This month makes 6 months since I went with my husband to pick up our Tesla Model Y we named Baymax. 6 months of ownership and I’m still in love. Husband doesn’t drive much but he has little complaints so far. We love it. It’s been lovely. But of course with it’s small faults.
Issues
I love wagon strollers. It fits both the kids. I can take them anywhere and it’s fun. The kids love it. 4 year old with diagnosed autism and a 1 year old. Both full of energy. I love the wagon strollers. But we ran into space issues. It’s difficult or damn near impossible to get our babytrends stroller wagon inside. I’ve debated the wonder wagon at this point. But not sure dimension wise if it would result in the same issue even though it folds. To fit the wagon we need to push the middle seats very forward. Car seats and all. It makes the front seats uncomfortable and have to find a comfortable position to drive beforehand. Takes a lot of planning. Unfortunately might have to give up the wagon for a smaller stroller. But we shall see if we get the wonder wagon (review on that when it happens. Yay)
Savings
As a New Yorker or living in the city. I don’t drive enough everyday. I work a hybrid schedule and run errands: groceries, appointments, pick ups, drop offs, occasional travels to nearby states. In this moment as I write this blog, I’ve put on 4,629 miles on the car. Monthly that would be about 711 miles. But in days to be more exact: 26.45 miles per day. We owned a CRV previously which on average gave us 27 mpg. Held about 14 gallons of gas. Average 370 miles we would get out of the Honda. I usually filled when it had 100 miles left. Every 2 weeks and spent 27 dollars at the time. Now with raised gas prices: 42 dollars. According to the Tesla App with their new updated I’ve supposedly saved about 98 dollars.
Personally it’s more like 85 dollars but with the occasional road trip I can tell why the numbers would be off. Where I go I can plug into a family members home and let it trickle charge for the weekend. Saving more without supercharge. As you can see I tend to charge more at home which is slow but good for the weekend and the amount of driving I do. I would say the savings goes up since we use ConEds Smart Charge Rewards program.
If you don’t know what that is. It’s a program from ConEd for your EV where you can earn a bit of money back (goes to your PayPal account). It’s like cash back for EV. Use it towards your light bill and the amounts vary each month based on your usage. Average I get back somewhere between 10-17 dollars a month from home charging. The savings go up to 95-102 dollars or use that towards a super charging visit since it tends to be around 15-17 dollars for a 30-85 percent charge here. Whatever works for you. I love the program although it does need my Tesla account to access information. Not sure how I feel about that but I hope the savings are worth it. Here’s my referral link where you’ll get about 25,000 points which converts to 25 dollars your first month of trying the program!
Key Fob: Worth it?
I know the car uses our phones but sometimes it’s in my pocket or jacket. My hands are full. Or maybe I closed the app by accident. The keycard is confusing for the valet people sometimes. I figured why not the key fob. It’s pretty nice to have as back up in case anyone needs to drive the car for emergencies, opens the trunk and frunk, plus I can lock the car right away instead of waiting for a confirmation lock as I walk away. Worth it? Maybe not for everyone. But I have noticed the car unlocks much faster and more reliably than with phone only. Yes I’ve had moments I’m standing in front of Baymax. Trying to unlock and sentry mode is on. It’s like “hello I see you. Open up already” as soon take my phone out. It unlocks. Granted it doesn’t happen often but when it does. I’m stuck fumbling for my phone when I usually have my keys in hand. To me personally, worth it. But I know some people wouldn’t think so.
White Seats: Yay or Nay?
6 months is still early to tell for owning white seats. I personally LOVE the white seats. It appeals to me and of course I added the eye stickers so it looks like I’m sitting on a Baymax. It’s silly and fun. Kids love it. People see it and find it hilarious. Cleaning it has been easy as well. I use water wipes that I buy for my kids and wipe it down. Dry it off with bounty and call it a day. I don’t really eat or drink in the car so no stains that I’m worried about. I hardly wear jeans and if I do. They’re not new jeans, most of my jeans have been washed several times. Overall, white seats have been amazing for us even with both kids. They mainly eat puff snacks and things I can easily vacuum on cleaning day. Crumbs and dirt show more but a good vacuum easily makes everything disappear.
Charging in the City
Living in NYC, charging is well difficult and get out of the way. I say this because super chargers in the city tend to be in parking places where you have to pay on top of the charging costs. I personally find that a bit silly considering but understand it’s a business aspect. I mainly go to Yonkers in Ridgehill for supercharging if necessary. Free parking (for now) and it’s right to your left when you enter. Lots of teslas and it’s close to my office job. Mainly I charge at home where we rent. I’ve been fortunate that where I rent they’re understanding of my charging situation and accommodate by letting me charge mainly on the weekends over night. I’m thankful and I know it can be difficult otherwise for others with apartments. No driveways. No Level 2 charging. I’m curious as to how other New Yorkers with Tesla charge. If you’re one, please comment below!
Conclusion
It’s a wonderful car overall. Might be bumpy for some since I did notice that switching from my Honda. Hopefully some kind of upgrade will help with that but the kids love it. Husband loves it. All of us love it. Safety and investing in the future was our primary goal. I truly believe this will be our car for long term. There hasn’t been any maintenance costs as of yet. Mostly buying things such as pet liner, weather mats, seat covers for the car seats, armrest cover, little things for aesthetics, and such. I do also try to clean the car by hand myself. But might once a year get it detailed for maintenance. Let you all know how that goes.
Sirua's Serenity 