Owner of the Week – Mel H.

You love cars so you already know all about the Tesla Roadster. You know about it’s speed, you know about it’s development, and about the whole Top Gear thing. But you don’t often get a chance to hear what the car is like from a real local owner. Well, local Tesla Roadster owner, Mel H. was willing to share a little bit of his story here (it’s amazing how far bribery will go). Enjoy and thanks Mel!!!

1.) There are a lot of exceptional $100,000 cars out there. What attracted you to the Tesla?

Primarily, I like the idea of it – an electric car with decent performance and is good looking.  To me, it represents the future – like the first cell phone I had in 1997, or the first time I saw a plasma tv in 1999.  I had kind of followed the company from the beginning, when I used to live in Silicon Valley.  But I never saw the car is person until I test drove it at a Tesla marketing event in DC.  From the first step on the accelerator, I was hooked.

Also when I went to this fateful marketing event, I had recently returned from a trip to China, where I saw millions of cars in Beijing where less than decade ago they were millions of bicycles instead.  So the writing on the wall was clear to me: gas would only be dearer in the future (our current $3.30/gallon price notwithstanding).

2.) Tell us a little bit about the experience of actually buying the car. Who did you talk to, how long did you wait, and what was it like finally driving away in your car?

I attended a Tesla marketing event in 2010, out of curiosity.  Tari Cash and Shaun Phillips were there from Tesla of Washington – they were very friendly and knowledgable, and the event was very low key with no sales pressure at all.  I was so impressed with the car and the technology that before leaving I was asking, “where do I sign?”.  It took 2 months of waiting to get the car delivered, but when they sent the Plycar trailer to my office, I felt like a 10 year old kid on Christmas day.

3.) What do you do for a living, what brought you to the area and what do you like best about living here?

Like many people in the DC area, I’m in the information technology field.  I’m originally from the area, but after school worked in financial services in NYC before heading out to Silicon Valley during the great dotcom boom.  DC – in addition to having a strong job market and economy, has a pretty diverse population and some really great restaurants!

4.) Where do you get your car serviced and what is the maintenance like on a Tesla roadster?

At the Tesla showroom on 11th and K St. downtown.  There really isn’t much to maintain on an electric car – no oil changes, no belts or transmission, etc.  Just periodic firmware updates, like you update your Bluray player.  There’s tire wear of course, but even the brake pads last much longer due to the regenerative braking effect.  And probably in 10 years I’ll need to replace the battery.  I recently had my 1 year checkup, and everything was tip top.  Early on I did have one mechanical issue with a cooling fan, but Tesla fixed the problem right away – even though I was at a friend’s house in PA at the time.  They sent a technician to my friend’s house the next day and replaced the part, so I was impressed with the service.  I think being a relatively small company they can afford that type of intimacy, but also I think they understand what’s at stake in keeping their customers happy.

5.) What are some of your dream cars and why?

McLaren MP4-12C because it seems to represent some innovative technology in materials science.  I also like and have driven the Ferrari 458 – it just looks (and sounds) like a beautiful work of art.  And I like the new Lamborghini Aventador – I imagine one would feel like a fighter pilot in that thing.  When it comes to super cars, my personal preference is performance with agility vs. massive hp brute force monsters.  I like to have fun driving, not kill myself!

6.) What is your favorite local car event and why?

Without hesitation, Katie’s Cars and Coffee on Sat. mornings.  Despite it being earlier than I can usually manage, there’s always a consistent display of diverse and exciting cars.  From antiques to muscle cars and the rarest exotic cars, it’s a car lover’s dream.  And sometimes there are even electric cars too!

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Thanks Mel for sharing your story!