Been thinking of making this post for awhile now, just never got around to it until today.
Tesla did not let me choose a specific car on their lot, they had demo models for everyone who came in to try out. It was a long range model Y, but at the time I wasn’t too picky.
My experience started a few months ago when I decided to test drive a Model Y at the dealership in Easton(Columbus Ohio). They let me loose after a quick tutorial on how EVs worked in general and then how a Tesla worked. There was a preset route already in the demo model’s navigation and it followed I-270 to the airport 5 miles away. This was a good route, according to the saleswoman, as it gave how it handled on the freeway as well as local traffic. They let me go after I was done, no pressure to buy anything that day, or even if I wanted to start a reservation for a specific trim.
A month or so later the saleslady texts me asking if I was still interested, but I was still contemplating on whether or not to wait for my Silverado EV reservation to come through. I asked if there was a performance model Y available and what the out the door price would be if I bought one in blue or red. She was able to get a specific price with my home zip code(not Columbus’).
Still I was on the fence about buying/ordering one, but was never pressured into making a choice. So I still debated with myself for a couple more weeks until the lady texted me again saying I could come test drive a demo model S, as that was close to the performance of the MYP, just about twice the price, but she acted like it didn’t bother the dealership one bit that I would be driving something I wouldn’t be able to afford- the base model S is $75k and the MYP was atleast $20k less even after taxes.
I finally made my decision to buy the MYP when I saw that they had one- in silver JT!- on their lot. Their website showed what the OTD price was once I put in my “delivery zipcode”. The start of the process had me download the Tesla app after I put my reservation payment down, and that is where most of the dealings took place.
The app asked if I was financing myself, or if Tesla would do it, asked if I had a trade in, then asked for pictures of the odometer and of the car itself for verification, a couple days later I received an offer that I thought was fair for my Bolt($17,800) and I accepted it without waiting to see if another offer would be more(or less). I finalized the paperwork through the app and once it was all processed, I picked a delivery time and date to pick the car up.
I arrived a little early for my appointment and had to wait for a bit before a salesman came to help me. All I had to do was officially sign some paperwork, hand over my title and keys to the Bolt, then sit in my new car and fiddle with it while the salesman finished everything up. He was going to show me how to pair my phone to the car, but I had figured it out and set it up as my key by the time he got to me. He told me of a few other features and thanked me for my business as we shook hands before I left.
It took a few days to complete everything because I had to wait for an offer to come if for my Bolt. I arrived about an hour early for my appointment, but they didn’t care, and even all the waiting I did for a salesman to help me out, finish the paperwork and send me on my way, I was on the way home by the time my appointment was originally set.
I was not pressured at any time during the whole experience, including the texting back and forth with my questions. They didn’t ask if I wanted paint detailing/protection, GAP insurance, extended warranties, or anything. No endless back and forth between salesman and manager haggling over the trade in value or final cost of the car, just a simple business transaction. I get more hassle buying things from Lowes or Best Buy than I did from Tesla. It felt more like I was borrowing a friends car rather than buying one.
I wasn’t too sure if I’d like the silver or not, but the trim, rims and door handles all being black really set things off and the red calipers just “pop”. Hopefully the pictures uploaded correctly for everyone.
To say the thing is fast is putting it mildly. My Bolt was quick, but really putting the pedal down makes me feel like I’m in a Fast and Furious movie and just hit the “nawz” button.
My biggest gripe is the ll glass roof and no sunshade to go over it- it’s made the last bit of summer weather suck inside the car. Might not be so bad in the winter time, though, should help keep the interior a little warmer. I have since bought a sunshade for the inside, I just need to install it. It’s also easy to forget because I have so much headroom in the car I don’t really notice it until I look up.
It’s taken some getting used to to making sure I have the app open before I head out to get into it and closing the app after I make sure the doors are locked after I get out of it.
The available cargo space is just mind boggling. You have the frunk space up front, the normal cargo area of an SUV in the back plus 2 deep pockets on either side that can fit a gallon jug of milk in each of them easily, then you have even MORE space under the normal cargo floor, and that’s not counting the extra space folding the back seats flat give you. I just wish the frunk lid was power assisted like the tailgate is.
All in all, every other dealership could learn a thing or three from Tesla’s business model to make it a pleasant experience for everyone involved and not like a trip to the dentist when buying a vehicle. In and out in an hour, less if I wouldn’t have had to wait for someone to come help me initially- who wouldn’t love that?
