Buying Advice: Don't Make These 11 Mistakes When Getting A Tesla...Ryan Shaw recently went through the 11 common mistakes you should avoid when buying a Tesla.

https://insideevs.com ^ | Mar 13, 2022 at 5:41pm ET | By: Ben O'Hare

[Red Badger]

YouTuber and Tesla owner Ryan Shaw recently went over a number of common mistakes you can make when buying a Tesla. A useful guide for potential Tesla owners, his list was as follows:

(1) Buying Too Much Range...

Often people buy the Tesla with the most range, for example opting for the Long Range Model 3 over the RWD. If you have home charging and don't have to commute far, doing so doesn't necessarily make the most sense.

(2) ...And Buying Too Little Range

The opposite of the above, if you live in an apartment and / or have a long daily commute you may want to buy a Tesla with a lot of range. This also matters if you roadtrip frequently and don't want to spend a lot of time at Superchargers.

(3) Buying The Wrong Wheels

With entry-level wheels you get more range and better ride quality. With larger wheels you pay more, get harsher ride quality and less range - only handling and aesthetics are improved.

(4) Buying FSD

Pretty self explanatory, as it is $12,000 for FSD is simply not worth it. The base Autopilot that comes as standard is more than sufficient for most, and by the time FSD can reach its full potential you'll likely have sold the car.

(5) Putting Off Ordering

Prices are constantly increasing meanwhile delivery times are getting pushed back due to ongoing supply chain issues.

(6) Not Planning Ahead For Charging

Plan your trips, and make sure you have adequate home charging or know where your nearby chargers are if you live in an apartment.

(7) Buying A Performance Model So You'll Get The Car Delivered Sooner

Wait times for Performance models are much less. But if you don't care about the added pace and power don't order it - you'll just end up paying more for less range and a harsher ride.

(8) Avoiding White Seats Because You Think They'll Be Hard To Clean

The white seats look great and require much less maintenance than you'd expect.

(9) Not Checking For Local Incentives

Most states have local EV rebates and incentives. Be sure to check for what you qualify for to help save as much as possible.

(10) Not Inspecting The Car On Delivery

Tesla is still a relatively new company and various fit and finish issues can occur, so be sure to give your car a good look over when taking delivery.

(11) Not Having The Right Cover & Accessories

Many third party companies are notorious for overcharging for insurance on Teslas. Tesla now offers their own insurance in some states, which is great. Also make sure you have the right cover to avoid hefty payouts. Finally, accessories like a screen protector and all-weather car mats are great options to add.

[Bullish]

Don’t make the first mistake by buying an overpriced Tesla. It’s a 60-80k car that will be dead as a door nail in less than 10 years. Then you get to replace the battery for about 15k more.

[kosciusko51]

When the GM EV1 came out, you could only lease it.

[Myrddin]

I owned a 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid. I was promised a $3,000 tax credit. Reality: $1200. I was promised 32 MPG that would offset the higher acquisition cost with gas savings. Reality: Winter driving at -14F to +32F with heater on: 21 MPG. Summer driving +86F to +103F with air conditioning on: 26 MPG. Spring/Fall driving +60F to +75F, no need for heat/air/eco mode: 28 MPG. The special battery system meant no ham radio gear and a concern for battery life. Much reduced hauling capacity vs the Escape V6 that it replaced.

We traded it in with 108,000 miles. Replacement was a 2015 F150 CrewCab with EcoBoost V6. We feed it ethanol free 87 octane gas. It delivers 26 to 32 MPG when kept under 55 MPH on trips to Idaho Falls. If we choose the 80 MPH I-15 path, mileage drops to 21 MPG. We have 77,000 miles on it. Superb quality. I have zero interest in ever having another hybrid or EV. I need a good 4x4 in the Idaho Winter weather. This one meets my needs just fine.

[BenLurkin]

[Myrddin]

My 1974 Porsche 914 was very expensive to keep running. I sold it to a friend in Pocatello who loves twisting wrenches. We crossed paths at the grocery store. He asked if I was aware of the rubber peeling off the front bumpers at 110 MPH. Nope. I never ran it faster than 85. The car is now the property of a guy who does full refurbishment. It will look factory new and probably run better than factory new when he is finished. It was a very competitive slalom car when I purchased it from the prior owner.

[Paradox]

[Lurkinanloomin]

I have no idea who she is either.

[crazy scenario]

“I miss my 49 Chevy pick up...more each day.”

I still miss my 49 Ford PU, had a Chevy 283 in it, great truck. My 2008 Nissan Frontier 4WD isn’t bad though. Still runs and drives great."

I don’t miss my 1969 Chevelle malibu, 350ci/300hp, 350 turbo hydromatic, bucket seats, AM/FM, 8 track stereo.......I don't miss it, cause in a minute I'll go to the garage and look at it.....loved that car from the minute I saw it at the dealer in 1969 and never will sell it.

[Karma_Sherab]

[decal]

Left off “thinking you’re going to get anything for it when you try to turn it in for something else.”

[Sequoyah101]

If you make the fist mistake of buying one at all don’t compound it by parking it in the garage and burning your house down. That would be terrible of course.

[Reily]

20% to 80% in 18 minutes is quite a range!!

I can fill the tank (100%) of my truck and then my wife’s car (100%) faster then 18 minutes.

[Tell It Right]

I get your thing about hybrids, but IMHO they still have too much dependency on gasoline, the cost of which is too easily manipulated by Dims to control us.

If you own your own home (I do) and are in a situation that it's feasible to install a large solar system onto your home (which I did almost a year ago) then an EV is good for giving you partial liberation from Dims controlling you through their energy policies. At least to the point that you provider yourself with your own energy.

My solar system provided 55% of all the power I consumed last year in my now all-electric two-story house. Will it save us from cow farts and other imaginary dragons? Nope. Will it stop China and India from doing horrible pollution? Nope. Will it satisfy the global warmageddonists in the political class? Nothing satisfies them. Will it stop the Orwellian doublespeak of saying we need lots and lots more trees while at the same time saying CO₂ is a pollutant? Of course not.

But what it does do is free me from natural gas prices spiking and halfway frees me from electrical rates going up. If one of mine and my wife's two cars is an EV and the EV is the one we drive unless we're on trips (or we spend the day driving different places running different errands) then about half of those miles are provided by the solar system. Those miles are miles the Dims can't make more expensive for me to drive (or if they did they'd have to work extra hard at it).

[occamrzr06]

I-10 will be gridlocked....................

Like it is everyday?

[JimRed]

I miss my 1963 VW Beetle.

I miss my '56 TR-3. It came equipped with a hand crank to start it if the battery went flat.

[Red Badger]

In New Mexico?..................

[cableguymn]

I could have bought a leaf for mine for 2k but it’s range was under 100 miles on a full charge.

plus no one has come in asking “you got a electric car?”

I get a lot of “you got and diesel trucks?”
and “I need a car that gets 35MPG plus, got anything?”

I had a prius and hybrid escape.. they hung around.

[Falconspeed]

“Teslas are all over the place here!”
Yesterday I was at a four way stop and three Teslas were waiting for me to go. Amazing.

[cableguymn]

1 and 2

The range you need today might not be the range you need tomorrow.

[Aria]

I have a Lexus 450h that I LOVE! Decent mileage, safe, comfortable...