So I'm considering it...

"Alex Zapata" (alexzapata)
04/01/2016 at 02:51 • Filed to: None

I’m seriously thinking about reserving one tomorrow, basically I have to accept the fact that living in Mexico I can, at best expect a 2020 delivery if I reserve it soon-ish.

I think it’s amazing looking and basically is the future of transportation, it is affordable (though Dog knows what it’s gonna cost here when it gets here) plus I may get a chance of driving an S and it’s fully refundable if I don’t like the car from here to when I have to purchase it.

So basically I lose $1,000 USD for two to four years to get first dibs (in my country) on a Model 3.

Am I crazy?

Help! I’ll decide tomorrow and let y’all know.

DISCUSSION (15)

RyanFrew > Alex Zapata
04/01/2016 at 03:00

I don’t think you’re crazy at all. I actually like the $1,000 deposit expense. It’s not a painful amount to lose, but it adds to the excitement of potentially owning one by putting some skin in the game.

sonicgabe > Alex Zapata
04/01/2016 at 03:32

Not crazy. I could put a deposit down right now, but I can’t commit to actually purchasing one yet; even with time to get the rest of the money or financing together. But maybe before the end of the year, I might be in a position to commit. I’m really considering it. I hate to sound like an electric detractor (I really believe in the platform) but I’m concerned about the range. I’d prefer that it be a bit more than that, which would cover most of the short trips we take. I’d just like to be able to add another hour or so of drive time to it, which would get me from St Pete to Atlanta with one stop for juice. I used to have a Honda that could do the trip without stopping (mid-90s Civic, slightly better highway mileage than a Pirus!) so my benchmark for traveling is skewed. But if stopping twice while cruising in autopilot mode is the price I have to pay, I can live with that.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Alex Zapata
04/01/2016 at 06:38

Are Tesla cars sold in Mexico?

Gone > Alex Zapata
04/01/2016 at 07:26

Go for it if you like it!

All opinions below:

Personally wouldn’t do the deposit for a number of reasons. But otherwise I was disappointed in the nose and the fact I only like the wheels in the silver car (dumb complaint). Big issue is that dash. I already hate the glued on iPad look and the 3 just takes that to 11...or 12. I can’t do it with that dash setup. I really like the S... Would have accepted small digital gauge pod w/speedo/range/nav and a uConnect size screen in the stack, but without a HUD or something, no.

I don’t stand in line for new things or care about being a first adopter so YMMV.

Good luck with your decision and I hope the car is a good one. We really want to go electric, but will wait until the right one comes along.

GTiceman > Alex Zapata
04/01/2016 at 07:35

I put my deposit down yesterday morning. Don’t know if I will buy a Model 3 or just buy a used P90D when the time comes but I wanted options. Not sure how I feel about the Model 3, the wheels on the red one look awesome and the dark grey one they showed looked great. That interior though. Oh well I have at least a year to decide

Jayhawk Jake > RyanFrew
04/01/2016 at 08:35

It’s fully refundable too, so there’s not a huge penalty for it.

Alex Zapata > GTiceman
04/01/2016 at 11:31

My thought process is I want an electric in two or three years time, I’ve pretty much made my mind up for the i3, but if this costs about the same, then I’m down for this.

I have time to decide and my thinking is if I don’t put a deposit down now and I want one in a couple of years, then I’m fucked because the wait list will be huge.

Alex Zapata > RyanFrew
04/01/2016 at 11:33

Yeah, fully refundable and everything.

My thought process is it’s not that much money and I have nothing to lose, if anything something to gain since Exchange Rates could change heavily in my favour in a couple of years.

Alex Zapata > Gone
04/01/2016 at 11:35

Yeah, those are exactly my concerns, if the dash was exactly like what they showed I wouldn’t buy it.

Also my biggest thing is I don’t want to be just jumping in the bandwagon, though I’m pretty sure there are probably close to no orders coming from Mexico.

Gone > Alex Zapata
04/01/2016 at 11:55

I didn’t mention it earlier, but one of my concerns revolves around increasing production. Tesla hasn’t built anything at the pace and volume which will be required by this vehicle. Stepping up production rates can be a painful experience in a plant. Between supplier QA/QC and delivery issues, as well as Tesla production QA/QC things can go wrong quickly causing both plant internal and end user delivery delays, production quality issues, and customer quality issues, and at the end, customer dissatisfaction. JIT manufacturing does not work well with delivery/scheduling issues and causes massive havoc at times.

Now these issues can be mitigated, but I can’t think of anyone that hasn’t struggle with this from smaller suppliers all the way to the Big2.5, etc. Personally would make me weary of being a first adopter. Now obviously this doesn’t *have* to be an issue. I’ll be curious how much that shift in production affects them. If it’s handled well it’ll only show up as production/release delays and the end user won’t be affected beyond that.

Alex Zapata > Gone
04/01/2016 at 12:17

I think the plan is for the Gigafactory to fix all those potential problems, so far I think they are taking it slow-ish and doing things right, I have nothing but respect for Elon Musk for how he’s gone around doing this whole thing.

That said, I do share your concerns 100%, so it’s something to put up in the balance again, though I’m sorta leaning one way right now.

GTiceman > Alex Zapata
04/04/2016 at 08:13

Exactly ... Musk already said we only expected 1/4 of what we actually got for reservations. Even if half cancel he will miss timelines. Talk about range anxiety ... the i3 only goes like 50 miles

Alex Zapata > GTiceman
04/04/2016 at 09:56

Yes, but range extender!!

Anyways, I have completely stepped off the hype and decided that I’m staying with internal combustion for the time being, I love the idea of the Tesla being the future, and I know I will be forced to join the future at some point, but at the moment I’m not quite ready to let go of internal combustion quite yet.

I think I’ll get a Works Mini or something next year instead.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Alex Zapata
04/07/2016 at 17:33

I’ve got two very significant issues with the Model 3 on style. First, is that all-plastic nose. I think it looks cartoonish, in a sealife kind of way. Second, and much more significantly, I understand that all of the instrumentation will be located on the center screen. That is a show stopper for me. If they included a rudimentary HUD, I could live with it.

Seems like I’m not alone on these two issues...

I own Tesla stock and I am a huge fan of Tesla and Elon Musk.

Alex Zapata > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
04/07/2016 at 17:36

Me too, I actually did decide against it, because all the above reasons.

I figured I actually want a Model S or X, so I should probably save for that instead of buying a compromised car.

I made the right decision looking at the preorders, living in Mexico I wouldn’t have gotten mine ever (US is priority)