7 ms·

I'd never in my life have thought I'd have bought a car > $50,000 and here I am with a AWD LR Model 3 and loving it! My other car was a 2011 Ford Fiesta. If you

by SEJeff 7y ago

I'd never in my life have thought I'd have bought a car > $50,000 and here I am with a AWD LR Model 3 and loving it! My other car was a 2011 Ford Fiesta. If you don't want to purchase one, don't do a test drive. Once my wife and I did a test drive in a Model S, we were both sold on a Tesla.

bryanthankins 7y ago
Exactly the same for me. Had never spent more than 22K on a car in 20 years of driving. The model 3 changed all that and just feels like the car of the future. So much fun to drive. Like the first time using an iphone.
- FPGAhacker 7y ago
  I totally get this. I have a new phone after about five years and it is such a pleasure to use. Really enjoying it. Felt like an outrageous amount of money, but it truly is pleasant using it. If I had the money, and needed a car, I would give it serious consideration. Alas, I only buy used cars and The most I’ve spent is 17k. I’ll pony up more cash next time just to be sure I have some of the driver aids/safety features that might help me from rear ending someone because I glanced at the gas gauge in stop and go traffic.
  - x3haloed 7y ago
    Just wait a couple of years for the used market to really open up, and pick up a standard range +
helpPeople 7y ago
I'm shocked you love a 50,000 dollar car when your last car was 8 years old budget car. Reminds me of comparing this year's iPhone to a no name Android. Op, did you realize you did this?
- awill 7y ago
  Exactly. As an Android user, I always used to laugh when (10 years ago) people would upgrade to an iPhone from a flip phone and say "the best phone I've ever had". Ridiculous :).
- SEJeff 7y ago
  Well of course the Model 3 is amazing, but my point was I would NOT spend this kind of money on a BMW or a Mercedes or any other existing luxury car. I am not a luxury car owner and never planned on being. I saw the idea of what Tesla is going for and want to see the future Musk and his cult of personality are trying to build. Self driving cars sound cool, but they lead to all kinds of interesting societal changes. My cousin was killed by a drunk driver. Self driving cars means less drunk drivers. My father had a seizure while he was driving and almost died in the resultant wreck. I'm not saying he (Musk) will necessarily meet all of his goals, but if he hits even 1/2 of them, it is the future I want to live in. I purchased the Tesla to help him make it so. I jokingly have been comparing the Model 3 to an A10 Warthog. The A10 Warthog (famously) is literally a plane built around a really big gun. The gun is the primary focus of A10 designers and it shows. When it comes to a Tesla, it is a computer with amazing batteries that happens to live in a car. It isn't like any existing car on the market, because primarily, it is a computer. This is really exciting, and very different.
  - hartator 7y ago
    > it is a computer with amazing batteries that happens to live in a car hum pretty sure the value of your Tesla will drop to zero if it can’t drive anymore. What are you talking about?
    - ncallaway 7y ago
      I don't see how this comment ties to the parent comment in any way? What part of their comment are you referring to?
      - hartator 7y ago
peapicker 7y ago
To be honest, the Tesla interior leaves me cold. It feels corporate, like being in a nice chair driving a 17" laptop to work. Feels soulless to me. I really hate touch screens and have opted personally for a similarly expensive car with lots of switches and dials that I don't have to look at to make sure I'm on the right one. (Mini Clubman, with basically every option, literally months before they added a touchscreen entertainment system)
- jdhn 7y ago
  While I agree with you about the interior looking rather spartan and the superiority of physical dials and knobs, one nice thing about the Tesla touchscreen is that things are laid out in a somewhat intuitive feature. I had the experience of sitting in a few other cars at the pricepoint (BMW 3 series, and a Mercedes C class), and the infotainment systems in there were way behind. Mercedes uses a touchpad along with a touchscreen for navigation, while the BMW uses a dial along with the touchscreen. I much preferred the Tesla touchscreen only to their weird physical/virtual button hybrid systems.
  - peapicker 7y ago
    I can't disagree, most of the other touchscreen UIs in cars are worse. I fear I'm going to start sounding like the cranky old man when it's time for the next car after this one whining for a more tactile UI. :)
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - usaphp 7y ago
    > while the BMW uses a dial along with the touchscreen I have a Bmw with both, and I never use a touchscreen, using the idrive joystick is so much easier than reaching for a touchscreen
    - peapicker 7y ago
Tepix 7y ago
I don't drive a lot and aim to drive even less, I guess i shouldn't take a test drive...
tmh88j 7y ago
>I'd never in my life have thought I'd have bought a car > $50,000 and here I am with a AWD LR Model 3 and loving it! My other car was a 2011 Ford Fiesta. If you don't want to purchase one, don't do a test drive What about the Model 3 swayed your opinion enough to spend 2-3x more on a car than you previously had? I love that Tesla has finally brought "cool" electric cars to the market that don't look like they were purposefully designed be a science experiment (Honda Insight, older Priuses, etc...). However, as a long time auto enthusiast I can't help but wonder how many people who share your sentiment of "once you drive it you'll need it" would end up in a different car if they had also test driven other similarly priced performance cars like the M3/M4, RS3 and C63 AMG. I find it interesting that a tech company has been able to convince people to spend significantly more on a car than they ever would have, and the only two reasons I can come up with are the convenience of charging at home and the big screen. I'm not suggesting Tesla makes sub-par products by any means, only that exciting cars packed with features have been around forever. Many driver's assists like auto pilot and self-parking that people rave about have been offered by Mercedes and BMW for longer than Tesla has even existed, so I don't think that's it, but of course people could be unaware of those features. I'm excited to see what other boundaries Tesla pushes, because every other manufacturer has no option but to play keep up now.
- SEJeff 7y ago
  I answered this a bit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21181145 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21181145 and: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21181755 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21181755 TL;DNR: I buy in to self driving vehicles being good for humanity as well as electric vehicles being good for humanity. I purchased a Tesla to help make the future Elon opines about into closer to reality (even after the Elon distortion field is removed).
  - tmh88j 7y ago
    Interesting. From what I've read is it fair to say that you're not primarily concerned with the driving experience, but rather the convenience a Tesla provides and supporting them as a brand? I hope I'm not at all coming off as judgemental, I'm genuinely curious about what draws people to the cars they own. I'm a huge auto enthusiast and I too couldn't care less about luxury. The driving experience is about 90% of my consideration when I'm shopping for cars, so I find it interesting to see what factors other people consider. I ended up with a GT-R, which I'm sure a lot of people think I'm absolutely insane for being willing to shell out that much for a Nissan. I can't wait to see the Tesla Roadster in action, it's really going to shake up the world of drag racing.

by SEJeff 7y ago

bryanthankins 7y ago

Exactly the same for me. Had never spent more than 22K on a car in 20 years of driving. The model 3 changed all that and just feels like the car of the future. So much fun to drive. Like the first time using an iphone.

FPGAhacker 7y ago
I totally get this. I have a new phone after about five years and it is such a pleasure to use. Really enjoying it. Felt like an outrageous amount of money, but it truly is pleasant using it. If I had the money, and needed a car, I would give it serious consideration. Alas, I only buy used cars and The most I’ve spent is 17k. I’ll pony up more cash next time just to be sure I have some of the driver aids/safety features that might help me from rear ending someone because I glanced at the gas gauge in stop and go traffic.
- x3haloed 7y ago
  Just wait a couple of years for the used market to really open up, and pick up a standard range +

helpPeople 7y ago

I'm shocked you love a 50,000 dollar car when your last car was 8 years old budget car. Reminds me of comparing this year's iPhone to a no name Android. Op, did you realize you did this?

awill 7y ago
Exactly. As an Android user, I always used to laugh when (10 years ago) people would upgrade to an iPhone from a flip phone and say "the best phone I've ever had". Ridiculous :).
SEJeff 7y ago
Well of course the Model 3 is amazing, but my point was I would NOT spend this kind of money on a BMW or a Mercedes or any other existing luxury car. I am not a luxury car owner and never planned on being. I saw the idea of what Tesla is going for and want to see the future Musk and his cult of personality are trying to build. Self driving cars sound cool, but they lead to all kinds of interesting societal changes. My cousin was killed by a drunk driver. Self driving cars means less drunk drivers. My father had a seizure while he was driving and almost died in the resultant wreck. I'm not saying he (Musk) will necessarily meet all of his goals, but if he hits even 1/2 of them, it is the future I want to live in. I purchased the Tesla to help him make it so. I jokingly have been comparing the Model 3 to an A10 Warthog. The A10 Warthog (famously) is literally a plane built around a really big gun. The gun is the primary focus of A10 designers and it shows. When it comes to a Tesla, it is a computer with amazing batteries that happens to live in a car. It isn't like any existing car on the market, because primarily, it is a computer. This is really exciting, and very different.
- hartator 7y ago
  > it is a computer with amazing batteries that happens to live in a car hum pretty sure the value of your Tesla will drop to zero if it can’t drive anymore. What are you talking about?
  - ncallaway 7y ago
    I don't see how this comment ties to the parent comment in any way? What part of their comment are you referring to?
    - hartator 7y ago

peapicker 7y ago

To be honest, the Tesla interior leaves me cold. It feels corporate, like being in a nice chair driving a 17" laptop to work. Feels soulless to me. I really hate touch screens and have opted personally for a similarly expensive car with lots of switches and dials that I don't have to look at to make sure I'm on the right one. (Mini Clubman, with basically every option, literally months before they added a touchscreen entertainment system)

jdhn 7y ago
While I agree with you about the interior looking rather spartan and the superiority of physical dials and knobs, one nice thing about the Tesla touchscreen is that things are laid out in a somewhat intuitive feature. I had the experience of sitting in a few other cars at the pricepoint (BMW 3 series, and a Mercedes C class), and the infotainment systems in there were way behind. Mercedes uses a touchpad along with a touchscreen for navigation, while the BMW uses a dial along with the touchscreen. I much preferred the Tesla touchscreen only to their weird physical/virtual button hybrid systems.
- peapicker 7y ago
  I can't disagree, most of the other touchscreen UIs in cars are worse. I fear I'm going to start sounding like the cranky old man when it's time for the next car after this one whining for a more tactile UI. :)
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- usaphp 7y ago
  > while the BMW uses a dial along with the touchscreen I have a Bmw with both, and I never use a touchscreen, using the idrive joystick is so much easier than reaching for a touchscreen
  - peapicker 7y ago

Tepix 7y ago

I don't drive a lot and aim to drive even less, I guess i shouldn't take a test drive...

tmh88j 7y ago

>I'd never in my life have thought I'd have bought a car > $50,000 and here I am with a AWD LR Model 3 and loving it! My other car was a 2011 Ford Fiesta. If you don't want to purchase one, don't do a test drive What about the Model 3 swayed your opinion enough to spend 2-3x more on a car than you previously had? I love that Tesla has finally brought "cool" electric cars to the market that don't look like they were purposefully designed be a science experiment (Honda Insight, older Priuses, etc...). However, as a long time auto enthusiast I can't help but wonder how many people who share your sentiment of "once you drive it you'll need it" would end up in a different car if they had also test driven other similarly priced performance cars like the M3/M4, RS3 and C63 AMG. I find it interesting that a tech company has been able to convince people to spend significantly more on a car than they ever would have, and the only two reasons I can come up with are the convenience of charging at home and the big screen. I'm not suggesting Tesla makes sub-par products by any means, only that exciting cars packed with features have been around forever. Many driver's assists like auto pilot and self-parking that people rave about have been offered by Mercedes and BMW for longer than Tesla has even existed, so I don't think that's it, but of course people could be unaware of those features. I'm excited to see what other boundaries Tesla pushes, because every other manufacturer has no option but to play keep up now.

SEJeff 7y ago
I answered this a bit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21181145 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21181145 and: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21181755 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21181755 TL;DNR: I buy in to self driving vehicles being good for humanity as well as electric vehicles being good for humanity. I purchased a Tesla to help make the future Elon opines about into closer to reality (even after the Elon distortion field is removed).
- tmh88j 7y ago
  Interesting. From what I've read is it fair to say that you're not primarily concerned with the driving experience, but rather the convenience a Tesla provides and supporting them as a brand? I hope I'm not at all coming off as judgemental, I'm genuinely curious about what draws people to the cars they own. I'm a huge auto enthusiast and I too couldn't care less about luxury. The driving experience is about 90% of my consideration when I'm shopping for cars, so I find it interesting to see what factors other people consider. I ended up with a GT-R, which I'm sure a lot of people think I'm absolutely insane for being willing to shell out that much for a Nissan. I can't wait to see the Tesla Roadster in action, it's really going to shake up the world of drag racing.