Are you planning to pre-order without ever having sat in a Slate?

[Johnny-Longtorso]

Well my intent by naming Avery and 3M as "OEMs for film" was that they very likely have services to cover everything - assembly, printing, and that of course includes any color name. No one runs by name - it's all part numbers (but I get your point about having to "cross-reference" and "hope for the best" lol)

This is the Avery film I have -

 

[1yeliab_sufur1]

Tilts and telescopes! I remember one of the engineers saying that they wanted a basic steering wheel, but the company they contacted said they could have the tilt/telescoping ones for less so they went for it.

yeah i think it was in the menro video i was going to make a tilting one if not my 1972 galaxie didnt tilt and it drove (hehe) me crazy

 

[dmon4u]

I watched a Video on YouTube where they went into great detail about leg room. They said it was far better than most Trucks ! If I can find it, I will post that !

 

[jeffjgf]

Quite the interesting topic. I also have a concern about test fitting and test driving the Slate before I actually buy it. A bit of history. I used to agonize over vehicle purchases because I tend to keep my vehicles for ever (I have 6 road vehicles in the fleet). On average it takes between 18 to 24 months for me to buy a new car once I get the itch. But that has somewhat changed. My last several vehicle purchases have shown I can buy nearly sight unseen and learn to like the car or truck I've bought. At $25K, the Slate is going to be good enough. That's what I'm going with... good enough. Hopefully, I'll find it even better than that.

I've stated earlier on the forum in other posts that I will need to test drive it before I buy it. I hope I get that chance, but the $300 pre-order payment is set now. It may end up being a sight-unseen purchase. I just did that in December 2025 with my recent motorcycle purchase. That purchase turned out to be an excellent choice.

I see what you're saying. I've plunked down the $300. See it more just to hold my spot. If I end up not buying, okay having that money donated to the cause. About test driving, being 6'8" I really want to sit in the thing before buying, but I'm comforted knowing that 1. They'll give me the opportunity to do so (even if I have to drive to an event to make it happen) and 2. I understand they may use Carvana to do distribution and if they adopt Carvana's "Return for any reason in 7 days and get your money back" that works for me, too. I feel like one way or the other, Slate will work out the test drive situation.

 

[Johnny-Longtorso]

I have not read the Ts and Cs - can one "sell" their deposit/reservation? Has Slate made an official statement about the idea?

 

[1yeliab_sufur1]

I have not read the Ts and Cs - can one "sell" their deposit/reservation? Has Slate made an official statement about the idea?

in the slate Q&A video with Chris Barman on youtube they said no

 

[Trace26]

Out of the 5 vehicles I've bought, the newest one is the only one I've test driven, and I would have bought it anyways.
I actually got to sit on the Slate at an event, and it had miles of room, almost too much room.
The seats weren't great, but they said it was one of the first prototypes and they looked completely different than the new seats.
I don't have any problem buying without a test drive or sitting in a production model. But I also know I can fix anything that I don't like.
I will say, I really want to see some reviews from some real car YouTubers, who will put it though it's paces. (SuperFastMatt would be great)

 

[cadblu]

The seats weren't great, but they said it was one of the first prototypes and they looked completely different than the new seats.

The seats you will get on a production Slate are much improved over the prototypes. Remember, Warsaw is the orthopedic capital of the world!

 

[Johnny-Longtorso]

in the slate Q&A video with Chris Barman on youtube they said no

At the risk of pedantry - she said reservation, not order

But I'm sure if one were to have regrets they could find a constructive way to have another party actually order and pay without too much heavy lifting.....

Glad to hear they plan to make tech drawings / 3D print files available. Now to see if that means more than just a Slatelet or the end of the key fob. (i.e. - if they offer files for things like the light covers I don't know why anyone with a printer would ever buy them...)

Thanks for posting that.

 

[tubes]

Your preorder agreement spells some things out:
https://www.slate.auto/en/terms/preorder

 

[calamari]

(Responding to OP) No, I'd definitely want to sit in it first. I'd also like to test drive it, or at least test drive some other 1PD vehicle to see what that's like and if it makes me feel sick. I also plan on waiting to hear customer feedback, real world range, delivery locations, exact prices, etc. Also the Progressive rep I spoke with couldn't be sure they'd even be able to insure it, due to it being customizable, so I'm hoping for a real VIN someday too (the VIN from this forum has a decoding error). Right now there are way too many unanswered questions and I doubt I'll be able to order until sometime next year at the earliest.

 

[Kopsis]

Also the Progressive rep I spoke with couldn't be sure they'd even be able to insure it, due to it being customizable

Nothing against the Progressive reps (they've been good to me over the years) but that's going to be decided way above their pay grade. I have little doubt that their corporate management will figure out a way to take our money

There may be some coverage limitations for accessories, but that's no different than any other car. I can put $5k worth of rims and tires on a Corolla and they'll write a policy for it but only cover the cost of stock rims on a damage claim (unless I can get a rider on the policy). It should be pretty easy to get Blank Slate level coverage. If you have thousands of dollars of add-ons, that may get a little more "interesting" if you aren't comfortable with anything other than full value coverage.

 

[dmon4u]

I have ordered many different Audio/HiFi equipment over the years without ever hearing any of it first. So this is no big deal for me.

Now, my Mother was one of those that thought Amazon would fail because she said no one would buy anything they can not see in person, try and handle/touch first.

 

[KevinRS]

The VIN having a decoding error isn't a surprise, as it's for a prototype vehicle and probably basically uninsurable. Once they are actually assigning VINs to production vehicles, it may get a bit easier.

 

[EVfun]

I sat in a Slate about 1 year ago when they were at the Space Needle in Seattle. I have my preorder in with a second quarter 2027 delivery schedule.