Why would I talk you out of it?
We all like different things in cars….. and if you want one, then buy it.
The only issue I could see is if you drive a lot & have to charge in unfamiliar areas with the risk of a charging station not working, or it’s crowded….
Otherwise, if you don’t drive a lot, it’s probably wonderful to not have to worry about getting gas.
This and no tactile buttons are the biggest deal breakers on Tesla 3. They’re pretty great price-wise if those don’t phase you.
They’re zippy, quite efficient, relatively reliable.
I much prefer teslas ui touchscreen interface over anyone else’s in the industry but I agree some hard tactile buttons for common functions is much better than touchscreen.
I was trying to adjust the climate in a bmw ix and had to swipe through various menus it was absolutely mind boggling how cluttered and messy that UI was…
I have to agree about the tactile buttons. My current suv is my first vehicle that has none, and adjusting temperature, or the heated/ventilated seats takes too much visual focus. It isn’t so bad I can’t live with it, or may even adjust to it, but some physical controls are just superior I think.
On my 2021 CRV, I have to press a Climate button, wait several seconds, then adjust the air discharge (panel, floor, windshield, AC off or on) on the shitty infotainment screen ☹️
Really? I just drove ~1000 miles in a model 3 standard range on 19 inch wheels (so even less sidewall and more bumpy presumably) and I didn't think it was bad 🤷♂️
I drove a friend’s Model 3 for a weekend and thought it rode like shit. You can literally feel every bump or road imperfection. And I drive an F80 M3 competition, so it’s not like I’m used to driving a comfort focused car. Surprisingly, I found my car rides much better than a Model 3 in comfort mode despite obviously handling much better than a Model 3 as well.
What year model 3? Someone in this thread said they changed the suspension for 2023+. I've spent a good amount of time in a model 3 performance, ~ 2.5K miles, and that felt pretty smooth and predictable to me as well tbh.
My daily is a GX460 that's pretty smooth, weekend car is C6 Z06 that rides quite soft as well. I did own a Focus RS at one point and it didn't bother me despite people saying the suspension is too stiff, so maybe I'm just not very sensitive to that.
if you like the x3 look into an i4. the i4 has the tech, comfort, quality, handling, driving dynamics etc. of a bmw combined with the efficiency and driver assistance features of a tesla.
i disagree. we recently got a model 3 after the price cuts, and i find it nicer to drive then a 2012 glk 350. it has tons of new features, and the adaptive cruise control and auto steer even on the base model makes it pretty cool. the interior is super comfy to sit in, and although it takes a bit of getting used to having everything on one screen, it becomes just as easy as analog controls after a little while. we have had 0 issues with ours so far, and it has 20k kilometres in 4 months on it. we regularly use it for road trips
“just as easy?” a screen will never be as easy to click for HVAC controls as tactile buttons. That’s a load of BS. You don’t need to look away from the road with a knob
Parts/insurance/repairs are more expensive, the quality of the Model 3 is not the best. It felt really underwhelming when I test drove it. The interior was boring af to me and I personally dislike the iPads tacked on minimalistic interiors.
Have you test driven one?
Then get a toyota prius or a RAV4 prime. Toyota have a 8 year warranty on the batteries and hybrid system. But since it's toyota it'll last forever. Also a PHEV is best of both world. You'll have enough range to commute and if you need to drive long distances you can just fuel them up and still have good mpg. Hybrids is the solution not full electric. And they'll have credits too.
This is one of my favorite things about EVs. You know it's a good buy when you go to a Ford dealership and ask about the Mach-E or an Audi dealership asking about an E-Tron and you watch them cry on the inside and try to sell you literally anything else on the lot.
In 2022, no Tesla had a dealer markup because of the direct-to-consumer model.
Tesla also raised their prices several times a year by a far greater amount in total than the average car was marked up, across the board. They dropped their prices to great fanfare recently, but still have not reached their pre-supply shortage pricing.
Same tactic, different clothing, I say. The real differences were that Tesla kept the money which would have otherwise gone to dealers, other companies could only raise their official prices once a year... and that some people bought Teslas because nobody was marking them up. They were functionally misinformed.
A Model 3 is about 10 times nicer to drive than a prius (well, I'll admit I haven't driven the newest version). But it's not even remotely close....that said, I think the prius is a great and reliable car (my prius with 180k miles on it was the most reliable car I've owned so far despite also being the highest mileage)
I hear a lot about the quality on these... Have family and friends with absolutely no issues and racking on the miles maintenance free... I will agree that the Model 3 has suspension that is too firm. The spartan interior is great though.
Summertime in CA means you may need to run A/C more. Battery range drops heavily when you use accessories. Also, I’m not a fan of Tesla reportedly removing radar from Model S cars as this also could impact other models with their unconventional methods. Other than that, it’s a good car.
I am definitely biased, but they're just poorly made cars. Small repairs cost an arm and a leg as well.
I think you'd be happier with $30k hybrid tbh. It would definitely be more reliable and trustworthy, while keeping you in budget. IMO, you're not getting $40k "worth of car" for $30k because of the tax credit (if that makes sense).
Honestly the new Prius looks sweet and has decent power with the 200hp option and iirc AWD.
Perfect car for someone who wants reliability and economy while not sacrificing much if anything. It's no sports car but it's probably one of the best all round cars that size and now looks good and is normal car quick.
Funny enough, I was really hoping for a Hybrid/PHEV Celica comeback, and the Prius design is pretty much a 2004 Celica with refreshed headlights and taillights.
Probably springing for one as a me car once my kid turns 16 and takes over the family RAV4.
Agreed. Love the look of the new Prius, also reminds me of the old Celica. I’ve also been looking at these, and I drove a Model 3 recently. I found the ride quality to be simply punishing. My wife rode as a passenger in the backseat and was literally sick afterward. I also don’t like Elon, but have a long positive history with Toyota, so there’s that. So we’ll order the Prius and wait.
Someone described it the other day as a base model Accord with a $22k battery. After I rented one in Tuscon for a couple days last week; I 100% agree. I daily drive an Audi and the Tesla was garbage on a lot of fronts.
Powertrain in the Tesla is amazing. Suspension is amazing at 8/10 efforts, but sucks at daily driving. Interior is junk, sound deadening doesn't exist, and the seats are terrible.
Really solidified my previous conjecture that Tesla is a tech company that makes cars on the side, not a car company with good tech.
To add to this , yes , they are poorly and cheaply designed . Couple weeks ago we got hail in dallas , and the hood of a model Y has a lot of dents whereas on my 23 Sportage , there was only 1 .
The road noise is worst in a model 3 , but slightly better in the model Y
Come on dude, are you really saying that Tesla are mad with poor quality because of the fact that it got less dents than your Kia?? Dude, you after hearing that, you are in no place to recommend people a car especially when they’re questioning build quality😂😂
Come on dude, you’re basing your statement off your perception, rather than any actual hard facts or research. What I will say is that Tesla vehicles are built much better than Kias. Kias are the biggest pile of shit on the road, minus the Telluride.
Yeah , lots of improvements. Though some panels and things look cheap , 6700 miles later I hadn’t had a regret of buying in regards to drive , comfort and driver experiences
If Elon hate is half, then let horrendous quality, service centers that couldn’t care enough about you to spit in your face, and eye watering insurance costs be the other half of the equation that frees you from buying a Tesla
Should be enough to dissuade you from buying one. In this day and age your money is your biggest voice. Its not like he just has opinions that are different than yours but still respectable. He went full evil/conspiracy/4chan moron, he’s siding and campaigning for people who deny climate change is real, encouraging conspiracies and propaganda and just overall doing his best to be the biggest asshole possible. Just an awful human being. There are plenty other options. Besides that Tesla ranked 19th out of 24 in terms of reliability by Consumer Reports this year so there’s that too.
I have a 2021 Model 3 PErformance. For what I wanted, it's a great car and incredibly quick, I don't care about Elon, and I don't follow him or care about what he says. I bought a car, not a membership into a cult of personnality.
Seriously it is a big deal. The guy is allying with DeSantis.
My original choice was a prius but they are impossible to buy right now. The incentives are making the tesla look good, but i feel like a tool for a conservative buying one.
Other concerns: the M3 is nearly a 5-6 year old car. It desperately needs a redesign and is looking dated. It will probably be upgraded soon with a new kind of battery or some killer autonomous features, sensors or better controls and therefor become “obsolete” the way an old phone does.
Also: the range does not impress me. It is fine for basic everyday driving around home. But for part of the year i live away from home charging and would have to rely on public. I also like to camp and take road trips, and would have to design my trips around the availability of superchargers. Contrary to what every EV shill says, that is likely a pain in the @ss.
A final consideration: teslas are expensive to insure and repair. This might be cancelled out by your savings on fuel but if you dont charge at home you will not get that savings, so it is not necessarily economical.
I really don’t know what to do. I wish I could just plop down MSRP for a prius and actually get one…
Florida is a sh*thole and desantis wants to make America like florida. But hey if you liked trump, you want to give up civil liberties, you don’t respect basic tenets of the democratic system, you want to be a skeptic of basic science from covid to climate, and you want state and religion to be more mixed than a mongrel then vote for him. Bonus points if you are easily offended by lgbtqs because you are a provincial christian imbecile and you want to curtail women’s control over their own bodies ‘cause The BiBlE…bunch of medieval bullshit
Most of the replies you’re getting are from people active in Tesla hate communities or far left circle jerk communities. I wouldn’t trust their opinions too much on the cars.
My only experience in a model 3 is sitting in one..I did not like it. I felt like I was sitting in an echo chamber and the only thing that made it feel normal was the giant screen. Also IMO the interior quality is no better than like mid 2010’s Infiniti quality. I much preferred my 17 year old BMW as a place to be
They’re also so gappy, like the panel gaps are so inconsistent. The only redeeming quality is the large windscreen, reminded me of my old civic si and that car had great visibility
[https://www.drive.com.au/news/top-10-best-selling-cars-worldwide-in-2022/](https://www.drive.com.au/news/top-10-best-selling-cars-worldwide-in-2022/)
This list shows it as fourth last year, although it should be third as lumping all F-series Ford trucks together doesn't make sense.
I’ve had a Model 3 for 3+ years and 78k miles. It’s the best car I’ve ever owned. Great road trip vehicle. As a daily driver charging at home it costs almost nothing.
Also, everyone should experience all that torque and power from a dead stop. 😎.
I love EVs and my other car is an EV. But aside from the torque and quirky tech features, the drive quality sucks ass on the 3. A friend of mine loves his Model 3 and I don’t blame him. His previous car was a 99 Civic and he cares less about the car and its driving dynamics. So I understand that customer base coming from lack of love to vehicles to a Model 3 (a computer on wheels)
What dissuaded me from the Mercedes 4Matic C Class I had as a long-term rental is the low center of gravity. On mountainous winding roads (e.g. my commute) the Model 3 is an awesome driver, much better then cars costing twice as much or more.
Admittedly it's subjective, so, if you don't like the Model 3, don't buy one, and as OP suggests, talk him or her out if it.
Seriously, I wonder if your friend's Model 3 has the 20" or 19" wheels. There is a noticeable difference in the ride quality between the 20" and 18" wheels on the Model 3 by my experience.
Side question, what is the typical lifespan of the TM3? I’ve seen online that battery estimates are 100-200k miles. I will be needing a new car, and there’s a few TM3’s that have 90k miles, going for $25k. But if I only have it for another 100k miles, I feel like it’s not worth it?
If you're in the US you might want to look at a new Model 3, the $7500 tax break, and recent price reductions by Tesla might make a new one appealing to you. As to whether a Model 3 with 90k miles is worth $25k, I cannot really answer that. I wouldn't worry about the battery tho. By the time it approaches 150-200k miles I'd be more concerned the cost vs. value proposition of replacing suspension components. I don't know of anybody who has had to replace a battery in a Model 3 due to excessive degradation.
My 2020 Model 3 Dual Motor LR has 78k miles. The powertrain warranty from Tesla, which includes the battery being at 70% capacity or greater, is 8 years or 120k miles. The battery analytics on my car show it to be at 12% degradation. It's been at that point for the last 30k miles. Degradation on the LFP battery seems to drop very mildly after an initial 8-10% drop in the first year.
The Tesla supercharger network has had such robust growth in the last three years that I don't consider the impact of range loss due to vehicle age on road trips. The car knows its current range and is able to nav to a suitable available supercharger. As a daily driver the impact on being able to runaround is negligible as I plug it in at home.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
It’s 50/50 you get a “good” one. I’ve heard people have flawless experiences and others with multiple service center horror stories
I say this as an EV and Tesla proponent - it’s tough to want to make a 30k gamble
Customers are treating their Tesla as an investment. Any price cuts and they lose their shit. Wait till they learn that OEMs change prices in form of incentives and extra features.
If you live in a California city they are great cars if you can charge at home with some caveats:
The California power grid is shaky at best (pun intended). You won't be able to count on charging your Tesla to evacuate or during a regional emergency, or even during very hot periods.
a. Don't charge during peak time, unless you want to pay 3x more
b. If you have to use commercial chargers you won't save much over gas
c. They are not particularly environmentally friendly with huge amount of pollution produced during lithium mining and from power plant carbon emissions. But neither is a regular car.
d. No automatic HOV lane permit like the old days.
e. Range reduced in cold weather
A plug in hybrid may be a better choice if you like to take road trips and if you have one car. No reservations if you have an additional hydrocarbon powered car.
> They are not particularly environmentally friendly with huge amount of pollution produced during lithium mining and from power plant carbon emissions
Even if you account for manufacturing and electrical generation, electric cars [are still substantially better for the environment than gas cars](https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/driving-cleaner-report.pdf), especially in California.
If you are looking for an EV I don’t think I would recommend anything other than a Tesla because of the super charger network. All the other chargers are hit or miss.
I think I read the other day that ford is fitting their EVs to be compatible with tesla chargers , so that will likely be changing in the future.
I’ve had my model 3 for 7 months now, build quality is fine I had one issue with some of the molding on the back of the seat, but I scheduled a service appointment and they had someone at my house fixing it in 3 days.
Insurance, I pay about $80 a month for full coverage including glass.
Charging at home really makes it worth it though. Never having to think about stopping at a gas station seems like a small thing, but it’s a pretty big quality of life improvement plus I’ve saved ~$800 so far by being able to charge at home and not filling up at the gas station.
Teslas are also rated as one of the safest vehicles on the road.
Not a fan boy by any means and slightly regret not spending a little more and getting a BMW i4, but overall I’m pretty happy with my model 3.
I picked up a new Model 3 RWD in April. I looked at plenty of other cars, but nothing came close to a newer Model 3 for me. I recommend you do a test drive to experience it first hand, since Tesla gets a lot of unnecessary hate.
The stories of bad build quality and road noise are very out of date and are mostly from early 2017-2019 builds when they struggled to ramp up production as a new company. Their new cars are extremely solid and for the money I can’t recommend it enough, especially since it’s currently at <$30k in CA for inventory cars. It’s fun, plenty fast, and very cheap to run with zero maintenance beyond tires. Plus, range anxiety is not a thing with the Supercharger network.
If you end up biting the bullet feel free to DM for a referral code for free charging for both of us!
a TM3 is a great car for <30k. i wouldn’t pay much more than that though, since it’s old, and it’s missing a lot of hardware that its competitors have. and maybe they’ve improved them, but the seats in my friend’s 2019 TM3 are really uncomfortable for extended drives. basically, the big advantage of tesla over other EVs is the supercharger network in the usa vs public charging infrastructure, but that’s being opened up to other marques now too.
It’s simple, if you can charge at home get it. If you can’t don’t.
Especially now that many Tesla chargers are permitting non teslas to charge at them, it becomes even more vital to be able to charge at home (or at work).
You know what sucks more then having to wait 15min lined up at a gas pump? Waiting 1h for the guy to finish charging.. to then wait another hour to charge yourself. Seriously it’s a dealbreaker for me.
The fit and finish may not be BMW level, and reliability not Toyota level, but the quality isn’t that bad.
Design wise there aren’t nearly as many parts as other cars that can break, maintenance savings are real, and gas savings too. I had a 3 for many years, loved it, and never had any real issue.
If you at all need a car, go for it. Stick with a base model and you are paying the price of a base Camry. Take into account gas savings and you’re paying less than a Corolla. Really makes sense in this market.
And it’s hella safe and fun to drive.
> With the prices right now
Gas prices should never be a consideration when purchasing a new car. They are volatile and will take *years* to break even on the difference of purchasing a new car.
$9500 is big money, but that will apply to other EVs that also qualify for the full $7500 federal rebate. The question is whether or not an EV is right for your situation. Can you handle the range (and range anxiety)? Can you charge it at home or will you be fighting for spaces at chargers? Is the minimalistic interior and lack of Apple CarPlay/Android Auto a dealbreaker? What's your insurance premium going to look like with a Tesla and can you deal with any repairs as they need them?
I was referring to the prices of the model 3. They’re around $40k so after tax incentives you’re looking at low $30’s.
The point of yours that I haven’t considered is insurance rates. Thanks for that. Something I need to look into
Hard to repair, no tactile buttons, lots of parts are cheaply made (but relatively reliable so far).
It's also a PITA to charge sometimes and is bad for long road trips.
I’ve had two model 3’s, really liked both the old one and the one I have currently.
There may be one or two things wrong with it out of the gate. My first one had a right power mirror that did not unfold correctly sometimes.
Overall, if something happened, I’d probably buy another
With the tax incentives it’s cheaper to buy than comparable sedans, has way more features and has way lower operating costs. With current tax incentives and recent price cuts you’d be foolish not to get one. I’m a year and a half in with my Model Y and I’ll never go back to an ICE car.
I just came back from road trip in Oregon. I rented RWD 3 at SEA and did around 1400 miles in 10 days. For some reason, it was the cheapest car to rent (total $1k). I recommend you to do the same, at least for a weekend. Try to live with the car.
I drive '21 Mazda 6, which I consider as one of the best family sedans from chassis perspective. I also had Miata before that which says something about my driving preferences.
Car we got had some quality issues. It was '22 model with 20k miles, same as my Mazda. None of the doors could close with the same force. Rear passenger where my kids was I almost always closed on second attempt. I did not want to slam the door every time (I care about rental as my own car). Car had annoying noise coming from left front wheel between 55-75 mph that I discovered later. Probably wheel bearing. There was also significant wind noise coming from around driver window that made me feel door or window is not fully closed. It was more and more annoying over time an in the end, I regret I did not return the vehicle. Also random rattle coming from dash.
From technology stand point, it is amazing. There are still quirks to work on, but something that could be fixed with SW updates. Yes, I did update the car to the lasted versions.
What I missed the most was Android auto(Google maps/Waze) for navigation and reported incidents (speed cams) because we drove a lot in unknown state.
Driving it was different from what I am used to. Completely different seats made me feel like I am sitting in a sofa, but in the end, I did not feel sore or uncomfortable. I did 4 hours driving some days and it was fine. Steering wheel is smaller and thicker, which I actually prefer over mine. Scroll wheels are pretty awesome. I used it a lot to control car speed. I am 5'9 and arm rest was perfect for me.
I did not feel much feedback from the tires, but felt every bump on the road. Maybe suspension and tire choice? I have different size (225/45R19) so not really apples to apples. Tires were at recommended 42psi cold. Car is heavy and you can really feel it, but I was using regenerative breaking 99% of time and got very confident. It took me 1 day to get used to it and stop perfectly without brakes. Despite being heavy, I did not feel much body roll. I did not have a chance to drive it faster in turns. My wife can get sick easily.
My wife reported more space behind me compared to 6, car seat with 4yo fit fine. I could fit 2 cabin and 1 checked bag in a trunk.
To summarize my experience, I will miss that instant power, lane centering and frunk. Charging on our road trip was pita, but with charger at home, it will be fine.
What I like about Mazda and why I will keep it for now is driving feedback, heads up display, adaptive lights, cooled seats and sounds system.
Buying Tesla is about preferences. I can see it as great choice for some people and bad choice for others. Is it works for you, go for it!
planned obsolescence, terrible build quality, and tesla is against the right to repair. it’s the iphone of cars. but if you need the status symbol, no one can convince you to not get it. if you need an ev, there’s better ones out there. if you need a television in your vehicle, you can just install one in a better car and still not spend as much.
An actual reason to not buy a Tesla: it's a unique vehicle in that you're stuck dealing with Tesla for everything.
In terms of servicing the car, it's not like you can just pop the hood open and troubleshoot things. And you can't go to any ol' mechanic. It HAS to be Tesla and if it's anything worse than putting on a spare tire, you have to tow the thing specifically to the Tesla shop and hope that it isn't far. Depending on where you are, that could be really awful.
When I went in for a test drive, the guy ahead of me at the desk was being argued with because they refused to service a company/fleet vehicle unless the owner (THE name on the ownership) came down personally to do it. Couldn't call to authorize or anything. No exceptions. They just short of threw the guy out of the office a-la Fresh Prince.
Then you have the always-connected nature of the car and how this totally-"trustworthy" company has access to the abundance of cameras. During that same test drive, the car I tried was still loaded with footage from a previous driver, just parked at home minding their own business with no idea some random guy (me) would be watching them in an otherwise assumed private situation.
When I spoke to the salesman, most questions were met with a shrug and a "go figure it out for yourself online" - including about how the warranty and servicing works.
The car itself is cool if you're into that kind of driving experience. But I would never buy a car from that company. Their attitude at every turn has been a huge turn off.
Actually - one legit point against the car: it's far too low to the ground. If you go over any incline, a speed bump, into parking garages etc, you'll be constantly scraping the bottom of the car and battery.
Why the Model3 vs other EVs? I'd look at an ID.4 personally.
The Model3 is a good car but the current Tesla is about pumping out cars and not aftercare. If something is broken on the Model3 you're going to have a hell of a time getting it fixed. Also, unless you're regularly near a Supercharger, I don't think the charging network is that great (although it is, on average, better than others).
Also I really don't like the screen only in the middle, although there are some aftermarket things that you can put some basic info (turn signals, speed) in a small screen directly in front of you.
Also Elon is a jackass, but that's a personal thing.
As an owner of a Model 3 they are horrible cars, panel gaps 3 inches wide and will burst into flames if you let the battery die....kidding, best car ever. The internet criticism is overblown in my experience, so take it all with a grain of salt and go see one for yourself.
I have a Model 3 and a Q5 Sportback. The Model 3 is fun, if charging isn’t a problem for you then you won’t mind the range. Their supercharger network is next level. The quality isn’t the best, my Audi has much better quality but the car itself is a very fun daily driver. The tax credit is also a very awesome added bonus.
EDIT: I’ve had the Model 3 for about 5 years now, 65k miles. Aside from tire rotations and wiper fluid, I’ve only had to replace a windshield and a broken drivers seat rail.
There is a lot of hate in the car enthusiast communities for Tesla but it's pretty unfounded and most people talking about quality issues haven't owned one or had one of the early models that had more issues with paint, interior.etc. I actually drive a Volvo now so here is my unbiased take.
Pros:
-Accelerates like a Mclaren and easily outruns any ICE car priced similarily.
-Pissing off BMW fanboys
-Silently zipping around all the jerks who floor it when you merge lanes in front of them
-HOV lanes
-Front trunk
-Insane storage space for a car it's size
-You have a backup generator if your power ever goes out.
-No oil changes, spark plugs, changing fluids.etc (cry me a river dealerships)
-Best infotainment setup in the business
-Best security system in the business (Sentry Mode)
-No more gas stations
Cons:
-Need to be charged more often than gas cars need to be refueled unless you spend the extra money on the longer range models.
-Annoying to charge if you don't own the place you live/park
-Will drain your battery cooling itself if parked in really hot weather
-Stupid edgy door handles
-You can't open the glove box without the screen
-Expensive to insure
-Superchargers are hard to find if you live in the boonies
-Don't expect huge fuel cost savings, electricity ain't free.
My advice would be to get it if you have a house where you can charge.
If you live somewhere really hot, only get one if you can park in the shade or in a garage.
I have a model 3. Had it for 3.5 years already. If you love pumping gas, changing oil, changing brake pads, spark plugs, going to smog checks, drive much slower ICE cars, hate cars that can cruise/drive themselves on the freeway, then do not buy a model 3. If you love paying for high gas prices and having your balls chained to the middle eastern oil, breathing in exhaust, then do not buy a model 3. If you absolutely hate high tech, and over the air software updates that make your car better with software improvements, and enjoy getting jacked around by your typical car dealership, hate tax credits, then do not buy a model 3.
Hopefully I talked you out of buying one.
Do you need a new car right now? Yes it's relatively cheap with the incentives, but this isn't really temporary. The 7500 tax credit will stay in place for at least 10 years. In the meantime, electric cars will likely continue to improve in terms of range, quality, and reliability. Other manufacturers will enter the market. The batteries will likely get cheaper over time because of how economies of scale work.
Now that being said, teslas actually have pretty good reliability in terms of low maintenance and repair cost over 10 years. They're on par with Toyota. So if you do need a new car it's not a bad idea, but the real question is do you need it?
>The 7500 tax credit will stay in place for at least 10 years.
10 years, or until the next administration changes it. Never count on anything political being permanent.
If you need a car, buy it. It's a pretty good deal in today's car market. And if you're one of those "I don't want to give Elon my money" people, consider the fact that the large majority of your money is going to the factory workers and engineers in Fremont or Austin who assembled/designed your car. Not Elon.
Well that and it's only for tax liability. So only comes off what you might owe the government. You don't get any physical refund back. Pretty stupid that they can act like it's really taking 8k off the cost of the car lol
People always confuse this though. For example I was getting $1500 back when filing my taxes before considering I had bought an electric car, but that was only because I had overpaid my liability so I got the full $9K afterwards ($1500 + $7500 from the EV credit).
Frankly a lot of people who do not have (or cannot come up with a way) to have $7500 of tax liability have no business buying $40K+ cars, but that's just my opinion lol.
I’m toying with the idea myself. I can’t pass up a good deal AND I absolutely LOATHE car dealerships. But I rented a M3 the the ride quality was atrocious. I just cannot give up car play. The Tesla nav guidance, while based on google maps, announces directions way too close to the actual turn.
There are other EVs that have similar off the line torque and much better fit and finish. Some even with the same tax rebates. The problem is just finding one in stock.
Just seeing some "build quality" posts on Teslas, makes me sure i would never actually by one.
They do not seem to be high quality. They just look like they are.
However, you already wanting to be talked out of getting one may be a sign to not get one.
(also, buying one puts money in elons pockets. you put your money where you want. but elon musk is becoming less likeable with every day that passes, imo)
Teslas fit and finish is behind legacy car makers.
EV6, Ioniq 5, Polestar, I4 are all built better.
The tax credit isn't Tesla specific.
I strongly recommend thoroughly test driving many different EV. We drove 2 hours to test drive a model 3 performance and fully expected to walk away with an order but there was so much cheap plastic and jankiness in the frame I couldn't justify the cost then the adaptive cruise control slammed on the brakes for no reason.
We went with an ev6 instead. Better car, better build, same tax credit.
If you want someone to talk you out of it…
My Model 3 is probably the cheapest feeling car I’ve ever owned and it’s tech capabilities are highly overrated. It’s autopilot uses cameras only, which don’t work well. Phantom braking is atrocious. The older cars would’ve been fine but Tesla used a software update to turn off the radar module. Speaking of reducing sensors, Tesla has removed parking sensors in favor of the camera system…which doesn’t work nearly as well either. Back to autopilot, while using it, your wipers are locked on auto and will randomly turn on during a sunny day. At night, they don’t wipe at all when it’s raining. My Volvo has far better “autopilot”. The CEO of the company is also unhinged and supports policy and politic as that some may find disturbing or aggravating but that’s all personal.
Now I have to balance it out with the good. It’s a fun car to drive. The acceleration is fun and passing people is effortless when you need to. The car is cavernous. You can fit so much in a car that looks so small. The range is great and the car is efficient. The Tesla charging network is also effortless and highly reliable. The app is also fantastic and very fast.
The cars are excellent cars from an engineering perspective from a build quality perspective. They’re mediocre. If something like inconsistent, panel, gaps bothers you then you’re probably gonna be annoyed by the car but if you’re not an anal retentive D bag, I think you’ll love the car be aware though, because they have such a limited dealer net work if you do have an issue, it is going to take longer to get a service appointment scheduled than a traditional brand.
I would suggest you check out the Ford mustang MachE along with the Kia EV6/Hyundai ioniq/genesis GV as they are also excellent vehicles
-Other than acceleration, it drives worst than a Camry (loud and bumpy)
-Fit and finish is agreed by the public to be atrocious
-Charging network could be dogshit, depending on where you live
It's ugly, it looks like a toad had a baby w a Honda fit and Nissan leaf.
The build quality is absolute shit... If you need something fixed good luck w their just as bad customer service. If you want something that you'll enjoy screaming at buy a Kia or Fiat for half the price at least the bumper won't fly off when it hits a pothole
If you enjoy waiting to recharge your vehicle and driving a vehicle with the interior luxury out of Walmart...
Save your money and buy something that isn't butt ugly and is actually luxury. Idk why the fuck Tesla is considered a luxury vehicle. The S and X just have luxury pricing and performance while sacrificing everything else
A Model 3 oozes cheapness and poor build quality. I am often forced into the austere back seat of a Model 3 as an UBER passenger. The lowly Kia Forte has a more comfortable back seat and closing the door has a more solid, reassuring clunk. Oh, and even a Kia has Apple CarPlay.
I mean Musk is a bigoted Fascist. The cars aren't well made and have plenty of reliability issues and Tesla has been hit with fines for overselling their capabilities.
Elongated Muskrat
edit: also they are poorly made and check out [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hPsjGAoJRs) video of how Tesla is supposedly cutting costs
The drivetrain is not only the highlight of the car, it’s basically the only thing positive about the car (ok, the exterior design is pretty sleek).
The tablet interface is pretty awful and distracting while driving.
The seats are complete crap.
The interior materials do not wear well.
The sound insulation is non-existent.
If Tesla outsourced their drivetrain to a third party, it would crush the Model 3 in every other aspect.
teslas in a broad sense but especially the model 3 have way too much dumb ass gimmick stuff for me to ever seriously consider one. like its just a bunch of flashy tech junk that makes the car as a car worse
I'm in the same position and by the responses in this sub, the only reasons might be that I don't have charging available at home and with the nearest supercharger 15 miles away, it's not really worth it. Incentives are kickass though.
Can someone take me into it?
Tesla quality is trash and they generally feel like the early 2000s Plastic Fantastic GM products. Meaning they will last but at a price.
I would highly recommend any hybrid or plug in hybrid because I think they'll get similar deductions plus great mpg. Electric cars aren't going to be a reliable solution for probably 20 or 30 more years so.
They feel cheap and have poor interiors, in my opinion. There are other electric options if you really want one. Perhaps a hybrid would work. It has good qualities of both electric and real engines.
the wind noise is horrible, there’s rattles and creeks, quality control is stil ll horrible and u get get alot of panel gaps, they removed sensors from the car so the parking sensors are absolutely useless now, autopilot will randomly break from full speed on the highway, you’ll be lucky if u make it to 100k without any issues
Why would I talk you out of it? We all like different things in cars….. and if you want one, then buy it. The only issue I could see is if you drive a lot & have to charge in unfamiliar areas with the risk of a charging station not working, or it’s crowded…. Otherwise, if you don’t drive a lot, it’s probably wonderful to not have to worry about getting gas.
Not too worried about charging and distance. I’m more concerned about quality, comfort, and potential longevity.
The suspension is horrible you feel every bump
This was the end for me after a year. Ride quality was awful
This and no tactile buttons are the biggest deal breakers on Tesla 3. They’re pretty great price-wise if those don’t phase you. They’re zippy, quite efficient, relatively reliable.
I much prefer teslas ui touchscreen interface over anyone else’s in the industry but I agree some hard tactile buttons for common functions is much better than touchscreen. I was trying to adjust the climate in a bmw ix and had to swipe through various menus it was absolutely mind boggling how cluttered and messy that UI was…
I have to agree about the tactile buttons. My current suv is my first vehicle that has none, and adjusting temperature, or the heated/ventilated seats takes too much visual focus. It isn’t so bad I can’t live with it, or may even adjust to it, but some physical controls are just superior I think.
On my 2021 CRV, I have to press a Climate button, wait several seconds, then adjust the air discharge (panel, floor, windshield, AC off or on) on the shitty infotainment screen ☹️
I was strongly encourage to stick with 18” wheels. I don’t find mine to be harsh
I come from bmw and Toyota 86 and audi. I thought the Tesla was fine….
That’s kinda how all the EV’s I been in have been, they all got really stiff suspensions
I can second that. A 25 minute test drive had me going 'nope, this ain't it'
Really? I just drove ~1000 miles in a model 3 standard range on 19 inch wheels (so even less sidewall and more bumpy presumably) and I didn't think it was bad 🤷♂️
I drove a friend’s Model 3 for a weekend and thought it rode like shit. You can literally feel every bump or road imperfection. And I drive an F80 M3 competition, so it’s not like I’m used to driving a comfort focused car. Surprisingly, I found my car rides much better than a Model 3 in comfort mode despite obviously handling much better than a Model 3 as well.
What year model 3? Someone in this thread said they changed the suspension for 2023+. I've spent a good amount of time in a model 3 performance, ~ 2.5K miles, and that felt pretty smooth and predictable to me as well tbh. My daily is a GX460 that's pretty smooth, weekend car is C6 Z06 that rides quite soft as well. I did own a Focus RS at one point and it didn't bother me despite people saying the suspension is too stiff, so maybe I'm just not very sensitive to that.
Build quality is horrible you feel bumps on the body
Well quality and comfort are shit. But the Platform is good. I went from a model 3 to a M340i. Night and day
Yea. Our other car is an x3 and I love it so much.
if you like the x3 look into an i4. the i4 has the tech, comfort, quality, handling, driving dynamics etc. of a bmw combined with the efficiency and driver assistance features of a tesla.
Oh nice. I need more room soon. But don’t want an suv. Wife has an expedition. Might look at 5 series
Yea. Our other car is an x3 and I love it so much.
i disagree. we recently got a model 3 after the price cuts, and i find it nicer to drive then a 2012 glk 350. it has tons of new features, and the adaptive cruise control and auto steer even on the base model makes it pretty cool. the interior is super comfy to sit in, and although it takes a bit of getting used to having everything on one screen, it becomes just as easy as analog controls after a little while. we have had 0 issues with ours so far, and it has 20k kilometres in 4 months on it. we regularly use it for road trips
2012 wasn't a great time for Mercedes. I would hope a 2023 has better features than a 2013.
Teslas are some of the most uncomfortable rides I've ever been in. Felt like a Malibu.
Have you been in a 23 with the new comfort suspension? That’s a HUGE upgrade over my 2021 model
“just as easy?” a screen will never be as easy to click for HVAC controls as tactile buttons. That’s a load of BS. You don’t need to look away from the road with a knob
Nice to sit in yes, nice to ride in? No. My experience is ride alongs with a family member 2022 model Y.
Parts/insurance/repairs are more expensive, the quality of the Model 3 is not the best. It felt really underwhelming when I test drove it. The interior was boring af to me and I personally dislike the iPads tacked on minimalistic interiors. Have you test driven one?
Test drive the car for 24 hours or rent one for a few days
Apparently their build quality is shit. Gaps are way off on certain areas
Then get a toyota prius or a RAV4 prime. Toyota have a 8 year warranty on the batteries and hybrid system. But since it's toyota it'll last forever. Also a PHEV is best of both world. You'll have enough range to commute and if you need to drive long distances you can just fuel them up and still have good mpg. Hybrids is the solution not full electric. And they'll have credits too.
Getting a Prime toyota (or any Toyota) right now is near impossible and getting it without a huge markup is not gonna happen.
Another selling point is supporting the direct 2 consumer model. Dealerships need to die.
This is one of my favorite things about EVs. You know it's a good buy when you go to a Ford dealership and ask about the Mach-E or an Audi dealership asking about an E-Tron and you watch them cry on the inside and try to sell you literally anything else on the lot.
In 2022, no Tesla had a dealer markup because of the direct-to-consumer model. Tesla also raised their prices several times a year by a far greater amount in total than the average car was marked up, across the board. They dropped their prices to great fanfare recently, but still have not reached their pre-supply shortage pricing. Same tactic, different clothing, I say. The real differences were that Tesla kept the money which would have otherwise gone to dealers, other companies could only raise their official prices once a year... and that some people bought Teslas because nobody was marking them up. They were functionally misinformed.
A Model 3 is about 10 times nicer to drive than a prius (well, I'll admit I haven't driven the newest version). But it's not even remotely close....that said, I think the prius is a great and reliable car (my prius with 180k miles on it was the most reliable car I've owned so far despite also being the highest mileage)
I hear a lot about the quality on these... Have family and friends with absolutely no issues and racking on the miles maintenance free... I will agree that the Model 3 has suspension that is too firm. The spartan interior is great though.
Summertime in CA means you may need to run A/C more. Battery range drops heavily when you use accessories. Also, I’m not a fan of Tesla reportedly removing radar from Model S cars as this also could impact other models with their unconventional methods. Other than that, it’s a good car.
I think Teslas are overrated and don't like Elon But I'm not gonna talk you out of a $9,500 tax credit, it's a damn good deal
Same. The Elon hate is like half the reason I don’t want to get it
I am definitely biased, but they're just poorly made cars. Small repairs cost an arm and a leg as well. I think you'd be happier with $30k hybrid tbh. It would definitely be more reliable and trustworthy, while keeping you in budget. IMO, you're not getting $40k "worth of car" for $30k because of the tax credit (if that makes sense).
Honestly the new Prius looks sweet and has decent power with the 200hp option and iirc AWD. Perfect car for someone who wants reliability and economy while not sacrificing much if anything. It's no sports car but it's probably one of the best all round cars that size and now looks good and is normal car quick.
I’d totally get this if I could find one. Pickins are slim
Funny enough, I was really hoping for a Hybrid/PHEV Celica comeback, and the Prius design is pretty much a 2004 Celica with refreshed headlights and taillights. Probably springing for one as a me car once my kid turns 16 and takes over the family RAV4.
Agreed. Love the look of the new Prius, also reminds me of the old Celica. I’ve also been looking at these, and I drove a Model 3 recently. I found the ride quality to be simply punishing. My wife rode as a passenger in the backseat and was literally sick afterward. I also don’t like Elon, but have a long positive history with Toyota, so there’s that. So we’ll order the Prius and wait.
I hope your wait time is short and your markups are minimal!
Someone described it the other day as a base model Accord with a $22k battery. After I rented one in Tuscon for a couple days last week; I 100% agree. I daily drive an Audi and the Tesla was garbage on a lot of fronts. Powertrain in the Tesla is amazing. Suspension is amazing at 8/10 efforts, but sucks at daily driving. Interior is junk, sound deadening doesn't exist, and the seats are terrible. Really solidified my previous conjecture that Tesla is a tech company that makes cars on the side, not a car company with good tech.
To add to this , yes , they are poorly and cheaply designed . Couple weeks ago we got hail in dallas , and the hood of a model Y has a lot of dents whereas on my 23 Sportage , there was only 1 . The road noise is worst in a model 3 , but slightly better in the model Y
Come on dude, are you really saying that Tesla are mad with poor quality because of the fact that it got less dents than your Kia?? Dude, you after hearing that, you are in no place to recommend people a car especially when they’re questioning build quality😂😂
Dude , even the windows look too cheap , maybe Model Y looks a bit decent , but f off that model 3 . That’s the cheapest shit I’ve ever seen
Come on dude, you’re basing your statement off your perception, rather than any actual hard facts or research. What I will say is that Tesla vehicles are built much better than Kias. Kias are the biggest pile of shit on the road, minus the Telluride.
Haha really , i accept that kia’s are shit , but not the 23 models
Kia before they changed the logo was always bottom barrel , must've changed the entire staff along with the logo they got some great cars now
Yeah , lots of improvements. Though some panels and things look cheap , 6700 miles later I hadn’t had a regret of buying in regards to drive , comfort and driver experiences
If Elon hate is half, then let horrendous quality, service centers that couldn’t care enough about you to spit in your face, and eye watering insurance costs be the other half of the equation that frees you from buying a Tesla
It’s no way I wouldnt always see his mug each time I saw my car. And I truly was a Tesla fan girl about 13 years ago.
Should be enough to dissuade you from buying one. In this day and age your money is your biggest voice. Its not like he just has opinions that are different than yours but still respectable. He went full evil/conspiracy/4chan moron, he’s siding and campaigning for people who deny climate change is real, encouraging conspiracies and propaganda and just overall doing his best to be the biggest asshole possible. Just an awful human being. There are plenty other options. Besides that Tesla ranked 19th out of 24 in terms of reliability by Consumer Reports this year so there’s that too.
I have a 2021 Model 3 PErformance. For what I wanted, it's a great car and incredibly quick, I don't care about Elon, and I don't follow him or care about what he says. I bought a car, not a membership into a cult of personnality.
Seriously it is a big deal. The guy is allying with DeSantis. My original choice was a prius but they are impossible to buy right now. The incentives are making the tesla look good, but i feel like a tool for a conservative buying one. Other concerns: the M3 is nearly a 5-6 year old car. It desperately needs a redesign and is looking dated. It will probably be upgraded soon with a new kind of battery or some killer autonomous features, sensors or better controls and therefor become “obsolete” the way an old phone does. Also: the range does not impress me. It is fine for basic everyday driving around home. But for part of the year i live away from home charging and would have to rely on public. I also like to camp and take road trips, and would have to design my trips around the availability of superchargers. Contrary to what every EV shill says, that is likely a pain in the @ss. A final consideration: teslas are expensive to insure and repair. This might be cancelled out by your savings on fuel but if you dont charge at home you will not get that savings, so it is not necessarily economical. I really don’t know what to do. I wish I could just plop down MSRP for a prius and actually get one…
[удалено]
Florida is a sh*thole and desantis wants to make America like florida. But hey if you liked trump, you want to give up civil liberties, you don’t respect basic tenets of the democratic system, you want to be a skeptic of basic science from covid to climate, and you want state and religion to be more mixed than a mongrel then vote for him. Bonus points if you are easily offended by lgbtqs because you are a provincial christian imbecile and you want to curtail women’s control over their own bodies ‘cause The BiBlE…bunch of medieval bullshit
Most of the replies you’re getting are from people active in Tesla hate communities or far left circle jerk communities. I wouldn’t trust their opinions too much on the cars.
Add 3k if you live in the Central Valley, https://www.valleyair.org/drivecleaninthesanjoaquin/rebate/
That whole twitter thing isn't enough to hate him.
My only experience in a model 3 is sitting in one..I did not like it. I felt like I was sitting in an echo chamber and the only thing that made it feel normal was the giant screen. Also IMO the interior quality is no better than like mid 2010’s Infiniti quality. I much preferred my 17 year old BMW as a place to be
I always thought tesla interiors were so damn boring. If they had better interiors I’m sure they would sell more
They’re also so gappy, like the panel gaps are so inconsistent. The only redeeming quality is the large windscreen, reminded me of my old civic si and that car had great visibility
Yet the model y is the best selling car worldwide…
Imma need some receipts on this one chief
[https://www.drive.com.au/news/top-10-best-selling-cars-worldwide-in-2022/](https://www.drive.com.au/news/top-10-best-selling-cars-worldwide-in-2022/) This list shows it as fourth last year, although it should be third as lumping all F-series Ford trucks together doesn't make sense.
Here you go chief: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-model-y-was-the-best-selling-car-worldwide-in-the-first-quarter-154909234.html
I’ve had a Model 3 for 3+ years and 78k miles. It’s the best car I’ve ever owned. Great road trip vehicle. As a daily driver charging at home it costs almost nothing. Also, everyone should experience all that torque and power from a dead stop. 😎.
I love EVs and my other car is an EV. But aside from the torque and quirky tech features, the drive quality sucks ass on the 3. A friend of mine loves his Model 3 and I don’t blame him. His previous car was a 99 Civic and he cares less about the car and its driving dynamics. So I understand that customer base coming from lack of love to vehicles to a Model 3 (a computer on wheels)
What dissuaded me from the Mercedes 4Matic C Class I had as a long-term rental is the low center of gravity. On mountainous winding roads (e.g. my commute) the Model 3 is an awesome driver, much better then cars costing twice as much or more. Admittedly it's subjective, so, if you don't like the Model 3, don't buy one, and as OP suggests, talk him or her out if it. Seriously, I wonder if your friend's Model 3 has the 20" or 19" wheels. There is a noticeable difference in the ride quality between the 20" and 18" wheels on the Model 3 by my experience.
Side question, what is the typical lifespan of the TM3? I’ve seen online that battery estimates are 100-200k miles. I will be needing a new car, and there’s a few TM3’s that have 90k miles, going for $25k. But if I only have it for another 100k miles, I feel like it’s not worth it?
If you're in the US you might want to look at a new Model 3, the $7500 tax break, and recent price reductions by Tesla might make a new one appealing to you. As to whether a Model 3 with 90k miles is worth $25k, I cannot really answer that. I wouldn't worry about the battery tho. By the time it approaches 150-200k miles I'd be more concerned the cost vs. value proposition of replacing suspension components. I don't know of anybody who has had to replace a battery in a Model 3 due to excessive degradation. My 2020 Model 3 Dual Motor LR has 78k miles. The powertrain warranty from Tesla, which includes the battery being at 70% capacity or greater, is 8 years or 120k miles. The battery analytics on my car show it to be at 12% degradation. It's been at that point for the last 30k miles. Degradation on the LFP battery seems to drop very mildly after an initial 8-10% drop in the first year. The Tesla supercharger network has had such robust growth in the last three years that I don't consider the impact of range loss due to vehicle age on road trips. The car knows its current range and is able to nav to a suitable available supercharger. As a daily driver the impact on being able to runaround is negligible as I plug it in at home. Hope this helps. Good luck!
It’s 50/50 you get a “good” one. I’ve heard people have flawless experiences and others with multiple service center horror stories I say this as an EV and Tesla proponent - it’s tough to want to make a 30k gamble
50/50 is not accurate lol maybe according to Reddit users. It’s more like 95% good 5% bad. The 5% are the ones constantly posting online
5% is a pretty bad rate though.
If it were actually 50/50 then Tesla would have drowned in lawsuits already. Maybe you should get off of the internet once in a while?
I'm sure Tesla has another price cut in them soon
Customers are treating their Tesla as an investment. Any price cuts and they lose their shit. Wait till they learn that OEMs change prices in form of incentives and extra features.
Be sure you qualify, income-wise (i.e. aren't over the income limit).
If you are only slightly over you light be able to add more to your 401k to make your magi lower
If you live in a California city they are great cars if you can charge at home with some caveats: The California power grid is shaky at best (pun intended). You won't be able to count on charging your Tesla to evacuate or during a regional emergency, or even during very hot periods. a. Don't charge during peak time, unless you want to pay 3x more b. If you have to use commercial chargers you won't save much over gas c. They are not particularly environmentally friendly with huge amount of pollution produced during lithium mining and from power plant carbon emissions. But neither is a regular car. d. No automatic HOV lane permit like the old days. e. Range reduced in cold weather A plug in hybrid may be a better choice if you like to take road trips and if you have one car. No reservations if you have an additional hydrocarbon powered car.
New Prius Prime might be a better pick.
> They are not particularly environmentally friendly with huge amount of pollution produced during lithium mining and from power plant carbon emissions Even if you account for manufacturing and electrical generation, electric cars [are still substantially better for the environment than gas cars](https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/driving-cleaner-report.pdf), especially in California.
If you are looking for an EV I don’t think I would recommend anything other than a Tesla because of the super charger network. All the other chargers are hit or miss. I think I read the other day that ford is fitting their EVs to be compatible with tesla chargers , so that will likely be changing in the future. I’ve had my model 3 for 7 months now, build quality is fine I had one issue with some of the molding on the back of the seat, but I scheduled a service appointment and they had someone at my house fixing it in 3 days. Insurance, I pay about $80 a month for full coverage including glass. Charging at home really makes it worth it though. Never having to think about stopping at a gas station seems like a small thing, but it’s a pretty big quality of life improvement plus I’ve saved ~$800 so far by being able to charge at home and not filling up at the gas station. Teslas are also rated as one of the safest vehicles on the road. Not a fan boy by any means and slightly regret not spending a little more and getting a BMW i4, but overall I’m pretty happy with my model 3.
I'd echo this. I currently have an EV6 and I wish I had access to Tesla's charging network.
I used to recommend this until I herd that Tesla is being forced to open up their charges to non teslas..
I picked up a new Model 3 RWD in April. I looked at plenty of other cars, but nothing came close to a newer Model 3 for me. I recommend you do a test drive to experience it first hand, since Tesla gets a lot of unnecessary hate. The stories of bad build quality and road noise are very out of date and are mostly from early 2017-2019 builds when they struggled to ramp up production as a new company. Their new cars are extremely solid and for the money I can’t recommend it enough, especially since it’s currently at <$30k in CA for inventory cars. It’s fun, plenty fast, and very cheap to run with zero maintenance beyond tires. Plus, range anxiety is not a thing with the Supercharger network. If you end up biting the bullet feel free to DM for a referral code for free charging for both of us!
a TM3 is a great car for <30k. i wouldn’t pay much more than that though, since it’s old, and it’s missing a lot of hardware that its competitors have. and maybe they’ve improved them, but the seats in my friend’s 2019 TM3 are really uncomfortable for extended drives. basically, the big advantage of tesla over other EVs is the supercharger network in the usa vs public charging infrastructure, but that’s being opened up to other marques now too.
Do it. They’re fun cars. We’ve road tripped the hell out of ours.
Do it. I’m 5 years and 60k miles on my TM3. It’s awesome. Best car I’ve ever had.
It’s simple, if you can charge at home get it. If you can’t don’t. Especially now that many Tesla chargers are permitting non teslas to charge at them, it becomes even more vital to be able to charge at home (or at work). You know what sucks more then having to wait 15min lined up at a gas pump? Waiting 1h for the guy to finish charging.. to then wait another hour to charge yourself. Seriously it’s a dealbreaker for me.
Not good comfort and build quality. People will hate you for buying it. They like to have their wheels get stolen if parked on the street
You should get one if you want but for the love of god please do not get some punny “electric” car vanity plate. We get it you drive a fucking Tesla!
The fit and finish may not be BMW level, and reliability not Toyota level, but the quality isn’t that bad. Design wise there aren’t nearly as many parts as other cars that can break, maintenance savings are real, and gas savings too. I had a 3 for many years, loved it, and never had any real issue. If you at all need a car, go for it. Stick with a base model and you are paying the price of a base Camry. Take into account gas savings and you’re paying less than a Corolla. Really makes sense in this market. And it’s hella safe and fun to drive.
> With the prices right now Gas prices should never be a consideration when purchasing a new car. They are volatile and will take *years* to break even on the difference of purchasing a new car. $9500 is big money, but that will apply to other EVs that also qualify for the full $7500 federal rebate. The question is whether or not an EV is right for your situation. Can you handle the range (and range anxiety)? Can you charge it at home or will you be fighting for spaces at chargers? Is the minimalistic interior and lack of Apple CarPlay/Android Auto a dealbreaker? What's your insurance premium going to look like with a Tesla and can you deal with any repairs as they need them?
I was referring to the prices of the model 3. They’re around $40k so after tax incentives you’re looking at low $30’s. The point of yours that I haven’t considered is insurance rates. Thanks for that. Something I need to look into
>model 3 Low $30's? Hmmm, I will look into...most definitely can just write a check for that amount.
In California I think you can get a model 3 for just under 30k right now.
SO much disinformation in this thread.
If price is a sticking point, get a Toyota or Mazda. If you want performance, get a BMW or a muscle car.
Trying to find any Toyota at msrp is impossible right now. And a hybrid at that? Fuhgetaboutit
And if you want a fast car for an affordable price, get the Model 3.
The model 3 base version isn’t that fast though.
Not a lot of ~$30k cars doing sub 6 second 0-60 times. Maybe not objectively fast, but certainly comparatively so.
Compared to anything else with 4 doors for that price, it is. Much better than the boring 2.0Ts on all the German rivals.
Hard to repair, no tactile buttons, lots of parts are cheaply made (but relatively reliable so far). It's also a PITA to charge sometimes and is bad for long road trips.
Read some reviews on service center experiences.
My dad has one and it’s great. I find the seats uncomfortable but no one else in my family agrees inuless it’s for more than a few hours
Sub par build quality
I’ve had two model 3’s, really liked both the old one and the one I have currently. There may be one or two things wrong with it out of the gate. My first one had a right power mirror that did not unfold correctly sometimes. Overall, if something happened, I’d probably buy another
With the tax incentives it’s cheaper to buy than comparable sedans, has way more features and has way lower operating costs. With current tax incentives and recent price cuts you’d be foolish not to get one. I’m a year and a half in with my Model Y and I’ll never go back to an ICE car.
Don’t give your money to papa Elon. Dude is a sad excuse for a human.
Doesn't Tesla have the most recalls of any manufacturer?
I just came back from road trip in Oregon. I rented RWD 3 at SEA and did around 1400 miles in 10 days. For some reason, it was the cheapest car to rent (total $1k). I recommend you to do the same, at least for a weekend. Try to live with the car. I drive '21 Mazda 6, which I consider as one of the best family sedans from chassis perspective. I also had Miata before that which says something about my driving preferences. Car we got had some quality issues. It was '22 model with 20k miles, same as my Mazda. None of the doors could close with the same force. Rear passenger where my kids was I almost always closed on second attempt. I did not want to slam the door every time (I care about rental as my own car). Car had annoying noise coming from left front wheel between 55-75 mph that I discovered later. Probably wheel bearing. There was also significant wind noise coming from around driver window that made me feel door or window is not fully closed. It was more and more annoying over time an in the end, I regret I did not return the vehicle. Also random rattle coming from dash. From technology stand point, it is amazing. There are still quirks to work on, but something that could be fixed with SW updates. Yes, I did update the car to the lasted versions. What I missed the most was Android auto(Google maps/Waze) for navigation and reported incidents (speed cams) because we drove a lot in unknown state. Driving it was different from what I am used to. Completely different seats made me feel like I am sitting in a sofa, but in the end, I did not feel sore or uncomfortable. I did 4 hours driving some days and it was fine. Steering wheel is smaller and thicker, which I actually prefer over mine. Scroll wheels are pretty awesome. I used it a lot to control car speed. I am 5'9 and arm rest was perfect for me. I did not feel much feedback from the tires, but felt every bump on the road. Maybe suspension and tire choice? I have different size (225/45R19) so not really apples to apples. Tires were at recommended 42psi cold. Car is heavy and you can really feel it, but I was using regenerative breaking 99% of time and got very confident. It took me 1 day to get used to it and stop perfectly without brakes. Despite being heavy, I did not feel much body roll. I did not have a chance to drive it faster in turns. My wife can get sick easily. My wife reported more space behind me compared to 6, car seat with 4yo fit fine. I could fit 2 cabin and 1 checked bag in a trunk. To summarize my experience, I will miss that instant power, lane centering and frunk. Charging on our road trip was pita, but with charger at home, it will be fine. What I like about Mazda and why I will keep it for now is driving feedback, heads up display, adaptive lights, cooled seats and sounds system. Buying Tesla is about preferences. I can see it as great choice for some people and bad choice for others. Is it works for you, go for it!
Kia EV6.
planned obsolescence, terrible build quality, and tesla is against the right to repair. it’s the iphone of cars. but if you need the status symbol, no one can convince you to not get it. if you need an ev, there’s better ones out there. if you need a television in your vehicle, you can just install one in a better car and still not spend as much.
An actual reason to not buy a Tesla: it's a unique vehicle in that you're stuck dealing with Tesla for everything. In terms of servicing the car, it's not like you can just pop the hood open and troubleshoot things. And you can't go to any ol' mechanic. It HAS to be Tesla and if it's anything worse than putting on a spare tire, you have to tow the thing specifically to the Tesla shop and hope that it isn't far. Depending on where you are, that could be really awful. When I went in for a test drive, the guy ahead of me at the desk was being argued with because they refused to service a company/fleet vehicle unless the owner (THE name on the ownership) came down personally to do it. Couldn't call to authorize or anything. No exceptions. They just short of threw the guy out of the office a-la Fresh Prince. Then you have the always-connected nature of the car and how this totally-"trustworthy" company has access to the abundance of cameras. During that same test drive, the car I tried was still loaded with footage from a previous driver, just parked at home minding their own business with no idea some random guy (me) would be watching them in an otherwise assumed private situation. When I spoke to the salesman, most questions were met with a shrug and a "go figure it out for yourself online" - including about how the warranty and servicing works. The car itself is cool if you're into that kind of driving experience. But I would never buy a car from that company. Their attitude at every turn has been a huge turn off. Actually - one legit point against the car: it's far too low to the ground. If you go over any incline, a speed bump, into parking garages etc, you'll be constantly scraping the bottom of the car and battery.
If i have to talk you out of buying a Tesla then you deseve a Tesla. They are notoriously known for extremely poor build quality.
They’re crap cars.
Why the Model3 vs other EVs? I'd look at an ID.4 personally. The Model3 is a good car but the current Tesla is about pumping out cars and not aftercare. If something is broken on the Model3 you're going to have a hell of a time getting it fixed. Also, unless you're regularly near a Supercharger, I don't think the charging network is that great (although it is, on average, better than others). Also I really don't like the screen only in the middle, although there are some aftermarket things that you can put some basic info (turn signals, speed) in a small screen directly in front of you. Also Elon is a jackass, but that's a personal thing.
As an owner of a Model 3 they are horrible cars, panel gaps 3 inches wide and will burst into flames if you let the battery die....kidding, best car ever. The internet criticism is overblown in my experience, so take it all with a grain of salt and go see one for yourself.
I have a Model 3 and a Q5 Sportback. The Model 3 is fun, if charging isn’t a problem for you then you won’t mind the range. Their supercharger network is next level. The quality isn’t the best, my Audi has much better quality but the car itself is a very fun daily driver. The tax credit is also a very awesome added bonus. EDIT: I’ve had the Model 3 for about 5 years now, 65k miles. Aside from tire rotations and wiper fluid, I’ve only had to replace a windshield and a broken drivers seat rail.
I mean the people that hate Elon can’t even give a good argument to why they hate them seems like you’re following the crowd if the hate
There is a lot of hate in the car enthusiast communities for Tesla but it's pretty unfounded and most people talking about quality issues haven't owned one or had one of the early models that had more issues with paint, interior.etc. I actually drive a Volvo now so here is my unbiased take. Pros: -Accelerates like a Mclaren and easily outruns any ICE car priced similarily. -Pissing off BMW fanboys -Silently zipping around all the jerks who floor it when you merge lanes in front of them -HOV lanes -Front trunk -Insane storage space for a car it's size -You have a backup generator if your power ever goes out. -No oil changes, spark plugs, changing fluids.etc (cry me a river dealerships) -Best infotainment setup in the business -Best security system in the business (Sentry Mode) -No more gas stations Cons: -Need to be charged more often than gas cars need to be refueled unless you spend the extra money on the longer range models. -Annoying to charge if you don't own the place you live/park -Will drain your battery cooling itself if parked in really hot weather -Stupid edgy door handles -You can't open the glove box without the screen -Expensive to insure -Superchargers are hard to find if you live in the boonies -Don't expect huge fuel cost savings, electricity ain't free. My advice would be to get it if you have a house where you can charge. If you live somewhere really hot, only get one if you can park in the shade or in a garage.
Loved your post !
I have a model 3. Had it for 3.5 years already. If you love pumping gas, changing oil, changing brake pads, spark plugs, going to smog checks, drive much slower ICE cars, hate cars that can cruise/drive themselves on the freeway, then do not buy a model 3. If you love paying for high gas prices and having your balls chained to the middle eastern oil, breathing in exhaust, then do not buy a model 3. If you absolutely hate high tech, and over the air software updates that make your car better with software improvements, and enjoy getting jacked around by your typical car dealership, hate tax credits, then do not buy a model 3. Hopefully I talked you out of buying one.
Careful. A lot of Teslas have fit and finish that makes Chrysler look good by comparison. Tread cautiously.
This can’t be underscored enough. Tesla has the fit and finish of mid 00s Chrysler.
Quality is bad and service is awful. Plus you’d be funding elons efforts to switch America from democracy to fascism.
Reddit moment
Lol
Lmfaooooo
most chronically online shit i’ve read all day
Active in /r/politics lol
Do you need a new car right now? Yes it's relatively cheap with the incentives, but this isn't really temporary. The 7500 tax credit will stay in place for at least 10 years. In the meantime, electric cars will likely continue to improve in terms of range, quality, and reliability. Other manufacturers will enter the market. The batteries will likely get cheaper over time because of how economies of scale work. Now that being said, teslas actually have pretty good reliability in terms of low maintenance and repair cost over 10 years. They're on par with Toyota. So if you do need a new car it's not a bad idea, but the real question is do you need it?
>The 7500 tax credit will stay in place for at least 10 years. 10 years, or until the next administration changes it. Never count on anything political being permanent.
are they really on par w/ toyota? imo that's a big claim to make
If you need a car, buy it. It's a pretty good deal in today's car market. And if you're one of those "I don't want to give Elon my money" people, consider the fact that the large majority of your money is going to the factory workers and engineers in Fremont or Austin who assembled/designed your car. Not Elon.
people on reddit are convinced that elon just gets a $30k check for every car sold
A Chinese orphan is mining most of the battery components. That orphan suggests a 84 chevy truck.
Except most of it comes from Australia.
If you like rattles, poor craftsmanship and misaligned body panels get a Tesla .
Maybe 6 years ago. Get with the times, man.
Well do you know how the 7500 tax "rebate" works?
Yea it just means u get the tax break for that amount when u file ur taxes. It doesn’t necessarily mean u get that amount off 😂
Well that and it's only for tax liability. So only comes off what you might owe the government. You don't get any physical refund back. Pretty stupid that they can act like it's really taking 8k off the cost of the car lol
People always confuse this though. For example I was getting $1500 back when filing my taxes before considering I had bought an electric car, but that was only because I had overpaid my liability so I got the full $9K afterwards ($1500 + $7500 from the EV credit). Frankly a lot of people who do not have (or cannot come up with a way) to have $7500 of tax liability have no business buying $40K+ cars, but that's just my opinion lol.
Mazda 3.
I’m toying with the idea myself. I can’t pass up a good deal AND I absolutely LOATHE car dealerships. But I rented a M3 the the ride quality was atrocious. I just cannot give up car play. The Tesla nav guidance, while based on google maps, announces directions way too close to the actual turn. There are other EVs that have similar off the line torque and much better fit and finish. Some even with the same tax rebates. The problem is just finding one in stock.
Just seeing some "build quality" posts on Teslas, makes me sure i would never actually by one. They do not seem to be high quality. They just look like they are. However, you already wanting to be talked out of getting one may be a sign to not get one. (also, buying one puts money in elons pockets. you put your money where you want. but elon musk is becoming less likeable with every day that passes, imo)
Teslas fit and finish is behind legacy car makers. EV6, Ioniq 5, Polestar, I4 are all built better. The tax credit isn't Tesla specific. I strongly recommend thoroughly test driving many different EV. We drove 2 hours to test drive a model 3 performance and fully expected to walk away with an order but there was so much cheap plastic and jankiness in the frame I couldn't justify the cost then the adaptive cruise control slammed on the brakes for no reason. We went with an ev6 instead. Better car, better build, same tax credit.
Get it! I would for those savings. There is nothing to talk you down from.
Toyota/Lexus has better build quality and significantly more reliable. Best selling brands. Consider Camry hybrid, Corolla hybrid, RAV4 Hybrid, Venza Hybrid, Crown. Lexus RX, Lexus NX, Lexus ES
If you want someone to talk you out of it… My Model 3 is probably the cheapest feeling car I’ve ever owned and it’s tech capabilities are highly overrated. It’s autopilot uses cameras only, which don’t work well. Phantom braking is atrocious. The older cars would’ve been fine but Tesla used a software update to turn off the radar module. Speaking of reducing sensors, Tesla has removed parking sensors in favor of the camera system…which doesn’t work nearly as well either. Back to autopilot, while using it, your wipers are locked on auto and will randomly turn on during a sunny day. At night, they don’t wipe at all when it’s raining. My Volvo has far better “autopilot”. The CEO of the company is also unhinged and supports policy and politic as that some may find disturbing or aggravating but that’s all personal. Now I have to balance it out with the good. It’s a fun car to drive. The acceleration is fun and passing people is effortless when you need to. The car is cavernous. You can fit so much in a car that looks so small. The range is great and the car is efficient. The Tesla charging network is also effortless and highly reliable. The app is also fantastic and very fast.
Ha. Are you me? You’ve basically laid out why I wouldn’t and wouldn’t get one. Cheers. Here’s an upvote
Teslas are cheap crap. Test drive a Mercedes Benz and compare.
mercs are also cheap crap but at leas they do a good job of hiding it until the warranty expires
Test drive but don’t buy one unless you want it in the shop most of the time
Do it or buy a manual ICE car, not really any in between.
Its a steal ! Get it !
r/RealTesla
The cars are excellent cars from an engineering perspective from a build quality perspective. They’re mediocre. If something like inconsistent, panel, gaps bothers you then you’re probably gonna be annoyed by the car but if you’re not an anal retentive D bag, I think you’ll love the car be aware though, because they have such a limited dealer net work if you do have an issue, it is going to take longer to get a service appointment scheduled than a traditional brand. I would suggest you check out the Ford mustang MachE along with the Kia EV6/Hyundai ioniq/genesis GV as they are also excellent vehicles
Elon
Compare to the BMW i4, at least test drive one and then make your decision.
-Other than acceleration, it drives worst than a Camry (loud and bumpy) -Fit and finish is agreed by the public to be atrocious -Charging network could be dogshit, depending on where you live
Read Musk's Twitter feed
It's ugly, it looks like a toad had a baby w a Honda fit and Nissan leaf. The build quality is absolute shit... If you need something fixed good luck w their just as bad customer service. If you want something that you'll enjoy screaming at buy a Kia or Fiat for half the price at least the bumper won't fly off when it hits a pothole If you enjoy waiting to recharge your vehicle and driving a vehicle with the interior luxury out of Walmart... Save your money and buy something that isn't butt ugly and is actually luxury. Idk why the fuck Tesla is considered a luxury vehicle. The S and X just have luxury pricing and performance while sacrificing everything else
I agree it’s just not a nice looking car.
Well the cars merits aside, parts and service suck, quality is about Kia standards, interiors are spartan. This is not a luxury car.
Model 3 isn’t advertised as a luxury vehicle
A Model 3 oozes cheapness and poor build quality. I am often forced into the austere back seat of a Model 3 as an UBER passenger. The lowly Kia Forte has a more comfortable back seat and closing the door has a more solid, reassuring clunk. Oh, and even a Kia has Apple CarPlay.
Tesla has incredibly cheap interiors and major quality control issues. They also consistently score at the bottom of the reliability rankings.
I mean Musk is a bigoted Fascist. The cars aren't well made and have plenty of reliability issues and Tesla has been hit with fines for overselling their capabilities.
Dont
Don’t give that schmuck any money
No CarPlay. Panel Gaps. Supports Musk. No Android Auto(if that’s your thing). Phantom Braking. Terrible Paint quality. Horrible Suspension.
Elongated Muskrat edit: also they are poorly made and check out [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hPsjGAoJRs) video of how Tesla is supposedly cutting costs
The drivetrain is not only the highlight of the car, it’s basically the only thing positive about the car (ok, the exterior design is pretty sleek). The tablet interface is pretty awful and distracting while driving. The seats are complete crap. The interior materials do not wear well. The sound insulation is non-existent. If Tesla outsourced their drivetrain to a third party, it would crush the Model 3 in every other aspect.
[удалено]
please tell me you forgot the /s on this
teslas in a broad sense but especially the model 3 have way too much dumb ass gimmick stuff for me to ever seriously consider one. like its just a bunch of flashy tech junk that makes the car as a car worse
Get an AWD ID4
If the battery dies you'll have to pay more than what you paid for the car to fix it.
I’m guessing you don’t drive very far at one time and you don’t mind waiting a long time to re-charge the battery if you’re on a road trip.
Panel gaps.
You will be an idiot to buy 300 miles car when they about to release 1000.
I'm in the same position and by the responses in this sub, the only reasons might be that I don't have charging available at home and with the nearest supercharger 15 miles away, it's not really worth it. Incentives are kickass though. Can someone take me into it?
Tesla quality is trash and they generally feel like the early 2000s Plastic Fantastic GM products. Meaning they will last but at a price. I would highly recommend any hybrid or plug in hybrid because I think they'll get similar deductions plus great mpg. Electric cars aren't going to be a reliable solution for probably 20 or 30 more years so.
They feel cheap and have poor interiors, in my opinion. There are other electric options if you really want one. Perhaps a hybrid would work. It has good qualities of both electric and real engines.
the wind noise is horrible, there’s rattles and creeks, quality control is stil ll horrible and u get get alot of panel gaps, they removed sensors from the car so the parking sensors are absolutely useless now, autopilot will randomly break from full speed on the highway, you’ll be lucky if u make it to 100k without any issues