The motivation for this blog is all thanks to Tesla so it only seems appropriate to begin the story with that first day of ownership, for anybody who might be interested to know what it's like to buy one, it's a completely different experience from any dealership you may have dealt with and just like their technology, the purchase experience is miles ahead of the game and I'm sure what we'll all come to expect in just a few years time.

We ordered our Model 3 standard range plus on July 3rd, the whole process was extremely simple and entirely online; we chose the colour, selected the Full-Self-Driving package, opted for a Tesla loan (with a very reasonable rate) and put down the non-refundable fee all in about 10 minutes before sitting back and taking a second for the event to sink in - the moment imagined a thousand times just became our reality. The estimated delivery was November so we planned accordingly and set the date in our calendar.

After about a month and many sleepless nights of anticipation, I logged into my account to check on the progress and saw an updated timeline of September - this was both incredibly exciting and quite stressful, realising that I still had to sell my old car and get insurance lined up in just a few weeks, we got to work. Luckily neither were a problem and I found a happy buyer within a week, leaving us without a vehicle until delivery day, cycling to the rescue! Surely you cannot be a true renewable enthusiast without relying on a bicycle at least some of the time and we actually enjoyed the extra exercise, finding that almost everywhere we needed to go was achievable with muscle power alone.

Insurance proved a little more challenging, as despite having a motorcycle license for 12 years, most companies would not offer me a quote without having a car license for at least 5 years (I have just over 4 currently). In the end I opted for Direct Line as they have a partnership with Telsa in the UK and albeit not the cheapest quote, the peace of mind from not using a budget service is priceless for a brand-new Tesla (being notoriously expensive to repair even for minor incidents). I settled for £1600 which is certainly a lot more than I was paying previously, but the best I could find for not having many years of no claims bonus.

I realised I wouldn't have my driving licence (as I'd sent it off to the DVLA for changes) which was required for delivery, so I called the team who reassured me that a passport would be suitable instead. Turns out you will need at least a photo of your licence to sign off on the car, but luckily I had the foresight to take one before cutting it up!

Throughout the lead-up to September, I received several text updates from Tesla, letting me know when a car was ready to be allocated to me, then to select my preferred collection date and finally to send me a VIN and licence plate number roughly a week before. The team also reached me by phone just to check if I had any questions and give me a rough guide of what to expect on the day.

Finally the date was here, we grabbed a coffee and headed out on foot to catch the train into London. Arriving at Brent Cross nearly an hour and a half later, we made our way to the Tesla store inside the shopping centre. Tesla had advised we would receive a 'WhatThreeWords' link to show us to the collection tent and although that never arrived, the staff there were happy to give us directions. We walked through a parade of beautiful, new cars until stepping into the delivery office where some very friendly and helpful people did some quick checks and asked for a signature, before unlocking the App and handing over the Key Cards. We were then left to go and welcome our new member to the family (whom we had already spotted on the way in!).

We grinned and laughed as we pored over every curve, marvelling at the elegance and opening every door and boot. I was keen to inspect all the panel gaps which I've seen Teslas to have trouble with in the past (I'll defer to Sandy Munroe on that), but luckily there were only one or two very minor details that don't line up and are easily overlooked. In the back was a full medical kit with emergency triangle and hi-vis, a type 2 charging cable, a 3-pin adaptor and charge cable in a smart case, as well as carpet floor mats and front mud-flaps (which I didn't figure out for several weeks!) We installed the floor mats, stowed the gear in the under-floor storage and hopped inside. The usual phone pairing and seat/mirror adjustment was easier than ever, the driving position profiles are an incredibly useful feature and I eagerly pulled up the settings to poke around.

After a good 20 minutes we were keen to get on the road, so we buckled up and headed out. Making our way through the London afternoon traffic was actually a pleasure! The amazingly comfortable seats and simple one-pedal driving style thanks to regenerative braking left us feeling almost chauffeured to our destination about 40 miles away, the time flew past as we sang along to our favourite songs whilst testing out the powerfully immersive sound system.

I was warned that the car may not have 100% charge upon collection, but we actually found it with 20% in the pack which was less than I was expecting. Happily though, upon arrival we had our first charging experience - trying the 3-pin wall-plug adaptor which puts out around 10mph of juice. An hour or so later, we tested the navigation to find the nearest supercharger and ventured out again, eager to try everything we could and spend all day in the car. It's funny how much time we just want to spend soaking in the luxurious interior whilst watching the scenery float by, or simply marvelling at the amazing entertainment system.

It will certainly be a day we'll remember forever and the best part is that it's only the beginning, every journey from now will be an enjoyable adventure and our future has never been greener!