good read. i appreciate hearing your experience with the hybrid and the EV.
Oh no. Encouragement. Prepare for a wall of text.
I'm just at the point where keeping up with maintenance on multiple cars is not my favorite anymore. The idea of having a daily EV then the mustang for fun and messing around would be my idea of almost perfect at this point in my life. I'd really like a model 3 but it will be a bit before i could afford one without spending money i just dont need to now.
Yep. That’s how we fell down that slippery slope into the sinful lust of EVs. My mustang had been paid off since 1998, but as dependable as a car of that vintage can be, we really needed a truly dependable family sedan. My husband had always been more “adult” in his choices of vehicles. Which worked out, because he also preferred more of a sleeper look, which is the complete opposite of my mustang. Before I was ever even pregnant, he had a 2001 BMW 540i. Great car, but started having troubles during 2013, so we traded it in on a 2009 Jaguar XF. Eventually, it too started having troubles. That’s when we finally decided that we needed something either brand new, or new enough to not give us any trouble. We started looking into plugin hybrids because we were already on solar, had the 220 hookup, and well that’s where the future was headed. Teslas were still too pricey, and never having such a car, we had a lot of range anxiety. Technology was still new though, so we needed something we could fully trust ourselves with, and didn’t look butt ugly.
We kept trying and trying to find a Ford Fusion hybrid, but every single dealership would lie about having one just to get us there. We’re talking hour long drives just to see regular fusions! I think after our 4th dealership we finally got to test drive one. No charge, because why the hell would anyone want to see that feature? The thing was an absolute dog! It was terrible! Even if it were a third as fast as my mustang, it had even less trunk space! (And mines the convertible!) because that’s where the battery was, there was no real room for groceries, forget any thought you might’ve had on carrying a stroller. And what’s worse, even if it were fully charged, it would’ve only had a range of 20 miles!!!
We pretty much had given up on the whole plugin hybrid idea after that experience, until we remembered on the way home... ...Chevy has a Volt. They not only had a Volt, they had a second generation! It looked nicer, and had a much longer range. The test drive, which they were fully prepared for, despite being walk ins, was insane!!! I couldn’t believe the difference! The car was AMAZING! Not only that... ...but we were basically being PAID to drive it!
So, our 2009 Jaguar XF was paid off, and was working without issues temporarily, when they inspected it as a trade in. Because this was a lease, with an agreed upon 10,000 miles a year, with our down payment from the trade, the lower insurance rate because a Chevy compact is cheaper than a Jaguar supercharged XF, AND the amount we saved in fuel... ...we were basically being paid $108 every month to drive a brand new car rather than keep our old paid off one. And that car was loaded with every option you could think of. 2016, felt like I had traveled into the future!
But wait, it gets better... ...the Volt was a lease, so we were pretty much stuck with getting rid of it after 3 years. Keep in mind, this was before Chevy killed off production of such a wonderful vehicle. So, if we liked it, the theory was that we could always get a newer one. Being paid $108 a month to always have a dependable brand new car? Why the hell not? Well, my husband started looking into pricing for a new Model 3. So we go down to the gallery (you can’t legally buy a Tesla in this state) and check them out.
HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!!! How?!? How could a 2yo Chevy compact be nicer than a Tesla?!? The Model 3 felt cheap. Unlike the Model S, there was no driver display, everything was 100% in the center. It didn’t have any more leg room than the Volt (a major factor in upgrading). But probably the worst of all... ...the trunk space. Much smaller than the Volt, AND an additional option to have the rear seats fold down, which the demo did not have. ...not to mention that they’re fugly as hell in the front. I get that Tesla was trying to make an affordable EV for the masses, but this wasn’t it. This was too pricey for the masses. The Volt was the car the people needed, but GM wasn’t going to market it. Why would they do that?That would be silly.
The Model S though... ...had everything we wanted, and more, but clearly, way out of our price range. But my husband started looking at preowns through the Tesla website, and my only requirement was something prefacelift (2016 and older) because even with just a mustache instead of a nose cone they weren’t as attractive. So for once, I didn’t pick the most expensive product!
But wait! I’m not done talking about how awesome the Volt was! So, the way Tesla does trade ins for states they can’t sell in, they have you take the car to Car Max, have them appraise the car for them, and honor whatever Car Max claims it is. Well, two years into a 3 year lease, we had so few miles on it that they not only accepted our trade, but PAID US MONEY for it!!! Who makes money on a lease?!? The car was worth more than what our lease was! So, for the price of a new Model 3, we got a 3yo Model S, in one of the rarest colors (meaning it was something other than the 5 they offer).
Poor car came from a broken home and was now slumming it next to a 94 Ford. The original dealership sticker claimed the car was $85k (is was missing several options that we weren’t really interested in). The data wasn’t reset, so we discovered it’s programmed home was inside a $4.5 million 10,000sqft mansion. Listed for $5.8mil when the car was traded in, but I guess it finally sold. Its navigation history involved a lot of lawyer offices and hotels. And the cars own Slacker radio account, had a station created for the keywords “rich and sad!”
