It’s now 2021. Our 2017 Mercedes E300 has given us more-or-less good service over the past four years. But, as experience had taught me with Mercedes, things like preventive maintenance, service, and repairs can get pretty expensive once the warranty and pre-paid service agreements expire. I asked the dealer about buying an extended warranty, and the salesperson said they would only sell me one after the warranty had expired. But once it did expire, another person at the same dealership said I had to renew BEFORE the old agreement expired. No amount of foot stomping and “Let me speak to your manager!” would move them.
A month after the warranty expired the battery started losing charge, leaving me stuck with a car unable to start a couple of times. The dealer said a new one would be $400. That was the tipping point for us, so Rick and I started looking around for a new vehicle.
We’d both been interested in a Tesla. Rick liked the Model 3 and the Model Y. I preferred the Model S, but since this was going to be Rick’s car I let him make the decision. We got an excellent trade offer on the 2017 E300 from Tesla, so while the battery was being replaced on the Mercedes we walked across the street to the Tesla dealership. A couple of test drives ensued, one each of a 3 and a Y. Our preference was for an all-wheel-drive model Y, but the lead time to have one built was several months into the future. As things turned out they had a demo Model 3 with two-wheel-drive, a version that was being phased out. The sticker price was significantly cheaper that a new Model Y. In addition, Washington State had a program that forgave the sales tax on new electric vehicles that cost less that $45,000. The “cheap” Model Y came in just under that, so we signed the deal. When we came back the next day to pick up the car we drove the old Mercedes over from the dealer and turned it in.
The Seth-Field’s have a thing for grey cars.
So Timmie Tesla became Rick’s car. It was grey with a decent sound system, and did NOT have the much-ballyhooed self-driving capability (which neither of us wanted). The acceleration is incredible: Zero to over the speed limit in no time at all. The 200 mile range was adequate for our needs, since we never drive very far. At first we “trickle charged” it using an ordinary household plug in the garage, but that took forever. So we plunked down some coin and had a Tesla fast charger put in the garage. Fortunately we had enough oomph in the electrical panel from our recent home remodel, so we simply had the conduit added to put the charger in the right spot to charge Rick’s car.
Apparently Tesla thinks I’ve been run over by a semi.
On thing about Teslas (Teslae?) is that all interactions with the vehicle take place via a touch screen in the center of the dash. One uses levers on the steering column for turn signals and changing gears, but everything else is managed by touching the screen. I’m a techno geek (I have four computers at home devoted to various tasks), but Rick is baffled by anything more complicated than a flip phone or MS-DOS. It took him awhile to figure out how to do mundane things like turn on the windshield wipers or change the interior temperature. More than once he called me from somewhere asking me how to do something. But after awhile he got used to things, especially when I carefully configured his user profile to have just the right settings for mirrors, seat angle, etc.
“I’m a joy to drive, just don’t take me out in snow”
The only quibble we had with the Model 3 was that it wasn’t very good in snow. That New Years we went to visit our friends on Camano Island north of Seattle for the holiday. It had just snowed, but our host said “Don’t worry, the roads are OK!” By the time we got up there the roads were covered in packed snow, and the built-in traction control didn’t do us much good. We parked the car on the road instead of going down our host’s driveway. When we left to go home, we could barely get the car moving, even with “slip start” turned on. The trip home was a nightmare – the car slipped and slid like a drunken sailor.
After a year of driving his Tesla I began to reconsider my decision to buy the C300 convertible. It was fun to drive, but I really didn’t put the top down all that often. But it was getting on four years old, and the deadline of expiring warranty and prepaid service was beginning to weigh on my mind. I think the final decision came in the winter of 2021 when we were driving to a COVID testing site after we had received notification that we had been near someone who had tested positive. (The tests came back negative, thank goodness) We were in the C300, and the site was in an upper elevation of Seattle. It had just snowed, and we got stuck going up a hill. As I tried to gently back down the tires lost traction and we fishtailed down the hill and nearly went off into a ravine.
So: I decided it was time to look at a car with four-wheel or all-wheel drive. I really, REALLY wanted a Tesla Model S, but that was far too much money for us. So when the dealer came into possession of a nice 2018 Model 3 with dual motors I went to take a look at it. It was my birthday, and the car suited me just fine, so I said goodbye to my carefree top down days in favor of a more practical Model 3 sedan. I named him “Torrance”. He was white, which wasn’t my favorite color. My white SLC convertible was forever dirty because I had to keep it outside – we didn’t have room for two cars because of all the suburban stuff we stored there: Lawn and garden equipment, large packs of toilet paper and sodas from Costco, etc. But: just before we bought the second Tesla we’d built a shed for the lawn and garden stuff and emptied the garage. We now had room for two cars.
Barely.
Rick parks his car on the left to be near the charger. I had to park mine on the right and drag the charging cable over his car. The driveway curves, and it’s awkward to back out of the right-hand spot. Wouldn’t you know it, the second day I had the Model 3 I misjudged things and put a dent in the right front wheel well when it hit the track of the garage door backing out.
It took six months and $3,000 to get this fixed.
Damn.
When I contacted various places about repairs, the earliest I could get was AUGUST. This was just as the pandemic was easing, and supply chain issues were wreaking havoc with things like parts and stuff for cars. Eventually I got the repair done, and my insurance covered part of the cost.
Unless we buy a bigger garage, no room for my dream car.
So what has been our experience with two electric vehicles? So far, so good. We don’t drive very far. The longest trip we take is to holiday with our friends on Camano Island, a 100 mile round trip that is well within range. The only time we had “range anxiety” is when we had to take our schnauzer Nash Metropolitan to Bellingham WA (90 miles away) for a specialist visit. We got home with 33 miles left. In two years we’ve had no major problems with either car, save for a couple of times when the Model Y failed a software update. (Telsa fixed the issue remotely). We had a couple of minor issues that were handled under warranty with a service visit at our home, which is much more convenient than taking a car in for repair. One time coming back from Camano Rick got a chip in Timmie’s windshield from a stone hurled by a semi. The Tesla service guy brought out a replacement windshield to our home, installed it, took away the old windshield, and recalibrated the cameras. We keep our cars charged, and our electric bill hasn’t been that bad – it’s certainly much less than if we’d paid for gas. According to the Tesla App, in the past year we’ve spent $163 for electricity to charge both cars and saved $650 on gas we didn’t use. So, for now, our COAL series ends with us seeing an all-electric future.
Will there be more cars in my lifetime? I don’t know. We need to have both cars in the garage for charging, so that kind of rules out buying a collector car. I’d love to have a 1962 Imperial or a 1958 Continental or even my first car: a 1965 Buick Sportwagon. But Rick says “Nuh-uh!” when I broach the subject. So for now I’m content to read about all the classic cars I love here on Curbside Classic.
Previous chapters:
- Buicks Aplenty; a Fiat, and a Pontiac • The Early Years.
- 1958 Plymouth Custom Suburban • Dad’s Biggest regret.
- 1965 Buick Sportwagon • My first car.
- 1967 Datsun 1600 • The first car that was legally mine.
- A Pair of Pintos.
- 1983 & ’87 Toyota Celica • What’s the Plural of ‘Celica’?
- 1987 Ford Taurus MT-5 • Tragedy, An Unexpected New Car, And Two Midlife Crises
- 1987 Jeep Cherokee and ’96 Grand Cherokee • Entering the SUV Era
- The BMW Era
- The Mercedes Years
Thanks Steve for a well written owned car history all these chapters.
If you are like me, then you would have enjoyed writing them. Remembering stories, finding pictures and talking to others about them which often would bring up more stories.
Find or create garage space for a classic car – it is nice to have (and experience) an antithesis of your modern electric cars.
Your all-electric/zero gasoline lifestyle is fascinating to me. I have occasionally wondered how I might live under such a plan. As a midwesterner, a 300 mile one-way trip is not common for me, but also not outside of expected. I think one gas and one electric might be a better idea for me, but that is me and not you.
I would not have been happy about the way that Mercedes dealer handled the extended warranty issue either.
Thanks for this engaging COAL series. I have enjoyed these past several Wednesday mornings.
J P: Electric cars are not for everyone. For example, we never would consider a cross-country trip in an EV: Running out of battery in the middle of nowhere is not my idea of fun. Plus EV choice has become politicized. Battered from the right for being woke, battered from the left if you drive an ICE. EVs fit our lifestyle. But they’re not for everyone.
As for gizmos, everything in our home is connected via computers and smart gadgets. I can turn up the heat, turn on the AC, open the garage door, turn lights on and off, and play music or TV in the media room with voice commands. Tesla being Tesla it doesn’t integrate with Alexa or Siri very well.
Driving literally across the country via I-90 or I-80 in either of your cars you should have zero issues as long as you let the Nav system do the work for you. We did it a couple of summers ago from CO to MN, zero issues (and northern IA / NE isn’t a hotbed of EV).
If you decide to go 300 miles out of your way to the northern tip of Montana you may have a larger issue but that’s not something I sense you’d be doing 🙂
Try it for a shorter trip (such as down to Portland or Eugene for a weekend) and see how it handles it, you’d be fine. You don’t seem to be afraid of tech, it could not be simpler if you let it help you.
“Plus EV choice has become politicized.”
Earlier today, as I read this excellent installment of your COAL series, I started to post a similar statement, and express my regret that this is the case, at least in the U.S.
It’s especially bad in the rural to semi-rural South, where my partner and I live. He owns a business that’s five miles away and my job is 100% remote, so I work from home with a seven mile trip to my employer’s campus about once or twice a month. We also breed, raise and train horses, and occasionally raise a small herd of cows. We also like camping in our fifth wheel camper.
Bottom line is that we actually need one heavy duty truck (preferably a diesel) but there’s really no good reason for at least one of our daily drivers to be an EV. Yet – despite relatively cheap electricity in the area and an abundance of generating capacity – some people around us act like we’re downright crazy for considering such an EV, or that it’s a statement about our political leanings or world view. I suppose the same thing happened to some degree when people moved from hay powered transportation to gasoline, or used an electric motor to start their engines instead of a crank, or God forbid, let the transmission do the shifting for them. But the vitriol today is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
The fact is, I’m a cheap b@$+@rd. And if the savings on fuel and maintenance are there when I replace my vehicle, count me in.
What’s that old country song…. “Save a horse, ride a cowboy?” 🙂
Living in the rural south must be a challenge. As they say “Not that there’s anything wrong with that” about rural Southern living, but I’m in librull woo-woo Seattle. I’d say that in my eight square block suburban community there must be at least a dozen Teslae. Plus a few jacked up honking monster trucks used to haul high-speed ski boats around, driven by guys who are careful to ask your preferred pronoun when they meet you for the first time.
” I’m content to read about all the classic cars I love here on Curbside Classic… “.
It is easier and much more enjoyable to read all about Aaron65’s trials and tribulations on CC maintaining his classic fleet than to actually do such work. Besides, I would not know where to start or how to to finish any of the tasks he has documented in his many posts.
Let’s call it Classic Car enjoyment by Proxy.
The Tesla charging network and “where to find and what slots are open” software is impressive, and it is comforting that you have received good service from the company. The fact that some super chargers are allowing non-Tesla EVs to charge there is an interesting development, especially as some non-Teslas may have their e-ports in different locations on the vehicle which can cause odd super charger parking conflicts.
The right front dent on the white car is a classic case of how cars steer backwards the way boats steer forwards. To turn to starboard (right), the stern of a boat swings to port (left), and vice versa. The opposite swinging stern then positions the hull to proceed in the desired direction.
Of course, if you have a bow thruster, it gets a little more complicated.
Buick sport wagons are/were very nice. My sister had a 1967 dark green model and I used it to move my few and meager possessions when I had my first divorce. It was much more refined than my same year OHC Tempest.
Ha ha…I’m happy to be the guy in the garage. It combines two of my loves, working on cars and writing about them.
To anyone following along, I’ve got almost 600 miles on the Riviera this year already; I’ve been driving it quite a bit more than the others…living my dream and stuff. 🙂
An unexpected (not sure why) ending, it should have been entirely predictable!
Two notes that may help in the future based on our own experiences over the last 29869 miles with one…
1. Your snow adventures would have been heavily mitigated and helped by proper winter tires (just like on the BMW or Mercedes as well for that matter), the standard tires are a fairly high-performance tire, even on the non “Performance” models. Adding a set of good winter tires for the winter months made our Model Y one of the better winter cars that we have owned here in Colorado. You might want to consider switching at least the AWD one to that in the winter months if poor weather travel is a regular occurrence for you. Besides the “slip start” mode there is also another mode on the AWD one that is called “off-road” mode that locks the power 50/50 front and rear, normally the car uses the rear motor first until it decides it has sensed rear slip and then routes power to the front. “Off-road” mode sometimes works better than “slip start” mode depending on the situation, I tried both on a frozen lake a couple of years back and they do work (and work differently).
2. In regard to the “range anxiety” – In the Tesla (ANY Tesla) if you verbally tell it your destination address (either to Bellingham or Boston or anywhere in between by holding down the steering wheel button and say “Navigate to whatever the address is”) and use the navigation system to get there, it will keep track of your charge while you drive there. (You can do this during a trip while driving too if you find yourself getting concerned, it doesn’t have to be from a “starting point”.) It will route you and instruct you to stop at a charging location if it figures you won’t make it. It will tell you how long you need to charge at a given stop (which means you plug it in and it counts down how long you need to remain there until you have enough to continue using the most efficient route or time calculation). If due to speed, weather, traffic, detour, whatever, changes the amount of power you are using, it will adjust itself on the fly and either have you charge at an earlier stop if you are using more than anticipated, or a later stop if using less than anticipated, or just adjust the length of a particular stop. If you go across the country it won’t have you charge from 0-100% , instead it’ll stop you every hour and a half to two hours when it calculates that the charging speed is the most efficient to cause the least overall total cumulative delay. You can also stop earlier if you want to and it’ll just recalculate again, totally up to you. It will also pre-condition the battery automatically in anticipation of a charging stop so that it charges faster when you actually do charge. It does it all for you and you can just have that running in the background, you don’t have to listen to it tell you when and where to turn for every turn, but use it to figure out for you the optimum times and places to charge if that should be needed.
3. Rick doesn’t seem to be aware that most things can be done verbally, i.e. tap the steering wheel button and say “change temperature to 65” etc. and it’ll do so. He does not have to find that on the screen, although the temp is permanently shown at the bottom of the screen, tapping the temperature number once brings up the HVAC submenu itself and then he can adjust it there if he prefers and then swipe down to minimize the menu again.
Regarding #2, the admittedly most “fan boy” one of my several friends who own Tesla’s really stresses the points that Jim makes about range really being a non-issue. He drives several times a year between his homes in the San Francisco area and Jackson, Wyoming. Mostly freeway, but some of the most remote parts of the western US, high mountains and long grades, and of course the potential for heavy snow and very cold temperatures in winter. The “smart” navigation and prevalence of Tesla chargers makes it easy. Even taking into account his enthusiasm which does ignore some real issues, range just no longer seems like a problem for A to B driving in most of the US.
Agree tires can completely change a vehicle in the snow. I’ve generally settled in with tires that split some differences.
Goodyear Assurance Weather Ready was my go to, and transformed a front drive crossover I had. The factory Continentals were useless.
I did try a set of Blizzaks on all four corners of a 305 HP Mustang with limited slip. Again, transformed the car, a billy goat on hills. These are quite soft and don’t go a lot of miles. My son took that last part literally, and wore them out in 3,500 miles. Discount Tire was a champ, and awarded me credit. Having 6 cars and two trailers will do that.
I’ve settled on Michelin Cross Climate 2 on two Ford Fusion sedans – one front drive, one AWD. They are directional, have amazing original tread, and have performed and worn fantastically. Michelin offers X Ice Snow tire for even better poor weather performance, but I’d probably run them winter only. I’d imagine they would wear pretty fast in the off season.
The problem with investing in winter tires is that it really doesn’t snow very often in Seattle. Maybe once or twice a year do we get any measurable snowfall (and then panicked mommies in yoga pants riot when Starbucks runs out of soy latte ingredients and cool dads in goatees and shorts storm Alberstons for the last six pack of ironic craft IPA.) And we have a shopping center with Starbucks and Albertsons two blocks from our house and we are both retired, so why spend money on snow tires?
During a lifetime in Omaha, I’ve had to account for the occasional week where there is significant hard frozen ice / snow on the ground. The past several years, I might have 4-5 “snow days”. A quality set of all seasons has served me well, making sure I replace them before the tread is at dead minimum.
They may not offer some of the advantages of “summer tires”, but they do work very well in all conditions, and sure beats the occasional ride of terror when things get bad. Just adding them to one of your cars might also be a valid consideration. And, such tires can offer you advantages in rain as well.
Yes indeed. Being a New Englander from the part of New England that ‘s not quite as hardcore (and therefore sensible) as those in most of VT (and anything other than Downeast Maine)…where people often feel that they can “get by” with all season (aka no season) tires, I feel the need to chime in about the use of “proper winter tires”. Yes, you need those. Particularly in a high torque EV. My guess is that the Tesla came with tires that are entirely suitable for range, but not so much for traction in less than ideal situations. Get tires that are actually designed for winter traction and you’ll be good…in winter.
I realize that this may be heresy to drivers in Seattle, but get good winter tires for your Tesla and you’ll be a local hero.
Thanks for a great series. I see pairs of Teslas in driveways, and wonder how they manage it but obviously they manage, just like you.
Maybe you need a remote storage location for your classic car…
I’m with Rick. Many of us have great memories of a car we owned or drove “way back when”. The trouble is “way back when” can be a long time ago. Back when we and the car were both a lot younger. Sometimes memories are better enjoyed than re-lived.
Looking at your $3k accident, I have to ask. Did the repair shop use a gun?
According to Tesla, the repair needed a new fender, a new hood, and a new bumper.
I found a Tesla-authorized repair shop, and their quote was $500 cheaper. But…. I would have had to wait an extra two months to get the car fixed. I didn’t feel like waiting two months to save the insurance company $500 (since they agreed to cover the cost over the deductible), so I went with Tesla to do the repair.
I think you fall into that demographic that going solely electric works for, generally moderate
climate and mostly short trips. The tech side of the Tesla is the biggest issue for me, the
whole “more technology is inherently good” philosophy just does not jibe with my personal
preferences. If I am reading this correctly, the net fuel cost savings for two vehicles was
under $500 dollars?
Probably correct on the fuel cost savings, though I’m too lazy to sit down and figure it all out myself. Electricity is cheap here in Seattle: our rates are as cheap as one third of what people pay elsewhere. But I never expected to pay for the Teslas with cost savings: I”d have to drive a LOT more than I do.
It would be interesting to know how Tesla calculated those savings, I’m guessing it is from (now outdated) national averages.
Doing the math for our PHEV says that if we could do 100% EV that it would save us ~$1000 per year with W. Wa’s low electricity rates and as of the last carbon auction, highest gas prices in the nation. (Thanks Jay)
The app now (as of last year) allows you to configure your exact electric rate as well as whatever you want to use (or continually update) in regard to local gasoline cost and then does the exact (electrical) usage calculation for you on an ongoing basis. I haven’t bothered and while the savings obviously don’t pay for the car, our fuel bills have gone down a lot (vs the old Highlander that frankly struggled to get 18 in town and 22 on the highway) while the home electric bill has not increased very much at all, likely due to our dirt cheap off-peak power rates.
Originally there was no good way to (easily) see how much power the car consumed from the plug, the new system seems quite good and is a welcome addition to the features…I just need to set it up!
Looking at it right now it says that over the last 31 days we charged 311kWh (the vast majority at home) and it figured that cost $43 based on its default rate of 14c per. However that’s too high, the off-peak rate we use exclusively at home is about 7c, maybe 8. So $25 to $30 is more accurate. Conversely it is estimating gas as would have been $146 based on it thinking the current average price for gas in Colorado (it knows where you are), is $4.21. That’s pretty correct for premium unleaded, although regular is closer to $3.45 so for us that number is 20% too high. I suppose many people going to a Tesla used to use Premium in their rides such as Steve’s Mercedes and BMW.
My wife usually drives about 1000 miles a month in the car as an average. I don’t know the exact number for the last 31 days…
You, Scoutdude, would live this part of the app. 🙂
Yeah that app sounds good, since prices for both vary depending on location and gas prices can change from day to day.
One thing that annoys me about the app for our PHEV is that while it is charging it will tell you the charge rate and the total kWh added since that session started. However once you unplug it that session goes into the charge log and there they only show the starting and ending batt % and times. No way to keep track of the total kWh used unless you want to note that every time before you unplug.
You make a good point about the savings varying significantly depending on what vehicle you came from. Your Highlander of course was on the lower end of the scale and the savings would have been less if you had the Hybrid version.
Speaking of charging, one of the things that always comes up is what about people who rent. As you’ve mentioned there will come a time when, at least in SF homes with a garage you’ll see landlords installing them as a selling feature. Well I’m here to tell you there is at least one landlord who has equipped one of their properties with a 240v plug for tenants to use their equipment to charge.
To be honest I did it in part since I was doing other electrical work* that made it easier and cheaper to do now, and I’m did it for other selfish reasons as this house was purchased with the intention of being a future personal residence.
*I was having a new heat pump installed and the old one had be retrofitted to an existing electric furnace that required 2 60a circuits. The new air handler only needed 1 circuit, leaving me an extra 240v circuit in the garage ceiling. (The panel unfortunately is inside the house on the other side of a vaulted ceiling, which means I certainly wouldn’t have done it if I couldn’t have repurposed the existing wire run)
Then the first perspective tenants showed up in her Kia Soul EV. Now I can’t say that it sealed the deal but it certainly didn’t hurt.
Yes I got proper permits for all the work, my state allows one to do work on their own home, even if it is a rental, and that particular HVAC contractor was fine with me doing the electrical, instead of them using a sub-contractor. Which is why they got the job 🙂
The time will come sooner rather than later for the first few landlords who are unable to rent their property quickly because it doesn’t have a facility to charge as compared to another that does and then you’ll see more and more doing it. It won’t always be a landlord’s market.
Good for you, if you ever sell the property that’s another added feature that can only help and adds value and if you might move in there, then yeah of course. Were I a renter (and as you know, plenty of quite well-off people rent for numerous reasons for both short and longer terms), it would be worth a fairly significant monthly amount of money for me to have that added convenience, I’d say at least $100-$150/month or perhaps quite a bit more depending on the prevailing rental rate for that property type and location so the payback period should be quite short. It also makes a place “stickier”, i.e. harder to leave so potentially lower turnover and requires zero maintenance unlike something like a dishwasher…
I’m guessing newer complexes that are being built nowadays may often have the infrastructure, or if not already installed, at least making provisions for installing it relatively easier at a later date, you’d have to be daft not to. Existing places with HOAs will likely find a majority of owners eventually voting to use a portion of the HOA reserves and perhaps levy an assessment on everybody in the complex in order to add them to older places with central parking or detached central garage areas. The last SFR I sold for a client had several people looking at the electrical panel at showings and inquiring about provisions for increasing the amperage and looking at getting quotes to install a charger based on the location of the panel, a house with it already installed will have a greater buyer pool, sell faster, and likely for more money.
We didn’t consider the Highlander to be very fuel efficient, but it blew the previous MB GL450 out of the water in that regard and that one did require Premium as well. Paying $50k+ for a hybrid Highlander at the time wasn’t in the cards, at the time it was limited to the top trim. Then again money saved on fuel wasn’t really one of the main considerations for getting an EV. My wife hates getting gas, for that alone it’s worth it. She’s not afraid of driving it long distances in snowy weather, if it needs a charge en route, she plugs in, the heater stays on and she reads a book or catches up on email. Beats standing in the cold dealing with a gas pump for her.
I’m not so sure about getting an extra $100 or more for rent, at this point in time anyway, but as you say it will eventually be a factor if you don’t have it.
What I’m waiting for is seeing an adjustment on an Appraisal Report or for that to be a data field in listing forms. (to be fair I’ve yet to see an appraisal for a home that already had the circuit installed) My MLS is rolling out a bunch of updates to the forms and to be honest I was a little surprised that it wasn’t one of the changes.
On of the reasons I’m surprised is that since 2019 new SF homes in the city of Seattle require “EV ready” parking spaces and recently King Co has passed a law requiring new and “substantially remodeled” multi family projects will require 10% of spaces to have EV charging equipment and another 15% of the spaces to have the infrastructure to “one day” install equipment.
I’ve worked with a few buyers who already owned or were planning on purchasing an EV so we certainly payed attention to where the electrical panel was and if it had the capability of adding a charging circuit.
I am about to do a 1031 with one of my properties and the location of the panel will definitely be considered on the replacement property and it is likely that I’ll go ahead and install an outlet before it is put up for rent.
First up, thanks for the great series of posts. They have been extremely enjoyable and beneficial in many ways. There must be something generic about the name RICK, as I too do not readily acclimate to new technology, as you are aware. I cannot imagine driving an electric vehicle. Many of your issues make this OLD 🐕 DOG even more convinced to keep driving my ❤ TOWN 💙CAR 💜 as long as I can drive. Would love to have a second car but two car garage is overloaded with memorabilia of GLORY days as well as other trash and treasures, with enough room for the Lincoln.😘. If I had a second car, a 61 Imperial LEBARON would be my first choice. Surely hope there will be more posts. Perhaps a POST ELECTRIC may be next 🤔. Once again many thanks. Your posts are always a great way to start the day. Look forward to continuing contact.
Regarding vintage autos, I would need a pole barn for all vehicles I would want. Besides the 61 LEBARON, a 61 DeSoto, and several owned Yesterday 🎵 When 🎶I Was 🎵 Young 🎶 78 Lincoln Town Coupe, 72 LTD convert, 89 Town Car Signature Series, and 89 Fleetwood Brougham deElegance for a start. 😲 😄 🤣.
I never thought I’d hear of a dealer refusing to offer a service contract to a customer that asked twice. Normally, these are shoved down your throat as someone reaches into your back pocket. Apparently, even the service contract industrial complex thinks an aging Mercedes is bad bet.
I escalated my complaint to MB Corporate. They made it clear that you must buy the extended warranty BEFORE the factory warranty expires. Which, I suppose, makes sense. They shrugged their shoulders (if one can do so on the phone) when I complained I was REFUSED the sale of a warranty extension before my current one expired. They mumbled something about “We’ll talk to the dealer” but they were adamant about not selling me an extension. To which I replied something to the effect of “You should never piss off a rich gay man with money who was prepared to write a check for new Mercedes but now will go elsewhere” and hung up.
Steve, it’s been an excellent series. As I have already commented on other authors, this is probably the only site where you come for the cars and stay for the people. Many people are extremely open here about their life stories, and a well told life story is something I always appreciate, especially when you can learn about resilience.
Regarding EVs…I’m a late adopter of almost all technology. Probably because I work in tech security, until the pandemic I tended to use lots of cash and little plastic. It’s similar. I can’t (stress on the “I”, and not on the “can’t”) trust my life to electric motors run by software that’s remotely updated. You’ll ask me next if I fly, or do lots of things where I nonetheless am doing exactly that. I’m a little incoherent, as a fact of life.
Thanks again, Steve. Long may you write!
Luddite here. I may be a bit loose on percentages, but as of this year I believe around 1% of all vehicles in this country are EVs. So, perhaps in another 5 years we hit 5-7%. With future gub’mint mandates maybe we hit 25% in 10 years. So, back to today, I’ll sometimes take a trip of several hundred miles, or more when Kansas gets involved, on & off the interstates. I, like perhaps “most” travelers will gas up at the “mega-stations” just off the exits. These are ones with at least a dozen pumps, and at least a large snack bar if not a restaurant. In the east think “Sheetz”, or “Wawa” plus all the truck stops. These places are busy. I’ll often have to wait for a pump two cars deep. So, if i’m polite & move my my car to a non-pump parking place after a fill-up, I’ve hogged the pump for maybe 10 minutes. So, what if each car had to sit for over an hour? Will future “convenience” EV stations have to pave over ten times the space to accommodate hundreds of EVs taking their time to suck up juice? Will we have the equivolent of a Black Friday at Walmart crowd at the “fast food” lane? ………………….AND, I hate touch screens. Haruuumph!
I’ve never been an early adopter, I’m more of what could be called an old curmudgeon. I really don’t have anything against EVs, unlike many old car lovers. They have improved immensely and no matter what I think of “Ol Elon” his company makes the best EVs.
My Son joined us on vacation this year driving his new Model 3 600 plus miles to Oregon, then he took my Wife and I up to the Multnomah Falls e/o Portland for a day trip. The back seat was fine, except that I had to watch for the low roof line at first.
I was impressed that the car tells you everything that you need to know about range, routing, and charging options, etc. My Son and his Wife plan their charging stops around a snack and break, and it doesn’t put a real crimp in their travel time. I think that it would make a road trip more pleasant by reducing marathon sessions behind the wheel. Range anxiety is something that can be eliminated through familiarity with the vehicle a bit of planning.
I can’t say that Teslas appeal to me, for that money I would find other conventional cars that interest me more. I find the Cadillac Lyric to be the most appealing of current electric models, but I’m not a new car buyer.
Electric is sometimes tempting, but until time sorts out all of the current issues, I’ll stick with the CMax hybrid. The government is pushing cash out the door to support charging station technology (CCS), but the auto industry is looking at Tesla’s as the preferred standard. Lots of talk about solid state batteries from Toyota, LFP from the Chinese. Don’t know if anyone knows the optimal path. Hydrogen-hybrid electric? Who knows. The Americans are focused on electrified pick-ups and large SUVs while the Chinese are looking at the lower end of the market. Who’s right?
When there are more unknowns than equations, time to step back and figure out what’s important.
Thanks for a great COAL series.
Well there are PHEVs, which means you never have to worry about public chargers or charging standards. Just use the convenience cord that comes with most PHEVs and plug it into a standard 110v 15a outlet for a full charge over night for most vehicles. We had a C-Max that was replaced by a C-Max Energi which made my wife a convert and is why she is now driving an Escape PHEV.
Steve I just wanted to say I really enjoyed your COAL series and I am sorry to see it end.
Cheers and all the best
Mitch
Funny we’re on a collector car guy chat, and discussing high cost, and high repair cost type vehicles, That is the Mercede’s and Tesla. Most real car guys would rather have a old Caprice that can be worked on, can have the small block easily replaced if need be for peanuts, and have a very small investment involved, and have drove this same Caprice for over 30 years dependably. At the life span of the Tesla, 15-20 years, it won’t be economically feasible to replace the battery, so it’s only scrap by then.
We’re not on any kind of “collector” car guy chat…
A “real car guy”, if that’s something that can actually be defined or pigeonholed the way you insist on, wants an Alfa Romeo convertible to drive along the PCH at 10/10’s, not an obsolete four door family sedan with a bench seat to drive to the bingo parlor and back.
No, what a real car guy is, is someone that is appreciative of any and all car types and all owners, interested in learning about people and especially their cars whatever they may be, be that imported, domestic, stock, modified, donked, stanced, painted, patina’d, raced, shown, or just commuted in, whether they be powered by gasoline, LPG, steam, or electricity, who also leaves their prejudices and fears at the door and can understand why one might have a personal preference, but isn’t so conceited that he knows or would dare utter what he or she feels is best for everyone else without being asked.
35 years ago you would have said or probably did say somewhere that a real car guy would never buy a fancy Caprice with Electronic Fuel Injection and Power Windows, far better to just have a tri-5 Chevy with a carb that any squirrel can fix at the side of the road with an acorn and some spit and drive forever…
Your type of attitude is the primary reason I for one come around here less these days…If you don’t like something being featured here, then go find a hubcap to wax or something instead. Car guy, my ass.
Very well stated Jim. Fortunately most of us here are more accepting of all cars, as exemplified in CC’s motto: “Every car has a story.”
I’ve been pleased and somewhat humbled by the response to my COAL series. I avoid many of the “Car Guy” sections of Facebook (especially the brand-specific ones) because if you’re not driving “THEIR” favorite type of car you’re a loser.
I had some concerns initially about how to weave my now-husband Rick into the story. Frankly, I’ve seen some nasty homophobia in car groups, like when all hell broke loose in a Studebaker affinity group on Facebook when someone posted a picture of Pete and Chasten Buttigieg in a Lark. I don’t have time for that sort of nonsense. But, at 70 years of age, I also am not going to erase a significant part of my life (Rick and I have been together 48 years now) just because someone might take offense. Ain’t got time for that either. 🙂
And the response here has been very warm and welcoming. Thank you all for that!
Steve, thanks for this engaging COAL series. You’ve taken us on quite a ride.
We do not tolerate any of that ugliness here. And Rick is hardly the first husband/male partner to appear in a COAL.
Hi Rick!
Well, it’s kind of presumptuous to anticipate what we’ll be saying here about Teslas in 15 – 20 years. I could guess, but I’d rather be around, hopefully, to read and see what actually happens.
I was going by what the manufacturer’s themselves claim about the life of their electric cars. They say 15-20 years. And after that, unless there’s completely new technology to provide a affordable replacement battery, virtually every electric will go to a scrap yard. Thats why I’ve also claimed that electrics have no viability as used cars, since the average American used car is 12 years old. Contribute to that is that around 75% of all Americans buy a used car, I interpret that to mean that 75% of Americans won’t be buying any electrics. Consider the high percentage of Americans who drive trucks, and consider that electric trucks are very limited as to range with any load or towing, it doesn’t appear that electric trucks will make a dent in the truck market.
I was going by what the manufacturer’s themselves claim about the life of their electric cars. They say 15-20 years.
Where? Show me some links or other proof.
It’s a ridiculous assertion. As is your line about some completely new technology required to replace the battery. Pure and utter BS.
Tesla batteries are warrantied to 8 years or 100k miles. But replacement battery packs are readily available beyond that. And will be, for an unforeseeable long time. Why wouldn’t they?
The highest mileage Tesla has over 932k miles on it. Battery packs for the oldest Tesla Models S (2012) are very much available, and will continue to be.
There are of course many EVs bought as used cars, and have been for years. As more EVs are sold and time goes on, there will be more used EVs.
Battery prices have been dropping for years, which makes new EVs cheaper (Tesla drastically lowered its prices recently) and will make replacement battery packs cheaper.
There will be a growing market for replacement battery packs; some are already available.
EV truck sales of all sizes are growing rapidly. Not every application is ideal, but many are. It depends on the specific application.
You may not want an EV, but don’t assume no one else does. In CA, already 25% of new car sales are EVs. You know the old saying “As California goes, so goes the nation”.
Certainly IC cars will continue to be a popular choice for cheap used cars. But they won’t be the only ones.
I couldn’t find the exact quotes, and those meant life of vehicle, not battery. But in any event I found JD Power, 9-21-22 “Generally the battery lasts 10-20 years” Car and Driver, Oct 26, 2022, battery lasts 8-12 years under extreme conditions, (what ever that definition means) For the battery replacement, you misunderstood my hypothesis. Currently, the cost of a battery replacement of electric cars is prohibitive if the car is 10 years old and older, few individuals would make this investment, but if future technology provides a much cheaper cost for the replacement battery, well then yes, maybe buyers would make that investment. In other words, if a new battery now is $10K but new technology brings the same new battery for say, $2,000, then possibly people would spend that. During my many visits to our local pick a part, I see many cars in like new condition, and only 10-15 years old, but they have a failed transmission or engine, and those owners chose to scrap the vehicle rather than invest the $3,000 to $5,000 to repair the car. Why would electrics be different? I have noticed that California car buyers were the first to buy foreign cars, and DeLorean’s, Hummer’s, kit cars, maybe the nice weather produces the exuberance?
Steve, I’ve really, really, appreciated your COAL. As I often say, I do hope that you find subjects, occurrences, and random thoughts that continue to inspire you to contribute to CC. Now that we know you, we want to keep hearing from you. So please, don’t stop.
And for right now, I’ll just note that WTOP is also on my TuneIn radio favorites. It reminds me of AM radio of my youth 🙂
Oh, and yes, you NEED a Buick Sport Wagon. So do I. Although I’d be willing I guess to live that experience vicariously through you.
I listened to WTOP for 30 years when I lived in DC. It was on in my car much of the time. Now I listen for nostalgia’s sake. And to also remind myself how lucky I am not to live there any more, if only for the traffic. “I-66 is on the brakes from Nutley street to the Beltway and then past Centerville where the lanes merge into two.” I heard that for 20 years going to our cabin in WV, and that meant at least a 60 minute drive until the traffic cleared up, and then another two hours to my destination.
I went back a couple of years ago to attend a concert by my old men’s chorus. The variable price HOV lanes on I-66 inside the beltway were over $40. Ouch!
And as to CC, as Ah-nold says “Ahl be bakk!”
That was a lovely COAL series, thanks for having us along for the ride!
I’m admittedly an EV skeptic, but that has a lot to do with the infrastructure of the grid over here. I can see how they make sense for your use case though.
I do hope Rick eventually comes round on the Classic car!
I’ve enjoyed your series. I’ve got three EV’s. Two 2017 Bolts and a 2013 Leaf. None of them lives in the garage. That’s the space for my Jeep, It’s ¼ ton trailer and all the spare parts.
I installed 240 outlets just inside each garage door and also have a 110 outlet in the same area on each side. Only my Bolt gets enough miles in a day to warrant the Level 2 charge. My wife and child each have a commute that’s less then 15 miles.
More torque than tire makes Teslas and Priuses? interesting in the snow. I’ve seen both cars spinning wheels in the Snow Park where we ski. In contrast our humble Mazda5 on studless winter tires just gripped.
I have a friend who does the cheapskate version of all electric with a his and hers Nissan Leaf. The only fossil fuel he uses is for the auxiliary diesel in his sailboat. Personally I’m more inclined to a plug in hybrid since I like to travel places where chargers are few and far between