A continuously! I put in a 70A breaker with #4cu and charge at 30A. Even at 30A its usually done charging by 0200hrs. If I was in a pinch I could run the 48A for 3hrs no problem.
2. The autopilot does "phantom brake" on occasion. It seems the most likely time this will happen is when there are very distinct shadows on the road, and I suspect the software interprets the shadows as a obstacle of some sort. I spent a lot of time researching this purchase, so no surprise to me, but YOU might be alarmed when the car suddenly starts to brake....a simple application of foot to juice pedal over rides the tech. Also, there is a spot in my town where the software interprets a lane incorrectly. This is standard (read free) autopilot, NOT self driving, which I have not installed. In the at least 1,000 miles I've used auto pilot this has happened maybe 3 times.
3. For the average person, road trips could be a problem. As a prepper...I'm already a planner and preparer...people who do not like to plan, will absolutely not do well with charging! You have to pay attention to your route and state of charge. You have to THINK...this is absolutely something many Americans just cannot do. For a non thinker to take any BEV, even one super easy to charge like a Tesla on a road trip is a recipe for disaster, especially off the main highways. There are 45,000 Tesla superchargers in America, but there are at least some hundreds of thousands of gas stations....this is a change from ICE where there is a "charger" or 4 off of every highway exit and just everywhere...in my town there are 5 fuel stations but zero charging stations for example. For people who can think though...this is not an issue at all...in fact, its way less of an issue than I feared.
4. There is no spare tire and really no way to have one if you carry tools. This sucks IMO. Time will tell if this is just bad, or terrible. I have stocked the vehicle with a little air compressor and plenty of slime and plugs.... which to be fair, is all I've needed for at least the last 2,000,000 miles. I've used a spare...once...but if I would have had the little air compressor, plugs and slime I wouldn't have needed it. I buy good tires and replace them when worn to the bottom of legal limits. I do not run them anywhere near bald, ever.
After a few months I'll post a much more detailed treatise on charging.
IF you are planning on road trips with ANYTHING other than a Tesla...the public non-Tesla charging network is garbage. Just wait. Don't do it. If you want to road trip, just save yourself the misery and buy a Tesla, then you will have zero issues. Maybe in 5 years you can road trip a ford or gm...but not today. See youtube if you doubt me.
Anyone with questions, please chime in!
Ok, thats my quickie review after only two weeks. I will continue to update this thread over time, especially with long road trip info. I cannot fathom going back to ICE....this is so much more convenient for me and the car is just awesome....as a road tripping driver going long distances, the Autopilot is just awesome in my life....would HATE to have to lose that feature.
J
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