Only people who will likely be eligible for the diminishing Federal Tax Credits are existing Tesla owners. Pre-orders for the Model3 were produced and prioritized to: 1st) existing owners of any Tesla (S, X, roadster), 2nd) new to Tesla (more expensive the purchase, the sooner you got yours made), 3rd/last) Economy Class: new to Tesla (no/minimal options ordered) Yes, there were some employees who received a Model3, but the numbers were small and limited. Priority was always given to paying customers. Yes, some people have canceled and received their deposit refund for the Model 3. But lets look back in history to April 2016. No auto maker (Germany, Japan, USA, UK) took Tesla seriously. They thought it was a fad/toy for the wealthy. Now comes the poor man's Tesla (starting from) $35,000. Refundable deposits of $1k start being taken in April 1, 2016. 276,000 PRE-ORDERS in two days, at $1K deposit per pre-order = $276,000,000 in deposit money received. These pre-orders had a total valuation of $10,000,000,000 (TEN BILLION). This level of excitement (276,000 deposits) and dollar value ($276MM deposits/$10BN sales), showed the legacy automakers what the future is to be: BEV (Battery Electric Vehicles). Tesla/BEV, NOT A JOKE/FAD. Here to stay. April 3, 2016, the legacy automakers were no longer laughing at Tesla (in public or private). Post Tesla Model 3 pre-orders, ALL Auto makers are introducing BEVs. Yes, it does help that Europe and China are mandating a large percentage of vehicles be BEV or ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle). Gotta credit Musk for being a major disruptor to the legacy dinosaur auto makes, to embrace the future.
Nothing wrong with BMW's. But except for their electric options, aren't most BMW's owned for nearly anti-Prius/Hybrid reasons? I see Prius as being efficiency and especially Gen 1,2,and 3 being function over form. Most people own their BMW's, I think for "Fun" and how they look. But nothing wrong with that, I just have them generally filed under Anti-Prius.
Agreed. That's not their wheelhouse. Consumer Reports is best for reliability. The only one really. SM-N950U1 ?
Yes, and the i3 as well but not everyone would consiider the i3 a luxury car as the i8 certainly is. Hopefully Toyota has learned their lesson and will return to form over function for the gen 5, due in about 3 years.
I think @bwilson4web would be amazed that he is considered Anti-Prius by anybody here. Or perhaps he would just consider the source & ignore that.
Totally, I mean tax breaks are all that matters. I mean who cares about driving the safest vehicle in a crash ever mass produced, who cares about beating the most expensive 600hp cars at the drag strip, who cares about free charging and never having to ever buy gasoline ever again? All that stuff doesn't matter, it's just the tax break... That's the only reason BMW is bleeding out to an untimely demise when it comes to market share.
Primarily, the way you and others represent BMW as though it's some great gift to humanity even though it has reputation for outrageously over-price repairs and parts and a warranty policy that barely lifts a finger to ensure the huge amount of money spent on an out-dated car is money well spent that the manufacturer stands behind. People by BMW as a status symbol, not because it's a good car and there's less and less people every day who are that foolish.
Heard a seemingly uptight minister from South Africa speak once, and somewhere in his teaching he mentioned owning a new BMW. Described it as "heaven on earth". I'll never forget that, makes me want to drive one. But that's well above my paygrade for now. Someday. SM-N950U1 ?
First thing, I never represented my BMW as anything. I asked what was wrong with a BMW license plate holder on a Prius and mentioned I just replaced the window regulators on mine. You attacked me. Second, parts can be expensive but a wise person knows where to get parts, if I could not do my own work I would not own one. Third, the car is actually fun to drive. A Prius is basically average in every reguard other than gas mileage. Nothing more than advanced Corrola. The car that most people suggest to people that can’t work on their own Prius.
My experience with BMWs was positive but based on racing against them and buying a '70 2002a. I was constantly improving it (Koni shocks, reclining seats, etc) and expected to keep it forever. Even (gasp) took the anti-pollution stuff off. And then my new wife talked to a guy in the shop who said my car was in there for a lot of time. Well duh. So the gas crunch came and a guy who drove over to see it in a big assed Cadillac offered me a bundle and I could take the bus to work. End of that car. We kept her rust bucket Falcon. My impression of them now is not as positive. Lost their edge. Maintenance expense is always cited. Too many are leased and then sold down market to people who don't maintain them. Typical of a up market car maker who tries to be all things to everyone and loses their focus (see Porsche, Mercedes, Cadillac). Too many models. Specialization can lead to excellence. Spreading yourself too thin ... Will the same thing happen to Tesla? Roadster, S, X, 3 (an in how many variations) with Roadster 2 and Y coming. Semi, truck, and gosh what else in design.
Update: I checked the battery's life expectancy with Dr Prius app. It's giving my a diagnosis of 44% life expectancy. That's doesn't sound good to me. I wonder how accurate the app is. Any comments? Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
It's not too accurate... But at least you've got a basic sense of the need for preventative maintenance to be done sooner rather than later... Learn more about next steps here: FAQ
