MYP 2 months old, 2800km driven. Tesla Service tomorrow for 3 things. Frunk doesn't open all the time. It's stuck 50% of the time and I use it daily, so another daily frustration. Second problem is a weird vibration and noise on cold start. Like there is a handbrake active on the wheels and its trying to drive. Takes 3 secs, afterwards it's gone. But just checking before more doom. Third problem is rattle in the back on the right side. When I play music it's noticeable to the point I lower the volume just so it stops the rattle. I've checked where its coming from and to my ears it's coming from behind the rear seats right seatbelt. Something is loose because on the left side there is no noise.
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If you are looking to buy a MY, go for the new RWD or LR with tax credits ... making it a 45k car at most.
If park assist and autopark are key features for you, find a used Tesla with USS.
Everything above 45k is overprized and Tesla will probably lower the price even more in 2023-2024.
I didn’t bite the bullet yet on a MY PF. As OP mentioned, the MY SR maybe is a better and much cheaper choice. Buy the car, drive it a few years and sell it again. Plus MY facelift coming with HW4 next year is another reason for me to wait.
My son just got a M3 LR as company car, and he is pretty happy with it, for the same reasons the OP already mentioned. He doesn’t have to care about charging cost, fit and finish is not an issue for him, and when there is a problem, he just gets a replacement car.
My wife drives a Mini SE. Very satisfied with this car for it’s usage (about 90 km/day driving). And it’s really fun to drive, plenty fast, good seats, good adaptive cruise control, head-up display, panoramic roof what you can open in summer. Range is limited to about 180 km in summer, 160 km in winter. But for her usage this is not an issue. Never charged it on a public charger, only at home. And we bought this car as a 6 month demo in Germany for a very good price. No issues with the Mini whatsover and it’s really well build. Cheap in tyres and in consumption (averages about 165 Wh, mix of highway and normal roads). My wive drove a BMW 5 GT before the Mini, and she loves this car very much.
But I want to replace my BMW 530d Touring (which I still love to drive) with something electric. In Belgium, company taxes on this kind of car are gettting very high, and there are not many interesting options except an EV.
Taycan 4S CT is on the list, but I find it slightly overpriced for the added value and lower range (I also drive a Boxster 3.4 GTS as a fun car), plus charging hassle due to the DC charge port at the front right side.
I’m in a wheelchair, so that’s an added issue at many public charging stations. We can charge at home though with 22 kW max, so public charging won’t happen often, but it nevertheless is an issue for me. Public charging stations are NOT wheelchair friendly.
With Tesla, I can get out, support myself on the car and just connect the charging cable. No hassle with charging cards or whatever, and I don’t need to get my wheelchair out of the car. That’s for me a big plus and puts Tesla of course high on the list of practical cars for me.
Did testdrives with Model Y LR (no performance available for test) and Model S LR (M3 not an option due to trunk for wheelchair loading).
Model S is very expensive for the added value compared to the MY PF, and for the price of a MS LR I can also buy a young and well specced (and much better build) Taycan 4S CT. Despite the Porsche’s lower range, it’s still a fantastic car with an absolute top interior finish, excellent seats and superb driving dynamics.
The fit and finish of a MY PF for about 70.000 EUR, even despite the added value of the Tesla SC network, efficiency and software just can’t convince me. I have an incomplete spinal cord injury, my height is 193 cm and the seats just cause a lot of annoyence in my lower legs. It’s better in the Model S, but compared to the Boxster, Mini and BMW, the seats are just not good for me. They are to short and side bolstering really is not good compared to our other cars.
So currently I think I’m going to wait for the new BMW i5 Touring announced for next year and see what the Model Y facelift will bring in 2024.
BMW iX3 and iX1 are not really on my whish list. I had a look at the iX, but the trunk floot sits 77 cm above the ground and that’s way to high for me to lift my wheelchair in the trunk. Otherwise, I would seriously consider an iX! That’s also the reason a Model X is not an option, I can’t get my wheelchair lifted in the trunk.
The 530d only has 160.000 km and still runs fine. Despite the higher running cost, I think I will hold onto it for another year as my daily driver.
And I only need to refuel it every 900 km…
Fuel stations are much more wheelchair friendly by the way compared to charging stations.
Though I must say the new Fastned charging stations in Belgium with a roof are also less an issue with a wheelchair…