My Q becomes a daily driver for the 1st time in a long time

[BadQ45t]

I just took a commute job and initially I was nursing the miles on the Q and driving my other 2 cars (old 300ZX and X-Terra). Well it is good for the old Z to get out for a 60 miles roundtrip on the freeway, but after a few days of driving the Q this week, save the crappy gas mileage (I could get better if I drove with a lighter right foot) I just decided, WTF and I saving this car for...I am driving it every day until it explodes. I have 98k on it, I was just trying to go over that 100k mark for the last 5 years only putting like 10 in 5 years on it....but I made a huge error in driving one of the new Tesla S 85 kw sedans, and I was IN LOVE. The wife already has a Leaf so I have a charger (there is an adapter for the Tesla) but it is going to take 1.5 years to save up for the down payment on the 90k car, so the Q is it. I will get all the value that is left out of it.

After 2 weeks of driving it every day I forgot what a cool car it is....while we all point out that our 1st and 2nd Gen Q's can be beaten by 6 cylinder Altima's and Camry's, I have a big hill I climb out every day and I hang pretty good with some BMW and other later model cars. That 4.1 which for me is 100% perfect shape still spools up to the redline nicely and my lowered stance, great shocks/struts and sticky 19" Michelin SP Sports YR tires can stay in the big sweeper corner with just about anybody save a new vette one day a M5 driver that was a bit crazy.

So there I have it, next car, 2014 Tesla S 85 kw...daily drive for now, 97' Q45t

[elwesso]

I agree with you, if you've got a nice car you have to drive it... Having a car and not driving it is like not copulating with your wife/girlfriend so she's in better shape for the next guy!

I saw the Tesla S at the Detroit auto show, WOW what a great looking car.. It's so hard to imagine that it's all electric, it's really a great innovation, and in my opinion you really get a lot of car for 90k.

I daily drive my Q, however there's time where I'll drive my M Coupe a few days, and it's always nice to get back into the Q. It may not be the fastest, nicest, or whatever else, but I just feel "at home" inside it.

[BadQ45t]

Wait until you try driving the Tesla, holy crap. Feels like Audi meets Lexus meets NASA. And the 90k is not bad considering they are giving you a nearly free way to drive (my wife's leaf costs about $25 a monht). They have also setup superstations so you can do drives from SF to LA and LA to Vegas etc.

Just gotta save a boat load of money

[Q451990]

I agree with you, if you've got a nice car you have to drive it... Having a car and not driving it is like not copulating with your wife/girlfriend so she's in better shape for the next guy!

[SanCarlosQ45]

Hows the traffic/drive on 92? Never driven it during the week.

Its amazing how many model Ss popped up in the last 2-3 months on the peninsula; I do see them going over 17 occasionally. Oh, I remember you recommended a shop in Milbrae or Burlingame that you use, what was the name again? My moms legacy GT has a bad rear half shaft that needs to be replaced, we have the parts just not the time or a lift to do it.

[BadQ45t]

I am working around the corner from their headquarters here in Palo Alto, you'd think they were giving them away. What is funny is their parking lot has very few of them, just a regular parking lot of Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans, Lexus etc. There are 3-4 everyday in the parking lot here (at VMware) and when I ride my bike in Palo Alto/Portola Valley/Woodside on any given sunday I will see at least 10-15 of the, and not their lower end versions either!!!

The shop is Richard's Auto Repair, he's in San Bruno, works on lots of Subi's so that should be easy for him. Call them up tell them Jeff Leeds sent you. His number is (650) 589-6880. They do great work and they are very honest.

[qship96]

90K for a depreciating asset???? quite an extravagance unless you are a multi-millionaire.

[BadQ45t]

You know I am not a mulit-millionaire, but thinking about a replacement for my Q45 I know a few things. It has to be a comfortable car like my Q, it has to be MORE powerful than my Q (that isn't hard at this point) and it has to get killer gas mileage. So I have sat in a few potential prospects, my brother just bought a diesel BMW 3 series, WAY too small and not very comfortable for me, I sat in my buddies 2013 Audi A6, not as roomy as the Q but very nice, but he paid nearly 65k for that puppy new. So when you look at the price of the Telsa, first you get 10k back in $$ and tax credits and the car is by far away every bit a S class, 7 series or LS compare, all those are (save the Lexus) are MORE expensive new. And the Tesla gets 100 MPG, has air suspension, has more cargo room than any, has a 17" screen that blows anything away, and is faster than any of them. I pay about $25 a month right now for the wife's Leaf to go about 400-500 miles, if I spent $45 on the Tesla to commute, how much super unleaded is that?

Thus the thinking, but given I am not a mult-millionare, still have to do a lot of thinking. waiting to see what the Q50 hybrid looks like, but a drive in a G was a nice to drive, not to own.

[qship96]

Yeah,I had a brand new g37 to drive for about 3 weeks last year.....fun toy,very fast and tossable,but also slightly cramped,especially in the shoulder room and overall,the interior felt very,very ordinary to me....could have been sitting in a accord or camry feel to it vs a luxury car.

A 3-4 year old, off lease A8L always captures my imagination as a replacement for the Q,drop dead beautiful interior,understated exterior,but the operating costs{reliability too} so far has stopped me from pulling the trigger on that,but it is very tempting.Hell,I just may go for a Prius and enjoy getting 50mpg and superior reliability and put my $$$ into other hobbies at this point.Gotta decide soon,as the Q now has 297K on her and who knows how much longer the ole girl has left in her?

[life602]

I love my F50, and am lucky I have the sport/luxury model and love the reclining back seats as much as my sports switch.I'm just amazed of how many people think its newer than what it really is.downfall is finding a trust worthy dealership to work on it and its kinda expensive to maintain(I need new tires like every14-15months ).but with the help from the good folks in here I have done/fixed a good amount of things in my car and is going strong and smooth..all I can say it worth it specially when u pick up your kids at school on a rainy day and have the headlights on...all the kids just look at u like wtf....love that feeling

[BadQ45t]

Clearly the F50 was a nice car for the day, but total requirement for my next car is good gas mileage. At this point if I don't buy an electric car to replace my Q it will be a hybrid that can at least yield 30-35 on the highway. I am interested to see what the Q50 hybrid ends up looking like. but I am still drooling over that Tesla.

[Brew Q]

You do realize that any money you save on gas mileage will not be seen any time soon (over the completely paid for Q or any car with no payment for that matter).

For example:

20,000 miles at 20 mpg and gas at $4 a gallon is $4000

20,000 miles at 60 mpg and gas at $4 a gal is $1333

At this rate if the car above at 60mpg is $30k = saving $2667 in gas a year, meaning 224,971 miles to realize the savings in the cost of the vehicle ($30k)...for comparison sake 150,000 miles would = $30k in the 20 mpg car above.

no offense intended on the above, I partly enjoy the math involved, consider me weird

[BadQ45t]

Well it is not all about the math bret.......end of the day my Q is a 1997 car bought by me in 2000 and I while I did buy a brand new X-Terra in 2005 it is about time for me to think about a new ride. You are forgetting that if I drive the Q for another 50k I will be throwing in new knock sensors, coil packs, alternator, starter, etc. I am figuring that $1500-2000 a for the next 3 years if I were to drive the car 3-4x a week 65 mile round trip.

So for me it isn't all about saving on gas, but you live in Texas so gas is much cheaper. I am paying $4.35-4.50 a gallon for super unleaded these days.

But in thinking about buying a new car, I want something that I can drive and not get 20mpg on a good day, I want 35, while that doesn't pay the expenses of the car it at least feels better. Now the Tesla is a sick expensive car, but you need to compare it against BMW 7 series, S-Class Benz, M56 Infiniti or LS460 Lexus, all of those are minimum 70k new. The Tesla decked out would cost 90k, with 10k back in kick-backs, tax credits and cost nearly zero to operate.....but than again I can buy a brand new Chevy Volt for about net 28k out the door too, but not going to compare that against the above cars.

Either way, it isn't all about the miles, but something new, faster, etc. is more way of thinking.

[maxnix]

Having a car and not driving it is like not copulating with your wife/girlfriend so she's in better shape for the next guy!

Wow, it has been great to watch Wes come of age on this board.

The Tesla S is very nice and boy does it hummmmmmm.

[BadQ45t]

I made the very potentially big mistake of driving it, it feels like an Audi meets a Lexus meets a Maserati, sooooo nice, instant response, the center display stack has ZERO competitors and the car with the air suspension feels amazing.

It is tempting, now to raise the 90k!

[q45touring]

Please, let me save you the trouble of buying a Tesla. My Girlfriend takes roadside assistance calls for the US for Porsche, Tesla, Audi, Maserati, and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head. She said by far, the most calls she gets are from Tesla owners. They have yet to iron out the bugs, and the entire thing is one big circuit board, and when one thing doesn't boot up, none of it does. Everyday I hear stories about these Teslas and what a nightmare these things are. So take that for what it's worth...

Let me also add, she said 95% of the calls result in the car having to be towed away, and she said she has the hardest time finding tow companies that have the right equipment to tow a Tesla... This is all over the US mind you.

[BadQ45t]

Interesting, there are a ton of them around where I work and I talked to 3 drivers who all said they were thrilled with the cars. If I bought one it was going to be 2014 as they have a few things that for sure need to be ironed out.

I wonder why consumer reports gave them 99 out of 100. Consumer reports practically killed Fisker single-handedly with a bad report.

[szh]

The CEO of our company has a Tesla Sportster ... for more than a few years now (number 105 as I recall) and likes it a lot.

The new Model S is an awesome looking car - it has set the new standard for what an all-electric luxury car can be capable of. Makes the Prius and Leaf look like toys.

(BTW, I have to be careful how much I can say about the Tesla S due to NDA reasons.)

The S is an all-Tesla design, unlike the roadster where Lotus was involved. Thus, for a "first design", it is a remarkable achievement. I have three friends with them now, and they are all still pretty ecstatic about it and have not experienced any problems.

I am sure this car will have teething pains, so while I am interested in one, I will give it another year or two before I consider getting one - my current 2003 M45 is still running fine too, so no reason to be hasty!

Yes, the 17" display is truly remarkable - has to be seen to be appreciated! Although there were lots of concerns about its use in the car - particularly for people who start tinkering to try to show movies on it or something stupid like that. However, it has turned out to be a major selling point.

Yes, it is "electronics", with the head-unit and communications equipment behind it, so will be prone to some of the kinds of glitches that vehicle electronic systems in other cars experience in this day and age.

No, the design and code of the electronics behind the panel was not rushed to market. The engineers who worked on the project were under stress to meet time deadlines, of course, but did not want the car to fail to meet safety guidelines. The panel underwent a lot of scrutiny since it was so innovative and likely to have NHTSA being more than a simple quick look, so they took a lot of care to get it right.

Yes, the car was released late to market for the usual design and production reasons. I am sure that Elon had some interesting words to say to his staff about the delays , but he knows as well as anybody about the risks of getting it wrong!

Z

[maxnix]

Yep the car updates itself and you have no choice. Tesla owns all the data, as the NY Times discovered to its reviewer's embarrassment.

There are many better center stack screens because anyone who believes a touch screen works there while under way is just plain delusional. Go check out the Caddy's tough screen with an enthusiastic driver operating the car.