The unexpected expectation…
Well, here it is, my first post regarding Tesla’s experience. My friends know, I am a Tesla fan. I love everything about this company, good or bad. I think that the mission of Tesla surpasses the problems and roadblocks that the company keeps hitting now and then. Although some may see this as being biased towards the company, I like to think that my state of mind and behavior surrounding the brand helps me see what is at stake here since the beginning of Tesla.
Some folks look at themselves and their own experience and tend to have the “I am entitled to” type of mindset. I think we all understand and agree that to each of their own experience and that this same experience was not to the level that most were expecting. We do have to put in perspective that Tesla is a relatively new company, decided to go their own way to produce and deliver the cars and that the online sales are a big difference from other manufacturers. No other manufacturers sold online in the past, no manufacturer is perfect during delivery and that the general quality of the cars on the market, are not as high as some have been hinting at when they compare Tesla to other car manufacturers. I will deal with this in a future article, once I have combined more data and information.
Late review experience of my Tesla Delivery
As for my own experience, it was quite interesting on many levels. Most people pre-ordered their Tesla Model 3 about 2 years before the first delivery, some are probably still waiting as they wish to own a standard range. When I click the order button, it was August 18, 2018. I had to re-order again on September 18th, 2018, as I changed idea regarding the colors and option. So, to sum it up shortly, I had a late order and I was willing to wait 3-4 months for delivery.
I then joined more Facebook groups to gather as much information as possible before delivery. My initial delivery date was November 22nd, so I had plenty of time ahead of me to purchase everything I needed prior to my delivery. So here is the list of things I ordered to be ready for my delivery.
- Weather Floor mats – WeatherTech: frunk and trunk, ordered on September 20th, 2018
- Delivered on October 10th, 2018
- Tesla Wall Connector: Ordered on September 22nd, 2018
- Delivered on September 25th, 2018
- Installed on October 15th, 2018 — Yes it was a long wait and charging the car with the mobile charger was a pain…
- 3DMax-Pider floor mats: Driver, passager and rear row, ordered on September 26th, 2018
- Delivered on November 28th, 2018
- Screen Protector: Order on September 26th, 2018
- Delivered on September 28th, 2018
The next step was to contact the insurance companies and see what they could offer me. This part was awful and to be honest, my worse experience shopping for insurance, let me explain.
First of all, my current insurance did not want to cover anything regarding the car. Most likely because they had no idea what kind of car it was, that because it was categorized as a “luxury” car and that they had no history on this type of vehicle, they just wanted to get rid of me.
Here was their initial offer over the phone
Company: Promutuel
Yearly cost: 3000$
Coverage: Basic, 1000$ deductible on accident, 500$ on other, no coverage if the car was totaled.
From there, I decided to contact another insurer and call a friend of mine to get more information. I contacted Belair Direct, Desjardins, La Capitale, and a few others. All of them were between 2200$ and 6000$. This is another proof that the market was not ready and understanding the car itself.
After talking back and forth with La Capitale, the only one that was actually engaged in a real discussion, I was finally able to get a clear quote.
La Capitale Quote:
- Civil Coverage: 1 000 000$
- Franchise in case of an accident: 500$
- Franchise in of other incidents: 250$
- Replacement value: included (in case the car gets totaled)
- etc.
Final Quote: 1098,00$
Not the cheapest if I compared to other cars I had in the past but a decent price considering the car’s value and that it includes a 15% rebate for being an electric car.
In conclusion, shop around. A lot of details need to be discussed with insurances regarding Model 3. They might know a lot about insurances, but they are still learning on electric vehicles and some specifics regarding the security and anti-theft systems.
That is all for today, I will write more about my experience delivery in my next part. Stay tuned!
Eric L. aka CPTRICO
Passionate and Tesla evangelist