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Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is a Tesla

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Re: Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is a Tesla

#71

Post by shwoopdiwoop »

mrdoops wrote: post #29
throwaway98121 wrote: post #3

We sold our vehicle because the monthly payment, insurance, gasoline, and parking costs were adding up to about $1000 a month. I planned on downgrading from an Infiniti to a 3 year old Honda Civic or Fit. I visited three dealerships in my area. The experience was horrible at all three. I consider myself a decent person, but I now judge people who work in car sales or car sales management and not in a good way. Anyway…

What's stopping existing car companies from doing direct sales like Tesla? Removing barriers to customers giving you money is generally a win. How many Tesla's were purchased in the last year that wouldn't have been if the stressful dealership was in the way? How about a subscription / lease deal where they ship you the new model every year? Sell a cheaper tier for the 2nd year used vehicles. Do telemetry on driver s…

Volvo is doing exactly that, it’s called Volvo Care if I’m not mistaken and includes some newer cars, service, maintenance, winter tires etc in a monthly fee.

Re: Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is a Tesla

#72

Post by dkhenry »

nightski wrote: post #37

The cheapest Tesla will be $46k once the tax credit expires at the end of the year. While that is a lot cheaper than before, it's still out of reach of the vast majority of Americans. I'm rooting for Tesla but that is a huge gap to close.

The top selling automobile in America (Ford F150), has a base price of 43k. The Second best selling automobile ( Chevy Silverado ) is at 42k. In total the Average sale price of an automobile in America is 34k

Tesla is still above that, but not by much. I think people discount how much all those trucks and SUV's they see rolling around cost.

Re: Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is a Tesla

#73

Post by lloydde »

throwaway98121 wrote: post #3

We sold our vehicle because the monthly payment, insurance, gasoline, and parking costs were adding up to about $1000 a month. I planned on downgrading from an Infiniti to a 3 year old Honda Civic or Fit. I visited three dealerships in my area. The experience was horrible at all three. I consider myself a decent person, but I now judge people who work in car sales or car sales management and not in a good way. Anyway…

Your post reminded me that I’m still smarting from my used 2017 car purchase last year. The windshield is pitted and replacement is the only real option and is expensive. We couldn’t see the speckling. We really noticed in the summer.

Re: Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is a Tesla

#74

Post by [deleted] »

vvanders wrote: post #57
Jarbooski wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So how come I read people on Twitter asking Elon why they were forced to sign papers before being able to see the car they bought? Or having to follow a delivery damage checklist to make sure they don't buy damaged goods? That's unheard of in my life of buying cars from anyone else.

Why is a damage checklist a Tesla specific problem? Bought plenty of cars(and trucks and tractors) where I went over them at delivery. Found more than a few things of which were sorted out by the dealer at the time.

[deleted]

Re: Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is a Tesla

#75

Post by lloydde »

Jarbooski wrote: post #47
Zanni wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For those that haven't had the Tesla experience, it's a refreshing change of pace. They don't have dealerships, only showrooms and service centers. You can schedule a test drive at a showroom (or online), and your rep will be happy to help you configure your car right there if you decide to buy, but you can also go home and leisurely plan your configuration over the internet. You can see the price of every option bef…

So how come I read people on Twitter asking Elon why they were forced to sign papers before being able to see the car they bought? Or having to follow a delivery damage checklist to make sure they don't buy damaged goods? That's unheard of in my life of buying cars from anyone else.

Common in my experience receiving goods on delivery. Take your time. They understand.

Re: Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is a Tesla

#76

Post by mr_luc »

mdeeks wrote: post #66

I was surprised by some of the cost benefits of EV. I did a rough total cost of ownership for my wife's Model 3 vs my Audi A4. Over five years (@17k miles per year) it came out to the Model 3 being ~$10k cheaper than the A4 despite the Model 3 having a higher sticker price. Because I know it will come up, I know these prices are not reasonable for most people and certainly far from the promised $35k. This is just a c…

Ah, that's an interesting breakdown.

For me, those numbers boiled down to "a Tesla M3 is $10k cheaper than an A4 because it gets $10k of government rebates"

    - 7500		: Federal tax credit
    - 2500		: California rebate
Of course, the argument is that fossil fuel vehicles are the beneficiaries of unaccounted-for negative externalities, and that these rebates rectify that somewhat. But it's interesting that the A4 would otherwise be comparable. It seems that as long as the subsidies exist and it's mostly Tesla benefiting, it's in Tesla's interest to keep the price up at a level where this is the case -- where they're only cheaper due to subsidies.

Re: Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is a Tesla

#77

Post by technobabble »

shwoopdiwoop wrote: post #71
mrdoops wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's stopping existing car companies from doing direct sales like Tesla? Removing barriers to customers giving you money is generally a win. How many Tesla's were purchased in the last year that wouldn't have been if the stressful dealership was in the way? How about a subscription / lease deal where they ship you the new model every year? Sell a cheaper tier for the 2nd year used vehicles. Do telemetry on driver s…

Volvo is doing exactly that, it’s called Volvo Care if I’m not mistaken and includes some newer cars, service, maintenance, winter tires etc in a monthly fee.

In addition, Lincoln and Geely's Link and Co are also planning something like this.

Re: Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is a Tesla

#78

Post by mmanfrin »

I finally got my Model 3 a couple months ago -- I am not a car guy, I've always had the base model of sensible sedans, always bought used. This was my first fancy, new car.

Good fucking lord it is fun to drive. I took my parents for a spin and told them I'd briefly (if it was safe, mom) accelerate when I felt I had a good straightaway. I took them up an (uphill) onramp and gunned it -- my mom yelped at how immediate the force was. I'm 3 months in to owning it and I'm still thrilled to drive it.

Re: Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is a Tesla

#79

Post by FireBeyond »

mdeeks wrote: post #66

I was surprised by some of the cost benefits of EV. I did a rough total cost of ownership for my wife's Model 3 vs my Audi A4. Over five years (@17k miles per year) it came out to the Model 3 being ~$10k cheaper than the A4 despite the Model 3 having a higher sticker price. Because I know it will come up, I know these prices are not reasonable for most people and certainly far from the promised $35k. This is just a c…

I don't think you can really compare the interior/build quality of the Model 3 to the A4, though. The 3 squeaks and cracks when you push on the dash, has cheaper and cheaper-looking materials, as compared to the A4 (I've driven a 2015 and 2017 A4, and an Model 3).

Re: Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is a Tesla

#80

Post by fhrow4484 »

mdeeks wrote: post #66

I was surprised by some of the cost benefits of EV. I did a rough total cost of ownership for my wife's Model 3 vs my Audi A4. Over five years (@17k miles per year) it came out to the Model 3 being ~$10k cheaper than the A4 despite the Model 3 having a higher sticker price. Because I know it will come up, I know these prices are not reasonable for most people and certainly far from the promised $35k. This is just a c…

6k insurance over 5 years is $100 per month. That's lower that'd I've expected for a Tesla and Audi. What insurance are you using if you don't mind sharing?
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