Like so many others in Nillumbik, 2020 began with my car being written off in the giant hail storm. Sticking to my word that my next car would electric, my research began!
I found purchasing an electric vehicle very frustrating. Sales people tried to deter me, didn’t know their products and I struggled to find anything to test drive. That was until I walked into the Tesla store in Chadstone. Being a lover of tech, I have followed Tesla for many years and was like a kid in a candy shop. The staff were highly knowledgeable, answered all of my questions and prepped me well for a test drive in the Model 3. It was most definitely love at first drive!
Tesla Model 3s need no servicing (yes, brake pads, etc. will eventually need changing of course) and things like Autopilot and free software updates are standard in Australia and can be installed simply at home. I was also really impressed with the automation available for charging, heating and cooling amongst other things. In addition to this, I could be part of Beta testing if I wished to (yes please!) and, importantly, they have a 5 Star ANCAP rating. As I’m currently the sole driver in my family - my partner has an acquired brain injury and is visually impaired - the self-driving software would make my life a lot easier on long road trips which is something I have struggled with since his accident.
My beautiful pearl white Model 3 arrived at the end of March and other than terrible roadside assistance when I got a flat tyre in Warrandyte a few weeks ago, I can honestly say that it has been an incredible experience! Zipping between work and home uses little battery and I can preheat with the tap of a button so that I jump into a warm car with a ready battery on cool mornings. The software updates are amazing and I have watched as onscreen visualisations have been improved markedly over the six months that I have owned the car. I’ve only done two longer trips due to Covid and am looking forward to hitting regional Victoria, South Australia and the east coast as soon as I can.
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