We quit smoking, and with the money we saved, we bought a Tesla

Seven years ago, my wife and I gave up smoking cigarettes and went on to using E cigarettes. We were spending €30 per day to feed our smoking habit. When we gave up, we decided to save up the money and spend it, initially, on holidays and managed to save enough to go on two cruises. It’s amazing how it adds up.

On one of those holidays, my wife and I visited the Tesla store in Tampa, Florida in November 2015; where we were greeted by a very nice Scottish lady who took us out in a Model S. Then after the launch of the Model 3 on 31 March 2016, I put down a €1000 deposit by way of a reservation. However, I still wasn’t sure how I would get the rest of the money together.

We worked out the calculations and figured out that we could use the €30 per day we saved on cigarettes toward our Tesla fund. Between the day of the launch and 28 September 2019, I had accumulated approximately €40,000 plus some savings. Between that, and a small credit union loan, we purchased a Model 3 Performance.

On the day delivery, I arrived with my son Andrew and three of my grandchildren at the Tesla centre in Sandyford Dublin. After a short presentation and a Q&A session, myself and the other folks taking delivery of their new Model 3’s were presented with our new vehicles. This was the fifth brand-new car ever to take delivery of over my many years of driving, and by far the best delivery experience of a new vehicle I have had.

Since taking delivery, we have been on several road trips in our Model 3, covering a total distance of 2200 km on our most recent drive to the UK. The Supercharger network in Europe is outstanding and is constantly improving. So much so, that this coming August 2020 I’m planning a road trip to the Costa Del Sol and expect to cover approximately 8000 km.

Owning a Tesla Model 3 All-Wheel Drive Long Range means I can drive to any destination in Ireland from my house without needing to charge. As a EV driver, this is huge.

The software updates are another one of my favourite features. The first one I received gave me the ability to watch Netflix and YouTube, plus multiple arcade games, when parked. I’ve also received multiple updates which adds improvements to the car. Tesla ownership means you have a car that is constantly evolving and improving right in front of my eyes with extremely practical and fun stuff.

Simply: it has been fabulous as it is by far the best vehicle I have ever driven or owned and I've been driving for the past 46 years. Giving up smoking has been good for our health and we’re now playing our part in improving air quality for others too.