Tesla Model ≡ Thread

[JST]

Originally Posted by John V

The thing I really worry about with any Tesla is reliability and repair cost. I haven't looked into this in a year or more but at that time it seemed like there was very little you could do yourself, getting parts is a pain, etc. Tesla expect you to have them do all of the work.

Ken's Model S was in the shop six or seven times during his (year and a half?) ownership period. One of those times they had to remove the entire interior of the car to fix a TPMS issue. One time they replaced the entire drive unit. Had the car not been under the factory warranty there would have been tremendous cost for those repairs, even if just to cover the deductibles.

I'm far from an early adopter (having never bought a new car in my life) but it seems to me that being an early adopter for a new manufacturer is a really risky endeavor.

I agree 100% that electric is the way to go for commuter cars. I just want some established manufacturer to make something affordable and interesting (aka, not a Chevy Bolt or a Nissan Leaf) before I sign on.

Reliability has improved a lot, I think. My first Model S had a bunch of issues, though they were all sorted pretty quickly and eventually the car was solid. My second (which actually isn't that much newer than the first) has been pretty trouble-free, even now at 45,000 miles. Certainly the equal of any BMW I've had, though maybe that isn't saying much.

I don't know what the Model 3 will be like. I'm a little concerned about the fever-pitch production schedules, but am hoping that those are getting ironed out now.

But, yeah--it's still not a car for the DYIer.