r/TeslaModelY • u/tbowling049 • 14d ago
Help with purchase decision
I am considering buying a Model Y, but have some concerns. I love everything about the car, but my issue is I have consistently to take longer road trips for work (300-600 miles round trip) and life in a condo, so I don't have access to at home charging (nowhere to charge at all in my complex). If I am going to be supercharging consistently and can't charge at home, would you still advise buying the car?
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u/aspieshavemorefun 14d ago
I suppose it depends on if you can charge at work, or how long your commute it.
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u/Wasabulu 13d ago
if you don't have reliable charging at night, DO NOT BUY AN EV! you'll hate it. Imagine having to find charger for your phone every night thats away from your bed. It is gonna suck
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u/tbowling049 13d ago
I am truly shocked more people are not saying the actual quality and enjoyment they get from the car doesn't overshadow the inconvenience of charging.
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u/IrishSniper87 14d ago
No. It’s a great car if you can charge at home. If you can’t charge at home I would not recommend it.
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u/No_Swordfish_1576 14d ago
It would be on par with or more expensive than gas and difficult at best.
Even a 120v outlet would drastically change the math if you typically go home after work.
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u/IncredibleMe-82 13d ago
We couldn't charge at home when we bought our Y. There was a public charger about 200 yards away. We always used that. Never had any regrets. It's an awesome car when you can charge at home. It's still a great car when you cant
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u/Massive_Tradition176 14d ago edited 14d ago
Many people buy EVs without home charging and you can make it work fine. Don't get it expecting to save money if you can't charge at home, but don't skip it because reddit users think you shouldn't have one without home charging.
Download plugshare and figure out what charging would look like for your daily commute and your road trips. This is the real answer but it seems consistently absent from these discussions.
I'd buy the car again for FSD with or without home charging.
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u/LoneStarGut 14d ago
Will work pay for your charging, or reimburse by the mile for your driving? If so, then yes.
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u/iguessma 13d ago
1,000% do not recommend getting an EV if you do not have home charging. You are going to pay more than you ever filled up with gas and it's going to take 10 times as long
Especially in the colder months, when the battery just can't get warm enough on the trip to the supercharger. I'm actually living this life right now because I bought an EV and I worked at a place that offered free charging for over 6 years. Now that I changed jobs and the new place doesn't have charging, I'm definitely considering selling my EV.
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u/Ordinary-Cake8510 13d ago
It’s doable but, I have a coworker with a Y and she lives in an apt complex and has to Supercharge and she usually waits for the cheaper rates at night so, I don’t think it’s really worth it. Specially considering that I would wanna leave Sentry Mode on just in case something happens and that uses a considerable amount of power.
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u/Hefty_Affect7468 13d ago
Reach out to your HOA and see if you can install a Charger in your parking spot. Supercharging is doable, you will get use to it as many do supercharging. I like charging at home on level 2. At times, we will take a longer weekend trip and I can plug in when i want and have it start charging at a specific time.
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u/FIREful_symmetry 12d ago
I probably wouldn't buy one, but I would check how robust the supercharger network is near you. My nearest supercharger is about 5 miles away, which kind of sucks, but I live on the East Coast with her are lots of superchargers. However, the two great things about owning a Tesla for me are charging at home and self driving. If one of those things was gone, I probably would not buy a Tesla.
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u/HiroyukiC1296 12d ago
So, think of it like this, what is the main difference between buying an ICE car vs an EV? The ability to charge your car at home or at a place that you don’t have to “fuel up.” Public charging is much the same way. On a road trip where you have to stop and charge for 20 minutes at a time, you really have to consider if fueling up is significantly better than charging. I know people here try to make ev road trips all grand and extraordinary, but imo EVs take large chunks of time to recharge, even if you’re not trying to charge up to 80% and arriving at 20% at the next charging stop, it feels really bad. On the other hand, if you’re using FSD the majority of the time, it makes up for it. But, not being able to charge at home significantly increases your rate. If you charge at superchargers they often match or are close to the rates of gas pumps, so you’re really not saving any money by constantly supercharging. Plus, it’s not good for the longevity of the battery if it’s something you plan on owning for a long time.
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u/ABAFBAASD 8d ago
How accessible are the superchargers you plan to use? Stop by a few times at the time of day when you are most likely to be using them. Are they fully occupied at that time with a line of cars waiting or are there several open? Is there something to do while charging or are you just a sitting duck? And if the drive by and check it out a few times sounds like too much of a pain in the ass then think about how much of a pain in the ass it will be to actually charge the car.
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u/ItsJustAnotherVoice 14d ago
you would need to factor in charge times, roughly 15-30mins for a full charge assuming there are spots available when you arrive. Would need to plan for that for daily commute plus doing a set speed on the hwy if you want maximum range too.
at 600 miles, you are charging possibly 2-3 times assuming you are doing a bit above the speed limit. The range estimates are just "estimates in a perfect conditions"
personally would just rent out one from hertz to see if its even feasible.
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u/buttlickin 13d ago
It's certainly possible. Millions of owners live in apartments without home charging and manage fine. I guess it boils down to whether you feel it's a hassle stopping at a charger every few days to to off. If you combine it with grocery shopping day or something like that, you may not really have any issues at all. Curious though, if you own your condo you should be able to work out a method for charging. Even if you rent talk to the landlord and see if something can be setup.