Apple fanboy
macrumors Ivy Bridge
Very few (any?) free chargers over here now. I rarely use them unless on a long trip, but £0.89 a kwm is the norm now.
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The Car Thread ... !
- Thread starter D.T.
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If you have home charging, you only really ever think about charging when you are on a trip.
I just plug in when I get home and every morning, I have a full "tank" which gets me through the next day's commute (3 hours + parked all day with sentry mode and cabin overheat protection on).
We have 3 EVs (my wife and I), with one L2 charger and one L1 charger. My wife and I both share the L2 for our daily drivers, and our 3rd EV sits in the garage on a L1 charger when not in use.
My wife gets home before me, so she plugs in when she gets home. By the time I get home, she is fully charged to 50% (I cap hers at 50%), so I park and move the cable over to my DD and go inside while it charges overnight back up to 70%. The next morning we both are good. No going to a gas station, we don't even look at the charge level, we never even hit 20% (which the vehicle will alert you to).
I just plug in when I get home and every morning, I have a full "tank" which gets me through the next day's commute (3 hours + parked all day with sentry mode and cabin overheat protection on).
We have 3 EVs (my wife and I), with one L2 charger and one L1 charger. My wife and I both share the L2 for our daily drivers, and our 3rd EV sits in the garage on a L1 charger when not in use.
My wife gets home before me, so she plugs in when she gets home. By the time I get home, she is fully charged to 50% (I cap hers at 50%), so I park and move the cable over to my DD and go inside while it charges overnight back up to 70%. The next morning we both are good. No going to a gas station, we don't even look at the charge level, we never even hit 20% (which the vehicle will alert you to).
My local grocery store for YEARS had free L2 charging. It would stop after 2 hours. It eventually moved to now being a fee for charging. I've seen quite a few of this move from free to a fee for charging.
Apple fanboy
macrumors Ivy Bridge
When I switched to an EV a few years back there were a few free ones. But I’ve not seen any in years. Not with the rising electricity prices.
diamond.g
macrumors G5
OBX Brewing station turns the chargers off until you come in and ask to have them turned on. They used to be on all the time but found non-patrons abusing that. Wasserhund brewing does the same these days I believe. Those are the few places I have charged that are not at home, lol.
I think a lot of destination (mainly hotels) do this. You have to be a guest at their facility for them to turn it on. They also know who is charging, so if you ghost your own vehicle once charging is complete, they know who to reach out to.
MacBH928
macrumors G3
I just looked it up and it seems it seems EV cost you half the price per mile over gas cars. They keep sounding better all the time.
AustinIllini
macrumors G5
It's too bad Elon Musk has really created a stigma around the prominent EV brand.
My i4 is great though. Really love it.
diamond.g
macrumors G5
In the US whomever comes out with decent point to point ADAS "first" will probably pull customers from Tesla (of course assuming prices are not crazy).
I7guy
macrumors Westmere
That stigma is mostly gone based on the last two quarters. Of course some may hold onto thoughts and never let them go. But that’s horses for courses. ADAS is not enough to pull me from Tesla.
x2. There's a lot more to the Tesla ecosystem than just ADAS. So far, no one is close and lacks many of the major advantages that Tesla has built for itself. I will gladly consider other vehicles, when they catch up with these. I'm not going to pay more for less. I'm not rich enough to be able to do that.
diamond.g
macrumors G5
Keep in mind that they are not unique to Tesla now BUT, every other manufacture is lacking some of this list. So far, Tesla is the only one to do all of these things:
Non-Dealer experience from purchase to trade-in and all steps between
Service Center locations (I have 6 within 40 miles of me)
Tesla's UI (arguably the best in the world)
Software Updates (no one does it better) which includes new features
Remote access from anywhere in the world
Sentry Mode (someone hit my wife's car in a parking lot got the plate after they moved to another spot)
Mobile App
Remote Start (single drive access to someone)
FSDs (too much to list all the items related to FSD)
Summons (vehicle will drive to you in a parking lot)
Autopilot
Scheduled Preconditioning by GPS location
Trunk Liftgate height by GPS location
Profiles (that can be switched on the fly)
Mobile Calendar Integration (GPS locations are already entered from your calendar)
Apple Watch App (also can act as a key)
Credit size Card Key (instead a fob)
Card Keys can be used on multiple vehicles (my key in my wallet works on all 3 of our Teslas)
Vehicle on from entry (no prehistoric Start/Stop Button)
Auto Shift Beta (it will automatically shift from P to R/D based on what the camera sees)
Cloud profiles (my profile loads up the same in all 3 of our Teslas, includes seats, AC,... EVERYTHING)
Premium Sound (one of the best stereos I've owned right out of the box)
Accurate Profile selection (whoever is on the driver's side wins the profile)
MyQ Garage Door Integration (it opens/closes the garage door automatically)
Dog Mode
1 Pedal Driving (one of, if not the best on the market)
Plug-in-play Charging Network (every Tesla charger works and is cheaper)
NACS port (LOVE it over J1772 or CCS2)
Charging Door integration into taillight design (not designed like a gas door)
Efficiency
Cabin HEPA Filter (biodefefense mode)
*I'm sure I'm missing a lot, but no one does all of these, they may do a lot but miss some other non-negotiable item on the list.
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My place of work has several, unfortunately early people plugin and leave their car parked in the charging spots most of the day.
I7guy
macrumors Westmere
I think number one carries the most weight as it is about the pre-sales, sales and post sales experience. The remainder are the ownership experience. But the not going to the dealer part is 👍
Herdfan
macrumors 68000
So true. My daughter has a Mach-E and charges at home. She doesn't miss going to the gas station, especially as a young woman in LA.
MacBH928
macrumors G3
I mean, nothing is perfect... Things can break, and when they do, it's better to have access to Service Centers. Also, Tesla, despite being the manufacture, has reasonable prices for a lot of stuff. For example, on my 2021 TMY, it uses a Lead Acid battery, unlike my newer 2026. Tesla charges around $120 for parts & labor. These last about 3-5 years.
Another thing is, when I want parts, it is nice to be able to go down to a service center and purchase them (wear items like wipers).
My daughter has an EV in LA. She has solar and the LADWP plan that has lower night rates. I wonder when that plan might go away, though becasue southern California literally has too much solar providing power that peak usage time now.
Why did you say "...especially as a young woman in LA"? My daughers live and work in various areas of LA and nothing particular about LA or its gas stations (other than the price) causes me to worry.
AustinIllini
macrumors G5
The Problem is Tesla service is garbage and you have no other choice but to use them. You can try multiple dealers for your other cars.
I7guy
macrumors Westmere
I must be one of the lucky ones as my trips to the Tesla service center were very good and the service I got was related to stuff that happens to all cars, eg alignments, new tires (from being punctured by road debris and potholes etc.). One warranty adjustment for a window right after I got the car. But other than the one warranty visit, no other EV related items. The dealers in my area are very good - which reflects the normalcy of going to the dealer. Different strokes for different folds.
Apple fanboy
macrumors Ivy Bridge
I can’t testify to Tesla’s servicing capabilities (although I’m sure lots of Tesla drivers have never had to use them!). But here in the UK independent garages can service all makes. Those that have IMI Techsafe accreditation have technicians trained to service EV’s.
I’m sure there would be something similar in the US for those that don’t live close to a Tesla service centre.
I’m sure there would be something similar in the US for those that don’t live close to a Tesla service centre.
I can also confirm that I have had only great experiences with Telsa SC'ers. I have been to 4 different centers over the years, Brooklyn, Smithtown, Syosset (now closed), and Westbury. All 4 have been better than all my experiences with MB, BMW, Ram, Jeep, and Nissan I have had with my past vehicles.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
Goodbye old girl - she served me well.
I'm somewhat sad, that I traded her in this week. I got a fantastic deal at my not-so local jeep dealership. My daughter bought her own jeep this week, and because of that (and I think they were fairly hungry for a sale), they made a great offer for my truck. I got top dollar for the Colorado, and I worked them down to a decent monthly payment. Kelly Blue Book had the trade in price range to be between 23k and 26k - they gave me 25k which surprised me. I was expecting between 18 to 20k.
The Jeep is a Willys 41 Special Edition, and in all honesty, I love the thing. Fun to drive, looks awesome, and overall offers a bit more upsides then the truck.
I'm back on the lease merry-go-round, but that was going to happen anyways and regardless of what I picked (truck, car, jeep). I had been toying with this for the past 6 months as my truck was having more and more issues. I was facing about 4,000 to 5,000 dollars of repairs, and maintenance bills in the coming months. Now I have a warranty for the next 36,000 miles.
I had priced out and worked with Chevy, toyota, and Honda (for their trucks) and none of them were really offering anything great for my truck, and the lease pricing was prohibitively high. At some point I started asking myself do I even want a truck at this point? I guess the answer is no.
Its funny, but when people see this jeep, they say its so me, in that it fits my vibe and personality.
I'm somewhat sad, that I traded her in this week. I got a fantastic deal at my not-so local jeep dealership. My daughter bought her own jeep this week, and because of that (and I think they were fairly hungry for a sale), they made a great offer for my truck. I got top dollar for the Colorado, and I worked them down to a decent monthly payment. Kelly Blue Book had the trade in price range to be between 23k and 26k - they gave me 25k which surprised me. I was expecting between 18 to 20k.
The Jeep is a Willys 41 Special Edition, and in all honesty, I love the thing. Fun to drive, looks awesome, and overall offers a bit more upsides then the truck.
I'm back on the lease merry-go-round, but that was going to happen anyways and regardless of what I picked (truck, car, jeep). I had been toying with this for the past 6 months as my truck was having more and more issues. I was facing about 4,000 to 5,000 dollars of repairs, and maintenance bills in the coming months. Now I have a warranty for the next 36,000 miles.
I had priced out and worked with Chevy, toyota, and Honda (for their trucks) and none of them were really offering anything great for my truck, and the lease pricing was prohibitively high. At some point I started asking myself do I even want a truck at this point? I guess the answer is no.
Its funny, but when people see this jeep, they say its so me, in that it fits my vibe and personality.
Apple fanboy
macrumors Ivy Bridge
Looks cool. May it be problem free for the duration of your lease.
But still no duck? I’d take it back! 😀