There was one in my town with "$37,000 Off" on the windshield. I'll look to see if it's still there.Hey, I didn't say to buy one new.(Although... there might be some new ones rotting on dealer lots for cheap...)
A 200 mile car doesn't do it for me, perhaps others feel the same way given the Bolt's pathetic sales numbers. It has to be 300+ miles before I'd consider taking an EV on a road trip - regardless of "fast" charging availability. The EV community LOVES wasting time at public charging stations. I don't. I'd much rather save $20K buying a used 80 mile car for the city and take my TDI on road trips.
Where did you find your 500e? Did you buy out of state and have it shipped?
If you live in NH, you should care. Once the temperature falls below 50F, it's like someone hit the range kill switch. As you've already found, there are dozens of low mileage examples under $10K. If you plan to keep the car for the long term, buy one of those. No reason to cheap out.
We bought it from Faulkner Fiat in Pennsylvania and drove it home. We stopped at Catoctin national park to charge for three hours, which was pretty much the half-way point. So far we have put 4,500 miles on it since the end of March. I calculated last month's energy usage and the car is costing us about 2.5 cents per mile in electricity, mostly charging at home.
VW is tossing around some unusual numbers right now (example, $x,xxx less than a Tesla). I think they're jumping the gun and floating prices that are based on anticipated reductions in battery manufacturing costs. 2020 is still a few years away, so some of this seems premature to me.
Cargurus is good, too.
they haven't changed much between model years, as I understand it. If you want to get a feel for it, go test drive a regular 500, to see if you fit comfortably, and then figure on the 500e being a quicker version of that. the 500e does have less room in the back seat, due to a higher floor than the gasoline version.
I'll believe this vehicle and its price point when I see it, as has been the case with many Volkswagens concepts in the past. They like to say things and then not actually do them. What version of the Microbus concept are we on now?
Completely fair. That is, if Tesla survives for the next 20 years and/or doesn't scale down operations. Reading Tesla's safe harbor statements, investment in TSLA comes with significant risk.
You're absolutely correct. The Government has helped nearly all of the US auto manufacturers. GM, Chrysler, and Tesla.
The want to drive an EV will come as consumers gain confidence in EVs and as manufacturing costs come down. Operational costs are already lower than traditional engines, but your average consumer is still willing to pay the ICE premium in order to have instantly-refillable range. It will take time, development and significant investment for EVs to be widely accepted. Tesla is going full steam ahead this in an attempt to gain acceptance. Others look like they want to try to follow, but they seem to be reluctant to step out of their comfort zones in order to actually do it.
I'd say that companies had their heads in the sand at first, but many of them are starting to change direction. In addition, many governments (China, France, Norway) are accelerating the process with significantly reduced emissions targets in the relatively near future.
Early Teslas were definitely saddled with QC problems. They still have a few, but their production and QC processes have improved substantially in recent years. Other manufacturers have had their own QC problems, including Nissan's LEAF battery packs, Toyota's hybrid motor stator failure issues, Volkswagen's diesel emissions system reliability problems, Volkswagen's timing chain problems, FCA's self-machining HEMI engines, and much much more. The most important thing to look at is how manufacturers handle these issues under warranty and how they modify their production processes to correct the problems (or not, as the case may be *cough* GM ignition switches). Tesla does have one particularly good thing going for them, which is over-the-air updates, allowing them to push software and firmware corrections to the cars remotely without requiring owners to come to service centers.
Tesla will obviously need to build more brick and mortar service locations prior to the arrival of the Model 3. Mobile technicians (Tesla Rangers) are a great idea, but they can't do all of the things that a full service center can do.
If you take time to skim over the Tesla owners forums you will quickly see a lot of complaining over time to get parts and esp. Tesla's refusal to supply parts to shops not specifically endorsed by them. Don't see an over abundance of owners wanting to buy another.
I've been reading quite a bit on TMC. I get why Tesla is protective of parts and service right now, but I will freely admit that it's causing problems with repair costs and speed. I'm hopeful that that situation will improve as time goes on.
+1 above.
Yes and no. I wouldn't exactly compare a Tesla to a Bentley. They're both expensive right now, but Tesla's goal is to become mainstream by introducing more affordable automobiles that have larger production quantities. In order to be successful at that long-term, they will have to provide reasonable service.
I did appreciate the ability to buy fuel filters, oil filters, oil, glow plugs, timing belts, alternator pulleys and tensioners from 3rd party dealers for my Jetta when I needed them.... but you know what's WAY better? NOT needing any of those things at all
112k miles and I haven't needed any parts 