We will soon become a 2 EV family.

[pharmadave]

After much waiting, thinking and anticipation, we have decided to look for a second hand Model S rather than wait for a Model 3.

One came up yesterday on the Tesla CPO website, it's a 2015 Model S 85RWD with range upgrade to 90KWh. It is equipped and enabled with Auto Pilot 1.

The car has just finished it's 3 year lease with the previous owner and is currently being refurbished by Tesla in QLD. It will be transported down to Melbourne and I should expect delivery in about 2 weeks.
It is a Tesla Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle (CPO) which means it carries an additional 4-year, 80,000Km warranty as well as the balance of the 8-year unlimited Km drive train warranty (5 yeas left approx).

Very excited, a bit scared as this is the most expensive car we have ever bought (will ever buy probably).

I have been looking for a while and when this one came up, I instantly jumped on it as the value proposition is amazing. 90KWh is a massive battery.

Can't wait to take delivery and take it on some road trips with the family!

[pharmadave]

This is what I was able to capture before Tesla took the ad down due to my purchase.

[rusdy]

Evil Tesla owner! I'll save you from the devil by offering you free swap with my Leaf, how's that?

[pharmadave]

I certainly hope people don’t look at me differently just because I drive a Tesla. I’m still the same friendly and willing to have a chat and give a test ride to anyone curious about EVs as before.

[Feng]

Congrats! You'll have to tell us how it compares to your LEAF.

[EVangelist]

Congrats Pharmadave! The Model S is simply too big for my liking so I am not tempted to go down that path, so for me the "wait" goes on. At least another year before I see my Model 3, probably longer. Only then will we too become a 2 x BEV family!

[eburbsleaf]

Congrats - ive been sorely looking at Model S or Model X used. The model 3 seems too long away - persisting with the ICE for another year for long journeys - but X is ideal for bike rack flexibility and occasional light towing. Both seem a bit big but the LEAF would still remain for the little journeys or tight local parking where scratches aren't so much of an issue ....

Enjoy the new (refreshed ) car - taking test drives in the X & S show they are great propositions - just not in the same size league as the LEAF.

[pharmadave]

After much contemplation and discussion with my wife, we have decided to sell our Leaf rather than our ICE wagon.
It is very sad decision as I had the full intention of going full EV however the range of the Leaf just won't be enough for our day to day needs in the near future.

So if anyone you know is in the market for a Leaf with 11 SOH bars and 45,000Kms on the clock. Please let me know and I'll be happy to discuss the sale.
I haven't put the ad up on carsales or anything yet.

[pharmadave]

Just got contacted by Tesla, it appears that there is a voluntary recall on power steering bolts and my car is part of the recall batch.
Because of that, they won't hand over the car till it's confirmed whether the car's bolts will be replaced before it's handed over to me.
This means there will be a delay of approx 1 week before I can get the car.

I read an article about the recall and it seems it most affects cars which are exposed to snow and ice and on roads which have been salted with calcium or magnesium salts. None of this applies to the car I am buying as it was based up in Queensland and will be based in Melbourne under my ownership. I guess they are just being super sure that's all.
Here's the article:
electrek.co/2018/03/29/tesla-voluntary-recall-bolts-model-s-vehicles/


Upon reading the actual press release from Tesla, it appears that the replacement will be done in all cars affected in all climates regardless of the likelihood of exposure to Ca or Mg road salt.
I guess because my car still technically still belongs in the Tesla car pool, they'll do the recall repair before selling it. It's not a good look selling a car which is subject to a recall.

[pharmadave]

This is the beauty we just collected yesterday. Also happened to be my wife’s birthday just to top it all off.

Now just have to transfer all the kids seats over and go on many many road trips!

[pharmadave]

Went on a family day trip to de Bortoli Wines in the Yarra valley. It was a beautiful day and the destination charging was a great plus!
The Model X belongs to my friend who has a fledgling YouTube channel.

[pharmadave]

Here is a link to my friend's latest YouTube episode featuring our Model S!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI62zmmF7IQ

[pharmadave]

We took full advantage of the beautiful weather we had today in Melbourne and went to Marysville.

My friend took this glamour shot as the sun was setting.

[pharmadave]

After much regret for selling our Leaf a few months back, I have been on the look out for an affordable EV that we can use a second car that can fit the family into for short trips around town, I was looking into Japanese imported LEAFs but they seem to be increasing in price due to our exchange rate as well as popularity.

When another forum member Jennie mentioned that she is selling her LEAF, I jumped at the chance to check it out.

Below is a quick run down of how we managed to get the LEAF back down to Melbourne.


After making contact with Jennie, I drove up to her one Saturday after work to inspect the car. It was about a 200Km drive north of Melbourne. Wasn't an issue in the Tesla, topped up on the way back in Euroa supercharger while I had dinner at the local pub.
Car was in good condition and was happy to buy it.
Then came the issue of logistics of how to bring the car back to Melbourne.
I was on a pretty tight budget so I really had to think outside the box, a proper car transport company would have easily charged over $500 for the service.



I ended up borrowing a friend's ute and hiring a car transporter trailer and bringing the car back ourselves. A small complication is that due to the Leaf's relatively heavy weight (>1500kg) I couldn't just rent a service station trailer which are usually rated at 1200-1300kgs. capacity The one I hired was a 2000kg one and had brakes. It took approx 80L of diesel for the round trip and the trailer cost $70. I was pleasantly surprised that the Amarok averaged around 12L/100km of diesel for the round trip consider half of it was hauling the LEAF at 100km/hr down the Hume Hwy.



It was the first time ever my mate and I had ever even attempted such a feat but we somehow got to Jennie with the trailer in one piece and popped down the ramps and prepared to pick up the car. Once the paperwork was sorted and cheque handed over, it was time to load up the LEAF.


We used rachet straps to hold the Leaf down onto the trailer just in case of bumps and it travelled down the Hume without any issues.



It was a strange sight out the back window to have a LEAF tail-gating so closely!



We successfully arrived back in Melbourne and unloaded the car in a vacant car park, returned the trailer and drove home.



The car had been taken care of but it was very dusty due to the rural/remote location the car was in. So after a full detail inside and out, the car looked as good as new!


Here it is having it's first ever DC fast charge at my local spot (Swinburne University). It's recently been updated to the Tritium 50kw charger equipped with both a CCS Combo as well as a Chademo charger.



Thanks to my mate Johnson for keeping my company during the journey, doing some of the driving duty and most importantly spotting while I load and unload the Leaf from the trailer.

What I've done with the car so far and costs:
Trailer hire: $70
Diesel for ute: $100
Full detail: $270
4 new tyres: $360
New front wiper set: $30
Full set of carpet mats: $145 (If anyone is interested, Blackburn nissan has another set on ebay for sale with free shipping)

What's left to do:
Road worthy inspection: approx $150 as i don't anticipate any additional work to pass inspection.
Vicroads transfer fee: 4% of the price of the car
TCU update from 2G to 3G: hopefully Nissan will come to the party and upgrade this for free. 
Get my login details for Carwings: not holding my breath, prepared to wait for long time without any result... (c'mon Nissan Australia)

Here's to many years of happy motoring with this new addition to our family.

[pharmadave]

Quick update:
Roadworthy certificate received today.
Passed with flying colours.
$160 for the certificate.

The mechanic at Burwood Nissan remarked how the car was in great condition.

Went to VicRoads to get the paperwork done and put our personalised number plate on it to truly make it our own. (NBP = North Balwyn Pharmacy or Not Buying Petrol =P )

[pharmadave]

Just got contacted by Blackburn Nissan that they will order in the TCU update components from Nissan Head Office.
They referred to the TCU update as a 'recall' so that means fingers crossed I'll get it done for free?

Once the parts arrive, I will book the car in and get the car switched from 2G to 3G while getting a scheduled service performed at the same time.
It's due for a brake fluid refresh.

[pharmadave]

Just got a call from Blackburn Nissan today that the 2G->3G TCU upgrade parts have arrived from Nissan Australia.
Car is booked in next Friday to have the upgrade done, doing a scheduled service at the same time.

[pharmadave]

Just had my TCU updated from 2G to 3G, tried to log into it via the app and I get this message, any idea how to proceed from here?

[EVangelist]

Did Nissan not programme the TCU when they installed it? It needs to be set up with your Carwings ID.  Possibly, since this is a parallel import, you are not paying for the SIM connection, hence it won’t work.

You should ask the dealer what testing they did and how did they confirm the new TCU worked after intalling it?  Does it even have a SIM in it?

[pharmadave]

It’s a Nissan Australia imported Leaf, I was thinking about getting a Japanese parallel import but this one became available at the right time.

I provided the Carwings User ID and password to the dealership performing the update.

It appears the User ID and password has been programmed into the car’s infotainment system.

I’ll try a few other things and see how I go.

[pharmadave]

Just tried to activate security settings in the carwings screen of the car and I get this message.



I suspect head office has not linked the new 3G TCU to my account yet.

I will email them and see what can be done.

Once again, just like my previous Leaf, I am not holding my breath.

[pharmadave]

The dealer service is asking me to take the car back next week for them to troubleshoot the CarWings.
Booked in for next friday, we'll see how it goes.