In our previous EMSmastery article, it closed after my selection, test drives and final selection of two Electric Vehicles – the Kai e-Niro and the Tesla Model Y. So which was my final choice…Let’s take a look…
This article looks my final selection criteria for my first Electric Vehicle from a final short-list of the Kia Niro EV and the Tesla Model Y & will give some further insight that I learnt in the buying process.
The financials?
First off, this article is not giving financial advice. This article presents my thought processes for purchasing my electric vehicle. You may wish to select your own criteria for choosing an EV and its final purchase options.
I should explain that my purchase option was cash or, maybe, cash and part-exchange of our out-going Vauxhall Meriva (costed as £1,600). I discounted other purchase options, such as lease options but others may consider these options.
The final purchase prices of the two options were relatively simple.
Neither the Kia dealer or Tesla (which does not operate a dealer network but offers local test drives and national purchasing) offered any discounts on the final price.
I explored the second-hand market and found for Kia the Niro EV was only about £500 cheaper for a second-hand version. So, the final purchase price was around £36,000.
The Tesla Model Y was available for £56,000. However, there were vehicles available from Inventory that were six thousand pounds cheaper. These were not second-hand but being sold cheaper to move inventory from specific locations.
Even more so, at the time of our purchase, Tesla offered a part exchange of the value of our outgoing Meriva (independently valued at £1,600) plus an additional £2,000 & a free Tesla Wall Connector for home charging (valued at £650).
Comprehensive insurance was similar for both vehicles from around £650 to way over £2,000. This insurance was way over our current comprehensive insurance of around £300 per year.
If you are getting value out of this episode, please click on the “like” button and if you want to see more environmental and sustainability videos, please subscribe to this YouTube Channel and hit the Notification Bell to ensure that you don’t miss out on our new videos.
What EV did I buy?
To a final drum roll… I selected the Tesla Model Y Long Range.
Maybe it is what you thought or not – Leave a comment in the box below.
What swung it for me was the solution to “range anxiety”, where purchasers of an EV worry about the battery range. I chose the Long Range version with 331 miles range & 250 kWh charging speed (which was much higher than my other short-listed vehicles) and access to the extensive Tesla Supercharger network.
What happened next?
I picked up our red Tesla Model Y Long Range from their Staines location. I had watched many YouTube videos with horror stories of poor build quality but, all I can say, is that there were no immediate build quality issues on our vehicle.
BUT, there was a pre-identified mark on the trim, which Tesla did not advise me about but was, obviously, identified by someone from the manufacturing plant to the Staines location.
The local staff tried to remove it but to no avail – A home visit was arranged for about seven days later. This all worked out well with the trim replaced on our driveway.
The promised free Tesla Wall Connector was not available and required several telephone calls over the subsequent days to arrange for its delivery.
One unexpected bonus was 100 free miles of electricity through the Tesla Supercharger network to charge our new Model Y. It already had about 100 miles but we took the option to familiarise ourselves with the use of the Supercharger location in Guildford.
If this article has helped to advance your understanding of the final selection of a Tesla Model Y Long Range, please leave a comment in the box below, if this article has helped you – What electric vehicle would you choose?
If you enjoyed this article, you should check out our YouTube Channel – EMSmastery, where you can watch our videos, such as our video accompanying this article on Which EV did I choose: Kia Niro EV or Tesla Model Y? and subscribe in our YouTube channel for new videos released each week.
#EV #TeslaModelY #EMSmastery